SOUTH CAROLINA
The first settlement in South Carolina was attempted in 1562 by a colony of French Protestant exiles, who named it Carolina in honor of their monarch, Charles IX, King of France. In 1663, Charles II, King of England, grand a charter to a company of English nobles, and under their auspices the first successful settlement was made at Port Royal, previously founded by the French. In 1680 the foundation of Charleston was laid. During the Revolution important battles occurred at Charleston, Fort Moultrie, Cowpens, Camden, King’s Mountain, and Eutaw Springs. The State constitution was adopted in 1776, and the Constitution of the United States was ratified in 1788. South Carolina was the first State to secede from the Union, on Dec. 20, 1860. The first hostile act in the Civil War was the bombardment of Fort Sumter, in April, 1861. During the war the State suffered greatly, her harbors were blockaded, and much property was destroyed by Federal soldiers on the great march under General Sherman.
See also South Carolina Churches.
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