Relic Room again celebrates South Carolina’s role in the American Revolution

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – For eight long years, the young United States – which at the start of the conflict wasn’t even formed yet, and had no army, navy, or national government – was at war with the greatest superpower in the world. And we won.

And as celebrated as Bunker Hill and Yorktown deservedly are, most of the battles took place right here in South Carolina – at places such as Ninety Six, Sullivan’s Island, Camden, Kings Mountain and Cowpens. The fighting produced heroes whose names we still recall, such as the Fighting Gamecock, Thomas Sumter, and the Swamp Fox, Francis Marion.

So on Saturday, March 25, the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will commemorate our state’s historic role with Revolutionary War Day. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it’s free and open to the public. And while you’re there, check out the whole museum, especially the major new exhibit in the Cistern Gallery, “A War With No Front Lines: South Carolina and the Vietnam War, 1965-1973.”

There will be a full schedule of special events in the museum’s Education Room, as follows:

• 10:00-11:00 a.m. – The story of Emily Geiger, the teenager who served the Patriot cause as a spy against the British, will be told through a play presented by Kathy Hart. Kids will be enlisted to act out the story.
• 11:30 a.m.-12.30 p.m. – Women in the American Revolution. You thought only men played a role? Come and learn otherwise. Presented by Riley Sutherland.
• 12:45-1:15 p.m. – Get an update from Bill Davies on South Carolina’s 250th American Revolution commemoration. The Sestercentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence will be in 2026, but we’re celebrating the whole revolutionary period – the observance began in 2020 and continues to 2033. Learn more: https://www.southcarolina250.com/
• 1:30-2:30 p.m. – Native Americans in the Revolutionary War. Alice Taylor-Colbert will explain the roles that our state’s original inhabitants – or rather, their descendants – played in this conflict that is usually seen in terms of the white settlers vs. the British.
• Meanwhile, a wide variety of events and displays will be going on all day elsewhere around the museum.
• Touch table with replica objects, such as quilts, hats, mortar and pestle, cards, soap, sugar, and the sewing kits soldier carried to war.
• Historic games – There will be fun with ring toss, huge pickup sticks, and a hoop from Colonial Williamsburg.
• Corn husk dolls – You learn to make them, then you can take them home with you.
• Quill pen signing – It may not have been as convenient as a ballpoint, but it was a very elegant way of writing.
• Pomander balls – Again, you get to make and take these decorative items.
• 250th Anniversary table – This informational booth offers all sorts of information about the ongoing statewide commemoration.
• Cannon crew with activities – There are no plans actually to fire the artillery, but you’ll get to see it up-close.
• Colonial music – The emphasis is on marching music, as played by drum and fife.

About the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum

Founded in 1896, the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum is an accredited museum focusing on South Carolina’s distinguished martial tradition through the Revolutionary War, Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, Vietnam, the War on Terror, and other American conflicts. It serves as the state’s military history museum by collecting, preserving, and exhibiting South Carolina’s military heritage from the colonial era to the present, and by providing superior educational experiences and programming. It recently opened a major new exhibit, “A War With No Front Lines: South Carolina and the Vietnam War, 1965-1973.” The museum is located at 301 Gervais St. in Columbia, sharing the Columbia Mills building with the State Museum. For more information, go to https://crr.sc.gov/.