St. Andrew's Hall, Charleston

St. Andrew's Hall, also known as Secession Hall, was a public building in Charleston, South Carolina, on Broad Street. The hall served as headquarters for the St. Andrew's Society of Charleston. It was also an important part of the social life of upper-class Charlestonians. It was used for balls, banquets, concerts, and meetings of organizations like the South Carolina Jockey Club and the St. Cecilia Society. The hall could also be used for lodging, and both President James Monroe and General Marquis de Lafayette stayed there.

On 19 December 1860, delegates from South Carolina met at St. Andrew's Hall to discuss possible secession from the United States. The following day, they met there again and voted 169 to 0 to secede. St. Andrew's Hall was soon rechristened "Secession Hall". South Carolina delegates later ratified the Confederate Constitution there on 3 April 1861.

The hall was destroyed during a Charleston fire on 11 and 12 December 1861.

References

• Calore, Paul. (2002). Naval Campaigns of the Civil War. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
• Edgar, Walter (1998). South Carolina: A History. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
• McInnis, Maurie D. (2005). Politics of Taste in Antebellum Charleston. University of North Carolina Press.
• Moise, Warren (2003). Rebellion in the Temple of Justice: The Federal and State Courts in South Carolina During the War Between the States. Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse, Inc.