Home » History – South Carolina (Page 18)

Category Archives: History – South Carolina

Today In Charleston History: September 30

Posted on by | Leave a comment
1745 – Weather Obersvations

Dr. John Lining noted in a letter that “in the summer the shaded air of about 2 or 3 in the afternoon is frequently between 90 and 95 degrees.”

1799 – Slavery

Capt. Joseph Vesey’s manservant Telemaque (Telmak, or “Denmark” as he now preferred to be called) purchased an East Bay Lottery ticket #1884. 

1926 – Deaths

The funeral for Edmund Thornton Jenkins was held in Charleston on a Thursday at the New Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church on Palmetto Street. The Jenkins Orphanage Band marched through the Humane Friendly Cemetery and played a dirge at the gravesite. Jenks was buried next to his mother, Lena Jenkins.

In July Jenks had undergone surgery for appendicitis. After being returned to his bed he fell onto the floor sometime during the night where he remained undiscovered for several hours. He contracted pneumonia and his condition worsened. For some reason he had been released from the hospital and died at home on September 12.  The American consul in Paris cabled Rev. Jenkins to inform him of his son’s death. The six hundred dollar cost of having his body embalmed and shipped to America was paid by Rev. Jenkins.

jenks cemetery

1935

The world premiere performance Porgy and Bess took place at the Colonial Theatre in Boston. This was the traditional out-of-town performance for any show headed for Broadway.

17b. porgy and bess (loc) blank pg. 170

Original Broadway cast of “Porgy and Bess.”

Today In Charleston History: September 29

Posted on by | Leave a comment
1705

Rice was placed on the list of enumerated goods, meaning that all rice shipped to Europe must pass through an English port.

1786 – Charleston First – Golf Club

golferSeveral Scottish merchants organized the South Carolina Golf Club on Harleston’s Green – a rough rectangle used as a public pleasure ground, wedged between present-day Calhoun & Beaufain Streets and Rutledge & Barre Streets. Slaves apparently served as the earliest “finders” (caddies). They cleared the Green for the golfers, yelling “be forewarned!” to alert children and families. 

1812 – Dueling 

A duel took place at the Washington Race Course. William Bay, son of a local judge, was killed by William Crafts. Crafts had publically stated that the local bishop was “too much a Gentleman & a man of sense” to be a Republican. Bay, a Republican, took offense and challenged Crafts to a duel. Bay was shot in the heart and died immediately.

1938 – Natural Disasters – Tornadoes 

tornado, st. philips

Tornado damage of St. Philips Church

Five tornados crossed Charleston in the span of less than 90 minutes, 2 of which crossed the peninsula and 1 coming ashore on Sullivan’s Island. 32 people died and the damage was “estimated to be over $2 million.”

tornado 1938

View of tornado damage – looking up Market Street from the U.S. Custom House on East Bay Street.

1938 tornado001

Tornado damage on Market Street.

Today In History: September 28

Posted on by | 2 Comments
1783 – Slavery

Capt. Joseph Vesey placed an advertisement in the South Carolina Gazette as “J. Vesey & Co.” which offered more than “100 Prime slaves from Tortola for sale every fair day except Sunday.”

1828 – Slavery

Appeal_1830_edition (1)David Walker, the free black from Charleston living in Boston, and former member of the AME Church with Denmark Vesey, published his Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World. It became one of the most important documents in the abolitionist movement.

 White reaction in the south was immediate, and harsh. Blacks in Charleston were arrested for distributing the pamphlet. The Georgia legislature announced reward of $10,000 to anyone who could hand over Walker alive, and $1,000 to anyone who would murder him.

1864

Gus Smythe, from his Confederate look-out post in the steeple of St. Michael’s wrote:

The Yankees are throwing in their shells at a tremendous rate, one every two or three minutes since 5o’c, now it is 10 p.m.  … Since 8 a.m. they have thrown 114 shells.

broad street shelling

Today In Charleston History: September 27

Posted on by | 2 Comments
1671 – Indian Uprising.

Governor West and the Grand Council declared war against the Kussoes Tribe, living up the Combahee River. The Kussoes declared themselves allied with the Spanish and began raiding English properties. Within seven days, the English had defeated the Kussoes, killing some, and enslaving many, selling them to the West Indies.

1718 – Piracy.
bonnet-rhett

Pirate battle

Col. William Rhett sailed up the Cape Fear River from Charles Town with two ships, the Henry and the Sea Nymph. He was on a mission to root out pirates along the Carolina coast. In the late afternoon Rhett spotted a suspicious ship named the Royal James floating at anchor. The vessel tried to sail toward the open sea, but the Henry intervened and was able to maneuver the Royal James onto a shoal. In the process, both the Henry and Sea Nymph ran aground as well – all three ships were stuck and the tide was receding. The crews of all three vessels spent the overnight hours preparing for battle when the tide turned and daylight arrived.

col rhett and bonnet

Stede Bonnet stands before William Rhett

The Henry was within firing range of the Royal James and as the tide gradually came in, the ships fought fiercely for two hours, cannons booming and muskets blazing. Rhett’s ships floated free first and they moved into position. The Charles Town men stormed the Royal James and overpowered the crew of thirty-five. Upon boarding the ship, Rhett discovered Stede Bonnet – wanted for the Blackbeard blockade four months before.

The Carolinians suffered eighteen dead and twenty-eight wounded. The pirates lost nine of their crew with two wounded. Most of the surviving pirates were hanged in Charles Town in November.

1805 – Deaths.

Gen. William Moultrie died at the age of 74 and was buried outside Charleston in what is now North Charleston in the family cemetery on his son’s property at Windsor Hill Plantation off Ashley Phosphate Road. His body was later reinterred at Ft. Moultrie.

moultie image

Today in Charleston History: September 26

Posted on by | Leave a comment
1691

The Assembly ratified the proposal that allowed Carolinians to pay their taxes in rice, as well as other goods.

rice field

1775 – American Revolution – Continental Congress
Edward_Rutledge

Edward Rutledge

 Edward Rutledge proposed that Gen. Washington “discharge all the Negroes as well as Slaves and Freemen in his Army.” Rutledge was concerned about the example that armed black men would furnish to South Carolina’s large slave population. The resolution was defeated.

Today in Charleston History: September 25

Posted on by | Leave a comment
1819

Rev. Samuel Gilman married Caroline Howard in Georgia and the couple returned to Charleston. They quickly became important figures in Charleston’s social and literary circles. Samuel supported his wife’s literary aspirations but expected her to fulfill her traditional role as a minister’s wife. He had reservations about women who “chose to move on the agitating theatre of public life.” He felt her role was to “impress among the tender minds of youth the precepts of religion.”

 1864

 Gen. Pierre Gustav Beauregard returned to Charleston. The Federals learned of his presence almost immediately. Morris Island Union commander, Gen. Rufus Saxton, wrote, “I propose to give General Beauregard a salute in Charleston this evening from my 200-pounders.”

illustration

Today In Charleston History: September 24

Posted on by | Leave a comment
1789

The Judiciary Act of 1789 was passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington, establishing the Supreme Court of the United States. That day, President Washington nominated John Jay to preside as chief justice, and John Rutledge (Charleston), William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison, and James Wilson to be associate justices. On September 26, two days later, all six appointments were confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

1796 – Slavery

Noel, a “french negro” was convicted of theft and sentenced “to Receive thirty & nine Lashes on the Bare back at the Lower Market.” The same day a slave named Silvan was also whipped for theft.

Today In Charleston History: September 23

Posted on by | Leave a comment
1745 – Births.

Issac Hayne was born at Pon Pon Plantation. He later became a martyr to the Patriot cause when he was hanged by British authorities. 

1761 – French and Indian War

A treaty with the Cherokee was signed by Lt. Gov. William Bull at Ashley Ferry Town. The treaty provided:

  • for the Cherokee to surrender all English property
  • the right for the English to build forts anywhere
  • the exclusion of all Frenchmen
  • prompt execution of murderers of white men
  • the restoration of trade between the English and the Cherokee
 2012

Gershwins-Porgy-Bess

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess closed on Broadway after 322 performances, making it the longest production of Porgy and Bess ever staged. This production starring four-time Tony-award winner Audra MacDonald, but, like most productions of Porgy and Bess, it was not without controversy. The producers changed some of the story and music to make it more appealing to modern audiences. The operatic-styled recitatives were replaced by spoken dialogue. Eight-time Tony winner, Stephen Sondheim, also complained that the new title completely ignored Dubose Heyward’s significant contribution to the work.

The production was nominated for ten Tony Awards in 2012 and won the Best Musical Revival. MacDonald won a fifth Tony-award for her performance as Bess.

Today In Charleston History: September 22    

Posted on by | Leave a comment
1766 – Religion

st. michael's - postcardThe bells of St. Michael’s Church were tolled for the first time during the funeral of Mrs. Martha Grimke.

1782 – British Occupation

Colonel Charles Pinckney died. His cousin, Cotesworth, wrote his sister Harriott saying, “Give vent to your tears for he was a man of worth.”

Ignorant of his father’s death, Charles Pinckney in Philadelphia, was making plans to travel to Europe and “sowing wild oats.” When he received word of his father’s death, he planned to return to Charlestown.

Today In Charleston History: September 21

Posted on by | 5 Comments
1820

John England was consecrated as the first Roman Catholic Bishop of South Carolina in St. Finbar’s Cathedral in Cork, Ireland.

St-Finbarre's-Cathedral

St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork, Ireland

1914

Edmund Jenkins, whose father Rev. Daniel Jenkins ran the Jenkins Orphanage, enrolled in London’s Royal Academy of Music. Ironically, the campus site had once been an orphanage. His enrollment fee was £14 ($75) which covered only his piano and composition studies. He listed his home address as 20 Franklin Street, Charleston, S.C., U.S.A.  He was enrolled to study composition under the direction of Francis Corder, one of the world’s leading experts on Wagnerian opera.

Royal-Academy-of-Music-Marylebone-Road

Royal Academy of Music, Marylebone Road, London

1989

Hurricane Hugo was a Category 4 hurricane at landfall which brought strong winds to many areas of South Carolina. Extensive property damage was reported in several counties, especially in the Lowcountry and the Grand Strand. More than 227,800 residences experienced power outages. In the Francis Marion National Forest, about 8,800 square miles of trees were downed, enough timber to build 660,000 homes.Total losses in the Lowcountry reached $1 billion.

1989hugo0422The storm surge and rough tides caused extensive damage in Charleston County. The highest storm surge observation was 20.2 feet (6.2 m) at Seewee Bay near McClellanville. Prior to the storm, residents of McClellanville took shelter in the cafeteria at Lincoln High School. However, storm surge flooded the room, with some people climbing up to the rafters for safety. A portion of the Ben Sawyer Bridge – linking Mount Pleasant to Sullivan’s Island – collapsed due to strong winds and storm surge. On Sullivan’s Island, water destroyed two or three rows of beach houses in some areas. At Isle of Palms, boats harbored at the marina were washed ashore and piled into a large heap. Losses at Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms reached nearly $270 million.

  • Total fatalities: 61
  • Highest winds: 162 mph
  • Lowest pressure: 918 mb