JULY 4, 1866.
Charlestonians refused to celebrate America's birthday. United States General Daniel Sickles, military governor of South Carolina, wrote to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton that "I have never seen a Carolinian raise an American flag and if one were ever hoisted over a Dwelling, or a Hotel, or a Shop, the population would avoid the place as they would shun a pest house filled with lepers ..."When a Charleston fire company refused to carry the Stars and Stripes during a parade, Gen. Sickles ordered the company to display the national banner. One of the firemen symbolically removed a star from the flag and stated, "South Carolina wants no part of the Union." Sickles had the man arrested and imprisioned for 30 days.
JULY 4, 1868. Jacob Schirmer, a Charleston merchant, wrote in his diary: "The day now belongs to the 'Nigger', very few whites moving about."JULY 4, 1908. The first post-War official Independence Day celebration organized by the city of Charleston is held.
For more info about Gen. Sickle's life, pick up a copy of Wicked Charleston, Vol II: Prostitutes, Politics & Prohibition.
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