From The Lowcountry — April 2017

By Jack Melton · Originally published April 2017 · p. 2

Spring has sprung early in the Low Country. The azaleas are in full bloom a month early, and there is no shortage of yellow pine pollen in the air. We are delighted that there are so many events and activities available in Charleston for us to enjoy. I was very pleased to be invited on a trip to Fort Sumter by the Fort Sumter–Fort Moultrie Historical Trust. Historian, Rick Hatcher gave a guided tour. Rick is retired from the National Park Service, where he worked on-site at the fort for more than 22 years, so he could answer just about any question I had about the history of the fort.

We are looking forward to bringing you coverage of the living history and skirmishes at one of Charleston’s premier events, The 13th Annual Battle of Charleston, which will be held at Legare Farms (pronounced Legree) on John’s Island, S.C. April 7-9. This year, the event will not only be focusing on the Civil War, but it will bring together the military history of Charleston, throughout the centuries. Recently we received a comment that we have not been publishing letters to the editor. The truth is, we have not received any lately. We love to hear from our readers. We want to hear what you like, what you want more of and what you don’t like to see. So please, get out the paper and pens, and send us your thoughts to share with our readers. The annual July Gettysburg issue plans are in the makes. We are looking forward, to our annual trip in June with great excitement. As usual, we will be distributing the Gettysburg section to shops, restaurants, hotels, B&B’s and the reenactment for free distribution to visitors and spectators. We print 12,000 copies of this section, so if you are interested in marketing your product or event, please go to our website for information, or contact us directly at 1-800-777-1862. We are happy to help you with your advertising needs. Last, but certainly not least, we are delighted to introduce a new column for all of our trivia buffs out there called “Small Talk.” We are sure that you will enjoy this addition to the Civil War News.