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REENACTMENT: Four of the principals at Fort Sumter discuss in retrospect events that led to the "firing of the first shot of the Civil War." These people are: Major Robert Anderson; Commander of the...
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This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into the Civil War focusing on the impacts of military strategies and major turning points on South Carolina and the U.S.
Grade(s): 8
Subject(s): Social Studies
Year: 2019
Video
Grades
- 4
- 8
The video location is at the Naval Polaris Missile Base in North Charleston. This is the largest submarine base on the east coast today. Learn about the sinking of the U.S.S. Housatonic by the Hunley...
Photo
Grades
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Episode
39
In an effort to disrupt the federal blockade, the Confederacy resorted to many ingenious plans, but perhaps the most daring of all was the attempt to build and use a submarine. The "Hunley" eventually...
Photo
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Episode
38
The Ironclad "Chicora" of the Confederate navy played an important role in attempting to break the federal blockade of the Southern coast during the war. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
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Episode
36
A raid of the Second South Carolina Volunteers among the rice plantations along the Combahee. Published in the July 4, 1863, issue of "Harper's Weekly." Courtesy of the Pratt Memorial Library.
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Episode
33
Federal forces under General Stevens march triumphantly into the town of Beaufort on December 5, 1861. "Harper's Weekly" reported to its readers, "The beautiful rural town of Beaufort came into...
Video
Grades
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Episode
4
In this segment, a student asks why Francis Marion is called the Swamp Fox, and the answer is given that he was one of the first to use what we now know as guerilla tactics. He would hide in the swamp...
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5
In this segment, footage from the excavation of the Hunley is provided, and information about the salt water keeping the metal from corroding is given. Footage of the Hunley being raised is included...
Photo
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Episode
31
The troops of the U.S. Army at Fort Sumter surrendered to the Confederacy on April 14, but within the year a larger force had established a permanent military footing along the South Carolina coast...
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Episode
27
The housetops of Charleston during the bombardment of Fort Sumter. From "Harper's Weekly." Courtesy of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
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Episode
26
On April 11, 1861, with the supply ships Lincoln had promised to send already underway, General P.G.T. Beauregard sent James Chesnut with a message to Major Anderson, demanding to know when he would...
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Episode
24
Fort Sumter, viewed here from the rear, could not be re-supplied without the Confederate forces in Charleston acquiescing; which they were determined not to do. As Major Anderson's garrison saw their...
Photo
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Episode
23
The entry of Major Robert Anderson's (see Major Robert Anderson) command into Fort Sumter on Christmas night, 1860. After the secession of the seven deep South states, federal troops withdrew from...
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Episode
18
The occupation of the coastal region of South Carolina by federal armies in 1862 led to troops taking over the homes of many citizens who had supported the Confederacy. This home in Beaufort became...
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Episode
16
Federal forces occupied Morris Island in 1863, then remained after the invasion was over, as an occupation force, as illustrated by this 1865 Matthew Brady photograph of their gun emplacement...
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Episode
15
At the end of the Civil War, both of South Carolina's major cities lay in ruins. Even as Sherman approached Columbia, another branch of his army occupied Charleston. The accidental explosion of a...
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Episode
14
Federal troops, waging the total war that Sherman believed was necessary, were instructed to destroy the South's ability to make war. Here, they destroy a section of railroad tracks at Pocataligo...
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Episode
13
Nearly 20,000 people were crowded into Columbia when Sherman's army approached, and its streets were crowded with cotton bales. Whether Sherman's advance forces, panicky Confederate deserters camped...
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Episode
12
A cotton press near Flat Rock is destroyed by Sherman's army in April, 1865. From "Leslie's Illustrated Weekly." Courtesy of the Pratt Memorial Library.
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11
Sherman's forces capture Confederate ordinance at Cheraw on the evening of the 3rd of March, 1865. From "Leslie's Illustrated Weekly." Courtesy of the Pratt Memorial Library.
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Episode
10
When General William Tecumseh Sherman invaded South Carolina, he surprised those who expected him to strike first at Charleston. Instead, he marched the main body of his army northward toward Columbia...
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Episode
9
A sketch, signed by J.E. Taylor, of a prisoner-of-war camp during the Civil War. "Distribution of old clothing sent from the North--1864." Courtesy of the Lackawanna Historical Society.
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Episode
2
The gunboat "Planter," seized by an African-American crew and the daring African-American harbor pilot Robert Smalls, did manage to break the federal blockade of the city in May of 1862. Smalls...
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Episode
1
This view of the Battery in Charleston, circa 1865, gives a good view of how that city appeared during the Civil War, and how it had prepared for its defense. The area is still known as the Battery...