On February 17, 1865, fire swept the capital city of Columbia, S.C. Southerners have long blamed Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and his army of 'bummers' for the conflagration. Others have traced the origin of the blaze to Confederate cavalry burning cotton and supplies to prevent capture by the Union forces. At long last the real truth has emerged as explained in the following article.
The following item was recently published in the Columbia Historical Society Review, the quarterly newsletter of theColumbia Historical Society:
CIVIL WAR DIARY FOUND
The recent discovery of the Civil War diary of Miss Anna Hastings Botwell has excited historians across the state. The diary, which was discovered in the Society archives during the ongoing effort to catalog and index Society documents, was found in a box of papers belonging to Capt. John Botwell. Capt. Botwell's papers were donated to the Society in 1944 and have not been viewed for more than fifty years. The fifty-six page wartime diary of Miss Botwell (the Captain's daughter) offers a naieve but revealing look at life in the Confederacy through the eyes of a southern belle.
Anna Botwell was seventeen and attending the Cornwall Finishing School for Girl's in Columbia when she made her first entry in the diary which covers the ten month period between September, 1864 and June, 1865. One of the more interesting entries records the events surrounding the capture and subsequent burning of Columbia during the closing days of the Civil War. The entry reads as follows:
"This morning our boys left town in a hurry. We pleaded with them to stay and protect us from those horrid Yankees but to no avail. Lt. Grissom told me they were executing a 'change of base'. As I am ignorant of military matters I cannot concieve what this means.
The Yankees soon entered the town in rapid order. They seem to be in high spirits and do not straggle and sulk as our boys do. They greeted us with exceptional politeness and on the whole were a great deal more congenial than we had been led to believe.
For the most part they were perfect gentlemen with the exception of one scoundrel who has caused exceptional suffering and hardship by his wicked acts. It seems that one miscreant stole into the barn of a Mrs. O'Leary who lives on Canal St. While there he attempted to make off with the very milk which Mrs. O'Leary depends on for her poor young children. Needless to say, a good Confederate, the cow would not tolerate theiving Yankee hands on her teats and she kicked the young cretin near senseless.
Upon gaining his sense the ill-mannered Yankee made a hasty retreat to the safety of his comrades. In his haste however he left the cigar which had been clenched between his wicked teeth lying on the floor of the barn. It seems that the burning embers ignited either the straw or several bales of cotton which Mrs. O'Leary's brother-in-law had hidden in the barn. In short order the whole barn was ablaze and the fire crew was called for. They made slow going since all of the younger men are off serving with Genl. Beuregard.
Several Yankees near to the scene pitched in and assisted the firemen. They used their bayonets to poke holes in the hose so that the water would come out in a sprinkler effect, thereby covering more area. They assured the fire chief that this tactic had been used to great effect in Atlanta.
Despite the brave efforts of our own crew, assisted by the Yankees, the conflagration soon grew out of control. At this point Genl.Sherman himself ordered a whole brigade to construct a fire break. This was done in short time by removing the cotton from the warehouses and piling it at strategic points. Kersone was then used to light the cotton in hopes that the blaze would be contained. If not for the quick action of Genl. Sherman and his men I should think that the whole city would have been destroyed."
Miss Botwell's diary is currently being edited by esteemed author Emma Barnwell, Professor of Women's Cultural Studies, at The Citadel. Ms. Barnwell research shows the events relayed in Miss Botwell's diary to be historically accurate. Barnwell's research indicates that the Mrs. O'Leary referred to in the diary moved to Chicago, Illinois with her children and livestock after the war. Miss Botwell became engaged to Lt. George Cross of the 38th Indiana Cavalry. After the war she traveled to Indiana only to find that Lt. Cross had already been married five years previous. The situation was resolved when Lt. Cross, his wife, and Miss Botwell moved to Utah in 1866 and converted to Mormanism. Miss Botwell's brother, Sgt. Evander Botwell, was awarded the Confederate Cross of Honor for his actions in spiking his guns under heavy fire during the evacuation of Charleston. We will be printing more excerpts from Miss Botwell's diary in future issues. The entire diary will be published in the spring of 1997 and will be available from Citadel Press.
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