February 7, 2020

Tomorrow, February 8, marks 200 years since the 1820 birth of William Tecumseh Sherman, a leading Union general in the American Civil War (1861-1865). Sherman was most famous for his “march to the sea,” across Georgia, in 1864 and for his march through South and North Carolina in 1865. On these marches, Sherman’s troops destroyed much of the South’s military and economic resources.

The American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman was born 200 years ago on Feb. 8, 1820. Credit: Library of Congress

In 1861, Sherman served as a colonel in the First Battle of Bull Run. After the battle, he was promoted to brigadier general. In 1862, Sherman fought under General Ulysses S. Grant in the Battle of Shiloh. In July 1863, he helped Grant capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, a major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. In November, he helped drive Confederate forces from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Sherman’s march through Georgia was aimed at destroying any civilian and industrial property that might help the South continue fighting. Union troops tore up railroad tracks and burned property as they swept across the state on a path 50 miles (80 kilometers) wide. Atlanta was left in flames, shown here. Credit: Corbis-Bettmann

In 1864, Sherman led an army that captured Atlanta, Georgia, and burned most of it. He then began his “march to the sea.” On the march, his troops stripped barns, fields, and some houses. Sherman hoped that the terrible destruction would break the South’s will to continue fighting. The march ended at Savannah, Georgia, a major port near the Atlantic Ocean. Sherman then marched north through South Carolina. His troops continued to seize or destroy property in their path. Most of Columbia, the state capital, was burned. The Confederates blamed Sherman for the fire, but Sherman denied that his troops had set it. After leaving Columbia, Sherman continued north into North Carolina. There, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston tried to stop Sherman. But Johnston had only about a third as many troops as Sherman did, and Sherman continued his march. In April 1865, Johnston surrendered to Sherman near Durham, North Carolina.

Sherman was born on Feb. 8, 1820, in Lancaster, Ohio. His father, an Ohio Supreme Court justice, died when William was 9 years old. After his father’s death, William went to live with the family of Thomas Ewing, an Ohio politician. In 1840, Sherman graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He fought in Florida in the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). After the Civil War, Sherman served as commanding general of the United States Army from 1869 to 1883. He died on Feb. 14, 1891.

October 6, 2015

On October 5, people stand on the safety of a bridge as homes sit in floodwater in Charleston, South Carolina. Credit: © Mic Smith, AP Photo

Since Thursday, October 1, a low pressure system combined with storms related to Hurricane Joaquin have drenched South Carolina in record heavy rains. Between Friday and Sunday, 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain fell in Columbia, the state capital and hardest-hit city. Fourteen people have died in the flooding, mostly by drowning, many by being trapped in cars in flash floods. Hundreds of people have had to be rescued from their homes. Authorities, however, are advising people not immediately threatened by rising waters to stay home and avoid flooded roads.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called the record rainfall a 1,000-year storm. (Meteorologists use this term to mean a weather event that has a 1-in-1,000 statistical chance of happening in any given year.) Governor Haley and U.S. President Barack Obama (respectively) declared the region to be a state and federal disaster area.

The rains stopped this morning, but the risk of flooding is not yet reduced, as the waters continue to rise. Since Saturday, nearly 20 dams in the flooded region have been breached (water has flowed over the top of the dam) or have failed. These failures sent huge amounts of floodwater crashing down on areas surrounding lakes and rivers. Also, because the flooding has occurred in the central part of the state, the water must move to the coast to truly relieve the flooding in the midlands.

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July 10, 2015

On Friday morning, July, 10, the Confederate battle flag (also known as the Flag of Dixie) was removed from the State House grounds in Columbia, South Carolina, where it had flown for more than half a century.

A crowd cheers as a South Carolina Highway Patrol honor guard lowers the Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds on July 10, 2015, in Columbia, South Carolina. Governor Nikki Haley presided over the event after signing the historic legislation the day before. Credit: © John Moore, Getty Images

The flag has long been a polarizing symbol in South Carolina, and many people demanded that it be taken down. In the years since the American Civil War (1861-1865), the flag had become a racist symbol of slavery to many African Americans and others. Later, in the early 1960′s, the flag became a symbol of opposition to the U.S. civil rights movement. However, many  Southerners have used the Confederate battle flag as an expression of Southern heritage and pride. Some believe the flag honors Confederate soldiers who fought in the Civil War.

The battle over the flag reignited last month after a white gunman allegedly killed nine African American worshippers at a historic black church in Charleston. Among the victims was the church’s pastor, South Carolina Senator Clementa Pinckney. Soon after the attack, photos surfaced of the suspect, Dylann Roof, 21, posing with the Confederate battle flag. Roof, who apparently considered the flag a symbol of white supremacy, confessed to the killings, saying he wanted to start a race war.

Early Thursday morning, the South Carolina House of Representatives voted 94-20 to take down the flag, giving final approval to a bill that passed the state senate earlier in the week. Republican South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed the bill into law Thursday afternoon. She used nine pens to sign the bill and said the pens would be given to the families of the nine victims of the Charleston church massacre. “It is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of, a day that truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state,” Haley said. The legislation called for the flag to be taken down within 24 hours of Haley’s signing it into law and moved to the state’s Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum for display.

At around 10 a.m. Friday, crowds cheered and broke out into song as a South Carolina Highway Patrol honor guard slowly reeled the flag down and folded it. The flag was then handed to Department of Public Safety Director Leroy Smith, one of the state’s most prominent African American officials. Smith delivered the flag to the steps of the State House and handed it to a state archivist.

Other World Book articles:

• Flag
• Confederate States of America
• United States flag
• Human rights 1999 (a Back in Time article)
• State government 2000 (a Back in Time article)
• State government 2001 (a Back in Time article)

A white gunman was arrested Thursday morning after allegedly killing nine African Americans at a Bible study at a historic black church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday evening.

Witnesses said the gunman spent an hour at the Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church before opening fire, saying he was there “to shoot black people.” Six females and three males were killed. Eight died at the scene; the ninth died at a hospital. Among the victims was the church’s pastor, South Carolina Senator Clementa Pinckney. There were 13 people inside the church when the shooting occurred.

The suspect, Dylann Roof, 21, of Lexington, South Carolina, was arrested in Shelby, North Carolina, about 245 miles (395 kilometers) from Charleston. Roof was taken into custody without incident during a traffic stop. Local police acted on a be-on-the-lookout notice that included a vehicle description, the license tag, and the suspect’s name. Roof confessed to the killings, saying he wanted to start a race war.

“The only reason someone would walk into a church and shoot people that were praying is hate,” Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, choking back tears, said “the heart and soul of South Carolina was broken.… parents are having to explain to their kids how they can go to church and feel safe.” United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch, calling the shooting “barbaric,” announced that the U. S. Department of Justice had opened a hate-crime investigation into the shooting incident. President Barack Obama mourned the violence and the victims, saying, “Any death of this sort is a tragedy.…There is something particularly heartbreaking about death happening in a place in which we seek solace, we seek peace.”

Emanuel AME Church is the oldest AME church in the South. African American members of Charleston’s Methodist Episcopal Church formed their own congregation there in 1816. The church that stands at the site today was built in 1891. Known as “Mother Emanuel,” the church has been the headquarters for civil rights activity for decades.

Other World Book articles:

• 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
• Civil rights (1996 – a Back in Time article)
• Human rights (2001) – a Back in Time article)
• Human rights (2002 – a Back in Time article)
• United States, Government of the (1963 – a Back in Time article)