Some excerts from papers and books about this sad, horrific topic.
“On February 17, 1865, General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Union Troops completed the long march from Savannah and reached Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. T.J Goodwyn, Columbia’s Mayor, surrendered the city to General Sherman… Three days later Sherman’s Union forces marched out of Columbia, leaving behind roughly 50% of the city they had occupied; the rest was charred, smoldering ruins. Almost 500 buildings and their contents had been destroyed including warehouses, factories, offices, hotels, schools, libraries, private residences, churches, and a Catholic convent.”
“Sherman’s March Through South Carolina”
“Gen. Sherman’s march through South Carolina began in late December, 1864. By 9 MAR 1865, his troops had passed out of the state into North Carolina – leaving behind a path of total destruction 100 miles wide and extending the entire length of the state.”
“After leaving Savannah on February 5, 1865, Sherman’s 60,000 men took a direct line toward Columbia, the capital. Able South Carolina men had long since left for the Confederate armies in distant states, and the Union soldiers faced only token resistance from any organized Rebel troops. Sherman’s men foraged liberally upon the native population, and everywhere left little more than clusters of black chimneys to mark the sites of where towns had been. One soldier joked that the name of the town of Barnwell should now be changed to Burnwell.”
