Marching upon Columbia, South Carolina’s capital, Sherman‘s troops discover that the Gervais Street Bridge over the Congaree River has been burned by retreating Confederate soldiers. Sherman orders Union artillery to target the railway station and the partly-constructed new state house. Amidst the firing, the Union general orders his troops northward, to the lone remaining bridge…
Today in South Carolina’s Lexington County just south of Columbia, the Battle of Conagree Creek takes place. Beginning at 7:30 a.m., the contest pits a portion of the remainder of the Confederate’s Army of the Tennessee against the Union’s Army of the Tennessee, part of the forces of General William T. Sherman. Rebel defenders attempt…
In Richmond, a new Baptist church quietly begins taking shape. Late in the evening hours, a small group of local slaves slip away from their quarters. Their destination is a ramshackle shed near a trash dump on Navy Hill. There they gather and worship God, singing and offering “prayers of thanksgiving and liberation.” Should they…