A hand-stitched replica of George Washington’s field tent is on display at the College of Charleston this weekend, giving visitors a free chance to step into a recreated Revolutionary War command center. The First Oval Office Project is set up at Rivers Green through Sunday, with public hours Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The display is presented by the Museum of the American Revolution and uses the tent Washington carried as his office and sleeping quarters during the war as its model. The tent served as a mobile headquarters for the Continental Army, and the setup is being offered as an immersive history experience rather than a static artifact behind glass.
That distinction matters. The tent on view is a replica, not the original field tent used by Washington, but the installation still aims to put visitors inside the scale and function of Revolutionary War leadership. The nearby Addlestone Library exhibit adds rare archival materials about Charlestonians during the war, including perspectives from women, African Americans and Jewish communities, widening the story beyond a single commander.
John White said the exhibit is the kind of experience a library hopes to create, where something is not just read about but experienced. The timing also gives the display added weight: it arrives just days before Carolina Day, which commemorates the 1776 Battle of Sullivan’s Island, and ahead of nationwide events marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
For visitors looking for something immediate and free, the schedule is simple: Rivers Green on the College of Charleston campus through Sunday, with the tent open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. After that, the display moves out of view, leaving the library exhibit and the commemorative calendar to carry the historical thread forward.
