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I'm a lighthouse junky

Discussion in 'History Forum' started by Phinvader Bill, Jul 7, 2009.

  1. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    Here are a couple lighthouse photos that I've shot and dropped different sky scenes in the background.

    Tybee Island Lighthouse (GA)

    [​IMG]

    Bald Head Island Lighthouse (NC)

    [​IMG]

    Do we have a general photography thread here?
     
  2. azfinfanmang

    azfinfanmang Premium Member Luxury Box

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    There is indeed a Picture thread.

    I think that Lighthouses could easily become a thread of their own, but I will let the Staff be in charge of that.

    My wife is an EXTREME Lighthouse Junky. We took a trip back east about 4 years ago, and spent quite a bit of time looking at Lighthouses off the Maine Coast.
     
  3. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    ^^^

    I've been to 23 or 24 different lighthouses and have photos of all of them, and I'd like to see some of yours. Plus, I go visit more every 4-6 months. Maybe we could make this the Lighthouse photo thread?
     
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  4. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Jupiter Lighthouse circa 1878+- Under the shed is the Keeper Captain James Arango Armour and his daughter Lyda. The other man is unknown. My GG Grandfather served here 1872-1873. The lighthouse was built across five years, 1855-1860. The brick allowed moisture to seep in so they painted it red in the 1880's to seal it up. I know much about it's history

    [​IMG]

    Here it is today. It has a first order Fresnel lense and could send it's whale oil lanterns beacon 28 miles out to sea.

    [​IMG]

    a closer look at the light and the first order Fresnel lense....

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Jaydog57

    Jaydog57 Canes/Fins/Magic fan

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    I've been to the Lighthouse in Ponce Inlet many times, and the one in St. Augustine a few times.

    Ponce Inlet : [​IMG]

    St. Augustine : [​IMG]
     
  6. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Nice Jay.. did you get to see the first order lense? Next time I'm that way it is a must see for me.

    [​IMG]
     
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  7. Jaydog57

    Jaydog57 Canes/Fins/Magic fan

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    Yeah, they had it on display in the same spot as the picture you've posted last time I was there. That shot is from a slightly higher balcony on the back wall. That thing is huge!
     
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  8. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    I've been to all 3 of those. The St. Augustine lighthouse is really hard to get a good horizontal shot of because of all those huge oak trees. The next lens I get is going to be a 10-20mm super wide angle lens. At that point, I'll go back to St. Augustine and St. Simons too. Thats another one that is hard to get a good shot of.

    I love the first order display at Ponce Inlet. Can you imagine what it must have been like to build those? And then to get it up to the top of the tower, all in the 1800s? The History Channel should do a special on them. Thats the lens from the Cape Canaveral lighthouse...I don't have a close up photo of that one. They only offer tours of it once a month.
     
  9. Sethdaddy8

    Sethdaddy8 Well-Known Member

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    I thought your GG Grandfather served in the Peloponnesian war.








    :tongue2:
     
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  10. Sethdaddy8

    Sethdaddy8 Well-Known Member

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    The Barnegat Lighthouse in NJ is a pretty big deal to the state. Focus of tons of memorabilia and merchandise, calendars, "state spot to visit", etc. my old man has a place one town over from there, less than a mile away. i've grown up having at all times, some form of t-shirt, snow globe, or picture with this lighthouse on it.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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  12. Jaydog57

    Jaydog57 Canes/Fins/Magic fan

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  13. azfinfanmang

    azfinfanmang Premium Member Luxury Box

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    That IS a really nice shot :up:

    Is this open to the public Marty?

    I honestly never thought about it, but I imagine there are quite a few lighthouses in Florida, and that of course is great news. That is in-fact a HUGE bargaining chip in convincing Mama we need to take a family vacation there :up:
     
  14. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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  15. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Kenny, as Nooga said, yes there are tours. It belongs to the USCG and is on their reservation so you have to take a tour to gain access. There is also a once a week "twilight" tour that happens at sunset. Looking over the surrounding area as the sun goes down is rather impressive. If you come to Florida and wish a tour, I will personally conduct it and it would be my honor. This offer actually extends to any of you, I would be proud to join you and share what I know. I am very good friends with the mucky mucks at Loxahatchee River Historical Society who run the tours and can arrange some vip treatment. There is a pretty good book called A Light in the Wilderness by James D. Snyder that covers the history of the light. Jim, who is a friend, did a pretty good job of recovering early documents from the national archives that expanded our knowledge considerably.

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    ^^^

    I might take you up on that offer at some point. I would really like to go there and get an intimate viewing of that lighthouse rather than being herded like cattle through. I was there last March, and our guide made it very obvious that he would rather be doing something else, and didn't really tell us the history of the light. To his credit, he did go into great detail about Fresnel lenses, but I already knew about that. lol
     
  17. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    It would be a great pleasure Nooga, a pm gets you my phone number anytime you think you might make down.

    Man, just how clever can you be to collapse the lens in segments.. I have a picture of the factory tucked away somwewhere. The history of this light, Canaveral, and Cape Florida is interesting to the extreme for me.

    Jupiter is personal for me.. as I have said, my Gramps served there and was around for the wreck of the steamer Victor, 1872. My Uncles memoir is the root source of all the stories told of that event. I do a "living history' presentation where I dress in period as my GG Grandfather and discuss 1872-1883 on Indian River, Lake Worth and Biscayne Bay. While doing that, I tell the story in first person.
     
  18. azfinfanmang

    azfinfanmang Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Just showed this thread to Mama. Gaining vizitation right points with every post :up:
     
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  19. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    That is awesome...If I get down there for a Phins game, I'll probably hit you up. I've already been to Hillsboro and Cape Florida, and I've got family in Brevard County, so I'll definitely be down at some point. Just not sure when.

    My grandfather is retired NASA, but can't get me on for a special tour of Cape Canaveral, but this now famous photo of that lighthouse is his.

    [​IMG]

    He doesnt like to see that photo because he submitted it to NASA and lost his rights to it.

    I need to post my other lighthouse photos! Sorry..didnt mean to hold out. I will soon.
     
  20. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    is that skirt rigging for Christmas lights? Hillsborough eh, my cousin Sheldon gives tours there.. if I remember correctly, it is a once a year affair or something like that. Ever hear the story of the Indian attack on Cape Florida.. epic. Lemmi load some of the older photo's I have, then i'll post them up.

    edit.. they are all tiff files, I have to convert them to jpeg.. arrrg
     
  21. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    In 4 weeks I'm going on a much needed vacation alone with my wife. We will be in Traverse City, Mackinac Island, and the UP of Michigan. So I'll be on Lakes Michigan, Superior, and Huron. Hopefully I can get some Lighthouse pics for you guys.
     
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  22. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    There a LOT of them on the lakes..lots :hi5:
     
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  23. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    Michigan...DAMN RIGHT you should have some lighthouse photos for us. lol
     
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  24. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    It was reenforcement lines during a refit in the early 80's.

    As for the indian attack at Cape Florida, I know that too. Its a scary story, and the original top of the lighthouse is still on display there. Still, from the photos I had seen, I actually imagined that lighthouse as much taller. Its still a beauty though.

    Here are a few of my photos...We'll start with Jupiter, Hillsboro and Cape Florida...

    Jupiter

    [​IMG]

    Hillsboro...This trio with Jupiter, Hillsboro and Cape Florida all happened the same day. Its amazing to see the weather from Jupiter to Cape Florida over the span of a few hours.

    [​IMG]

    We were there with my camera, and we really didnt want to get any closer because it was RAINING. lol

    And Cape Florida. The rain had gone away, but the clouds were still there.

    [​IMG]

    More to come!
     
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  25. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    To help AZfinfan get to take a trip to Florida, here are a few more lighthouses in Florida:

    Ponce Inlet:

    [​IMG]

    Its the second tallest lighthouse in the US.

    St. Augustine:

    [​IMG]

    St. Johns River:

    [​IMG]

    That one is on Mayport Naval Base in Jacksonville. There is a second lighthouse on the base, but I didnt get to go. You can however go on the base to see them.

    Amelia Island, located at Fernandina Beach.

    [​IMG]

    That photo sucks. Thats another one I'm going to have to go back to get better shots of.

    And, the only shot of Cape Canaveral that I have.

    [​IMG]

    Thats all I have from Florida so far.
     
  26. Jaydog57

    Jaydog57 Canes/Fins/Magic fan

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    Beautiful shots man, thanks so much for posting. :knucks:
     
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  27. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Nice Nooga.. don't know why, but your post is all redx to me, but I can see them in the quote.. odd.
     
  28. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    ^^

    Strange...I can see them just fine. Let me know if you can't see these...

    South Carolina:

    Cape Romain

    [​IMG]

    Georgetown

    [​IMG]

    Both of these are only accessible by boat.

    Hilton Head Rear Range

    [​IMG]

    Not alot of people know that there are 2 lighthouses on Hilton Head Island. They only know of Harbour Town, but the rear range light is alot more spectacular than that one. It is over 150 years old.

    Harbour Town

    [​IMG]

    Haig Point

    [​IMG]
     
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  29. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    South Carolina continued...Not sure how many photos I can put on one post

    Hunting Island

    [​IMG]

    Morris Island

    [​IMG]

    You can see Sullivan's Island lighthouse in the background of this one.

    Sullivans Island

    [​IMG]

    Governor's Lighthouse

    [​IMG]

    I have been to all of the lighthouses in South Carolina.
     
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  30. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Ten I think.. WOW, beautiful photos bro, thanks for sharing. I'll bet ya'll had fun road trippin' them for perusal. The Cape Romain, is that an old light tower to the right?

    There is a 250 page book about my family called Pioneer Life in Southeast Florida that came from Uncle Charlies 690 page memoir.
    [​IMG]

    In the book, it picks up when they arrived at Jupiter Light 1872, leaving out the content of some 80 pages that details the Great Chicago fire, and the families trip to Florida in a 28 foot sloop down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers into the Gulf. I decided to follow that trip and document it with some "in era" pictures. I had a blast hunting for old pictures and actually found the ones I needed, that included three old lighthouses. Man did I learn a LOT about Florida west coast lights and the hurricanes that wrecked them over and over during this search. Here is the link to a little site that Malcolm set me up with.. that needs attention.. http://floridahistoryhunter.com/my-...the-cruise-of-the-fairy-belle-gulf-of-mexico/

    Here are some unused pics;

    Seahorse Key.. which guarded Cedar Key

    [​IMG]

    An undated unlabelled lithograph of the St. Johns so I don't know which one it may be.. but someday, I'll run across it again and get more info.

    [​IMG]

    George Meade, not yet a General, who you Secession war buffs will know, designed the Jupiter and Cape Florida lighthouses. Here is a copy of some plans for Cape Florida;

    [​IMG]

    When they rebuilt it in 1855-56, adding 30 feet to it height, they discovered that that contractor had cheated and the walls were hollow, not solid as required by plan.
     
  31. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    ^^

    Added 30 feet to it? It barely looks 50 feet. lol Is that why the first tower fell so easily?

    And yes that is an older tower in the Cape Romain photo. They decided that the tower wasn't tall enough, so they built the taller one. That area of the SC coast is very tricky to navigate due to shifting sand bars and such, kind of like Cape Fear. But, the larger tower is leaning, and cracking. It was built on SC Lowcountry swamplands, and it isn't stable. Its a shame. I wish someone would start a foundation to restore it. It is a beauty.

    And, yes the road trips are half the fun of going. Hopefully in January, we will be going to NC's outer banks, as well as a couple Virginia lighthouses.
     
  32. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    Excellent, I am jealous in a good way. January is pretty dang cold tho.. for a Florida boy anyway :sad:

    Cape Florida 1923.. I found an earlier, 1883 image, but it would not copy;

    [​IMG]

    as "I" remember it from the early 1960's before it was refurbished. We would go to Crandon Park and walk the beach to the light and have lunch. 5 miles +- overall walk.

    [​IMG]

    today;

    [​IMG]

    notice it's proximity to the water, it was originally 100 feet from the shoreline. Hurricane Andrew pushed about 10 feet of storm surge here and the light stood tall throught all. After the hurricane;

    [​IMG]


    Cape Florida was 65 feet..now 95. It has a hell of a history. The original contract winner Samuel Linclon, left Boston 1824 loaded with supplies and crew and was never heard from again.. all lost at sea. It was the new contractor, Noah Humpries, that cheated on the construction by building hollow walls. It was in service by the end of 1825. In the Indian attack 1836, it did not fall, but was gutted by fire and explosion. The light was refurbished with metal stairs and new light and lens apparatus (fourth order)at the original 65' height in 1847.. It was then they discovered the hollow walls. Indians had prevented work for ten years.

    1854, Lieutenant George Mead made a coastal inspection to discover what improvments might be made to protect shipping better and in 1855, they added the 30 feet. Incidentally, 1855 was the year they started Jupiter light too, another of Meades designs. The age of steam and larger sailboats with deeper draft were coming into service and they needed to be even further from the reefs, that is why they added the 30 feet. Even with this greater reach, the light was decommisioned in 1878 for in favor of a new light with state of the art screwpiles at Fowey rocks at Mollassas reef named so for the wreck of HMS Fowey 1748... thus Fowey Light.

    [​IMG]

    The second Seminole war got started with the massacre of Colonel Dade, his command, and the killing of Indian Agent Thompson Dec. 28, 1835. Then, there was an attack on William Cooley's family at New River was some three weeks later.. read Ft Lauderdale area. Cooley was friendly with the Indians and even named his children after some Chiefs. He was however, Justice of the Peace and when some white settlers killed an Indian Chief, he took them to Key West for trial. There, they were acquitted and the Indians blamed Cooley. When they attacked, William was salvaging a wrecked vessel and they missed him.. but not his wife, 3 children and tutor, some slaves were captured and one escaped. It is from him that we know the details of this attack. The killing was done Indians that had supped at his table. All the remaining settlers escaped to Cape Florida light, and then to Indian Key.

    Cooley then took charge of the Cape Florida light and the settlers for a time until a government bean counter refused payment for armed guards.. Cooley left and John W. B. Thompson, along with the elderly Aaron Carter, who may have been a slave, temporarily assumed command of the light., Now, the Indians were probably going to attack the light anyway, but it is my belief they were still after Cooley. Here is a link to the story for those unfamiliar; http://digitalcollections.fiu.edu/tequesta/files/1949/49_1_01.pdf
    Mr Thompson later wrote a letter that I will quote from. As it is not under copyright, I will quote a chunk in the next post, the story is intense.
     
  33. cnc66

    cnc66 wiley veteran, bad spelur Luxury Box

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    This story can be found here;
    http://digitalcollections.fiu.edu/tequesta/files/1949/49_1_01.pdf

    John W.B. Thompson, date written is unknown to me. I broke it up into smaller paragraph chunks to ease reading.

    "On the twenty-third of July, 1836, about 4 P.M., as I was going from the kitchen to the dwelling house, I discovered a large body of Indians within twenty yards of me, back of the kitchen. I ran for the Lighthouse, and called out to the old negro man that was with me to run, for the Indians were near. At that moment they discharged a volley of rifle balls, which cut my clothes and hat and perforated the door in many places.

    We got in, and as I was turning the key the savages had hold of the door.. I stationed the negro at the door, with orders to let me know if they attempted to break in. I then took my three muskets, which were loaded with ball and buckshot, and went to the second window. Seeing a large body of them opposite the dwelling house, I discharged my muskets in succession among them, which put them in some confusion; they then, for the second time, began their horrid yells, and in a minute no sash of glass was left at the window, for they vented their rage at that spot.

    I fired at them from some of the other windows, and from the top of the house; in fact, I fired whenever I could get an Indian for a mark. I kept them from the house until dark. They then poured in a heavy fire at all the windows and lantern; that was the time they set fire to the door and window even with the ground. The window was boarded up with plank and filled with stone inside; but the flames spread fast, being fed with yellow pine wood. Their balls had perforated the tin tanks of oil, consisting of two hundred and twenty-five gallons. My bedding, clothing, and in fact everything I had was soaked in oil. I stopped at the door until driven away by the flames.

    "I then took a keg of gunpowder, my balls and one musket to the top of the house, then went below and began to cut away the stairs about halfway up from the bottom. I had difficulty in getting the old negro up the space I had already cut; but the flames now drove me from my labor, and I retreated to the top of the house. I covered over the scuttle that leads to the lantern, which kept the fire from me for sometime. At last the awful moment arrived; the cracking flames burst around me.

    "The savages at the same time began their hellish yells. My poor negro looked at me with tears in his eyes, but he could not speak. We went out of the lantern and down on the edge of the platform, two feet wide. The lantern was now full of flame, the lamps and glasses bursting and flying in all directions, my clothes on fire, and to move from the place where I was would be instant death from their rifles. My flesh was roasting, and to put an end to my horrible suffering I got up and threw the keg of gunpowder down the scuttle-instantly it exploded and shook the tower from top to bottom. It had not the desired effect of blowing me into eternity, but it threw down the stairs and all the wooden work near the top of the house; it damped the fire for a moment, but it soon blazed as fierce as ever.

    The negro man said he was wounded, which was the last word he spoke. By this time I had received some wounds myself; and finding no chance for my
    life, for I was roasting alive, I took the determination to jump off. I got up, went inside the iron railing, recommending my soul to God, and was on the point of going ahead foremost on the rock below when something dictated to me to return and lie down again. I did so, and in two minutes the fire fell to the bottom of the house. It is a remarkable circumstance that not one ball struck me when I stood up outside the railing although they were flying all around me like hailstones. I found the old negro man dead, being shot in several places, and literally roasted. A few minutes after the fire fell a stiff breeze sprung up from the southward, which was a great blessing to me. I had to lie where I was, for I could not walk, having received six rifle balls, three in each foot.

    "The Indians, thinking me dead, left the lighthouse and set fire to the dwelling place, kitchen and other outhouses, and began to carry off their plunder to the beach. They took all the empty barrels, the drawers of the bureaus, and in fact everything that would act as a vessel to hold anything. My provisions were in the lighthouse, except a barrel of flour, which they took off. The next morning they hauled out of the lighthouse, by means of a pole, the tin that composed the oil tanks, no doubt to make grates to manufacture the coonty root into what we call arrow root. After loading my little sloop, about 10 or 12 went into her; the rest took to the beach to meet at the other end of the island.

    This happened, as I judge, about 2:00 a.m. My eyes, being much affected, prevented me from knowing their actual force, but I judge there were from 40 to 50, perhaps more. I was now almost as bad off as before; a burning fever on me, my feet shot to pieces, no clothes to cover me, nothing to eat or drink, a hot sun overhead, a dead man by my side, no friend near or any to expect, and placed between 70 and 80 feet from the earth and no chance of getting down.

    My situation was truly horrible. About 12 o'clock I thought I could perceive a vessel not far off. I took a piece of the old negro's trousers that had escaped the flames by being wet with blood and made a signal. Some time in the afternoon I saw two boats with my sloop in tow coming to the landing. I had no doubt but they were Indians, having seen my signal; but it proved to be the boats of the United States schooner Motto, Captain Armstrong, with a detachment of seamen and marines under the command of Lieutenant Lloyd, of the sloop of war Concord. They had retaken my sloop, after the Indians had stripped her of her sails and rigging, and everything of consequence belonging to her.

    "They informed me they heard my explosion 12 miles off, and ran down to my assistance, but did not expect to find me alive. These gentlemen did all in their power to relieve me, but, night coming on, they returned on board the Motto, after assuring me of their assistance in the morning. Next morning, Monday, July 5, [25] three boats landed, among them Captain Cole, of the schooner Pee Dee, from New York. They made a kite during the night to get a line to me, but without effect, they then fired twine from their muskets, made fast to a ramrod, which I received, and hauled up a tail block and made fast round an iron stanchion, rove the twine through the block, and they below, by that means, rove a two-inch rope and hoisted up two men, who soon landed me on terra firma.

    I must state here that the Indians had made a ladder by lashing pieces of wood across the lightning rod, near 40 feet from the ground, as if to have my scalp, nolens volens. This happened on the fourth. After I got on board the Motto every man from the captain to the cook tried to alleviate my sufferings. On the seventh I was received in the military hospital, through the politeness of Lieutenant Alvord of the fourth Regiment of United States Infantry. He has done everything to make my situation as comfortable as possible. I must not omit here to return my thanks to the citizens of Key West, generally, for their sympathy and kind offers of anything I would wish that it was in their power to bestow.


    Before I left Key West two balls were extracted, and one remains in my right leg, but since I am under the care of Dr. Ramsey, who has paid every attention to me, he will know best whether to extract it or not. These lines are written to let my friends know that I am still in the land of living, and am now in Charleston, S. C., where every attention is paid me. Although a cripple, I can eat my allowance and walk without the use of a cane."
     
  34. Jaydog57

    Jaydog57 Canes/Fins/Magic fan

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    Yeah, that's a cool story, I've read that before. It can be found in this book along with a few more stories that are very good as well.[​IMG]
     
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  35. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    Here's a view I took right back at you. :lol:

    [​IMG]

    I have a yearly pass for Hunting Island. Its where I go to the beach. This is the only lighthouse is South Carolina that you're allowed up in from what I remember. It's not the original, that one was blown up by the confederacy (like so many others I'd imagine) to keep Union boats from navigating some nasty shoals offshore of there.

    This one is made of steel plates, and can be disassembled and moved reather easily. Thought that was kinda cool.
     
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  36. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    ^^^
    I have that exact same photo. lol

    It isn't the only SC light you can climb...You can climb Harbour Town. <ducks for cover from the book that Jason just threw at me. lol> That is a beautiful beach. Its far enough away from everything to keep the crowds down, unlike Hilton Head. Sullivans Island may soon be open to the public because it was just obtained by the National Parks Service from the Coast Guard. Hunting Island lighthouse used to be much closer to the ocean. It was moved at one point.

    There are 2 other towers you can climb, but you are risking jail time. Georgetown and Cape Romain.

    When I went to Georgetown, the boat captain said that you aren't allowed to go ashore there, but I begged, and gave him an extra $50 and he docked there. I could have climbed Georgetown, but I didn't want to be seen at the top of the lighthouse. I did go inside though. Its a shame that they won't restore the place. The lighthouse is in great shape, and there are several buildings that could be turned into cottages and such. If you do a google image search for the Georgetown light, you're likely to only turn up photos from the water. My photos were illegally obtained. lol

    Cape Romain has guided 2 tours a year, but you can imagine how crowded those must be. Still, people have landed there on their own. Ckeck out this website. http://beachbum.homestead.com/Lighthouses/SouthCarolina/CapeRomain.html This guy has some awesome photos of the towers up close and from the top of the towers.
    That lighthouse is also said to be haunted because the last lighthouse keeper there murdered his wife and buried here somewhere near the tower. The island is also inhabited by goats that are descendant of the goats that keeper brought there. There is a photo on that website of a skeleton of a goat inside the tower. Its pretty creepy. There is also a complete history of the 2 towers there. Very worth the read.
     
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  37. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    :lol: Sounds like you don't consider Harbor Town a real lighthouse either. :hi5:
     
  38. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    I consider it to be in the lighthouse category with the others because you can see its light 15 miles away, and $1 from each admission to climb it goes to funds to preserve the historical lighthouses. So while it wasn't built as a nautical aid, or comissioned by the government, I consider it to be 'real lighthouse tourist attraction.' lol Have you seen the Hilton Head Rear Range Lighthouse? Its in the Leamington section of Palmetto Dunes.

    The Governor's lighthouse in Myrtle Beach, I consider real because it was actually comissioned by the government to be built to honor SC's governors. It came to be the same way most of the historical lights did.

    Now, on to North Carolina...


    Oak Island Lighthouse...

    [​IMG]

    This one was built in 1957 to replace the Bald Head Island Lighthouse to mark the entrance to the Cape Fear River. It is 158 feet tall, with 67 feet of support underneath. It is all one peice as well. Solid concrete walls. Its tri color is also permanent. When it was being built, they mixed those colors into it so it would never have to be painted. It is the most powerful lighthouse in the world in terms of light and structure. It could easily withstand a category 5 hurricane. Its open to the public for tours as well.


    Bald Head Island...

    [​IMG]

    NC's oldest lighthouse, built in 1817, actully replaces a tower that was built in 1794. It was scrapped in 1813 due to beach erosion, and this one was built farther inland to replace it. Both were built to mark the entrance to the Cape Fear River. Its open for daily self guided tours. This one, I highly recommend going to.

    So far, these are the only NC lights that I have.
     
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  39. Phinvader Bill

    Phinvader Bill The all new Mr. Event

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    And, here's the last of the lighthouse photos have.

    Georgia


    Cockspur Island:

    [​IMG]

    You can see Tybee Island Lighthouse in the background of this one. This lighthouse has a heck of a story to tell, and I'll get into that later this evening.

    Tybee Island:

    [​IMG]

    Savannah Harbor Light:

    [​IMG]

    Another one with a really cool story

    St. Simons Island

    [​IMG]


    There are 2 other Georgia lighthouses that I don't have...actually, 2.5.
     
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  40. 54Fins

    54Fins "In Gase we trust"

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    over there
    My parents are down the road on Brandt Beach.Nice Lighthouse and very historic in it's own right.
     

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