Charleston Raconteurs in Charleston, SC

HISTORY TOLD WITH WIT AND SKILL

1758
Feb. 28 -- Lt. Col. Henry Bouquet, who author Walter J. Fraser Jr. (Charleston! Charleston!) called a "brash thirty-eight-year-old British soldier-of-fortune" demanded that the colonial Assembly pay for his officers' housing needs. The Assembly refused his request. Soldiers' housing would become one of colonists' complaints as the country moved toward revolution.

March 18 -- The Assembly denied Lt. Col. Henry Bouquet's demand that they pay for his soldiers' housing. Among those who were opposed were Peter Manigault, Christopher Gadsden, Charles Pinckney, Henry Laurens and Rawlins Lowndes, writing "Officers and Soldiers cannot, legally or constitutionally, be quarter'd in private Houses, without the special Consent of the Owners or Possessors of such Houses."

1760
Jan. 9 -- Gov. Lyttleton and his soldiers marched (somewhat) victoriously down Broad Street and at noon cannons fired to welcome the troops back to Charleston after having concluded a peace treaty with the Cherokees near Keowee. The treaty was hastily made as a raging smallpox epidemic was ravaging the tribe, and the soldiers feared catching it.

Jan. 12 -- Three days after Gov. Lyttleton's return, the worst epidemic to date of smallpox broke out within the colony.

1761
Dec. 17 -- Early Patriot leader Christopher Gadsden wrote an editorial in the Gazette accussing Lt. Col. James Grant, a Scottish officer in the British Army, of not having been aggressive enough in his attacks on the Cherokees, claiming he did not permit his men "to cut the throats of as many as they could have." In Charleston! Charleston!, author Walter J. Fraser Jr. suggests the criticism may have been fueled, at least in part, by "personal jealousies increasingly common in relations between British regular officers and provincial officers" (p. 95).

1764
Aug. 19 -- Arthur Middleton married Mary Izard, "a Lady who is one of the first of her sex for sense, politeness and every female accomplishment."

1765
Sept. 4 -- Christopher Gadsden, Thomas Lynch and John Rutledge set sail for the illegally called Stamp Act Congress in New York City. Gadsden, ever the ardent Patriot, served as chair of the committee that drafted resolutions condemning the act.

Oct. 24 -- An angry mob seeking the whereabouts of the destested tax stamps issued through the Stamp Act stormed a number of notable residences in downtown Charleston, including that of Henry Laurens, who said that under the guise of "Patriotism ... committed at length Burglary & Robbery." (Fraser Jr., West J. in Charleston! Charleston!, p. 109)

Oct. 26 -- Leaders of a rebel mob spread rumors that Charles Town's two local stamp agents, George Saxby and Caleb Lloyd, were hiding out at Fort Johnson on James Island. Over the next two days, the mob rampaged through the streets of Charles Town, threatening to kill the agents if they did not resign their office. (Source: Charleston, Charleston!, p. 109, by Walter J. Fraser Jr.)

Oct. 28 -- Because of the murderous threats by an angry rebel mob two days before, Charles Town's stamp agents, George Saxby and Caleb Lloyd, announced that to ensure the peace of the province (and save their lives), they would not enforce the hated Stamp Act. The Sons of Liberty poured into the streets and unfurled the blue flag of "Liberty." (Source: Charleston, Charleston!, p. 109, by Walter J. Fraser Jr.)

Dec. 17 -- Amid rumors of a possible slave rebellion, Acting Governor William Bull called an emergency Council meeting. A hundred militia men were deployed to patrol the city and the captains of ships moored in the harbor had their sailors stand sentinel at night. The holidays passed peacefully, though the patrols continued both day and night through early January (Charleston! Charleston! by West Fraser Jr., p. 113).

1766
Jan. 1 -- Becoming increasingly alarmed at the ratio of the enslaved vs. white population in Charles Town, the Assembly imposed heavy import duties on all slaves brought into the colony as of this date.

June 6 -- Elizabeth Thomas Broun dies and is buried in the St. James Goose Creek Chapel of Ease churchyard.

1768
Oct. 1 -- In preparation for the upcoming Assembly elections, Charles Town's mechanics nominated candidates who opposed the Quartering Act, Stamp Act, and Sugar Act. Led by Patriot Christopher Gadsden, they met at the Liberty Tree "where many loyal, patriotic and constitutional toasts were drank." The company then marched on to Dillon's Tavern to continue the celebration.

1769
July 22 -- The colonial Assembly appointed a Committee of Thirty-Nine, which included an equal number of merchants, planters and artisans, thus for the first time granting the laboring classes a significant voice in the colony's government. (Source: Walter J. Fraser Jr. in Charleston, Charleston!, p.125)

Dec. 8 -- The S.C. General Assembly voted to send 1,500 pounds Sterling to John Wilkes, a member of England's Parliament who had been arrested and imprisoned for criticizing the King. As Patriotic tensions here grew, they felt a kinship with Wilkes's cause. Unfortunately, the King's counselors saw the gift as a slap in the face to their sovereign, which did nothing to mellow the rebellous tensions that were brewing. (Source: Walter J. Fraser Jr. in Charleston, Charleston!, p.126)

1770
Jan. 30 -- Lt. Gov. William Bull recommended to the General Assembly the establishment of a provincial college, which became what we know today as the College of Charleston (and my Alma Mater).

Dec. 13 -- Charlestonians voted a local boycott against the importation of British goods (with the exceptions of tea and luxury items) as a result of the repeal of the Townshend Act. (Source: Walt Fraser in Charleston. Charleston! page 127)

1773
Jan. 12 -- Though authoritative accounts vary, what may indeed have been the first public museum in America was established, The Charleston Museum.

Nov. 19 -- The so-called "Club Forty-Five" met at the Liberty Tree to agitate for independence from English rule.

Dec. 2 -- The English ship London dropped anchor in Charles Town harbor with 257 chests of tea aboard. As the tension of the impending revolution filled the air, it was clear that if the colonists allowed the cargo to be delivered with its three-pence-per-pound duty collected as authorized by Parliament, it would be an admission that the colony was answerable to the governing body of England so far away. Christopher Gadsden was incensed. He and his friends posted handbills all over town calling for a meeting the next day at the Old Exchange Building to discuss what should be done. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 136)

1774
Oct. 22 -- Henry Middleton was elected President of the first Continental Congress.

1775
April 14 -- News reached Charles Town that Parliament was sending additional troops to enforce British policies (and taxation) in the colonies. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 141)

April 26 -- In response to the news that British troops were being dispatched to the colonies, the Secret Committee of Five, created by the Provisional. Congress and led by William Henry Drayton, seized the arms and powder that were being stored in local magazines and hid them in private houses throughout the city. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 141)

June 8 -- Two Charlestonians who remained loyal to the Crown, a small-time merchant named Laughlin Martin and another man named James Dealy, were tarred and feathered by locals calling for revolution, based on an accusation that they had cheered rumours that enslaved Blacks, Catholics, and Native Americans were to receive arms from British forces to help quell the rebellion. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 143)

June 16 -- A slave named Jemmy said in a depostion to Revolutionary authorities that he had been approached by his brother-in-law Thomas Jeremiah to "take a few guns" to a runaway slave named Dewar. The weapons, he said, were "to be placed in Negroes hands to fight against the inhabitants of this Province" to support the British. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 145)

August 11 -- The slave Thomas Jeremiah went on trial under the Negro Act of 1740 for helping to arm other enslaved Blacks in support of the British cause. Found guilty, he was sentenced "to be hanged, and then burned to ashes." (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 145)

August 12 -- A local mob seized a British soldier "for some insolent speech he had made," tarred and feathered him, and "putting him in a cart paraded through the Town ... using him very cruelly all the time." But the afternoon, the crowd had grown to 400, who roamed through the streets, stopping at the houses of suspected Crown sympathizers, using the soldier to demonstrate what their fate might be if they continued their support of the Crown. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 145)

August 17 -- Jemmy, the slave who testified against his brother-in-law Thomas Jeremiah, recanted his testimony that Jeremiah had been involved in transporting British arms to this enslaved colleagues. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 146)

August 18 -- Despite his brother-in-law's recanted tesimony that he was distributing British arms to enslaved Negros, Thomas Jeremiah was hanged anyway, then burnt to ashes as his sentence decreed. He had maintained his innocence to the end. S.C. Gov. William Campbell believed Jeremiah was innocent, as did the Royal Attorney General, saying Jeremiah was the victim of local hysteria. (Source: Charleston, Charleston! by Walt Fraser, p. 146)

1776
June 3 -- S. Smith published "A View of Charles-Town, the Capital of South Carolina, from an Original Picture Painted at Charlestownin the Year 1774," painted by Thomas Leitch and engraved by Samuel Smith.

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THE CHARLESTON RENAISSANCE

1912 - 1940

1912

Sept. 5 -- A tropical storm moved southwest off the South Carolina coast before weakening into a tropical depression and making landfall on Ossabaw Island, Ga.

1913

Oct. 7 -- A Category 1 hurricane made landfall on Cape Island, just north of Charleston. Over the next three days it produced up to 4 inches of rainfall in Charleston and even more in the Pee Dee area of the state.

1916

May 15 -- The Lowcountry's earliest landfalling tropical storm on record came ashore on Fripp Island.

1918
Jan. 3 -- Mary A. Storfer, the new proprietress of the Timrod Inn (formerly the Commercial Club, afterwards known as the Timrod Hotel), announced in the News and Courier: "Many people have told us that the Timrod Inn fills a distinct place in the community, and indications are that our rooms will be in demand from the beginning. We shall open Monday morning and guests will be given desirable accommodations without delay."

Sept. 16 -- The first case of the Great Spanish Influenza's arrival in Charleston was documented at the Navy Base. The Navy immediately imposed a quarantine on the base.

Sept. 18 -- Depsite the quarantine put in place on Sept. 16, 350 cases of the Spanish Influenza had been reported at the Navy Base.

Sept. 30 -- The Evening Post ran an article on the recent outbreak of the Spanish flu, saying ". . . the best thing to do is to avoid public gatherings as much as possible, walk to work in the morning rather than be exposed to a crowded conveyance [such as a trolley].”

Oct. 1 -- In a news article about the Spanish Flu, government officials said, “The disease itself is not so dangerous . . . .The danger lies in the careless spreading of the disease, and careless treatment, allowing pneumonia or other dangerous maladies to develop."

Oct. 3 -- Despite medical officials' warnings about the Spanish flu, S.C. Gov. Richard Manning joined a crowd of Charlestonians at a military parade on Marion Square to encourage popular support for the Liberty Loan program, a fundraiser for the war effort. Later that afternoon, the College of Charleston suspended classes and sent everyone home. Local public schools sent home children with symptoms of being sick.

Oct. 6 -- Charlestonians finally began to understand the seriousness of the pandemic. The city's mayor then mandated the immediate closing of "all churches and Sunday schools, public and private schools, theatres, movie houses, pool rooms, public and private dances, secret and fraternal associations, sewing circles, card parties, and all other places and forms of congregation." Officials, however, continued fundraising door-to-door for the Liberty Loan program.

Oct. 12 -- State officials made its stashes of seized bootleg whiskey available to those with the flu, to be administered only by the Red Cross and only by prescription.

Oct. 14 -- To assist those struggling with the flu, the city opened a public kitchen at Memminger Normal School on Beaufain Street, where families could receive three healthy meals a day.

Oct. 21 -- The official count of the ill reached its peak with 5,064 cases, including 130 deaths.

Oct. 22 -- Reports of new flu cases began to recede.

Nov. 6 -- The last of the Memminger kitchen meals was served. Between Oct. 14 and Nov. 6, the kitchen had served an estimated 5,677 meals, or 242 a day.

Nov. 7 -- The city ended its mandated flu quarantines, with the exception of the public schools and the Navy Base,

Nov. 11 -- The Navy Base ended its flu quarantine. The same day the U.S. declared victory in World War I.

1928
Nov. 24 -- The cornerstone for a new bank was laid at the historic former site of Shepheard's Tavern at the northeast corner of Broad and Church streets.

1929

Jan. 15 -- Joseph "Big Joe" Gawrych was born in North Haven, CT. According to his obituary in the Post and Courier, after his Navy service he and his Charleston bride settled in Mt. Pleasant, where he coached 11- and 12-year-old boys' baseball for more than 45 years. The Joe Gawrych Baseball Park in Mt. Pleasant is named in his honor. He also planted gardenias on Charlotte Street in the 1970s which have beeen propagated across the Southeast ever since.

April 6 -- Preservationist Peter McGee was born.

1930
May 5 -- Arthur Trezevant Wayne died.

1931
Oct. 13 -- City Council created America's first historical zoning ordinance, protecting its 18th century core from demolitions and establishing the city Board of Architectural Review.

1933

Sept. 16 -- Marilyn Smith (m. Weeks) was born in Charleston, the daughter of Julian Allen Smith and Lucille Pieper Smith. She grew up in Old Windermere, graduated from St. Andrews High School, and attended the College of Charleston. In 1953 she was crowned Miss Charleston.

1935
Oct. 7 -- Porgy & Bess, an opera by George Gershwin based on the novel Porgy by DuBose Heyward, opened on Broadway. Telling the story about the lives of African-American tenants who lived on "Catfish Row," the play ran for 124 performances. The plot prominently features the lifes of members of Charleston's famed Mosquito Fleet.

1936
Nov. 23 -- Life magazine, created by Henry R. Luce, was first published.

1937
July 30 -- The Rev. Daniel Jenkins died.

1939

Sept. 16 -- The last prisoners to be housed in the Old City Jail on Magazine Street were escorted out. (Source: Abode of Misery, p. 15)

1940
May 31 -- The Scottish Rite Cathedral sold the Rodgers Mansion at 149 Wentworth Street to the Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company.

We visit the former landing of the Mosquito Fleet, now a popular restaurant, on our Lost Charleston Tours. (Image: Library of Congress)

A visit to the Luce family cemetery at Mepkin Abby is included in our Day on the Cooper River tour. (Image: Leigh Handal)

We talk about the brief, though glorious, days of the Commercial Club, later repurposed as the Timrod Inn and seen here as the Timrod Hotel on our Lost Charleston Tours. (mage: Library of Congress)

So many of our nation's "firsts" happened at the corner of Broad and Church streets, site of the former Shepheard's Tavern, which we discuss on our Lost Charleston Tour.