Despite beliefs that the term “Holy City” dates to the city’s earliest days and refers to its religiously tolerant culture, the expression “Charleston the Holy City” was coined in the 20th century, as a mockery of Charlestonians’ self-satisfied attitude about their city. Many sources, however, traditionally link the term to the many old church spires dotting the skyline of downtown Charleston. Regardless of the nickname’s origin, residents have embraced the term and have explained it in more flattering ways. The Anglican church was dominant in the colonial era, and the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul today is the seat of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. St. John’s Protestant Episcopal Church is another historic church in Charleston. Many French Huguenot refugees settled in Charleston in the early 18th century. The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the Southern United States, and houses the oldest black congregation south of Baltimore, Maryland. South Carolina has long allowed Jews to practice their faith without restriction. Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, founded in 1749 by Sephardic Jews from London, is the fourth-oldest Jewish congregation in the continental USA, and was an important site for the development of Reform Judaism. Brith Sholom Beth Israel is the oldest Orthodox synagogue in the South, founded by Sam Berlin and other Ashkenazi German and Central European Jews in the mid-19th century. The city’s oldest Catholic parish, St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church, is the mother church of Catholicism in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. In 1820, Charleston was established as the see city of the Diocese of Charleston, which at the time comprised the Carolinas and Georgia, and presently encompasses the state of South Carolina. The Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite, established in Charleston in 1801, is considered the mother council of the world by Scottish Rite Freemasons. Charleston’s culture blends traditional Southern USA, English, French, and West African elements. Spoleto Festival USA, held annually in late spring, was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, based on a festival in in Spoleto, Italy. The Jenkins Orphanage was established in 1891 by the Rev. Daniel J. Jenkins in Charleston. The orphanage accepted donations of musical instruments, and Rev. Jenkins hired local Charleston musicians and Avery Institute Graduates to tutor the boys in music. Charleston Gaelic Athletic Association focuses on the sports of hurling and Gaelic football. The club competes in the Southeastern Division of the North American County Board of the GAA. This club hosts other division clubs in the Holy City Cup each spring. Did you know that Charleston was a holy city?
Race in Charleston, South Carolina
A significant part of Charleston’s history was its central role in the Atlantic slave trade. By the mid-18th century, Charleston was the hub of the Atlantic slave trade in the Southern Colonies, as it became the primary entry point for enslaved Africans. Almost one-half of enslaved people imported to the USA arrived in Charleston. By 1708, most of the colony’s population were Black Africans. Devoted to plantation agriculture that depended on enslaved labor, South Carolina became a slave society. Throughout this period, enslaved people were sold aboard the arriving ships or at ad hoc gatherings in the town’s taverns. Throughout the Antebellum Period, Charleston continued to be the only major American city with a majority-slave population. In 2018, the city formally apologized for its role in the American slave trade. State and city laws prohibited Black literacy, limited Black worship to daylight hours, and required a majority of any church’s parishioners be white. The Charleston Hospital Strike of 1969, in which mostly black workers protested discrimination and low wages, was one of the last major events of the civil rights movement, attracting Ralph Abernathy, Coretta Scott King, and Andrew Young. After having been a majority-minority city for most of its history, in the late 20th century, many whites began returning to the urban core of Charleston, and the area gentrified with rising prices and rents. From 1980 to 2010, the peninsula’s population shifted from two-thirds black to two-thirds white. In 2010, residents numbered 20,668 whites and 10,455 blacks, as many African Americans moved to the less-expensive suburbs. On June 17, 2015, 21-year-old white supremacist Dylann Roof entered the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and sat in on part of a Bible study, before shooting and killing nine people and injuring a tenth, all African Americans. Senior pastor Clementa Pinckney, who also served as a state senator, was among those killed during the attack. The attack garnered national attention and sparked a debate on racism, Confederate symbolism in Southern states, and gun violence, based on Roof’s online postings. A memorial service on the campus of the College of Charleston was attended by President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Jill Biden, and Speaker of the House John Boehner. The current racial makeup of Charleston is White 72%, African American alone 17%, Hispanic 5%, Multiracial 3%, and Asian 2%. Charleston historically had a large concentration of African Americans who spoke Gullah, a creole language that developed on the Sea Islands and in the Low Country, that influenced local speech patterns. Today, Gullah is still spoken by some African-American residents. The Gullah community has had a tremendous influence on music in Charleston, especially when it comes to the early development of jazz music. In turn, Charleston’s music has influenced the rest of the country. The geechee dances that accompanied the music of the dock workers in Charleston followed a rhythm that inspired Eubie Blake’s “Charleston Rag” and later James P. Johnson’s “Charleston Dance,” as well as the dance craze that defined the USA in the 1920s. “Ballin’ the Jack,” which was a popular dance in the years before the “Charleston,” was written by native Charlestonian Chris Smith. North and South, a series of books by John Jakes, was partially set in Charleston. The North and South miniseries was partially set and filmed in Charleston. What do you know about the history of slavery in the USA south?
Charleston, South Carolina
That Saturday afternoon, June 13, 1987, we took a short visit to Charleston, South Carolina, the most populous city in the state of South Carolina, the geographical midpoint of South Carolina’s coastline along Charleston Harbor. We visited “The Charleston Adventure,” a sight and sound adventure on Calhoun Street. Charleston had a population of about 150,000 at the 2020 census, as the county seat of Charleston County. Charleston was founded by the English in 1670 as Charles Town, named in honor of King Charles II (1630-1685), who had granted the chartered Province of Carolina to eight of his loyal friends, known as the Lords Proprietors, on March 24, 1663. It quickly grew to become the fifth-largest city in North America by the 1690s. During the colonial period, Charleston remained unincorporated, governed by a colonial legislature and a royal governor, with administrative districts and social services organized by Anglican parishes. A smallpox outbreak erupted in 1698, followed by an earthquake in February 1699, that destroyed about a third of the town. It developed a reputation as one of the least healthy locations in the Thirteen Colonies for ethnic Europeans. From the 1670s, Charleston also attracted pirates. Although the state capital was relocated to Columbia in 1788, Charleston remained among the top 10 USA cities by population through 1840. The economy of Charleston today is anchored by tourism, port logistics, aerospace, and information technology, nicknamed the “Silicon Harbor.” Early immigrant groups to the city included the Huguenots, Scottish, Irish, and Germans, as well as hundreds of Jews, predominately Sephardi from London. As late as 1830, Charleston’s Jewish community was the most prominent and wealthiest in North America. The plantations and the economy based on slavery made Charleston the wealthiest city in the Thirteen Colonies, and the largest in population south of Philadelphia, the 4th-largest port in the colonies, after Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia. The British continued to hold Charlestown for over a year following their defeat at Yorktown in 1781. The British finally evacuated Charlestown in December 1782. Although Columbia had replaced it as the state capital in 1788, Charleston became even more prosperous as Eli Whitney’s 1793 invention of the cotton gin sped up the processing of the crop 50 times faster. Cotton became Charleston’s major export commodity in the 19th century. The Bank of South Carolina, the second-oldest building in the nation to be constructed as a bank, was established in 1798. Charleston today is the primary medical center for the eastern portion of the state. The College of Charleston was founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, the oldest institution of higher learning in South Carolina, the 13th oldest in the USA, and the first municipal college in the country. Other public institutions of higher education in Charleston include The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, and the Medical University of South Carolina. Did you know that Charleston was such a rich city?
Visiting Fort Sumter, South Carolina
On Saturday morning, June 13, 1987, we toured Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston Harbor on a boat, about a two-hour trip by car from Savannah, Georgia. Fort Sumter is a historical sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the American-British War of 1812, which had exposed the inadequacy of the existing American coastal fortifications to defend against naval attacks. Fort Sumter was still incomplete in 1861 when it was attacked by Confederate Forces during the Battle of Fort Sumter on April 12,1861, sparking the American Civil War. This fort was severely damaged during the battle, and left in ruins. Although there were some efforts at reconstruction after the war, Fort Sumter, as conceived, was never completed. Since the middle of the 20th century, this fort has been open to the public as part of the Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, operated by the National Park Service. This fort was named after the Continental Army officer Thomas Sumter, built near Charleston, South Carolina, as part of the third system of USA fortifications to protect American harbors from a naval invasion. Constructed on an artificial island in the middle of the channel, this provided Charleston with a natural shelter. Fort Sumter was intended to dominate the harbor, reinforcing the protection provided by the shore artillery batteries at Fort Moultrie, Fort Wagner, and Fort Gregg. This artificial island was originally just a sand bar. In 1827, a group of engineers carried out depth sounding and concluded that it was a suitable location for a fort. This brick fort is five-sided, 170 to 190 feet long, with walls five feet thick, standing 50 feet over the low tide mark. Although never completed, it was designed to house 650 men and 135 guns in three tiers of gun emplacements. Fort Sumter was notable for two battles. The first battle began the American Civil War, where the first shots were fired in the American Civil War on April 12, 1861. South Carolina Militia artillery fired from shore on the Union garrison, as the bombardment continued all day. Cut off from its supply line, the fort surrendered the next day, as Major Robert Anderson took the American flag with him as they evacuated. The Second Battle of Fort Sumter was on September 8, 1863, when a failed attempt by the Union to retake the fort occurred. This fort remained in Confederate hands until it was evacuated as General Sherman marched through South Carolina in February 1865. A widely announced “End of the War” celebration took place at Fort Sumter on April 14, 1865. However, the assassination of President Lincoln, which occurred on the evening of that date, almost immediately overshadowed the festivities. In 1966, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. April 12, 2011, marked the 150th Anniversary of the start of the Civil War. There was a commemoration of the events by thousands of Civil War reenactors with encampments in the area. A USA stamp of Fort Sumter and a first-day cover were issued that day. I have six postcards from this fort and a brochure about the boat ride there. Have you ever heard of Fort Sumter?
Georgia culture and entertainment
Two movies, both set in Atlanta, won Oscars for Best Picture, Gone with the Wind in 1939, and Driving Miss Daisy in 1989. Notable musicians from Georgia were Ray Charles with “Georgia on My Mind,” the official state song, and Gladys Knight, “Midnight Train to Georgia.” Rock groups from Georgia include the Atlanta Rhythm Section, The Black Crowes, and The Allman Brothers. The city of Athens sparked an influential rock music scene in the 1980s and 1990s with R.E.M., Widespread Panic, and the B-52’s. Since the 1990s, various hip-hop and R&B musicians have included top-selling artists such as Outkast, Usher, Ludacris, TLC, B.o.B., and Ciara. The Dukes of Hazzard, a 1980s TV show, was set in the fictional Hazzard County, Georgia. The Georgia Bulldogs, SEC, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, ACC, with the Georgia State Panthers and Georgia Southern Eagles, Sun Belt, are Georgia’s NCAA Division I FBS football teams. The Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have a historical rivalry in college football known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. The Masters golf tournament, the first of the PGA Tour’s four majors, is held annually on the second weekend of April at the Augusta National Golf Club. Atlanta’s Georgia Dome has hosted the Super Bowl a couple of times, as well as the NCAA Final Four Men’s Basketball National Championship three times. There are Atlanta professional sports teams in the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons, in the MLB, the Atlanta Braves, and in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks. Professional baseball’s Ty Cobb was the first player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, from Narrows, Georgia, nicknamed the “Georgia Peach.” WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan was from Augusta, Georgia. What do you think about the music from Georgia and its sports teams?
African-American civil rights and Georgia
In the mid-20th century, several notable figures from Georgia, including Martin Luther King Jr., who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, emerged as key leaders in the African-American civil rights movement. Jimmy Carter, former Governor of Georgia from Plains, Georgia, became the USA President from 1977 to 1981. Jim Crow laws created “de jure” legally required segregation. Georgia did not re-enter the Union until 1870, as the last of the former Confederate states to be re-admitted. Federal troops continued to be stationed in Georgia until the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877. With white Democrats having regained power in the state legislature, they passed a poll tax that disenfranchised many poor black people, preventing them from registering. In 1908, the state established a white primary, with the only competitive contests within the Democratic Party, as another way to exclude black people from politics, although they constituted 47% of the state’s population in 1900. White Democrats had regained power after Reconstruction, using intimidation and violence, but this method came into disrepute. For more than 130 years, from 1872 to 2003, Georgians nominated and elected only white Democratic governors, while white Democrats held the most seats in the General Assembly. However, the proportion of Georgia’s population that was African American dropped thereafter to 28%, primarily due to tens of thousands leaving the state during the Great Migration from 1914 to 1970. According to the Equal Justice Initiative’s 2015 report on lynching in the USA (1877–1950), Georgia had 531 deaths, the second-highest total of these black male extralegal executions of any state in the South. The second iteration of the KKK was formed at Georgia’s Stone Mountain by William Joseph Simmons on November 25, 1915. Political disfranchisement persisted through the mid-1960s, until after Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Martin Luther King Jr. joined with others to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Atlanta in 1957 to provide political leadership for the civil rights movement across the South. However, the proportion of Georgia’s population that is Black has increased since 1990. Today the state is third in percent of the total population that is African American, after Mississippi and Louisiana, and third in numeric Black population after New York and Florida. The ascendancy of the Republican Party in Georgia, and in the South in general, resulted in the Georgia USA House of Representatives member Newt Gingrich being elected as Speaker of the House in 1994 to 1999. In 2020, Georgia voted Democratic for the first time in 28 years, As Democrat Joe Biden carried the state by 11,779 votes. The Democratic win was attributed to the rapid diversification of the suburbs of Atlanta and increased turnout of younger African-American voters, particularly around the suburbs of Atlanta and in Savannah. Do African Americans have a strong say in politics in your state?
The state of Georgia
Georgia is a state in Southeastern USA that borders Tennessee to the northwest, North Carolina and South Carolina to the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. The population of Georgia is over 11 million people. Atlanta, a global city, is both the state’s capital and its largest city. The Atlanta metropolitan area, with a population greater than 6 million people is the eighth most populous metropolitan area in the USA, and contains about 57% of Georgia’s entire population. Other major metropolitan areas in the state include Augusta, Savannah, Columbus, and Macon. The Province of Georgia was established in 1732, with its first settlement occurring in Savannah. By 1752, Georgia had transitioned into a British royal colony, making it the last and southernmost of the original Thirteen Colonies. Named in honor of King George II (1683-1760) of Great Britain, the Georgia Colony extended from South Carolina down to Spanish Florida and westward to French Louisiana along the Mississippi River. On January 2, 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the USA Constitution. Between 1802 and 1804, a portion of western Georgia was carved out to create the Mississippi Territory, which eventually became the states of Alabama and Mississippi. Georgia declared its secession from the Union on January 19, 1861, joining the ranks of the original seven Confederate States. After the Civil War, it was the last state to be readmitted to the Union on July 15, 1870. In the late 19th century, during the post-Reconstruction period, Georgia’s economy underwent significant changes, driven by a coalition of influential politicians, business leaders, and journalists, notably Henry W. Grady, who promoted the “New South” ideology, focused on reconciliation and industrialization. Mordecai Sheftall, the highest-ranking Jewish officer in the American Revolution, was born and lived his life in Georgia. Atlanta was chosen to host the 1996 Summer Olympics, celebrating the centennial of the modern Olympic Games. Since 1945, Georgia has experienced significant population and economic expansion, aligning with the larger Sun Belt trend. Between 2007 and 2008, 14 of Georgia’s counties were listed among the 100 fastest-growing counties in the USA. In 1980, construction was completed on an expansion of what is now named Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), today the busiest and most efficient airport in the world, with more than 100,000,000 passengers annually. In 1992, construction finished on Bank of America Plaza, the tallest building in the USA outside of New York City or Chicago. Georgia had the second-fastest-growing Asian population growth in the USA from 1990 to 2000, more than doubling in size during the ten-year period. Georgia also has a sizeable Hispanic population. However, Georgia is the state with the third-lowest percentage of older people, 65 or older. According to the Pew Research Center, the composition of religious affiliation in Georgia was 67% Protestant, 9% Catholic, 1% Mormon, and 1% Jewish. Overall, Christianity was the dominant religion in the state, as part of the Bible Belt. The University of Georgia, founded in 1785 is the USA’s oldest state-chartered university at Athens, the birthplace of the American system of public higher education. My granddaughter Lauren goes there. What do you know about Georgia?
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the oldest city in the state of Georgia, and the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733, on the Savannah River, this city was the capital of the colonial Province of Georgia, and later the first state capital of Georgia. A strategic port city in the American Revolution and during the American Civil War, Savannah today is an industrial center and an important Atlantic seaport. Savannah is the fifth-most populous city in the state of Georgia, with a population of 147,780. The First African Baptist Church is one of the oldest African-American Baptist congregations in the USA, since 1733. The First Bryan Baptist Church, an African American church was organized by Andrew Bryan in 1788. St. Benedict the Moor Church was the first African American Catholic church in Georgia in 1874, one of the oldest in the Southeast. The oldest standing house of worship is First Baptist Church from 1833. The Gothic Temple Mickve Israel, the third-oldest synagogue in the USA, was founded also in 1733. The Episcopal Christ Church is the longest continuous Christian congregation in Georgia, as the Methodist evangelists John Wesley and George Whitefield were rectors there. By the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Savannah had become the southernmost commercial port in the Thirteen Colonies. This prosperous seaport was the Confederacy’s sixth most populous city and the prime objective of General William T. Sherman’s “March to the Sea.” Today Savannah is a city of a diverse 100 distinct neighborhoods. In 2010, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 55 % Black, 38% White, and 4% Hispanic. Agriculture was essential to Savannah’s economy during its first two centuries. Georgia’s mild climate offered perfect conditions for growing cotton, which became the dominant commodity after the American Revolution. Its production under the plantation system and shipment through the port of Savannah helped the city’s European immigrants achieve wealth and prosperity. By the nineteenth century, the Port of Savannah had become one of the most active in the USA. In 2023, the Savannah port handled nearly 5 million twenty-foot equivalent container units. Savannah’s first hotel, City Hotel, was completed in 1821. For years, Savannah was the home of Union Camp, which housed the world’s largest paper mill. Beyond its architectural significance as the nation’s largest historically restored urban area, Savannah has a rich and growing performing arts scene, and offers cultural events throughout the year, including the Savannah Book Festival and the Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) Childhood Home Museum House. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was a non-fiction book by John Berendt, published in 1994, but set in Savannah’s historic downtown, that later became a movie and play that mentioned songwriter Johnny Mercer. Colonial Park Cemetery was the city’s principal burial ground for much of the eighteenth century when Georgia was a British colony. Laurel Grove Cemetery, with the graves of many Confederate soldiers and enslaved African Americans, was Savannah’s chief municipal cemetery during the nineteenth century. Bonaventure Cemetery is a former plantation, and the final resting place for some illustrious Savannahians. Also located in Savannah are the Mordecai Sheftall Cemetery and the Levi Sheftall Family Cemetery, which date back to the second half of the eighteenth century. Have you ever been to Savannah, Georgia?
Lyrics to the Kevin Barry Ballad
Here are the lyrics to the ballad about Kevin Barry that I found on the Internet.
“In Mountjoy Jail, one Monday morning,
High upon the gallows tree,
Kevin Barry gave his young life
For the cause of liberty.
Just a lad of 18 summers,
Yet there’s no one can deny
As he walked to death that morning
He proudly held his head on high.
Just before he faced the hangman,
In his dreary prison cell,
British soldiers tortured Barry
Just because he would not tell
The names of his brave comrades
And other things they wished to know.
“Turn informer or we’ll kill you!”
Kevin Barry answered, ‘No!’
Another martyr for old Ireland.
Another murder for the crown.
Whose brutal laws may kill the Irish,
But can’t keep their spirits down.
Lads like Barry are no cowards.
From the foe they will not fly.
Lads like Barry will free Ireland.
For her sake they’ll live and die.”
“Kevin Barry” is a popular Irish rebel song recounting the death of Kevin Barry, a member of the Irish Republican Army, who was hanged on November 1, 1920. He was 18 years old at the time, one of a group of IRA members executed in 1920–21 collectively known as The Forgotten Ten. This ballad was penned shortly after his death by an author whose identity is unknown. It is sung to the melody of “Rolling Home to Dear Old Ireland.” It has been performed by many Irish groups including The Wolfe Tones, The Clancy Brothers, Paul Robeson, and Leonard Cohen. I remember Rev. Paul Cullen, OSM (1939-2012), who was from Tyrone, Northern Ireland, often singing this song. One of the most enduring popular Irish songs, this ballad has been largely responsible for making Kevin Barry a household name. It was said to be so popular during the Troubles that it was banned. It was one of many Irish rebel ballads removed from RTÉ playlists during the period of the conflict in Northern Ireland. My father, Gene or Owen Finnegan, was four years older than Kevin Barry, but was part of the IRA in 1920 in Ireland. Three years later, he left Ireland, to not return until I was there in 1962 and 1966. Have you ever heard of Kevin Barry?
On the road to Savannah, Georgia
On Thursday morning, June 11, 1987, we set out for Savannah, Georgia. We stopped in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for lunch at the old Choo-Choo Train Station in town. Then it was on the road again to Savannah on the Atlantic Ocean, our first destination. We stayed two nights, June 11 and 12, 1987, at the Best Western in Savannah that is still there. Friday, June 12, the four of us took a bicycle ride through the city as we rented bikes from the historic Savannah Foundation. Savannah attracts millions of visitors each year to its cobblestone streets, parks, and notable historic buildings. In 2019, Savannah attracted almost 15 million tourists from across the country and around the world. Savannah has consistently been named one of “America’s Favorite Cities”” by Travel + Leisure. The interesting places include the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Georgia Historical Society, and the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences. We saw Johnson Square, City Hall, the Davenport House, Forsyth Park Fountain, the Confederate States Army Memorial, and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist from 1876. We rode our bikes along Historic River Street and the River Front that looked out into the harbor bay and the Atlantic Ocean. We had a great day riding around on our bikes, stopping when we wanted to stop. Savannah’s downtown area included the Savannah Historic District, with 22 parklike squares, and the Savannah Victorian Historic District. Downtown Savannah largely retains the General James Oglethorpe’s original town plan, who was sent by King George II to create a buffer south of the Savannah River to protect the British Carolinas from Spanish Florida and French Louisiana. That Friday evening, we went to have dinner along the waterfront at Kevin Barry’s Restaurant, named for an Irish patriot who was hung by the British in 1920 at the age of 18, a little younger than my father, who was in the same IRA. Thus, we got to sing Irish songs at Kevin Barry’s place on 117 W. River Road in Savannah. This restaurant opened in 1981, but closed in 2019. Have you ever been to an Irish Pub?
Gene Finnegan Remembers Living Eighty Wonderful Years 