Waking Up the Dead

The Circular Congregational Church was hit only three times during the Federal bombardment of Charleston, August 1863-February 1865. Many of the graves in the churchyard, though, were damaged or destroyed. Thirty years after the fire, the church was rebuilt, 1891–92, at its same location, 150 Meeting Street. Such was the fate of the Mathews family tomb. A Union Parrott shell plunged down and blew apart the headstone, obliterating the name of the family patriarch. It lies in fragments in this photograph. Genealogists have learned that the tomb contained the remains of five more family members, including James Mathews. He died in 1844 at the age of 71. The Mathews family tombstone has been rebuilt and stands today in the Circular Church cemetery.

This is the caption as printed in 100 Significant Civil War Photographs: Charleston in the War. It has not yet been through this site’s research and fact-checking pass.