General News

À la Mode or Just Macabre?

Entrance to the Historic Textiles Gallery at The Charleston Museum. Come view Lovely & Lethal: Killer Fashions from the Collection and discover the consequences of style, from clothing that could kill to accessories made out of endangered animals. These everyday objects can be part of some of the most exhilarating,…

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General News

An Ice Age Behemoth: The North American Giant Ground Sloth

The giant ground sloth reconstruction on display in the Museum’s Bunting Natural History Gallery. The Lowcountry has a rich fossil record dating back millions of years. Shifting sands and waves bury bones and teeth preserving them, so long as erosion doesn’t claim them before their discovery. Even with its gaps,…

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General News

A Gentleman’s Legacy: Charleston in the Golden Age of Piracy

Jolly Roger of Stede Bonnet, the Gentleman Pirate. Each pirate captain had their own design for their Jolly Roger or pirate flags. The captain could be easily identified by the Jolly Roger flying from their mast. During the Golden Age of Piracy, 1650 to 1720, thousands of pirates roved the…

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General News

“Waving the Bloody Shirt:” Reconstruction Era Violence and Political Identity

Content warning: This post discusses murders motivated by racism against African Americans. Some quotations include language that is considered inappropriate by today’s standards. Red and navy trimmed wool shirt with brass buttons worn by Josiah McKie during the events of the Hamburg Massacre in 1876. This object is an important…

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General News

Deadly Iron: Revolutionary War Grapeshot in the Museum’s Becoming Americans Exhibit

A visit to the Museum’s Becoming Americans exhibit, which details the impact of the Revolutionary War on the Charleston area, reveals two examples of a deadly projectile called grapeshot.  Grapeshot consists of a cluster of iron balls held together by a netting that is fired from a cannon.  Called grapeshot…

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