“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.]
Caption: 'The new batteries erected on Morris Island for the defence of Charleston Harbor and the reduction of Fort Sumpter (sic).--from a sketch by our Special Artist in Charleston, S.C.--see page 295.' Identified with additional captions are: 1.The Iron-clad Steven's Battery on Cumming's Point. 2. Encampment on Morris Island. 3.Star of the West Battery. 4.Columbia Battery. [full date March 30, 1861.]
Caption: 'Our blockading fleet off North Channel, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.--sketched by a Naval Officer.--[see page 79.] References--A. Fort Sumter.--B. Charleston City.--C. Fort Moultrie.--D. Rebel tug at work on the obstructions.--E. Obstructions.--F. Fort Johnson.--G. Mount Pleasant Batteries.' Also identified in image: South Carolina, Blunt, Daylight and Stars and Stripes (ships of the fleet). [full date January 31, 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: 'Profile view of the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, showing the city and forts.' Identified in the image: Fort Johnston (sic), Fort Sumter, Charleston, Fort Moultrie and Mount Pleasant. [full date December 29, 1860.]
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.
A postcard of Fort Sumter in the Charleston Harbor. The back of the postcard reads, "Without knowledge of which and its tragic annals no student of American history is well informed. Plans approved and construction ordered in 1828. Surrendered to the Confederates by Major Anderson at the beginning of the Civil War, 1861."
A postcard of the old gun positions on Fort Sumter. Back of the postcard reads, "Fort Sumter occupies a commanding position at the mouth of Charleston Harbor. From the guns on these old gun-mounts, the first shots of the Civil War were fired."
A postcard of Fort Sumter in the Charleston Harbor. The back of the postcard read, "Fort Sumter constructed 1828. A historic Fort known to all students for its surrender to the Confederates by Major Anderson at the beginning of the Civil War."
A postcard of the mural from the main lobby of the Fort Sumter Hotel that depicts the attack on Fort Sumter. The front of the postcard reads, "This mural painting, in the Main Lobby of the Fort Sumter Hotel, Charleston, South Carolina, symbolizes the initial attack by Confederate forces, beginning the War Between the States.--The painting is by Alfred Hutty, internationally noted artist and etcher." The back of the postcard reads, "The first shot of the War Between the States was fired April 12, 1861, from a Confederate battery at Fort Johnson (position of the observer in this painting) and landed on the parade ground of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. In this painting Fort Sumter is center, Fort Moultrie to the distant left and a floating Confederate battery to the right. The flag is the original seven star flag of the Confederacy. Fort Sumter, occupied by Confederates on April 14, 1861, was under constant siege by Federal forces from that date until February 18, 1865--In 1948 Fort Sumter was designated a national monument."
A postcard of Fort Sumter in the Charleston Harbor. The back of the postcard reads, "Without knowledge of which and its tragic annals no student of Aermcian history is well informed. Plans approved and constructed in 1828. Surrendered to Confedereates by Major Anderson at the beginning of the Civil War, 1861."
A postcard of Fort Sumter in the Charleston Harbor. The back of the postcard reads, "Standing majestically in Charleston's harbor is 'Fort Sumter,' where was fired the first shot of the 'Civil War.'"
A postcardr of Fort Sumter in the Charleston Harbor. The back of the postcard reads, "Without knowledge of which and its tragic annals no student of American history is well informed. Plans approved and construction ordered in 1828. Surrendered to the Confederates by Major Anderson at the beginning of the Civil War, 1861."
A postcard of Fort Sumter in the Charleston Harbor. The back of the postcard reads, "Without knowledge of which and its tragic annals no student of American history is well informed. Plans approved and construction ordered in 1828. Surrendered to the Confederates by Major Anderson at the beginning of the Civil War, 1861." The back also notes that it was "Made in Germany."
A postcard of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The back of the postcard reads, "Without knowledge of which and its tragic annals no student of American history is well informed. Plans approved and construction ordered in 1828. Surrendered to the Confederates by Major Anderson at the beginning of the Civil War, 1861."
A postcard of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The back of the postcard reads, "Fort Sumter standing majestically in Charleston's harbor, where the first shot of the Civil War was fired. This fort stood more bombarding than any other fort in the world before Port Arthur."
The Weehaw Plantation Journal, 1855-1861, is a journal of Weehaw Plantation, near Georgetown regarding birth, death, duties, vaccinations, tasks and allowances of enslaved people, plantation expenses, names of overseers, listings of rice crops, clothing for enslaved people, cattle, yearly accounts, tools, usage of fields, vegetable garden production, medicines, house groceries and contracts. The journal is also used as a partial diary regarding the plantation with comments on Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address, secession of South Carolina, the days leading up to the attack on Fort Sumpter, the day of the attack on Fort Sumpter, lists of enslaved persons winter and summer clothes and mentions of recruiting for Hampton's Legion for the Confederate States of America. Loose papers found within the journal contain names of enslaved persons and notes on the plantation.
