General Sherman's Army Crossing the Saluda River | History of SC Slide Collection

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, where many civilians, as well as large numbers of deserters, had fled for safety. As the capital of South Carolina, it was an important symbolic target, as well as a tempting military one. On the 17th of February, 1865, the advance of Sherman's right wing, the 17th Army Corps, crossed the Saluda.

Courtesy of the Pratt Memorial Library.

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History of SC Slide Collection / C. An Illustrated History, 1550-1988 | History of SC Slide Collection / E. Civil War Era