CHARLESTON — A park in the heart of downtown will be briefly transformed into the headquarters of the American Revolution.
A full-scale replica of Gen. George Washington’s Continental Army headquarters tent will be erected on the College of Charleston campus for one weekend as part of the nationally touring First Oval Office Project.
While Washington’s original tent remains on permanent display at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, the pop-up display lets visitors step into the copycat mobile command center where Washington planned military strategy and slept during the war for independence.
Joel Anderson is period costume is part of the First Oval Office Project, that has set up a replica of George Washington’s Continental Army headquarters tent Friday, June 12, 2026, the College of Charleston in Charleston.
Some historians refer to it as the nation’s “first Oval Office,” in reference to the room in the White House — which wasn’t completed until after Washington’s death. The real tent was present at the scene of many pivotal moments, including the 1781 Siege of Yorktown, the last major land battle of the Revolutionary War.
The hand-stitched replica created by Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution will be on display on the Rivers Green beside the Marlene and Nathan Addlestone Library. The public can tour the tent for free from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 13-14.
The reproduction tent has been pitched outdoors at historic sites nationwide as an interactive education and outreach program. Inside are camp equipment and furnishings, which show how the tent was used during the war.
Stakes are hammered with period replica mallets as the First Oval Office Project sets up a replica of George Washington’s Continental Army headquarters tent Friday, June 12, 2026, the College of Charleston.
“This is exactly the kind of experience a library hopes to create — where something isn’t just read about, but experienced,” said John White, dean of College Libraries.
John Rees and Tyler Putman set up a bed that is a replica of the one used by Gen. George Washington in his Continental Army headquarters tent Friday, June 12, 2026, the College of Charleston as part of the touring First Oval Office Project.
In addition to touring the encampment, visitors can view a special exhibition inside Addlestone Library featuring rare Revolutionary War-era documents and artifacts that shed light on the experiences of everyday Charlestonians during the conflict.
The exhibit features rarely displayed documents from the College of Charleston Special Collections, the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture and the South Carolina Historical Society. It explores the legacy of America’s founding ideals from the perspectives of women, African Americans and Jewish communities.
“The tent represents leadership and decision-making at the highest level, while the materials in the exhibit reveal how those same events were experienced by people in Charleston from all walks of life and backgrounds,” White said.
Local commemorations tied to America’s 250th anniversary and Carolina Day, marked each June 28 in South Carolina, are heating up this month.
Rob Welch and Tyler Putman tents as the touring First Oval Office Project set up Gen. George Washington in his Continental Army headquarters tent Friday, June 12, 2026, at the College of Charleston.
Sandra Slater, a College of Charleston history professor and director of the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program, said exhibits that bring history to life, like the First Oval Office Project, help visitors better understand the hardships and sacrifices endured by Revolutionary War soldiers and civilians.
Tyler Putman hold up a replica of the flag flown at George Washington’s Continental Army headquarters that is on display Friday, June 12, 2026, the College of Charleston in Charleston.
“Immersive experiences allow all of us, not just scholars of early American history, to imagine the lived realities of our founding generation in ways more tangible than the written word,” Slater said.
An authentic Washington artifact is on display at the Charleston Museum nearby. A collapsible, field-folding camp chair he used during his military campaigns is part of the museum’s “Ringleaders of Rebellion” American Revolution exhibit.
