THE CIVIL WAR: 150 YEARS LATER

150 years ago, South Carolina seceded from the Union, launching the most traumatic event in U.S. history – the Civil War.

Yet much of what we think we know about that war is wrong or incomplete.

For instance:

When did it begin? While the shooting did not begin until 1861, South Carolina had been on the path for secession for at least 30 years by the time Fort Sumter was shelled.

Who won? Twelve years after its end, the heirs of the white Democratic conservatives who took the state to war were running South Carolina again.

And then there are the war’s legacies.

They include poverty, political and economic realignment, and racial strife – including one of the largest mass exoduses in U.S. history – but also African-American soldiers and massive military bases, to name just a few of the ways that the Civil War continues to affect everyday life in South Carolina today.

Once a month during 2011, The State will look at the Civil War’s legacies for South Carolina – from secession to life today.

We’ll also tell you about some interesting but perhaps little-known facts about the war and those legacies, including the S.C. brothers who commanded cannons against each other along the S.C. coast and the real “Cold Mountain” refuge for war-tired Southern deserters.