In Charleston, South Carolina, the city's elite militia unit offers its services to the state

Three weeks before the election that Abraham Lincoln seemed certain to win, Charleston's elite militia, the Washington Light Infantry, held an evening meeting on the "threatening aspect of affairs" in the sectional crisis.  Their commander, Captain Charles H. Simonton, recommended a heightened preparedness and an offer to the state governor of their services. This unit was later used to take over the U.S. Arsenal in the city. Simonton became a U.S. District Court judge in his later years after the war.  (By John Osborne)