The Destruction of Charleston in the Civil War
Visitors to the South Carolina city can still see signs of the pre-Civil War structures that were devastated by Union bombardment and a blazing fire devastated
- By Ray Gordon and Molly Roberts
- Smithsonian.com, March 23, 2011
(Library of Congress / Molly Roberts)
Home to the Hibernian Society, an Irish benevolent group, Hibernian Hall served as headquarters for the Southern Democrats, a faction that split off from the Democratic Party after the contentious 1860 Democratic National Convention. This schism led to there being two presidential candidates: Stephen Douglas, representing the Northern Democrats, and John Breckenridge, representing the Southern Democrats, a division that ensured the election of the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln. The society still uses the space today as a meeting center.