E-Learning for Kids - Underground Railroad
2020-05-08 22:30 - 23:30 (America/New_York)
Below are resources to help with your child’s e-learning, while also encouraging their imagination to travel back in time. Like most other places, our doors are closed for the time being, but we still want you to explore the history behind our current changing exhibit, Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad, even if it means doing so from home…for now.

Trace the collective footsteps of men, women and children as they journey towards freedom, following the Underground Railroad.

Project #1 – History of the Underground Railroad

This fantastic interactive from Scholastic will allow your child to travel back to 1860 and follow a young slave as he flees a Kentucky plantation for Canada along the Underground Railroad. The interactive slideshow (with audio) lets families read a short article at each stop. They can click on accompanying images to read pop-ups with more information.
To help incorporate South Carolina Social Studies standards, we encourage you to complete the “Growing Up in Slavery” activity listed on part one of the journey to escape from slavery. The activity tells the story of Fannie Moore, who was born a slave in South Carolina in 1849. She told her story in 1937 at the age of 88. Below are direct links to the activity and the accompanying worksheet:

Project #2 – Harriet Tubman: Leading the Way to Freedom

Harriet Tubman led more than 300 people from slavery to freedom in the mid-1800s. Born a slave in Maryland, Tubman escaped captivity at the age of 25. She returned to the South 19 times to help other slaves flee to the North. She has become the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad.
Use this web scavenger hunt (below) from Scholastic to learn more about her remarkable life. Record your answers as you go.

Describe Harriet Tubman’s childhood. What was one of her jobs as a child? How did she get a scar on her head?
Find out about Harriet Tubman’s early life in the America’s Story activity from the Library of Congress.

Describe Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery. When did she flee? Where did she go? What made her go back?
Learn about Tubman’s daring run to freedom in this article from Biography.

What were some of the reasons Harriet Tubman’s rescues were so successful? How did she discourage slaves who wanted to turn back?
Discover Tubman’s strategies at the Africans in America website from PBS.

How did Harriet Tubman help the Union during the Civil War?
Discover the many roles Harriet Tubman played during the Civil War in this National Geographic story. *SC social studies standards*

After the Civil War, how did Harriet Tubman continue to fight for justice and help those in need?
At the website for the National Women’s Hall of Fame, you can learn how Tubman continued her work after the war.

Read the August 29, 1868 letter to Tubman from her friend, the famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass. What does he say is the main difference between the two of them?
Read Douglass’s letter of encouragement to his fellow abolitionist, Tubman, and learn about their relationship in this article from The New York Times.

The History of Mother's Day
2020-05-11 22:00 - 23:30
“To My Mother” by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Scottish poet evokes childhood memories in this four-line ode to Mom. It appeared in “A Child’s Garden of Verses,” a collection of 65 poems by Stevenson first published in 1885 under the title “Penny Whistles.”

You too, my mother, read my rhymes
For love of unforgotten times,
And you may chance to hear once more
The little feet along the floor.

The Upcountry History Museum extends its appreciation to mothers across the Upstate and around the globe. Thank you for playing a key role in building and maintaining connections across generations. You are the “kinkeepers” in families and take the lead in passing down family stories, life lessons, and traditions. Honoring this role of mothers is part of the story behind Mother’s Day – but not all of it.

Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held spring festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea, Cybele, and Magna Mater, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return home to their “mother church” – the main church in the vicinity of their home – for a special service.

Over time Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s.

The origin of Mother’s Day as celebrated in the United Sates dates to the 19th century. In the years before the Civil War, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mother’s Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children.

These clubs later became a unifying voice in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized “Mother’s Friendship Day,” where mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

Another precursor to Mother’s Day came from the abolitionist, suffragette and author of the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” a call to action that asked mothers to unite in promoting world peace.

The official Mother’s Day holiday began in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children.

After gaining financial backing from Philadelphia department store owner John Wannamaker, in May 1908, she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. That same day thousands of people attended a Mother’s Day event at one of Wanamaker’s retail stores in Philadelphia.

Following the success of her first Mother’s Day, Jarvis – who remained unmarried and childless her whole life – resolved to see her holiday added to the national calendar. Arguing that American holidays were biased toward male achievements, she started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood.

By 1914, Jarvis’ persistence paid off, on May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day, declaring it “as a public expression of love and reverence for the mother’s of our country.” And the rest, as they say, is history.

Although we should always be grateful for how much the maternal figure in our life does for us, Mother’s Day is the day to really show your appreciation. Whether its your mom, your grandma, an aunt, or someone else, honoring and remembering that person might look a bit different on May 10, 2020 in the wake of the pandemic crisis, luckily there are creative ways to share Mother’s Day greetings and festivities.

We hope that you will share your Mother’s Day 2020 social distancing creativity with the Museum by adding your messages, stories, photos and acts of kindness to the Upcountry History Museum’s COVID-19 Collective Memory initiative by linking to the site www.upcountryremembers.org.

Read of the Week - WWII
2020-05-13 22:00 - 23:30
The Battle of Tarawa
In the Battle of Tarawa (November 20-23, 1943) during World War II (1939-45), the U.S. began its Central Pacific Campaign against Japan by seizing the heavily fortified, Japanese-held island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. The 18,000 U.S. Marines sent to tiny Betio were expected to easily secure it; however, problems quickly arose. Low tides prevented some U.S. landing crafts from clearing the coral reefs that ringed the island. Japanese coastal guns pounded the snagged vessels and desperate Marines gave up on freeing the boats and instead waded toward shore–hundreds of yards away– through chest-deep water amidst enemy fire. Despite heavy resistance from the 4,500 Japanese troops dug in on Betio, the Marines finally took the island after a bloody, 76-hour battle in which both sides suffered heavy casualties.
U.S. Pacific Strategy: 1943
After entering World War II in December 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the U.S. began to halt Japan’s aggressive expansion in the Pacific with important battle victories at Midway Island (June 1942) and Guadalcanal (August 1942-February 1943) in the South Pacific. American commanders next set their sights on an island-hopping campaign across the central Pacific. They intended to take the Marshall Islands followed by the Mariana Islands, then advance on Japan.
Did you know? In the 76-hour Battle of Tarawa, U.S. Marines suffered almost as many killed-in-action casualties as U.S. troops suffered in the six-month campaign at Guadalcanal Island.
The Gilbert Islands, a group of 16 atolls near the equator, were viewed by the U.S. as a stepping stone to the Marshalls and became the first target of the Central Pacific Campaign. In November 1943, the U.S. launched an offensive code-named Operation Galvanic, in which the prime target was the tiny island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. (As part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. would also send a smaller force to the Gilberts’ Makin Atoll, some 100 miles north of Tarawa. Compared with the taking of Tarawa, the U.S. faced far less Japanese resistance at Makin and the Americans secured the atoll by November 23, 1943.) In late December 1941, Tarawa, a coral atoll located some 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, had been seized by the Japanese, who heavily fortified Betio, Tarawa’s largest island.
By November 19, 1943, American warships had arrived near Tarawa. Naval and air bombardments were planned for the next morning with the goal of weakening Japan’s defenses and clearing the way for 18,000 U.S. Marines to seize the island. However, the taking of Tarawa would prove to be more difficult than the Americans had anticipated.
Heavily Fortified Tarawa
Tarawa was the most fortified atoll America would invade during the Pacific Campaign. Japanese Admiral Keiji Shibasaki (1894-1943), confident in his command, reportedly bragged that the U.S. couldn’t take Tarawa with a million men in 100 years. Measuring around two miles long and a half-mile wide, the island of Betio was crisscrossed with defenses: 100 pillboxes (dug-in concrete bunkers), seawalls, an extensive trench system for defensive movements and an airstrip were supported by coastal guns, antiaircraft guns, heavy and light machine guns and light tanks. Betio’s beaches were naturally ringed with shallow reefs, which were covered with barbed wire and mines. The Japanese garrison at Betio was defended by at least 4,500 troops.
The U.S. fleet of warships that arrived at the Tarawa Atoll on November 19, 1943, included battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and a huge supply fleet, all supporting 18,000 Marines. The attack would be a monumental effort of combined arms coordination in a new war tactic, dubbed “Atoll War,” which relied upon heavy pre-invasion bombardment by battleships and carrier planes. Marines were to approach the shore in new amphibious tractor vehicles dubbed amphtracs. These landing crafts, armed with machine guns and carrying 20 troops each, were able to crawl over shallow reefs and other barriers.
First Day of Battle: November 20, 1943
The highly coordinated U.S. battle plan at Betio relied on the precise timing of several key elements to succeed, but almost from the beginning there were problems. Heavy sea turbulence slowed transfer operations of the U.S. Marines to the ship-side landing crafts. A pre-invasion air raid was delayed, upsetting the timetable for other parts of the assault. Holding for the air raids, support ships ready to launch massive pre-invasion bombardments lingered in position longer than expected. They were forced to dodge increasingly accurate fire from the island where Japanese defenders were dug in.
Compounding these problems was a lower-than-anticipated tide level around the island that morning. Most amphtracs in the first assault wave were able to reach the beach as planned, but nearly all the larger, heavier landing crafts behind them jammed into coral reefs exposed by the shallow tide. Marines were forced to abandon their landing crafts and wade through chest-deep water amidst enemy fire. Precious gear, especially radios, became soaked and useless. Many Marines were hit in the open water, and those who made it to shore arrived exhausted or wounded, ill-equipped and unable to communicate with supporting forces.
Making matters worse, the assault path through the lagoon to the shore became congested with disabled landing crafts and bloodied bodies, which hindered the dispatching of reinforcements. Marines on the beach crawled forward, inch by inch, knowing that to stand or even rise slightly made them easy targets. By the end of the first day, 5,000 Marines had landed at Betio while at least another 1,500 had perished in the process.
The Battle Rages On: November 21-23, 1943
On the morning of November 21, the second day of fighting, unexpectedly low tides continued to plague the U.S. assault. Again, assault troops had to leave their crafts short of the shore and wade in through enemy fire. In addition to being fired upon from shore, Marines were also assaulted from their sides and rear by enemy snipers who had entered the lagoon under the cover of night to position themselves on crafts that had been wrecked and abandoned the day before.
By noon, however, the tide finally began to rise, and U.S. destroyers were able to maneuver closer to shore to lend accurate supporting fire. Reserve combat teams and support craft transporting tanks and weapons raced to shore, and the ground assault finally took orderly form. The Marines moved inland, blasting surviving enemy emplacements with grenades, demolition packs and flamethrowers.
On day three of the battle, November 22, the Marines fought on, destroying several Japanese pillboxes and fortifications. That night, the last Japanese defenders of Betio launched a furious but futile banzai charge, or all-out, suicidal attack. Most Japanese soldiers fought to their death rather than surrender. At morning light on November 23, the defenders lay in tangled heaps: All but 17 Japanese soldiers had died defending Betio. Seventy-six hours after the invasion began, Betio was finally declared secure.
Aftermath of Tarawa
More than 1,000 U.S. troops were killed in action and some 2,000 were wounded in only three days of fighting at Tarawa. Word of the heavy casualties soon reached the U.S. and the public was stunned by the number of American lives lost in taking the tiny island.
However, according to “The Pacific War” by John Costello, U.S. commanders learned important lessons from the Battle of Tarawa that would be applied to future atoll wars, including the need for better reconnaissance, more precise and sustained pre-landing bombardment, additional amphibious landing vehicles and improved equipment: Among other advancements, better-waterproofed radios would be developed.

Battle of Tarawa, History.com Editors

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-tarawa

November 17, 200

History of the Week - The MIS
2020-05-13 22:00 - 23:30
This film breaks open the hidden history of the US Army’s Military Intelligence Service (MIS) during World War II — a story made possible because of a few aging Japanese American veterans with a little Internet savvy and a lot of determination.

When WWII started, the U.S. Army needed soldiers to who could read and speak Japanese to help fight in the Pacific. An obvious choice: The Nisei. The Nisei were U.S. citizens born in America. The problem? They were locked away in internment camps because they looked like the enemy. But the Army recruited some of them to join the Military Intelligence Service: The MIS. The MIS was kept secret long after the war ended. Now a registry lists those who served in this all but forgotten unit.

Best of the Upstate Nominations
2020-05-14 08:00 - 23:59
Nominate the Upcountry History Museum and Down the Rabbit Hole: Imagining Alice’s Wonderland NOW through May 14, 2020.
One nomination per email address.

Best Exhibit of Past Year

Games for the Family
2020-05-14 20:00 - 22:00
Go through your home or take a walk in your neighborhood to see if you can find objects that match each color on the scavenger hunt!

For more games, click the link below!

Collective Memory
2020-05-19 08:00 - 2020-05-25 17:00
Share Your Story

The UHM Collective Memory Initiative
Author and poet, Oscar Wilde, wrote “Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.” As we all adjust to the constant change of living in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Upcountry History Museum invites you to become a part of our Collective Memory Initiative by sharing stories and photographs of how you’re coping; how you’re helping family and friends; how you’re staying strong in this time of uncertainty; or how you’re creating a new normal.
Our focus with this online “diary” is to ensure that this moment in the history of South Carolina’s Upcountry is told by members of our communities, remembered through your writings and/or images, and preserved for future generations.
As keepers of history, we recognize that we don’t get to choose the events that force change, but we do have the privilege of safeguarding the memories they create. Join us and become storytellers for history’s sake.
When uploading your photos, please post a location, description, date (if you know it), and names of any people in the images if possible.
Our categories are as follows:
Class of 2020 | Journals, Blogs, and Vlogs | Socially Distant | Unconventional Education | Empty Everything | Business at a Distance | Frontline Heroes

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Please keep in mind that some images may not become part of the Upcountry History Museum’s permanent collection. Any images that are not part of the collection will be retained for the website, educational and research purposes.

THANK YOU for making history today!

History @ Home for Adults
2020-05-20 08:00 - 17:00
Explore the history of the Upcountry and our current changing exhibits from your home! Enjoy weekly articles, recommended films, themed playlists and short documentaries. Check back regularly as we continually add more history and resources.

Distance Learning for Kids
2020-05-20 08:00 - 17:00
Follow the linked image to explore Upcountry history from local history makers or learn about U.S. and World history through lessons compiled and created for our current changing exhibits, The Amazing Castle and Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad.

History of the Week - Greenville's Civil Rights Movement
2020-05-20 08:00 - 17:00
This brief, yet powerful video highlights some of the student activists who led protests here in Greenville County, as they discuss the hardships they overcame in their stand against inequality. The history of Greenville’s Civil Rights Movement certainly made an impact on our community, but also effected change across the state and even the nation.

Protests, Prayers & Progress: Greenville’s Civil Rights Movement was a 2014 temporary exhibition. It is now a permanent gallery on our second floor and houses several oral histories from local activists.

Parents and children, learn more about local activist Leola Clement Robinson-Simpson at the linked image below.

Read of the Week - Nathanael Greene
2020-05-20 08:00 - 2020-05-26 23:30
Eulogy on Nathanael Greene

New York, July 4, 1789

Eulogium on the late Major General Greene by Alexander Hamilton
There is no duty that could have been assigned to me by this Society, which I should execute with greater alacrity than the one I am now called upon to perform. All the motives capable of interesting an ingenuous and feeling mind conspire to prompt me to its execution. To commemorate the talents virtues and exploits of great and good men is at all times a pleasing task to those, who know how to esteem them. But when such men to the title of superior merit join that of having been the defenders and guardians of our country—when they have been connected with us as companions in the same dangers, sufferings, misfortunes and triumphs—when they have been allied to us in the still more endearing character of friends—we recal the ideas of their worth with sensations, that affect us yet more nearly, and feel an involuntary propensity to consider their fame as our own. We seem to appropriate to ourselves the good they have acquired, and to share in the very praise we bestow.
In entering upon a subject in which Your feelings as well as my own are so deeply concerned—however it might become me to follow examples of humility—I shall refrain from a practice perhaps not less laudable, than it is common—I cannot prevail upon myself to check the current of your sensibility by the cold formalities of an apology for the defects of the Speaker. These can neither be concealed nor extenuated by the affectation of diffidence: Nor even by the genuine concessions of conscious inability. Tis your command, and the reverence we all bear to the memory of him of whom I am to speak, that must constitute my excuse and my claim to your indulgence. Did I even possess the powers of Oratory, I should with reluctance attempt to employ them upon the present occasion. The native brilliancy of the diamond needs not the polish of art: The conspicuous features of preeminent merit need not the coloring pencil of imagination nor the florid decorations of Rhetoric.
From you who knew and loved him, I fear not the imputation of flattery or enthusiasm when I indulge an expectation that the name of Greene will at once awaken in your minds the images of whatever is noble and estimable in human nature. The fidelity of the portrait I shall draw will therefore have nothing to apprehend from your sentence. But I dare not hope that it will meet with equal justice from all others or that it will intirely escape the cavils of ignorance and the shafts of envy. For high as this great man stood in the estimation of his Country, the whole extent of his worth was little known. The situations in which he has appeared though such as would have measured the faculties and exhausted the resources of men who might justly challenge the epithet of great, were yet incompetent to the full display of those various rare and exalted endowments, with which nature only now and then decorates a favorite as if with intention to astonish mankind.
As a man the virtues of Greene are admitted; as a patriot he holds a place in the foremost rank; as a statesman he is praised; as a soldier he is admired. But in the two last characters especially in the last but one his reputation falls far below his desert. It required a longer life and still greater opportunities to have enabled him to exhibit in full day the vast, I had almost said the enormous powers of his mind. The termination of the American war not too soon for his wishes nor for the welfare of his country, but too soon for his glory, put an end to his military carreer. The sudden termination of his life cut him off from those scenes, which the progress of a new immense and unsettled empire could not fail to open to the complete exertion of that universal and pervading genius, which qualified him not less for the senate, than for the field.
In forming our estimate, nevertheless of his character, we are not left to supposition and conjecture. We are not left to vague indications or uncertain appearances which partiality might varnish or prejudice discolour. We have a succession of deeds as glorious as they are unequivocal to attest his greatness and perpetuate the honors of his name.
It is an observation as just as it is common that in those great revolutions which occasionally convulse society human nature never fails to be brought forward in its brighest as well as in its blackest colors: And it has very properly been ranked not among the least of the advantages which compensate for the evils they produce, that they serve to bring to light talents and virtues which might otherwise have languished in obscurity or only shot forth a few scattered and wandering rays. Nathaniel Greene descended from reputable parents, but not placed by birth in that elevated rank, which under a monarchy is the only sure road to those employments, that give activity and scope to abilities, must in all probability have contented himself with the humble lot of a private citizen, or at most with the contracted sphere of an elective office, in a colonial and dependent government, scarcely conscious of the resources of his own mind, had not the violated rights of his country called him to act a part on a more splendid and a more ample theatre. Happily for America he hesitated not to obey the call. The vigor of his genius corresponding with the importance of the prize to be contended for, overcame the natural moderation of his temper; and though not hurried on by enthusiasm, but animated by an enlightened sense of the value of free government, he chearfully resolved to stake his fortune his hopes his life and his honor upon an enterprise of the danger of which he knew the whole magnitude in a cause which was worthy of the toils and of the blood of heroes.
The sword having been appealed to at Lexington as the Arbiter of the controversy between Great Britain & America, Greene shortly after marched at the head of a Regiment to join the American forces at Cambrige; determined to abide the awful decision.
He was not long there before the discerning eye of the American Fabius marked him out as the object of his confidence. His abilities intitled him to a preeminent share in the Councils of his Chief. He gained it and he preserved it amidst all the chequered varieties of military vicissitude, and in defiance of all the intrigues of jealous and aspiring rivals.
As long as the measures which conducted us safely through the first most critical stages of the war shall be remembered with approbation— As long as the enterprises of Trenton and Princeton shall be regarded as the dawnings of that bright day, which afterwards broke forth with such resplendent lustre—As long as the almost magic operations of the remainder of that memorable Winter distinguished not more by these events than by the extraordinary spectacle of a powerful army straitened within narrow limits by the phantom of a military force, and never permitted to transgress those limits with impunity, in which skill supplied the plan & means and disposition was the substitute for an army—As long I say as these operations shall continue to be the objects of curiosity and wonder—So long ought the name of Greene to be revered by a Grateful Country. To attribute to him a portion of the praise which is due as well to the formation as to the execution of the plans that affected these important ends, can be no derogation from that wisdom and magnanimity which knew how to select and embrace councils worthy of being pursued. The Counsels of a Henry were never tarnished by the obligations he acknowleged to a Sully.
It would be an unpleasing task and therefore I forbear to lift the veil from off those impotent Councils, which by a formal vote had decreed an undisturbed passage to an enemy retiring from the fairest fruits of his victories to seek an asylum from impending danger, disheartened by retreat, dispirited by desertion, broken by fatigue, retiring through woods defiles and morasses in which his discipline was useless, in the face of an army superior in numbers, elated by pursuit and ardent to signalise their courage. Tis enough for the honor of Greene to say that he left nothing unessayed to avert and to frustrate so degrading a resolution. And it was happy for America that the man, whose reputation could not be wounded without wounding the cause of his Country, had the noble fortitude to rescue himself and the army he commanded from the disgrace with which they were both menaced by the characteristic imbecility of a Council of War.
Unwilling to do more than merely to glance at a scene in which the meritorious might be involved with the guilty in promiscuous censure here let me drop the Curtain and invite You to accompany me to the Heights of Monmouth. There let me recall to your indignant view the flower of the American infantry flying before an enemy that scarcely dared to pursue—vanquished without a blow—vanquished by their obedience to the command of a leader who meditated their disgrace. Let me contrast with this the conduct of your Greene—the calm intrepidity and unshaken presence of mind with which he seconded the dispositions of his General to arrest the progress of the disorder and retrieve the fortune of the day. Let me recall to your recollection that well timed and happy movement on the left of the enemy by which he so materially contributed to deciding the dubious event of the conflict and turning the hesitating scale of victory.
From the heights of Monmouth I might lead you to the plains of Springfield there to behold the Veteran Knyphaussen at the head of a veteran army baffled and almost beaten by a general without an army—aided or rather embarrassed by small fugitive bodies of volunteer militia, the mimicry of soldiership!
But it would ill become me to detain you in the contemplation of objects diminutive in comparison with those that are to succeed. Hitherto we have seen the illustrious Greene acting in a subordinate capacity the faint glimmerings of his fame absorbed and lost in the superior rays of a Washington. Happy was it for him to have been called to a more explicit station. Had this never been the case, the future historian perplexed between the panygeric of friends and the satire of enemies might have doubted in what colors to draw his true character. Accident alone saved a Greene from so equivocal a fate; a reflection which might damp the noble ardor of emulation and check the towering flight of conscious merit.
The defeat of Campden and the misfortune of Gates opened the carreer of victory and of Glory to Greene. Congress having resolved upon a successor to the former the choice was left to the Commander in Chief and fell upon the latter. In this destination, honorable in proportion as it was critical, he acquiesced with the mingled emotions of a great mind—impelled by a sense of duty—allured by the hope or fame—apprised of the danger and precariousness of the situation, yet confident of its own strength and animated by the magnitude of the object for which it was to be exerted.
Hence forth we are to view him on a more exalted eminence. He is no longer to figure in an ambiguous or secondary light—He is to shine forth the artificer of his own glory—the leader of armies and the deliverer of states!
To estimate properly the value of his services it is necessary to recur to the situation of the Southern extremity of the Union at the time he entered upon the command in that Quarter—Georgia and South Carolina subdued and overrun, the spirit of their people dejected and intimidated, the flame of resistance scarcely kept alive by the transient gleams of a few expiring embers: North Caroliana distracted by the still recent effects of internal commotion, dreading the hostility of a considerable part of its own citizens, the depending for its exertions on the tried valour and patriotism of the rest more than on the energy of a feeble and ill organised government: Virginia debilitated by the excessive efforts of its early zeal and by the dissipation of its revenues and forces in domestic projects incumbered by a numerous body of slaves bound by all the laws of injured humanity to hate their Masters—deficient in order and vigour in its administration—and relying wholly for immediate defence against threatened invasion on the resources of a Country extensive populous and fertile to be put in motion by the same ardent and magnanimous spirit which first lighted up the opposition to Great Britain and set the glorious example of resistance to America.
In such a situation what was to be hoped? What was to be hoped from a General without troops without magazines, without money? A man of less depth of penetration or force of soul than Greene would have recoiled at the prospect; but he far from desponding undertook the arduous task with firmness—with a firmness which was the result of a well informed estimate of a situation perilous but not desperate. He knew how much was to be expected from the efforts of men contending for the rights of man. He knew how much was to be performed by capacity courage and perseverance.
Not to be disconcerted by the most complicated embarrassments nor the most discouraging prospects, he began before he entered upon the duties of the field by adjusting the outlines of the plan which was to regulate his future conduct; a plan conceived with so much wisdom and so perfect a judgment of circumstances, that he never had occasion to depart from it in the progress of his subsequent operations. This alone might suffice to form the eulogium of his genius and to demonstrate that he was an accomplished master in the science of military command!
His next care was to endeavour to impress the neighbouring states with a proper sense of their situation in order to induce them with system and effect to furnish the succors of which he stood in need. To urge the collection and accelerate the arrival of these as well as to repel any invasion to which the state might be exposed, he stationed in Virginia the Baron De Steuben an officer who merited and possessed7 his confidence; and having made these preliminary arrangements he hastened to put himself at the head of the inconsiderable remains of the Southern army, which he joined at Charlotte on the borders of North Carolina destitute of every thing but courage and an unconquerable attachment to the cause they had espoused.
To enter into a particular detail of the operations by which the Southern states were rescued from conquest and desolation, and the last project of Britain for the subjugation of America frustrated would be to assume the Province of the historian. This neither the occasion, nor any reasonable claim to your indulgence would justify. A general sketch is all that can with propriety be attempted & shall lim⟨it⟩ my endeavours.
To supply a necessitous army by coertion and yet maintain the confidence and good will of the coerced, this was among the first and not the least of the difficulties to be surmounted. But delicate and difficult as was the task it was neverthess accomplished. Conducted with system moderation and Equity, even military exactions lost their rigor and Freemen venerated the hand that reluctantly stripped them of their property for their preservation.
Having concerted the arrangements requisite to this end, Greene, without further delay, entered upon that busy complicated and extraordinary scene, which may truly be said to form a phœnomenon in war—a sience which almost continually presents us on the one hand with victories ruinous to the Victors, on the other with retreats beneficial to the vanquished—which exhibits to our admiration a commander almost constantly obliged to relinquish the field to his adversary, yet as constantly making acquisitions upon him, beaten today tomorrow without a blow compelling the conqueror to renounce the very object for which he had conquered and in a manner to fly from the very foe he had subdued.
Too weak with his collected strength to dispute the field with an enemy superior both in numbers and discipline and urged by the necessity of giving activity to the natural force of the Country by rousing the inhabitants from the state of despondency into which they had sunk with the prospect of succour and protection: Greene divided his little army into two parts one of which he sent under Morgan into the Western extremities of North Carolina & with the other marched to Hicks Creek in.
This movement had the desired effect. The appearance of aid magnified by advantages opportunely gained (though unimportant in themselves) rekindled the ardor of patriotic hope in the breasts of many, who had begun to despair, and emboldened them to resume their arms and again to repair to the standard of liberty.
Sensible of the importance of counteracting this policy of the American General, The British Commander hesitated not about the part he should act. Directing his first attention towards the detachment under Morgan and meditating a decisive blow against that corps he committed the execution of the enterprise to Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton at the head of a thousand veterans. Tarleton hitherto not less the favourite of fortune, than of his chief, hastened to perform the welcome duty—anticipating an easy triumph over foes inferior both in numbers and discipline—and dreaming not of the reverse which was destined to confound his hopes and even to sully the lustre of his former fame. In the very grasp of victory, when not to combat but to slaughter, seemed all that remained to be done, the forward intrepidity of a Washington seconded by the cool determined bravery of a Howard snatched the trophy from his too eager and too exulting hand—He was discomfited and routed. The greater part of his followers were either killed or taken, and the remaining few with himself were glad to find safety in flight. Here first the bright dawn of prosperity began to dispel that gloomy cloud which had for some time lowered over the Southern Horison!
Thunderstruck at so unexpected a disaster and ill able to spare so considerable a part of his force, Cornwallis resolved at every sacrifice to attempt the recovery of his captive troops. The trial of skilful exertion between the generals and of patient fortitude between the troops to which that attempt gave occasion was such as to render it difficult to pronounce to whom the palm of merit ought to be decreed. Abandoning whatever might impede the celerity of his motions Cornwallis began and urged the pursuit of the detachment under Morgan with a rapidity seldom equalled never surpassed. While on the other hand the provident and active Greene spared no exertion to disappoint his enterprising adversary. Anxious for the security of that detachment with their prisoners and desirous of effecting a reunion of his forces, now rendered necessary by a change of circumstances, he gave instant orders for the march of the body under his immediate command to Guilford Court House and hastened in person through the country a hundred and fifty miles to join General Morgan whom he came up with on the banks of the Catawba. Thus placed in front of the enemy he was the better able to counteract their immediate design and to direct the cooperation necessary to the intended junction. So well were his measures taken that he succeeded in both objects. The prisoners were carried off in safety and Guilford Court House the destined place of rendezvous received and reunited the two divisions of the American army.
Still however too weak to keep the field in the face of his enemy; a further retreat became inevitable. A resolution was accordingly taken to retire beyond the Dan. Here a new and not less arduous trial of skill ensued. To get between the American army and Virginia—intercept their supplies and reinforcements—and oblige them to fight on disadvantageous terms: This now became the object of Cornwallis. With this view he directed his march into the upper Country, where the Rivers were fordable with facility, flattering himself that the depth of the waters below and the want of boats would oppose insuperable obstacles to the expeditious passage of the American troops. To retard the progress of the British army was of course an indispensable policy on the part of Greene. For this purpose he practiced every expedient, which a mind full of resource could devise. And so efficacious were the expedients he adopted that surmounting all the impediments in his way he completed his retreat across the Dan without loss of men baggage or stores.
Such nevertheless was the energy of the pursuit that in crossing the three principal Rivers the Catawba the Yadken and the Dan the British troops in a manner trod upon the Heels of the American. In the passage of the last of the three, the van of the enemy’s army reached one shore almost at the very moment that the rear of ours landed on the opposite. Cornwallis upon this occasion, imitating Charles the 12th of Sweden, when the celebrated Schulenburgh made good his retreat across the Oder in spite of the utmost efforts of that vigorous and enterprising monarch, might with propriety have exclaimed—This day at least Greene has conquered me! The art of retreating is perhaps the most difficult in the art of war. To have effected a retreat in the face of so ardent a pursuit, through so great an extent of country, through a country offering every obstacle, affording scarcely any resource, with troops destitute of every thing who a great part of the way left the vestiges of their march in their own blood, to have done all this (I say) without loss of any kind may without exaggeration be denominated a master piece of military skill and exertion.
Disappointed in his first aim Cornwallis now retired from the Dan to Guilford Court House. Having driven the American army out of North Carolina, he flattered himself that his efforts would at least be productive of the advantage of an accession of force by encouraging the numerous royalists of that state to repair to his standard. Greene not without apprehensions that the hopes of his Competitor in this respect might be realized lost not a moment, after receiving a small reinforcement from Virginia, in recrossing the Dan to take post in the vicinity of the British army and interrupt their communication with the Country. Three weeks passed in a constant scene of military manoevre: Cornwallis eagrally striving to bring his antagonist to a action; and Greene adroitly endeavouring to elude it, yet without renouncing such a position as would enable him to prevent both supplies and reinforcements. On this occasion he played the part of a Turenne and he played it with complete success. The relative position which he took and maintained and the tragical fate of a body of royalists intercepted in their way to the British army distroyed every prospect of that aid which they not without reason had promised themselves from their adherents in North Carolina.
Virginia in the mean time awakened by the presence of danger exerted herself to reinforce the American army. Greene speedily finding himself in a condition to outnumber his adversary resolved to offer that battle which he had hitherto declined. He considered that in the existing circumstances a defeat must be to the enemy absolute ruin; while to him from his superiority in Cavalry united with other advantages it could be nothing more than a partial misfortune and must be compensated at a price which the enemy could not afford to pay for it.
The two armies now equally willing to try the fortune of a battle met and engaged near Guilford Court house. All that could be expected from able disposition towards ensuring success promised a favourable issue to the American arms. But superior discipline carried it against superior numbers and superior skill. Victory decreed the glory of the combat to the Britains; but Heaven confirming the hopes of Greene decreed the advantage of it to the Americans. Greene retired: Cornwallis kept the field. But Greene retired only three miles and Cornwallis in three days abandonning the place where the laurels he had gained were a slender compensation for the loss he had suffered, withdrew to Wilmington on the sea Coast. This Victory cost him a large proportion of the flower of his army; and it cost him a Webster.
Here occured the problem on the right solution of which depended the fame of Greene and the fate of the Southern states. There was every probability that the next movement of Cornwallis would be toward a junction with Arnold for the invasion of Virginia. Was the American General to keep pac[e] with his adversary in his Northern Carrier in order to resist his future enterprises? Or was he to return into the field he had lately left to endeavour to regain what had been there lost? The first as the most obvious and in a personal light the least perilous course would have been thought most eligible by an ordinary mind. But the last as the wisest though to his own reputation the most hazard appeared preferable to the comprehensive eye and enterprising spirit of a Greene.
On the one hand he concluded justly that Virginia might safely be trusted to her own strength and resources, and to the aid which if necessary she might derive from the North against all the force which the enemy were then able to employ in that quarter. On the other hand he foresaw that if South Carolina & Georgia should be abandonn[e]d to the situation in which they then were they would quickly have abandonned themselves to dispair would have lost even the spirit of opposition and might have been rendered in several respects subservient to the future progress of their Conqueror. Under these impressions he determined to return into South Carolina to attempt the recovery of that and its neighbouring state.
This was one of those strokes that denote superior Genius and constitute the sublime of war. ’Twas Scipio leaving Hannibal in Italy to overcome him at Carthage!
The success was answerable to the judicious boldness of the design. The enemy were divested of their acquisitons in South Carolina and Georgia with a rapidity which if not ascertained, would scarcely be credible. In the short space of two months all their posts in the interior of the Country were reduced. The perseverance courage enterprise and resource displayed by the American General in the course of these events commanded the admiration even of his enemies. In vain was he defeated in one mode of obtaining his object; another was instantly substituted that answered the end. In vain was he repulsed from before a besieged fortress; he immediately found other means of compelling its defenders to relinquish their stronghold. Where force failed, address and stratagem still won the prize.
Having deprived the enemy of all their posts in the interior of the Country and having wasted their forces in a variety of ways, Greene now thought himself in a condition to aim a decisive blow at the mutilatd remains of the British army and at least to oblige them to take refuge within the lines of charles Town. With this view he collected his forces into one body and marched to give battle to the enemy then stationed at the Springs of Eutaw. A general action took place. Animated obstinate and bloody was the contest. The front line of the American army, consisting of Militia, after beginning a brisk attack began to give way. At this critical and inauspicious juncture Greene with that collected intrepidity which never forsook him gave orders to the second line composed of Continentals to advance to the charge with trailed arms. This order enforced by example and executed with matchless composure and constancy could not fail of success. The British Veterans shrunk from the American Bayonet. They were routed and pursued a considerable distance. Numbers of them fell into the hands of their pursuers and the remainder were threatened with a similar fate. When arriving at a Position which with peculiar advantages invited to a fresh stand; they rallied and renewed the action. In vain did the intrepid Washington at the head of the pursuing detachment redouble the efforts of his valour to dislodge them from this new station. He was himself wounded and made a prisoner and his followers in their turn compelled to retire.
But though the enemy by an exertion of bravery, which demands our esteem, saved themselves from the total ruin which was ready to overwhelm them; they had nevertheless received too severe a blow, to attempt any longer to maintain a footing in the open country. They accordingly the day following retreated towards Charles town; leaving behind them their wounded and a considerable quantity of arms. Here ended all serious offensive operations in the South! The predatory excursions which intervened between the battle of the Eutaw and the evacuation of Charles Town & Savannah deserve not a place in the catalogue of military achievements.
But before we take leave of a scene as honorable as it was advantageous to the American arms it behoves us to stop for a moment to pay the tribute of merited applause to the memory of that Gallant officer who at the head of the Virginia line fell in this memorable conflict. More anxious to the last about his Country than himself, in the very agonies of departing life he eagerly inquired which of the contending parties prevailed and having learnt that his countrymen were victorious—He like another Epaminondas yielded up his last breath in this noble exclamation. Then do I die contented. Heroic Campbell how enviable was such a death!
The evacuation of the two capitals of South Carolina and Georgia intirely restored those states to their own governments and laws. They now hailed the Illustrious Greene as their defender and deliverer. Their gratitude was proportioned to the extent of the benefits resulting from his services nor did it shew itself in words only but was manifested by acts that did honor to their generosity. Consecrated in the affections of their citizens to the remotest posterity, the fame of Greene will ever find in them a more durable as well as a more flattering Memorial than in the proudest monuments of marble or brass.
But where alas is now this consumate General, this brave soldier, this discerning statesman, this steady patriot, this virtuous citizen, this amiable man? Why could not so many talents, so many virtues, so many bright and useful qualities shield him from a premature grave? Why was he not longer spared to a country which he so dearly loved, which he was so well able to serve, which still seems so much to stand in need of his services? Why was he only allowed to assist in laying the foundation and not permitted to aid in rearing the superstructure of American greatness? Such are the inquiries, which our friendly, yet short sighted regrets would naturally suggest. But inquiries like these are to be discarded as presumptuous. Tis not for us to scan but to submit to the dispensations of heaven. Let us content ourselves with revering the memory, imitating the virtues, and as far as we dare emulating the glory of the man, whom neither our warmest admiration nor our fondest predilection could protect from the fatal shaft. And as often as we indulge our sorrow in his loss let us ⟨not⟩ fail to mingle the reflection that he has left behind him offspring who are the heirs to the friendship which we bore to the father and who have a claim from many, if not from all of us to cares not less than parental.

“Eulogy on Nathanael Greene, [4 July 1789],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-05-02-0141. [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 5, June 1788 – November 1789, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1962, pp. 345–359.]

UHM Virtual Tour - Dueling Pistols
2020-05-20 22:00 - 23:30
While school is out and outside interaction is limited, virtual field trips can provide a great adventure! Follow the link below to take a virtual tour through the Museum’s permanent galleries.

Each week we will focus on one particular artifact, event in history, gallery or exhibit. So, check back regularly to continue learning about Upcountry history.

WEEK THREE: DUELING PISTOLS
Pistols like this would have been used in the duel between Benjamin Perry and Turner Bynum. According to The Code of Honor, the rule book for dueling Southerners, “the arms used should be smooth-bore pistols, not exceeding nine inches in length.” Directly beside the dueling pistols (generously donated by Charles Blakely), you will find a copy of The Code of Honor. This book set the standards for southern dueling. It was published in 1858 by former South Carolina Governor, John L. Wilson. The state outlawed the practice of dueling in 1880.

To find our dueling pistols, click on the image above. Once directed to the Virtual Tour, press the play button, making sure to give the app a few seconds to load fully before it brings you back to the main lobby area, in front of the courthouse steps. Once at the courthouse steps, simply click to the left side of the screen. Travel behind the drover and his pigs. Pass through the Upcountry Frontier gallery and take a right past the elevator doors. Here you will find the display of the dueling pistols and The Code of Honor.
Want to learn more on dueling? Click HERE!

WEEK TWO: MAC ARNOLD’S GAS CAN GUITAR
Arnold’s first gas can guitar was something he and his older brother Leroy created out of necessity. Leroy wanted a guitar, but his father wouldn’t allow it, so they made their own. The two collected scrap materials around the family’s Pelzer farm, such as strips of screen from a screen door for the strings. Arnold learned how to play the gas can guitar by age 10. Eventually, he got a six string guitar and later switched to the electric bass. By the time he was 24, he was in the center of the electric blues movement in Chicago. While in LA, he worked with some of the country’s most talented and well-known recording artists.
When he returned to South Carolina, he remembered the gas can guitar he made with his brother and set out to make a new one. It took him 18 months to track down the proper materials and six to re-learn playing the homemade guitar. He has since returned to his Upcountry roots, playing with his band, “Mac Arnold and Plate Full O’ Blues.”

To find Mac Arnold’s gas can guitar, affectionately named “Maggie Mae,” click on the image above. Once directed to the Virtual Tour, press the play button, making sure to give the app a few seconds to load fully before it brings you back to the main lobby area, in front of the courthouse steps. Once at the courthouse steps, simply click in the middle of the screen 4x until you are at the Vardry McBee statue (pictured below). Then scan to the right until you are facing the white chapel. Walk in the chapel and “Maggie Mae” will be immediately to your right.

WEEK ONE: THE GREENVILLE & COLUMBIA RAILROAD
In 1832, Vardry McBee and his contemporaries supported the construction of a railroad from Charleston to Cincinnati. They hoped it would help the economy and symbolize a political union of North and South understanding. There was a lot of debate locally over the construction of the railroad, but McBee’s vision ultimately prevailed. At the time of his investment of $50,000 in the Upcountry portion of rail (the Greenville and Columbia Railroad), it was the largest investment in a U.S. railroad. The segment was completed in 1853 and increased the value of good in Greenville by 45 percent.

To find this particular display, click on the image above. Once directed to the Virtual Tour, press the play button, making sure to give the app a few seconds to load fully before it brings you back to the main lobby area, in front of the courthouse steps. Once at the courthouse steps, simply click in the middle of the screen 4x and you will find yourself in front of the Vardry McBee and Railroad display.

Thank you to South Carolina ETV for creating and sharing this virtual museum tour.

History of Memorial Day
2020-05-25 08:00 - 23:59
Memorial Day: A Solemn Day of Remembrance, Respect and Gratitude
“At our National Cemetery, we receive the fallen in sorrow, and we take them to an honored place to rest. Looking across this field, we see the scale of heroism and sacrifice. All who are buried here understood their duty. All stood to protect America. And all carried with them memories of a family that they hoped to keep safe by their sacrifice.”
– President George W. Bush
May 30, 2005, Memorial Day Address at Arlington National Cemetery

On Memorial Day mourners from all over the United States visit national and community cemeteries, decorate the graves of fallen soldiers, and actively remember our honorable dead.
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, was first widely observed on May 30, 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery, to commemorate the sacrifices of over 620,000 Confederate and Union Civil War soldiers who died during the war. During the first national commemoration, former Union General and sitting Ohio Congressman James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who were buried there.
The event was inspired by local observances of the day that had taken place in towns throughout America in the three years following the Civil War. In 1873, New York was the first state to designate Memorial Day as a legal holiday. By the late 1800s, many more cities observed Memorial Day, and several states had declared it a legal holiday. After WWI, it became an occasion for honoring those who died in all of America’s wars and was then more widely established as a national holiday throughout the United States.
In 1971, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act and established that Memorial Day was to be commemorated on the last Monday of May. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday. In 2000, Congress passed The National Moment of Remembrance Act, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance which encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

UHM Reopens Tuesday, June 9
2020-06-09 10:00 - 17:00
We are happy to welcome everyone back beginning Tuesday, June 9! We will be operating under our normal business hours (listed below) and following strict protocol to ensure the safest environment for our staff and guests.

All UHM staff will be wearing face masks, and we strongly encourage our guests to do the same.

BUSINESS HOURS (subject to change):
Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

UHM Programming will resume in July 2020.

Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog
2020-06-09 10:00 - 2020-10-24 17:00
The Upcountry History Museum and America’s beloved big red dog with a heart to match will invite visitors to board the Birdwell Island ferry and journey to the world of Clifford The Big Red Dog.

Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog, an interactive, bi-lingual (English and Spanish), exhibition featuring Clifford, Emily Elizabeth and all the residents of Birdwell Island will delight Upstate fans when it makes a stop at the Upcountry History Museum in the summer of 2020.
Inspired by Scholastic Entertainment’s top-rated TV show Clifford The Big Red Dog on PBS Kids, the 2000 square foot multi-sensory experience offers numerous “paws-on” adventures that reinforce “Clifford’s 10 Big Ideas.” These simple tangible life lessons are designed to help young children navigate their world: Share, Play Fair, Have Respect, Work Together, Be Responsible, Be Truthful, Be Kind, Believe in Yourself, Be a Good Friend, and Help Others.
As visitors explore Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog, they encounter the people and places that make-up Clifford’s world. From boarding the Birdwell Island ferry to greeting the nine-foot tall Clifford The Big Red Dog in his own backyard, visitors playfully explore the exhibition’s themed areas and discover “Clifford’s Big Ideas”.
Designed for children ages 2 to 8 and their caregivers, the exhibition’s content and themed environments are drawn from the places found on Birdwell Island. Each of the ten exhibit areas emphasize the importance of literacy and social-emotional development. Activities are designed to offer safe and inviting experiences for the youngest visitors while offering challenges for older children. Adult caregivers are addressed specifically through text and graphics, which highlight the exhibit’s educational messages and “Clifford’s Big Ideas”.
Visitors will also meet Norman Bridwell, creator of Clifford The Big Red Dog at the Birdwell Island Library. Bridwell created the first Clifford The Big Red Dog book in 1962, based on the dog he dreamed of riding and sharing adventures with as a little boy. Today, the best-selling
book series includes more than 160 Clifford titles, 100 million books in print and an award-winning PBS Kids television show.
The exhibit’s timeless lessons, bolstered by the series’ enduring popularity and multi-generation appeal, support adult-child engagement and a child’s growth in 21st century skills laying a foundation for success in life, school and work.

Sponsored by: PRISMA, Quality Business Solutions, Publix Super Markets, C&S Wholesale Grocers, and WSPA News Channel 7

The History of Flag Day
2020-06-14 08:00 - 23:30
Flag Day: A Celebration of the American Flag
Although Flag Day is observed on a smaller scale than neighboring patriotic holidays like Memorial Day and Independence Day, the observance has
its own rich history.

When the American Revolution broke out in 1775, the colonists were not fighting united under a single flag. Instead, most regiments participating in the war for independence against the British fought under their own flags. In June of 1775, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to create the Continental Army – a unified colonial fighting force – with the hopes of more organized battle against its colonial oppressors. This led to the creation of what was, essentially, the first “American” flag, the Continental Colors.

For some colonists, this flag, which was comprised of 13 red and white alternating stripes and a Union Jack in the corner, was too similar to the British flag. George Washington soon realized that flying a flag that was even remotely close to the British flag was not a great confidence-builder for the revolutionary effort, so he turned his efforts towards creating a new symbol of freedom for our soon-to-be fledgling nation.

On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress took a break from writing the Articles of Confederation and passed a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternating red and white,” and that “the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a constellation.”

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson declared June 14 as National Flag Day, proclaiming, “The Flag has vindicated its right to be honored by all nations of the world and feared by none who do righteousness.” On August 3, 1949, President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress recognizing the holiday of Flag Day and encouraging Americans to celebrate it.

For President Truman the concept of Flag Day was not only to celebrate its creation, but to acknowledge the ideals behind it.

Cherokee, Catawba & First Settlers: Summer Camp
2020-08-04 09:00 - 2020-08-07 12:00
AUGUST 4 – AUGUST 7
Travel back to the time of the Upcountry’s indigenous people while unearthing the connection between archaeology and history with our mini “archaeology dig” that will allow children to uncover artifacts left behind by Native Americans and early settlers. Children will create a 13-moon calendar, red clay pottery and construct a model ship similar to those that transported settlers.

Smaller groups equals BIGGER experiences!
Each camp group will be limited to only 8 children to ensure your child’s safety while following guidelines related to COVID-19.
Children will be grouped by age (or request) in either the 6-9 age group or the 10-12 age group.

COST
$150 – UHM Members
$170 – Nonmembers

Neighborhood Night
2020-08-06 17:30 - 20:30
Enjoy free admission from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. along with free book give-a-ways for families.

We hope that through Neighborhood Nights we can show museums are available for families regardless of economic constraints. No registration is required. Book give-a-ways are limited in number and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.

Take advantage of this FREE night to visit and explore Upcountry history, as well as current traveling exhibits:

Behind the Scenes of UHM: Summer Camp
2020-08-11 09:00 - 2020-08-14 12:00
AUGUST 11 – AUGUST 14
Discover how museums and their exhibits are created! Children will receive an exclusive behind the scenes look at museum collections, learn how artifacts are collected from the community, and how artifacts are selected for exhibitions. Children will learn the various facets of museum jobs and roles, create their own exhibitions, and create commercials and marketing materials to promote their exhibits.

Smaller groups equals BIGGER experiences!
Each camp group will be limited to only 8 children to ensure your child’s safety while following guidelines related to COVID-19.
Children will be grouped by age (or request) in either the 6-9 age group or the 10-12 age group.

COST
$150 – UHM Members
$170 – Nonmembers

UHM Kids Book Club
2020-08-11 15:30 - 16:30
Enjoy games and activities that bring to life the adventures of the children’s classic, Horrible Harry and the Green Slime.

*Reservations are required as attendance is limited.*
Please call (864)467-3100 or follow the link below to email the name and ages of those attending the meeting.

Book Club meets from 3:30-4:30 pm. Parents: Please prepare for each UHM Kids Book Club by reading the book beforehand.

Lunchbox Learning
2020-08-19 12:00 - 13:00
Presenter: Dr, Courtney Tollison, Furman University
Topic: “Greenville Women in the Fight for the Vote, 1890-1920”
Join Dr. Courtney Tollison for an exploration of the suffrage movement in Greenville. Learn how local events and individuals fit into the state and national movements. Dr. Tollison will also offer an update on local efforts to memorialize the centennial, which, are kicking off nationally in August 2020 and continue through August 2021.

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED AS ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED.
Please call (864)467-3100 or email info@upcountryhistory.org to reserve your seat(s).

Lunchbox Learning is generously sponsored by:

Ghost Trail: U.S. Marines and the Battle of Tarawa in the Pacific, 1943
2020-08-22 10:00 - 2021-01-03 17:00
August 22, 2020 – January 3, 2021
The November 1943 invasion of the Gilbert Islands was the beginning of the U.S. “island hopping” campaign in the central Pacific during World War II. U.S. commanders determined that amphibious attacks on Japanese-occupied islands was the key to victory. The island of Tarawa was the first target in the Allied campaign.
About 80 nautical miles north of the equator, Tarawa is the largest atoll of the Gilberts, a 16-island chain roughly halfway between Hawaii and Papua New Guinea. The Japanese seized the then-British-occupied isle just days after Japan’s December 7, 1941 attack at Pearl Harbor. Tarawa’s main island Betio, was the target of the Navy and Marine Corps in November of 1943.
The Battle of Tarawa, November 20-23, 1943, was the first major American offensive in the central Pacific. Until then, Americans hadn’t faced much opposition during amphibious assaults. But Tarawa was different. The initial landings by the 2nd Marine Division met a heavily fortified Japanese force.
Japanese Rear Admiral Meichi Shibasaki, said “a million Americans” wouldn’t be able to take Tarawa in “100 years.” Americans took Tarawa in 76 hours.
Few military battles have matched the concentrated ferocity of the three-day fight between U.S. and Japanese forces in November 1943 for a sandy sliver of land halfway between Pearl Harbor and the Philippines. The U.S. delivery of coordinated land, sea and air power brought a U.S. force of over 30,000 men, a 10-1 advantage over the Japanese.
Tarawa was an essential WWII stepping-stone across the Pacific. In what one combat correspondent called “the toughest battle in Marine Corps history,” U.S. Marines wrestled it away at a cost of more than 1,009 men. All but 17 of the 3,500 dug-in Japanese defenders were killed, along with 1,100 Korean slave laborers. The search for the missing bodies of more than 100 U.S. Marines buried on the island continues today.
The Upcountry History Museum in partnership with the U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command will commemorate the service and sacrifice of the U.S. Marines at the Battle of Tarawa through a special exhibition featuring original combat art by Kerr Eby who traveled with the Marines in the South Pacific and landed with the invasion force at Tarawa, photography, rare film footage and artifacts.

Kids Book Club
2020-09-08 15:30 - 16:30
Enjoy games, crafts and engaging activities that bring to life the adventures of the children’s classic, Charlotte’s Web.

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED AS ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED.

Call (864)467-3100 to make your reservations or purchase your tickets online at the link below:

Lunchbox Learning
2020-09-16 12:00 - 13:00
Topic: “An Afternoon with Mrs. Eulalie Salley, South Carolina Suffragette”

Presenter: Dr. Kate Roark, Spartanburg Methodist College

Mrs. Eulalie Salley was a passionate fighter for women’s suffrage in South Carolina. In 1973, the Southern Oral History Program interviewed Mrs. Salley about her experiences as a suffragette. Dr. Kate Roark, Spartanburg Methodist College, created a short performance from Mrs. Salley’s exact words from her 1973 interview. You will hear what motivated Mrs. Salley to become a suffragette and what she experienced as an organizer and speaker in her home of Aiken, SC.

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED AS ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED.

Please call (864)467-3100 or email info@upcountryhistory.org to reserve your seat(s).

To purchase your ticket online, simply follow the link below:

Lunchbox Learning is generously sponsored by:

19th Amendment Homeschool Day
2020-09-18 13:30 - 15:00
Celebrate the centennial of women’s suffrage by exploring the stories of women’s struggles to achieve full citizenship. Children will examine photographs, drawings, illustrations and artifacts, while also learning about local and South Carolina women that helped organize and lead the movement.

WHAT: Exhibition Homeschool Day

WHEN: Every 3rd Friday at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Upcountry History Museum

HOW: Kids divide into two groups – Elementary & Middle/High School

WHY: Learn the history behind the Museum’s special exhibitions and particular periods of time and areas of history

COST: $9 per student & $10 per adult

UHM MEMBERS COST: $5 per student & Adults are FREE

Call (864)467-3100 to register your child.

History Homeschool Day: K5-1st
2020-09-29 13:30 - 15:00
Our Community: Then & Now

Investigate artifacts, photographs, and maps illustrating Greenville’s history as we explore how our community has changed over time. This lesson meet SC standards for Kindergarten and 1st grade, and is designed for children ages 5-7 years old.

WHAT: History Homeschool Day

WHEN: Every last Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Upcountry History Museum

HOW: Open to children ages 5-7 years old

WHY: Get hands-on with local history while incorporating SC Social Studies standards

COST: $9 per student & $10 per adult

UHM MEMBERS COST: $5 per student & Adults are FREE

Sacred Spaces with Bill Fitzpatrick
2020-10-01 12:00 - 13:30
As the oldest church in South Carolina’s Upstate, Waxhaw Presbyterian Church has a history that begins around 1755 when Scots-Irish Presbyterians from Pennsylvania and Virginia settled in the area. This program will feature stories of its well-known members, including seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson; and the Waxhaw Cemetery, listed in the National Register, and significant in its relationship to Revolutionary War Era figures Andrew Jackson, William Richardson Davie, and Andrew Pickens. In addition, the 18th- and 19th-century tombstones are noteworthy examples of bas-relief carvings that illustrate the lives of the deceased.

Reservations are required.

$8.00 for UHM Members
$12.00 for all other guests

UHM Kids Book Club
2020-10-13 15:30 - 16:30
Enjoy games, crafts and engaging activities that bring to life the adventures of the children’s classic, The One and Only Ivan.

RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED AS ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED.

Please call (864)467-3100 or email the name and ages of those attending to info@upcountryhistory.org

Clifford Homeschool Day
2020-10-16 13:30 - 15:00
The Adventures of Clifford the Big Red Dog
For October, we board the Bridwell Island ferry and journey to the world of Clifford the Big Red Dog! Enjoy games, crafts, story times, and of course, play time with Clifford and Emily Elizabeth.

WHAT: Exhibit Homeschool Days

WHEN: Every 3rd Friday at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Upcountry History Museum

HOW: October Homeschool Day is for children in grades 1st-5th.

WHY: Get hands-on with history while incorporating state standards

COST: $9 per student & $10 per adult

UHM MEMBERS COST: $5 per student & Adults are FREE

Toddler Story Time
2020-10-22 10:30 - 11:00
Join us for a socially distanced yet fun Toddler Story Time!

Each family will have their own station with puzzles, matching games and coloring pages with crayons. After story time, explore the Museum and the Clifford the Big Red Dog exhibit. There will also be a museum-wide scavenger hunt.

COSTUMES ARE ENCOURAGED!!

All children ages 3 and under are FREE.

It is general admission for all other guests and your admission is good for the entire day.

COVID-19 Guidelines:

All guests ages 10 and older are required to wear masks.
Hand sanitizer stations are distributed throughout the Museum.
Currently, there will be no snacks nor juice at Toddler Time.
We will not have any character greetings or photo opportunities.

Attendance is limited, so feel free to purchase tickets online or call (864)467-3100 for more details.
