Arrgh, there be a holiday to celebrate

September 19th is the international holiday "Talk like a Pirate Day." This holiday was created by John Baur and Mark Summers, alias 'Ol' Chumbucket' and "Cap'n Slappy" in 1995. It causes people to talk like pirates, villainous theives and cutthroats who preyed upon ships and settlements around the world centuries ago. Pirates are famous in the world today for their deeds and speech. The state of South Carolina has be subject to pirates as well, including two famous ones. Blackbeard (Edward Teach) and Stede Bonnet both did crimes around the future Palmetto State. Charleston was blockaded by Blackbeard in the spring of 1718, with Bonnet among Blackbeards crew. The town gave into the demands eventually. Bonnet and Teach both got pardons fro the government in North Carolina. However, both reverted to piracy before long. Blackbeard died fighting the crew of the HMS Pearl on November 22, 1718 just off the coast of Ocracoke Island, NC. It took five shots and twent sword wounds to kill him. His head was cut off, hung on the Pearl's bowsprit and his body thrown overboard. Coincidentally, Bonnet was captured and put on trial in Charleston, SC. He pleaded for his life which convinced many of the ladies to support his request. Although his sentence was delayed many times, he wa hung on December 10, 1718. So... a vast ye swabby landlubbers! Give it your best shot, or you'll walk the plank!

Want to know more about Pirates off the coast of South Carolina? Seek and plunder through the informational treasures here at the state archives like the Records of the Register of the Secretary of the Province 1714-1719 (see excerpted image) or microfilm of records from the British Public Records office.

Constitution Day Approaches

Hey everyone, did you know that Friday, September 17th, is Constitution Day? One of our fabulous volunteers is going to be a guest blogger letting us know about cool facts like this one. He's seventeen and has aspirations of being a writer and we thought blog posts would be a great way to practice and help us out. So here is Caleb's first posting all about Constitution Day:

On September 17, 1787, the US Constitution was signed by the delegates of the Constitutional Convention at Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed. On the anniversary of that day we celebrate Constitution Day. The holiday was established in 2005 as part of a new law. South Carolina sent four delegates to the convention, where 39 out of 55 delegates signed the document created to give America fair laws and a stronger federal government. These men were Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, John Rutledge, and Pierce Butler. Rhode Island did not send any delegates to the convention. The youngest signer was John Drayton at age 26, while the oldest was Benjamin Franklin at age 81. This year is the 223rd anniversary of the signing of the document. Be sure to celebrate it this week on Friday!

For more information on the US Constitution, check out the National Archives website http://www.archives.gov/

Annual Civil War Symposium is Approaching

This December marks the 150th anniversary of South Carolina secession from the Union. Happy Sesquicentennial South Carolina! And what better way to celebrate this anniversary than to register for our Annual Civil War Syposium, September 24th and 25th. You'll meet great people, see original documents, and learn about South Carolina and her role in the Civil War. The line up so far has some phenomenal speakers including featured speaker, Dr. William W. Freehling. Dr. Freehling has been teaching, researching, and writing about the Old South and the Civil War for over forty years so you don't want to miss a chance to hear and meet this award winning historian. Registration information can be found at http://civilwarsymposium.palmettohistory.org/ and we hope to see you all there!

Danger from the Air

The popular Historical Marker program sees all kinds of interesting tidbits and facts about South Carolina history. Two recent historical markers tell stories that may make you look to the sky to avoid more unexpected falling objects.

The first details an 1861 balloon landing (yes, that’s right, a balloon!) in Union County just days after the Civil War began. Can you imagine the surprise felt by both local residents and the pilot? Here’s the text:

On April 20, 1861, only days after the Civil War began at Fort Sumter, scientist and aeronaut T.S.C. Lowe (1832-1913) landed the Enterprise, a large gas balloon, on a nearby farm. Lowe was on a test flight in preparation for a trans-Atlantic attempt. Southeasterly currents had carried him 800-900 miles by air from Cincinnati to Union District in less than nine hours. Many locals assumed that Lowe was a Yankee spy, and it was difficult for him to convince them that he was not. He was taken to Union and spent the night there under guard. Taken to Columbia, he was allowed to return north by train after several gentlemen vouched for his reputation as a scientist. Lowe later founded and directed a balloon corps in the U.S. Army in Virginia 1861-1863.

Erected by the Union County Historical Society, the marker is located at 657 Pea Ridge Hwy. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 44-13), Kelton vicinity in Union County.

The second records another falling object with potentially much more deadly consequences (thankfully avoided) nearly 100 years later at Mars Bluff in Florence County. Here’s the text:

In 1958, in the midst of the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force accidentally dropped an atomic bomb near here. The unarmed 7,600-lb., 10’8”-long bomb was aboard a B-47E bomber on a training mission headed for England. Its high-explosive trigger detonated on impact, making a crater as large as 35 feet deep and 70 feet wide./ (Reverse) The bomb landed in the woods behind the asbestos-shingle-sided home of railroad conductor Walter “Bill” Gregg (d. 1921). Gregg, his wife, their three children, and a niece were injured by the concussion, which destroyed the house and outbuildings and did slight damage to buildings within a 5 mile radius.

Erected by the Florence City and County Historical Commission, the marker is located at E. Marion Hwy. (U.S. Hwy. 301/76) near the Francis Marion University Campus, Mars Bluff. A nearby trail leads to the crater site.

These stories are now recorded in durable cast aluminum for travelers to see, and in digital bytes for anyone in the world to read via the South Carolina Historical Markers database http://www.scaet.org/markers/.

The Never-Ending Document!

One of the volunteer projects we've been working on around the archive is rehousing the Charleston Equity Court Bills, and we found a very interesting one last week. The clerks actually pasted pages together to create a longer document, which we've seen before. However this particular one was 88' long! Yes, feet. We unrolled it in the lab to measure and we had never seen anything quite like it before. Ergo, it merited photos to share. (This is in the conservation lab, one of our very long rooms, containing fancy humidification chambers, book presses, document spas, and lots of other fabulous things for making your treasures last a long time. Shameless plug.)

And in case you're thinking of doing this yourself, know that eventually that glue will break down and the pages will separate, and no, they are not numbered. Which is why you should bring it in for us to fix up for you. =)







Thanks to our wonderful volunteers - we need you more than ever now!

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A sad day today as we bow to the ugly reality of budget cuts and say farewell to some of our faithful staff. A lot of our faithful staff, actually.

There just aren't enough words - .

Sanford vetos could close the doors at SC Department of Archives & History

Dear friends:

The SC Department of Archives and History needs your help. Yesterday, Governor Sanford announced his vetoes of the state budget. Among them were three cuts to the SC Department of Archives and History budget, totaling $980,945. (The House and Senate had approved a budget of the $2,445, 764 in state funds plus $200,000 in stimulus funds for the agency for FY 2010-2011.) A link to the Governor’s veto is below.

http://www.scgovernor.com/NR/rdonlyres/1F1ECBAF-9D5D-4C9A-9BEF-136EDBC7F128/35706/H4657AppropriationsAct1.pdf

Veto 29: Administration and Planning – Other Operating Expenses $635,445

Veto 30: Old Exchange Building -- $145,500

Veto 104: Stimulus Funds -- $200,000

These cuts will make it impossible for Archives and History to continue to fulfill its mission.

If the services and programs of Archives and History have been helpful to you, would you consider letting your local legislator know today, as well as Representative Dan Cooper, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Representative Chip Limehouse, Chair of the House subcommittee dealing with Archives and History. The legislature will be in session on Tuesday (June 15) to consider the Governor’s vetoes. Our ability to continue to serve you and the citizens of South Carolina depends upon your support.

To find your local legislators you can use this search page from the South Carolina Legislature Online. http://www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe

Rep. Daniel T. Cooper (R)
District No. 10-Anderson County
525 Blatt Bldg.
Columbia, SC 29201
803-734-3144

Rep. Harry B. "Chip" Limehouse III (R)
Dist. No. 110-Berkeley & Charleston Cos.
326 Blatt Building, Columbia, SC 29201
803-734-2977

On behalf of our director, W. Eric Emerson, staff, and countless patrons, thank you for your support.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth M. Johnson

Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
SC Department of Archives and History
8301 Parklane Road
Columbia, SC 29223
phone: 803.896.6168 fax: 803.896.6167
E-mail: emjohnson@scdah.state.sc.us Website: http://shpo.sc.gov/