In this episode, we’re going back a few centuries to the Revolutionary War and looking at the problem of clothing American soldiers. The lack of basic necessities for soldiers led to deaths and desertions, according to George Washington. Letters between Washington and Congress, some of which are housed in the Henry Laurens papers in our archives, illustrate how bad the conditions sometimes were.

This month's episode is all about the Futerells – the family of the man who was Henry Laurens’s jailer in the Tower of London, but whose children ultimately became wards of Henry and lived – and died – here in America after the war.

In this episode, we are looking back for the last time at the Order Book of South Carolina’s Fourth Regiment during the American Revolution. It’s the summer of 1777, and we talk about changes in leadership and one lieutenant accused of ungentlemanly conduct who does not go quietly .

June 2025 is the 250th anniversary of first meetings of South Carolina’s Council of Safety, which served kind of as a branch of government during the early days of the American Revolution here in our state. One of their main jobs was to form the militia regiments and give orders as to where they went. They also created a currency for the state, right down to the design of the paper money, oversaw the Secret Committee (who acted on secret missions), communicated about the conflict with indigenous tribes, and even handled citizen reports of those who may be loyalists.

The Council was a group of men appointed by the Provincial Congress of South Carolina, in the wake of the Battles of Lexington and Concord up in Massachusetts. Colonists everywhere were feeling a sense of urgency at that point and life then began to change rapidly.

We are diving back into the Fourth Regiment’s Order Book for today’s episode. It’s August of 1776, and the people of South Carolina have just heard the Declaration of Independence read aloud for the first time. The soldiers of the Fourth Regiment are leaving the city - but will it quell all the rule-breaking they were doing in the last episode?

In today’s episode, we’re talking about two women - Sarah Stuart and Elizabeth Simpson - who were close enough to Loyalists that the Patriots powers of the state were concerned. Their stories give us a glimpse at what life was like during this time, for people of means and those who may not have had as much.

It's July of 1776, and just a few days have passed since a group of South Carolinians achieved an unexpected victory over the British at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island - and the United States of America has now officially declared their independence. For now, it’s back to normal as the troops continue to ready themselves to be able to protect their city and their new nation. But there's a trending topic in the order book - transgressions and disciplinary action abound.

We chat with author and professor Peter H. Wood about his seminal 1974 book, "Black Majority," which studies Black people during the colonial period of America. It brought forward new ways of looking at the available sources and challenged the ideas that those enslaved were passive and unskilled laborers, showing evidence of their agency over themselves and how their skills, culture, and customs were vital to forwarding the economic success of our nation. The book was recently updated and re-released for its fiftieth anniversary.

Dr. Wood has been teaching students for decades, first at Duke University and now at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He’s also authored and co-authored many books and academic articles.