Guilford Courthouse

Today, April 3, 2014, my history class from Liberty University toured Guilford Courthouse with Lawrence Babits, the esteemed historian of the American Revolution. It was such an honor to explore this battle with Dr. Babits.

  

 

Lawrence Babits explaining details about the battle

His knowledge and passion for the subject was noticeable in the way he described every detail of the battle. It was a great learning experience because it showed me the value of dedication and hard work. After a lecture on the topic and importance of Guilford Courthouse to the Southern Theater of the Revolutionary War, we toured the battlefield with Dr. Babits.

He explained the strategic way the Patriots positioned themselves in three lines and how the British advanced through the lines. Despite the fact that the Battle of Guilford Courthouse was a British victory, it was strategic for the American cause because it weakened the British resolve. After the bloody fighting at Guilford Courthouse, the British were starving, tired, and numerically weakened, which eventually led them to capitulate at Yorktown.

As he explained in painstaking detail the events of the battle, he corrected many of the misconceptions and myths propagated by the National Park Services. Even though many times I felt lost in the details of what Dr. Babits said, I felt very privileged to listen to such a dedicated scholar. At one point, he made the class line up and start marching in an area that was dense with underbrush, our line quickly dissembled to which Dr. Babits commented was the problem the British faced at Guilford Courthouse.


Underbrush

This was an effective exercise because I could relate to the obstacles the British experienced. Through the experience of learning from Dr. Babits example, as a Christian historian, I was challenged to find the truth and let the facts speak for themselves and to be honest in my research.

Forts Moultrie and Ninety Six

 

On April 1, 2014, my class and I had the wonderful opportunity of touring interesting Southern Revolutionary War sites, such as Fort Moultrie and Fort Ninety Six.

Fort Moultrie

Fort Ninety Six

At Fort Moultrie, our group watched an informative video describing the role the fort had throughout its history, from the colonial period to World War II. Over the years, the fort was active in the defense of Charleston Harbor. Built as a defensive fort in 1776 under the leadership of William Moultrie, it protected Charleston from a British attack.

 

William Moultrie

This was a decisive victory for the Patriot cause because it ensured that the British could not gain an easy victory in the Southern colonies. Because the fort was constructed of spongy palmetto logs, the fort easily endured the British bombardment.

model of the palmetto fort


During the defense of Charleston, in the heat of the battle, the South Carolinians flew the Liberty flag that would later become their state flag. 

We had a wonderful tour of the fort, and it was interesting seeing where Osceola was buried outside of the fort.

Osceola's grave

However, William Moultrie was not eulogized as I thought he would be. For a man who arguably helped save the colonies from an inevitable British encroachment, seeing his grave in an obscure place in the parking lot was shocking.

William Moultrie's grave


 After we finished walking around Fort Moultrie, we traveled over to Fort Ninety Six, a British star-shaped fort.

The Patriots began digging trenches to attack the fort, but even though the Loyalists repelled the attempted siege of the fort, the Patriots weakened the defense of the backcountry. Eventually, the British and Loyalists abandoned the backcountry at Ninety Six to move and defend the low country. I really enjoyed visiting Fort Ninety Six and was surprised at how well preserved the fort was. It was a wonderful experience touring both Fort Moultrie, a Patriot defense, and Fort Ninety Six, a British defense because the Southern Theater was such a strategic location in the American Revolution.

                            Jennie and I at Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter is in the background)

Beautiful Charleston

 

 Today, March 31, 2014, was my first trip to the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina. I was impressed with the history and lovely architecture. Strolling along the historical streets made me feel like I was transported back in history. 

Before we embarked on our historical discoveries of Charleston, Jennie and I ate at a nice restaurant, where we could look out at the street as the quaint horse and carriages drove by the window. After our delicious lunch, we headed down Meeting Street and admired the gorgeous architecture. We toured the Powder Magazine and enjoyed looking at the exhibits and displays explaining the history of the colonial and Revolutionary era in Charleston and the role the Powder Magazine had in those years.



Next, we explored some of the oldest churches in Charleston: St. Philips, St. Michaels, and the French Huguenot church. All these churches played a role in religiously instructing some notable  founders of our country like Edward Rutledge, William Moultrie, and Charles Pinckney. I enjoyed seeing these beautiful places of worship that were important in the early days of American history. 


Saint Philip's Church


Saint Michael's Church


Huguenot Church

It was also a wonderful experience to see the many historical buildings in Charleston, such as the Old Bank Building and the Wantoot Plantation, one of the oldest properties that stayed in the same family for generations. We also stopped and saw the George Washington Statue, across the street from St. Michael’s church.


Old Bank Building


Wantoot Plantation


George Washington

Navigating our way through the city with a map was a fun experience, especially when we stumbled unexpectedly upon an interesting site like the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office where from May 28-29, 1951 the first legal case trying the idea of segregation in public schools took place. It was amazing to see the building that provided a precedent to the legal analysis for the Brown v. Board of Education case of 1954.


U.S. Courthouse and Post Office

We ended our lovely day by admiring the beautiful architecture and charm of Charleston.