On Sunday, November 4, a lucky group will see the Lowcountry in a whole new way, on USCB’s Sunset History Excursion, from 2:30 – 7 pm.     A century ago, if you’d viewed Beaufort County’s history from out in the water at sunset with a tasty goodie in one hand and a drink in the other, you’d have been described by the Palmetto Post (1892) as part of the “excursion mania that has seized upon the masses.”  The most popular form of entertainment at the turn-of-the-century was “excursions.”  In Beaufort these numerous excursions were most often by chartered steamboat.
    So notes Dr. Larry Rowland who with Dr. Stephen Wise will provide a colorful account of the maritime history of Beaufort County aboard the Spirit of Harbour Town. As the ship wends its way from Harbour Town through Calibogue Sound and Skull Creek, across Port Royal Sound and up the Beaufort River to the Beaufort waterfront where it will turn and make the return voyage, the ship will slow down for highlights something like this:

The Highlights

Leaving Harbourtown        
Pre-historic, Spanish & Colonial

Skull Creek to Broad River   
Revolutionary and Federal Periods

Sound into Beaufort River     
Battle of Port Royal  Sound

Passing: Smith Plantation        Reconstruction/Emancipation Proclamation

Beaufort                Brief history of Beaufort

Spanish Point           
Post-Civil War

Port Royal                Phosphate, railroad, ports

Parris Island                Naval Station/Marine base
Skull Creek                Hunt Clubs/Hurricane

 Hilton Head                Fraser era

The Historians

    Dr. Lawrence S. Rowland is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina Beaufort where he was Professor of history for 26 years.  He completed his doctorate degree at the University of South Carolina with a dissertation on Eighteenth Century Beaufort: A Study of South Carolina’s southern Parishes to 1800.
    Dr. Rowland is the author of The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, Vol. I, 1514-1861, with Alexander Moore and George C. Rogers, Jr., and Window on the Atlantic:  The Rise and Fall of Santa Elena, South Carolina Spanish City.  Currently, he is working on The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, Vol. II, 1861-1990, with Dr. Steven R. Wise and Gerhard Spieler.

    Dr. Stephen R. Wise is the Director of the museum and Cultural Resource Manager for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island.  Dr. Wise earned his doctoral degree from the University of South Carolina studying under Civil War historian, Thomas L. Connelly. 
    His first book, Lifeline of the Confederacy:  Blockade Running During the Civil War, was highly acclaimed as a comprehensive account of the Confederate effort to deliver supplies through the northern blockade.  A second book entitled Gate of Hell:  The Campaign for Charleston Harbor 1863 received an award from the South Carolina Historical Society for the best book written in 1994 on SC history.
    Dr. Wise is also an advisor to the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust.

What To Expect

Beautiful sunset from the water aboard the Spirit of Harbourtown

Colorful historical accounts from two of the nation’s outstanding historians: 
            Dr. Lawrence Rowland and Dr. Stephen Wise 

Individually boxed hors d’oeuvres.   Wine, beer and soft drinks available at bar.

Guide booklets

Price:  $115 all inclusive per person or with bus: $145 per person
There will be two buses available (one from Beaufort, one from Bluffton).
Space limited as ship holds only 125, and each bus holds 46.

To Register:  Call 521-4147 or kingsley@gwm.sc.edu