Overview

Ruins seen from the capitol after Sherman’s March through Columbia. S.C., 1865. Photographed by George N. Barnard. 165-SC-53. Image from the National Archives and Records Administration.

• SCIWAY-Civil War
  Find out about Civil War soldiers from South Carolina, battlefields such as Fort Sumter, and more.
• The Civil War Soldier
  What was life as a soldier like in 1863?
• Odds of a Soldier
  Find out what the odds of a soldier were of being killed in action, dying disease, and being captured by the enemy.
  • Civil War Statistics
    Learn more about the men who fought in the Civil War including average weight, age, hair color, pre-war occupations, and more
• Civil War Maps
  Discover maps of South Carolina, battlefields, and other maps from the Civil War era.
• A House Divided: America in the Age of Lincoln
  Learn more about the issues America faced during the Civil War era, including the war, the slavery debate, and the aftermath.

People

• Robert Smalls
  Robert Smalls was a slave from Charleston who escaped to freedom and became a ship captain for the Union army.
• P. G. T. Beauregard
  General Beauregard was command of the forces that carried out the orders for the bombardment of Fort Sumter.
• Letters between James and Alexander Campbell
  Read letters between these two brothers on separate sides of the war.

A Unionist, a Cooperationist, and a Secessionist

• Unionist: Benjamin F. Perry
  Benjamin Perry spoke out against secession, believing that secession would hurt slavery more than the federal government.
• Cooperationist: Franklin J. Moses, Sr.
  Franklin J. Moses, a state senator, believed that the Southern states needed to have a coordinated action, calling for a Southern convention to address the issue of secession.
• Secessionist: John Henry Hammond
  Senator John Henry Hammond was an ardent supporter of slavery and of immediate secession.

Places

• Burt-Stark House
  Watch this movie learn more about the Burt-Stark Mansion in Abbeville, SC which held the last council of war of the Confederacy.
• Fort Sumter
  Explore the history of this famous fort in Charleston, where the first shots of Civil War were heard.
• Civil War Related Places in South Carolina
  Find out more about places in South Carolina that have Civil War history.

War & Battlefields

Drawing of the Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC.

• Those Honored Dead: The Battle of Rivers Bridge and Civil War Combat Casualties
  Read about the Battle of Rivers Bridge, including maps, soldiers’ accounts, and images of the wounded.
• The Swamp Angel
  The Swamp Angel was the nickname of a 16,500 pound cannon that shelled the city of Charleston in 1863.
• Sherman’s March
  General William T. Sherman marched across South Carolina and Georgia, destroying much within his path.
• Union Occupation of Port Royal Sound
  The citizens of Beaufort evacuated the city as the Union fleet came to occupy Port Royal.
• The H.L. Hunley Discovered
  Watch this video about this early submarine built by the Confederates which sank off the coast of Charleston.

Culture

• Civil War-era Foodways
  Read recipes and descriptions of food cooked and eaten by civilians and soldiers during the Civil War.
  • American Civil War Recipes
    Use these recipes to create your own hardtack or Johnnie Cake.
• The Bonny Blue Flag
  Listen to the Confederate song written to celebrate succession and titled after the flag South Carolina used after its succession in December 1860.
• SC Confederate Relic Room
  Explore uniforms, photographs, swords, and other artifacts of the Civil War.
• Camp Life: Civil War Collections
  See how soldiers lived in camps as they spent weeks at a time in tedious routine.

Pieces of History

• The Union is Dissolved
  The ordinance of secession was passed on December 18, 1860 in Charleston and this broadsheet was published 15 minutes later to tell the citizens of the event.
• Telegram Announcing the Surrender of Fort Sumter (1861)
• New South Newspaper, 1862 - 1866
• Emancipation Proclamation
  See the original copy of the Emancipation Proclamation which called for the ending of slavery in the Confederate states.
• The Palmetto Flag
  See the actual flag that was raised over the captured Fort Sumter.

Images of the War

On April 14th 1861, men of the 18th South Carolina regiment raised this Palmetto flag over Fort Sumter, starting the Civil War.

For the first time, photographers could capture the battlefields and lives of soldiers as it happened

• Beaufort Civil War Images
• Historic Images of Fort Sumter
• Bernard’s Photographic Views of the Sherman Campaign
• Photographs of African Americans During the Civil War

Explore with DISCUS*

* Requires access to the DISCUS databases. Learn more here.

• Nullification Crisis
  Read about the tension between Southern states and the federal government, leading to an Ordinance of Nullification by South Carolina that allowed Southern states to nullify federal laws that were considered unconstitutional.
• Grimké Sisters
  Sarah and Angelina Grimké were sisters from Charleston that became ardent supporters of the abolitionist movement.
• Mary Boykin Chesnut
  Mary Boykin Chesnut kept a diary of her experiences during the Civil War that was published after her death.