For the April installment of its speaker series, the Battery Gadsden Cultural Center will welcome back one of its most popular speakers, Dr. Nic Butler, historian at the Charleston County Public Library. Butler has recently returned from England and Ireland, where he conducted extensive primary source research, including records of the Royal Navy in Charleston during the American Revolution. He has chosen “The American Raid on Sullivan’s Island – 19 December 1775” as his topic.
Since many people interested in the American Revolution in this part of South Carolina consider the opening conflict to be the Battle of Sullivan’s Island on June 28, 1776, the title may come as a surprise. The talk will explore what was happening on the island before construction of the palmetto log fort began in January 1776.
Nic Butler, Ph.D., is the historian for the Charleston County Public Library. A native of Greenville County, Butler has worked for more than 20 years as a public historian specializing in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. As the creator and host of the podcast series Charleston Time Machine, he highlights a wide variety of underexplored aspects of local history and overlooked documentary resources.
Butler is known for bringing new and engaging insights to BGCC audiences. His presentation will take place Thursday, April 16, at 6 p.m. at Sunrise Presbyterian Church, 3222 Middle St., Sullivan’s Island. As always, the BGCC speaker series is free and open to the public.