Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program, College of Charleston

https://today.charleston.edu/2026/06/02/a-replica-of-the-original-oval-office-comes-to-charleston/

A Replica of the Original Oval Office Comes to Charleston A replica of General George Washington's Revolutionary War tent, which served as the country's first oval office, will be on the College of Charleston's Rivers Green, June 12 - 14. A ticketed evening reception and sneak preview will be held Friday, June 12 and tours of the tent and other interactive...

History lovers in Charleston!!!

Step into the tent where it happened June 13 and 14 with a replica of General George Washington’s Revolutionary War tent, the office and sleeping quarters that he used as the command center of the Continental Army.

Made possible by Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, the First Oval Office features a hand-stitched replica tent and associated camp equipage and furnishings that promise to connect the Charleston community to the living legacy of America’s founding.

On June 13th and 14th, the tent and historical interpreters will be available to the public free of charge from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The tent will be pitched on Rivers Green.

A boutique exhibit will also be available for viewing in Addlestone Library with items rarely, if ever, on public display. These archival materials tell the stories of everyday Charlestonians during the Revolutionary War and explore the legacy of America’s founding ideals from the perspectives of women, African Americans, Jewish communities and more.

The exhibit’s treasures are drawn from the holdings of the College of Charleston Special Collections, the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture and the South Carolina Historical Society.

Partners for the First Oval Office include the College of Charleston Libraries, the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program, the South Carolina Historical Society and the Museum of the American Revolution.

From:
10:00am, Saturday, June 13, 2026
To:
6:00pm, Sunday, June 14, 2026
Time Zone:
Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
Library:
Addlestone

Join us in Charleston for a cocktail party with the First Oval Office Project (Washington's war encampment from the Museum of the American Revolution), including the founding documents from the state of South Carolina. June 12, 2026 at 5:30pm on the CofC campus.

Following on from the excellent Consortium of the Revolutionary Era hosted by the CLAW program last weekend, here's a recent post from former CofC historian Peter McCandless on the role played by Charlestonians during the Revolutionary War.

"Remarkable Charlestonians in the American Revolution" Not the Mel Gibson Version of the Struggle for Liberty

Coming up Friday, May 15 at Emory University and via Zoom Link:

"Slavery and Abolition in Eighteenth-Century Philosophy"

Join this eye-opening event diving into how slavery and abolition were tackled by thinkers in the eighteenth century. It's a unique chance to explore philosophical ideas that shaped history. Perfect for anyone curious about history, ethics, or philosophy. Don’t miss out on this engaging discussion!

"Recent studies of eighteenth-century philosophy have generated incisive questions about the limitations of the moral and political insight of British and European philosophers who were invested in (or silent about) transatlantic slavery. During this period, the rapidly expanding traffic and enslavement of African people appears as a topic of common knowledge and discussion in religion, law, economics, literature, and drama. Writings by enslaved and self-emancipated women and men attested to the violence and degradation of the conditions of slavery, as well as to the hypocrisy of much of Western moral and political discourse. This symposium focuses on slavery and abolition both as and in conversation with eighteenth-century philosophy. Despite it seemingly disciplinary focus the workshop will call form interdisciplinary perspectives on the period in order to create a dialogue on slavery and its intellectual legacy across various research methods, texts, and disciplinary orientations."

https://www.emory.edu/home/events/trumba.html?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D201080386

What a wonderful evening at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art to celebrate Simon Lewis, a beacon of light and leadership for the CLAW Program since its inception. Happy retirement! Thank you for everything you've given to CLAW, CofC, and Charleston. You will be deeply missed. It was also such a joy to reunite with CLAW leadership from recent decades: David Cohen Sam Hines Bernard E. Powers Vernon Burton Alexander Moore

David Eltis's book on the Atlantic Slave Trade has just won the RR Hawkins Prize:

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Coming up June 13-14: "The First Oval Office"

Step into the tent where it happened June 13 and 14 with a replica of General George Washington’s Revolutionary War tent, the office and sleeping quarters that he used as the command center of the Continental Army.

Made possible by Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, the First Oval Office features a hand-stitched replica tent and associated camp equipage and furnishings that promise to connect the Charleston community to the living legacy of America’s founding.

On June 13th and 14th, the tent and historical interpreters will be available to the public free of charge from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The tent will be pitched on Rivers Green.

A boutique exhibit will also be available for viewing in Addlestone Library with items rarely, if ever, on public display. These archival materials tell the stories of everyday Charlestonians during the Revolutionary War and explore the legacy of America’s founding ideals from the perspectives of women, African Americans, Jewish communities and more.

The exhibit’s treasures are drawn from the holdings of the College of Charleston Special Collections, the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture and the South Carolina Historical Society.

Partners for the First Oval Office include the College of Charleston Libraries, the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program, the South Carolina Historical Society and the Museum of the American Revolution.
https://libcal.charleston.edu/event/16751592