Volume 4: the American Revolution in Four Cities, Charleston with Ben Rubin

Join an early American historian as we virtually walk the streets of Charleston and examine the oft-forgotten final chapter of the American War of Independence. Learn the history of the brutal and decisive fighting in South Carolina, as you explore one of America’s true hidden gems, Charleston South Carolina.

In the late 18th century, four major ports dominated the political, cultural, and economic life of the thirteen colonies: Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Charleston. Each had its own unique geography, culture, and identity, each was a birthplace for Revolutionary ideas and action, and each in turn was occupied by British troops during the eight-year conflict over American Independence. This is part four (after Boston, New York and Philadelphia) in a four-part series looking at the American Revolution from a city-specific perspective. You do not have to have attended the previous volumes to enjoy this.

Part four looks at the last major fighting of the Revolution. The southern campaigns, told on the virtual streets of the crown jewel of the southern colonies, Charleston. Explore America’s best preserved colonial city at the height of its influence in the late 18 th century, and its role in Britain’s final attempt to re-exert control over its rebellious colonies. A world away from the early fighting in the north, South Carolina’s wealthy, exploitative planter society would finally get its turn as the epicenter of the conflict in the final two years of the war. It would ultimately be the site of some of the bloodiest, most tenacious fighting of the entire war, set against the backdrop of America’s best preserved colonial city.

Led by Revolutionary Historian Ben Rubin, his interactive discussion will tell the story of the American Revolution through the places it touched. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with a better understanding of the urban spaces where the Revolutionary War happened.

Ben Rubin holds a bachelor's degree from Hanover College, a Master's from Western Carolina University, and is completing his Ph.D. at Drew University. He is also a graduate of the Cornell School of Criticism and Theory at Cornell University. His work has been published in the Journal of Backcountry Studies and in Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution. In addition to academic experience, Ben worked as a docent at the Biltmore House in Asheville, and as a whitewater raft guide on the Nantahala River.

This conversation is suitable for all ages

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.