The Bombardment Of Charleston 1863-1865

Union forces began bombarding in the summer of 1863. Using the latest weapons -- including the eight-inch Swamp Angel, capable of hurling 150-pound shells over five miles -- Northern troops pounded the city continuously until February 1865.

Using military records, diaries, and even vintage photographs, the author explores this period through eyewitness accounts. He agrees with many contemporary opinions that this deliberate and wanton destruction was a Union attempt to "make Charleston pay for her sins."