Charleston Surrenders

St. Michael's Church, Charleston, South Carolina, 1865.
Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865

"A City of ruins, —silent, mournful, in deepest humiliation…The band was playing 'Hail, Columbia,' and the strains floated through the desolate city, awakening wild enthusiasm in the hearts of the colored people…"

A Northern reporter's description of Charleston, South Carolina, on February 18, 1865. Cited in E.B. Long with Barbara Long, Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865 (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1971), p. 640.

The Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered control of the city to Union Brigadier General Alexander Schimmelfennig at 9 A.M. on Saturday, February 18, 1865. With commanding General William T. Sherman's arrival imminent, evacuation of the city began on February 17 and continued through the early morning hours of February 18. The city had been under siege since July 10, 1863.

From the Nullification Crisis of 1832-33, to passage of the First Ordinance of Secession on December 20, 1860, South Carolina played a leading role in events leading up to the Civil War. Personified by John C. Calhoun, South Carolina's long-time senator, the state traditionally defended slavery and states rights. When Confederate troops attacked Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor in April 1861, few could have been surprised that events in South Carolina would push the nation over the brink and into civil war.

View of Ruined Buildings through Porch of the Circular Church, Charleston, South Carolina, April 1865.
Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865

Click on the photograph for a better view of three small African-American children clustered at the column's base.

• President Lincoln's uncertainty in the face of the crisis at Ft. Sumter is revealed in his draft of instructions sent to the officer in command on April 4, 1861. This document is featured in Words and Deeds in American History.
• Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865 includes many images of Charleston during the Civil War. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and his March to the Sea also are included in the collection.
• To learn more about the Civil War, read the Today in History features on:
  • General Lee's evacuation of Richmond and his surrender to Grant;
  • Military engagements at Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Nashville, and Antietam;
  • Other key figures from the Civil War era such as Jefferson Davis and Mary Todd Lincoln. Read about Civil War era events including Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and the execution of Andersonville Prison's Henry Wirz.