Loss of A Leader, Patriot, and Legend

April 3, 2024

We mourn the passing of Historian Charles Baxley

from Rick Wise, Interim Executive Director / CEO, Military Historian

The Revolutionary War community in South Carolina sustained a major loss with the passing of Charles B. Baxley of Lugoff, SC on March 30, 2024. Charles was a legend through his steadfast efforts to research and tell the story of South Carolina’s role in the American Revolution, and to help others do so as well.

He was a noted attorney for forty-five years who worked with the educational efforts in his community and the Boy Scouts of America. He was a devoted family man. Charles was appointed by Governor Henry McMaster to be the Commissioner of the South Carolina 250^th (Sestercentennial) Commission in 2018. That choice was as obvious in its logic as was the RW 1 license tag on his SUV. Charles was the man with the vision to bring those together to best tell the story of this state’s role to win independence to the people of South Carolina and worldwide, at the places where it all happened. His vision was not just the honoring of those who played such a vital part here from 1775-1782 on the 250^th anniversary of those events, but to build a fifty-year infrastructure that will be here for future generations to use for their education and enjoyment.

He and David Reuwer had a vision of bringing people interested in the history of the Rev War together to research, share, learn, and tell the stories about the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution (SCAR) (https://www.southern-campaigns.org/). Through active fellowship, research, and field trips, Charles led himself and others to discover those lost bits of history that we are now seeing presented across our state today. Doug Bostick played a key role in taking that knowledge to help these efforts that are now being developed into The Liberty Trail.

We are greatly saddened by the loss of such a great leader and Patriot. Our lives were enriched by his presence, and our history by his foresight and diligence. Charles, we will miss you, but will feel your presence on those battlefields and sites across South Carolina which will always bear your spirit.

HUZZAH!!

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Drew Cheatham, Phil Gaines, Buddy Jennings, Catherine Noyes, Molly Fortune, Mike Tyler, Rick Wise

Out and About on The Liberty Trail

March 25, 2025

Get outside this Spring to enjoy enhancements that your gifts make possible on The Liberty Trail!

Behind the Scenes of the Marion Papers

March 13, 2025

Family ties and beach vacations colored with Disney’s Swamp Fox, not just the makings of a memorable childhood for historian David Neilan, but also the backdrop of a lifelong obsession with General Francis Marion. Retirement opened a window for David to pour his energy into an ambitious project to gather all the known letters and material related to Francis Marion, with a vision of creating a comprehensive manuscript. His compilation of those resources, combined with Marion’s Orderly Book entries, created a very accurate chronological view and insights into Marion’s actions during the Revolutionary War. While an unfortunate medical setback paused the publishing of his work, the late Charles Baxley, Commissioner of the SC 250 th , and a friend of Dave Neilan, acquired the rights for the SC 250 th to publish the manuscript, ensuring Neilan’s work would be shared, not shelved. Further, Baxley’s desire was for the work to be put into context with other events going on other places during the war, have biographical references, and also be available to the public at no cost. He then called upon his personal friend and author, the late Doug Bostick, Executive Director of the SCBPT to form a team who would ready the work for publication. Rick Wise and Ben Rubin were tasked as editors to review the manuscript, add military history- based analysis and context, incorporate the biographies, and generally get the manuscript ready for peer review for publication. The first work was done by August 2023, and then with Charles Baxley’s input, further revisions were done to provide even more detail to the over 600 letters and other documents involved. Dr. Jim Piecuch and Dr. Steve Smith conducted the peer review and greatly helped with ensuring the citations and other important aspects of the work were correct. The manuscript was then placed into the very capable hands of Vally M. Sharpe of United Writers Press in Asheville, North Carolina that did an outstanding job in arranging the work into a configuration that the reader will enjoy.