The South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will debut the traveling exhibit “The Twilight of Revolutionaries and the Dawn of Photography” in June 2023. It will be on display at the museum through May 31, 2024, after which it will become available to travel to other institutions. SC Humanities supported this project with a Mini Grant.
“The Twilight of Revolutionaries and the Dawn of Photography” features 15 daguerreotypes of Revolutionary War veterans, the majority of whom are from South Carolina or have a South Carolina connection. Each portrait will include contextual information about the veteran’s service. The exhibit is intended to celebrate the sestercentennial of the American Revolution. It is a low-security exhibit that is being fabricated to be easy to travel so that it can go to a variety of institutions in South Carolina, including small ones.
According to the Project Director, Chelsea Sigourney, “Daguerreotypes of Revolutionary War veterans are extremely rare, and this is likely one of the largest, if not the largest, collection of such photographs.” The exhibit at the SC Confederate Relic Room will display a few original daguerreotypes, but the traveling exhibit will feature only reproductions.
The SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum is located at 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201. The museum is open Tuesdays – Saturdays, 10 – 5 PM. It is also open the first Sunday of each month from 1-5pm, and admission is only a dollar. Learn more about the SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum: https://www.crr.sc.gov/.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 20-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
