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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OCTOBER

October 1

1768 -- 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.

1918 -- 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."

October 3

1718 -- Col. William Rhett returned to Charles Town, having captured pirate Stede Bonnet and his crew in a battle in the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

1918 -- 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.

2023 -- Demolition crews dismantled Martha Lou's Kitchen on Morrison Drive, described by the 10Best.com travel guide as a "roll-your-eyes-its-so-good" soul food restaurant. Specialties included lima beans, mac and cheese, pork chops, giblet rice, collards, and fried chicken. After 30 years, the iconic restaurant had closed in 2020 in the wake of the Covid pandemic and a year before founder and legendary cook, Martha Lou Gadsden, died at the age of 91.

October 5

1780 -- Captured at sea by the British, Henry Laurens earned the unique distinction of being the only American to ever be held prisoner in the Tower of London, following his arrest for high treason.

October 6

1804 -- A strong hurricane tracked along the coast causing significant property damage, but not as much flooding as the Great Hurricane of 1752.

1811 -- A hurricane made landfall south of Charleston, spinning off a tornado that caused a lot of damage in the city.

1839 -- Susan M. Breaker died and was buried at the Bethlehem Baptist Church, where she had been an active member for 40 years.

1918 -- Charlestonians finally began to understand the seriousness of the flu pandemic. The city's mayor 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.

October 7

1913 --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 on Charleston and even more in the Pee Dee area of the state.

1935 -- Porgy & Bess, an opera by George Gershwin based on the novel Porgy by DuBose Heyward, opened on Broadway. Interpreting the lives of African-American tenants who lived on a fictional "Catfish Row," including members of the famed Mosquito Fleet, the play ran for 124 performances.

October 8

2023 -- Raquel Conchita Lawson Fielding died at the at of 89. The widow of Judge Bernard Fielding Sr., Mrs. Fielding was an ex-officio employee of Charleston's largest African-American funeral home, serving as Secretary of the Board for the corporation. She retired in 1998 after 40 years of service with the U.S. Customs Services, the first African-American woman employed by that ageny. She was active in many local service groups.

October 9

1970 -- Having succumbed to termite damage and carefully demolished, the new Mills House Hotel, rebuilt as closely as possible to the original and using as much salvaged building materials as possible, reopened to the public.

October 12

1786 -- Ralph Isaacs published a letter in the Charleston Morning News and Daily Advertiser besmirching Joseph Brown Ladd’s character and declaring him to be a scoundrel, social climber and quack.

1918 -- 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.

October 13

1775 -- President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the first White House, designed by Charleston architectural professor James Hoban, in the District of Columbia. White House historians note the influence the S.C. State House (now Charleston County Courthouse) at the city's Four Corners of Law had in determining the design of the new presidential mansion. Many historians attribute design of the statehouse to Hoban, though documentation is lacking.

1931 -- City Council created America's first historical zoning ordinance, protecting Charleston's 18th and 19th century core from demolitions and establishing the city's Board of Architectural Review.

October 14

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.

2023 -- Less than a week after the death of Board Secretary Raquel Conchita Lawson Fielding, Fielding Home for Funerals announced that after 111 years, it was closing its business at 122 Logan St. and moving its operation to 2704 Meeting St. The announcement in the Post & Courier noted they would not be accepting new clients.

October 15

1866 -- Horse-drawn car service began in Charleston. (Source: Dr. Nicholas Butler, Charleston County Public Library.)

October 16

1765 -- Mary-Anne Schad, the wife of a plantation overseer, gave birth to their first child, a son. Planters believed that having a married overseer on the property would help keep the overseer more settled and responsible. (Source: South Carolina Women, p. 66)

October 17

1971 -- Aviator and popular local daredevil Bevo Howard struck a tree as he pulled out of a stunt at a charity airshow in Greenville, N.C., and was killed in the resulting crash.

2023 -- William T. Farley Jr. died in Mt. Pleasant.

October 18

1765 -- The Planter's Adventure arrived in Charles Town Harbor with the hated Parliamentarian stamps, causing some "very extraordinary and universal commotions. (Source: A Short History of Charleston, p. 49)

1858 -- Eliza(beth) C. Walling Donnely died and was buried at Bethlehem Baptist Church, former site of the St. James Goose Creek Chapel of Ease.

October 19

1997 -- David Byrne, Cracker and Cowboy Mouth were among the bands that played at the 96 WAVEFEST.

October 21

1918 -- The official count of Charlestonians ill with the Spanish flu reached its peak with 5,064 cases, including 130 deaths.

October 22

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

1918 -- Reports of new flu cases began to recede.

2006 -- The original Bowens Island burned to the ground.

October 23

1765 -- An angry mob seeking the whereabouts of the detested tax stamps issued through Parliment's Stamp Act stormed several notable residences in downtown Charleston, including that of Henry Laurens.

1786 -- Dr. Joseph Brown Ladd was mortally wounded in a duel with Ralph Isaacs in Philadelphia Alley.

October 25

1742 -- A visitor to Charles Town noted: "matters between the whites and the blacks here are such that one fears to be seen outside the house." (Source: Charleston! Charleston!)

October 26

1757 -- Charles Pinckney, son of Col. Charles Pinckney and Frances Brewton and a future architect of the U.S. Constitution, was born.

1765 -- 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!)

October 27

1782 -- Most of the British Army evacuated Charleston in a convoy of 40 ships, along with 3,700 Loyalists and a good bit of booty.

October 28

1718 -- Chief Justice Nicholas Trott convened the Court of the Vice Admiralty in a private residence to try the case of the pirates who had recently been captured along with Stede Bonnet. (Source: Charleston! Charleston!, p. 35)

1765 -- 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!)

October 29

1824 -- Charles Pinckney, the son of Col. Charles Pinckney and Frances Brewton and an architect of the U.S. Constitution, died.

We visit the site of Dillon's Tavern on our Lost Charleston and Charleston Overview tours. (Image: artist's conception)

We share the story of the Mosquito Fleet on our Lost Charleston Tour and visit the "true" Catfish Row on our Charleston Overview Tour.

Hear the amazing story of daredevil Bevo Howard on our Lost Charleston Tour.

We visit the memorial marker of Col. Charles Pinckney on our French Santee Tour.

On our Lost Charleston Tour, we share both the Patriotic and macabre stories at the site of the Henry Laurens' House.

We visit the Thomas Rose House, where Dr. Joseph Brown Ladd died on our Charleston Overview Tour. (Image: Pintrest, taken by Blanche Knake.)

Raquel Conchita Lawson Fielding

(1934-2023)

Martha Lou's Kitchen