Charleston Confederate Sights - The Citadel and Second Presbyterian Church

Had the opportunity to do some quick sightseeing during a recent business trip to Charleston SC.  The conference was held at the Embassy Suites in the Historic District at 337 Meeting Street.  This hotel sits on an historical site of great significance in the 18th and 19th centuries in Charleston.  Around 1758 a fortification serving as the city gate was constructed here and in 1822 the State of South Carolina built a two story arsenal to oversee the burgeoning tobacco trade from the Post of Charleston.   In 1842, the state legislature established the South Carolina Military Academy here and due to the architectural style resembling a citadel with bastions on the four corners, it became known as The Citadel.  The Citadel moved to its current location in 1922.  The Embassy Suites renovated the structure preserving the architectural elements including the interior arches.  There are original brick walls and even some gate hardware visible throughout the building. It was Citadel cadets here who fired the shots on Ft. Sumter as ships attempted to resupply the Federal troops there provoking the War of Noorthern Aggression.   Immediately across Meeting Street from the Embassy Suites is the Second Presbyterian Church which was established in the first half of the 18th century around which sits an extensive cemetery.  One grave in particular noted had a Confederate Iron Cross in the sunken grave and upon the headstone was the brief story of John Taverner, an immigrant from England who "volunteered in the cause of liberty, killed in Secessionville June 16th 1862 while in the Army of the Confederate States".