Wars were fought on the battlefield, but they were won in the shadows. Spies and counterintelligence efforts on both sides of the American Revolution were a key component of the war, and led to seismic shifts in power as America fought for its independence.

Joining the show to talk about the life and legacies of colonial spies is Cheney J. Schopieray, Curator of Manuscripts for the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, which is home to the Sir Henry Clinton Collection.

Additional resources mentioned in the episode:

1. For more information about the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan or to connect with our guest, visit https://clements.umich.edu.

2. To see the "Spy Letters of the American Revolution" online exhibit, visit https://clements.umich.edu/exhibit/spy-letters-of-the-american-revolution/

3. For a look at the original July 17, 1777 "quill pen" letter from British Army Commander-in-Chief William Howe to John Burgoyne, featured in "Outlander" Season 7, visit https://clements.umich.edu/exhibit/spy-letters-of-the-american-revolution/stories-of-spies/howe-goes-his-own-way/

For more information about the Burgwin-Wright House and to learn how to support the house, visit BurgwinWrightHouse.com.

Cover art design by Rachel Ross.

Support the podcast and donate!: https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com/donate1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the "Outlander" story moves around the American Colonies during the Revolutionary War, we take a moment to return to the homefront to talk about what Wilmington would have looked like during the war. The town's port made it an invaluable commodity during the conflict, but how did its citizens fare as fighting raged on? What impact did the revolution have on Wilmington's ascension as a jewel in North Carolina's crown?

Joining the episode is Jack E. Fryar, a historian and author of the new book, "When the British Came: Revolution in the Cape Fear, 1765-1782." Fryar is the publisher behind Dram Tree Books, the extensive local history catalogue for which can be found at DramTreeBooks.com.

For more information about the Burgwin-Wright House and to learn how to support the house, visit BurgwinWrightHouse.com.

Cover art design by Rachel Ross.

Support the podcast and donate!: https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com/donate1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the most formative events in the "Outlander" story happens far from the Cape Fear region back in Scotland when thousands took up arms against the British throne in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. But what brought Scotland to war with its monarch? What did it mean for the average Scot, and how did it impact the American Revolution decades later?

This episode, we are joined by Professor Murray Pittock, a historian and author with the University of Glasgow in Scotland to talk about the age of the Jacobites and how that uprising left scars that would be brought to the American Colonies on the eve of its own war.

For more information about the Burgwin-Wright House and to learn how to support the house, visit BurgwinWrightHouse.com. For more information on Murray Pittock and his published works, you can find him at https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/staff/murraypittock/.

Cover art design by Rachel Ross.

Support the podcast and donate!: https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com/donate1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Return to the world of “Outlander” with a deep dive into the realities and risks of battlefield medicine. As the series moves through the Revolutionary War, historical medicine interpreter Charles Brett discusses how physicians, nurses and healers were the saving grace of those wounded in battle or ravaged by the diseases that plagued regiments from battle to battle.

For more information about the Burgwin-Wright House and to learn how to support the house, visit BurgwinWrightHouse.com.

Cover art design by Rachel Ross.

Support the podcast and donate!: https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com/donate1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Battleships bear witness to the worst side of the human condition. They share in the triumphs of war and bear the scars of defeat in equal measure.

It is no wonder that the Battleship North Carolina, the most decorated American vessel from World War II, garners a lot of interest for its ghost stories. But are they true? 

Joining the episode to answer that question is Danielle Wallace, the programs director for the Battleship North Carolina.

For more information about the Burgwin-Wright House and to learn how to support the house, visit BurgwinWrightHouse.com.

Cover art design by Rachel Ross.

Support the podcast and donate!: https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com/donate1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you see an old home from outside its iron gates, your mind makes up stories of what could possibly be hidden behind the front door. In many cases, that air of mystery conjures stories of ghosts and unexplained occurrences.

At the Bellamy Mansion, life-long residents just out of reach led locals to wonder if the antebellum home at Fifth and Market Street may have more residents than those among the living. Decades later, those stories persist, but are they true?

Joining the episode to talk about the house's history is Leslie Randle Morton, the associate director of the Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts.

For more information about the Burgwin-Wright House and to learn how to support the house, visit BurgwinWrightHouse.com.

Cover art design by Rachel Ross.

Support the podcast and donate!: https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com/donate1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts has been an icon of Wilmington since it first opened its doors in 1858. From world-class productions on its stage to vitally important work done inside the city hall under the same roof, few structures have been as consequential to Wilmington's history as Thalian Hall.

But a century and a half of indelible experiences has also left behind stories of unexplained presences and ghostly helping hands.

Joining the episode to talk about this haunted history is Shane Fernando, the CEO of Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts.

For more information about the Burgwin-Wright House and to learn how to support the house, visit BurgwinWrightHouse.com.

Cover art design by Rachel Ross.

Support the podcast and donate!: https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com/donate1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Poplar Grove Plantation has seen progress sweep past it on all sides since it first started producing peanuts in the late 1700s. Over the past two centuries, it served as a home and a haven for the Foy family, and has become an important vessel for talking about Gullah Geechee history in the Southeastern United States. But has all that life spawned any ghost stories on the site?

Joining the episode to talk about the history, evolving narrative and haunted happenings of Poplar Grove Plantation is executive director Caroline Lewis.

For more information about the Burgwin-Wright House and to learn how to support the house, visit BurgwinWrightHouse.com.

Cover art design by Rachel Ross.

Support the podcast and donate!: https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com/donate1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A house isn't a home without the stories and experiences of the families that live under its roof. But lives leave behind more than just stories.

In the case of The Latimer House, some reckon with the tremendous loss associated with its namesake family by telling stories of children lingering in the windows and racing across the floors long after they are gone. But is it true? And what does the Latimer House teach us about life and death in the 19th century?

Joining the episode to talk about history and hauntings is Dr. Ginger Davis, the executive director of the Latimer House, the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society and the Ida B. Kellum Archives.

For more information about the Burgwin-Wright House and to learn how to support the house, visit BurgwinWrightHouse.com.

Cover art design by Rachel Ross.

Support the podcast and donate!: https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com/donate1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The origins of the Cape Fear region as we know it began at Brunswick Town, the first permanent settlement established in 1726. It wouldn't survive past the Revolutionary War, but its few decades of life have inspired tales of life and loss, success and failure –– all of which fuel the ghost stories that continue to live on its shores.

Joining the episode to talk about the sightings at Brunswick Town and the ways in which these haunted tales get started is Jim McKee, the site manager of Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site in Winnabow.

For more information about the Burgwin-Wright House and to learn how to support the house, visit BurgwinWrightHouse.com.

Cover art design by Rachel Ross.

Support the podcast and donate!: https://www.burgwinwrighthouse.com/donate1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.