1. On February 13, 1862, the Union Army occupied the key Confederate stronghold of Fort Donelson in Tennessee. This victory was a significant turning point in the Civil War and helped pave the way for future Union successes. Many soldiers from South Carolina fought on both sides of this conflict.

2. In 1873, African American Daniel "Big Dick" Dibble was lynched in Edgefield, South Carolina. Dibble had been arrested on suspicion of stealing a mule and was beaten and hanged by a group of white men. Lynchings were tragically common in South Carolina during this era, particularly in the decades following the end of slavery.

3. On February 13, 1920, the South Carolina State Hospital for the Insane in Columbia burned to the ground. Over 100 patients were killed in the fire, making it one of the deadliest fires in state history. The hospital was later rebuilt and still serves as a psychiatric institution today.

4. In 1945, the USS South Dakota returned to her home port of Charleston, South Carolina, after serving in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The ship earned numerous battle stars and was one of the most heavily decorated battleships of the war. Today, the USS South Dakota Memorial sits in Sioux Falls and honors the ship and her crew.

5. On February 13, 2015, civil rights icon Julian Bond delivered a speech at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. Bond, who passed away later that year, was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement and co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. His speech focused on the ongoing struggle for racial justice in America.