Finding the tree where the Confederacy took root

BLUFFTON, S.C. — In this sesquicentennial period of the Civil War, it's the 150th anniversaries of significant battles that are getting the attention, such as with opening shots heard in Charleston. But some historians say the fiery, public rhetoric leading to the conflict started almost 20 years earlier under the limbs of a giant oak tree that today stands unmarked and mostly unnoticed.

By Mike Conklin, Special to Tribune Newspapers

December 26, 2012