SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA— Wofford College’s Hipp Center for National Security and Foreign Policy will host an event titled “The American Revolutionary War was Won in South Carolina!” at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and representatives from the National Park Service, the American Battlefield Trust and the SC 250th Commission will participate.  

The discussion will be held in the Jerome Johnson Richardson Theatre in the college’s Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts. It is free and open to the public. Living history presenters will perform from 5-6 p.m. on the front lawn of the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts.

“The road to liberty for the American people began in South Carolina with the Battles of Cowpens and Kings Mountain,” said Van Hipp, founder of the college’s Hipp Center for National Security and Foreign Policy. “We are honored to have Gov. McMaster, the National Park Service, the American Battlefield Trust and noted historians speak on the unique role South Carolina played in birthing our republic.”

McMaster will give the welcoming keynote address while discussing the role the state played in helping the United States win the Revolutionary War through the Battle of Cowpens and the Battle of Kings Mountain. Other speakers will include William Caldwell, park ranger for Cowpens National Battlefield and Overmountain Victory Trail Park, and representatives from the American Battlefield Trust and the SC 250th Commission.

Dr. Kenneth Banks, associate professor of history at Wofford, will moderate discussions during the event. Banks specializes in the history of the American Revolution.

The event will commemorate the 242nd anniversary of the Battle of Cowpens in Cherokee County.

A reception will follow the event.

The Hipp Center for National Security and Foreign Policy was founded in 2011 to create signature events at Wofford with the goal of capturing the attention of students and the public while drawing them into important conversations on applying American leadership and ideals to the challenges of international affairs past, present and future.  

The center’s lecture series is made possible through the generous donations of Wofford alumnus Van D. Hipp Jr., class of 1982, chairman of American Defense International Inc., a Washington D.C.-based consulting firm specializing in government affairs, business development and public relations. Hipp is a former deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Army.

Wofford College, established in 1854, is a four-year, residential liberal arts college located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It offers 27 major fields of study to a student body of 1,800 undergraduates. Nationally known for the strength of its academic program, outstanding faculty, study abroad participation and successful graduates, Wofford is recognized consistently as a “best value” and for its commitment to student success and accessibility for low- and middle-income students. The college community has 12 sororities and fraternities as well as 20 NCAA Division I athletics teams.