The Burning of Columbia, S.C. and the beginning of Camp Jackson

 

The burning of Columbia, S.C., on Feb 17, 1865 as sketched by W. Waud for Harper's Weekly.

 By Retired Col. Angelo Perri

On Feb 17, 2015, Columbia will observe the occupation of the City by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's federal forces and the burning of the city. Federal troops remained until 1877 and were tolerated by the citizens who were not happy about their continued presence. 

In 1898 when the Spanish American War broke out, the U.S. Army returned to Columbia and established five temporary camps. All five camps are public parks today:

Camp Ellerbee is now Hyatt Park;

Camp Dewey is now Earlewood Park;

Camp Fornance is now the junction of North Main/River Road;

Camp Prospect is now Lynch Park in Elmwood, and 

Camp Fitzhugh Lee is now Martin Luther King Park in Five Points.

These camps were only open less than a year since the Spanish American War was very short. However, the interface between the citizens and the Federal Soldiers went very well, especially  with the Co-eds from Columbia College who were near the two camps north of downtown. As a result, the Chamber of Commerce decided to seek a permanent U.S. military installation for Columbia in early 1900s.

When World War I broke out in Europe in 1914, the War Department, planning ahead, began looking for places to place future camps if the U.S. enter WW I. Then Maj. Douglas MacArthur was sent to survey the Columbia area and recommended that a camp be established. Thus, Camp Jackson was established in August 1917 and later made a permanent installation. 

So, despite the burning of Columbia and the unhappy Reconstruction that followed for 12 years, Columbia became the "Home" of Fort Jackson. It continues today to have one of the best relationships between a city and it's nearby military installation.