Friday 5

Revolutionary War battlefield map

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With the thought that most of us like to get out and take the occasional road trip, we prepared our list of five great South Carolina battles from the Revolutionary War outside of the Lowcountry.

This doesn't necessarily mean these were the most significant battles -- the slaughter of the patriots at the Battle of the Waxhaws, for instance, had a profound psychological affect on the course of the war -- but not every battlefield has been preserved and opened to the public.

Be sure to click the "View Larger Map," above, and if you don't see all the sites at once, zoom out to get the full picture.

Independence day(s)

Most people can figure out that it’s been almost 231 years since the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia declared the American colonies’ independence from Great Britain. But how much do you really know about the events that took place in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776? Test your knowledge with this quiz (answers on the jump):

S.C. Signers
1. Edward Rutledge of Charleston bears what distinction among the 56 signers of the declaration? A. The only signer born in Ireland; B. The youngest signer; C. Recognized by future President John Adams as one of the strongest proponents of immediate independence.

2. Thomas Lynch Jr. of Georgetown was born on what plantation? A. Hopsewee; B. Hobcaw Barony; C. Hampton.

3. Arthur Middleton of Charleston was generally considered to be aligned with which faction of Congress? A. Radicals; B. Centrists; C. Loyalist Tories.

4. Thomas Heyward Jr. of Jasper County is remembered for: A. Being wounded in battle; B. Being captured by the British after the fall of Charleston; C. Re-writing the lyrics to “God Save The King” to make it a patriotic song; D. All of the above.

It’s the timing
The Declaration set in motion which of the following events? A. The British attacks at Lexington and Concord, Mass.; B. The costly British “victory” at Bunker Hill; C. The defeat of British naval forces at Sullivan’s Island; D. All of the above; E. None of the above.

Author! Author!
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? A. Thomas Jefferson; B. John Hancock; C. Ben Franklin; D. A committee of five members.

Save the date
1. On what day did Congress declare the 13 colonies independent of Great Britain? A. July 2; B. July 3; C. July 4; D. Aug. 2

Time of the signs
On what day did delegates begin signing the Declaration? A. July 3; B. July 4; C. July 19; D. Aug. 2.

Tourists ask the darnest things

Veteran tour guide Tom Doyle of Palmetto Carriage Co. puts it this way: “The most dangerous tourist is the one who comes with a little bit of knowledge.” The “dangerous” part may be up for debate, but these partially informed visitors are certainly the most entertaining.

Does this carriage tour go to Fort Sumter?
While most people who visit Charleston are aware that the Civil War began with the Southern attack on Fort Sumter, the geography of the harbor and its most famous fort often seems to elude them. Even Fort Sumter Tours, the outfit that runs the boats out to the island landmark encounters this one. “They often say ‘I don’t want to take the boat tour, I just want to tour the fort,” said Donna Moulton, the company’s group sales manager. But the prize for Most Confused Tourist probably goes to the satisfied visitor who went on and on to Moulton about the nice lunch she’d eaten at Fort Sumter. “I finally figured out she was talking about California Dreaming.”
Photo: That's Fort Sumter in the upper-lefthand corner. D'oh! (Brad Nettles/Staff)

Where were the slaves sold at the City Market?
For some reason many tourists arrive in Charleston with the impression — in some cases, even the firm conviction — that the City Market was where slaves were sold. “That’s just not true,” said Dennis Stiles of the Original Charleston Walks. Slaves were sold elsewhere downtown — outdoors, mostly — but the city’s most famous market was never more than a free farmer’s market during the ante bellum period. “Slaves used to run the place,” said Linda Wohlfeil of Absolutely Charleston, “and you had house slaves going there to do the shopping. I think what happened was the meaning got misconstrued.”
Photo: LeRoy Burnell/Staff

Why are your houses so skinny?
It’s apparently common knowledge among tourists that the Charleston Single House style of architecture is based on a colonial street frontage tax, an entertaining historical factoid that has the distinct disadvantage of being utterly unsupported by facts. “That came from a Triple A travel writer in the 1970s,” said Tommy Dew of On The Market Tours/Tommy Dew’s History Walk. “Our narrowness came from the fact that we were a walled city and that forced them to cut really narrow lots.” Visitors also want to know why the locals “don’t fix these buildings up” and “who lives in all these houses?” Says tour guide Robert Switz of Old Towne Carriage Co.: “I tell them ‘Real people,’ but sometimes if I’m joking around I’ll tell them ‘Carriage drivers.’”

How many ghosts will we see on the tour?
Lisa Harper-Berezny has been in the business for 16 years, but she really started hearing this one when she started giving ghost walks for Bulldog Tours. “I tend to say it depends on the number of cocktails you have first. I tell them we don’t guarantee the number of ghosts you’ll see on the tour.” Among her other favorites: “You’re sitting on a carriage in the market, and they’ll walk up and ask ‘Do you give tours of Charleston?’ So you say, ‘No, we give tours of Savannah.’” Or “Can you tell me how to get to the old church?” and “‘Will my children be scared?’ Well, I don’t know. You know your children better than I do.”
Photo: Alan Hawes/Staff

Why do you shave your trees?
Not every silly question comes from a misconception about local history. Sometimes people are just plain befuddled. Like the woman who, upon seeing her first crepe myrtle, asked Greg Barrow of Classic Carriage Tours why Charlestonians shave their trees. “You just try not to make them feel like an idiot. You do your best to explain what it is.” But really, how would you answer a question like “How old were these houses when they were built?” or “How do you get all your flags to fly in the same direction?” Or how about this clicher: “If Charleston is so historic, why haven’t we read about it in the history books?” Answers, please, on a post card.
Photo: Wade Spees/Staff

Top 5 years from the last 5 decades

A thought occurred to me over lunch today: If you could pick only one year to represent each of the last five decades, what years would you pick and for what reasons?

Once I started playing around with it, I realized this was quite the interesting exercise, which led me to this idea: I'd post my picks here, encourage people to leave their own thoughts, and then maybe seek out some professional historians for their comments.

If it turns out to be an enlightening conversation, maybe I'll turn it into a Top 5 list. Read my initial picks, after the jump...

Five Irish facts

Bishop John England of Ireland and Charleston: England was the first Catholic bishop in America to be assigned south of Maryland. He arrived here in 1820 when the Vatican intervened in the city’s fractious St. Mary’s parish. “The diocese in Baltimore kept sending French Catholic priests to St. Mary’s, and the Irish couldn’t understand them,” said Stephen White, director of the Charleston History Society. When he died in 1842, “all the church bells in Charleston – Catholic and Protestant – tolled in memorial.”

Three waves of Irish immigrants to Charleston: 1. The Anglican Irish, late 17^th century and early 18^th century; 2. the Presbyterian Irish (better known as Scots-Irish) in the late 18^th century; and 3. The Catholic Irish, who began arriving in the 19^th century. The city didn’t receive a huge influx of “famine Irish” in the 1840s and 1850s because of economic conditions here. “The famine ships that came here generally came here by accident,” said White. That’s exactly what happened to White’s great-great-grandmother -- the ship that brought her to Charleston in 1854 had been bound for Philadelphia).

Irish militias: Ethnic Irish militia units from Charleston fought in every war from 1812 through World War I, and three served in the Confederate Army: the Irish Volunteers, the Montgomery Guard, and the Meagher Guard. The Meagher Guard was named in honor of Irish revolutionary hero Thomas Francis Meagher, who eventually came to live in America after avoiding a death sentence in Ireland. When war broke out, Meagher signed up to fight for the Union, prompting the Charleston Confederates in his namesake militia to change the name of their unit to “The Emerald Green Guard.”

Mayor John P. Grace (1911-15; 1919-23): Grace’s fiery “common-man” antipathy for Charleston’s “bluebloods” – particularly Thomas P. Stoney – outlived the man himself. As historian Robert Rosen wrote: “Charleston Corporation Counsel William Regan tells the story that upon his election, (Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr.) was handed an aged envelope addressed to “The Next Irish Mayor” by the Bishop of Charleston. Inside was the message: ‘Get the Stoneys.’” Stephen White responds: “The story is apocryphal. The sentiment has some truth to it, but there was no piece of paper. Bill Regan is a great storyteller.”

Peace: Protestants and Catholics of Irish heritage largely put aside their Old World differences here in Charleston. For instance, The Charleston Hibernian Society’s constitution calls for the organization’s presidency to rotate annually between Catholic and Protestant members.