Columbia's antebellum and Reconstruction era structures—including churches, hospitals, armories, governmental buildings and private homes—offer testimony to this tumultuous chapter in our nation's history. Learn about Columbia during the early years of the war and about the fateful night of February 17, 1865 when thirty percent of the city's structures were lost to fire. Step-off at the State House and count the iron stars marking where Union cannonballs hit the building.