UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
VOL. 116, NO. 92 • SINCE 1908
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015
Men’s basketball
Team picks up first SEC road win | Page 10
Columbia remembers burning 150 years later Heidi Stone / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Crowds gather to commemorate anniversary Lauren Shirley @SURLEYLAUREN
The cold didn’t deter a crowd from gathering in front of the Columbia Museum of A rt for the ceremony on Tuesday com memorat ing t he burning of Columbia. It’s been 150 years since the city of Columbia, South Carolina was nearly burned to the ground during Gen. William T. Sherman’s March. The ceremony was held to remember the burning of Columbia, a turning point
and a “rebirth of both Columbia, SC and the nation,” according to the event’s website. Joined by the Sandlapper Singers and the Benedict College Concert Choir, elected officials, historians and the bystanders alike gathered at Boyd Plaza for a celebration of rebirth and a remembrance of the past. “It was a day not unlike today,” documentarian Beryl Dakers said. More t ha n 5,0 0 0 people have engaged in the online and physical
e v e nt s t h at h a v e b e e n o f f e r e d surrounding t he burning’s 150t h anniversary, according to Dakers. Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin and Cayce Mayor Elise Partin both det a i led ef fec t s t he bu r n i ng of Columbia had on the city’s residents and the impact that it has had on regional histor y. A lthough it was an event t hat dest royed t he cit y, Benjamin felt that it helped Columbia grow in the long-run. SEECEREMONYPAGE2
New marker was ‘tricky to produce’ Lauren Shirley @SURELYLAUREN
The South Carolina Department of A rchives and History revealed a historical marker t hat com memor at ed t he bu r n i n g of Columbia which occurred 150 years ago Tuesday. “We are here to commemorate a very traumatic event in the history of Columbia,” said Eric Emerson at the start of the ceremony. “Which was really a culmination of a number of
traumatic days in the state of South Carolina.” Emerson is t he Director of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History as well as the chair of South Carolina’s Civil Wa r Se squ icenten n ia l ad v i sor y board, opened the historic event. The marker program of the South Carolina Department of A rchives and History was established in 1905, a nd accord i ng to Emerson, t h is marker becomes one of the 1,560
historical state markers t hat are located throughout the state of South Carolina. T he om i s sion of a m a rker to com memorate t he bu r n i ng of Columbia was a concern that the dep a r t me nt s e t out t o r e me d y, Emerson said. The marker was “t rick y to produce,” he said, because of the varying accounts of the events from SEEMARKERPAGE2
Upcoming events Old General Sherman Gives a Commencement Address February 19 at 7:00 p.m. Richland Librar y Main Bostick Auditorium 1431 Assembly St. Columbia, SC 29201 Guided Tours of the Congaree Creek Battlefield Site February 21 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Cayace Tennis and Fitness Center 1120 Fort Congaree Trail Cayce, SC 29033
The Palladium Society Chili Cook-Off February 21 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Music Farm Columbia 1022 Senate Street Columbia, SC 29201
Burning history explained with professor’s app Krishna Thakker @KRISHNA_THAKKER
On Feb. 17, 1865, the cit y of Columbia was burnt by Union troops during Gen. William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea. It’s a day South Carolinians look back on a century and a half later. To commemorate the burning of Columbia, Sara Burrows, a history i nst r uc tor at USC , created an app for the Apple Store. The app gives u s er s a n i nt er ac t i ve experience while studying the burning of Columbia — it features video inter views with le ad i n g aut hor s a nd scholars, including U S C ’s T h o m a s J . Brow n and Friedrich Hamer, and research done by history
students at USC. “The app is a g re at s t a r t i ng p oi nt f or a ny o ne w ho h a s ever wa nted a bet ter understanding of t he invasion of Columbia,” Burrows said. There are first-person accounts of the historic bu r n i ng, i nclud i ng aud io e xcer pt s f rom Sherman’s papers and le t t e r s t o p hot o s of t he bu r ned c it y a nd newspaper ar t icles about the burning. If approved by Apple, the app can be found under the name “The Burning of Columbia,” and the proceeds will go to the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. Bu rrows said she plans to produce more history media projects to make learning about the past easily accessible to the public.
Cody Scoggins / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
The play centers on the cultural invasion of the British, and how life changed for the Irish after their arrival.
‘Translations’ an engaging tale of Irish, British historical conflicts Kylie Tokar @KYLIE_TOKES
The latest from Theatre South Carolina goes back in time to tell a gripping, humorous tale. “Translations,” a tale about a small Irish town and its attempt to adapt to a changing world, comes alive with humor and heartache. The play runs from Feb. 20-28 at the Longstreet Theatre. The characters are members of
a community in which everyone knows each other — they attend school in a wooden schoolhouse where stories of travel and gossip unfold. As British cartographers come to their town with the aim of changing their place names from Gaelic to English, their way of life and interpersonal relationships become threatened. Wes Williams, a second-year theatre student, plays one of these townsfolk. He brings a hearty
innocence to the stage, rich with satisfaction for his small-town existence. “The one thing I really enjoy about this play is the dynamic between the British and the Irish and how funny that is,” Williams said. “For my character specifically, he’s really to get laughs. I’m really looking forward to getting laughs out of people and entertaining.” SEETRANSLATIONSPAGE4