century, and if you look closely at them, they depict an eagle with a c.g. stamped in the middle. obviously they were a unique creation for the columbus guards to use. this is the only known surviving example of a red jacket from the columbus guard. it was worn by watkins banks, a member of columbus who grew up just a couple miles from the museum where we are standing today. 1861 and weerve in know this jacket belong to him and that he acquired it just before he left because he wrote his name in his clothes. we have a picture of the inscription inside the jacket, s, and then that date of 1861. this is what banks and other members of the columbus guard

would have marched out of columbus wearing before they changed into regular confederate uniforms. it's also worth noting that before the war officially began --fort sumter in april 16 1861, the columbus guards were invited to be the bodyguard of jefferson davis when he was inaugurated as the confederacy's first and only president. marched to montgomery, alabama, wearing these red jackets, where they were photographed and talked about in many newspapers across the south. portiontanding in the of the legacy gallery the details columbus's long history. columbus was founded as a city in 1828 and its first mill was founded the same year. the object we are looking at currently is a terry towel loom that was used at the mill here in columbus. this loom would have been used

throughout the 1980's and still has fabric on it. you can see the various stages just from the basic cloth all the way to the finished terry towel product. in addition to mass production, the mill had a company store where residents of columbus and the surrounding area could actually come in and directly purchase towels and other scraps of fabric from the mill floor. columbus's location on the fall line makes it an ideal place for many typesmills and of mill products. but when union forces came through at the end of the year, -- war, they destroyed many of the city's manufacturing centers to help shut down confederate production at the end of the war. after the war columbus rebuilt quickly, with more mills than ever before. the majority of mills here in

columbus were cotton mills, so they were producing clothing, towels, jeans. there were also grist mills and hose theory -- hosiery mills. many different types of products, including home furnishings, could be bought right here in columbus. these names -- their buildings can still be seen all over the columbus landscape today. offices, event dissenters, and places to look at and remember this history where so many residents of columbus worked or had family members or friends who worked. here we have several artifacts related to the life of tom wiggins, otherwise known as blind tom. ♪ he was born on a plantation near columbus and soon after his

birth, it was discovered he was both blind and mute. today we would probably recognize him as autistic, specifically an autistic savant. tom cannot communicate in traditional ways. he had a remarkable talent for mimicry. you was able to reproduce any sound or voice he heard in nature or man-made. he also displayed a remarkable talent at an early age for music, being able to reproduce songs he heard just wants on the piano despite having very little formal training. his owners quickly realized the remarkable child they had on their hands and had him begin giving concerts in columbus.

eventually they started touring him around the south and around the country. wiggins also wrote music. this piece here is one of his earliest pieces of sheet music. you can see here at the top it says, tom, the blind negro boy pianist, only 10 years old. and we have an image of here depicting him. he was most often photographed and drawn with his eyes closed. justontinued to tour not throughout the nation, but internationally, even after the civil war, when he was officially no longer a slave. however, through a series of convoluted legal dealings, members of his initial owning family continue to act as his manager and legal guardian. at one point his mother even signed over legal guardianship

with the promise of receiving some of tom's earnings. however, when she realized this was not the case, she left new york city where tom and his owner-manager were living and return to columbus on her own. this is another piece of music authored by blind tom. this piece is called the battle of manassas. this speaks to tom's ability to re-create sounds he heard. of course, the battle of manassas was one of the first battles of the civil war. people who heard this piece performed and had been on the battlefield thought it was almost shocking how accurately tom was able to use the sounds of the piano to mimic sounds

that would be heard on a typical battlefield. this document is very typical of the concert programs that you would have received if you attended a blind tom concert. you see here, songs, sketch of the life of blind tom. an image of the adult tom. again, you see him depicted with his eyes closed. inside there are accounts of tom's life. and on the back is a typical concert program. tom wiggins received acclaim across the world. by some accounts he was the highest grossing musical artist of the entire 19th century. unfortunately, because of his race and his disabilities, he never saw a cent of that money.

at one point a newspaper article in "the new york times" reported that tom only had the clothes on his back and won silver flute which had been presented to him as a gift by one of his flute teachers in new york city. towards the end of his life, he had to stop performing after suffering a series of strokes. there are many different stories about his death and what exactly happened. the most commonly accepted version is that he passed away in hoboken, new jersey in 1908. there are two great sights associated with tom, one in hoboken and one near his original birthplace in harris county, near columbus. hope of visitors to the columbus museum, way with a greater appreciation for the rich history, heritage, and culture that columbus has had throughout its life.

economically, socially, culturally, and so many different facets. we want our local residents to really take pride in where they are living and appreciate what has come from here and made an impact on the world stage. we hope visitors from out of justbegin to recognize not columbus's rich history when they are here, but also when they return home and go about their daily lives, they may see something that reminds them of a person, place of business, a product that came from columbus, and how it affects and enriches their own daily lives. >> the c-span cities tour continues monday with a visit to colorado springs. about explorer zebulon pike, treatment of tuberculosis in colorado springs around the turn of the 20th century, an inventor nikola tesla, who conducted many of his

experiments in colorado springs. that is monday on c-span starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern. >> c-span's road to the white house coverage continues as we take you live to the medallion center in south carolina for a town hall meeting with senator bernie sanders of vermont. speak, do q&a, and will also take questions from the c-span audience. this is lie. -- live.

. [applause] kaman, you can do better than that. how are you doing? all right. this is the last stop of the evening. we are excited to be in

columbia, south carolina. i have the privilege of serving as the national press secretary for bernie 2016. you will be dmc for this evening. is that ok -- i will be your mc for this evening. the man ofing out the hour, i want to chat with you all. america celebrated the 50th anniversary of the voting rights act? the voting rights act was a civil rights moment, landmark legislation. we we are knowledge how far have come. but the supreme court 2013 decision getting the voting rights act was a shameful step backwards. it was. today we know our voting rights