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Acknowledgments
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to so many people for the completion of this work that it is impossible to list them all. I should begin with the staff of the Charleston Museum. If it were not for that institution and the wonderful employees there, I probably would not have been able to write this book. Brien Varnado, the museum’s former assistant director, encouraged me on this project from day one. So many times when I became frustrated with research or writing, he was there to prod me to continue on. Although not a military historian, he showed enthusiasm and interest in the topic throughout our discussions of it. John Brumgardt , director of the Charleston Museum, also provided encouragement and vigorously promoted the manuscript to board members and museum patrons. I thank the Board of Trustees for their support of both the Charleston Museum and my book. Sharon Bennett and Julia Logan of the Charleston Museum Archives helped me to locate endless documents, illustrations, and maps at other institutions. Other staff continuously asked how things were coming along. To have worked at the Charleston Museum, which is only a few hundred feet from where many of the major events of the siege took place, at the same time that I was composing the manuscript was inspiration in itself. Lawrence F. Kohl at the University of Alabama was also influential in the publication of this book. He kindly read the first draft and offered many useful suggestions to improve it. He was an excellent mentor when I was in graduate school and is now a good friend. I am equally indebted to other reviewers. Don Higginbotham, whose work I have always admired, also agreed to read the manuscript . His favorable opinion helped move the project along at a critical point. I must also thank the reviewers who read the manuscript for USC Press. Their suggestions and comments vastly enhanced it. In addition, I need to mention Robert Tinkler for his assistance in the process. xvi / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe a debt of gratitude to James Taylor and Peggy Clark of The Papers of Henry Laurens project at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Taylor allowed me to review volume fifteen of The Papers of Henry Laurens prior to its release; he also directed me to other unpublished Laurens documents. The staffs of many institutions deserve thanks. Here in Charleston, the South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston Library Society, and Charleston County Public Library provided great resources and comfortable facilities for research. The collections of the Historical Society house several important manuscripts relating to the siege of Charleston, and staff there were very accommodating during my frequent visits. The Charleston Library Society, a true gem in the city, offered excellent primary and secondary sources. Charleston County Public Library’s interlibrary loan department assiduously found every obscure work I was looking for, while personnel in the South Carolina Room and Periodicals department also rendered tremendous assistance. Other people and institutions were instrumental along the way. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History is a first-rate place to do research, providing both original documents and a number of collections relating to the American Revolution on microfilm. Staff at the William L. Clements Library of the University of Michigan were very helpful, particularly John C. Harriman and Barbara DeWolfe. I must also thank all those who assisted me at the Boston Public Library, the Houghton Library at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Historical Society, New York Public Library, Morristown National Historical Park, the Rhode Island Historical Society, and the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina. Special thanks go to my good friend Matt Grubel at Morristown for helping me to gain perspective over the years through our many discussions of the military events of the American Revolution. I am also grateful to those who assisted in the production process. Alexander Moore at USC Press expressed interest in my work early on and provided needed encouragement. Judy Burress was both timely and efficient in the production of the maps. She was also very patient with my many changes. [54.87.17.177] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 20:13 GMT) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS / xvii I wish to thank the following for permission to quote from previously published and documentary sources: the University of Georgia Press for passages from the Lachlan McIntosh Papers in the University of Georgia Library, edited by Lilla Mills Hawes; the University of Michigan Press for passages from The Siege...