Lancaster County will host a two day symposium on Sept. 25 and 26 examining the roles the Catawba and Cherokee nations played in the American Revolution, with twelve scholars presenting research from archaeology, history and the National Park Service.
The event is part of Lancaster County 250, the county’s observance of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Friday’s sessions take place at the Native American Studies Center at 119 S. Main St. in Lancaster and are free and open to the public. Saturday’s full day program moves to the USC Lancaster Bradley Building at 476 Hubbard Drive and requires registration.
Friday Sessions
Dr. Joshua Catalano of Clemson University opens the symposium at noon with “Unearthing Fort Rutledge,” part of the Native American Studies Center’s Lunch and Learn lecture series co sponsored by LancasterSC250. Catalano’s work covers the 2021 partnership between Clemson faculty, the National Park Service and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians that located remains of the Cherokee town of Esseneca and the fort built after an August 1776 skirmish there.
A welcome reception courtesy of NutraMax follows from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Jonah Trimnal of Hampton Plantation State Historic Site speaks at 6 p.m. on mapping Catawba movement during the Revolution.
Saturday Program
Registration and breakfast begin at 8 a.m., with opening remarks at 8:50 a.m. and presentations running until 5 p.m.
Speakers include Dr. Alice Taylor Colbert of the South Carolina Humanities Speakers Bureau on Cherokee diplomacy during the era, Dr. Robert Carter of Clemson University and the Catawba Nation on Catawba combat service that extended beyond Fort Sullivan and Hanging Rock to Yorktown, and Dr. Brett Riggs of Western Carolina University on the 19 years of warfare that followed 1775 for Cherokee communities.
Shawn R. Jones and Robert C. L. Holmes of the National Park Service will present research showing that Catawba and Cherokee managed roads and trails shaped both Patriot and Loyalist planning for the 1780 Kings Mountain campaign, even though neither nation was physically present at the battle.
Afternoon sessions feature Dr. Brooke Bauer of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a citizen of the Catawba Nation, on Catawba women’s experiences of the war; Dr. Jamie Myers of UNC Pembroke on the Cherokee War Woman Nanye’hi; Dr. R. P. Stephen Davis Jr. of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on 25 years of archaeological work at Catawba village sites in York and Lancaster counties dating between 1750 and 1820; and Dr. Bryan Rindfleisch of Marquette University on relations between Cherokee and Muscogee communities in the 1700s. Closing remarks are at 4:45 p.m.
Registration And Related Exhibition
Saturday registration is $44.52 online, which includes a $4.52 processing fee, through Eventbrite or the county website. Mail in registration is $40 by check payable to “Friends of BMB” and sent to Leigh Bowling, 537 Clearview Point, Great Falls, SC 29055. Lunch is included.
The symposium runs alongside “Americans,” a Smithsonian exhibition on display at the Native American Studies Center through Oct. 3. The exhibition was developed by the National Museum of the American Indian and adapted for travel by Museum on Main Street, with South Carolina support from South Carolina Humanities.
Sponsors include Lancaster County 250, SC250, the Daughters of the American Revolution Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson Chapter, the University of South Carolina Lancaster, the Native American Studies Center and Nutramax Laboratories.
Details and registration links are posted on the Lancaster County website. The Native American Studies Center can be reached at 803.313.7172.
Source: Lancaster County government website, Catawba and Cherokee American Revolution Symposium page and program materials.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
