The Siege of Charleston, 1861-1865

xvii, 373 pp. The Siege of Charleston begins with the vote to secede from the Union by the South Carolina legislature in December of 1860. This vote would have normally taken place in the state capital, Columbia, but a small pox epidemic caused a temporary capital to be established in Charleston. Things were at a stalemate until April 12th, 1861 when Confederate troops started firing on Fort Sumter. This was the opening salvo of the Civil War.