South Carolina in the Civil War

Guide to  ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Introduction
On 20 December 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union. The first shots were fired 9 January 1861 by Citadel cadets on a merchant ship taking supplies to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.The April 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumtercaused the official start of the Civil War.

South Carolina provided many troops for the Confederacy. As the war progressed, many ex-slaves joined the Union troops. South Carolina lost 12,922 men in the war which was 23% of its white male population of fighting age, the highest percentage of any state.

South Carolina Military Units
Most units were numbered, however, many were named. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and other units.

The information in the lists of South Carolina Military Units comes from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors web site. That web site also can be searched by the name of a soldier. South Carolina Units by Number or by Name 'Confed. Units 1st-4th 5th-14th 15th-51st A-G H-M N-Z South Carolina Units by Type of Unit Confed. Units' Infantry Cavalry Artillery Rifles Local Units Other
 * Robert S. Siegler. South Carolina's military organizations during the War between the States. 4 volumes. Charleston, South Carolina : The History Press, 2008 FS Library 975.7 M2sr

South Carolina Union Units by Number<div style="margin: 4px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); width: 30px; float: left; height: 40px; color: black;"> <div style="margin: 4px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(204, 255, 255); width: 60px; float: left; height: 40px; color: black;">Union Units <div style="margin: 4px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(204, 255, 255); width: 60px; float: left; height: 40px;">Union Units

Battles in South Carolina
The following list is from AmericanCivilWar.com. See also Battles of the American Civil War maps - filter by state or by battle name.


 * April 12-14, 1861 Fort Sumter (Charleston County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Confederate victory.
 * - National Park
 * - EyeWitness to History.com, The First Shot of the Civil War
 * -Doubleday, Abner. Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie, in 1860-'61. (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1876). Online at: Internet Archive.


 * June 16, 1862 Secessionville, also known as the battle of Ft. Lamar or James Island (Charleston County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Confederate victory.


 * June 21, 1862 Simmon's Bluff (Charleston County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Union victory.


 * April 7, 1863 Charleston Harbor, also known as the battle of Fort Sumter (Charleston County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Confederate victory.
 * - National Park


 * July 10-11, 1863 Fort Wagner, also known as Morris Island (Charleston County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Confederate victory.


 * July 16, 1863 Grimball's Landing, also known as the battle of Secessionville or James Island (Charleston County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Inconclusive victory.


 * July 18-September 7, 1863 Fort Wagner, also known as the battle of Morris Island (Charleston County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Confederate victory.


 * Aug 17-Aug 23, 1863? Fort Sumter, also known as the battle of Charleston Harbor or Morris Island (Charleston County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Inconclusive victory.
 * - National Park


 * September 7-8, 1863 Charleston Harbor, also known as the battle of Battery Gregg or Fort Wagner or Morris Island (Charleston County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Confederate victory.


 * November 30, 1864 Honey Hill (Jasper County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Confederate victory.


 * February 3, 1865 Rivers' Bridge, also known as the battle of Owens' Crossroads (Bamberg County)


 * - Battle summary at National Park Service (NPS) - (filter by state or battle name). Union victory.

The South Carolina Civil War Map of Battles has a map showing where the battles occurred and a list of the battles with links to more information about each battle.

Service Records

 * — index
 * The Compiled Service Records ($) (Fold3.com) of 50,000 Confederate soldiers who served in organizations from the state of South Carolina are available online. In the future, these records will be made available at no charge through the National Archives web site. The service records are also available at no charge at National Archives research rooms. The compiled service records consist of an envelope containing card abstracts taken from muster rolls, returns, pay vouchers, and other records. Service records may provide rank, unit, date of enlistment, length of service, age, place of birth, and date of death. For more information see Confederate Service Records.


 * South Carolina Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers - FamilySearch Historical Records describes these records with a link to the index and the digitized records.


 * An index to service records is available for Confederate soldiers (FS Library films ).


 * A published roster of Confederate soldiers is in Alexander S. Salley, Jr., South Carolina Troops in Confederate Service, Three Volumes (Columbia, South Carolina: R.L. Bryan Co., 1913-30; FamilySearch Library ).

Pension Records
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has the compiled service and pension records of Confederate soldiers, musters and payrolls of confederate units, and the 1907 to 1957 records of the Confederate Home. In addition, the Archives has posted an online index to Records of Confederate Veterans 1909-1973 which includes Confederate Pensions 1919-1938. This index is linked to online document images for some of the files.

Helsley, Alexia Jones. South Carolina's African American Confederate Pensioners, 1923-1925. [Columbia, South Carolins]: Alexia J. Helsley, 1998. FS Library 975.7 M2he
 * South Carolina Confederate Pensions
 * Anderson County. Confederate veterans and widows applications for pensions, 1916-1956
 * Charleston County. Confederate soldiers and widows pension rolls, 1916-1959
 * Edgefield County. Confederate veterans and their widows pension records, 1919-1924
 * Fairfield County. Pension records of Confederate veterans and their widows, 1889-1891
 * Laurens County. Confederate pension roll and record, 1898, 1933-1968
 * Pickens County. Confederate pension rolls and widows, 1922-1956
 * Spartanburg County. Confederate pension records, 1889, 1896, 1916-1935
 * Union County. Confederate veterans and widows pension applications, 1919-1920
 * York County. Confederate pension record, 1896-1964

Confederate Prisoners of War

 * United States, Records Of Confederate Prisoners Of War, 1861-1865 at Findmypast - Index

Union
There were only a small number Union regiments raised from the state of South Carolina. All were part OF the United States Colored Troops.

Service Records
The Compiled Service Records ($) (Fold3.com) of volunteer Union soldiers organized for service with the United States Colored Troops are available online. In the future, these records will be made available at no charge through the National Archives web site. Access to the service records is also available at no charge at National Archives research rooms. The compiled service records consist of an envelope containing card abstracts taken from muster rolls, returns, pay vouchers, and other records. Service records may provide rank, unit, date of enlistment, length of service, age, place of birth, and date of death. For more information see Union Service Records.

Pension Records
Civil War Pension Index Cards - An of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. The majority of the records are of Civil War veterans, but the collection also includes records for veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the Indian Wars, and World War I. For more information see Union Pension Records.

1890 Census Veterans Schedules
The 1890 Census Veterans Schedules, the "Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War" (NARA M123) are available online for the state of South Carolina. The schedules list Union veterans and their widows living in South Carolina in 1890. For more information on the 1890 Veterans Schedules see Union Census Records.

Contraband Camps
The web site Last Road to Freedom has information on America's Civil War contraband camps.

There were no known camps in South Carolina, the following plantations were occupied by the Union army: Cole-Gall or Bass Plantation, Grove Plantation, Flag Plantation, Hazel Head Plantation, Dr. E. Furnman's Plantation, Red Bank Plantation, Bushy Park Plantation, Manington Plantation, Melgrove Plantation, Pine Grove Plantation, Midway Plantation, Moss Grove Plantation, Parnassus Plantation, Dan Hall Plantation, Dock Horn Plantation, James Furguson Plantation, Dr. J.R. Motte's Plantation, North Mulberry Plantation, Thomas Fritzer Plantation, Bluff's Planatation, Strawberry Plantation, Rice Hope Plantation, Comingtee Plantation, Buck Hall Plantation, Washington Plantation, and Pauley Plantation. and others in Beaufort and on Hilton Head Island, Otter Island, and Fort Seward

Southern Claims Commission
If a Union sympathizer in South Carolina claimed a loss during the Civil War due to Union military confiscation, he could apply to the Southern Claims Commission for reimbursement. Only a few applied per county, but their neighbors were called as witnesses and asked dozens of questions. Hundreds of the residents in a county may be mentioned in answers to Commission questions, and their wartime activities described. To learn how to find records mentioning these neighbors in South Carolina counties during the Civil War see the Southern Claims Commission.

Other Source Material

 * Capers, Ellison. Confederate Military History. 1899. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company. Google Books
 * Cauthen, Charles Edward. South Carolina Goes to War, 1860-1865 (Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1950). At various libraries.
 * Crute, Joseph H. Jr. Units of the Confederate States Army. Midlothian, Virginia : Derwent Books, c1987., At various libraries.
 * Evans, Clement Anselm. Confederate Military History; A Library of Confederate States History (Wilmington, North Carolina : Broadfoot Publishing Co., 1987-1988, c1987-1988), v.5 South Carolina, pages 425-931. A library of Confederate states history, in seventeen volumes, written by distinguished men of the South, and edited by Gen. Clement A. Evans of Georgia. Volume 5 at.
 * Estes, Claud. List of Field Officers, Regiments and Battalions in the Confederate States Army 1861-1865. Macon: The J. W. Burke Company, 1913. Google Books;.
 * Flynn, Jean Martin. The Militia in Antebellum South Carolina Society (Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Reprint Co., c1991), 200 pages. ;.
 * Francis Trevelyan Miller, editor-in-chief; Robert S. Lanier, managing editor. The photographic History of the Civil War in 10 Volumes (New York; The Review of Reviews Co., 1911) Thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities. v. 1. The opening battles, v. 2. Two years of grim war, v. 3. The decisive battles, v. 4. The cavalry, v. 5. Forts and artillery, v. 6. The navies, v. 7. Prisons and hospitals, v. 8. Soldier life, secret service, v. 9. Poetry and eloquence of Blue and Gray, v. 10. Armies and leaders. Online at Internet Archive
 * Kirkland, Randolph Withers. Broken Fortunes: South Carolina Soldiers, Sailors and Citizens Who Died in the Service of Their Country and State in the War for Southern Independence, 1861-1865. c1995. Charleston, South Carolina: South Carolina Historical Society. Names are in alphabetical order.
 * Kirkland, Randolph W. Dark hours: South Carolina Soldiers, Sailors and Citizens Who Were Held in Federal Prisons During the War for Southern Independence, 1861-1865. c2002. Charleston, South Carolina: South Carolina Historical Society. Contains list of 11,238 South Carolinians held in captivity as a result of their service to the Confederacy. Drawing on more than 200 sources, Mr. Kirkland's list includes the individuals' names, ranks, units, where and when they were captured, where they were held, when they were moved, their final dispositions, and sources to assist researchers. ;.
 * Kirkland, Randolph W. Steadfast to the last: South Carolina soldiers and citizens paroled with the army of Northern Virginia and the army of Tennessee at Appomattox C. H. VA and Greensboro, NC April 9th and 25th, 1865, (Columbia, South Carolina: SCMAR, c2008), 212 pages. Contains list of 9,008 South Carolinians paroled at Appomattox and Greensboro, drawing on two principal sources. includes the individuals' names, ranks and positions, units, and where and when they were paroled. ;.
 * McCaslin, Richard B. A Photographic History of South Carolina in the Civil War. c1994. Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press..
 * McCawley,Patrick.Guide to Civil War Records: A Guide to the Records in the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (Columbia, South Carolina: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, c1994), 81 pages. ;.
 * O'Donnell-Rosales, John. Hispanic Confederates. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. Google Books, , and 2006 edition.
 * Rigdon, John C. South Carolina regimental histories of the American Civil War : &amp; index to South Carolina Civil War soldiers. Clearwater, South Carolina: Eastern Digital Resources, 2006..
 * Rivers, William J.. Rivers' account of the raising of troops in South Carolina for state and Confederate service, 1861-1865. Bethesda, Maryland: University Publications of America, c1990..
 * Rivers, William J. Roll of the Dead, South Carolina troops, Confederate States Service.[Columbia, South Carolina]: Public Programs Division, S.C. Dept. of Archives and History, c1995. This book lists many who died while in Confederate service. It is an alphabetical name listing with District, age, rank, company, reigment, date and cause of death. ;.
 * Rodenbough, Theophilus F. and William L. Haskin, editors. The Army of the United States. 1896. New York: Maynard, Merrill, & Co. Google Books, US Army Center of Military History.
 * Salley, A. S. South Carolina troops in Confederate service. Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990. Google Books (Vol. I), Google Books (Vol. II)..
 * Seigler, Robert S.A Guide to Confederate Monuments in South Carolina : Passing the Silent Cup. c1997. Columbia, S. C.: South Carolina Department of Archives and History. A county-by-county listing of "all Confederate monuments that appear on courthouse lawns and town squares, in cemeteries, in churchyards, and in public parks throughout South Carolina; memorials erected by churches to honor members of the congregation who served or died in the war; grave markers of all Confederate generals buried in South Carolina; markers commemorating the women of the state; and numerous smaller markers..
 * Stone, DeWitt Boyd. Wandering to Glory: Confederate Veterans Remember Evans' Brigade. c2002. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. Includes index and names of related military leaders; no rosters. ;.
 * The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies, published under the direction of the Secretary of War. Washington, District of Columbia: Govt. Print. Off., 1880-1901. Google Books and at the FamilySearch Library,, links to digitized items. An index is found in The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies : general index and additions and corrections by Fred C. Ainsworth and Joseph W. Kirkley (Washington [District of Columbia]: U.S. G.P.O.), and link to digitized item.
 * Sharpshooters in the Civil War (picture gallery)
 * The War of the Rebellion, A Compilation of the Official Records of The Union and Confederate Armies" at The Ohio State University. Search by keyword or phrase; find maps, images and other information.
 * War Between the States in South Carolina at Rootsweb. Links to histories, soldiers biographies, and other reference material about the Civil War in South Carolina.
 * United Daughters of the Confederacy. John K. McIver Chapter. Treasured Reminiscences: Including Accounts of the 1st, 6th, 8th, 9th, and 21st Regiments, South Carolina Volunteer Infantry, the 6th South Carolina Calvary Regiment, and the 1st, 15th, and Pee Dee Volunteer Artillery Battalions, Confederate States Army, 1861-1865 (University, Ala. : Confederate Pub. Co., 1982).
 * United Daughters of the Confederacy, South Carolina Division. Recollections and Reminiscences, 1861-1865 Through World War I ([S.l.]: United Daughters of the Confederacy, South Carolina Division, c1990-c2002), 12 Volumes. The primary emphasis of vols. 1-7 is the Civil War. Includes indexes. Some volumes include rosters. Volume 12 includes cemetery readings. ;.

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)
Grand Army of the Republic founded in 1866 - 1956, was the largest veteran’s organization in the country after the Civil War. It was a fraternal organization members were veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, Marines and Revenue Cutler Service who served in the American Civil War. The group supported voting rights for black veterans, and lobbied the U.S. Congress to establish veterans' pensions. In 1890 the membership was 490,000.

GAR Posts in the State of South Carolina

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
With the death of the last member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was formed.