Burning of Columbia

On February 18, 1865, Union troops under General Sherman devastated Columbia, South Carolina. The city had surrendered to Sherman a day earlier, and Wade Hampton's Confederate troops had made a hasty retreat. The city had long been short of supplies, and the sickly looking Federal prisoners and slaves astounded the Federals. 

However, the city reportedly had a large supply of liquor, which the conquering soldiers freely took advantage of, causing a lot of destruction. Fires started, and high winds spread it quickly across the city. Stored bales of cotton added to the tinder. It has long been debated if these fires were accidentally or intentionally set. Sherman stated that he never ordered the burning of the city, although he did order certain military and government structures destroyed. This destruction took place on the eighteenth.

Legend says that the First Baptist Church was saved by a devoted groundskeeper who told the soldiers the Methodist Church was the church where the declaration of secession was signed. That church was burned to the ground. Other buildings burned included the old South Carolina State House; the incompleted, new State House; Wade Hampton's mansion, Millwood; the Confederate Printing Plant; and the Arsenal Academy. Whether by accident or ordered, much of the city lay in ruin at the end of the day on February 18th. 

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