Assistant Librarian Mackenzie, 1861 by Sue Mackenzie Thornton

I am embarrassed to say that this article courtesy of Sue Mackenzie Thornton has been sitting in my computer files for more than a few years. I've been long meaning to share it at an appropriate time - and given that it's Library Week 2024 - I shall do so today. It's an unknown story - and if the 79th Highlanders re-enactors return to the Beaufort History Museum during my remaining tenure, I'll have something "new to us" to highlight. Some of you may quibble about the differences in the source materials when it comes to the man's name. As any experienced family historian can attest, variations in name must be weighed against other sources to decide whether or not Lochlan McKinsey is the same person as Loughlin Mackenzie is the same person as Lachlan Mackenzie. Standardization in the spelling of personal names is more of an 20th century practice than a 19th century one.

Lachlan Mackenzie (1838-1864), Civil War Beaufort Librarian by Sue Mackenzie Thornton, edited by Jake Thornton (2017?) 

Allan Mackenzie, a Scottish immigrant, and his wife Maria Martling had ten children. Four of their sons, and two of their sons-in-law joined the 79th New York Highlanders Infantry during the Civil War. One of these sons, Lachlan would spend some time in the Beaufort Library. 

Following is his roster obtained from The New York Military Museum and Veterans Research Center.

His regimental return for December 1861 contained a puzzle. What was a soldier doing serving as an assistant librarian?

A call to Grace Morris Cordial, manager of the Beaufort Collection at the library helped solve the puzzle. The New York Public Library, Irma and Paul Milstein Division as well as online research provided further pieces for the puzzle.

When the Union occupied Beaufort on November 7, 1861, they took control of everything including the library. The following excerpt from The Life of Isaac Ingalls Stevens by his Son Hazard Stevens, Volume II, pp. 367-368 provides some details.

Brigadier General Stevens of the 79th Highlanders opened the library to his soldiers and intended to care for it, returning the books to Beaufort after the conclusion of the war. So Lachlan participated in Steven's plan to both protect the books and lend them to the men. But as the rest of the Stevens excerpt indicates, he was overruled and the books were seized. 

A New York City auction of the Beaufort books was met with many negative editorials such as the following in the November 14, 1862 New York Evening Post. The New York Public Library, Milstein Division provided this newspaper article as well as the subsequent one. 

But the tale of the books took a positive turn. The Beaufort Collection history available on the Beaufort Library website quotes from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly that a letter from New Yorker William H. Fry to President Lincoln was instrumental in having Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase cancel the sale. Newspaper editorials such as this one probably also aided cancellation efforts. 

This November 22, 1862 Cincinnati Commercial Tribune article, a reprint of a November 5th New York Times article, records the escape of Beaufort's books from the auction block. The collection was sent to the Smithsonian Institute for safe storage. 

In February 1865, Harper's Weekly published this January 24, 1865 Alexander Gardner photo which is available at the Smithsonian Archives. 

The photo above illustrates the negative twist that occurred next in the Beaufort Library story, as an incorrectly installed stove on the second floor of The Smithsonian caused a fire which spread to the upper room housing the collection and all the books were burned.  

Lachlan Mackenzie whose military record supplied the puzzle at the beginning of this story, remained with the 79th until the end of his life, dying of Typhoid Fever in a Knoxville, Tennessee hospital on November 27, 1864.  

Lachlan is buried at Knoxville National Cemetery and his gravestone was created in March 1864 by 79th officer Hugh Young and his fellow stone masons.  

I wonder if Lachlan helped compile the auction list for the book sale that never happened. You can see a facsimile of that auction catalog on one of the Behind-the-Scenes tours we're hosting in honor of National Library Week. Check for any remaining slots by calling us: 843-255-6468. 

There is a lot more information about the Mackenzie brothers and their Civil War in the BDC's HISTORY-CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865-PERSONAL NARRATIVES - UNION vertical file. We have accounts from Charles Francis Adams, Clover Adams, Harrison M. Beardsley, James Bell, John Bell, Ephraim Bender, Norris Crossman, Robert Sedgwick Edwards, Harriet Ward Foote, John Frederic Holahan, William H. Johnson, George H. Johnston, Louis Kelsey, Charles Phineas Lord, Laughlin Mackenzie, Dr. Seth Rogers, Calvin Shedd, Stephen Minot Weld, Gottlieb Schahl, and some unknown correspondents.  

It'd be optimal if you make an appointment to come review the contents of the file and the other Civil War related vertical files that we make available inside our small facility: 843-255-6468; bdc@bcgov.net.

Program Topics in November 2023

Port Royal Harbor and its surrounding islands were among one of the first areas to be occupied by Union forces after the Civil War broke out. Among those troops of occupation were the members of the 79th New York.  Re-enactor Tom Vaselopulos will share a brief history of the Highlanders with a lecture "Kilted Warriors" on Friday, November 3rd  at 2 PM in the Beaufort Branch Library's Meeting Room. First come; first seated: Doors will open for seating at 1:30 PM. People will be admitted until we run out of chairs  and/or reach Beaufort Branch's Meeting Room capacity is part of the Beaufort History Museum's Civil War Encampment.   The lecture will set you up to better enjoy the Civil War Encampment hosted by the Beaufort History Museum in the Arsenal on Saturday, November 4th from 10 AM - 4:30 PM. Jalen and I will be on hand outside the Arsenal with flyers about the BDC's Civil War related materials to distribute.  

A few days later, we turn to the colonial period for a program about the man who stayed behind in the 1660s to live with the Native Americans in order to stake stronger English claims to this area. 

Henry Woodward was one of early Carolina Colony’s most remarkable citizens. In 1666, four years before Charles Town, he lived with the Native Americans in present-day Port Royal—the only Englishman in four hundred miles. His stay was interrupted when he was held prisoner by the Spanish in St. Augustine. Freed by an English privateer, he served as a surgeon on a buccaneer ship in the Caribbean, and after being shipwrecked in a hurricane, miraculously ended up back in Carolina Colony as one of the Colony’s first settlers. Relying on his rapport with the Native Americans, he traded for food, helping the colonists avoid starvation. Surviving political intrigue, personal loss, and physical hardship, he became one of the Colony’s most important figures.

Separating fact from fiction about this enigmatic figure is challenging. The records from 17th-century Carolina Colony are sparse. We know he was the Colony’s earliest explorer and Indian trader but his legacy is tangled. Was he America's first frontiersman or an unlucky pawn of the English Lords Proprietors who owned the colony? Was he a friend or a foe of the Native Americans, or both? The speaker, Robert Lanham, spent five years investigating Woodward’s role in the Colony’s earliest years. In 2022, he published The Red Bird and the Devil, answering these questions while setting forth the fascinating story of one of Colonial America’s forgotten figures.

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. Robert 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. 

We are holding two sessions of "Snakebit" over the course of Fiscal Year 2024:

1) The premiere will be on Thursday, November 9, 2023 at the Hilton Head Branch Library, 11 Beach City Road, at 11 AM. We will open the doors at 10:30 AM for first come seating. We will admit folks until we reach the Fire Marshal's limit for the room. Free parking, too! 

2) The reprise will be held in the Spring as part of the Beaufort History Museum/Beaufort County Library local history series.

On December 7, 2023 we have Mary Dorsey of the Samuel J. Bush Post 217, American Legion coming to Beaufort Branch to tell us about the Bush Brothers at Pearl Harbor and what happened to them at and after the "day that will live in infamy." 

After this jammed packed Fall series, the BDC will take a break from coordinating local history programs for the arts-and-crafts programmers to do their thing over the holiday season. Be sure to keep up with any additions, subtractions, or re-scheduling via the Library's calendar of events.  

Register for Local History Programs Sooner Rather than Later

Latest update: 19 January 2023 3:45 pm

Although it isn't customary to have several local history programs registration processes overlap, we have an exception. 

We have "Civil War Union Bands" at two locations - "Historically Speaking 4.1a and Historically Speaking 4.1b" for which seats may - or may not - still be available and we're opening the registration period for the  "Historically Speaking" 4.2 session today - all through the Beaufort County Historical Society's website.

Usually there is more time between "Historically Speaking" programs but this year we wanted to observe the anniversary of the Battle of Port Royal Island as close to the actual anniversary as possible. And since the Beaufort County Historical Society traditionally meets on Thursdays, we simply moved up the American Revolution military engagement commemoration up by one day. Besides which, the few times that the BDC has held a local history program on a Friday afternoon, turn-out has been poor. We certainly want to have a good crowd to hear about what happened and why what happened was significant to American history.   

Though the British Winter Campaign, 1778-1779 in the Palmetto State had mostly gone in Britain’s favor, South Carolina's first land based engagement between professional British, militia, and Continental forces resulted in a Patriot victory - and it was here in Beaufort County! Come learn about the strategy, tactics and significance of this American Revolution battle fought near the MCAS Air Station 244 years ago from a popular local history presenter, Neil Baxley. 

You'll notice on the flyer that the "Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" is co-sponsored by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society, and the Beaufort County 250th Committee under the aegis of the South Carolina 250th Commission. We are grateful for the co-sponsorship. 

The direct link to the EventBrite registration form for "Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779" is https://www.eventbrite.com/e/battle-of-port-royal-island-1779-tickets-519230952757. As per usual, space is limited. Registration will close when we reach room capacity. At 5 minutes to program start time, any unoccupied seats will be offered to folks standing by for program entrance. 

A native of North Carolina, Neil Baxley spent 4 years in the Marine Corps before joining the Beaufort County Sheriff's Department more than 35 years ago.  In 2013, Col. Baxley was put in charge of Beaufort County's Emergency Management Division.  In his spare time, he studies and writes history. He's given presentations at the South Carolina Archives and at area museums and libraries. He's authored two Confederate regimental history books, Walk in the Light: The Journey of the 10th and 19th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (2013) and No Prouder Fate: The Story of the 11th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (2009) and the foreword to Confederate General Stephen Elliott: Beaufort Legend, Charleston Hero by D. Michael Thomas (2020). 

Check the Beaufort County Historical Society's website for remaining seat availability at each of the "Historically Speaking" presentations. 

Looking ahead: The Stuarts Town Symposium, Saturday, February 4, 2023 at the USCB Center for the Arts, 801 Carteret Street, Beaufort, from 1 - 5 pm. Archaeologist Chester dePratter and his team will reveal the findings and significance from the 117 shovel tests conducted in Beaufort's downtown Point area in hopes of discovering the location of the settlement of Scots that lasted only about 2 years, 1684 - 1686. The program is free and no registration is required.   

1862 U.S. Pay Receipt Recalls Connecticut Volunteers by Gerhard Spieler

My "Materials Monday: 50 Shades of Beige"  Facebook series in October features items or collections from our archives. As I was deciding what 5 items or archival collections to highlight, I discovered that not only did I have a Civil War era Company Cook receipt from 1862 in beige tones, I had an unpublished article written by local historian and newspaper columnist Gerhard Spieler about it! He wrote on April 28, 1994, to wit.: 

Questions about an 1862 military pay receipt at a recent meeting of the Beaufort County Historical Society resulted in some surprising answers. It turned out to be a relict of a Beaufort stay of the artillery company of the First Light Infantry, Connecticut Volunteers. 

The pay receipt consisted of an 8X4 inch white paper slip, folded lengthwise. On one side was the inscription" Beaufort, S.C. Dec. 31st, 1862./ Received of Capt. A.P. Rockwell Comdg./ 1st Light Battery C.V. Twenty two 50/100 Dollars / ($22.50) for Extra Services as Company Cook  from October 1st to December 31st 1862/ [Signed] Emery Norwood. 

On the other side, the endorsement read "Receipt / Private Norwood, Camp Cook / Oct. 1st to Dec. 31st 1862 / $22 50/100."  The receipt had been sent to the local historical society by the Nez Perce County Historical Society of Lewiston, Idaho with a covering letter. It stated that "occasionally some-one donates historically significant items along ... and requests that we find an appropriate 'home' for them. Enclosed you will find a receipt that may be significant to your scope of collections." 

The receipt turned up a bigger story than one might expect. Many northern soldiers who spent some time in Beaufort during the War Between the States kept diaries. Pvt. Edward Griswold, a Connecticut volunteer, kept such a journal. His grandson, Edward M. Griswold, used the diary as well as the regimental History of the First Light Infantry, Connecticut Volunteers to push the story of his Civil War ancestor. 

The First Light Battery [Connecticut Volunteers] arrived from New York aboard a sailing ship in Beaufort on Feb. 4, 1862. The journey had been a stormy one, the vessel was blown out to sea and a voyage which normally took four or five days had taken twelve. Fourteen of the Battery's horses died during the voyage. 

The History stated that "although Beaufort was one of the principal shipping points in the South, and the water deep enough for any ocean-going ship, yet there were o docks, so the Ellwood Walter had to be unloaded, as was the custom there, by means of flat-boats.  What a work it was! Horses, guns and ammunition had to be hoisted out of the hold, swung over the side of the ship and lowered into a flatboat." 

The officers of the artillery battery were quartered in "a Johnson House" in Beaufort. Tents were pitched for the men in a lot opposite the house; a line of Sibley tents on either side, with the guns parked between them. At the rear of the Johnson house, stables were built. A vacant lot adjoining officers' quarters contained an old shanty used by the cooks. 

Private Griswold and his fellow Connecticut solders attended church quite often, sometimes twice on Sundays. The History mentioned "an old Episcopal chapel within a small cemetery, some of the gravestone dating back to the middle of the eighteenth century." 

Cemetery (Civil War and Reconstruction Era Stereoscope Photographs of the Port Royal Region, Beaufort County Library)  https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/lcdl:126747

Services were held "in this chapel ... presided over by the chaplains of the different organizations - and at one time meetings were held of a debating club, the members coming from every regiment on the island. Many important subjects were finally settled at meetings of this club." 

Pvt. Griswold mentioned in his diary that "there was a colored lady who lived behind the church to whom the soldiers would take their ration of flour and any fruit like blackberries and she would bake them pies for five cents. Each soldier got a weekly ration of flour. She seems to have done a thriving business so must have been a good cook.  The soldiers soon learned that not all of the black women were good cooks." 

There were casualties, some suffered in battle and others from sickness which was rampant. On April 18, 1862 "we went to the funeral of eleven of the Mich. 8th who were killed at a fight on Wilmington Island. The First Battery took part in a May 28-30 expedition to Pocotaligo. In June, part of the Battery "took part in an unsuccessful attempt to take Charleston." 

The diary noted for July 5, 1862 "a pleasant morning. We are going up the Beaufort River on the Steamer Delaware. Anchored last night at Hilton Head. We are almost as glad to see Beaufort as we should home. Sergeant Spencer died at Hilton Head."  

In a letter from Beaufort, March 11, 1862 Edward Griswold wrote: "There was a party of 40 or so men and women arrived here on the Mail Steamer Atlantic Sunday from the North. Their business is to set the blacks to work on the plantations and to teach them to read and write, and also to instruct them in spiritual things ... They have taken quarters within a few rods of our camp ..."

The grandson, Edward M. Griswold, checked personally and concluded the same as Katherine M. Jones, in her book Port Royal Under Six Flags, "they stayed in a house at 701 Greene Street." That would be the present deTreville House, located at the corner of Greene and Carteret Streets. [Gerhard Spieler lived in the deTreville house with his wife Ruth deTreville Spieler until his death.] 

Edward Griswold wrote in one of his letters that "the Battery left Beaufort July 12, 1862 and spent most of the next nine months on Folly Island. They were also encamped on James, Johns, and Morris Islands." 

Edward M. Griswold mentioned in his account that Grandfather described Folly Island as "a God forsaken sand bar inhabited only by mosquitoes and sand fleas." 

PS: My cellphone camera makes the document look more gray than beige but beige it is. You could always make an appointment to come see for yourself. Contact us: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net to make the necessary arrangements.  

"Stories of the Civil War" Display Case by Olivia Santos

One of the fun (?) duties of the BDC's full-time assistant is responsibility for changing out the Research Room display case from time to time. As part of Olivia's onboarding, I asked her to create a display on the topic of the Civil War to reflect our most recent local history program. She writes about what she selected and why below. My comments are in italics. Most of the surrogate realia came from The Civil War Collection: Artifacts and Memorabilia from the War Between the States that I brought to the Library for display purposes. The flags featured are also from my personal collection. -- Grace Cordial   

As a non-local, this area is all extremely new to me, which can be problematic when you work somewhere focused on local history! Thankfully, we have some great resources here at the BDC that were a big help to improving my learning curve. To get myself familiarized with our collection and start learning Beaufort County’s vast history, Grace tasked me with setting up our display case for October, with the following topic: Civil War history in the South.

Intimidating, right? For someone like me, who grew up in Illinois, my education about the Civil War was heavily focused on Abraham Lincoln, his life, and his impact on the war. The self-proclaimed “Land of Lincoln” is obsessed with educating its students about the famous president, so coming into this project I had the opportunity to learn some information that I hadn’t previously known.

For this project, I wanted to focus on individual accounts, letters, and stories from people of varying backgrounds to get a better sense of what life was like for the soldiers and families of those impacted by the war. I’ve always been interested in storytelling, and wanted to explore how a person's rank, station, or background might influence how they perceive and discuss different events or social issues.

To start us off, Shelf 1 contains two books that give both general and personal information about the war: The Civil War in the South Carolina Lowcountry: How a Confederate Artillery Battery and a Black UnionRegiment Defined the War by Ron Roth (2020), and Reminiscences of a Private by Frank M. Mixson (1910). Also included on this shelf are facsimiles of the currency used in the 1860’s, including a $100 bill with the renowned Southern belle Lucy Holcombe Pickens depicted on it. The third wife of South Carolina Governor Francis W. Pickens, Lucy’s beauty gained her the adoration of Confederate Treasury Secretary C. G. Memminger, who admired her so much that her portrait was put on an 1862 issue of the $1 bill, and several issues of the $100 bill. Also included on this shelf is an illustrated 19th century newspaper print surrogate of Civil War life, including various battles between the Confederates and the Union in Port Royal that those who have attended BDC local history programs may have seen used as illustrations.

The top left illustration is "Effect of the Gunboat Shells on the Rebels in the Woods near Port Royal Fort, Jan. 1st;" The top right illustration is "Gallant Charge of the 8th Michigan Volunteers upon a Rebel Masked Battery [of] Three Guns" and along the bottom is "Landing of the National Troops on the Mainland, Coosaw Island, January 1st." We have the original Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper double page print cataloged as BDC PRINT 91, "New Year's Day at Port Royal -- Successful Attack of a Detachment of the National Forces under Brig. Gen. Stevens, supported by four gunboats of the fleet, on the Rebel fortifications at and near Port Royal Ferry, January 1st" that was published on January 25, 1862. 

The Civil War in the South Carolina Lowcountry tells the story of two military units organized in Beaufort at the time of the war: the Confederate Beaufort Volunteer Artillery and the U.S. 1st South Carolina Regiment, the first Black regiment to fight in the war for the Union. I thought this book worked particularly well for our theme not only because it includes personal accounts from soldiers on both sides of the fight, but also because it gives readers more general history of what was going on during this time in Beaufort.

In Reminiscences of a Private, Frank M. Mixson tells his personal account of the trials and tribulations he faced while serving in Company E of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers. A young man at the time, Mixson’s expectations for what his life as a soldier would be like, “the many battles I would be in, the gallant deeds I would do, and, above all, the host of Yankees I would kill and put to flight,” would differ greatly from the quiet life he would lead as a soldier (Mixson, p. 17). Here we can see how different experiences were for soldiers in the war, not only between armies but among them.

Shelf  2 exhibits a surrogate of one of our many detailed maps of the lowcountry, focusing on area near Pocotaligo in the 1860’s. This is an enlargement from Map of Rebel Lines of the Pocotaligo, Combahee, Ashepoo; South Carolina : to Illustrate the operations of the Army, under command of Maj Gen W.T. Sherman ... 1865 BDC MAPS 642 and 643. 

A letter hangs next to it, the swooping cursive making out a letter from one Rose O’Neal Greenhow, a Southern sympathizer and spy for the Confederate Army. A South Carolina flag lies below the map, situated next to the only book displayed on this shelf: Dear Wife, The Civil War Letters of a Private Soldier, edited by Jack C. Davis (2005). The Greenhow letter is part of the Civil War Collection: Artifacts and Memorabilia from the War Between the States kit.

In Dear Wife, Daniel B. White tells of his own personal experiences during the war as a private, in a very similar position to the previously mentioned Private Mixson. Like Mixson, White’s time as a private “was not an exciting war or even a particularly dangerous one” (Davis, p. ix). Despite these similarities, however, these two men found themselves on the opposite sides of the fight, with White serving as part of the 144th New York State Volunteer Infantry, a Union Army unit stationed at Hilton Head during the last year of the war. While not as bloody and battle beaten as other men, Daniel White captures readers with his telling of the events he experienced, as well as the thoughts and feelings of the men around him. This book has one of my favorite covers in the BDC.  The Beaufort County Library has the only copies of this title in the entire SCLENDS consortium.

Shelf 3 displays our last two books, Him on the One Side and Me on the Other: The Civil War Letters of Alexander Campbell, 79^th New York Infantry Regiment, and James Campbell, 1st South Carolina Battalion, edited by Terry A. Johnson, Jr. (1999), and its neighbor with an equally lengthy title, Saddle Soldiers: The Civil War Correspondence of General William Stokes of the 4th South Carolina Cavalry by Lloyd Halliburton (1993). 

Like many families torn apart by war, Him on the One Side and me on the Other tells the story of two brothers, immigrants from Scotland that ended up in different cities and therefore different sides of the fight. Between Charleston and New York City, the brothers exchanged almost eighty letters, recounting their hardships and near-reunion on the battlefield. The BDC has the only copy of this title in the Beaufort County Library. 

Until now, we have focused on the stories of the common man. In Saddle Soldiers, we are privy to the correspondence of William Stokes, a General in the Confederate cavalry who was known for his regiment’s fierce fighting spirit. He, unlike many of the other writers featured thus far, was heavily involved in the fighting itself, seen as a leader of men in combat.

To give viewers a better idea of the conditions of life in the Confederate Army, this shelf displays a watercolor of a Confederate camp at New Kent City, now New Kent County, Virginia. Known as the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, the men depicted in this print gained attention years later for their grit and survival. While almost every man was wounded or captured at some point, all six men miraculously survived three years of war. Beneath this print, two small flags are also included, one Confederate and the other a modern American flag. 

Shelf 4 gives viewers more visuals of wartime life. The Battle of Port Royal, as well as the attack on Port Royal Ferry by the Union in January of 1862 are displayed. These photos are situated next to a photo of the installations on Hilton Head built by the Union Army. These installations were built under the supervision of General William Tecumseh Sherman, who is later famously known for Sherman’s March to the Sea, where he led troops through Georgia in hopes of stopping the Confederate Army. The final photo shows everyday life in Beaufort at a marketplace on a plantation. 

This item came in along with a lot of other materials in the donation of the Lucille Hasell Culp Papers. Mrs. Culp used to have this hanging on the wall in her home. The four illustrations are reproduced from those that appeared in the Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper or Harper's Weekly during the Civil War. The captions under the images on the left are: "The Battle of Port Royal" and "Hilton Head Installations built under the supervision of General T. W. Sherman". The captions under the images on the right are: "The Attack on Port Royal Ferry on January 1st" and "Beaufort, South Carolina Market Place for a Large Plantation Area" which is something of a misleading title. The original illustration is captioned "Scene in the Military Market at Beaufort, S.C." - and obviously the illustration is in a village or town. Sometimes we display this framed image on the walls in the Research Room. 

If you’re interested in reading some of the books I’ve talked about, or want to explore the rest of our vast Civil War collection, give us a call!: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net.  Also, don’t forget to check out our upcoming events. Dr. Michael Johns will be with us in January to talk about Civil War bands at both our Hilton Head and Beaufort locations, so stay tuned for that information as we draw closer to the new year!  Next up for the display case: Native Americans of the Lowcountry for the month of November; Olivia's Favorite Things so far for December.

Reminder: All units of the Beaufort County Library will be closed on Wednesday, October 19th for Staff Development. 

Season 6 of the BHM-BCL Local History Series Roster

With the cooperation of the Beaufort History Museum, I am proud to announce the roster for Season 6 of our joint Local History series. Programs will be in-person only and registration is required. Our roster covers the 17th - early 21st centuries: Proprietary period, Civil War era, a local seafood industry, and drug smuggling. In other words, there is something for everyone! Please take particular note of the location in which program will be held. Sometimes we will be at Beaufort Branch Library and sometimes we will be at St. Helena Branch Library.

1. Tuesday, October 4, 2022 @ Beaufort Branch Library | 2 PM – Jackson Canady re: 11^th South Carolina Volunteers CSA | Registration opens: September 20th on the BHM website

Learn about the history of Beaufort’s Civil War era 11th South Carolina Volunteers Confederate regiment.. Canady will cover  the local men who served, the battles they fought, and the struggles they encountered.                  

Jackson Canaday is a resident of the city of Beaufort. He grew up in Beaufort learning about his many local Confederate ancestors, which instilled a fascination for historical research-primarily of the 11th South Carolina Volunteers.  In these efforts, he has read many soldiers' personal letters and records, tracked their individual journeys throughout the war, and located and cleaned numerous final resting places of men within his ancestors' unit.

Registration opens September 20, 2022 at https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-4884467. 

2. Tuesday, December 6, 2022 @ St. Helena Branch Library | 2 PM – John Warley re: Tuscarora Jack Barnwell | Registration opens: November 22^nd on the BHM website 

Learn about Colonel John “Tuscarora Jack” Barnwell (1671-1724) whose contribution to the survival of Beaufort and the other English settlements in both North and South Carolina has not been fully appreciated.  Both the Yamasee and Tuscarora Indians made concerted efforts to drive the colonists into the Atlantic, and both failed largely due to Tuscarora Jack’s courage, skill and determination. And when it came time for South Carolina to free itself from the clutches of the Lords Proprietors, there was only one man to send to London to make the case: Colonel Barnwell.

The lecturer, John Warley, is the grandson of Colonel Barnwell seven generations removed and is currently at work on a biography of his famous ancestor.  He is the author of five works of fiction and one history of his undergraduate alma mater: Stand Forever, Yielding Never, The Citadel in the 21st Century. John lives in Beaufort and currently serves as vice-president of the Beaufort History Museum. 

Registration will open for this local history program on November 22, 2022 at https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-4884890. 

3. Tuesday, March 21, 2023 @ St. Helena Branch Library | 2 PM – Beverly Jennings about her book Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History | Registration opens: March 7^th on the BHM website 

Shrimping is a tough, messy business full of physical risks and economic hardships. Beverly Jennings interviewed over 65 fishermen, marine biologists and others to explore the commercial shrimping life along the southeastern coast to create an exhibit for the Sharon and Dick Stewart Maritime Center - which in turn led to the publication of her book Shrimp Tales: Small Bites of History in 2020.  

The book explores the trade that started in Florida and eventually found its way up to Georgetown, SC. There are lots of photographs, illustrations, quotes from shrimpers and even some recipes you can cook at home after the program.

Beverly Bowers Jennings has loved the sea since age 6 when her father built a white rowboat named Little Fish for her. A Master Naturalist, Jennings has designed exhibits for the Port Royal Sound Maritime Center and Coastal Discovery Museum.  She has been featured on Walter Edgar’s Journal,  Local Life magazine, and SCETV’s By The River series. 

Registration will open for this local history program on March 7, 2023 at https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-4962919.

4. Tuesday, May 2, 2023 @ Beaufort Branch Library | 2 PM – Jason Ryan about his book Jackpot: High Times, High Seas and the Sting that Launched the War on Drugs  | Registration opens: April 18^th on the BHM website | 

Topographically speaking, if smuggling is on your mind, then our county's waterways are just about perfect! 

For centuries a variety of outlaws have used the twisting waterways of the South Carolina Lowcountry to conceal illegal activity. Pirates found refuge in Carolina creeks, Civil War blockade runners sneaked supplies past a naval blockade, and rumrunners imported alcohol in the midst of Prohibition. 

But perhaps more exciting than all of those historic misdeeds are the escapades of South Carolina’s “gentlemen” marijuana smugglers, who sailed nearly $1 billion worth of pot into Southern marshes during the 1970s and ‘80s. Come learn how a group of fun-loving college dropouts from the Palmetto State made it big in the world of marijuana trafficking before losing it all at the hands of federal investigation Operation Jackpot.

Jason Ryan is a nonfiction author and journalist in Charleston. His books include the marijuana smuggling tale Jackpot: High Times, High Seas and the Sting that Launched the War on Drugs, the true crime thriller Hell-Bent: One Man’s Crusade to Crush the Hawaiian Mob, and the early aviation account Race to Hawaii: The 1927 Dole Derby and the Thrilling First Flights That Opened the Pacific. He is a former reporter for The Beaufort Gazette and The State newspaper and is currently at work on a book about the Murdaugh family of South Carolina.

Registration for this local history program will open on April 18, 2023 at https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/event-4962913. 

A word about registration: When we opened registration a month ahead of program date, we had a lot of no-shows. We learned by trial and error that the 2 weeks window for registration resulted in getting the most butts in seats. We are pleased that our programs have been quite popular in the past, often "selling out" all seats. However, even with the shorter registration period, we may have no-shows. Therefore, we decided that a reservation holds a seat for you up to 1:54 pm the day of the program. Any seats vacant at 1:55 pm are offered to others on stand-by to enter the session until room capacity is reached. 

Tips: 

1. Don't be late if you have a reservation. 

2. It's best not to rely on showing up at the last minute in hopes that a seat might be empty. Oftentimes there isn't one left at 1:55 pm the day of.

Registration now open for Local History In-Person Program Scheduled for 17 February 2022

Update 8 February 2022:  This proved a very popular lecture. Capacity has been reached. No seats remain. - gmc 

After a delay of 23 months, local history in-person programming returns on February 17, 2022 - barring anything unforeseen and any new or renewed Covid-19 related restrictions.  Though the event will not be held inside a Library building, it will be offered only as an in-person - and masks required - event. Registration is required and space is limited. 

I repeat: The presentation will not be recorded for live streaming or viewing later. Although I wish that such were possible, but given the time, labor and equipment limitations that the BDC operates under each and every day, it is not. When I asked BCHS about what they might be able to do on the recording front, they do not have the capacity to film and record and make that recording available either. 

Rev. Dr. Elijah Washington will provide fascinating details of the Grand Army of the Republic, David Hunter Post in Beaufort. The GAR's local post was founded in 1866. Comprised of African-American veterans, mostly formerly enslaved men from Sea Island plantations who had served in the U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War, and White Union soldiers, the GAR served as a fraternal society for veterans of the Union Army. 

This "Historically Speaking" series lecture is co-sponsored by the Beaufort County Historical Society and the BDC.  Again: Registration required. Online registration opens on 3 February 2022 on the Beaufort County Historical Society's website. Registration will cease when capacity is reached.

Please note these key points:

1) Registrations are required. 

2) Masks properly worn covering both mouth and nose are required at the venue. 

3) The lecture will be in the (Beaufort) First Presbyterian Church’s Fellowship Hall, 1201 North Street.

4) No recording or streaming will be made of the presentation or the tour. 

Even with all those stipulations the BDC and the BCHS hope that you will join us for the lecture and tour. 

Mrs. Hawley Describes Emancipation Day 1863

Latest update: 9 December 2024 - gmc

December 31, 1862 and January 1, 1863 are Red Letter Local History Days. 

On account of the 2021 "Materials Monday : Letters" theme, I came across an unknown (or perhaps unremembered) first person account of what actually transpired on Camp Saxton on 1 January 1863 during the Emancipation Day celebration. It is good to hear about the festivities and schedule of the momentous day from yet another eye witness of the event. 

The title of the document "Notes and Extracts from Letters - Beaufort, S.C. 1862 - 1863, During Occupancy by Federal Troops" by Kate Foote and Harriet Foote Hawley (wife of Colonel, afterwards General Joseph H. Hawley [sic] does not give away the presence of this wonderful gem of local history. It was only during the selection process of deciding on which items to feature in the Facebook series that I learned of this treasure. It is a great complement to other first person accounts of the day featured heretofore in Connections. The most complete inclusion of eye witness accounts was posted in honor of the 150th Anniversary of the Day of Jubilee. 

The document is housed in the Miscellaneous Manuscript Collections with a call number of SC MM#7. It is beyond bland - so this is a particular case when one should not judge a book by its cover. The item is thrice appropriate for the "Materials Monday : Letters" theme as there is one complete letter and extracts from at least two more letters contained in the document. The brown paper binder has a letter from Harriet Ward Foot Taylor (Mrs. Herbert A. Taylor) to Beaufort Township Library's Mabel Runnette dated 25 January 1939, in which Mrs. Taylor describes how the Library acquired the document:  

My dear Miss Runette [sic]: 

            At last __ and it is a very long last, I am sending you a copy of the letters from my two aunts written from Beaufort during the latter part of 1862 and early 1863. I hope they will add to the interesting documents of that period which your library already has. 

            I am sending a copy to the Dormans, as they have been much interested in my family's connection with the town. As you will see from the letters, Mrs. Hawley moved from her first house into one on Bay Street & this house I should be glad to have identified. When I was in Beaufort three years ago, I had forgotten that she lived there altho' [sic] I knew she was in that general neighborhood. 

             Sincerely yours, 

                       Harriet Ward Foote Taylor (Mrs. Herbert A.) 

Included are three pages typed of "Miss Kate Foote's account" mostly of her living conditions, a dinner party she held, and her interactions with some of the freed enslaved. She mentions General Terry, a court-martial, Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Peck, Col. Chatfield of the 6th Connecticut, and her brother-in-law Col. Hawley. 

The transcriptions of undated letters written by Mrs. Hawley runs from page 4 to page 6 of the 7 paged document. In her letter, Mrs. Hawley offers another description of the festivities on "New Year's Day at Beaufort, S. C." 

Jan. 1, 1863. If you at the north had half as happy a New Year's day as we in the Southern Department you enjoyed a great deal. I dare say that many of you remembered that it was Emancipation Day -- but we saw and felt it with every breath we drew. Some days ago Gen. [Rufus] Saxton issued the invitation. It would have taken a heavy storm indeed to have kept us from accepting this invitation. 

But no morning ever rose more magnificently beautiful, cloudlessly clear and cool and bracing, yet not so cool but that a delicate woman might remain out of doors the whole day. It seemed early when we started for the camp of the black regiment, but many were the bright and happy looking black faces we passed and many the New Year's greetings we received from the owners thereof.

The wharf was already crowded with negroes, gay in their bright clean turbans and their best things generally, and it took some time for the motley and most interesting and amusing multitude to get safely stowed away in Gen. Saxton's little steamer, the Flora, which he had kindly offered for the occasion.

The camp being four miles distant from Beaufort and the road a heavy one through the deep sand, of course the sail down the beautiful river was to be coveted -- unless by the happy few who possessed horses.

But the crowd was orderly and quiet and the sail delightful, especially as the band of the 8th Maine gave us music. 

Arrived at the landing, the regiment was drawn up to receive us and were most kindly greeted by Col. Higginson and the other officers - the grand live oaks standing out clear against the southern sky, in the foreground the black soldiers in their bright red trousers and nearer the water groups of negroes of all ages, all styles of costume, their queer made "dugouts" and flatboats crowded with them and the steamer's boat also filled.

The platform for the speakers was erected a little way back from the shore in a grove of live oaks said to be the most beautiful one on the Island and thither we proceeded.

The principal guests and the ladies being seated, prayer was offered by the Chaplain of the regiment and then the President's Proclamation was read by Dr. [William Henry] Brisbane, one of the  commissioners for the sale of lands, a man who, as Col. Higginson said, having in his early manhood given freedom to his own slaves, it seemed fitting should now in his maturer years be permitted to read the the tidings of freedom to others. 

A beautiful stand of colors was then presented to the regiment by Mr. French in a very neat and earnest speech on behalf of friends in New York, and as Col. Higginson received the unfurled banner in his hand and turned to reply, a single quavering voice, evidently that of an aged negro, burst out into the song: "My country, 'tis of thee, Sweet Land of Liberty." 

Instantly other voices among them joined in, -- the audience on the platform, much moved, would have joined also, but waving his hand and saying 'leave them to themselves,' Col. Higginson silenced us and the song went on swelling louder and fuller till the whole regiment had joined and all the great crowd also. Tears filled many eyes around me - for myself I could hardly check the sobs, as I thought, for the first time now they have a country; it is to them now a Land of Liberty.

When they had finished, Col. Higginson spoke most eloquently though he said that words seemed weak and useless after such an answer as had been already given. He had heard many songs sung in camp in the six weeks he had been with them - but never this - they could not sing it before, for they never had a country before. All their songs had been sad, almost touching minor strains, speaking the suppressed sadness born of ages of oppression, and he repeated a verse of which I can recall but a line or two: ''

"I know de moon rise and I know de star rise,

O mourners, lay my body down, --

      I know de moon rise and I know de star rise

           I want to get to Jordan to lay dis body down."

But, now he said they should know the moon rise and the start rise only no more; for them too the sun of liberty had risen. 

I can give no adequate idea of this address. You, who are familiar with his strong earnest mind as a writer, and his graceful manner as a speaker can imagine what he would say and how well he would say it on such an occasion. I know one tough old soldier out on the edge of the crowd, one of a Connecticut regiment, was heard to say with a suspicious winking of both eyes at once, that "It was very affecting, wasn't it."

Finally he called up a sergeant and a corporal and committed the colors to them with a most solemn and earnest charge to each. 

They were intelligent and fine looking black men, and he requested them to say a few words to their friends among the audience. They each made a short address showing how well they understood and how deeply they felt what they were fighting for and especially urging others to enlist. One of them referred in a very neat manner which brought out shouts of laughter from the crowd consisted of women, saying that if it had been the Fourth of July, or anything of that kind, there would have been more men than women present, but they were so afraid of having to enlist that the men dared not come.

Then Gen. Saxton, greeted with rousing cheers, made a short practical address and several other speakers followed.

I ought perhaps to have said that both Col. Higginson and Mr. French were repeatedly interrupted by enthusiastic applause and that the President and everybody else kept getting three cheers.

The final ode written for the occasion was sung, and then Col. Higginson told us he had invited a great multitude there, and he couldn't promise that they would all get fed, but he would say that ten oxen had been roasted for them within twelve hours, and a large quantity of hard bread provided with which most of them were familiar and all of them ought to be. So we adjourned to the barbecue grounds and ate a little of the beef and bread, and then the boat was ready and a great crowd passed down to the wharf and on board again, and a still greater one dispersed in other directions.

But such a good natured and well behaved crowd it was. Not an oath or a drunken man did I hear or see during the entire day. I did not even see any rude jostling.

There were probably 2500 people there, indeed I heard it estimated at 3000, though I thought that too high.

But I certainly never saw any such number collected at the North, so quiet and well conducted on a day of public rejoicing.

I think I shall not need the sprig of live oak which I broke from one of the trees that overhung the platform to make me remember that day. It would not be easy for me to forget it. I thank God that I saw it as I did." 

 As regular readers may have surmised, the BDC is often presents staff with unique and interesting research materials to share with you! Please contact the Beaufort District Collection at 843-255-6468 or email bdc@bcgov.net for additional information about the people, places, and themes relating to the history, culture and natural environment of Beaufort County, Jasper County and Hampton County in South Carolina's lowcountry region. Current hours of operation are listed on the Beaufort County Library website.