Carl Borick, director of The Charleston Museum, will release his fourth book, Backcountry Resistance: South Carolina’s Militia and the Fight for Independence, on March 24 through University of South Carolina Press.
The museum will host a public book launch and signing at 6 p.m. March 25, featuring remarks by Borick. Registration is now open.
In Backcountry Resistance, Borick delivers a comprehensive examination of the citizen militias that resisted British forces in South Carolina’s volatile Backcountry during the pivotal Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The book shifts focus away from well-known military leaders to the rank-and-file militiamen, exploring how ordinary citizens were recruited, armed, supplied, and motivated to fight.
Drawing on underused pension records and state claims, Borick reconstructs the daily realities and battlefield experiences of militia members. He also examines the war’s devastating impact on civilians, including enslaved people and women, who played crucial roles in sustaining resistance efforts.
The book offers what Borick describes as the most complete portrait to date of South Carolina’s militia forces during the decisive years of the American War of Independence.
“I am pleased to contribute to the scholarship of this critical era in our history and South Carolina’s importance in winning independence and founding our nation,” Borick said. “This work is especially meaningful as we approach the 250th anniversary of these events in 2026.”
As director of The Charleston Museum — recognized as America’s first museum — Borick oversees one of the nation’s most significant collections of Lowcountry and American history and natural science. His previous works include Relieve Us of This Burthen: American Prisoners of War in the Revolutionary South, 1780–1782 (2011), A Gallant Defense: The Siege of Charleston, 1780 (2003), and The Charleston Museum: America’s First Museum.
The book has received advance praise from leading historians. Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson called it “an exceptionally fine account” that “illuminates the vital importance of South Carolina militia forces in thwarting Britain’s military ambitions in the South.” Other praise highlights the book’s nuanced portrayal of what several scholars describe as America’s first civil war.
Backcountry Resistance is available in hardcover and eBook formats through the museum, USC Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers. The book is 272 pages.
For more information, visit charlestonmuseum.org or call 843-722-2996.