Military Post / Potter's Raid

After the Civil War ended in 1865, a Federal military occupation garrison stood for some time in this area of Sumter. Known locally as Yankee Camp, the post contained officers' quarters, barracks, and a guard house, where sentinels guarded their posts while prisoners and soldiers performed various camp chores. On April 9, 1865, the day Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Federal troops under Gen. Edward E. Potter occupied Sumter. They destroyed railroad property, including locomotives, cars, shops, store houses, and the freight depot, burned cotton and the jail, ransacked businesses, and looted homes. Potter, whose headquarters was at the present courthouse site on Main Street, left Sumter on April 11th.

Sumter, South Carolina · United States