South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
was the first state to secede from the Union in December 1860, and was one of the founding member states of the
Confederacy in February 1861. The bombardment of the beleaguered U.S. garrison at
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...
in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861 is generally recognized as the first military engagement of the war. The retaking of Charleston in February 1865, and
raising the flag (the same flag) again at Fort Sumter, was used for the Union the symbol of victory.
South Carolina provided around 60,000 troops for the
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
. As the war progressed, former slaves and free blacks of South Carolina joined
U.S. Colored Troops regiments for the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
(most Blacks in South Carolina were enslaved at the war's outset). The state also provided uniforms, textiles, food, and war material, as well as trained soldiers and leaders from
The Citadel
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...
and other military schools. In contrast to most other Confederate states, South Carolina had a well-developed rail network linking all of its major cities without a
break of gauge
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...
. Relatively free from Union occupation until the very end of the war, South Carolina hosted a number of
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
camps. South Carolina also was the only Confederate state not to harbor pockets of
anti-secessionist sentiment strong enough to send regiments of white men to fight for the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
, as every other state in the Confederacy did.
Among the leading generals from the Palmetto State were
Wade Hampton III
Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American military officer who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War and later a politician from South Carolina. He came from a wealthy planter family, and ...
, one of the Confederacy's foremost
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
commanders,
Maxcy Gregg
Maxcy Gregg (August 1, 1814 – December 15, 1862) was a lawyer, soldier in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War who was mortally wounded at the Battle of F ...
, killed in action at
Fredericksburg,
Joseph B. Kershaw
Joseph Brevard Kershaw (January 5, 1822 – April 13, 1894) was a prominent South Carolina planter and slaveholder. He was also a lawyer, judge, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War.
Early life
Kershaw was born on January 5, 1822 ...
, whose South Carolina
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
saw some of the hardest fighting of the
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...
and
James Longstreet
James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". He served under Lee as a corps ...
, the senior lieutenant general in the army, and
Stephen D. Lee
Stephen Dill Lee (September 22, 1833 – May 28, 1908) was an American officer in the Confederate Army, politician and first president of Mississippi State University from 1880 to 1899. He served as lieutenant general of the Confederate ...
, the youngest lieutenant general.
Background
The white population of the state had strongly supported the institution of slavery since the 18th century. Political leaders such as Democrats
John Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...
and
Preston Brooks
Preston Smith Brooks (August 5, 1819 – January 27, 1857) was an American politician and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina, serving from 1853 until his resignation in July 1856 and again from August 1856 until his ...
had inflamed regional and national passions in support of the institution, and many pro-slavery voices had cried for
secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
.
For decades, South Carolinian political leaders had promoted regional passions with threats of
nullification
Nullification may refer to:
* Nullification (U.S. Constitution), a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify any federal law deemed unconstitutional with respect to the United States Constitution
* Nullification Crisis, the 1832 confront ...
and secession in the name of southern
states' rights
In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...
and protection of the interests of the
slave power.
Alfred P. Aldrich, a South Carolinian politician from
Barnwell, stated that declaring secession would be necessary if a Republican candidate were to win the 1860 U.S. presidential election, stating that it was the only way for the state to preserve slavery and diminish the influence of the anti-slavery Republican Party, which, were its goals of abolition realized, would result in the "destruction of the South":
In a January 1860 speech, South Carolinian congressman
Laurence Massillon Keitt, summed up this view in an oratory condemning the "anti-slavery party" (i.e. the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
) for its views against slavery. He claimed that slavery was not morally wrong, but rather, justified:
Later that year, in December, Keitt would state that South Carolina's declaring of secession was the direct result of slavery:
Secession
On November 9, 1860 the
South Carolina General Assembly
The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and t ...
passed a "Resolution to Call the
Election of Abraham Lincoln as U.S. President a Hostile Act" and stated its intention to declare secession from the United States.
In December 1860, amid the secession crisis, former South Carolinian congressman
John McQueen
John McQueen (February 9, 1804 – August 30, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician. He was U.S. Representative from South Carolina and a member of the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War.
Early life and educatio ...
wrote to a group of civic leaders in Richmond, Virginia, regarding the reasons as to why South Carolina was contemplating secession from the United States. In the letter, McQueen claimed that U.S. president-elect
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
supported equality and civil rights for African Americans as well as the abolition of slavery, and thus South Carolina, being opposed to such measures, was compelled to secede:
South Carolinian Presbyterian minister
James Henley Thornwell
James Henley Thornwell (December 9, 1812 – August 1, 1862) was an American Presbyterian preacher, slaveowner, and religious writer from the U.S. state of South Carolina during the 19th century. During the American Civil War, Thornwell support ...
also espoused a similar view to McQueen's, stating that slavery was justified under the Christian religion, and thus, those who viewed slavery as being immoral were opposed to Christianity:
And again, the Southern Presbyterian of S.C. declared that:
On November 10, 1860 the S.C. General Assembly called for a "Convention of the People of South Carolina" to consider secession. Delegates were to be elected on December 6. The secession convention convened in
Columbia on December 17 and voted unanimously, 169-0, to declare secession from the United States. The convention then adjourned to Charleston to draft an ordinance of secession. When the ordinance was adopted on December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first slave state in the south to declare that it had seceded from the United States.
James Buchanan
James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...
, the United States president, declared the ordinance illegal but did not act to stop it.
A committee of the convention also drafted a ''
Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina'' which was adopted on December 24.
The secession declaration stated the primary reasoning behind South Carolina's declaring of secession from the U.S., which was described as:
The declaration also claims that secession was declared as a result of the refusal of free states to enforce the
Fugitive Slave Acts. Although the declaration does argue that secession is justified on the grounds of U.S. "encroachments upon the reserved rights of the States," the grievances that the declaration goes on to list are mainly concerned with the property of rights of slave holders. Broadly speaking, the declaration argues that the U.S. Constitution was framed to establish each State "as an equal" in the Union, with "separate control over its own institutions", such as "the right of property in slaves."
A repeated concern is runaway slaves. The declaration argues that parts of the U.S. Constitution were specifically written to ensure the return of slaves who had escaped to other states, and quotes the 4th Article: "No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up, on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due." The declaration goes on to state that this stipulation of the Constitution was so important to the original signers, "that without it that compact
he Constitution
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
would not have been made." Laws from the "General Government" upheld this stipulation "for many years," the declaration says, but "an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the Institution of Slavery has led to a disregard of their obligations." Because the constitutional agreement had been "deliberately broken and disregarded by the non-slaveholding States," the consequence was that "South Carolina is released from her obligation" to be part of the Union.
A further concern was Lincoln's recent election to the presidency, whom they claimed desired to see slavery on "the course of ultimate extinction":
The South Carolinian secession declaration of December 1860 also channeled some elements from the
U.S. Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House (l ...
from July 1776. However, the South Carolinian version omitted the phrases that "all men are created equal", "that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights", and mentions of the "
consent of the governed
In political philosophy, the phrase consent of the governed refers to the idea that a government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power is justified and lawful only when consented to by the people or society over which that political powe ...
". Professor and historian
Harry V. Jaffa noted these omissions as significant in his 2000 book, ''A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War'':
Jaffa states that South Carolina omitted references to human equality and consent of the governed in its secession declaration, as due to their racist and pro-slavery views, secessionist South Carolinians did not believe in those ideals:
On December 25, the day following South Carolina's declaration of secession, a South Carolinian convention delivered an "Address to the Slaveholding States":
"Slavery, not states' rights, birthed the Civil War,"
argues sociologist James W. Loewen. Writing of South Carolina's Declaration of Secession, Loewen writes that
The state adopted the
palmetto flag
The flag of South Carolina is a symbol of the U.S. state of South Carolina consisting of a blue field with a white palmetto tree and white crescent. Roots of this design have existed in some form since 1775, being based on one of the first Re ...
as its banner, a slightly modified version of which is used as its current state flag. South Carolina after secession was frequently called the "
Palmetto Republic".
After South Carolina declared its secession, former congressman
James L. Petigru famously remarked, "South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum." Soon afterwards, South Carolina began preparing for a presumed U.S. military response while working to convince other southern states to secede as well and join in a confederacy of southern states.
On February 4, 1861, in
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
, a convention consisting of delegates from South Carolina,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
met to form a new constitution and government modeled on that of the United States. On February 8, 1861, South Carolina officially joined the
Confederacy. According to one South Carolinian newspaper editor:
South Carolina's declaring of secession was supported by the state's religious figures, who claimed that it was consistent with the tenets of their religion:
American Civil War
Fort Sumter
Six days after secession, on the day after Christmas, Major
Robert Anderson, commander of the U.S. troops in Charleston, withdrew his troops to the island fortress of
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...
in Charleston Harbor. South Carolina militia swarmed over the abandoned mainland batteries and trained their guns on the island. Sumter was the key position for preventing a naval attack upon Charleston, so secessionists were determined not to allow U.S. forces to remain there indefinitely. More importantly, South Carolina's claim of independence would look empty if U.S. forces controlled its largest harbor. On January 9, 1861, the U.S. ship ''
Star of the West
''Star of the West'' was an American merchant steamship that was launched in 1852 and scuttled by Confederate forces in 1863. In January 1861, the ship was hired by the government of the United States to transport military supplies and reinforce ...
'' approached to resupply the fort. Cadets from
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. ...
fired upon the ''Star of the West'', striking the ship three times and causing it to retreat back to New York.
Mississippi declared its secession several weeks after South Carolina, and five other states of the lower South soon followed. Both the outgoing Buchanan administration and President-elect Lincoln had denied that any state had a right to secede. Upper Southern slave states such as Virginia and North Carolina, which had initially voted against secession, called a peace conference, to little effect. Meanwhile, Virginian orator
Roger Pryor
Roger Atkinson Pryor (July 19, 1828 – March 14, 1919) was a Virginian newspaper editor and politician who became known for his fiery oratory in favor of secession; he was elected both to national and Confederate office, and served as a gen ...
barreled into Charleston and proclaimed that the only way to get his state to join the Confederacy was for South Carolina to instigate war with the United States. The obvious place to start was right in the midst of Charleston Harbor.
On April 10, the ''Mercury'' reprinted stories from New York papers that told of a naval expedition that had been sent southward toward Charleston. Lincoln advised the governor of South Carolina that the ships were sent to resupply the fort, not to reinforce it. The Carolinians could no longer wait if they hoped to take the fort before the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
arrived. About 6,000 men were stationed around the rim of the
harbor
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
, ready to take on the 60 men in Fort Sumter. At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, after two days of intense negotiations, and with Union ships approaching the harbor, the firing began. Students from The Citadel were among those firing the first shots of the war, though
Edmund Ruffin
Edmund Ruffin III (January 5, 1794 – June 18, 1865) was a wealthy Virginia planter who served in the Virginia Senate from 1823 to 1827. In the last three decades before the American Civil War, his pro-slavery writings received more attention tha ...
is usually credited with firing the first shot. Thirty-four hours later, Anderson's men raised the white flag and were allowed to leave the fort with colors flying and drums beating, saluting the U.S. flag with a
50-gun salute before taking it down. During this salute, one of the guns exploded, killing a young soldier—the only casualty of the bombardment and the first casualty of the war.
In December 1861, South Carolina received $100,000 from
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
after a disastrous fire in Charleston.
Robert Smalls
Robert Smalls
Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American politician, publisher, businessman, and maritime pilot. Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, he freed himself, his crew, and their families during the American Civil W ...
(1839 – 1915) was born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina. On May 13, 1863, he freed himself, his crew, and their families by commandeering a Confederate transport ship, CSS Planter, in Charleston harbor, and sailing it from Confederate-controlled waters of the harbor to the U.S. blockade that surrounded it. He then piloted the ship to the Union-controlled enclave in Beaufort–Port Royal–Hilton Head area, where it became a Union warship. His example and persuasion helped convince President Abraham Lincoln to accept African-American soldiers into the Union Army. After the war Smalls helped found the Republican Party in South Carolina and was elected five times to the U.S. Congress.
Fort Wagner
Fort Wagner was the scene of two battles.
The
First Battle of Fort Wagner
The First Battle of Fort Wagner was fought on July 10 and 11, 1863, on Morris Island in Charleston harbor during the American Civil War. An attempt by the Union Army to capture Fort Wagner was repulsed. The more famous Second Battle of Fort Wa ...
, occurred on July 11, 1863. Only 12 Confederate soldiers were killed, as opposed to the Union's 339 losses.
[The 54th and Fort Wagner](_blank)
![The Storming of Ft Wagner-lithograph by Kurz and Allison 1890](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/The_Storming_of_Ft_Wagner-lithograph_by_Kurz_and_Allison_1890.jpg)
The
Second Battle of Fort Wagner
The Second Battle of Fort Wagner, also known as the Second Assault on Morris Island or the Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, was fought on July 18, 1863, during the American Civil War. Union Army troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Quincy Gillm ...
, a week later, is better known. This was the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
attack on July 18, 1863, led by the
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry ...
, one of the first major American military units made up of black soldiers. Colonel
Robert Gould Shaw
Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863) was an American officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Born into a prominent Boston Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist family, he accepted command of the firs ...
led the 54th Massachusetts on foot while they charged, and was killed in the assault.
[
Although a tactical defeat, the publicity of the battle of Fort Wagner led to further action for black troops in the Civil War, and it spurred additional recruitment that gave the ]Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
a further numerical advantage in troops over the South.[
The Union besieged the fort after the unsuccessful assault. By August 25, Union entrenchments were close enough to attempt an assault on the Advanced Rifle Pits, 240 yards in front of the Battery, but this attempt was defeated. A second attempt, by the 24th Mass. Inf., on August 26 was successful. After enduring almost 60 days of heavy shelling, the Confederates abandoned it on the night of September 6–7, 1863. withdrawing all operable cannons and the garrison.][Wittenburg, Eric J., ''The Battle of Tom's Brook'' , Volume 10, Number 1, Page 30.]
Port Royal experiment
The Port Royal Experiment
The Port Royal Experiment was a program begun during the American Civil War in which former slaves successfully worked on the land abandoned by planters. In 1861 the Union captured the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and their main ha ...
was a program in which former slaves successfully worked on the land abandoned by planters. In 1861 the Union captured the Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States. Numbering over 100, they are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of South Carolina, ...
off the coast of South Carolina and their main harbor, Port Royal
Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...
. The white residents fled, leaving behind 10,000 black slaves. Several private Northern charity organizations stepped in to set up schools and help the former slaves become self-sufficient. The result was a model of what Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
could have been. The African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s demonstrated their ability to work the land efficiently and live independently of white control. They assigned themselves daily tasks for cotton growing and spent their extra time cultivating their own crops, fishing and hunting. By selling their surplus crops, the locals acquired small amounts of property.
Charleston
The city under siege took control of Fort Sumter, became the center for blockade running. It was the site of the first successful submarine warfare on February 17, 1864 when the ''H.L. Hunley
''H. L. Hunley'', often referred to as ''Hunley'', '' CSS H. L. Hunley'', or as ''CSS Hunley'', was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War. ''Hunley'' demonstrated the advantages and th ...
'' made a daring night attack on the .
In 1865, Union troops moved into the city, and took control of many sites, such as the United States Arsenal, which the Confederate army had seized at the outbreak of the war.
The war ends
The Confederates were at a disadvantage in men, weaponry, and supplies. Union ships sailed south and blocked off one port after another. As early as November, Union troops occupied the Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States. Numbering over 100, they are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of South Carolina, ...
in the Beaufort Beaufort may refer to:
People and titles
* Beaufort (surname)
* House of Beaufort, English nobility
* Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England
* Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility
Places Polar regions ...
area, establishing an important base for the men and ships who would obstruct the ports at Charleston and Savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
. Many plantation owners had already gone off with the Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
; those still at home and their families fled. In a type of reparation long discussed in abolitionist literature, the abandoned plantations were confiscated by the Union Army and then given to the African Americans who had done the work of them. The Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States. Numbering over 100, they are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of South Carolina, ...
became the laboratory for Union plans to educate the African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
for their eventual role as full American citizens
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
.
Despite South Carolina's important role in the beginning of the war, and a long unsuccessful attempt to take Charleston from 1863 onward, few military engagements occurred within the state's borders until 1865, when Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name)
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a tank
Sherman may also refer to:
Places United St ...
's Army, having already completed its March to the Sea in Savannah, marched to Columbia and leveled most of the town, as well as a number of towns along the way and afterward. South Carolina lost 12,922 men to the war, 23% of its male white population of fighting age, and the highest percentage of any state in the nation. Sherman's 1865 march through the Carolinas resulted in the burning of Columbia and numerous other towns. The destruction his troops wrought upon South Carolina was even worse than in Georgia, because many of his soldiers bore a particular grudge against the state and its citizens, whom they blamed for starting the war. One of Sherman's men declared, "Here is where treason began and, by God, here is where it shall end!" Deprived of the free labor of the formerly enslaved, poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
would mark the state for generations to come.
In January 1865, the Charleston ''Courier'' newspaper condemned suggestions that the Confederacy abandon slavery were it to help in gaining independence, stating that such suggestions were "folly":
On February 21, 1865, with the Confederate forces finally evacuated from Charleston, the black 54th Massachusetts Regiment
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry ...
marched through the city. At a ceremony at which the U.S. flag was once again raised over Fort Sumter, former fort commander Robert Anderson was joined on the platform by two men: African American Union hero Robert Smalls
Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American politician, publisher, businessman, and maritime pilot. Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, he freed himself, his crew, and their families during the American Civil W ...
and the son of Denmark Vesey
Denmark Vesey (also Telemaque) ( July 2, 1822) was an early 19th century free Black and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina, who was accused and convicted of planning a major slave revolt in 1822. Although the alleged plot was dis ...
.
Battles in South Carolina
* Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War.
Follo ...
* Battle of Port Royal
The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Geor ...
* Battle of Secessionville
The Battle of Secessionville (or the First Battle of James Island) was fought on June 16, 1862, during the American Civil War. Confederate forces defeated the Union's only attempt to capture Charleston, South Carolina, by land. It's noted for ...
* Battle of Simmon's Bluff
* First Battle of Charleston Harbor
The First Battle of Charleston Harbor was an engagement near Charleston, South Carolina that took place April 7, 1863, during the American Civil War. The striking force was a fleet of nine ironclad warships of the Union Navy, including seven m ...
* Second Battle of Charleston Harbor
The Second Battle of Charleston Harbor, also known as the siege of Charleston Harbor, siege of Fort Wagner, or Battle of Morris Island, took place during the American Civil War in the late summer of 1863 between a combined U.S. Army/Navy force an ...
* Second Battle of Fort Sumter
The Second Battle of Fort Sumter was fought on September 8, 1863, in Charleston Harbor. Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard, who had commanded the defenses of Charleston and captured Fort Sumter in the first battle of the war, was in over ...
* First Battle of Fort Wagner
The First Battle of Fort Wagner was fought on July 10 and 11, 1863, on Morris Island in Charleston harbor during the American Civil War. An attempt by the Union Army to capture Fort Wagner was repulsed. The more famous Second Battle of Fort Wa ...
* Battle of Grimball's Landing
The Battle of Grimball's Landing took place in James Island, South Carolina, on 16 July 1863, during the American Civil War. It was a part of the campaign known as Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston.
Opposing forces
Union
Confed ...
* Second Battle of Fort Wagner
The Second Battle of Fort Wagner, also known as the Second Assault on Morris Island or the Battle of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, was fought on July 18, 1863, during the American Civil War. Union Army troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Quincy Gillm ...
(Morris Island)
* Battle of Honey Hill
The Battle of Honey Hill was the third battle of Sherman's March to the Sea, fought November 30, 1864, during the American Civil War. It did not involve Major General William T. Sherman's main force, marching from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia, b ...
* Battle of Tulifinny
The Battle of Tulifinny was an American Civil War engagement fought December 6–9, 1864 in South Carolina during General Sherman's March to the Sea, also known as the Savannah Campaign. Outnumbered 5-1 a Confederate force successfully defende ...
* Battle of Rivers' Bridge
The Battle of Rivers' Bridge (also known as the Action at Rivers' Bridge) was a battle of the American Civil War fought on February 3, 1865.
Order of battle
Confederate
Commander: Major General Lafayette McLaws
* Harrison's Brigade: Colonel ...
* Battle of Anderson County
* Battle of Brattonsville
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
* Battle of Broxton's Bridge
* Battle of Cheraw
* Battle of Gamble's Hotel (The Columns)
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
* Battle of Aiken
Restoration to Union
Following the end of the Civil War, South Carolina was part of the Second Military District
The Second Military District of the U.S. Army was one of five temporary administrative units of the U.S. War Department that existed in the American South. The district was stipulated by the Reconstruction Acts during the Reconstruction period foll ...
.
After meeting the requirements of Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
, including ratifying amendments to the US Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
to abolish slavery and grant citizenship to former slaves, South Carolina's representatives were readmitted to Congress. The state was fully restored to the United States on July 9, 1868.
As part of the Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877, also known as the Wormley Agreement or the Bargain of 1877, was an unwritten deal, informally arranged among members of the United States Congress, to settle the intensely disputed 1876 presidential election between Ruth ...
, in which Southern Democrats would acknowledge Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...
as president, Republicans would meet certain demands. One affecting South Carolina was the removal of all U.S. military forces from the former Confederate states
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
. At the time, U.S. troops remained in only Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, and Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, but the Compromise completed their withdrawal from the region.
See also
* List of South Carolina Confederate Civil War units
This is a list of South Carolina Confederate Civil War Units. The list of South Carolina Union Civil War units is shown separately.
Infantry
* 1st Infantry, 6 months, 1861
* 1st (Butler's) South Carolina Regulars
* 1st (Hagood's) South Ca ...
* List of South Carolina Union Civil War units
The following is a list of Union Army regiments raised in South Carolina during the American Civil War. Only African-American units were raised in the state. Four complete regiments were organized and mustered into service; Union authorities plann ...
References
Further reading
* Barrett, John G. ''Sherman’s March through the Carolinas'' (University of North Carolina Press, 1956)
online
* Billingsley, Andrew. ''Yearning to Breathe Free: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and His Families'' (2007); see Robert Smalls
Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American politician, publisher, businessman, and maritime pilot. Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, he freed himself, his crew, and their families during the American Civil W ...
* Bostick, Douglas W. ''The Union is Dissolved!: Charleston and Fort Sumter in the Civil War'' (The History Press, 2009)
* Burton, E. Milby. ''The Siege of Charleston, 1861–1865'' (University of South Carolina Press, 1970)
* Cauthen, Charles Edward; Power, J. Tracy. ''South Carolina goes to war, 1860–1865.'' Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2005. Originally published: Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1950.
online
* Channing, Steven. ''Crisis of Fear: Secession in South Carolina'' (1970
online
* Cisco, Walter Brian. ''States Rights Gist: a South Carolina general of the Civil War'' (1991
online
* Edgar, Walter. ''South Carolina: A History'', (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press: 1998).
* Drago, Edmund L. ''Confederate Phoenix: Rebel Children and Their Families in South Carolina'' (Fordham Univ Press, 2008).
* Edgar, Walter, ed. ''The South Carolina Encyclopedia'' (University of South Carolina Press, 2006) ISBN 1-57003-598-9, comprehensive scholarly guide; details on Civil War in each locality.
* Jenkins, Wilbert L. ''Seizing the New Day: African Americans in Post-Civil War Charleston'' (Indiana University Press, 2003
online
* Lager, Eric, "The Transformation of a Confederate State: War and Politics on the South Carolina Home Front, 1861-1862. " (PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2019
online
* Lucas, Marion B. ''Sherman and the Burning of Columbia'' (Univ of South Carolina Press, 2021).
* McDonnell, Lawrence T. ''Performing disunion: the coming of the Civil War in Charleston, South Carolina'' (Cambridge University Press, 2018).
* Marrs, Aaron W. "Desertion and Loyalty in the South Carolina Infantry 1861-1863." ''Civil War History'' 50.1 (2004): 47-65.
* Otten, James T. "Disloyalty in the upper districts of South Carolina during the Civil War." ''South Carolina Historical Magazine'' 75.2 (1974): 95-110
online
* Poole, W. Scott. ''South Carolina's Civil War: A Narrative History'' (Mercer University Press, 2005
online
* Powers Jr., Bernard E. ''Black Charlestonians'' (1994), covers 1822-1885.
* Racine, Philip N. ''Living a Big War in a Small Place: Spartanburg, South Carolina, during the Confederacy'' (Univ of South Carolina Press, 2013).
* Rose, Willie Lee. ''Rehearsal for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment'' (1964
online
farms for freed slaves.
* Rowland, Lawrence S., and Stephen G. Hoffius, eds. ''The Civil War in South Carolina: Selections from the South Carolina Historical Magazine'' (Home House, 2001).
* Saville, Julie. ''The Work of Reconstruction: From Slave to Wage Laborer in South Carolina 1860-1870'' (Cambridge UP, 1994)
excerpt
* Schwalm, Leslie A. ''A Hard Fight for We: Women’s Transition from Slavery to Freedom in South Carolina'' (University of Illinois Press, 1997).
* Seigler, Robert S. ''South Carolina’s Military Organization during the War Between the States.'' (4 vols., History Press, 2008).
* Sinha, Manisha. "Revolution or Counterrevolution?: The Political Ideology of Seccession in Antebellum South Carolina." ''Civil War History'' 46.3 (2000): 205-226.
* Stone, H. David. ''Vital Rails: The Charleston & Savannah Railroad and the Civil War in Coastal South Carolina'' (Univ of South Carolina Press, 2008).
* Stokes, Karen. ''South Carolina civilians in Sherman's path: stories of courage amid Civil War destruction'' (2012
online
* Verney, Kevern J. "Trespassers in the land of their birth: Blacks and landownership in South Carolina and Mississippi during the civil war and reconstruction, 1861–1877." ''Slavery and Abolition'' 4.1 (1983): 64-78.
* West, Stephen A. “Minute Men, Yeomen, and the Mobilization for Secession in the South Carolina Upcountry.” ''Journal of Southern History'' 71#1 (2005): 75-104.
* Wise, Stephen R., Lawrence S. Rowland, and Gerhard Spieler. ''Rebellion, Reconstruction, and Redemption, 1861-1893: The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina'' (U of South Carolina Press, 2015).
* Woody, Robert H. "Some Aspects of the Economic Condition of South Carolina After the Civil War." ''North Carolina Historical Review'' 7.3 (1930): 346-364
online
* Wooster, Ralph. “Membership of the South Carolina Secession Convention.” ''South Carolina Historical Magazine'' 55 (1954): 185-97.
* Zornow, William Frank. "State Aid for Indigent Families of South Carolina Soldiers, 1861-1865." ''South Carolina Historical Magazine'' 57 (1956): 82-87.
Historiography and memory
* Brown, Thomas J. ''Civil War Canon: Sites of Confederate Memory in South Carolina'' (UNC Press Books, 2015).
* Lees, William B. " 'The Best Ever Occupied...': Archaeological Investigations of a Civil War Encampment on Folly Island, South Carolina." (1995): 104-106
online
* Miller, Richard F. ''States at War, Volume 6: The Confederate States Chronology and a Reference Guide for South Carolina in the Civil War'' (2018
excerpt
855pp
* Rogers Jr. George C. and C. James Taylor. ''A South Carolina Chronology, 1497-1992'' 2nd Ed. (1994).
* Rogers, Jeffery J. ''A Southern Writer and the Civil War: The Confederate Imagination of William Gilmore Simms'' (Lexington Books, 2015).
* Smith, Steven D., Christopher Ohm Clement, and Stephen R. Wise. "GPS, GIS and the Civil War battlefield landscape: A South Carolina low country example." ''Historical Archaeology'' 37.3 (2003): 14-30.
Primary sources
* Jones, J. Keith, ed. ''The Boys of Diamond Hill: The Lives and Civil War Letters of the Boyd Family of Abbeville County, South Carolina'' (2011
online review
* Lee, J. Edward, and Ron Chepesiuk, eds. ''South Carolina in the Civil War: The Confederate Experience in Letters and Diaries'' (McFarland, 2004).
* McCaslin, Richard B. ''A Photographic History of South Carolina in the Civil War'' (U of Arkansas Press, 1994
online
* Morris, J. Brent, ed. ''Yes, Lord, I Know the Road: A Documentary History of African Americans in South Carolina, 1526-2008'' (University of South Carolina Press, 2017).
* William Gilmore Simms, Simms, William Gilmore. ''A City Laid Waste: The Capture, Sack, and Destruction of the City of Columbia'' (1865; reprinted 2011
online
* Smith, Steven D. "Whom we would never more see: history and archaeology recover the lives and deaths of African American Civil War soldiers on Folly Island, South Carolina." (South Carolina State Documents Depository, 1993)
online
* Taylor, Susie King. ''A Black woman's Civil War memoirs: reminiscences of my life in camp with the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops, late 1st South Carolina Volunteers'' (1902, reprinted 1988
online
* Taylor, Frances Wallace, Catherine Taylor Matthews, and J. Tracy Power, eds. ''The Leverett Letters: Correspondence of a South Carolina Family, 1851-1868'' (Univ of South Carolina Press, 2000
online
External links
Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Carolina In The American Civil War
.American Civil War
American Civil War by state
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
Western Theater of the American Civil War