Confederate Prison for Union Officers
City Directories and History: COOPER-O’CONNOR HOUSE
Constructed circa 1855
“A two-story portico with Temple of the Winds capitals ornaments the front tower of this three-story wooden house constructed in the Greek Revival style at the former western end of Broad Street (before later filling) near Colonial Lake, then popularly known as “the pond.” George Washington Cooper acquired the property from a trustee of the estate of Louis Trapman, who had received the site through his marriage to Mary Bowen Moore. A lengthy lawsuit resulted in the sale of this and other properties for distribution to the four heirs, including the Baroness de Lengenuil of Canada. After Cooper’s financial reversals, Michael P. O’Connor bought the lot with its “mansion house and outbuildings” from the Bank of South Carolina in 1859. This block survived the fire of 1861, and the house was used by the Confederacy as a prison for Union officers. Five generals were imprisoned here prior to the fall of the city in February 1865. After the war George Cunningham, a butcher who rose to be mayor of Charleston, purchased this property.”
Information from: The Buildings of Charleston – J.H. Poston for the Historic Charleston Foundation, 1997
This was the only house to survive a devastating bombardment by Federal Troops in Dec. 1861. Read more about the fire and devastation at The Charleston Fire of 1861
Other sources: Charleston Tax Payers of Charleston, SC in 1860-61, Dwelling Houses of Charleston by Alice R.H. Smith – 1917, Charleston 1861 Census Schedule, and a 1872 Bird’s Eye View of Charleston, S.C. The Hist. Charleston Foundation may also have additional data at: Past Perfect
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