Tragic...Heroic...Bizarre              

Charleston Curiosities and the Battle of Port Royal can be purchased at the following locations: 

Old Exchange Building

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble

History Press

South Carolina Historical Society

Powder Magazine

Books A Million

To escape death the slaves hid.

So begins Insurrection on the Stono, the story of a 1739 slave rebellion on the outskirts of the city. Charleston's violent and varied history emerges in the retelling of this dramatic event. In Charleston Curiosities: Stories of the Tragic, Heroic and Bizarre, South Carolina Historical Society's Michael Coker describes several centuries worth of little-known wonders from the Holy City. Whatever happened to Osceola's head? What was it like to walk the streets of Charleston just after secession was declared? Whether presenting the colonial struggle among European powers for control of Charles Towne or the real story of the birth of she-crab soup, this eclectic and engaging volume will delight seasoned historians, residents and visitors alike.


Chapters
1. The Invasion of Charles Town, 1706
2. The Stono Rebellion, 1739
3. Elizabeth Timothy: The First Female Newspaper Editor in the United States.
4. The Other Battle of Fort Moultrie: Colonel Thomson's Defense of Breach Inlet
5. The Execution of Isaac Hayne, 1781
6. The Battle of Parker's Ferry, 1781
7. In Broad Daylight: The Murder of Dr. David Ramsay
8. The Attempted Booth Assassination, 1838
9. Osceola: Seminole Warrior, Casualty of War
10. The Strange Afterlife of John C. Calhoun
11. Secession, 1860
12. To Take Charleston: The Battle of Secessionville
13. David versus Goliath, 1863
14. Battle of Honey Hill, 1864
15. The Fall of Fort Sumter, 1865
16. The Charleston Dance Craze
17. William Deas: Inventor of She-Crab Soup


                                The Battle of Port Royal

Picture
  November 1861. The South was winning the Civil War. Fort Sumter had fallen to the Confederates. The Federal army was routed at Manassas. The blockade of Southern ports was a farce; commerce and weapons flowed almost as freely as before the war. There were stirrings of interest from foreign powers in recognizing the Confederacy and brokering a forced peace accord. 
 
The Federals needed to turn the tide. The largest fleet ever assembled   by the United States  set its sights on the South Carolina coast for this much-needed victory. 


On November 7, 1861, this mighty weapon of war engaged two undermanned and outgunned forts in Hilton Head in a clash called the Battle of Port Royal. Join  historian Michael Coker as he tells the story of this largely forgotten battle,  a pivotal turning point in the war that defined our nation.

Images used in banner (right to left) Patriot Warrior, 1776, Junius Booth (Library of Congress), Charleston, mid-18th century (Library of Congress), William Deas (Courtesy Everret Presson), Battle of Secessionville (Archive.org), Osceola (Library of Congress).
To Contact Michael Coker