Tom Elmore

Columbia Civil War Landmarks Tom Elmore

Centered in the Confederacy's Atlantic states, Columbia was one of three untouched Southern capitals at the end of 1864. Its factories produced uniforms, swords, belts, bullets, gunpowder and cannonballs, all vital to the war effort, until the fiery onslaught of Sherman's invasion cut a swath through the city. Tom Elmore, local Civil War historian and tour guide, presents over sixty significant sites throughout the Greater Columbia area that were marked by moments of triumph and devastation during the war. Readers will find the stories behind both well-known and infamous places, including the Horseshoe on the University of South Carolina campus, the gruesome 1864 prisoner of war camp, the ruins of one of the largest textile mills ever built and the monument commemorating the spot where the great city was surrendered.