Red Doe Plantation house was built in 1846 and will soon become the home of the War Between The States Museum.
Florence, S.C., was just a railroad junction prior to the Civil War; however, during the war the little town became host to several major Confederate institutions: a hospital, a prison, and a cemetery. Today, their memory is being kept alive by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV ), the Pee Dee Rifles, and the War Between the States Museum.
The Florence Wayside Hospital was founded by Dr. Theodore Dargan in 1862 to care for the sick and wounded soldiers travelling through Florence on the train. It was located in a two- story warehouse near the depot.
The Florence Prison Stockade was built in 1864 to house Federal prisoners brought in from Columbia, Charleston, and the overflowing prison in Andersonville, Ga. Disease was rampant and in spite of the efforts of Dr. Dargan and CSA medics, many prisoners and guards died.
Sixty- four Confederate guards were buried in the Old Presbyterian Church Cemetery. The UDC created the Florence Memorial Association in 1878 to care for the graves.
Carl Hill Jr. (l) is director of the War Between The States Museum in Florence. James W.Gamble (r) is a member of the Pee Dee Rifles and active in historic activities in Florence. The soldier (c) is wearing the uniform Carl Hill once wore in Civil War reenactments.
In 1882, a marble obelisk monument was erected in the cemetery with the inscription, “Our Confederate Dead.” The bodies were removed and reinterred in Mt. Hope Cemetery in 1905 along with the monument. A ceremony is held at the monument every Confederate Memorial Day, May 10. The Pee Dee Rifles maintain a Confederate flag flying at the site.
The stockade operated for only six months before the war ended. In that short period, 2,800 Federal prisoners died from malnutrition and disease. They were buried in an adjacent field, now known as the Florence National Cemetery. The stockade area is owned by the City of Florence which is hoping to clear it and reconstruct it as a heritage site.
The War Between The States Museum in Florence has a most impressive col- lection of Confederate memorabilia. It is open Wednesday and Saturday, 9 am- 5 pm. It is owned and operated by the Pee Dee Rifles, Inc. Carl Hill Jr. is the director.
Artifacts and memorabilia from 1850- 1900, pictures of military personalities, and many items from the Florence Stockade are on exhibit. There is also a reference library and a gift shop. Museum employees will help with visitors’ family genealogies.
The museum has outgrown its building and will soon move to the Red Doe Plantation. This historic home was built by Evander A. Gregg in 1846 and remained in his family for 160 years. In 2006, Robert P. Wilkins donated the house to the Pee Dee Rifles, Inc., a non- profit organization.
The Red Doe house was restored in 1941 but is in need of a thorough renovation before the museum can move in. Pee Dee Rifles has applied for grants to renovate the building and will accept any contributions to insure that “the true history of the South is preserved for future generations.”
Carl Hill Jr. may be contacted at 107 South Guerry Street, Florence, SC 29501 or (843) 669-1266.
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