Unfortunately, we missed our Evening With speaker for October. But fortunately, our director, Tom Weidner, was able to talk to our visitors on a few topics. Those videos are on our YouTube channel:
0 Comments
Our new YouTube Channel is live! Our first video, "Evening With Sheila Ingle: "Elizabeth Jackson: Mother of a President", is already uploaded. Please subscribe!
Mrs. Sheila Ingle gave us a beautiful presentation about the life of Elizabeth Jackson, the mother of Andrew Jackson, our seventh President. Elizabeth Jackson was a person with incredible core values. These values included bravery, family, country, and God to name a few. She possessed incredible fortitude after her husband died, as she saw to her boys' schooling and well-being. Also an incredible Patriot, she allowed her boys to serve in the militia. Her family was very important to her. Her sons Robert and Andrew were captured and imprisoned by British forces. She actually went to the jail to bargain for their release. Elizabeth continued to serve her country and family by traveling to Charleston to rescue her imprisoned nephews. Her values pushed her to care for other sick soldiers. She contracted cholera and died, which left Andrew an orphan at age 14. Her sacrifice was not in vain, as Andrew grew up to be a man of strong character.
You can find more information about Mrs. Ingle's work at sheilaingle.com. Mark Czapiewski During the summer of 1775 a crisis began to grow in the city of Boston. It became evident that this crisis had to be managed by a person with military knowledge and a potential to lead an army into victory. On June 14 1775 it was decided by the Second Continental congress that George Washington was to take command of a newly formed continental army.
Unknown to Washington an appointment of this magnitude would prove to be of tremendous responsibility and great political gain. Though he possessed great military understanding and skill Washington failed to anticipate issues of winter lodging and travel, conflict resolution among his fellow men, medical emergencies, or food rationing that inevitably arose. Washington proved to be a capable and strategically sound leader though he was sometimes forced to make rash and ill-advised decisions. I write these words with the revolutionary war museum in mind and to draw a correlation to the board management. We also face uphill challenges and battles but we are aware that we are privileged in having a team with a wide knowledge base to draw from and generous donors to assist us in this new and sometimes foreign journey. We strive to preserve and share the rich history of our past and begin to learn from the efforts and choices made by those that walked before us. Thank you Mr. Alan Bell for an informative presentation about the Continental Army’s stay in Morristown, New Jersey. Alan did a wonderful job of informing us about what life was like during those years. The soldiers faced hardship after hardship: food shortages, harsh winters, and mutinies, to name a few. Despite all of these, Morristown proved to be a successful and strategic military outpost in the winter months when fighting ceased. Mr. Bell also mentioned many interesting areas to visit in New Jersey as it is an important historical site in the American struggle for independence. This was my first “An Evening With” talk and I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend them to anyone that loves history.
Mark Czapiewski A lot has happened at the museum over the past few months. Progress has been made and plans are being put forth for next year! Can you believe that many of you have been reading this blog for a year now? Or that we would have an actual library for you to browse through at the museum? I certainly can not. So here is an update to tell you where your dedicated reading has gotten you over the past year.
Let’s start with Leon Adams and his handyman projects he has been doing. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, Leon is making curtains for us out of the old velvet stage curtain that used to hang in the school's auditorium. This project is a little more involved and will take some time. So far though, Leon has made a comb like template to measure out the pleats of the curtains and has measured the fabric to see how many windows can be covered. He has also taken on the task of updating our Native American exhibit by refurbishing out Cherokee mannequin. An authentic Cherokee skin tone paint was created by Lowes to make our Native American more accurate. Leon also sanded out all the bumps and divots so the mannequin head can look a little more life like. Due to the increase of heat and lack of air conditioning in Leon’s work room at the museum he has had to work on these projects at home. Hopefully he will be able to come back to the museum in the fall when it is cooler! Tom has been keeping busy by planning ahead on events and making sure everything is working smoothly. He already has events in the works for our annual Colonial Christmas and four speakers set up for next year's “Evening With . . . .” Another great addition thought of by Tom was a museum Color Guard! I know you may be thinking why do we need this but it is for a good reason. Whenever we have events such as out Colonial Faire it is hard to obtain militia re-enactors because of the size of our events. With a Color Guard of three men on hand we are able to not only have our own militia for events but are able to be of service to the city if needed for a ceremony. I think this is a great way for the museum to get its name out there! Financially the museum is doing better! Through the efforts of our Business Manager we have obtained a grant from Walmart and are in the works of trying one with the DAR. She has also set up a more detailed yearly budget for the museum that will help us stay on track better as we grow. On the less exciting side, we are still in need of internet. One of our volunteers has been trying to get ahold of an internet company to see if they would be willing to help us out but there is no response back from them yet. Also, we have not yet moved a lot of things around in the museum. After much debate and mental reorganization of the room we have finally come to a conclusion on how we would like the museum to be set up. We will need some outside help to move a display case and a table around to their final spots. It is a big process to move some of our artifacts and we do not want to damage anything on display. The museum is growing and changing slowly but we have come a long way in the past year. With hopes of an internship program, a new historical society, and more volunteers we are excited to see where we are this time next year. Thank you all for your support of the museum through reading this blog. We hope it gives you a glimpse of what our staff does on a weekly basis. We could not do it without supporters like you! Thank you! 2016 has been rife with difficult events here at home and abroad. Each new day seems to tear away another piece that unites us as Americans. The cacophony of opinions and slurs plays out on a precipice of tyranny vs. freedom. We are in turmoil over the future of our great republic. Yet, within this din of chaos the Library and Museum of Revolutionary War History celebrated America’s 240th birthday on Friday July 15th at the museum’s monthly Evening With Program.
We were privileged to learn from patriot Judge Robert Chumley who enlightened us about the signers of the Declaration of Independence. These great men risked their lives and fortunes to declare to the world The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. Mr. Chumley read a few paragraphs of the Declaration and then asked us “What do these words mean?” In order to answer that question, we had to first understand the context of history that influenced Thomas Jefferson’s inspirational writing and the signers to pen their name to a document separating the citizens of the unanimous states from King George III. The first readers of the Declaration would have easily understood Mr. Jefferson’s eloquent words, because both were steeped in British political thought and philosophy. Ideas such as consent of the governed and trial by jury were considered the rights of the people based on over 300 years of British history. In 1066 England was governed by “rex lex”: whatever the king says is law. However, by 1215 the Magna Carta was established, which weakened the power of the king and allowed the nobles to rule. By 1640 England was in a civil war called The Glorious Revolution - The Parliament (Round Heads) vs. The Cavaliers (supporters of the divine right of kings) – over the consent of the governed. Parliament won and beheaded King Charles I and the citizens of England won the right to govern themselves. Therefore in 1776 when the signers read such phrases as “the laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle men” or “endowed by their creator with certain and unalienable rights” they understood those phrases to mean that rights do not come from government, but from God. The government is merely an institution to preserve man’s God-given rights, not to parse or hand those rights out to the governed according to whims. Based on this historical political doctrine Mr. Jefferson then laid out an indictment of King George’s egregious usurpations of the colonials’ rights as British citizens. The citizens of the thirteen colonies informed King George and their brethren in Parliament that when a government denies the natural freedoms of its citizens – the citizens have a moral duty to throw off the government. And so our founding fathers formed a government fit to rule a free people whose rights are derived from Nature’s God. In closing Mr. Chumley asked us two questions. The first was. “Do we have the same caliber of leaders today?” and the second was “Is freedom dangerous?” Would our current leaders sign a document ensuring their loss of wealth, loss of reputation and loss of life? To paraphrase signer Benjamin Franklin, would our leaders agree to hang together figuratively and physically for freedom’s sake? 56 patriot leaders on July 4th, 1776 were courageous enough to tell a despotic government that they wanted their rights restored. They preferred freedom over safety. Mr. Chumley reminded us what Edmund Burke said regarding freedom. “Freedom requires strength and sacrifice, it requires a moral and self-disciplined people to keep freedom. If we are unable to restrain ourselves, a powerful tyrant will step in to do so. “ So the Library and Museum of Revolutionary War History asks you – do you want liberty under a restrained government or death under a tyrant? Liberty is ours, if we can keep it. On July 4th we celebrated our 240th anniversary of freedom. The freedom that we should celebrate everyday does not come cheap and has impacted thousands of lives. Who knows where we would be today without the dedication of America's brave men and women.
As a special salute to some of our founders Allen Bell, our curator, wrote a short blog for this month. He highlights some key moments of the Revolution and how men of faith helped shape our country. “ The Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence 240 years ago on July 4, 1776. This major event might not have happened without the help of the Continental Congressman Caesar Rodney from Delaware He untied the vote of his fellow Delaware delegates by rushing on horseback from Delaware to Philadelphia two days before the final vote. This allowed all 13 colonies to vote for independence from Great Britain. Many Congressmen did not sign the Declaration until after July 4th because the document's wording had to first be approved. Each signer knew they were putting their life in danger. One example would be Rev. John Witherspoon, delegate from New Jersey, who was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independance. He lost most of his money repairing the College of New Jersey after the British burned some of it down during the war. Many of the delegates suffered more than just a monetary loss though for the price of our freedom. With so much at stake our founders turned to God for guidance. The use of prayer in government has long been apart of this nation's history. On September 7, 1774 Rev. Jacob Duke prayed in the Continental Congress and ever since then Congress has invoked the guidance of God. In fact, on at least two separate occasions they wanted the populace to join in a time of prayer and fasting. Our country was born by grace of the Almighty God. May God bless the United States of America” Who were the Signer’s of the Declaration of Independence from South Carolina? The men were Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward Jr., Thomas Lynch Jr., and Arthur Middleton. What these men did and how it affected their lives; I will attempt to explain.
First off was Edward Rutledge who was the youngest member of congress at the age of twenty-six. Rutledge was an accomplished orator although he had a tendency to talk through his nose. His style, as observed by John Adams and others, was characterized by impetuousness, a rapid fire delivery, and frequent eye, head and body movements to punctuate his remarks. With the exception of Pennsylvania's John Dickinson, he was probably the most eloquent spokesmen on the negative side of the Lee Resolution, (Independance). Since their prudent counsels had failed, the four delegates from South Carolina decided that they would change their votes for the sake of humanity. Thomas Heyward Jr. was born in 1746 in St. Luke’s Parish, now known as Jasper Co.. CS. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1775 and signed the Declaration of Independance in 1776. Heyward Returned to South Carolina in 1778 to serve as a judge. In command of a militia force he was taken prisoner by British during the siege of Charleston. He continued to serve as a judge after the war , retiring from the bench in 1798. He is buried at Old House Plantation near Ridgeland, Jasper Co. S.C. Thomas Lynch Jr. was the son of a gentleman of the same name, and was born the 5th of august in 1749 at Prince George’s Parish in the province of South Carolina, now known as Georgetown. Lynch became a company commander in the 1st South Carolina regiment in 1775 and was elected to the Continental Congress. He was taken ill at the end of 1779 when he and his wife decided to sail for respite to St. Eustatius in the West Indies. Their ship disappeared at sea in a storm and was never heard from again. Before the voyage Lynch had made a will stipulating that hrs of his female relatives must change their surname to Lynch in order to inherit the family estate, a rice plantation. The family estate, Hopsewee, still stands today. Arthur Middleton was born June 26th 1742. He studied Law at the Middle Temple in London, England. He was keenly interested in Carolina politics, Middleton was a more radical thinker of his time than his father Henry Middleton. He was a leader in the American Party in South Carolina and one of the boldest members of the Council of Safety and its secret committee. In 1776 Arthur was elected to succeed his father in the Continental Congress and subsequently was a signer of the Decleration of Independance. Also, in 1776 he and William Drayton designed the Great Seal of South Carolina. Despite the time he spent in England, his attitude toward Loyalists was said to be ruthless. During the Revolutionary War, he served in the defence of Charleston and after the city fell in 1780 he was taken as a prisoner of war to St. Augustine, FL (along with Edward Rutledge and Thomas Heyward Jr.) until exchanged the following year in July. Arthur middleton died on January 1st, 1787 at the age of 44 and was buried in the family tomb in the Gardens of Middleton Place. Friday nites are the time to let loose and have some fun. The week is over and Saturday is coming. Fridays are a symbol of freedom from work . . . unless you are like me, and have to work on the weekends. None the less, Fridays are a great time to relax and hang out with your friends. I know you may be thinking “What does this have to do with the museum?” Well, Friday is the day we like to have fun too. Once a month we host our “Evening With . . .” program which highlights an aspect of the Revolutionary War!
I realize the end of that paragraph was a buzz-kill for some of you but not for me. Like all the other volunteers at the museum the Rev. War is our passion and we jump at the chance to learn something new. Over the past three years visitors have been coming out to our little museum to hear speakers share their expertise about a certain topic. The group has grown so much that the program has been moved across the hall to the board room. The local community really loves what we are doing. Or, maybe it is the chicken sandwiches and other refreshments we occasionally serve afterward. Food aside, “Evening With . . .” is our most successful event with over 20 visitors each time. This year we have lined up a speaker for each month including local authors Joe Epley who wrote “A Passel of Hate” and Sheila Ingle who wrote about the life of President Andrew Jackson’s mother, Elizabeth. With local historians sharing local history in this way we are able to reach the audience on a more personal level. The average visitor may know some key facts about the war but it means a whole lot more when you can bring the story home to them. Our “Evening With . . .” takes place every third friday at 7p.m. in the museum. You should come on out with a friend and hear some exciting tales from the past. And you never know, you may come on a nite when we received a nice donation from one of our local restaurants! |
AboutHere you can read about upcoming and past events at the museum. Also, we post frequently about different historical figures and moments from the Battle of Cane Brake Archives
August 2018
Categories |