During the Civil War, many members left Charleston and the church closed its doors until 1865.
Shortly after the war began, the Great Charleston Fire of 1861 swept across the peninsula, destroying five churches and coming within two blocks of the Unitarian Church.
During the 18-month Federal bombardment of Charleston that began in August 1863, the church was within range of the Union batteries but again remained unscathed.

Charleston surrendered to Union troops on February 15, 1865, and the church began, once again, to hold services.
Because many members had lost their fortunes and/or did not return to Charleston, pew rentals plummeted and the church fell on difficult times, going through seven ministers in the next ten years.
 Fortunately for the church, one of its members, Alva Gage, had retained most of his money and was generous in sustaining the church through the difficult times.
 
Meanwhile, the Universalist Church in Charleston closed and was sold in the late 1850's with the money invested.
After the war the remaining members joined the Unitarian Church and donated their funds to the repair of the church.
It was not until 1961 that Unitarians and Universalists officialy merged into the Unitarian Universalist Association, but clearly there was an affinity much earlier than that!
 

Although the church was fortunate in suffering no major damage  during the  Civil War, that came to an end during two natural disasters in 1885 and 1886.
 The Cyclone of 1885hurricane in 1885, with winds of 125 mph, bore down on Charleston, creating havoc and blowing out all of the windows in the Nave of the church .

  The new side windows, donated by Unitarian churches in Boston, are in the Art Nouveau style and contrast sharply with the traditional windows in the Chancel.
  These windows are solid stained glass and were manufactured by Redding, Baird & Company of Boston, Mass.  These windows, too, carry the theme of old and new testaments with the words “The Lord is One” written in Hebrew  and “Spirit of God” written in Greek.

The next year, the great Charleston earthquake of 1886 (7.3 on the moment magnitude scale) devastated the city of Charleston and caused major damage to the Unitarian Church.
 The entire top of the church tower, including eight paneled buttresses, high pinnacles, and medieval-style finials, fell into the Nave of the church, leaving a gaping hole in the roof and destroying part of the famed fan-vaulted ceiling.
Fortunately for the church, Unitarians from across the country generously donated $17,000 to the rebuilding effort, much of which was later repaid.
Boston architect Thomas Silloway restored the interior to Francis Lee's original design.
The tower, however, was rebuilt in a slightly less elaborate form with the pinnacles and parapet lowered and simplified.
This was to increase structural stability in the event another earthquake struck Charleston.

More than one hundred years passed before Charleston faced another natural disaster of similar scope.
In 1989, Hurricane Hugo destroyed about 30 mature trees in the churchyard.
 These trees were replaced with a lower growing canopy of dogwood, halesia (silverbell), crepe myrtle, and Japanese maple.
More than 60 tombstones were also damaged in that storm, but age and weather have also taken their toll.
 The Larrisey Gravestone Conservation Project, named for former member, M. Maxine Larrisey, was established for their repair and 65 have been refurbished.
During the Civil War, many members left Charleston and the church closed its doors until 1865. Shortly after the war began, the Great Charleston Fire of 1861 swept across the peninsula, destroying five churches and coming within two blocks of the Unitarian Church. During the 18-month Federal bombardment of Charleston that began in August 1863, the church was within range of the Union batteries but again remained unscathed. 
Charleston surrendered to Union troops on February 15, 1865, and the church began, once again, to hold services. Because many members had lost their fortunes and/or did not return to Charleston, pew rentals plummeted and the church fell on difficult times, going through seven ministers in the next ten years.  Fortunately for the church, one of its members, Alva Gage, had retained most of his money and was generous in sustaining the church through the difficult times.  
Meanwhile, the Universalist Church in Charleston closed and was sold in the late 1850's with the money invested. After the war the remaining members joined the Unitarian Church and donated their funds to the repair of the church. It was not until 1961 that Unitarians and Universalists officialy merged into the Unitarian Universalist Association, but clearly there was an affinity much earlier than that!  

Although the church was fortunate in suffering no major damage  during the  Civil War, that came to an end during two natural disasters in 1885 and 1886.  The Cyclone of 1885hurricane in 1885, with winds of 125 mph, bore down on Charleston, creating havoc and blowing out all of the windows in the Nave of the church .
  The new side windows, donated by Unitarian churches in Boston, are in the Art Nouveau style and contrast sharply with the traditional windows in the Chancel.  These windows are solid stained glass and were manufactured by Redding, Baird & Company of Boston, Mass.  These windows, too, carry the theme of old and new testaments with the words “The Lord is One” written in Hebrew  and “Spirit of God” written in Greek.
The next year, the great Charleston earthquake of 1886 (7.3 on the moment magnitude scale) devastated the city of Charleston and caused major damage to the Unitarian Church.  The entire top of the church tower, including eight paneled buttresses, high pinnacles, and medieval-style finials, fell into the Nave of the church, leaving a gaping hole in the roof and destroying part of the famed fan-vaulted ceiling. Fortunately for the church, Unitarians from across the country generously donated $17,000 to the rebuilding effort, much of which was later repaid. Boston architect Thomas Silloway restored the interior to Francis Lee's original design. The tower, however, was rebuilt in a slightly less elaborate form with the pinnacles and parapet lowered and simplified. This was to increase structural stability in the event another earthquake struck Charleston.
More than one hundred years passed before Charleston faced another natural disaster of similar scope. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo destroyed about 30 mature trees in the churchyard.  These trees were replaced with a lower growing canopy of dogwood, halesia (silverbell), crepe myrtle, and Japanese maple. More than 60 tombstones were also damaged in that storm, but age and weather have also taken their toll. The Larrisey Gravestone Conservation Project, named for former member, M. Maxine Larrisey, was established for their repair and 65 have been refurbished.
Unitarian Church in Charleston