Charleston claims 40,000 inhabitants, the whites and blacks being about equal in number. It is curious that since the war the mortality of the latter has been twice as great as of the whites.
The city is seven miles from the ocean at the junction of the Ashley and Cooper rivers, and has an excellent harbor, surrounded by works of defence. On the sea line is Fort Moultrie; Castle Pinkney stands at the entrance to the city; south of the latter is Fort Ripley, built of palmetto logs; while in the midst of the harbor stands the famous Fort Sumter.
The ravages caused by the terrible events of the late war have yet been only very partially repaired in Charleston. The greater part of the burnt district is deserted and waste.
The history of Charleston, previous to that event, is not of conspicuous interest. The city was first commenced by English settlers, in 1672, and for a long time had a struggling existence. Many of its early inhabitants were Huguenots, who fled thither to escape the persecutions which followed the revocation of the edict of Nantes. A church is still maintained in which their ancient worship is celebrated.
Of public buildings, the ancient church of St. Michael’s, built about 1750, has some claim to architectural beauty.
The fashionable quarter of the city is the Battery. *Magnolia cemetery, on the Cooper river, is well worth a visit. It is one of the most beautiful in the South. It was laid out in 1850, and contains some handsome monuments.
The Custom House is a fine building, of white marble.
Those who wish to visit Fort Sumter, and review the scenes of 1861, can be accommodated by a small sailing vessel, which leaves the wharf every morning at 10.30 o’clock.
In the church-yard of St. Philip’s is the tomb of John C. Calhoun. A slab, bearing the single word “Calhoun,” marks the spot.