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BRIEF HISTORY OF CHARLESTON
1670--(April) Charles Town is founded as the capital city of Carolina, across the Ashley River from its current site on the main peninsula. It is reported to consist of 30 houses and some 200-300 settlers.
1706--(Sept 2) Joint French and Spanish attack upon Charles Town during Queen Anne's War is repulsed when Colonial forces capture French vessel and crew.
1718--Blackbeard the Pirate sails into Charles Town Harbor with four ships; takes hostages for ransom.
1752--(Sept) Great Hurricane of 1752 devastates the city, killing nearly a hundred.
1773--(Jan. 12) A committee of The Library Society establishes the Charleston Museum-- the oldest in the country.
1776--(June 28) First major naval battle of the Revolution. Fleet of 11 British warships and 1,500 troops under Sir Peter Parker attack Ft. Moultrie and are repulsed.
1776--(August 5) Declaration of Independence arrives at the city.
1780--(March 29) British siege begins; lasts 40 days. (May 12) After a bitter struggle, General Benjamin Lincoln surrenders Charles Town to the British, their greatest prize of the Revolutionary War. Two-and-a-half year occupation begins.
1782--(Dec 14) Defeated British Army marches out of city, ending the occupation.
1783--(August 13) This date marks the incorporation of the city, and the official adoption of the name Charleston.
1791--(May 2) President George Washington arrives in Charleston for a week's visit. His itinerary includes lodging at the Daniel Heyward House (87 Church St.), a reception at the Old Exchange, and a social evening at McCrady's Longroom (153 East Bay).
1820--Charleston's population estimated to be 23,300.
1828-29--A young Army recruit named Edgar Allan Poe is stationed at Ft. Moultrie on Sullivans Island for a year. Later sets his first published story, The Gold Bug, on Sullivan's Island, incorporating coastal Carolina pirate lore.
1843--(March 20) The Citadel opens for its first class of cadets.
1860--Charleston's population estimated to be 40,500.
1860--(Nov 7) Abraham Lincoln's election prompts the resignation of federal officials in the city.
1860--(Dec 20) Ordinance of Secession ratified by "a Convention of the People of the State of South Carolina" in Institute Hall in Charleston, proclaiming South Carolina "an independent commonwealth."
1861--(April 12) Confederate forces open fire upon Ft. Sumter, the first shots of the Civil War.
1863--(April 7) Union sends fleet of nine ironclad Monitor warships to attack Ft. Sumter. Attack is repulsed.
1863--(July 18) The Union assault upon Battery Wagner on Morris Island is lead by the 54th Massachusetts, an all black unit. This is the battle portrayed in the film Glory.
1863--(August 22) The 587 day Federal bombardment of downtown Charleston begins.
1864-- The Confederate submarine CSS H. L. Hunley rams the Housatonic; the first submarine to sink a vessel in war.
1865-- (Feb 23) Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's troops reach Middleton Place Plantation, leaving it in ruins. Charlestonians fear imminent invasion, but Sherman's forces turn toward Columbia. Their subsequent burning of Columbia destroys many records and valuables which Charlestonians had sent there for "safekeeping."
1865--(April 14) Flag-raising ceremony at Ft. Sumter, marking the anniversary of Maj. Anderson's surrender to Confederate forces.
1886--(August 31) The Lowcountry is struck by an estimated 7.5 earthquake, resulting in 83 deaths and $6 million in damage.
1925--A new dance craze begins in Charleston's pubs and dancehalls and spreads across the nation; soon to be named "the Charleston."
1934--Composer George Gershwin arrives in Charleston to research and write Porgy and Bess, the first American opera.
1963--(September) Charleston's Rivers High School becomes the first racially integrated high school in South Carolina.
1989--(September 21) Hurricane Hugo, a powerful category 4 hurricane with winds of 131-155 mph slams into the city with a 12-17 foot wall of water rolling over Ft. Sumter around midnight. The barrier islands are inundated as an estimated 80% of homes on Sullivan's Island and Folly Island are badly damaged or destroyed . Many homes in the Historic District sustain 10 to 24 inches of flooding. While about three quarters of the 3,500 significant structures suffer some damage, only twenty-five historically important buildings are severely damaged. Total losses are estimated at $2.8 billion.
1995--(May) Author Clive Cussler announces that his team of divers has discovered the wreck of the Confederate Submarine H. L. Hunley in the waters off Sullivan's Island.
Courtesy South Carolina�s Information Highway
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