Columbia, South Carolina, in the American Civil War

Columbia, the capital city of South Carolina, was an important political and supply center for the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

Much of the town was destroyed during occupation by Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman during the Carolinas Campaign in the last months of the war.

The delegates drafted a resolution in favor of secession without dissent, 159–0, creating the short-lived Republic of South Carolina.

The Union division under Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair (Howard's army) crossed the river and assaulted McLaws's flank.

The burning of Columbia has engendered controversy ever since, with some claiming the fires were accidental, a deliberate act of vengeance, or perhaps set by retreating Confederate soldiers who lit cotton bales while leaving town.

On February 18, Sherman's forces destroyed virtually anything of military value in Columbia, including railroad depots, warehouses, arsenals, and machine shops.

[8] General Sherman blamed the high winds and retreating Confederate soldiers for firing bales of cotton, which had been stacked in the streets.

Reporters, journalists, travelers, and tourists flocked to South Carolina's capital city to witness a Southern state legislature whose members included ex-slaves.

[11] The Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, part of the S.C. Budget and Control Board, showcases an artifact collection from the Colonial period to the space age.

The six impacts from Sherman's cannonballs to the granite exterior of the State House were never repaired, and are today marked by bronze stars.