Military

Proud Marines and military aficionados know some of the tales of Parris Island military base, and now you can experience its history first-hand through this pictorial history of the infamous island.

Located near the Palmetto State's historic city of Beaufort, the United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina is one of the world's most famous military bases. Having trained Marine recruits since World War I, the base is the oldest major post of the Marine Corps. It is also the first base commissioned exclusively to train United States Marines, and therefore may truly be called ""The Cradle of the Corps."" Parris Island takes the reader on a visual journey through documented photographs that highlight the base's touchstones. Before the American Revolution, the island was partially owned by Col. Alexander Parris, who became the island's namesake. Plantations flourished on Parris Island until the end of the War between the States. A small detachment of Marines first arrived in the late 1800s. It was not until 1915, however, that the Marines arrived for good. Since then, the base has rapidly expanded, first during World War I and more so during World War II. Over the years, much of the physical appearance of the base has changed; yet, through this collection of photographs, former Parris Island Marines will have a chance to relive some of their memories while new recruits can watch the progression of their base unfold.

On a pleasant morning in June of 1848, writer and historian Benson J. Lossing was traveling by carriage between the towns of Greenwich and Stamford, Connecticut. Along the path, Lossing happened upon an elderly veteran of the Revolutionary War. Although quite old, the man was thoughtful and pleasant, and he spent the afternoon regaling Lossing with tales of his experiences in the war. The veteran turned out to be General Ebenezer Mead, a former soldier of both the Connecticut militia and the Continental army. For Lossing, the experience was profound. He realized at once that very few men and women who had lived through the days of the Revolution were still alive, and that soon, if he did not act, their stirring stories would be lost. His mind was made up, his mission clear: "I felt an irrepressible desire to seek and find such mementos of the great conflict for freedom and independence, wherever they might exist, and to snatch their lineaments from the grasp of Decay before it should be too late." Before reaching Stamford, Lossing commenced drawing plans for an epic pilgrimage across the United States to seek out and interview these few surviving Americans who had born witness to the start of our great nation. These are the fruits of his labor. First published in 1889, this intriguing volume preserves for the ages the stories of a wide variety of Americans who lived through these tumultuous times. Included is the story of Rebecca Motte, a heroine from South Carolina who helped Francis Marion's soldiers set her own house ablaze to drive out British troops. Also present is the account of Uzal Knapp, the last remaining veteran of General George Washington's Life Guards. Lossing goes to great lengths to capture the tales of Americans from many walks of life, including that of Eleanor, one of Washington's many slaves, and Frances Slocum, who was abducted and raised by a tribe of Delaware Indians. This fascinating collection, with a new, insightful introduction by Michael C. Scoggins, is a triumph of preservation and a treasure for history-conscious

Join author M. Patrick Hendrix as he follows the tumultuous lives of the men who fought to control the most revered monuments to the war.

In 1829, construction began on a fort atop a rock formation in the mouth of Charleston Harbor. Decades later, Fort Sumter was near completion on December 26, 1860, when Major Robert Anderson occupied it in response to the growing hostilities between the North and South. As a symbol of sedition for the North and holy ground for the South, possession of Fort Sumter was deemed essential to both sides when the Civil War began. By 1864, the fort, heavily bombarded by Union artillery, was a shapeless mass of ruins, mostly bermed rubble and sand with a garrison of Confederate soldiers holding its ground.

The 1st South Carolina Volunteers, later the 33rd United States Colored Troops, were the first black unit of the Civil War. Preceding the famous 54th Massachusetts--seen in the film Glory--by one year, these South Carolina slaves turned soldiers were noted for their courage, discipline, and pride, continuing to serve the Union cause even while temporarily disbanded. They fought for years with little or no pay, poor equipment, and constant pressure and abuse from both North and South. This brief history is told mostly through the letters and journals of their commanding officer Lt. Col. Charles T. Trowbridge.

Experience the personal accounts of Marine Corp recruits as they recall their experiences of their time and training at Parris Island in South Carolina.

Here, for the first time, author and former Parris Island drill-instructor Eugene Alvarez records the training and tough physical and mental challenges that have helped to churn thousands of Marines out of Parris Island, South Carolina for nearly a century. Drawn from first-hand accounts of recruits themselves, the memories and recollections in these pages are humorous, sad, profane and enlightening--describing a training program that, on first encounter, often appears insane. But the results are clear: a disciplined Marine with a proud history that he or she carries proudly in peace time or war.

Fort Jackson is a sprawling military base east of Columbia, South Carolina. With the impending entry of America into World War I, city fathers recognized the country's need for military training camps and made a successful proposal to the US Army for construction of a camp near Columbia. Named after Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans and the seventh US president, Camp Jackson soon became the home of the famous 81st "Wildcat" Division and, later, the 5th Infantry Division. Over time, the camp's prospects waned, but the advent of another world war brought renewed interest in the camp and its eventual designation as Fort Jackson in 1940. Fort Jackson has been instrumental in the mobilization and training of troops for service in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Global War on Terror. Today, Fort Jackson is the Army's premier basic training installation, responsible for over 50 percent of Army trainees each year.

Though the machines and technology have changed drastically over the past century, the themes of sacrifice, loyalty, and heroism have been felt by countless generations of American soldiers. While today's armed forces depend on the accuracy of satellites and "smartbombs," the American soldier of the early twentieth century fought under much different circumstances--an era dominated by machine guns, massive artillery, gas masks, biplanes, and trench warfare. Our nation's families, at that time, were full of patriotic pride and were more than willing to give their sons in the fight for democracy. Lancaster County, a rural community in the Palmetto State's Upcountry, was proud to count many of its men as the first volunteers in our country's call to arms. In Lancaster County and the Great War, you will listen to the compelling stories of many of the county's veterans of World War I, from their trials of admission and boot camp to the nightmarish scenes in the barbed-wire-lined, bullet-ridden trenches to the victory celebrations they experienced in foreign landscapes and back at home. Complemented with period photographs, local county newspaper headlines, and wartime posters, these personal histories truly share a unique experience in South Carolina's and our country's past. As you read through these pages, you will feel as if you have been handed a government-issue rifle, journeyed across the East Coast to various training camps, felt the incredible fear and anxiety of battle, and paraded down Lancaster's streets to the ovation of joyous crowds.

The coast of South Carolina was a hotspot for the Civil War since its beginning. Some of the stories have not been told until now.

In Defending South Carolina's Coast: The Civil War from Georgetown to Little River, area native Rick Simmons relates the often overlooked stories of the upper South Carolina coast during the Civil War. As a base of operations for more than three thousand troops early in the war and the site of more than a dozen forts, almost every inch of the coast was affected by and hotly contested during the Civil War. From the skirmishes at Fort Randall in Little River and the repeated Union naval bombardments of Murrells Inlet to the unrealized potential of the massive fortifications at Battery White and the sinking of the USS Harvest Moon in Winyah Bay, the region's colorful Civil War history is unfolded here at last.

In December 1860, when the State of South Carolina desired to secede from the Federal Union, Major Anderson, of the 1st Regiment of U.S. Artillery, was in command of the forts of Charleston harbor; and, with his company, was stationed at Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island. He saw the spreading commotion; and--as a Sea-Captain, in stormy weather, glass in hand, sweeping the horizon with his eye, uninterested in natural wonders or scientific questions, is wholly engrossed with the care and management of his ship--he thought not of political affairs, but studied only his duty as a servant of the Republic--an officer of the American Army. Situated as he then was, he found himself utterly weak in case of an attack--his fort was insecure, his garrison was small--he, therefore, petitioned Government for more troops; but received for reply that, as the movement would increase disaffection, the Administration preferred not granting his request unless necessitated. He now looked round him, with a view to strengthening his position, as best he could. On a point of James Island, facing Fort Moultrie, west by south, stood Fort Johnson, and between these, nearly mid channel, an artificial Island had been raised, on which a fortification was built, now in course of completion; and here, with the waters to wall him in, and the shores all round the bay under range of his guns, Major Anderson decided to concentrate his little force.

In 1891, U.S. Marines were originally stationed on Parris Island to protect life and property as part of the Naval Station, Port Royal. In 1915, Parris Island officially became a Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Women became a permanent part of the U.S. Marine Corps in 1948. Today Parris Island boasts a historic district with homes and military structures built between 1891 and World War I, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. These postcards track the history of Parris Island and the rich heritage, character, and changes that mark it as the oldest major post in the U.S. Marine Corps.

As the nation entered World War II, the city of Charleston struggled with a stagnant economy that had never recovered from the Civil War. The glory days of the antebellum period were decades in the past, yet Charlestonians drew their pride from a bygone era, rather than from hope for the future.

This compelling look at Charleston's twentieth-century history chronicles the changes and challenges faced by Charleston as its population exploded in response to expansion of the Charleston Navy Yard. As World War II called for the United States to flex her industrial might, the shipyard rose to meet the challenge and 55,000 new residents flooded into the city.

Charleston was unprepared for such dramatic expansion: the need for labor at the yard meant the sudden appearance of good jobs, but also resulted in severe housing shortages, food rationing and dilemmas over race and gender. Ongoing workforce shortages forced the navy to look to sources of labor previously regarded as unsuitable--African Americans and women--causing dramatic changes to the status quo.

Author and historian Fritz Hamer makes use of written documents and oral histories to argue that the war's effects pulled a reluctant "Holy City" into the twentieth century, setting the stage for further modernization and growth. Warm personal accounts from a range of individuals who witnessed the city's dramatic change provide a human element in Hamer's solid research.

Well written and imaginatively conceived, Charleston Reborn will interest the general reader as well as a wide range of historians--from students of World War II and chroniclers of gender and racial history, to urban historians and scholars of the modern American South.

This ground-breaking book takes an insightful and close "New Look" at one of the most fascinating subjects of the Civil War--the long-overlooked battlefield contributions of the most forgotten fighting men of the Civil War, Black Confederates. With the release of the popular 1989 film Glory, the American public first learned about the heroism of the black troops of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and their courageous assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina, in July 1863. But what the American public failed to learn in viewing this popular film was the equally compelling saga of Black Confederates, including at least one defender, a free black soldier of the 1st South Carolina Artillery who defended Fort Wagner in July 1863.
Significantly, large numbers of Black Confederates, slave and free, had already been fighting on battlefields across the South for more than two years before the famous assault of the 54th Massachusetts on Fort Wagner, including the war's first major battle at Bull Run. Although the vast of majority blacks served the Confederacy in menial and support roles, Black Confederates, free and slave, fought from 1861 to 1865 in regiments (infantry, cavalry, and artillery) that represented every Southern state.

This short pictorial history documents the first shot of the Civil War, the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12-13, 1861. Historians Robert N. Rosen and Richard W. Hatcher III have gathered, in one book, more illustrations and photographs about the "First Shot" than can be found in any other previous book. Here the reader will find the dramatic story--in words and pictures--of the leaders, personalities, soldiers, forts, and the dramatic artillery bombardment itself, all under one cover.

From the first settlers in 1735, Orangeburg has evolved through the years into a beautiful and vibrant city. This volume features former small-town life when there were still livery stables, bicycle shops, and emerging car dealers. One can almost hear the clanking of the bottles being filled on the conveyor line at the Orangeburg Coca-Cola Bottling Company or see the stalwart firemen protecting buildings and homes, not to mention repairing and refurbishing used toys for indigent children at Christmastime. The town's fame extended into the political sphere as well--President Kennedy personally informed the publisher of the local newspaper that his most successful Navy assignment in World War II was when he was sent to Orangeburg. From the county fair to the Hawthorne School of Aeronautics, where over 5,000 pilots were trained in World War II, it is all here in this glorious collection of old Orangeburg photographs.

Join historian Doug Bostick as he tells the story of the siege of Charleston, the longest siege of the Civil War.

Charleston was the prize that the Union army and navy desperately sought to capture. Union General Halleck, in writing to General W.T. Sherman, declared, ""Should you capture Charleston, I hope that by some accident the place may be destroyed."" However, despite bringing to bear the full firepower of the U.S. Army and Navy, Charleston would not relent. The defense of Charleston employed every tool available to an outmanned Confederate army. Yet after 567 days of constant attack by infantry, gun batteries and the Union fleet, Charleston would not surrender. Only after the evacuation of the Confederate forces to reinforce General Joe Johnston in North Carolina did the Federal government gain control of the city.

Forgotten tales of Charleston's Civil War history have been collected into this new compendium for today's history lovers.

In a city as old as Charleston, it's only natural for some stories to become less well-known over time, but the Palmetto State's history should never be forgotten entirely. Author Margaret Middleton Rivers Eastman recounts some of Charleston's amazing Civil War stories that have faded from memory, including the shady story of how an association of Charleston elites conspired to push South Carolina toward secession in 1860, and the Stone Fleet of old whaling ships that were sunk in Charleston Harbor in an attempt to choke out Confederate blockade runners, as well as a cast of real-life characters such as Amarinthia Yates Snowden, William Richard Catheart, and Tom Lockwood, just to name a few.

Join Charleston historian Doug Bostick as he traces the political turmoil of 1860 and early 1861, when the firebrands of secession in Charleston were pushing the South to act together in a decisive way. The Union Is Dissolved chronicles the face-off between professor and student--Robert Anderson and Pierre G.T. Beauregard--and the firing on Fort Sumter, signaling the beginning of the American Civil War. Featuring many historical images and first-person accounts found in period newspapers and family papers, this fascinating volume offers a concise introduction to our nation's greatest struggle.

Discover the true accounts of South Carolinian's as they recount General Sherman's march through the Palmetto State during the Civil War.

During the fateful winter and spring of 1865, thousands of civilians in South Carolina, young and old, black and white, felt the impact of what General William T. Sherman called ""the hard hand of war."" This book tells their stories, many of which were corroborated by the testimony of Sherman's own soldiers and officers, and other eyewitnesses. These historical narratives are taken from letters and diaries of the time, as well as newspaper accounts and memoirs. The author has drawn on the superb resources of the South Carolina Historical Society's collection of manuscripts and publications to present these true, compelling stories of South Carolinians.

Spartanburg County gave generously and selflessly to World War II. Local men and women participated in almost every significant engagement, in almost every imaginable capacity, and in every branch of service. Distinguishing themselves with bravery, dignity, and loyalty, county veterans received every commendation, including the Medal of Honor. At Pearl Harbor, Carpenter's Mate Wayne Alman Lewis and Seaman Vernon Russell White died on the USS Arizona and Fire Controlman First Class Hubert Paul Clement died on the USS Oklahoma. Such sacrifices continued from December 7, 1941, through 1945. At home, window banners displayed blue stars for each person who served in the military. Many of the stories of these heroes from Spartanburg County have never before been told.

Major General William T. Sherman's march from Savannah, Georgia, to Columbia, South Carolina, was marked by a battle with an unrelenting enemy: the swamps of the Palmetto State. For more than two weeks, Sherman's veterans faced an unforgiving quagmire, coupled by daily skirmishes with gallant bands of outnumbered Confederates. Along the way, a ruined countryside and wrecked towns marked the path of an army unlike any "since the days of Julius Caesar." It would take an army as adept with the axe as they were with the rifle to tame the rivers, tributaries and swamps of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Join historian Chris Crabb as he traces the steps of Sherman's sixty-thousand-man army in its "amphibious march" from Beaufort to Columbia.