As per usual, we omit references to past programs or events. - gmc
March 1 - Overview of all that was on our schedule at the start of the month.
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March 2 AM - Independence (Mon)Day: Today is the anniversary of the "Battle of the Rice Boats" in 1776. The Battle of the Rice Boats, also known as the Battle of Yamacraw Bluff, occurred during the Revolutionary War on March 2–3, 1776. British ships had been sent down to buy rice to supply the Redcoats who were occupying Boston. The Georgia Committee of Safety in support of independence refused to allow anyone to trade with the British, in compliance with the rules of the Continental Association. Thus the Georgia militia led by Colonel Lachlan McIntosh fired on the British ships and sent to South Carolina for help. Men from the Beaufort District were among those who responded to Georgia's call for aid. Matters took a turn and the Americans boarding the British ships were captured. Negotiations for their release broke down. Patriots sent a fire ship into the rice boats burning several. Eventually, the British ships were allowed to leave, taking the Royal Governor of Georgia, James Wright with them back to Boston.
American History Central says that "The Battle of the Rice Boats is important to United States history because of the role it played in keeping Georgia in American hands during a crucial period of the American Revolutionary War. Eventually, American control of Georgia led the British to devise the Southern Campaign, which started with the Capture of Savannah in 1778. Although the Americans lost Savannah in that battle, it ultimately led to British forces being trapped at Yorktown in 1781 and having to surrender."
March 2 PM - It's Read an E-Book Week on Hoopla. We suggest that you check out Wicked Beaufort by Alexia Helsely.
March 3 - Perhaps you're wondering why the British wanted to buy rice grown in Georgia. 1) The Patriots had the British bottled up in Boston by land but the Royal Navy controlled the waves. 2) Georgia was the youngest, and some thought the most loyal, of the American colonies. It grew rice that could be purchased and transported back to Boston to feed the Redcoats. Things didn't quite work out as the British had planned.
Carolina planters cultivated rice in the coastal tidewater rivers of the lowcountry–mainly the Waccamaw, Santee, Cooper, Ashley, Combahee, and Savannah Rivers. We have an essay and bibliography about rice culture on our BDCBCL: Lists, Links & Finding Aids blog in case you'd like to learn a bit of agricultural history today. March 4 @ midnight - Happy National Marching Band Day! This date (March 4) was chosen specifically as a pun on "march forth" and is celebrated annually to honor marching and music arts in schools, communities, and drum corps.
In honor of this jubilant day, we have a photograph of the Robert Smalls High School Marching Band of 1964 from their school annual. The band, consisting of woodwind instruments, brass instruments, and a drumline is pictured with the schools majorettes who would often perform alongside the marching band. We have the 1964 annual from Robert Smalls High School and annuals from the Robert Smalls Middle School for 1981, 1986, 1991, and 1992. Our collection of school yearbooks in the Beaufort District Collection has come from donations through time. This means that our coverage of schools is completely dependent on donations.
A request: If you happen to have a yearbook from schools within Beaufort, Jasper or Hampton counties, South Carolina, please contact the BDC at (843) 255-6468, we would love to have first dibs on "those old yearbooks."
March 4 AM - Black History Note: Memoirs can tell us a lot about a person's life. Susie King Taylor's memories about her time as a nurse and teacher during the Union occupation will be featured in our program on Friday. We have a bit about SKT on Connections. March 4 PM - Another good choice for "Read an E-book Week" on Hoopla is the Grim Years: Settling South Carolina, 1670 - 1720 by John J. Navin.
March 5 - Elizabeth Hyde Botume was one of the earliest teachers taking part in what was called “The Port Royal Experience” and her account will be featured at our local history program at 11 AM today. She taught at the "Old Fort" school shown in this photograph from our Civil War and Reconstruction Era Stereoscope Photographs of the Port Royal Region - the Finding Aid for which is on the BDCBCL: Links, Lists, and Finding Aids blog.
March 6 - Our final suggestion for "Read an E-Book Week" is volume 3 of State of the Heart edited by Aida Rogers. The anthology includes selections by locals Sallie Ann Robinson, David Lauderdale and Cassandra King.
March 7 - The Library is highlighting "Books set in South Carolina" this month. We've narrowed our list down to some set in Beaufort District: The Battle of Fort Scarlet; Beaufort 1849; Fragments of the Ark; Katrina; The Sea Island's Secret; Storm Center; Trouble the Water; and Tubman Command. March 9 AM -- Independence (Mon)Day: Some terms merit discussion, particularly when what is one person's battle may only be a skirmish in another person's assessment. What is not in doubt is that there were at least 200 hundred, battles, skirmishes and other military actions inside the current borders of South Carolina during the American Revolution. Terry Lipscomb compiled a list that includes the Battle of Port Royal Island (1779); Fort Balfour and Hilton Head Island (1781); Galleys Scourge and Adder in March and Galley Balfour on September 2 in 1782 within the borders of Beaufort District. The Battle of the Rice Boats is not listed - most probably because the British fleet was fired upon from the Georgia side of the Savannah River.
The SCDAH has posted a pdf of this booklet online for all to review. We also have a copy in the BDC and one in the general collection at Bluffton Branch. March 9 PM - The most famous of the books set in Beaufort (at least until Pat Conroy's time) was A Sea Island Lady by Francis Griswold. Some opine that indeed it is the best book ever written about Beaufort's past. It's been my experience though that a reader either loves it or hates it. Many local residents and visitors fall into the "Love" category; personally, I have never liked it.
The protagonist's mealy-mouthed support of her deadbeat husband annoyed me so much that I quit reading the book about page 500. I also think - as did many of its contemporary reviewers in 1939 when the book was first published - that it was way too long for its own good. I lost interest and patience about half-way through the almost 1000 pages of text.
This is not to say that I don't recommend that others read it. Indeed the parts about the effect of the Great Sea Island Hurricane and phosphate mining bear obvious signs of diligent historical research. I would recommend that one reads A Sea Island Lady in conjunction with Dr. Rowland's and Dr. Wise's volumes 2 and 3 of the History of Beaufort County South Carolina to help separate the fiction from the facts.
March 12 - Perhaps my favorite book partially set in Beaufort District is Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. Hill's multiple award-winning book is rooted on a 1783 naval ledger kept by the British to account for the 3000 enslaved and free Black Loyalists who were transported into Canada at the end of the American Revolution. The original "Book of Negroes Ledger" is 150 pages long and full of data and genealogical information about the Black Loyalists transported to Canada. Hill's novel was published under two titles: In Canada as The Book of Negroes after the ledger and in the United States as Someone Knows My Name. It has become one of the all-time best-selling books in Canada.
Hill's novel is told from the perspective of an African child, Aminata, who was stolen at age 11 from her village. She is first enslaved on a St. Helena Island indigo plantation. But her yearning to be free places her in conflict with her owners. She learns to read and write in secret in expectation that doing so will help her to get back to Africa. She becomes skilled as a midwife. Her literacy and personal knowledge of the transported Black Loyalists allow her to work on compiling the Book of Negroes in the novel. Her tale covers six decades, 1745 to 1805, three continents, Africa, North American and Europe, and topics related to enslavement, abolitionism, and what it means to be a human being. I agree with Publishers Weekly that "Hill's book is a harrowing, breathtaking tour de force."
March 13 - In honor of National Quilting Month: The Sea Island Quilters, founded in 1987, donated their records to the BDC in March 2021. Cassi finished the finding aid to their minutes, financial documents, newsletters, photographs, scrapbooks, and even quilt block patterns, all of value to researchers interested in local quilting history and women’s social organizations from the late 20th and early 21st century in 2025. (Note: A different group, The Maye River Quilters, has some of their quilts on display in Bluffton Branch this month: (843) 255-6490). March 14 - Sometimes I am a little hard-pressed to identify a BDC material that relates to modern days of significance. As it turns out, the BDC does have a little something mathematical to share in honor of Pi Day.
We have two years' worth of the "Southern Review," a quarterly literary journal founded by Hugh Swinton Legare and Beaufort's own Stephen Elliott (1771-1830) in 1828. Our volume from 1829 includes "II. CAMBRIDGE COURSE OF MATHEMATICS" which is broken into three articles about algebra, trigonometry, and geometry.
March 16 - Independence (Mon)Day: As the Battle of the Rice Boats indicated, the Council of Safety in South Carolina and Georgia were in contact with each other. Unfortunately, we do not have a copy of that correspondence but we do have a copy of South Carolina Provincial Troops named in Papers of the First Council of Safety of the Revolutionary Party in South Carolina, June-November, 1775, compiled by Alexander S. Salley. In June 1775, those in opposition to continued British rule decided to raise three regiments of regular troops and selected 13 members to serve as a Council of Safety to oversee the affairs of the colony. Beaufort District's own Thomas Heyward, Jr. was a member. Henry Laurens was its first president. Details about some of the district's patriots appear in the reports and correspondence are included: Daniel DeSaussure; John Barnwell; Charles C. Pinckney; Clement Lempriere; Col. Stephen Bull; and Andrew Postell among others. Where, how much, and who had the gunpowder at Beaufort comes up several times as does correspondence regarding the refitting of Fort Lyttelton. For the genealogists among you, there are a number of troop registers and some interesting declarations of neutrality. BTW: This information was originally published in issues of the South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine from 1900 to 1902. March 17 - In honor of St. Patrick's Day, our book recommendation for today is Driftwood unmasked: The legend and the man by Gibbes McDowell (2018).
Beaufort-native Gibbes McDowell brings local legend (but a native Northern Irishman) Driftwood Cory back to life in this book. McDowell weaved together fact and fiction in his novel; fact being the scraps of stories and memories offered by those who knew the real Driftwood Cory during his time in Beaufort, and fiction – nearly everything else! Driftwood Cory was a ramblin’ man, an Irishman who immigrated to the US in some unknown year for unknown reasons, who eventually landed on a small plot of sand on Harbor Island for who-knows why. He made quite a reputation for himself as an artist and storyteller before rambling on again, but he left quite the legacy (and a million unanswered questions) in his wake.
McDowell’s novel portrays Cory as a veteran suffering from PTSD, a drifter in search of somewhere to settle, a lover, a threat to established order, and the lucky discoverer of pirate gold. Later, when McDowell endeavored to find real answers to his questions about the mysterious Cory, he found that his fictional portrayal was not too far-off from the truth in some instances. Discover for yourself what is fact and what is fiction about Cory in Driftwood unmasked: The legend and the man. For more information on the real Driftwood Cory, the BDC also has photographs of him in our Lucille Hasell Culp Collection (and another recently found within a soon-to-be-processed collection!).
March 18 - "Black History Note" in National Women's History Month: Harriet Tubman most definitely embodied this year's slogan "Leading the Change." She did, after all, help free more enslaved people here in Beaufort District than during all the other years she served as the "Moses of her people." Learn more about the Tubman's role in the Combahee Raid through the BDC's WordPress blog.
PSST: If you prefer historical novels to history, then I recommend The Tubman Command by Elizabeth Cobbs (2019) available in print or on Hoopla with your BCL library card. If you want to know the state of latest research on the topic, then borrow the award-winning Combee by Edda Fields-Black (2024) in print at our libraries or as an audio-book on Hoopla (22 hours). March 19 AM - Today's local fiction book recommendation is Hurricane Sisters: Tales of Low Country Ladies by J. C. Fewell (2012).
Hurricane Sisters is a collection of short stories that center on the experiences of women during hurricanes. The stories follow a sisterhood of women, along with their families and other acquaintances, as they deal with life’s storms (metaphorical and physical) in Beaufort from 1959 to 2017. Interspersing the stories are short poems following the established themes and characters. All of her stories feel like memories of Lowcountry days-gone-by, with just enough drama to keep readers engaged. Nearly all of the “Big Ones” (i.e. hurricanes) that the old-timers love to talk about make an appearance in this anthology, either explicitly or as the background for other events. Fewell bills herself as a “proud survivor of Hurricane Gracie,” and her understanding of that storm along with the social climate of Beaufort at the time especially shines through in the story, “The Eye of the Storm.”
March 19 PM - Savings and Trust : The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman's Bank by Justine Hill Edwards won Yale's 2025 Frederick Douglass Book Prize.
The blurb for the audio-book on the Library's Hoopla service says: "Fully informed by new archival findings, historian Justene Hill Edwards unearths a major turning point in American history in this comprehensive account of the Freedman's Bank and its depositors. She illuminates the hope with which the bank was first envisioned and demonstrates the significant setback that the sabotage of the bank caused in the fight for economic autonomy. Hill Edwards argues for a new interpretation of its tragic failure: the bank's white financiers drove the bank into the ground, not Fredrick Douglass, its final president, or its Black depositors and cashiers. ... Savings and Trust is a must-listen for those seeking to understand the roots of racial economic inequality in America." Very relevant to the theme of this year's ISRE Symposium this weekend. Give it a listen. 
March 20 - "Finding Aid Friday:" This street scene from our L.A. Hall Collection hosted online by the Lowcountry Digital Library shows plenty of economic activity in Beaufort in 1879 - a most appropriate choice in light of the theme for the BDC's participation in the ISRE Symposium being held this evening and tomorrow at USCB. The QR code takes you to the Finding Aid for this collection of stereoscope photographs from the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.
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March 23 - Independence (Mon)Day: Back in 1987, Robert S. Lambert put into perspective the choices people faced in the lead up to and course of the American Revolution. Because of the changing fortunes of the Patriots and Loyalists, a civil war raged in the backcountry and in parts of the lowcountry as well. The war affected all South Carolinians who lived through it in some way. At the war's conclusion, Loyalists were left with a tough choice: flee to other British colonies or try to make peace with the state government and remain in South Carolina. The bibliographical essay is particularly useful. We have the original edition from 1987. The South Carolina State Library has copies of the second edition of South Carolina Loyalists in the American Revolution (2010) that you can borrow. Please note: This is a narrative of the period 1760s-1780s, not a genealogical reference book.
March 24 - If you wish to be transported into nineteenth century Beaufort, we recommended Katrina: Woman of Beaufort by Rita Van Pelt (1994) for your reading.
Completely enamored and enchanted by the beauty and history of Beaufort, Rita Van Pelt moved to Beaufort and lived here for five years in order to study its history for her debut novel. With a particular interest in both Beaufort’s early history and the Civil War era, she felt inspired to create Katrina: Woman of Beaufort.
Taking place in Antebellum Beaufort, this novel depicts the struggles women faced in the time before, during, and after the Civil War. A young woman named Katrina is brought to Beaufort aboard a ship named the Sea Belle by her father; her mother sadly passed during the voyage. Though she is a fictional character, many of the mentioned people and places she meets and visits are historically accurate. The racist and sexist prejudices she faces in this new town are also historically accurate. Without having a say in what she can do or where she may go, Katrina is forced to navigate this brand new life and find the strength to transcend.
March 25 - "Black History Note:" Rosalie Pazant self-published her autobiography Never Too Late: The Life and Times of a Gullah Woman in 1992. She along with her daughters founded the Original Gullah Festival celebrating Gullah culture in the mid-1980s. Lady P. created a change that's been sustained for 40 years, first by herself until 2000 and then by various of her family members. The Festival is traditionally held in the few days leading up to Memorial Day as a nod back to the significance of Decoration Day in Beaufort District's post-Civil War history. The 2026 Festival is scheduled to be held in the Waterfront Park, Friday, May 22 - Sunday, May 24.
March 26 - If you are looking for a nail-biting, drama/mystery/romance concoction set on Hilton Head Island that will take hold of you for thirteen whole books... look no further. In for a Penny by Kathryn R. Wall (2000) is the first book in the Bay Tanner Mystery Series by Kathryn R. Wall.
This novel will transport you straight into the Lowcountry with vivid imagery of the salt air, dunes, and palmetto trees. But more importantly, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Taking place a year after Bay Tanner’s husband was murdered, she has been successful in isolating herself in their hideaway home on Hilton Head. Except, are you ever really alone when you have anger and fear weighing on you? When the news of another murder comes knocking on her door, Tanner realizes some seemly separate puzzles may actually piece together...
March 27 - Finding Aid Friday: Nancy Ann Ciehanski (1930 – 2007), a Hilton Head Island resident from 1979 to 1999, served her community during the critical transition of the area from an unincorporated portion of Beaufort County into an incorporated municipality in 1983. Her papers document the political landscape of Hilton Head Island and Beaufort County leading up to the first municipal elections of the Town government, 1980-1984. Among her interests was environmental protection and limiting development in a sustainable manner. The Finding Aid is on our "Links, Lists and Finding Aids" blog.
March 30 - Independence Mon(day): Renowned British genealogist Peter Wilson Coldham spent 40 years of his life extracting information from American Loyalists Claims submitted to the British government between 1765 and 1799. The Loyalists were seeking compensation for loss of land and property as a result of action taken against them as supporters of the Crown before, during, and after the Revolutionary War. The South Carolina section is almost 100 pages long and covers more than 500 people who submitted claims involving lost property and military service undertaken on behalf of His Majesty George III. The photo of the entries for the father and son team who were in the words of Dr. Rowland "Beaufort's most famous Tories" gives you an idea of the genealogical and biographical information that can be found in Coldham's extracts.
The volume covers claimants in all the original 13 colonies as well as East Florida, West Florida, Canada, the West Indies and a section of "Unidentified and Strays" who submitted claims. We'll be happy to have you come look for your ancestors in our Research Room: bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468. March 31 - Today's recommendation for books set in Beaufort District is one of the first novels about African American life on the sea islands.
Florence Crannell Means was one of the first writers of multicultural books for children and teens. Her goal was to promote racial equality among those whose opinions were in the process of formation by writing empathetically about the conditions faced by American minorities: African Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, and Japanese Americans.
While some may take issue with the dialect in her Shuttered Windows and Great Day in the Morning (1946) novels, her characterizations of strong-willed and powerful female protagonists withstand the passage of time. Her novel The Moved-Outers about a California based Japanese American family forced into an internment camp during World War II was named a Newbery Honor Book in 1946. Means is credited with "bringing an early social conscience to children's literature." [Anita Silvey, ed. (1995). Children's books and their creators]. Means died in Boulder, Colorado in 1980.
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