13. General William Tecumseh Sherman ordered the burning of Columbia, South Carolina, in 1865
Sherman’s March to the Sea, which culminated with the capture of Savannah, Georgia in late 1864, remains a controversial, though well-known event of the Civil War. Less well-known is his march through South Carolina in the winter of 1865. In February his troops approached Columbia, the state capital and the site of the signing of the Document of Secession in 1860. Confederate troops abandoned the city, and as Union troops entered Columbia became a scene of rioting, arson, and looting. Much, if not most, of the looting was conducted by citizens of the city. Some Union troops, fortified by liquor, also participated in looting and wanton destruction. During the night of February 17-18, 1865, cotton bales stacked at multiple locations throughout the city were ignited. The retreating Confederates had ordered the bales stacked and burned to deny them to the Union.
High winds, the blowing, flaming cotton, and buildings constructed of wood, soon led to fires which devoured much of the city. When Sherman arrived shortly before midnight, he ordered fresh troops into the city to fight the fires, arrest looters, and bring the rioting under control. In all, over 450 buildings were consumed by the fire, more than half of them are private residences. Confederate General Wade Hampton called Sherman a “barbarian”, though it was Hampton who ordered the cotton’s destruction by burning. For over 150 years, Sherman has been blamed in some quarters for burning Columbia, though no record of his ordering it has ever been unearthed. He denied giving the order, and his men, for the most part, fought to control the fire and protect the civilians in Columbia. No civilians died in the fire, though two Union soldiers did and nearly three dozen were injured.