The Lowcountry, May 1791

A mere 223 years ago this month, George Washington, as promised upon becoming first president in 1789 and then expressing an interest in "seeing the new country," visited Charleston S.C., one of the first cities on his tour list. South Carolina was not a new acquaintance for the president – he was a southerner himself, and the war did in essence end at the Battle of Charleston, but to see what had been one of the most thriving colonies in all of America but also one that had been battered and fought over ferociously during the war, would have represented special interest for a post-inaugural

trip. As shown in both pics above, Charleston (called the low country because of its sea-level and marshy river ways) thrived since its inception in the 17th century because it was a critical trade port.  It became such a major focus point after a string of British defeats in the War – especially at Trenton and later at Saratoga – that the British were willing to concede the north and turn their attention to the southern colonies; if they could rally support by the Loyalists in the south then they could secure their economic interests in America, leaving Washington and his band of Patriots with the geography of New England, but acquire for themselves the trade center of the colonies.  The Southern Strategy eventually failed. Patriots began to outnumber Loyalists for any number of reasons, even in the south.  When he arrived, Washington chose to rent the house of Thomas Heyward, a former revolutionary leader of a local militia, and a lesser known original signer of the Declaration of Independence.  The visit, then, became one of our earliest examples of sheer

presidential gesture – rally political support and celebrate the triumph of the Cause.  "Washington's entry into Charleston was aboard a beautifully decorated 12-oared barge manned by 13 sea captains in full dress uniforms.  A flotilla of more than 40 rowboats and other vessels escorted the barge into Charleston Harbor (including two with musicians playing madly as the oarsmen pulled away in their oars in perfect unison. A 15-gun salute fired into the air as the bells of St. Michael's Church pealed....Arriving there he encountered a house ornamented in front by lamps, and over the portal a triumphant arch, decorated with laurel, flowers, etc."  After the visit, the house became known as the Heyward-Washington house, and represents one of many colonial houses now turned museum along

the 5.2 square mile peninsula formed by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers called the historic district, only blocks away from one of the more famously picturesque stretches of historic buildings in the country along the East Battery.