This is a city of gallantry, glory, folly, and pain-where democracy was nurtured and secession proclaimed. Travel through time over cobblestone streets to understand the spirit of Charleston, defined by its beauty as much as its will to survive. The steeples of more than 400 places of worship stand majestically over the preserved city, and each has a story to tell. Meet the venerable Pinckney family, visit their museum, and walk down their namesake street. See the Heyward-Washington House, which housed a South Carolina signer of the Declaration of Independence as well as America's first president. Uncover the seeds of revolution at Charles Towne Landing. Stand at the tip of the peninsula at Battery Park and look across the harbor to Fort Sumter, where Charlestonians watched the Civil War begin. Book jacket.