This week we will be talking with Carl P. Borick, author of Backcountry Resistance: South Carolina's Militia and the Fight for American Independence (2026, USC Press).
As the title indicates, Carl’s book focuses on rank-and-file militiamen of the backcountry and explores how these ordinary men were recruited, armed, fed, and motivated.
Drawing on underused pension records and state claims, he reconstructs their everyday realities and their battlefield experiences. He also examines the war's devastating effects on civilians, including enslaved people and women, who played crucial roles in the struggle.
