Columbia, SC surrendered to Union General Sherman’s Union Army on Feb. 17, 1865, and the Confederate calvary retreated. Fires were started in the city under Union occupation and much of the state’s capital was destroyed.
That day, South Carolina's history changed forever — the capital city was nearly burnt to the ground and with it went much of the "Old South" social order. The burning of the city hits close to home for USC as the buildings surrounding the historic Horseshoe were used as hospitals during the Civil War and occupation.
Now, 150 years later, local organizations around the city are commemorating the burning with a two-month long initiative to study and remember the historic day.
The initiative plans to use lectures, tours, film, visual, literary and performance exhibits, public discussion and large public gatherings in order to explore events of the burning.
“Columbia Commemorates will explore the events of Feb.17, 1865, as well as the immediate and long-term ramifications of the burning of South Carolina’s capital city,” Carrie Phillips, the Director of Marketing and Communications at Historic Columbia, said.
Partners for these commemorative events include the University of South Carolina, Historic Columbia, and the South Carolina State Museum.
For fourth-year accounting and international business student Philip Williams, Columbia's burning hasn't lost significance, even a century and a half later — it's a chance for students to gain perspective as they look back on one of the city's most controversial happenings.
“If you don't have a historical context, you're bound to repeat mistakes that others have made before you,” Williams said. “You never know when it will apply, just that it might, and having that information tucked away can potentially help you get a leg up on the situation.”
The Columbia Commemorates the 150th Anniversary of the Burning of Columbia event on Feb. 17 will offer speakers, musical performances and a reading by Columbia’s poet laureate, Ed Madden.