1811 — Sep 10, hurricane-spawned tornado, Charleston, SC — >11

–>20 Fraser, Walter J. Jr. Lowcountry Hurricanes. 2006, p.60.
–~20 Rubillo. Hurricane Destruction in South Carolina: Hell and High Water. 2006, p. 56.
— 11 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 518, 554.
— 11 Grazulis. The Tornado Project. “Worst Tornadoes by State.”
–>11 Blanchard*

*Blanchard note: Though Rubillo notes about twenty deaths and provides information on more than eleven deaths pulled from morning and evening editions of the Charleston Times, there appears to be double counting, in that the second edition notes deaths of slightly differently spelled names that were reported in the first edition. It appears that these names refer to people noted in the first edition, though with slightly differently spelled names. The only detail which does not appear to have been reported in the morning edition is the death of a child who later died from injuries. Our own attempt to compile a listing of deaths, found below, comes to fourteen. However, given the ambiguity associated with the deaths of several unidentified slaves, we are not confident that this listing of fourteen is accurate. Grazulis is in our experience a reliable source, and our only modification to his reporting of eleven deaths is to note that at least eleven people died, perhaps more, but we do not have the documentation to back that up.

Narrative Information

Fraser: “….Sixty to one hundred yards wide, it [the tornado] cut a swath of destruction and death across the city, from Bay Street on the southeast to Boundary Street on the northwest. The tornado roared across Church Street, into Meeting Street, across Tradd Street, tup King to Broad Street. It crossed Queen Street and then sped up Mazyck Street, leveling some houses and sending roof tiles and slate spinning through the air like missiles. It was over in minutes. Leaving the city, the tornado whirled down Boundary Street into the countryside, knocking over trees and fences. Some people, buried when houses collapsed on them, died instantly – a young woman, a French-born physician, a German-born grocer, three mulatto children, and two mulatto men. Others died later from their injuries. The tornado claimed over twenty lives.

Grazulis: “SC Sep 10, 1811 12:30 11k…Charleston…A hurricane-spawned tornado moved to the NW across the center of Charleston. About 60 homes were destroyed or badly damaged, including some large mansions. Eleven people were killed.” (Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes, 1993, p. 554.)

Rubillo: After transcribing the text of The Charleston Times of September 11 which was later repeated in the Savannah Republican noted below, Rubillo goes on to state that the evening edition which we have not located provided additional detail. He writes: “On King Street a double tenement, known by the name of Old Gaul, had the front blown out. Two unidentified mulatto girls and a similarly unnamed white boy were killed there.” He then notes that the same edition reported the death of “a child who had been injured during the storm…”

Newspaper

Sep 17, Savannah Republican: “Charleston, September 11.

“Dreadful Calamity. – It is again our painful duty to detail the awful effects of a dreadful visitation upon our ill-fated city. A Tornado having passed through it, carrying death and desolation in its progress.

“On Sunday evening last [Sep 8], the wind, which had been for some days light and variable, shifted to the north-east, and blowing very fresh through the night, it continued in the same quarter all day on Monday and Monday night; on Tuesday morning it blew with increased violence, and during the shole time from Sunday evening, there was an almost uninterrupted fall of rain. About ten o’clock in the forenoon of Tuesday, the wind shifted to the south-east and at half past twelve o’clock, a tornado, unprecedented here I its extent and effects, crossed a section of our city. It first took effect at Fort Mechanic, situated on the south-east point of the city, and passing from thence in a north-west direction to the pond on the north side of Cannon’s bridge; how far it has extended its ravages into the country we have not yet learnt. In its progress in overturned and completely destroyed a great number of houses and out-buildings, unroofed others, and prostrated trees, fences, and almost every thing coming in contact with it. It is computed, from a hasty view of the scene of devastation, that the loss to the city will fall little, if any, short of that experienced by the calamitous fire in October last. But, in addition to this great loss of property, we have, on this occasion, to lament the loss of several valuable lives.

“The tornado appears to have been about one hundred yards in width – after it had prostrated to flag-staff on Fort Mechanic, unroofed the house within the enclosure of that fort, thrown down the blacksmith’s shop contiguous to it, and unroofed all the houses immediately adjoining the fort, it crossed over to Lynch’s Lane, where it unroofed several houses; from thence to proceeded across Church street, continued to Meeting-street, where several houses were unroofed, particularly the large new brick house of Nathaniel Russell, esq. whose loss in furniture, &c. cannot amount to less than twenty thousand dollars; from Meeting-street it crossed to Tradd-street, where a large three story wooden house on the south side, about half way between Meeting and King-streets, was blown over which crushed two adjoining houses in its fall; and most of the houses on both sides of the street to the corner of King-street were unroofed; or much shattered. It passed up King-street, nearly to Broad-street, unroofing and shattering several houses in its progress, until it reached Broad-street; here, the houses of Dr. Alexander Baron, situated at the corner of Orange-street, and the venerable mansion of the late Dr. Chanler, on the opposite corner, were very roughly handled; the later being old and weak was completely wrenched to pieces; on the opposite side of Broad-street, the premises lately purchased by the St. Andrew’s Society, and occupied by Mr. Henry Ieglesby; the mansion of the late general Macpherson, and some other buildings, were either unroofed or much damaged; passing through Vaux-Hall Garden, it crossed over Queen-street, near to the corner of Friend-street, and shattering several houses in its progress, it went on to the corner of Magazine and Mazyck-streets; two or three small houses fronting on the former of these streets were blown down; and in the progress of the tornado up Mazyck-street several houses were unroofed or otherwise much damaged. One or two houses were prostrated on Beaufain-street. After leaving Beaufain-street, the houses being less compactly situated, the marks of its ravages are not so distinctly to be traced, thou it appears to have lost nothing of its violence. The mansion-house of the honorable Judge Desaussuré was violently assailed, and suffered very considerably; one of the chimneys was thrown down; and a part of the family, who were at the time in an upper room of the house, were precipitated with the falling bricks through two floors into the kitchen. Providentially no lives were lost, except that of a negro girl. Several other houses in the out-skirts of the city were either unroofed or much injured; and we also understand that much injury has been sustained in the village of Islington, but we were unable last evening to obtain any further particulars.

“The most painful part of our duty still remains – it is to record the deaths which have been occasioned by this dreadful disaster – they are, so far as has come to our knowledge, as follows:

“Miss Margaret Cozzens, aged 21 years, killed in a house adjoining Fort-Mechanic.

“Doctor Canten, a native of France…killed by the falling of his house in Beaufain street.

“Mr. Peterson, a native of Germany, Grocer, at the corner of Magazine and Mazyck-streets.

“A free Mulatto Man, in Church-street continued.

“A French Mulatto Girl in King-street.

“Two Mulatto children, either killed or drowned by the falling of a small wooden house which was blown into the Mill Pond at Cannon’s Bridge.

“A Negro Man, belonging to Mr. Dener, Mazyck-street.

“We have also heard of two or three other Negros killed, bud did not learn to whom they belonged….”

Summary of Specified Fatalities

1. Doctor Canten, a native of France, killed by the falling of his house in Beaufain street.
2. Miss Margaret Cozzens, aged 21 years, killed in a house adjoining Fort-Mechanic.
3. Mr. Dener of Mazyck Street; slave of.
4. Mr. Peterson, a native of Germany, grocer, at the corner of Magazine and Mazyck-streets.
5. Church Street. A free mulatto man.
6. Judge Desaussuré’s house; a black girl.
7. King Street, Old Gaul double tenement; mulatto girl.
8. King Street, Old Gaul double tenement; 2nd mulatto girl.
9. King Street, Old Gaul double tenement; unnamed white boy.
10. Mill Pond at Cannon’s Bridge; child from small house blown into the pond
11. Mill Pond. 2nd child from same small house blown into Mill Pond at Cannon’s Bridge.
12. Unidentified slave.
13. Unidentified slave.
14. Unidentified location. Child died from injuries after the publication of the morning ed.

Sources

Fraser, Walter J. Jr. Lowcountry Hurricanes: Three Centuries of Storms at Sea and Ashore. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2006.

Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages.

Grazulis, Thomas P. The Tornado Project. “Worst Tornadoes by State.” Accessed 12-7-2022 at: http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/worstts.htm

Rubillo, Tom. Hurricane Destruction in South Carolina: Hell and High Water. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2006.

Savannah Republican, GA. “Tornado In Charleston.” 9-17-1811, p. 7. Accessed 12-7-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/savannah-republican-and-savannah-evening-ledger-sep-17-1811-p-7/