History & Celebrations Today – February 18

Celebrations Today – February 18

Holidays and observances

Celebrations Today – USA: February 18

National Battery Day
National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day
National Drink Wine Day
National Cow Milked While Flying in an Airplane Day
National Crab-Stuffed Flounder Day
National Thumb Appreciation Day

Today in US History: February 18

Charleston Surrenders

St. Michael's Church
St. Michael’s Church, Charleston, South Carolina, 1865.
Selected Civil War Photographs

A City of ruins, —silent, mournful, in deepest humiliation…The band was playing ‘Hail, Columbia,’ and the strains floated through the desolate city, awakening wild enthusiasm in the hearts of the colored people…A Northern reporter’s description of Charleston, South Carolina, on February 18, 1865. Cited in E. B. Long with Barbara Long, Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865 (New York: Da Capo Press, 1971), 640.

The mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered control of the city to Union Brigadier General Alexander Schimmelfennig at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 18, 1865. With commanding General William T. Sherman‘s arrival imminent, evacuation of the city began on February 17 and continued through the early morning hours of February 18. The city had been under siege since July 10, 1863.

From the Nullification Crisis of 1832-33, to passage of the First Ordinance of Secession on December 20, 1860, South Carolina played a leading role in events leading up to the Civil War. Personified by John C. Calhoun, South Carolina’s long-time senator, the state traditionally defended slavery and states rights. When Confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor in April 1861, few could have been surprised that events in South Carolina would push the nation into civil war.

Ruined Buildings
View of Ruined Buildings through Porch of the Circular Church, Charleston, South Carolina, April 1865.
Selected Civil War Photographs

Click on the photograph for a better view of three small African-American children clustered at the column’s base.

American Memory collections are rich in materials on the Civil War.

Today in History – February 18-External Links

Today’s Weather in History
Today in Earthquake History
This Day in Naval History
Today’s Document from the National Archives
Today’s Events, Births & Deaths –Wikipedia
Today in History by AP
On this Day -1950 to 2005 – Today’s Story–BBC
On This Day: The New York Times
This Day in History –History.com
Today in Canadian History – Canada Channel
History of Britain that took place On This Day
Russia in History –Russiapedia