June
1862 saw Union Major General David D. Hunter embark on a special mission. Eager
to free Southern slaves, he led a force against Secessionville, South Carolina.
There he suffered so stunning a defeat that he suspended his military
operation.
Upon
returning to his base at Hilton Head, South Carolina by means of a military
steamer, the thwarted abolitionist received a special kind of consolation: his
wife was waiting for him at the pier of the one-time Confederate stronghold.
