Clemson partners with Upcountry History Museum on special American Revolution exhibit

Clemson University is partnering with the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville to help celebrate the 250^thanniversary of the American Revolution with an exhibition titled “Upcountry Road to Freedom: Upstate South Carolina During the American Revolution” to highlight the importance of Upstate South Carolina in the fight for independence.

Clemson’s University Historian and the Department of Historic Properties loaned the museum around 25 artifacts for the exhibit, including the cavalry saber that belonged to Gen. Andrew Pickens, which has never before been on public display. Other items include the rifle used in the Revolutionary War by John Ewing Colhoun, former U.S. senator and father-in-law of former Vice President John C. Calhoun; George Washington’s camp chair from the Trenton Campaign in New Jersey; an English book of common prayer from the time period; a soldier’s nutmeg grinder; and prints of artwork depicting some of the Revolutionary War battles in the Upstate.

Some of the items that Clemson loaned to the Upcountry History Museum

University Historian Otis Pickett said that putting the exhibition together has been a four-year process.

“The exhibit highlights Andrew Pickens’ contributions, the Hopewell Treaty of 1785, Col. Robert Anderson, printer John Miller, but also the role of Fort Rutledge, the Old Stone Church, and numerous battles along the I-85 corridor up to Cowpens and Kings Mountain, highlighting the role of the American Revolution in the backcountry of South Carolina,” he said.

“The role of South Carolina’s Upcountry in the American Revolution is a story that has long been overshadowed by the attention given to Charleston, but the battles fought across this rugged backcountry terrain were as fierce and consequential as any in the war,” said Historic Properties Director Naomi Gerakios Mucci. “Clemson University sits on land that is central to that story. Partnering with the Upcountry History Museum gives us the opportunity to bring that story to a broader audience — people who may never make it to campus, but who deserve to engage with this history.”

The exhibition is open through September 5, 2027. The Upcountry History Museum is located at 540 Buncombe St., in Greenville, S.C. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 864-467-3100 or visit www.upcountryhistory.org.