By Ron Field
The militia and volunteers of the Palmetto State were the first troops to see service in defense of the short-lived Republic of South Carolina in 1861, and some of the last to defend the Confederate States of America in 1865. During that time, 12,922 South Carolinians soldiers died—almost a quarter of its male white population of fighting age.
Most of these men were photographed before they saw action. Some never fired a shot in anger, but became casualties from diseases in camp. Others sacrificed their lives on the battlefield or died of their wounds. Many had their image “struck” by some of the best photographic artists in the South, including George S. Cook and Charles J. Quinby of Charleston and Charles R. Rees of Richmond, Va. The pride and stoicism evoked by these portraits stand as a monument to Southern sacrifice.
