Recently Released Stories Preserve South Carolina History

December 12, 2023

The Liberty Trail rolls out StoryCorps interviews

COLUMBIA, S.C. – December 6, 2023 – The Liberty Trail today released seven inspiring conversations with people who care deeply about history, preservation and education, bringing history to life and honoring the impacts of those who have come before us as we approach our country’s 250^th anniversary. The recordings are permanently housed in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

“In this StoryCorps series, we captured reflections from a diversity of South Carolinians and individuals from across the US,” commented Rick Wise, interim executive director, South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust. “Their accounts of these individuals in the Revolutionary War and their influence on our current lives helps to build connections to this important part of our past.”

Interviews feature conversations between Dr. Tonya Matthews, CEO of the International African American Museum and author John Rees; Raleigh West, Executive Director of the South Carolina Conservation Bank along with Lowcountry conservationist, Charles Lane; historian Brooke Bauer and her cousin, spiritual leader William “Monty” Branham; archaeology colleagues Steve Smith and John Allison; Governor Henry McMaster and former State Senator Vincent Sheheen, the late Doug Bostick of the South Carolina Battleground Trust and Catherine Noyes of the American Battleground Trust; and historian, author, and radio host Walter Edgar and the late Doug Bostick of the South Carolina Battleground, and can be accessed via The Liberty Trail website and American Battlefield Trust’s YouTube channel.

“The Liberty Trail offers us the unique opportunity to bring history to life through multiple means, all in concert. Land preservation, traditional interpretation, digital experiences, and powerful storytelling all work together to enrich our understanding of the past,” commented David Duncan, president, American Battlefield Trust.

The Liberty Trail is a partnership of the South Carolina Battleground Trust and the American Battlefield Trust.

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About The Liberty Trail
The Liberty Trail is a joint effort of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust and the American Battlefield Trust, assisted by numerous partners at the local, state, and federal levels. The statewide driving tour functions as a one-of-a-kind educational and heritage tourism resource through which key battlefields of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution will be preserved, interpreted, and promoted. For more information on The Liberty Trail initiative, including historic background and a list of those sites that are part of the Initial Phase of the project, visit www.thelibertytrail.org. As The Liberty Trail takes shape, partners, friends, and history enthusiasts are invited to follow its progress on social media using the hashtag #TheLibertyTrail.

Media Contact

Jennifer Howard

jen@stewardterra.com

843.709.4192

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

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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.

Francis Marion Papers Now Available to the Public

February 27, 2025

Collection will tell the Swamp Fox’s untold stories