Burning of Columbia | Palmetto Heritage

This reenactment is based on excerpts from Emma LeConte’s diary. Emma, then seventeen years old, kept a diary for several months in 1865 chronicling the approach, occupation and burning of the city of Columbia by General Sherman's troops. On February 16, Sherman issued an order giving instructions for the occupation of Columbia. The Confederate forces in South Carolina were no match for Sherman's troops and upon his approach Columbia's Mayor Goodwyn surrendered the city. Panic and confusion, however, reigned. By the morning hours of February 17 much of the city was in flames, accompanied by a riot that had built steadily so that most control was lost over the city. By February 18,1865 over one third of the city lay in black, burnt ruins. 

Standards

• 4.4.CE Explain the effects of military strategies utilized by the Union and the Confederacy.
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the effects of military strategies to include but not limited to : wartime technologies, the Anaconda Plan, conscription, and Sherman's March to Sea.
• 4.4.CC Identify and evaluate the economic, political, and social changes experienced throughout the Civil War.
• 8.3.CE Examine consequences of the major Civil War military strategies.
• This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into the Civil War focusing on the impacts of military strategies and major turning points on South Carolina and the U.S.
• 8.3.E Utilize a variety of primary and secondary sources to analyze multiple perspectives on the effects of the Civil War within South Carolina and the United States.

Resources