By: Callie Andrew

Hey everyone! For my visit to a historic site in Charleston, I chose to visit the Cathedral Church of Saint Luke and Saint Paul located at 126 Coming Street. I spent years of my college experience walking by this Cathedral, continuously wondering about the history it holds. This assignment provided a perfect opportunity to explore more of the site that had consumed my curiosity for so long.

Upon first glance, the Cathedral blends into many of the historic buildings that line the streets of downtown Charleston. Behind its grand pillared entrance, however, is a history that once defined this region. Currently a part of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, this Cathedral was built in 1810 and completed construction in 1815. This was a pivotal era in the history of Charleston, as it was primarily used to aid the Confederate army during the Civil War. This time in history significantly influenced not only the development of Charleston, but also eighteenth and nineteenth century  literature. The Cathedral Church of Saint Luke and Saint Paul identifies as “catholic Christians,” a religion that shaped the work of authors such as Franklin and Jefferson.

When I first began walking up the Cathedral stairs, a feature that immediately stood out to me was the large Corinthian pillars. While they are currently under construction, these pillars distinguish The Cathedral Church of Saint Luke and Saint Paul as a pivotal point in the development of Charleston society. 

The Gothic-Revival style of architecture is showcased within these four pillars, as they have been preserved to remain the exact same for over two hundred years. While visiting this historic site, I learned that architecture trends of this era typically meant  the outside of buildings remained bare, while the inside was decorated with great attention to detail. Even though the outside of the Cathedral was less adorned than the inside, I still found the architecture to be an impressive monument representing one of the most influential religions of Charleston’s history. 

During my visit to this Cathedral, I learned that Charleston is home to over 400 churches. This staggering statistic reminded me of how fortunate I am to live in an area with such deeply rooted history. Ultimately, visiting the Cathedral Church of Saint Luke and Saint Paul has granted me insight into the influence of Christianity during this time period.

This Cruet Set at the Charleston Museum has been preserved and displayed because it belonged to Governor Arnoldus Vanderhorst. He served under General Francis Marion in the Revolutionary War, was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, served in the South Carolina Senate, was the Mayor of Charleston, became the governor of South Carolina in 1794, and owned a successful sea island cotton plantation on Kiawah Island. Vanderhorst was sadly a slave owner and retired to his cotton plantation after leaving his governorship.

This Cruet Set was made in London by the silversmiths Godbehere and Wigan. This item was originally made for holding oil and vinegar, typically made from silver and glass. I find this set unique to the period, because it was owned by an important Patriot who would later become governor of South Carolina. What makes it even more special, is that it was crafted in London, England. America gained freedom in 1783, this Cruet Set was made in 1788, Vanderhorst was named South Carolina’s governor in 1794. Ironically, these luxury items made their way to this new country, having been recently freed from British rule. I think the fact that a former Patriot officer owned this luxury item made in Britain is a middle finger to Britain post-Revolutionary War. To me, it says, “we won the war, are doing fine on our own, and can still afford your luxuries.”

I chose this particular item in the museum because the name Vanderhorst caught my eye while looking at the beautiful items in this particular showcase. I currently live on Vanderhorst Street in the historic district, so I assumed the name Vanderhorst had some significance to the low country but had never taken the time to research it. Funny enough, last week my father (a devout South Carolinian and somewhat of a self-proclaimed historian) called and told me about who Vanderhorst Street was named after. All I can recall him saying from his long spiel was, “slave owner” and “Francis Marion”. At the time I was rushing to class to take an exam, dodging cars amidst the Calhoun traffic and was not very concerned about the history of the street I currently live on. Little did I know, Arnoldus Vanderhorst was a slave-owning Patriot who fought under General Francis Marion and was once our governor. Admittedly, I should have listened to my dad when he first told me this story, but it is nice to finally put a name and a story to my street. I included a photo of Vanderhorst Street post Hugo below. I decided against posting where I actually live, for obvious reasons.

Sources

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Arnoldus_Vanderhorst_%28South_Carolina_Governor%29.jpg

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSqtmw_qNDhQ6Lo7MGgd9ewfAsNtiORUoGbNA&usqp=CAU

By Abigail Young

This past week, I revisited the Gibbes Museum of Art. I have been to this museum several times before, but I like to go back every so often to check out new exhibitions that have been installed (their latest is a collection of works by William H. Johnson, whose work focused on African American history and activism in the 1940s–definitely worth checking out!)

While I was there, searching for an interesting piece of art from Early America, I stumbled upon this diptych that depicts the Battle of Sullivan’s Island in 1776 by Henry Gray. According to the signage about this work, Lieutenant Henry Gray “was an eyewitness to the battle… Gray soon after recorded his experience in these two paintings…”

 What I particularly enjoyed about this works was how easily the artist tells a story with just these two frames. In the first, you see the British ships facing off against the fort at the tip of the island. In the second, you see the same British ships retreating, the one in the foreground enveloped in thick, gray smoke.

Admittedly, I did not know much about this battle before researching this piece. From what I have gathered about this particular event, it was the British’s intention to take over Sullivan’s Island, and then use the Island as their home base as they went on to the neighboring towns of Charleston, Mount Pleasant, and beyond. However, the American forces were led by Colonel Moultrie (who the fort was later named after) in a battle that spanned an entire day, and into the night. At some point during the night, the British forces gave up and retreated to a safe distance–this fact shows that there must have been some artistic license taken by Lt. Henry Gray, though I think that the painting warrants the inclusion.

This piece details an important event in the very long history of the low country, which is why it has rightfully been preserved and put on display at the local art museum. Though depictions of battle or historic events are not revolutionary for the kinds of art being produced during this time, I think that this piece is special for a few different reasons. Most of the other works in this wing of the museum (placed there for their proximity in date of production), are the typical portraits of rich, white, notable people around town that have been seen over and over again. This piece stands apart from the others, in that it is a scene depicting our local history, and also a diptych–in essence, showing the height of the battle, and the triumphant result. I also enjoy that the materials used to make the piece are much simpler; Henry Gray sketched out the scene with simple watercolors on paper, more so trying to capture a historic event than create the next great work of art. I think it makes the piece seem more honest and representative of the time than the other lofty portraits of various important people ever could.

By: Chase Baker

The Provost Dungeon underneath the Old Exchange building is arguably one of the most unique historic sites of our city which in Charleston is saying a fair bit. The dungeon seems to be directly out of a European castle. Its walls and floors are constituted by 18th century brick formed into double-barrel-vaults which support the dungeon. In the south, buildings that hold a large significance to the Revolutionary War are rare and the ones that do exist are generally not well preserved. Because of this, the Provost Dungeon is unique.
During its history, the dungeon saw a fair bit of notable prisoners chained in its confines. Many of them are Revolutionary figures. For example, Son of Liberty Christopher Gadsden was imprisoned in the dungeon. You see his influence today with the flag he designed during the revolution known as the Gadsden flag. The flag, commonly seen on the back of large trucks, is best described as being the yellow flag with a snake on the front above the words don’t tread on me.
For context, the British occupied Charleston for around two years during the Revolutionary War and during that time they turned the Provost Dungeon into the area they used for American prisoners of war. Because of this, many other revolutionary figures had to unfortunately call the dungeon their home. The conditions for prisoners were poor. They were for the most part chained to the walls or chained together. Their daily rations were awful. Because of these poor conditions, many of the prisoners died from either malnutrition or disease.
Likely one of the most interesting historical stories from the Provost Dungeon has to do with the hiding of at least 10,000 pounds of rebel black powder in its walls. Directly before the British successfully sized Charleston, the revolutionaries had a problem other than just losing the city. Revolutionaries had been storing up black powder for their cause but when the British were about to seize the city, many of the revolutionaries decided to evacuate to avoid capture by the British. The problem they ran into was that they couldn’t take all the black powder with them during their hasty evacuation. Now, they couldn’t just leave the black powder out and about for the British to get their hands on. It would help them out immensely. At the same time, the revolutionaries didn’t want to simply discard this valuable resource in the harbor of Charleston. So, the most senior officer at the time, a man by the name of Col. William Moultrie came up with a plan. They were going to hide this black powder in the dungeon. The revolutionaries went down to the dungeon and hid all the black powder in its walls. It was completely unnoticeable. Note, that many today believe that it was 10,000 pounds of black powder, however the writings of Col. Moultrie say that it was actually 15,000 pounds but only 10,000 pounds was usable.
The interesting thing is that when the British occupied Charleston, they looked everywhere for the black powder but never found it. The amusing thing is that during the British occupation of Charleston, British officers utilized the building on top of the dungeon, the Old Exchange as their headquarters. So, they were sitting on top of it the entire time but never new.

by Michael Stein:

*The picture on the right I don’t mention at all, but it was about a Black man who was killed in the Boston Massacre. This was pretty much swept under the rug.

Hi everyone! I went to the Gibbes Museum, and the item that I chose was a bust of George Washington. It sounds like it’s not really anything interesting at all, just another picture of one of the Founding Fathers. But there was a reason why I picked it out of many other incredible items (I told them I was there for a project and they had a lady come give me the whole spiel [and the third floor was awesome Black art and Great Depression art]) — Washington was depicted in Roman outfit, with short curled hair like a soldier’s. 

First off, I’m noting that this was an interesting time period where pretty much all the best sculptors were studying in Italy, not America. So, Ceracchi, the artist, had to come to America to make this piece. Its importance to Charleston comes from archaeologist John Middleton, who bought the bust around 1820. He’s apparently important (he has a wikipedia page, although it’s very short). His importance really comes from his family: his father was Continental Congressman Arthur Middleton (who signed the Declaration of Independence), and his older brother was the Governor of SC at one point.

But back to the bust itself: it’s a little weird to see Mr. Washington depicted in this way. I feel like I always see him in his Revolutionary War garb, perched majestically, or dressed in all black with his white hair. So, to see him in a style that, to me, since I’m uneducated in sculptures, reminded me of Caesar, was a bit weird. It reminded me of a very militaristic and strong person, especially someone who loves White western values. I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all, but I don’t necessary think of Washington as someone like Caesar, even though I guess in many ways they are. That’s really how this visit changed my thoughts. This connection showed me that maybe there’s more to think about when comparing the U.S. to Rome. Also, the poetry that we have been reading was really where this connection started for me. Phillis Wheatley’s “His Excellency General Washington” and Annis Boudinot Stockton’s “Addressed to General Washington” really were where this idea sort of began.

I would say that it’s quite clear why it’s been preserved and displayed — we can never get enough of GW. Concerning Charleston in the late eighteenth century, we can really tell that the wealthy were often still romanticizing the Revolution. I don’t think this is a bad thing at all, and I assume that honestly, most people in the United States were doing this. I don’t think it shows much that’s unique about Charleston — unless you look at this in a bad light. Instead of seeing Washington as we normally see him, we could see him as a power hungry general who pissed enough people off that he was assassinated. I think this is a totally interesting way to look at this piece. There really wasn’t much explanation as to why it was done in this manner, Washington in Roman outfit, but I think that this bad light was not intended.

But that’s just my thoughts. Let me know what you think. I had a great time at the Gibbes, and will definitely go back.