John Laurens graduated from the Citadel in 1910. During World War I Laurens was stationed with the Charleston Light Dragoons in El Paso, Texas and later in France. In the interview, Laurens enumerates his siblings and discusses various occurrences in his life and in Charleston including family vacations on the Southern Railroad, a bath house that was once located at the end of Tradd Street, the Charleston Exposition of 1901, a tornado that took off the steeple of St. Philips Church and a fire at the Anderson Lumber Company once located on Broad Street. Audio with transcript.
Caption: 'The city of Charleston, South Carolina, looking seaward, and showing the burned district.--[see next page.]' Identified in image are: Broad Street, "Mercury" office, Custom-house, Castle Pinckney, Fort Moultrie, Fort Sumter and Morris Island. [full date December 28, 1861.]