On the Road with "Snakebit" and Lanham

Don't forget! The BDC is on the road again with Snakebit - an examination of surviving sources of information about one of the state's most fascinating Englishmen of the colonial period by The Red Bird and the Devil author, Robert E. Lanham.

The title of the lecture comes from an extract of a letter that Henry Woodward wrote to John Locke dated 12 November 1675 in which Woodward shares some of the Native American's beliefs. Port Royall Indians worship the Sun but the Westos worship the Devil and have his figure carved in wood. He shared that some Indians purport to "have power over the ratle snakes soe farr as to send one over severall over rivers and brooks to bite a particular Indian which has bin don since our being here." 

The Red Bird and the Devil is Lanham's historical novel about Henry Woodward's life.  It's a novel because so much of the man's personal history is a matter of piecing together bits and pieces from a variety of rather scanty source documents. Because the BDC doesn't "do novel" programs, the main focus of Lanham's presentation is how he discovered and made use of historical documents to flesh out the personality and activities of the Palmetto State's first permanent English settler, trying to separate what was "fact" from what is commonly held "fiction."  

Robert Lanham is a retired family law attorney and former geologist residing in the South Carolina Lowcountry where Henry Woodward, the protagonist of his book, The Red Bird and the Devil lived 350 years earlier. Lanham moved here from Colorado and fell in love with the Lowcountry and its history. His distant grandfather came to the southern colonies as an indentured servant in the late 1600s, the same time as Henry Woodward, sparking his interest in early colonial history. Using skills developed during 40 years of research, writing, and teaching in science and law, Robert published The Red Bird and the Devil, a fresh look at the origin and first decades of Carolina Colony from the perspective of Henry Woodward. 

No need to register.  This is a first come, first seated opportunity to learn more about the depth and scope of Beaufort District's history, its people, environment, and events. 

"Snakebit: Henry Woodward, South Carolina's First English Settler" with author Robert Lanham | Thursday, November 9, 2023 | 11 AM | BDC@ Hilton Head Branch Library, 11 Beach City Road | Doors open for seating at 10:30 AM

Please join us at the Hilton Head Branch Library!