Symposium Spotlight: Suffering, Death, and Destitution: Charleston, South Carolina Burned and Shelled

Welcome back to our spotlight series, highlighting speakers and topics for our upcoming symposium. Over the coming weeks, we will continue previewing of our speaker’s presentations for the 2025 Emerging Civil War Symposium. This week we feature Mark Maloy’s topic.

“Suffering, Death, and Destitution”: Charleston, South Carolina Burned and Shelled

It was in the city of Charleston where South Carolina politicians decided to secede from the Union in 1860.  It was also the site of the first shots of the American Civil War on April 12, 1861.  Because of these reasons, the city became a prominent symbol and target.  During the war, two major events occurred that devastated the city.  In December 1861, a massive fire gutted a large portion of the city, and from 1863 until 1865, the city was bombarded repeatedly by Union cannons.  Looking at these events through the eyes of people who experienced it (like Mary Chestnut and Edmund Ruffin), we will see how these events forever changed the city and its people.

Find more information and tickets for our 2025 Symposium by clicking here.