5 myths about the Burning of Columbia

Through the years, many stories have been told about Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s march through the Carolinas, his occupation of Columbia, and the ensuing fire.

Many are true; some are not.

A look at some of the myths and misconceptions stemming from the fire, which occurred Feb. 17, 1865, 150 years ago Tuesday.

Who burned Columbia

Many people believe Sherman, architect of the burning of Atlanta and the scorched-earth policy of the March through Georgia, ordered Columbia to be burned.

That’s not the case.

Although the red-headed general said afterward that he didn’t particularly mind that South Carolina’s capital burned, he never ordered it. Historians agree.

Union soldiers set fires to many buildings and homes.

But some historians say blame for the conflagration has to be shared with members of the Confederate Army, too. For instance, Confederate Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton III, a Richland County resident, left cotton stacked in the city’s streets as Union forces approached and failed to destroy a sea of alcohol stored in the city.

All of Columbia burned

All of Columbia was not burned.

Sources from that time put the percentage of the city destroyed at about two-thirds, particularly in what is now the central business district. But many historians say that number was inflated by those with ax to grind or who just were mistaken.

Some more more modern scholars have estimated about a third of the city was destroyed. Most historians put the number at half.

There was a “battle” for Columbia

Almost everyone, including Sherman, thought there would be a battle for the city, perhaps the last big battle of the war.

But Confederate forces in South Carolina were small and divided, and the general in charge of those forces, Gen. Pierre Gustave-Toutant Beauregard, was physically and, perhaps, emotionally ill. One diarist wrote Beauregard — who four years earlier had commanded Confederate forces that fired on Fort Sumter, starting the war — was suffering from “melancholy.”

The only battle to occur was a brief one – a delaying action at Congaree Creek, in what is now Cayce, in which only a handful of Union soldiers and no Confederates were killed.

Fighting for Columbia was not a practical strategic goal for the crumbling Confederacy. In fact, the decision specifically was made not to fight a battle for Columbia but surrender it in hopes of saving the city.

Union soldiers burned the Congaree River Bridge

The fire was set by retreating Confederate forces hoping to delay their opponents’ entry into the city. Confederate cavalry also burned bridges over the Saluda and Broad rivers.

Those actions didn’t slow Sherman’s advance much, however, as he quickly built pontoon bridges using planks from riverside mills, and rolled on without much delay.

First Baptist Church was saved by an African-American caretaker

Columbia’s First Baptist Church hosted the state’s secession convention before it was moved to Charleston because of a smallpox outbreak. Union soldiers supposedly asked the caretaker if First Baptist was the church that had hosted the convention, but he directed them to Washington Street Methodist church, a block away, and they burned it.

However, Columbia’s mayor at the time, Thomas Jefferson Goodwyn, later said he couldn’t verify that story. Sherman reportedly said he was in Columbia for three days and could have burned the Baptist church at any time if he wished it.

Historians and authors Joe Long, John Sherrer and Tom Elmore contributed

This story was originally published February 13, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "5 myths about the Burning of Columbia."