Upheaval in Charleston

by Williams, Susan Millar; Hoffius, Stephen G.

• ISBN13: 9780820337159
• ISBN10: 0820337153
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-06-01
• Publisher: Univ of Georgia Pr

Summary

On August 31, 1886, a massive earthquake centered near Charleston, South Carolina, sent shock waves as far north as Maine, down into Florida, and west to the Mississippi River. When the dust settled, residents of the old port city were devastated by the death and destruction.Upheaval in Charlestonis a gripping account of natural disaster and turbulent social change in a city known as the cradle of secession. Weaving together the emotionally charged stories of Confederate veterans and former slaves, Susan Millar Williams and Stephen G. Hoffius portray a South where whites and blacks struggled to determine how they would coexist a generation after the end of the Civil War.This is also the story of Francis Warrington Dawson, a British expatriate drawn to the South by the romance of the Confederacy. As editor of Charlestonrs"sNews and Courier, Dawson walked a lonely and dangerous path, risking his life and reputation to find common ground between the races. Hailed as a hero in the aftermath of the earthquake, Dawson was denounced by white supremacists and murdered less than three years after the disaster. His killer was acquitted after a sensational trial that unmasked a Charleston underworld of decadence and corruption.Combining careful research with suspenseful storytelling,Upheaval in Charlestonoffers a vivid portrait of a volatile time and an anguished place.

Table of Contents

Preface. Living with Disaster	p. ix
The Great Shock	p. 1
Seeds of Destruction	p. 4
"The Earthquake Is upon Us!"	p. 17
A World Turned Upside Down	p. 30
The Earthquake Hunters	p. 39
Aftershocks	p. 53
An Angry God	p. 73
Labor Day	p. 86
"Bury the Dead and Feed the Living"	p. 101
The Comforts of Science	p. 119
Relief	p. 132
Waiting for the Apocalypse	p. 148
Rising from the Ruins	p. 160
The Old Joy of Combat	p. 170
Wrapped in the Stars and Stripes	p. 180
Fault Lines	p. 191
Standing over a Volcano	p. 204
Killing Captain Dawson	p. 217
The Trial	p. 230
Epilogue. Rebuilding the Walls	p. 249
Acknowledgments	p. 259
Notes	p. 261
Selected Bibliography	p. 319
Index	p. 325
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