in Charleston and adopted the first independent State Constitution. On June 28, 1776, the garrison on Sullivan's Island, under Colonel Moultrie (see Fort Moultrie), repulsed an attack by the British fleet, and in 1779 the city was again successfully defended, this time against General Prevost; but on May 12, 1780, with its garrison of 7000 under General Lincoln, it was captured after a siege of six weeks by a British force of 10,000 under Sir Henry Clinton, its loss being regarded as one of the greatest disasters of the Revolutionary War. On December 14, 1782, the British evacuated the city, and the Americans again took possession of it. Charleston was incorporated in 1783, and until 1790 was the capital of the State. In 1784 the first bale of cotton exported from America to Europe was shipped from this port. Charleston was the centre of the nullification movement of 1832, and in 1860 the Democratic convention, being afterwards adjourned to Baltimore, met here, as did also the State convention which, on December 20, passed the first ordinance of secession. On April 12-13, 1861, the Civil War was opened by the Confederate bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter (q.v.) in Charleston Harbor. In 1863 a Federal fleet under Admiral Dupont unsuccessfully attacked the fortifications of the harbor, and, though closely besieged, and frequently bombarded, the city remained in possession of the Confederates until February 17, 1865, when it was evacuated, and all the public buildings, stores, cotton-warehouses, and shipping were burned by order of General Hardee, the Confederate commander. On the following day the Union forces under General Sherman took possession. On August 31, 1886, Charleston suffered terribly from an earthquake shock, the severest in the history of the United States. Seven-eighths of the houses were rendered unfit for habitation, many persons were killed, and property valued at over $8,000,000 was destroyed. The damage, however, was quickly repaired. The South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition (q.v.) opened here December 2, 1901.
Consult: McCrady, South Carolina Under the Proprietary Government (New York, 1897); South Carolina Under the Royal Government (New York, 1899); and South Carolina in the Revolution (New York, 1901); also Powell, Historic Towns of the Southern States (New York, 1900).
CHARLESTON. The capital of West Virginia and county-seat of Kanawha County, about 130 miles south by west of Wheeling, at the junction of the Kanawha and Elk rivers, and on the Chesapeake and Ohio, the Kanawha and Michigan, and other railroads (Map: West Virginia, C 3). It has regular steamboat communication with the principal river ports, and is an important shipping point for coal, salt, and timber. There are deposits of natural gas and oil in the neighborhood. The manufactures include iron, engines and boilers, furniture, carriages, fire-brick, lumber, and woolens. Charleston has also boat-building yards, color and veneer works, and railroad shops of the Kanawha and Michigan. The chief buildings are the Capitol, the custom-house, and the county court-house. A fort was built at Charleston about 1786; the town was incorporated in 1794, and the city in 1870. Charleston has been the capital since 1870, with the exception of the period 1875-85, when Wheeling was the seat of government. Population, in 1890, 6742; in 1900, 11,099.
CHARLESTON EXPOSITION. See South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition.
CHARLESTOWN. Formerly a city of Middlesex County, Mass., now incorporated with Boston (q.v.).
Charlestown was settled in 1629, by a small company from Salem, and was organized as a town in 1634. The territory originally within its limits has from time to time been divided up to form the towns of Woburn, Malden, Stoneham, Burlington, and Somerville, and parts of Medford, Cambridge, Arlington, and Reading. The battle of Bunker Hill was fought here on June 17, 1775, when the British set fire to the town, destroying 320 buildings, valued at $525,000. The battle is commemorated by the Bunker Hill Monument, a granite shaft 220 feet high, which was completed in 1843, the cornerstone of which was laid by General Lafayette, with appropriate ceremonies, in 1825, Daniel Webster delivering a notable address on each occasion. In 1873, its population then being 23,373, Charlestown was annexed to Boston. Consult: Frothingham, History of Charlestown (Boston, 1845), and Hunnewell, A Century of Town Life, a History of Charlestown from 1775 to 1887 (Boston, 1888).
CHARLESTOWN. A city and county-seat of Jefferson County, W. Va., 55 miles northwest of Washington, D. C., on the Baltimore and Ohio and the Norfolk and Western railroads (Map: West Virginia, G 2). It is in a fertile agricultural district, has deposits of limestone and iron ore in the vicinity, and manufactures brass fittings, bridges, harness, collars, fly-nets, and various wooden products, cigars, etc. The city is known as a summer resort. It has a fine court-house and jail. Among its educational institutions are Stephenson Seminary and Powhatan College, both for young ladies. Charlestown was settled about 1750, and was first incorporated in 1786. It was here that John Brown was tried, condemned, and hanged December 2, 1859. On October 18, 1863, a Confederate cavalry division, under General Imboden, captured the place and secured 424 prisoners and large quantities of military stores; but, on the approach of a superior Union force, almost immediately withdrew. Population in 1890, 2287; in 1900, 2392.
CHARLES WILLIAM FERDINAND, Duke of Brunswick (1780-1806). See Brunswick, House of.
CHARLET, shär′lā̇′, Nicolas Toussaint (1792-1845). A French draughtsman and painter. He was born in Paris, December 20, 1792. He made the soldier of the Empire the subject of his peculiar wit and fancy, depicting him often with a touch of pathos. In 1817 he was placed for instruction under the painter Gros, and soon became renowned for his lithographed designs of military subjects. His “Grenadier of Waterloo” was one of his most popular productions. He did not confine himself to lithograph subjects altogether, but worked rapidly in water-colors, and in sepia and oil. Among his pictures in oil are the “Episode in the Campaign of Russia” and “Wounded Soldiers Halt-
- Vol. IV.—31.
