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1865 - Chaos

May 7, 1865 - There is panic in Charlotte as the Civil War ends. Reveling Union soldiers are drunk. Some desperate people who have lost all their possessions resort to stealing, or looting, from stores. Slaves have run away from farms, leaving no one to plant and harvest crops. Captain M.C. Runyan arrives with soldiers from New Jersey. They will help restore order to the city, and many citizens welcome them.

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1835 - Native Questions

Members of the Southern Indian tribes argue among themselves. Should the tribes sell land to the U.S. government? How much should they demand in return? What will happen if the Indians lose their tribal homeland? How will the tribes survive? There will be no easy answers to these questions.

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1864 - Savannah Falls

December 22, 1864 - Sherman's Union army has captured Savannah, Georgia. They now have created a military barrier that stretches from east to west across the South, hampering the Confederate army's attempts to move men and supplies through the region. Sherman sends word to President Lincoln that this lovely coastal city will be spared. Sherman will call Savannah his Christmas gift to Lincoln. Next, the Carolinas will come under attack. 

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1863 - Freedom Rings

January 1, 1863 - President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. This order grants freedom only to those slaves residing in the states that have left the U.S., called the Confederacy. But the Confederate states refuse to acknowledge Lincoln's order. They obey only the president they elected in 1862, Jefferson Davis.After the Civil War ends, former Confederate states must agree to end slavery to be re-admitted into the United States.

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1845 - Rags to Riches

The man who sold a $3,000 gold nugget for $3.50 in 1802 dies. John Reed had lived to become one the richest men in North Carolina. It all began in 1799 when his son, Conrad, found an unusual rock on the family's property 25 miles northeast of Charlotte. The rock contained nearly eight ounces of gold, and it was only the first of many. The Reed gold mine will change hands again and again in years to come. Eventually, it will be designated a North Carolina historic site. 

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1865 - Fall of Fort Fisher

January 15, 1865 - In the worst fighting North Carolina has suffered, Union troops have attacked Fort Fisher. The coastal fort guards the mouth of the Cape Fear River. After the fort falls, Union soldiers make their way upriver and capture Wilmington. The Confederacy loses its last open seaport.

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1865 - Uncertain Future

Although the Civil War has ended, Southern military leaders will not abandon their countrymen. More than 60 officers bring their skills to Charlotte. Along with 18 lawyers, 13 doctors and five dentists, these leaders help strengthen Charlotte and insure the Queen City will survive the uncertain days of Reconstruction that lie ahead.

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1856 - Women's Education

The Charlotte Female Institute opens to educate young women. The school building at the corner of Ninth and College streets will be used in 1896 to start Presbyterian College for Women. In 1912, the school will move to a suburban campus on Queens Road in the Myers Park neighborhood.Charlotte Female Institute

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1865 - Columbia in Flames

February 17, 1865 - Columbia, South Carolina surrenders to General William T. Sherman. Early the next morning, a fire breaks out and spreads, engulfing the town. Some accuse Sherman of setting the fire, others blame drunken soldiers celebrating their victory. Also today, Confederates in Charleston begin to leave their battered city. Charlotteans fear they will be next as Sherman continues to conquer the South.

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1876 - The Honorable Zebulon Vance

Zebulon Vance, who was sent to prison at the end of the Civil War, is elected North Carolina's governor. When Jewish shopkeeper Samuel Wittkowsky learned of the order to arrest Vance, he convinced the officers that his friend was honorable and would not flee. Now Vance lives in Charlotte. He has served as governor during war and in peacetime. Soon, Vance will be elected to the U.S. Senate.

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