Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed
Charleston was a top 10 city in the U.S. pre-Civil War. Savannah was also on the larger side for a city in that era. Both were also capitals. So, to me at least, it's not hard to see a scenario where they become large cities.
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Charleston dropped off the top 10 list after 1840. Interesting that Charleston's population remained fairly stagnant during the first half of the 19th Century. It kind of ran out of steam, especially in comparison to the cities in the Northeast which were exploding with population growth. Charleston and Savannah are beautiful little cities, but they were consigned to a lesser tier once the railroads started to develop. New Orleans benefited from being at the bottom of the Mississippi River, and it also developed as a major rail hub. Charleston and Savannah did not have that kind of dynamic connection with the interior of their region. Came across this list of largest southern cities (large towns for the most part) in 1860.
https://brettcalleroartist.com/2012/...federacy-1860/