This book is designed to aid and guide your research of South Carolina in the Civil War. Many beginning and some experienced researchers try to do their research in a vacuum, without considering that all of our ancestors were involved in different social, cultural, religious, and political events. Many participated in wars, had extended families, and worked either on a farm or at other business activities. A proper study of these ancillary events that made up their lives is not only rewarding, but is the key to turning up the golden nuggets or clues for proceeding with your research. To accomplish genealogy research within the broader context of historical sociology or social history, approach your research topic considering the relevancy and interaction of each of the following elements with your subject: political, cultural, economic, linguistic, legal, geographical, and chronological. Basically research can be broken down into 3 areas: People Places Events This book focuses on the people from South Carolina who fought in the war. In a concise, well-organized format, we show you how to identify and organize the research materials for South Carolina. It also explains where to look for historical documents concerning Civil War soldiers, their regiments, and the actions of their regiments. We explain how to use the National Archives, (for Union regiments), State Archives (for Confederate regiments), historical and genealogical societies, Civil War shows, books, auctions, and web sites. In addition to providing sound research methodology, this guide provides an array of helpful research materials. The appendices also contain contact information for museums, libraries, and archives in South Carolina. This book is an effective time-saver and a valuable resource for people interested in investi-gating their ancestor's Civil War experiences. It is a must-have for amateur historians and a useful tool for those already conducting research.

Although many Civil War reference books exist, Civil War researchers have until now had no single compendium to consult on important details about the combatant states (and territories). This crucial reference work, the sixth in the States at War series, provides vital information on the organization, activities, economies, demographics, and laws of Civil War South Carolina. This volume also includes the Confederate States Chronology. Miller enlists multiple sources, including the statutes, Journals of Congress, departmental reports, general orders from Richmond and state legislatures, and others, to illustrate the rise and fall of the Confederacy. In chronological order, he presents the national laws intended to harness its manpower and resources for war, the harsh realities of foreign diplomacy, the blockade, and the costs of states’ rights governance, along with mounting dissent; the effects of massive debt financing, inflation, and loss of credit; and a growing raggedness within the ranks of its army. The chronology provides a factual framework for one of history’s greatest ironies: in the end, the war to preserve slavery could not be won while 35 percent of the population was enslaved.

This guide explores beyond the major national sources of information on civil war research, such as the National Archives in Washington.

An anthology of important scholarship on the Civil War and Reconstruction eras from the journal Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association. Since 1931, the South Carolina Historical Association has published an annual, peer-reviewed journal of historical scholarship. In this volume, past SCHA officers of Michael Brem Bonner and Fritz Hamer present twenty-three of the most enduring and significant essays from the archives, offering a treasure trove of scholarship on an impressive variety of subjects including race, politics, military events, and social issues. All articles published in the Proceedings after 2002 are available on the SCHA website, but this volume offers, for the first time, easy access to the journal’s best articles on the Civil War and Reconstruction up through 2001. Preeminent scholars such as Frank Vandiver, Dan T. Carter, and Orville Vernon Burton are among the contributors to this collection, an essential resource for historical synthesis of the Palmetto State’s experience during that era.

W. Scott Poole teaches South Carolina history at the College of Charleston.