Today's secession observance in S.C.

Today marks the 150th anniversary of South Carolina's secession from the United States, and several groups and organizations plan events in Charleston, including an NAACP protest. • Article
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'History Detectives' looking into cannon

Does a vial of metal shavings in fact contain metal from one of the Confederacy's most famous guns? That's the question that the cast and crew of PBS' "History Detectives" television series are trying to answer during their visit to Charleston, S.C. A cannon known as "Old Secession" was fired on Dec. 20, 1860, to mark the state's new Ordinance of Secession, and an antiques dealer asked the series to determine if his shavings came from that gun. • Article