Historian Lucas notes that the level of arson by Union troops is "one of the most disputed issues in the events surrounding the burning of Columbia." He cites the lack of reliable eyewitnesses as a key problem. Several Confederate accounts describe rioters (not necessarily soldiers) intentionally burning buildings, including the Reverend Porter who in 1882 wrote that he had seen men enter houses, using cotton balls dipped in turpentine to set fires. At least a dozen other accounts describe Union soldiers setting fire to at one or more buildings. No Union general admitted to seeing burning, though most thought arson by soldier was possible. Contrary to the other accounts, the chief fireman of Columbia, along with three other accounts, testified that they saw no soldier commit arson. Historian Lucas concludes that there were certainly arsonist rioters, but that their influence has been overstated. Lucas notes "it would be difficult to exaggerate the horrors of that night to those whose houses were entered by drunken mobs . . . But to exaggerate the number of Columbians who experienced such visits would also be an injustice."
