The Horry County Museum and the Horry County Historical Society present a lecture and book signing by J. Grahame Long on Saturday, May 19th, on his book Stolen Charleston: The Spoils of War.
During both the American Revolution and the Civil War, Charleston was not just a symbolic target but also one of the wealthiest–at least until the shelling started. Once the redcoats of 1780 and the Yankees of 1865 stormed in, nary a church, business or private home was spared fevered plundering. Worse, Charleston’s own homefront defenders oftentimes helped themselves to unguarded heirlooms. In 1779, Eliza Wilkinson’s shoe buckles were stolen right off her feet. In 1865, Union soldiers butchered several of Williams Middleton’s valuable water buffalo and stole the others, some of which were later found at the Central Park Zoo in New York City. Join author and historian J. Grahame Long as he recounts the looting and lost treasures of Charleston.
As chief curator for America’s first museum (founded 1773), Grahame Long maintains the numerous cultural and material collections within its vast holdings and further oversees the History, Archaeology, Textiles, Archives and Natural Sciences departments. Besides his work at The Charleston Museum, Grahame is an avid hunter and volunteers regularly with Historic Charleston Foundation and Middleton Place Foundation. He currently serves on the Charleston Art & Antiques Forum National Board of Advisors and the Nathaniel Russell House committee, and is a former member of the Presbyterian College Alumni Board of Directors and Historic Charleston Foundation’s Scholars Committee. Grahame is married to Reverend Lissa Long and has two daughters.
The program will begin at 1 pm in the McCown Auditorium located at 805 Main Street, Conway SC. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 843-915-5320 or email hcgmuseum@horrycounty.org. To view a full list of programs, visit our website at www.horrycountymuseum.org.