Horrors of History: Ocean of Fire : The Burning of Columbia, 1865

Based on the actual fire that swept through Columbia, South Carolina, after the city surrendered to General Sherman's Union troops, Ocean of Fire details life in the South at the end of the American Civil War. Supported by thorough research, narrative accounts of actual historical persons as well as fictionalized characters comprise the novel. Follow 17-year-old Emma, her family, and potential Confederate spy, Charles Davis, as a chaotic community tries to survive a blazing firestorm. The second book in the Horrors of History series, Ocean of Fire makes history accessible, questioning who could have started this controversial fire and exploring how the closing weeks of the war affected citizens and slaves alike. While her father and uncle, chemists at South Carolina College, try to get scientific equipment to safety, seventeen-year-old Emma LeConte hides with the rest of her family and others in their basement as Union Army soldiers bomb and loot Columbia While her father and uncle, chemists at South Carolina College, try to get scientific equipment to safety, seventeen-year-old Emma hides with the rest of her family and others in their basement as Confederate soldiers bomb and loot Columbia