I went for a walk in the woods over the weekend and stumbled
across a piece of history.
Sitting on the banks of the Santee River in eastern Berkeley
County is a Civil War site managed by the National Forest Service.
The site is quiet now, disturbed only by the gurgle of the
slow moving water pushing along the shores and an occasional hoot owl somewhere
in the thick grove of pines that surround the site.
Battery Warren is a collection of earthen mounds that once
concealed cannons and other guns used by Confederate forces to protect a
railroad bridge that crossed the Santee.
There’s not much left of the structure now. Tall pine and
hardwood trees have grown up between many of the former structures, but it is
still relatively easy to see the layout of the old fort.
An informational plaque at the site explains that slaves
built most of the structure that is named after Colonel Samuel Warren, a
Revolutionary War hero who once owned the land where the fort is located.
Sitting in a remote part of Francis Marion National Forest,
my guess is the site is preserved in an environment very much like it was when
soldiers lived and worked there more than 150 years ago.
The visible history of the area, although almost reclaimed
by the forest, added significance to my Saturday afternoon hike.
As a journalist, the historical context of things intrigues
me.
You’ll notice that most news stories that we write here in
the paper contain some piece of history to them. Sometimes the history makes up
the bulk of the story. And, quite often, the history is the most important part
of the story.
For instance, you may recall a couple weeks ago, we wrote a
story about the spillway at Santee Dam. The story began as a simple piece about
officials saying that water was going to be released to increase the storage
capacity at Lake Marion.
On its face, that piece of news is not that interesting, but
to anyone who experienced the flooding last fall, high water is a big deal. So
reporter Lindsay Street made sure to include information about the significance
of flooding in the area.
We added more context to the story by including information
from the National Weather Service, which said water saturation in the ground
remained high from the October flooding and people downstream of Lake Marion
should be prepared.
In that story, context is everything, especially for
residents in the Lowcountry who know it’s wise to keep an eye on the water.
You’ll find another story in today’s paper by Monica Kreber
about lawmakers trying to figure out how to equitably fund local schools.
Again, not too exciting on its own, but the context of the story is built on
the state supreme court ruling that South Carolina has failed to provide a
“minimally adequate” education to children in the poorest school districts.
When readers understand that the state is failing school
children in poor districts while children in affluent districts see many more
resources coming their way, suddenly the story becomes a little more
interesting - especially if you live in a poor district.
Likewise, visitors to Warren Battery have little idea what
those strange mounds of dirt are along the high banks of the Santee River.
Years ago, however they meant a lot. The threat of advancing
Union forces up the Santee kept the soldiers at the fort on their toes. The
toil of the slaves that built most of the structure will likely never be known,
but a visit to the site will testify to the effort they made.
As the great, great, great grandson of a Civil War soldier,
I can appreciate better now the conditions that must have existed during that
time period. That context added meaning to my short hike in the woods.
David Kennard is the executive editor of Summerville
Communications, which publishes the Berkeley Independent, Goose Creek Gazette
and Summerville Journal Scene. Contact him at dkennard@journalscene.com or
843-873-9424. Follow him on Twitter @davidbkennard.
No comments:
Post a Comment