Charleston was first settled in 1670 when the English frigate CAROLINA entered Charleston harbor and landed on a bluff on the West bank of the Ashley River.   By 1676 the settlers began clearing land on Oyster Point, the present site of Charleston.   The city developed a prosperous maritime commerce where goods were brought to ships for delivery elsewhere and ships brought materials to be sold or shipped in America.
          During the Revolution she became a battleground for independence.   When Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, South Carolinians closed the port to all shipping.    When the English repealed the Act the next year, the city celebrated with a national holiday.  By 1776 the Colonies and Charleston were engaged in war with England.   The first American victory took place at Fort Sullivan near Charleston when the Brithish fleet was defeated as it tried to enter the harbor.   The city received only a short reprieve.   In 1780 the British returned and laid siege to Charleston forcing its surrendered on May 12.   The British fleet finally evacuated Charleston and returned her to American hands on December 14, 1872.
           For  almost 80 years the city prospered until the dramatic events that led to the War for Southern Independence or "Civil War".   In 1861 after Lincoln was elected President, the South Carolina General Assembly passed an Ordinance of Secession.   Soon other states joined South Carolina in forming the Confederate States of America.   On April 12, 1861 Confederate troops from Fort Johnson fired the first shot of the war at Fort Sumpter.   Charleston, the "Cradle of Secession", became a strategic symbol for both the North and South.   As a blockade running port, she drew the main force of the Union Navy during the first 2 years of the war.   The following siege lasted 587 days.   Threatened by the large force of Union ships anchored  outside the harbor, the Confederate Navy began constructing an Ironclad Squadron in Charleston.   By 1863 the C.S.S. CHICORA and C.S.S. PALMETTO STATE were operational.   Their first sortie on January 31, 1863 was a rousing success as they scattered the fleet and captured the steamer U.S.S. MERCEDITA.   With the arrival of the new Union monitors a few days later, the Charleston Squadron was relegated to the inner defenses of the harbor.
           Over the next two years Charleston Harbor would see more innovative naval weapons than anywhere else in the world.   Submarines, torpedoboats, and mines (called torpedoes at the time) would all be proven in battle during the defense of the city.  On February 17, 1864, the HUNLEY became the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat when she attacked the U.S.S. HOUSATONIC.   
           By 1865 the end was in sight.   The blockade had left Charleston's once thriving economy in shambles.   After Sherman's army entered South Carolina from Georgia, Charleston was evacuated.   The Union army had accomplished in just a few months what the Navy had failed to do for over 4 years.  Charleston was occupied but it was not defeated.

"CHARLESTON at SUNRISE, 1863" shows the South's most famous port as the sun begins to rise in the East.   The ironclad C.S.S. CHICARO is seen leaving the city to join the C.S.S. PALMETTO STATE already stationed near Fort Sumter.   The city,  under blockade for over a year, does not show the scars of war that will shortly come when the Union guns get close enough to  begin shelling.   To the left, unpaved Broad Street is beginning to show traffic that was common during the war.   Although many of the buildings shown in the painting are gone, some do exist today.   St. Michael's Church, which was later painted gray to help shield it from the Union guns, stands defiantly over Charleston.   To the left on East Bay Street is the Exchange Building and to the right is the rear of "Rainbow Row".   McGrath's attention to detail takes you back to Charleston during the early stages of the war and shows the city as no other painting has ever done.