Columbia's Longest Days: February 1865
February 15-16, 2008
Friday, February 15
Grand Ball (8-11 p.m.)
The Grand Ball will be held in the Congaree Room of the Mills Building, which houses both the S.C. State Museum and the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum. (301 Gervais Street) Live period music and dance calling will be provided by Un-Reconstructed, and refreshments will be provided. Tickets are $45 per couple and $25 per individual. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Formal or period attire is requested. For a ticket order form, please contact Liz Jenkins at the Greater Columbia Civil War Alliance by phone (803) 217-0071 or by e-mail at gccwa@knappagency.com.
Saturday, February 16
Re-enactment of the Firing on the State House (8:45 a.m.)
The re-enactment of the firing on the State House will take place on the West Columbia side of the Congaree River at the Gervais Street Bridge. Along with other Union re-enactors, Hart’s Battery will be present with 4 cannons to replicate Sherman’s troops firing cannons on Columbia and the State House on February 16, 1865. This event is free to the public.
Sherman’s March Bus Tours (9:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.)
This year there will be two different narrated Sherman’s March bus tours, and each tour will be offered at both 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The first, the Congaree Creek tour, is the original 3-hour bus tour that retraces the steps of General Sherman’s troops as they approached and entered Columbia from February 15-17, 1865. The second, Sherman’s Left Wing bus tour, traces the route of the Left Wing of General Sherman's army as it marched through central Lexington County in February of 1865.
The Congaree Creek tour, narrated by Tom Elmore, includes first hand accounts of Union soldiers, reporters and Columbia residents. This tour gives participants the opportunity to stand on the original earthworks built for the Confederate defense, walk along the Saluda River to see the remains of one of the largest textile mills of the early 1800s, see the bridge abutments of the Gervais Street and Saluda River Bridges that were burned by the Confederates and travel along the same streets that Union soldiers traveled as they entered Columbia.
Sherman’s Left Wing bus tour, narrated by Dean Hunt, will travel to the southern boundary of Lexington County, where the Union army entered the District. The tour will visit skirmish sites along the North Edisto River and make stops at Jeffcoat’s, Horsey’s and Gunter's Bridges, where dismounted Confederate cavalry and artillery disputed the Union army's crossing the river. The Confederates burned all three bridges and delayed the Federal advance by one day. The tour then proceeds north of the town of Pelion, S.C. to visit camp sites of the Union army and numerous skirmish sites. The tour ends in the town of Lexington, which was partially burned by Union troops.
Tickets need to be purchased in advance and are $20 per person per bus tour. For tickets, please contact Liz Jenkins at the Greater Columbia Civil War Alliance by phone (803) 217-0071 or by e-mail at gccwa@knappagency.com.
Civil War Expo (10-5 p.m.)
A Civil War Expo, a full day of activities, will be held at the Columbia Mills Building, which houses both the S.C. State Museum and the SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum. (301 Gervais Street) Civil War artifacts will be on display from museums and personal collections. The living history portion of the expo will feature hobbies and crafts of the time period. Re-enactors will be on hand to display uniforms and weaponry. The public is also invited to bring in their Civil War era artifacts for a free, professional appraisal. A symposium featuring five different speakers and topics will be held from 12-4:30 p.m. in the SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum.
The SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will be offering half-priced admission for adults (under age 21 free). The admission will go towards the restoration of the Berdan Sharpshooter's Knapsack, which will be on display throughout the day.