Experiencing Mitchelville: Using Emerging Technologies to Interpret the History and Culture of the First Gullah-Geechee Town during the Civil War and Reconstruction Era

This talk will show how we are using emerging technologies like AI, game engines, and extended reality interfaces to bring to life historical figures, structures, and narratives related to Mitchelville and the Port Royal Experiment in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Founded on Hilton Head Island in late 1862, Mitchelville was the first self-governing town of enslaved people known as Gullah-Geechee, becoming contrabands of war when the Union army captured the Sea Islands of Beaufort County during the Battle of Port Royal in 1861. Today a historical park and Gullah-Geechee heritage site, Mitchelville was a central feature of the Port Royal Experiment, where the Lincoln administration sent northern abolitionists and teachers to Beaufort County to prepare for emancipation and Reconstruction. Many of the first black regiments in the Union army were composed of Mitchelville volunteers, and famous abolitionists like Hariet Tubman worked closely with them as a nurse and scout at nearby Fort Howell. This prototyping-level project has been funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Projects for the Public grant, and private grants from Epic Games Megagrants and Boeing Global Engagement Fund.