From the Vault: The SC Historical Society Podcast

Our guests for this episode are very special, because they work here in the archives! Virginia Ellison is the COO and Director of Collections here at the SC Historical Society, overseeing all archival and museum operations. Molly Silliman is our Senior Archivist, managing archival services and reading room operations, as well as working with researchers. They sat down with our host, Sydney Derrick...

This month's episode is a collaboration with the oldest in America – the Massachusetts Historical Society - exploring the relationship between John Adams, one of their most famous sons, and Henry Laurens, one of ours. Both were instrumental in the founding of the nation, but how well did they know each other? We’re going to discuss that with C. James Taylor, historian and the former editor-in-...

This episode continues our Dubose and Dorothy Heyward month, discussing these two Charleston Renaissance writers. We’re talking with Annette Guild, the Metadata Specialist at the SC Historical Society, who recently finished a project to digitize some of the papers of the Heywards. Those are now available on the Lowcountry Digital Library, as well as Digital Library of South Carolina, and the Digit...

We are heading back to the roaring 20s to talk about Dubose and Dorothy Heyward, the Charleston writers. Dubose was best known for his novel "Porgy," which became a play and then opera, "Porgy & Bess" developed with Ira and George Gershwin. In this episode, we’re talking with author and historian Harlan Greene, who recently wrote the book “Porgy’s Ghost: The Life and Works...

We’re exploring the story of two men who were accused of similar crimes, but whose fates were very different. John Burnet, a Scottish immigrant, was taken into custody in the summer of 1775 in today’s Colleton County. He was accused of preaching to enslaved people and encouraging them to preach on their own, as well as revolt against their enslavers. An enslaved man accused of preaching at these s...

In this re-release episode, we revisit Mary Musgrove, a woman who played a role in colonial South Carolina and Georgia as peacemaker, translator, and liaison to Native Americans - specifically those in the Creek Nation.

In this episode, we're talking with Dr. David Dangerfield, an associate professor in the history department at USC Salkehatchie whose research interests include free persons of color and non-elite whites in the antebellum South. We talk about the subject of his lecture, free people of color - and those who earned their freedom - in the American Revolution. 

We’re exploring the life of one of our state’s most passionate seekers of American liberty – Christopher Gadsden. You may have heard his name before, because various areas and streets across the state bear his name - even a wharf in Charleston. And you may also know that he created the famous Gadsden flag, with the coiled snake that says Don’t Tread on Me. We’re going to talk more about that flag...

Because the American Revolution was being fought on American soil, the soldier’s family was often involved in the war in some way, too – no matter if they were Patriots or Loyalists. Sometimes this took the form of sons and fathers fighting in battles side by side or in separate areas. Sometimes, this meant that wives followed their husbands and camped with them as the men fought. But it also mean...

In this episode, we’re going to talk about some early declarations of independence here in South Carolina. That’s right, there were some parts of the state – or then colony – who put themselves forth as independent even before July 4, 1776. And the pronouncements here were in large part due to one man, William Henry Drayton.

Surprise! We have a bonus episode for you, just in time for Spooky Season. We are re-airing last year's Halloween episode on a mysterious ghost story about Goose Creek Church. There are many South Carolina ghost stories and legends, but when we came across this story in our pamphlet collection, we knew it was the one. Tune in for the story of a man who thinks he falls in love with a peculiar w...

In this episode, we discuss a talk, written down in letter form, given to the people of the Catawba Nation by the members of the SC Council of Safety, to explain the beginnings of the American Revolution. How did it affect the way the Catawbas participated in the war?

In this episode, we’re going back a few centuries to the Revolutionary War and looking at the problem of clothing American soldiers. The lack of basic necessities for soldiers led to deaths and desertions, according to George Washington. Letters between Washington and Congress, some of which are housed in the Henry Laurens papers in our archives, illustrate how bad the conditions sometimes were.

This month's episode is all about the Futerells – the family of the man who was Henry Laurens’s jailer in the Tower of London, but whose children ultimately became wards of Henry and lived – and died – here in America after the war.

In this episode, we are looking back for the last time at the Order Book of South Carolina’s Fourth Regiment during the American Revolution. It’s the summer of 1777, and we talk about changes in leadership and one lieutenant accused of ungentlemanly conduct who does not go quietly .

June 2025 is the 250th anniversary of first meetings of South Carolina’s Council of Safety, which served kind of as a branch of government during the early days of the American Revolution here in our state. One of their main jobs was to form the militia regiments and give orders as to where they went. They also created a currency for the state, right down to the design of the paper money, oversaw...

We are diving back into the Fourth Regiment’s Order Book for today’s episode. It’s August of 1776, and the people of South Carolina have just heard the Declaration of Independence read aloud for the first time. The soldiers of the Fourth Regiment are leaving the city - but will it quell all the rule-breaking they were doing in the last episode?

In today’s episode, we’re talking about two women - Sarah Stuart and Elizabeth Simpson - who were close enough to Loyalists that the Patriots powers of the state were concerned. Their stories give us a glimpse at what life was like during this time, for people of means and those who may not have had as much.

It's July of 1776, and just a few days have passed since a group of South Carolinians achieved an unexpected victory over the British at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island - and the United States of America has now officially declared their independence. For now, it’s back to normal as the troops continue to ready themselves to be able to protect their city and their new nation. But there's a trendin...

We chat with author and professor Peter H. Wood about his seminal 1974 book, "Black Majority," which studies Black people during the colonial period of America. It brought forward new ways of looking at the available sources and challenged the ideas that those enslaved were passive and unskilled laborers, showing evidence of their agency over themselves and how their skills, culture, and customs w...

Christine King Mitchell has worked in the field of AfricanAmerican studies for more than 25 years. We talked with her about her recent book called “The Business of Slavery: Evidence of Control, Power, and Wealth.” It’s a fascinating breakdown of primary sources found in the archives around the state which show where money was made from slavery, who was making it, and where slavery could be found w...

We are heading back to 1776 for an important battle in South Carolina history. It’s June in the order book of the 4th regiment that we have been following, and it’s just a few days before the Battle of Sullivan’s Island in Charleston. The troops are preparing because they know that the British are planning an attack and, in fact, have already begun landing on today’s Isle of Palms. In this episode...

We talk with Christina Butler about her latest project, a report and exhibit for the Powder Magazine and the SC250 Commission on the British occupation of Charleston from 1780 to 1782. Christina is Dean and Chair of General Education at the American College of the Building Arts, where she also teaches. She owns Butler Preservation, a company that does preservation planning and historic property re...

In March of 1776, the Patriots in South Carolina were preparing for a British attack – and as know now, one is coming at the end of June. In this episode, we explore the Fourth Regiment Order Book in the weeks leading up to the Battle of Sullivan's Island.

Surprise! We have a bonus episode for you, just in time for Spooky Season. There are many South Carolina ghost stories and legends, but when we came across this story in our pamphlet collection, we knew it was the one. Tune in for the story of a man who thinks he falls in love with a peculiar woman... and what he realizes when she won't return his affection.