Ranger Shelby McAllister
If you happen to visit the Fort Moultrie Visitor Center, you will find as part of its World War II exhibit two mentions of German U-boat incursions into Charleston Harbor during the war in 1942. According to the display, both submarines laid 12 mines and escaped without being detected. The mines were cleared, though, and no damage was done to shipping. But is this the true story? Did these two events actually happen? Were there others that occurred in our waters? We know the U-boat threat along the U.S. coastline during the war was extensive. Was Charleston, one of the major East Coast ports, ignored after 1942?
The answers to those and many other fascinating questions will be explored Thursday, March 26, when Battery Gadsden Cultural Center welcomes back National Park Service Ranger Shelby McAllister as its monthly speaker. Shelby’s presentation is titled The Unseen Threat: German U-Boats in Charleston Waters. If you were fortunate enough to hear Ranger Shelby’s presentation on the lighthouses that have existed in our area over the centuries, you know she is a wonderful presenter and excellent researcher. She has delved deeply into the records of the U-boat threat, both in the U.S. and Germany, and has made discoveries many people have never heard of.
Ranger Shelby is a native of Iowa. After finding that classroom teaching wasn’t for her, she joined the National Park Service and served at Harpers Ferry, Shiloh, and Lincoln’s Home in Springfield, Illinois, before coming to Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park.
This presentation, part of BGCC’s monthly speaker series, will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at Sunrise Presbyterian Church, 3222 Middle St., on Sullivan’s Island. As always, these talks are free and open to the public.
Important notice: Due to construction, Middle Street may be closed between Station 30 and Station 32. However, the church parking lot is still accessible from Middle Street north of Station 32 or from Jasper Boulevard.