n the
14th of December 1782.

The bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter (garrisoned by Federal
troops) by the South Carolinians, on the 12th and 13th of April 1861,
marked the actual beginning of the American Civil War. From 1862 onwards
Charleston was more or less under siege by the Federal naval and
military forces until 1865. The Confederates repulsed a naval attack
made by the Federals under Admiral S.F. Du Pont in April 1863, and a
land attack under General Q.A. Gillmore in June of the same year. They
were compelled to evacuate the city on the 17th of February 1865, after
having burned a considerable amount of cotton and other supplies to
prevent them from falling into the hands of the enemy. After the Civil
War the wealth and the population steadily increased, in spite of the
destruction wrought by the earthquake of 31st August 1886 (see
EARTHQUAKE). In that catastrophe 27 persons were killed, many more were
injured and died subsequently, 90% of the buildings were injured, and
property to the value of more than $5,000,000 was destroyed. The South
Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition, held here from the 1st
of December 1901 to the 1st of June 1902, called the attention of
investors to the resources of the city and state, but was not successful
financially, and Congress appropriated $160,000 to make good the
deficit.

Much information concerning Charleston may be obtained in A.S.
Salley's _A Guide and Historical Sketch of Charleston_ (Charleston,
1903), and in Mrs St Julien Ravenel's _Charleston; The Place and the
People_ (New York, 1906). The best history of Charleston is William A.
Courtenay's _Charleston, S.C.: The Centennial of Incorporation_
(Charleston, 1884). There is also a good sketch by Yates Snowden in
L.P. Powell's _Historic Towns of the Southern States_ (New York,
1900). For the earthquake see the account by Carl McKinley in the
_Charleston Year-Book_ for 1886. See also SOUTH CAROLINA.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] At an early date cotton became an important article in
Charleston's commerce; some was shipped so early as 1747. At the
outbreak of the Civil War Charleston was one of the three most
important cotton-shipping ports in the United States, being exceeded
in importance only by New Orleans and New York.

[2] The special census of 1905 dealt only with the factory product,
that of 1905 ($6,007,094) showing an increase of 5.1% over that of
1900 ($5