Online Exhibits > Civil War Photographs by George Barnard

MEETING STREET WITH CIRCULAR CHURCH, ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, & MILLS HOUSE
Charleston SC
March 1865

On December 11, 1861, a great fire destroyed most of the buildings in downtown Charleston. Because of the chaos of the war years, few structures were rebuilt. The Union forces on ships and in recaptured forts in Charleston harbor added to the destruction by a continual low-level bombardment. Finally, much of what survived until then was destroyed by fires set when the Confederates evacuated the city in February, 1865.