“Stories Collected from Slaves” by Leonarda J. Aimar is a bound volume of formerly enslaved people's stories. In her transcription, she attempted to capture the storytellers’ colloquial speech, now recognized as the Gullah language. The volume includes a list of addresses, occupations, and diseases of African Americans during their enslavement; an eye-witness account of the Battle of Secessionville on James Island during the Civil War in 1862; how enslaved people were returned to their slaveholders following the Revolutionary War; and an account of Sherman's march from Savannah, Georgia to Charleston, South Carolina during the Civil War. A formerly enslaved man, Sam, provides a detailed account of being a butler, coachman, and horse jockey. He also recounts how Union Army Major Robert Anderson took control of Fort Sumter and the events that transpired there on April 12, 1861. Other accounts include an enslaved man’s recollections of his time as a servant to a plantation overseer who sympathized with the Union during the Civil War and formerly enslaved man Jim Alston’s detailed eye-witness account of the 1876 Cainhoy Riot.
Caption: 'Caption: 'The rifled cannon which did so much execution on Fort Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina'--[From a Sketch by our Special Artist.]' [full date May 18,1861.]
General Orders No. 50 from the War Department stating that Brevet Major-General Robert Anderson will raise the flag on Fort Sumter April 14, 1865. Rev. Henry Ward Beecher will deliver a public address at the ceremonies.
Caption: 'Night after the fight--the iron clads at anchor off Fort Sumter.--sketched by our Special Artist, Mr. W.T. Crane.--see page 81.' [full date May 2, 1863.]
Caption: 'The Old Flag again on Sumter--raised (on a temporary staff formed of an oar and boathook) by Captain H.M. Bragg, of General Gillmore's staff, February 18th, 1865.'
[Color image.] Caption at top: 'The harbor of Charleston, S.C.--From sketches by our special artist.--Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island.' Caption at middle: 'Fort Pinckney, Charleston, S.C.' Caption at bottom: 'Fort Sumter, Charleston, S.C.' [full date Dec. 1, 1860.]
Caption: 'Panoramic view of Charleston Harbor--advance of iron-clads to the attack, April 7. Union--A. Keokuk. B. Nahunt. C. Nantucket. D. Catskill. E. Ironsides. F. Patapsco. G. Montauk. H. Passaie. K. Weehawken. Rebel--1. Morris Island sand battery. 2. Fort Wagner. 3. Battery Bee, on Cummings Point. 4. [Fort] Johnson. 5. Fort Ripley. 6. Sumter. 7. Charleston City. 8. Castle Pinckney. 9. Fort Redan. 10. Fort Moultrie. 11. Moultrie House. 12. Fort Beauregard. 13. Harbor obstructions. 14. Cooper River. 15. Ashley River.' [full date May 2, 1863.]
Caption: 'The bombardment of Fort Sumter, as seen through the "look out" in the pilot-house of one of the monitors, April 7.--from a sketch by our Special Artist.' [full date May 9, 1863]
Caption: 'The city of Charleston, South Carolina.--[see page 62.]' Also identified in image: Broad Street, "Mercury" office, Custom-house, Castle Pinckney, Fort Moultrie, Fort Sumter and Morris Island. [full date January 26, 1861.]
[Color image.] Caption (in French): 'Evenements des Etats-Unis: Charleston et ses fortifications. [Events of the United States: Charleston and its fortifications.] 1--Charleston. 2--Riviere Ashley [Ashley River]. 3--Chemin de fer de Savannah [Savannah Railway]. 4--Riviere Cooper [Cooper River]. 5--Riviere Wando [Wando River]. 6--Fort Pinkney [Castle Pinckney]. 7--Fort Ripley. 8--Fort Johnson (ile James) [James Island]. 9--Riviere Stone [Stono River]. 10--Fort Sumter. 11--Fort Moultrie. 12--Batterie Gregg (pointe de Gumming) [Battery Gregg (Cummings Point)]. 13--Fort Wagner. 14--Batteries rasantes du general Gilmore [grazed batteries of General Gilmore]. 15--Ouvrages pris par les federaux. [Works undertaken by the Federals]. 16--Phare Inlet [Lighthouse inlet]. 17--Batteries federales (ile Folly) [Federal Batteries (Folly Island)]. 18--Canonnieres et vaisseaux cuirasses [gunboats and ironclads]. 19--Hotel. 20--Ile et batteries Sullivan [Sullivan Island and Batteries]. 21--Moultrie. 22--Mont Pleasant [Mount Pleasant]. 23--Breach Inlet. 24--Shem Creek. 25--Batteries construite par les confederes sur l'ile James, dans le voisinage du fort Johnson [Batteries built by the Confederates on James Island, in the vicinity of Fort Johnson].
Caption: 'The city of Charleston, South Carolina, looking seaward, and showing the burned district.--[see next page.]' Identified in image are: Broad Street, "Mercury" office, Custom-house, Castle Pinckney, Fort Moultrie, Fort Sumter and Morris Island. [full date December 28, 1861.]
Caption: 'Bombardment of Fort Sumter--The fleet engaging Batteries Wagner and Gregg.--[See Page 587]' Identified by captions are the Swamp Angel, Fort Johnson, Fort Sumter, Fort Gregg, Battery Wagner and iron-clads. [full date September 12, 1863.]
