host: how does stephen weiss fit into all of this? guest: he is the most knowledgeable person about the civil war charleston area you will ever meet. he and larry roland wrote a three volume history of beaufort. which is fascinating and has everything you could ever want to know about the area in it, but steve was a great resource, he and larry read the manuscript, gave insights, feedback, pointed me to the right people to talk to. incredibly helpful throughout the whole process. host: whatever happened to the planter? the ship? guest: unfortunately in the 1870's, she ended up sinking long after smalls had said goodbye to her. after the war, when steamers weren't needed as much, the union actually put her up for auction. and interestingly enough, ferguson, who was the original owner, wanted the planter back. he was determined to have it. i think it was symbolic to him in some way. host: and he was a southerner. guest: he was a southerner. he tried to get it back the first time the boat went up for auction, but the government figured o

ost: stephen weiss, curator at paris island museum, someone i know you interviewed for your book andlso he's written about it but here he is talking about robert smalls. individuals that are associated with the sea islands around port royal, robert obviously, a native, another individual who comes center to at penn plan his strategy in the 1960s, both are very articulate. well known for their speeches. if nothing else, at least a lot speeches are ls' written down and are wonderful things. he has wonderful sense of humor, in the 1895 convention, and he makes comments tillman.itchfork, ben braved. smalls never went around armed after the civil war. there were threats against him. he once commented, when you have faced down a can morning these little pistols mean nothing to you. were passists. he and larry roland wrote a three volume history of beaufort. which is fascinating and has everything you could ever want to necessity about the area in steve was a great larry read the manuscript, gave insights, feedback, pointed me to the right people to talk to. incredibly helpful throughout th

, one of the great zionist leaders in america and one of the preeminent rabbis in america, but stephen weiss was a reformed rabbi and the leaders of israel would not permit him to officiate in any way or give a jewel ye and that shocked urban lehman who was a very committed, reformed jew, the president of temple emanuel and even his close friends didn't realize how orthodox a jew he really was because he never practiced his orthodox jew. >> born in the country, comes to the united states at the age of 12 not knowing one word of english. >> goes to yeshiva. >> in bed-stuy? >> at the age of 15, he decides judaism is want for him. he becomes a self-proclaimed agnostic, and he goes to city college and then at harvard law school where he's at the top of his class. by the way, i have the first published photograph of him in his harvard law school dorm, but he wanted very much to become part of the protestant elite in the country. he married the daughter of a protestant minister. his mother did not attend the wedding. he never set foot in a temple or synagogue in his adult life except to give an oc