Rattled Yankees & Inconsolable Civilians in the Wake of the Burning of Columbia

Speaker: Dr. Eric W. Plaag, University of South Carolina
Description: While the fires that ravaged Columbia were devastating in their own right, they were also accompanied by assaults, murders, and other acts of depravity that only multiplied the horror of Columbians and Union soldiers alike. In the days that followed, refugees—both black and white—streamed out of Columbia, trailing Sherman’s army, while those left behind contemplated a life built from the ashes. Relying on firsthand accounts of troops and citizens, this presentation explores the complex and often misunderstood events of the night of February 17, 1865, and contextualizes the aftermath in the wake of total war.