Episodes Located: CHARLESTON, South Carolina in the 1860's

  1. Days of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer
    date December 5, 1850 to November 21, 1860map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Church/Religious-Activity, Government, Politics, Race-Relations, Slavery, War

    There was always a crisis in the 1850s, at least in the minds of the citizens of Charleston. On December 6, 1850, William H. Barnwell, rector of St. Peter's Church, took the pulpit to expand upon the great political question which is agitating our country. The occasion? A Day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer, as designated by the South Carolina legislature. The great political question? Slavery,...

  2. Article about the Execution of a Rebel Spy
    date January 6, 1864map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Crime/Violence, Health/Death, War

    The same article was printed twice (in the Charleston Mercury and the Southern Recorder) regarding the execution of a twenty-one year-old rebel spy named Samuel Davis. The actual execution took place on November 27, 1863 in Pulaski, Tennessee at 10 o'clock a.m. Davis had been captured on November 19, 1863 carrying dispatches and mail for to Union Gen. Braxton Bragg. These documents had been sewn...

  3. Reconstructing the Constitution in South Carolina
    date January 14, 1868 to March 17, 1868map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags African-Americans, Education, Government, Law, Politics, Race-Relations, Slavery, War

    The Civil War was over, but the fight to ensure that it was not fought in vain was just beginning. After the Civil War, the North wanted to ensure the abolition of slavery, recognition of the rights of African Americans, and that the South would remain a part of the nation; these were the major goals of the Reconstruction policies. To meet these goals, The North required all former Confederate...

  4. South Carolina Executive Council Created by Secession Convention
    date December 14, 1861map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags War

    In response to Union military action in South Carolina, including the fall of Port Royal, David F. Jamison President of the Secession Convention gathered members of the Secession Convention. The Convention, created an Executive Council on December 14, 1861 to rule the state, partly because there was little confidence in the governor. Governor Pickens was a scapegoat for the fall of Port Royal,...

  5. America's Need for a Second Transcontinental Railway
    date May 18, 1869map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Economy, Migration/Transportation, Politics, Science/Technology

    On Tuesday, May 18, 1869 an editorial appeared in the Charleston Courier titled "The Pacific Railway and a Southern Route" in which the author made the argument that the nation needed a southern transcontinental rail route. The first Transcontinental Railway had only been completed a few days earlier but already there were calls from southerners for a route that was more suited to their needs. A...

  6. Fire in Charleston
    date December 11, 1861 to December 12, 1861map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags African-Americans, Race-Relations, Slavery, War

    A huge fire broke out in the city of Charleston on December 11, 1861. It continued to burn into the next day. Charleston was historically one of the wealthiest cities in the South because of its role as a leading port. The fire attracted national attention, as the New York Times compiled what information it could from various Southern papers: A reprint from the Charleston Courier estimated the...

  7. Separation of Church and Race
    date July 1, 1866map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags African-Americans, Church/Religious-Activity, Race-Relations

    Throughout 1866, the First Baptist Church in Charleston, South Carolina was rapidly losing its membership. However, on July 1, 1866, something extraordinarily important happened: several black men applied for a blanket "letter of dismission" to cover every "colored member." Prior to this date, the church officers had been unconcerned because the only requests had been from white members, but black...

  8. An Editorial on the End of the Civil War in Charleston
    date July 22, 1865map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags African-Americans, Agriculture, Economy, Slavery, War

    On July 22, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina, a man by the pen-name of Juhl wrote an editorial in the Charleston Courier describing many elements of city life in the post-Civil War period. The writer's real name was Reverend Julius J. Fleming, a prominent and outspoken citizen of Charleston widely respected for his roles as a preparatory school principal, a Methodist preacher, and...

  9. Federal Troops Take Refuge In Fort Sumter
    date December 26, 1860map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Government, Politics, War

    At noon on December 26, 1860, two cannon shots sounded throughout Charleston Harbor. Six days earlier, the state of South Carolina seceded from the Union. The gun shots were a pre-arranged signal for the federal troops stationed in Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island, located a few miles from Charleston. Under the command of Major Robert Anderson, the troops heard the signal and began to evacuate...

  10. The Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment's Attack on Fort Wagner
    date July 18, 1863map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags African-Americans, Race-Relations, War

    July 18, 1863 marked the first time an all-black regiment fought in the Civil War. The Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment composed of only blacks and led by abolitionist Robert Gould Shaw, attacked Fort Wagner in a Union attempt to gain control of Charleston Harbor in Charleston, South Carolina. During the recruiting process of his regiment, Shaw experienced a difficult time attempting to recruit...

1 | 2 | 3 | Next »