The Orphan Asylum

The first municipal orphan asylum in America was established at Charleston in 1790. By 1855 it had risen to six stories, the biggest building in the city. At the top of its cupola was placed a fourteen-foot statue of Charity. To enhance the building’s architectural prominence, a statue of William Pitt, a Revolutionary-era figure, was also placed in the front yard. The orphanage provided its residents with education and job-training through indenture to farmers or craftsmen. At the time of the Civil War, the institution housed fully 360 youngsters. They were taken to Orangeburg, S.C., for safety when the shelling started. After the city fell, the orphanage became a barracks for U.S. Colored Troops.

This is the caption as printed in 100 Significant Civil War Photographs: Charleston in the War. It has not yet been through this site’s research and fact-checking pass.