Editing Liberty, South Carolina (section)

===Civil War and Reconstruction era (1860–1877)===
In 1860, a group of Pickens County delegates went to [[Columbia, SC|Columbia]], where they—along with every other South Carolina delegate—voted unanimously in favor of South Carolina's secession from the Union.<ref>McFall, Pearl. "It Happened in Pickens County," 70.</ref>  Though it is generally accepted that the first shot of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] occurred when the Union ship ''[[Star of the West]]'' was fired upon by state troops at Morris Island on January 9, 1861, an old legend claims that a resident named William Mauldin fired upon the Union ship from [[Fort Moultrie]] a few hours earlier, making him the first shot of the War.<ref>McFall, Pearl. "It Happened in Pickens County," 73.</ref>  Either way, what is known is that men from almost every family in the area enlisted to fight for the Confederate cause.  Many families lost two, three, or more sons to the war effort.  Several companies of infantry and cavalry were formed in Pickens District before being dispatched to serve under one of the state regiments.  The men who either refused to enlist or deserted in battle were often thought upon with scorn by their neighbors for the rest of their lives, and even their descendants were often ostracized for years afterward.  The women who stayed behind willingly suffered through the whole war by doing without food and supplies that were needed in the war effort.<ref>McFall, Pearl. "It Happened in Pickens County," 75.</ref>

After the war, Pickens District, like the rest of the South, was placed under martial law by Union troops.<ref>McFall, Pearl. "It Happened in Pickens County," 81.</ref>  With little choice in the matter, South Carolina was readmitted to the Union in 1868.  Not long afterwards, Pickens District was separated into the modern day Pickens and Oconee Counties.  Between 1865 and 1877, southerners had little control over their government.  Gangs of Union troops sacked and looted many farms in Pickens County during this period, known as [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]], and the county and state governments were largely controlled by [[Carpetbaggers|Northerners]] who moved South after the war.<ref>McFall, Pearl. "It Happened in Pickens County," 82.</ref>  Reconstruction officially ended in South Carolina around the year 1877, not long after former [[Wade Hampton III|Confederate General Wade Hampton III]] was elected governor under the Democratic ticket.<ref>McFall, Pearl. "It Happened in Pickens County," 104.</ref>