On Feb. 17, 1865, the city of Columbia was burnt by Union troops during Gen. William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea. It's a day South Carolinians look back on a century and a half later.
To commemorate the burning of Columbia, Sara Burrows, a history instructor at USC, created an app for the Apple Store.
The app gives users an interactive experience while studying the burning of Columbia — it features video interviews with leading authors and scholars, including USC’s Thomas J. Brown and Friedrich Hamer, and research done by history students at USC.
“The app is a great starting point for anyone who has ever wanted a better understanding of the invasion of Columbia,” Burrows said.
There are first-person accounts of the historic burning, including audio excerpts from Sherman's papers and letters to photos of the burned city and newspaper articles about the burning.
If approved by Apple, the app can be found under the name “The Burning of Columbia,” and the proceeds will go to the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.
Burrows said she plans to produce more history media projects to make learning about the past easily accessible to the public.