Acknowledgments In the making of this book I have had the advice and assistance of many people, and I cannot regard the work as complete until I have expressed to them, in some fashion, my deep sense of gratitude. High on the list must be the name of Miss Emma B. Richardson, of the staff of The Charleston Museum, for her excellent work in preparing the manuscript, editing, reading proof, and in general making the book ready for the press. Her patience has been unfailing her quick grasp of every problem, me and accurate. It is, I fear, impossible for me to make adequate acknowledgment of all those who have assisted me in searching out extant examples of early Charleston furniture of space preclude a complete h g . I am particularly grateful, however, to those who have permitted me to come into their homes, often to the disruption of their households, to make photographs of their furniture. I was invariably received with courtesy, and in not a siigle instance was I refused permission to take pictures. I regret that I cannot show my appreciation of such generous co-operation by including in this book all the photographs I was permitted to acquire. The final choice has been determined by cost and space limitations, or by the necessity of avoiding repetition of the types of funitwe represented. It should be understood, therefore, that the exclusion of any given photograph does not mean that the subject was unworthy of inclusion. It should be understwd also that only by the collection and mdy of hundreds of photographs have I been able to write with confidence on the styles and types of early Charleston furniture hence, every photograph I have taken has been invaluable to me, whether or notit ocnus as an illustration in the book. Insdtutions and societies as well as individuals have been generous either in supplying me with photographs or in permitting me to have the photographs taken.........

On April 12, 1861, Fort Sumter was fired on by the Confederate batteries located around the Charleston Harbor. Within thirty-four hours, the fort had surrendered. From that moment on, the recapturing of Fort Sumter became one of the Union's most important objectives. Nearly four years elapsed before the Northern forces were successful. The Siege of Charleston provides the complete history of those four important years in the history of the Civil War.