Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

“T” is for Trescot, William Henry (1822-1898)

“T” is for Trescot, William Henry (1822-1898). Writer, diplomat, historian. A native Charlestonian Trescot was a graduate of the College of Charleston and, was admitted to the bar. An astute and productive writer, he produced a series of essays on the diplomatic history of the American Revolution and the new republic. This led to a diplomatic post in England and, in 1860 an appointment as assistant secretary of state. Still loyal to the secession cause, Trescot used information he learned in his office to keep South Carolina officials informed of secret military plans or inactivity on the part of the central government. After the Civil War, in the 1880s he was again involved in diplomatic missions in China, Chile, and Mexico. In 1889 William Henry Trescot was instrumental in the formation of the Pan American Union.

Stay Connected
Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.