Photo
When General William Tecumseh Sherman invaded South Carolina, he surprised those who expected him to strike first at Charleston. Instead, he marched the main body of his army northward toward Columbia...
Photo
A sketch, signed by J.E. Taylor, of a prisoner-of-war camp during the Civil War. "Distribution of old clothing sent from the North--1864." Courtesy of the Lackawanna Historical Society.
Photo
When the war ended, one of the pressing problems was the status of those who had been slaves. African-Americans had provided the essential labor, without which the agricultural economy of the region...
Photo
"The Seceeding South Carolina Delegation" of the United States Congress, pictured in the December 22, 1860, issue of "Harper's Weekly." Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Photo
The Ordinance of Secession, 1860. This document marked the conclusion of a movement to declare Southern independence from a national government increasingly controlled by Northerners. It was the...
Photo
South Carolinians met here at the First Baptist Church in Columbia on December 17, 1860, determined to end their membership in the United States in protest against the election of Abraham Lincoln, a...
Photo
The National Democratic nominating convention in session at Institute Hall in Charleston on April 28, 1860. The convention was unable to bridge the differences between northern and southern wings of...
Photo
"The Impending Crisis at Charleston," published in "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly," February 11, 1860, is a reference to the widely read book, "The Impending Crisis," by Hinton Helper. In the...
Video
Things that make you go ewwwwww . . . Vultures pee on their own legs to stay cool, sea stars spit up their own stomachs to digest their lunch, Zoo Keepers can tell you all about an animal’s health by...
Video
Jambo! That’s “hello” in Swahili, the language spoken in East Africa. Grab your hat and join Riverbanks Roundup for this NEW edition entitled African Safari. We’ll explore the zoo on an African Safari...
Video
Dive right in to investigating animal fact versus animal fiction! Since animals accomplish amazing maneuvers to survive, how do we tell fact from fiction? Investigate with zoo animal keepers as we...
Video
Join the Riverbanks Zoo crew as they go through a day’s work of caring for over 2,000 animals and a myriad of plant life! Go behind the scenes to find out about the food prep area and the daily...
Video
Join Riverbanks Roundup for this edition entitled SC – Wild Animals Are All Around You! We’ll explore the zoo to find the animals that live right here in our state. Experts at the zoo will join host...
Photo
The gunboat "Planter," seized by an African-American crew and the daring African-American harbor pilot Robert Smalls, did manage to break the federal blockade of the city in May of 1862. Smalls...
Photo
This view of the Battery in Charleston, circa 1865, gives a good view of how that city appeared during the Civil War, and how it had prepared for its defense. The area is still known as the Battery...
Photo
The palmetto symbol of the South Carolina regiment's heroic exploits at Cherubusco, Vera Cruz, and Chapultapec became the rallying cry for South Carolinians in general, as well as for veterans of the...
Photo
South Carolinians were among those who most strongly supported the Mexican War, for it promised westward expansion of the nation in territory south of the Missouri Compromise Line of 1820, and thus...
Photo
The Chester Volunteers, Captain Robert Mills Dunovants's company of the Palmetto Regiment, were one of the many South Carolina military units who made up the army that fought in the War with Mexico...
Photo
The front page of the short-lived "Union and States' Rights Gazette" illustrates the complexity of South Carolina politics even though many outsiders thought the state unified behind opposition to the...
Photo
The Webster-Hayne Debate. Bitter sectional disputes emerged during the presidency of Andrew Jackson: the issues that divided north from south, and sometimes east from west, included the disposal of...
Photo
The legislature of South Carolina retained a great deal of authority over many aspects of everyday life. Roads could not be built, ferries across rivers could not be established, slaves could not be...
Photo
"Southern Chivalry - Argument versus Clubs," a cartoon by I.L. Magee, illustrated the strong feelings of revulsion that Northerners expressed over the Sumner-Brooks affair. The question of expansion...
Photo
The lands added to the nation through the conquests of the Mexican War raised anew the question of whether or not slavery would be allowed to expand into the new territories of the west. For two years...
Photo
Runaway slaves were a constant problem in maintaining a workforce of unfree laborers. Slaves ran away because of mistreatment, out of a desire for freedom, or often simply to be reunited with husbands...
Video
Auntie Karen and the Jamaican Yams discuss how to prepare for a hurricane.
Photo
Legareville was a summer resort community of the early 19th century, where planters and their families could retreat from the heat and disease of their plantations and enjoy cooling breezes. This 1919...
Photo
This relief map of what is now Parris Island shows the distribution of the land among the large plantation owners around 1820. Courtesy of the United States Marine Corps, Parris Island Museum.
Photo
Antebellum Charleston was famed for its racing, and for the devotion that its citizens showed to breeding and racing horses, making the contests extravagant betting and drinking events. Here the...
Photo
"Friends and Amateurs in Musick" was drawn in 1827 by Thomas Middleton, an amateur artist; it is probably deliberately modeled on the convivial gathering of "Peter Manigault and His Friends" (see...
Video
Bear and Bull talk about creating a budget and how to save money.