1. A city of southeast South Carolina northeast of Savannah on Charleston Harbor. Founded in 1670, it prospered as a port and became a major cultural center. The Civil War began here with the signing of the Ordinance of Secession (December 20, 1860) and the bombardment of Fort Sumter (April 12, 1861).

2. The capital and largest city of West Virginia, in the west-central part of the state. The city grew around the site of Fort Lee in the late 1780s.