Battle of Sullivan's Island
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Sullivan's Island or the Battle of Fort Sullivan was fought on June 28, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War
, also known as the American War of Independence. It took place near Charleston, South Carolina
, during the first British
attempt to capture the city from American
rebels. It is also sometimes referred to as the First Siege of Charleston, owing to a more successful British siege
in 1780.
The British organized an expedition in early 1776 for operations in the rebellious southern colonies of North America. Delayed by logistical concerns and bad weather, the expedition reached the coast of North Carolina in May 1776. Finding conditions unsuitable for their operations, General Henry Clinton
and Admiral Sir Peter Parker
decide instead to act against Charleston. Arriving there in early June, troops were landed on Long Island, near Sullivan's Island
where the South Carolinians had a partially-constructed fort, in preparation for a naval bombardment and land assault.
The land assault was frustrated when the channel between the two islands was found to be too deep to wade, and the American defenses prevented an amphibious landing. The naval bombardment had little effect due to the sandy soil and the spongy nature of the fort's palmetto
log construction. Careful fire by the defenders wrought significant damage in the British fleet, which withdrew after an entire day's bombardment. The British withdrew their expedition force to New York, and did not return to South Carolina until 1780.
in southern North America. The city's citizens joined other colonists in opposing the British parliament's attempts to tax them, and militia recruitment increased when word arrived of the April 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord
. Throughout 1775 and into 1776, militia recruits arrived in the city from the colony's backcountry, the city's manufacturers and tradesmen began producing war materiel, and defensive fortifications began to take shape around the city.
were primarily tied up with the Siege of Boston
in 1775. Seeking bases of operations where they had more control, the British planned an expedition to the southern colonies. Major General Henry Clinton, then in Boston, was to travel to Cape Fear, North Carolina
, where he would join with largely Scottish
Loyalist
s raised in the North Carolina backcountry, and a force of 2,000 men from Ireland
under the command of Major General
Charles Cornwallis
.
The plan was beset by difficulties from the start. The Irish expedition, originally supposed to depart at the beginning of December 1775, was delayed by logistical difficulties, and its 2,500 troops did not depart until February 13, 1776, escorted by 11 warships under the command of Admiral
Sir Peter Parker
. Clinton left Boston on January 20 with two companies of light infantry, and first stopped at New York City
to confer with William Tryon
, New York's royal governor. Major General Charles Lee
, sent by Major General George Washington
to see to the defense of New York, coincidentally arrived there the same day as Clinton. New York was at that time extremely tense; Patriot forces were beginning to disarm and evict Loyalists, and the British fleet anchored there was having difficult acquiring provisions. Despite this, Clinton made no secret that his final target was in the south. Lee observed that this was "certainly a droll way of proceeding; to communicate his full plan to the enemy is too novel to be credited." This was not even the first notice of the expedition to the colonists; a letter intercepted in December had already provided intelligence that the British were planning to go to the South.
Clinton arrived at Cape Fear on March 12, expecting to find the European convoy already there. He met with the royal governors of North and South Carolina, Josiah Martin
and William Campbell, and learned that the recruited Scottish Loyalists had been defeated at Moore's Creek Bridge two weeks earlier. Clinton also received pleas for assistance from the royal governor of Georgia, James Wright
, who had been arrested, and then escaped to a navy ship.
Parker's fleet had an extremely difficult crossing. Battered by storms and high seas, the first ships of the fleet did not arrive at Cape Fear until April 18, and Cornwallis did not arrive until May 3. After several weeks there, in which the British troops raided Patriot properties, Clinton, Cornwallis and Parker concluded that Cape Fear was not a suitable base for further operations. Parker had sent out some ships on scouting expeditions up and down the coast, and reports on the partially-finished condition of the Charleston defenses were sufficiently promising that the decision was made to go there.
John Rutledge
, recently elected president of the General Assembly that remained as the backbone of South Carolina's revolutionary government, organized a defense force under the command of 46-year-old Colonel
William Moultrie
, a former militiaman and Indian
fighter. These forces comprised three infantry regiments, two rifle regiments, and a small artillery regiment; they were augmented by three independent artillery companies, and the total force numbered about 2,000. These forces were further augmented by the arrival of Continental regiments from North Carolina and Virginia (1,900 troops), as well as militia numbering 2,700 from Charleston and the surrounding backcountry.
Moultrie saw Sullivan's Island, a sandy spit of land at the entrance to Charleston Harbor
extending north about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and a few hundred yards wide, as a place well suited to build a fort that could protect the entrance from intruding enemy warships. A large vessel sailing into Charleston first had to cross Charleston Bar, a series of submerged shoal
s lying about 8 miles (12.9 km) southeast of the city, and then pass by the southern end of Sullivan's Island as it entered the channel
to the inner harbor. Later it would also have to pass the northern end of James Island
, where Fort Johnson commanded the southeastern approach to the city. Moultrie and his 2nd South Carolina Regiment
arrived on Sullivan's Island in March 1776, and began construction of a fortress to defend the island and the channel into Charleston Harbor. The construction moved slowly; Captain Peter Horry
of the Patriot naval detachment described the site as a "an immense pen 500 feet long, and 16 feet wide, filled with sand
to stop the shot". The gun platforms were made of planks two inches thick and fastened with wooden spikes.
Congress had appointed General Lee to command the Continental Army troops in the southern colonies, and his movements by land shadowed those of Clinton's fleet as it sailed south. Lee wrote from Wilmington on June 1 that the fleet had sailed, but that he did not know whether it was sailing for Virginia or South Carolina. He headed for Charleston, saying "[I] confess I know not whether I shall go to or from the enemy." He arrived in Charleston shortly after the fleet anchored outside the harbor, and took command of the city's defenses. He immediately ran into a problem: the South Carolina troops (militia or the colonial regiments) were not on the Continental line, and thus not formally under his authority. Some South Carolina troops resisted his instructions, and Rutledge had to intervene by proclaiming Lee in command of all South Carolina forces.
Square-shaped Fort Sullivan consisted only of the completed seaward wall, with walls made from palmetto
logs 20 feet (6.1 m) high and 16 feet (4.9 m) wide. The walls were filled with sand, and rose 10 feet (3 m) above the wooden platforms on which the artillery
were mounted. A hastily erected palisade
of thick planks helped guard the powder magazine and unfinished northern walls. An assortment of 31 cannon
, ranging from 9- and 12-pounders to a few English 18-pounders and French 26-pounders, dotted the front and rear walls. General Lee, when he had seen its unfinished state, had recommended abandoning the fort, calling it a "slaughter pen". President Rutledge refused, and specifically ordered Colonel Moultrie to "obey [Lee] in everything, except in leaving Fort Sullivan". Moultrie's delaying tactics so angered Lee that he decided on June 27 that he would replace Moultrie; the battle began the next day before he could do so.
The British fleet was composed of nine man-of-war ships: the flagship 50-gun
Bristol
, as well as the 50-gun Experiment and frigates Actaeon
, Active
, Solebay, , Sphinx, Friendship, and the bomb vessel
Thunder, in total mounting nearly 300 cannon. The army forces in the expedition consisted of the 15th
, 28th
, 33rd
, 37th
, 54th
, and 57th
Regiments of Foot, and part of the 46th
. On June 7, Clinton issued a proclamation calling on the rebel colonists to lay down their arms. However, the inexperienced defenders fired on the boat sent to deliver it (which was flying a truce flag), and it was not delivered until the next day. That same day, Clinton began landing 2,200 troops on Long Island. The intent was that these troops would wade across the channel between Long and Sullivan's, which the British believed to be sufficiently shallow to do so, while the fleet bombarded Fort Sullivan.
General Lee responded to the British landing with several actions. He began reinforcing positions on the mainland in case the British were intending to launch an attack directly on Charleston. He also attempted to build a bridge of boats to provide an avenue of retreat for the fort's garrison, but this failed because there were not enough boats to bridge the roughly one mile (1.6 km) channel separating the island from Charleston; the unwillingness of Moultrie and Rutledge to support the effort may also have played a role. The Americans also constructed an entrenchment at the northern end of Sullivan's Island, which was manned by more than 750 men and three small cannons, and began to fortify a guard post at Haddrell's Point on the mainland opposite Fort Sullivan.
General Clinton encountered the first major problem of the attack plan on June 17. An attempt to wade the channel between the two islands established that part of the channel was at least shoulder-deep, too deep for troops to cross even without the prospect of enemy opposition. He considered using boats to ferry the troops across, but the Americans, with timely advice from General Lee, adopted a strong defensive position that was virtually impossible to bombard from ships or the Long Island position. As a result, the British and American forces faced each other across the channel, engaging in occasional and largely inconsequential cannonfire at long range. Clinton reported that this meant that Admiral Parker would have "the glory of being defeated alone." The attack was originally planned for June 24, but bad weather and contrary wind conditions prompted Parker to call it off for several days.
General Clinton began movements to cross over to the northern end of Sullivan's Island. Assisted by two sloops of war, the flotilla of longboats carrying his troops came under fire from Colonel William Thomson's defenses. Facing a withering barrage of grape shot and rifle fire, Clinton abandoned the attempt.
Around noon the frigates Sphinx, Syren, and Actaeon were sent on a roundabout route, avoiding some shoals, to take a position from which they could enfilade the fort's main firing platform and also cover one the main escape routes from the fort. However, all three ships grounded on an uncharted sandbar, and the riggings of Actaeon and Sphinx became entangled in the process. The British managed to refloat the Sphinx and Syren, but the Acteon remained grounded, having moved too far onto the submerged sandbar. Consequently, none of these ships reached its intended position, a piece of good fortune not lost on Colonel Moultrie: "Had these three ships effected their purpose, they would have enfiladed us in such a manner, as to have driven us from our guns."
At the fort, Moultrie ordered his men to concentrate their fire on the two large man-of-war ships, the Bristol and Experiment, which took hit after hit from the fort's guns. Chain shot fired at the Bristol eventually destroyed much of her rigging and severely damaged both the main- and mizzenmasts. One round hit her quarterdeck, slightly wounding Parker in the knee and thigh. The shot also tore off part of his britches, leaving his backside exposed. By mid-afternoon, the defenders were running out of gunpowder, and their fire was briefly suspended. However, Lee sent more ammunition and gunpowder over from the mainland, and the defenders resumed firing at the British ships; Lee even briefly visited the fort late in the day, telling Colonel Moultrie, "I see you are doing very well here, you have no occasion for me, I will go up to the town again." Admiral Parker eventually sought to destroy the fort's walls with persistent broadside cannonades. This strategy failed due to the spongy nature of the palmetto wood used in its constructions; the structure would quiver, and it absorbed the cannonballs rather than splintering. The exchange continued until around 9:00 pm, when darkness forced a cessation of hostilities, and the fleet finally withdrew out of range.
Counting casualties, Parker reported 40 sailors killed and 71 wounded aboard the Bristol, which was hit more than 70 times with much damage to the hull, yards, and rigging. The Experiment was also badly damaged with 23 sailors killed and 56 wounded. The Active and Solebay reported 15 casualties each. The Americans reported their casualties at only 12 killed and 25 wounded. The following morning, the British, unable to drag the grounded Acteon off the sandbar, set fire to the ship to prevent her from falling into enemy hands. Patriots in small boats sailed out to the burning ship, fired some of its cannons at the British ships, took what stores and loot they could, and retreated shortly before the ship's powder magazine exploded.
The British did not attempt to take the fort again. Within days of the battle, Charlestonians learned of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
in Philadelphia. The British troops were reembarked on their transports, and on July 21 the British fleet withdrew northward to help the main British army in its campaign
against New York City
. To add insult to injury, one of the British transports grounded off Long Island and was captured by Patriot forces.
The British did not return to Charleston until 1780, when General Clinton successfully besieged the city
and captured an entire army. Until the South again became a focus of the war in late 1778, its states provided military supplies to the northern war effort and produced trade goods that brought in valuable hard currency to fund the war effort.
Admiral Parker and General Clinton engaged in a war of words after the battle, each seeking to cast the blame on the other for the expedition's failures. Although Clinton was not blamed by the government, popular opinion held him responsible, and Parker was lauded for his personal bravery.
as the principal defense of Charleston prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War
. The site was turned over to the National Park Service
in 1960, and is now part of Fort Sumter National Monument.
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, also known as the American War of Independence. It took place near Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, during the first British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
attempt to capture the city from American
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
rebels. It is also sometimes referred to as the First Siege of Charleston, owing to a more successful British siege
Siege of Charleston
The Siege of Charleston was one of the major battles which took place towards the end of the American Revolutionary War, after the British began to shift their strategic focus towards the American Southern Colonies. After about six weeks of siege, Continental Army Major General Benjamin Lincoln...
in 1780.
The British organized an expedition in early 1776 for operations in the rebellious southern colonies of North America. Delayed by logistical concerns and bad weather, the expedition reached the coast of North Carolina in May 1776. Finding conditions unsuitable for their operations, General Henry Clinton
Henry Clinton (American War of Independence)
General Sir Henry Clinton KB was a British army officer and politician, best known for his service as a general during the American War of Independence. First arriving in Boston in May 1775, from 1778 to 1782 he was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America...
and Admiral Sir Peter Parker
Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet was a British naval officer.-Naval career:Peter Parker was born probably in Ireland. He became a lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1743 and captain in 1747. In 1761, he took command of HMS Buckingham and helped cover operations on Belle Île...
decide instead to act against Charleston. Arriving there in early June, troops were landed on Long Island, near Sullivan's Island
Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
Sullivan's Island is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, on a similarly named island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. The population was 1,911 at the 2000 census. It is also the site of a major battle of the American Revolution at Fort Sullivan on June 28, 1776. As...
where the South Carolinians had a partially-constructed fort, in preparation for a naval bombardment and land assault.
The land assault was frustrated when the channel between the two islands was found to be too deep to wade, and the American defenses prevented an amphibious landing. The naval bombardment had little effect due to the sandy soil and the spongy nature of the fort's palmetto
Palmetto
-Botany:Members of several genera of small palms:*the genus Sabal of the Arecaceae family**Dwarf Palmetto**Sabal palmetto*Saw Palmetto, Serenoa repens*Silver saw palmetto, Acoelorraphe wrightii-Place names:United States...
log construction. Careful fire by the defenders wrought significant damage in the British fleet, which withdrew after an entire day's bombardment. The British withdrew their expedition force to New York, and did not return to South Carolina until 1780.
Background
When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, the city of Charleston in the colony of South Carolina was a center of commerceCommerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
in southern North America. The city's citizens joined other colonists in opposing the British parliament's attempts to tax them, and militia recruitment increased when word arrived of the April 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
. Throughout 1775 and into 1776, militia recruits arrived in the city from the colony's backcountry, the city's manufacturers and tradesmen began producing war materiel, and defensive fortifications began to take shape around the city.
British operations
British army forces in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
were primarily tied up with the Siege of Boston
Siege of Boston
The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...
in 1775. Seeking bases of operations where they had more control, the British planned an expedition to the southern colonies. Major General Henry Clinton, then in Boston, was to travel to Cape Fear, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, where he would join with largely Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
s raised in the North Carolina backcountry, and a force of 2,000 men from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
under the command of Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Charles Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
.
The plan was beset by difficulties from the start. The Irish expedition, originally supposed to depart at the beginning of December 1775, was delayed by logistical difficulties, and its 2,500 troops did not depart until February 13, 1776, escorted by 11 warships under the command of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Sir Peter Parker
Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Peter Parker, 1st Baronet was a British naval officer.-Naval career:Peter Parker was born probably in Ireland. He became a lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1743 and captain in 1747. In 1761, he took command of HMS Buckingham and helped cover operations on Belle Île...
. Clinton left Boston on January 20 with two companies of light infantry, and first stopped at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to confer with William Tryon
William Tryon
William Tryon was a British soldier and colonial administrator who served as governor of the Province of North Carolina and the Province of New York .-Early life and career:...
, New York's royal governor. Major General Charles Lee
Charles Lee (general)
Charles Lee was a British soldier who later served as a General of the Continental Army during the American War of Independence. Lee served in the British army during the Seven Years War. After the war he sold his commission and served for a time in the Polish army of King Stanislaus II...
, sent by Major General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
to see to the defense of New York, coincidentally arrived there the same day as Clinton. New York was at that time extremely tense; Patriot forces were beginning to disarm and evict Loyalists, and the British fleet anchored there was having difficult acquiring provisions. Despite this, Clinton made no secret that his final target was in the south. Lee observed that this was "certainly a droll way of proceeding; to communicate his full plan to the enemy is too novel to be credited." This was not even the first notice of the expedition to the colonists; a letter intercepted in December had already provided intelligence that the British were planning to go to the South.
Clinton arrived at Cape Fear on March 12, expecting to find the European convoy already there. He met with the royal governors of North and South Carolina, Josiah Martin
Josiah Martin
Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Martin was the last colonial governor of the Province of North Carolina .-Family and connections:...
and William Campbell, and learned that the recruited Scottish Loyalists had been defeated at Moore's Creek Bridge two weeks earlier. Clinton also received pleas for assistance from the royal governor of Georgia, James Wright
James Wright (governor)
James Wright was an American colonial lawyer and jurist who was the last British Royal Governor of the Province of Georgia. He was the only Royal Governor of the Thirteen Colonies to regain control of his colony during the American Revolutionary War.James Wright was born in London to Robert Wright...
, who had been arrested, and then escaped to a navy ship.
Parker's fleet had an extremely difficult crossing. Battered by storms and high seas, the first ships of the fleet did not arrive at Cape Fear until April 18, and Cornwallis did not arrive until May 3. After several weeks there, in which the British troops raided Patriot properties, Clinton, Cornwallis and Parker concluded that Cape Fear was not a suitable base for further operations. Parker had sent out some ships on scouting expeditions up and down the coast, and reports on the partially-finished condition of the Charleston defenses were sufficiently promising that the decision was made to go there.
American defenses
John Rutledge
John Rutledge was an American statesman and judge. He was the first Governor of South Carolina following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the 31st overall...
, recently elected president of the General Assembly that remained as the backbone of South Carolina's revolutionary government, organized a defense force under the command of 46-year-old Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
William Moultrie
William Moultrie
William Moultrie was a general from South Carolina in the American Revolutionary War.He was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He fought in the Anglo-Cherokee War and served in the colonial assembly before the advent of the American Revolution....
, a former militiaman and Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
fighter. These forces comprised three infantry regiments, two rifle regiments, and a small artillery regiment; they were augmented by three independent artillery companies, and the total force numbered about 2,000. These forces were further augmented by the arrival of Continental regiments from North Carolina and Virginia (1,900 troops), as well as militia numbering 2,700 from Charleston and the surrounding backcountry.
Moultrie saw Sullivan's Island, a sandy spit of land at the entrance to Charleston Harbor
Charleston Harbor
The Charleston Harbor is an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Island, shelter the entrance...
extending north about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and a few hundred yards wide, as a place well suited to build a fort that could protect the entrance from intruding enemy warships. A large vessel sailing into Charleston first had to cross Charleston Bar, a series of submerged shoal
Shoal
Shoal, shoals or shoaling may mean:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals: see Draft...
s lying about 8 miles (12.9 km) southeast of the city, and then pass by the southern end of Sullivan's Island as it entered the channel
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
to the inner harbor. Later it would also have to pass the northern end of James Island
James Island (South Carolina)
James Island is one of South Carolina's most urban Sea Islands. The island is separated from peninsular downtown Charleston by the Ashley River, from the mainland by Wappoo Creek and the Wappoo Cut, and from Johns Island by the Stono River...
, where Fort Johnson commanded the southeastern approach to the city. Moultrie and his 2nd South Carolina Regiment
2nd South Carolina Regiment
The 2nd South Carolina Regiment was raised on June 6, 1775, at Charleston, South Carolina, for service with the Continental Army. The regiment saw action at the Siege of Savannah and the Siege of Charleston. The regiment was captured by the British Army at Charleston on May 12, 1780, together with...
arrived on Sullivan's Island in March 1776, and began construction of a fortress to defend the island and the channel into Charleston Harbor. The construction moved slowly; Captain Peter Horry
Peter Horry
Peter Horry was a South Carolina militia leader. He started his military career in 1775 as one of 20 captains the Provincial Congress of South Carolina elected to serve the 1st and 2nd Regiments. He achieved the rank of Brigadier General , leading the 5th South Carolina Regiment. After the Fall...
of the Patriot naval detachment described the site as a "an immense pen 500 feet long, and 16 feet wide, filled with sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
to stop the shot". The gun platforms were made of planks two inches thick and fastened with wooden spikes.
Square-shaped Fort Sullivan consisted only of the completed seaward wall, with walls made from palmetto
Sabal palmetto
Sabal palmetto, also known as cabbage palm, palmetto, cabbage palmetto, palmetto palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, swamp cabbage and sabal palm, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm . It is native to the southeastern United States, Cuba, and the Bahamas...
logs 20 feet (6.1 m) high and 16 feet (4.9 m) wide. The walls were filled with sand, and rose 10 feet (3 m) above the wooden platforms on which the artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
were mounted. A hastily erected palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
of thick planks helped guard the powder magazine and unfinished northern walls. An assortment of 31 cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, ranging from 9- and 12-pounders to a few English 18-pounders and French 26-pounders, dotted the front and rear walls. General Lee, when he had seen its unfinished state, had recommended abandoning the fort, calling it a "slaughter pen". President Rutledge refused, and specifically ordered Colonel Moultrie to "obey [Lee] in everything, except in leaving Fort Sullivan". Moultrie's delaying tactics so angered Lee that he decided on June 27 that he would replace Moultrie; the battle began the next day before he could do so.
British arrival
The British fleet weighed anchor at Cape Fear on May 31, and arrived outside Charleston Harbor the next day. Moultrie noticed a British scout boat apparently looking for possible landing points on nearby Long Island, just a few hundred yards from Sullivan's Island; troops were consequently sent to occupy the northern end of Sullivan's. By June 8, most of the British fleet had crossed the bar and anchored in Five Fathom Hole, an anchorage between the bar and the harbor entrance. With the fort on Sullivan's Island only half complete, Admiral Parker expressed confidence that his warships would easily breach its walls. Optimistically believing he would not even need Clinton's land forces, he wrote to Clinton that after the fort's guns were knocked out, he would "land seamen and marines (which I have practiced for the purpose) under the guns" and that they could "keep possession till you send as many troops as you think proper".The British fleet was composed of nine man-of-war ships: the flagship 50-gun
Fourth-rate
In the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...
Bristol
HMS Bristol (1775)
HMS Bristol was a fourth-rate ship with 50 guns, launched in 1775. During the American War of Independence, she was Sir Peter Parker's flagship during the attack on Sullivan's Island on June 28, 1776 and was heavily damaged during the battle. Later in the war, she was stationed off Jamaica, and...
, as well as the 50-gun Experiment and frigates Actaeon
HMS Actaeon (1775)
HMS Actaeon was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The Actaeon was first commissioned in June 1775 under the command of Captain Christopher Atkins.- References :...
, Active
HMS Active (1758)
HMS Active was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.-References:* Robert Gardiner, The First Frigates, Conway Maritime Press, London 1992. ISBN 0-85177-601-9....
, Solebay, , Sphinx, Friendship, and the bomb vessel
Bomb vessel
A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...
Thunder, in total mounting nearly 300 cannon. The army forces in the expedition consisted of the 15th
East Yorkshire Regiment
The East Yorkshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the West Yorkshire Regiment , becoming The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of...
, 28th
28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot
The 28th Regiment of Foot was a British infantry regiment from 1782 to 1881.For their conduct at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801 the 28th were given the unique honour of wearing a badge on both the front and rear of their head dress.. They served throughout the Peninsula War including the battles...
, 33rd
Duke of Wellington's Regiment
The Duke of Wellington's Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division.In 1702 Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he did in and around the city of Gloucester. As was the custom in those days...
, 37th
37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot
The 37th Regiment of Foot was raised in Ireland in February 1702.During the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 - 46 the regiment fought at the Battle of Falkirk where it was commanded by Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet and later at the Battle of Culloden where it was commanded by Col. Dejean.Initially...
, 54th
54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot
The 54th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army.Originally formed in 1755 as the 56th Regiment of Foot it was renumbered as the54th when the 50th Regiment and 51st Regiment were disbanded....
, and 57th
57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot
The 57th Regiment of Foot was a regiment of line infantry in the British Army.-History:The regiment started out as the 59th Regiment of Foot raised in Gloucester in 1755....
Regiments of Foot, and part of the 46th
46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot
The 46th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, created in 1741 and amalgamated into the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1881.-History:...
. On June 7, Clinton issued a proclamation calling on the rebel colonists to lay down their arms. However, the inexperienced defenders fired on the boat sent to deliver it (which was flying a truce flag), and it was not delivered until the next day. That same day, Clinton began landing 2,200 troops on Long Island. The intent was that these troops would wade across the channel between Long and Sullivan's, which the British believed to be sufficiently shallow to do so, while the fleet bombarded Fort Sullivan.
General Lee responded to the British landing with several actions. He began reinforcing positions on the mainland in case the British were intending to launch an attack directly on Charleston. He also attempted to build a bridge of boats to provide an avenue of retreat for the fort's garrison, but this failed because there were not enough boats to bridge the roughly one mile (1.6 km) channel separating the island from Charleston; the unwillingness of Moultrie and Rutledge to support the effort may also have played a role. The Americans also constructed an entrenchment at the northern end of Sullivan's Island, which was manned by more than 750 men and three small cannons, and began to fortify a guard post at Haddrell's Point on the mainland opposite Fort Sullivan.
General Clinton encountered the first major problem of the attack plan on June 17. An attempt to wade the channel between the two islands established that part of the channel was at least shoulder-deep, too deep for troops to cross even without the prospect of enemy opposition. He considered using boats to ferry the troops across, but the Americans, with timely advice from General Lee, adopted a strong defensive position that was virtually impossible to bombard from ships or the Long Island position. As a result, the British and American forces faced each other across the channel, engaging in occasional and largely inconsequential cannonfire at long range. Clinton reported that this meant that Admiral Parker would have "the glory of being defeated alone." The attack was originally planned for June 24, but bad weather and contrary wind conditions prompted Parker to call it off for several days.
Battle
On the morning of June 28, Fort Sullivan was defended by Colonel Moultrie, commanding the 2nd South Carolina Regiment and a company of the 4th South Carolina Artillery, numbering 435 men. At around 9:00 am that morning, a British ship fired a signal gun indicating all was ready for the attack. Less than an hour later, nine warships had sailed into positions facing the fort. The Thunder and Friendship anchored about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the fort while Parker took the Active, Bristol, Experiment and Solebay to a closer position about 400 yards (365.8 m) from Sullivan's Island, where they anchored facing broadside to the fort. Each of these ships began to fire upon the fort when it reached its position, and the defenders returned the fire. Although many of the Thunder shots landed in or near the fort, they had little effect; according to Moultrie, "We had a morass in the middle, that swallowed them up instantly, and those that fell in the sand in and about the fort, were immediately buried". Thunder role in the action was also relatively short-lived; she had anchored too far away from the fort, and the overloading of her mortars with extra powder to increase their range eventually led to them breaking out of their mounts. Owing to shortage of gunpowder, Moultrie's men were deliberate in the pace of their gunfire, and only a few officers actually aimed the cannons. They also fired in small volleys, four cannons at a time. One British observer wrote, "Their fire was surprisingly well served" and it was "slow, but decisive indeed; they were very cool and took care not to fire except their guns were exceedingly well directed."General Clinton began movements to cross over to the northern end of Sullivan's Island. Assisted by two sloops of war, the flotilla of longboats carrying his troops came under fire from Colonel William Thomson's defenses. Facing a withering barrage of grape shot and rifle fire, Clinton abandoned the attempt.
Around noon the frigates Sphinx, Syren, and Actaeon were sent on a roundabout route, avoiding some shoals, to take a position from which they could enfilade the fort's main firing platform and also cover one the main escape routes from the fort. However, all three ships grounded on an uncharted sandbar, and the riggings of Actaeon and Sphinx became entangled in the process. The British managed to refloat the Sphinx and Syren, but the Acteon remained grounded, having moved too far onto the submerged sandbar. Consequently, none of these ships reached its intended position, a piece of good fortune not lost on Colonel Moultrie: "Had these three ships effected their purpose, they would have enfiladed us in such a manner, as to have driven us from our guns."
At the fort, Moultrie ordered his men to concentrate their fire on the two large man-of-war ships, the Bristol and Experiment, which took hit after hit from the fort's guns. Chain shot fired at the Bristol eventually destroyed much of her rigging and severely damaged both the main- and mizzenmasts. One round hit her quarterdeck, slightly wounding Parker in the knee and thigh. The shot also tore off part of his britches, leaving his backside exposed. By mid-afternoon, the defenders were running out of gunpowder, and their fire was briefly suspended. However, Lee sent more ammunition and gunpowder over from the mainland, and the defenders resumed firing at the British ships; Lee even briefly visited the fort late in the day, telling Colonel Moultrie, "I see you are doing very well here, you have no occasion for me, I will go up to the town again." Admiral Parker eventually sought to destroy the fort's walls with persistent broadside cannonades. This strategy failed due to the spongy nature of the palmetto wood used in its constructions; the structure would quiver, and it absorbed the cannonballs rather than splintering. The exchange continued until around 9:00 pm, when darkness forced a cessation of hostilities, and the fleet finally withdrew out of range.
Counting casualties, Parker reported 40 sailors killed and 71 wounded aboard the Bristol, which was hit more than 70 times with much damage to the hull, yards, and rigging. The Experiment was also badly damaged with 23 sailors killed and 56 wounded. The Active and Solebay reported 15 casualties each. The Americans reported their casualties at only 12 killed and 25 wounded. The following morning, the British, unable to drag the grounded Acteon off the sandbar, set fire to the ship to prevent her from falling into enemy hands. Patriots in small boats sailed out to the burning ship, fired some of its cannons at the British ships, took what stores and loot they could, and retreated shortly before the ship's powder magazine exploded.
Aftermath
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
in Philadelphia. The British troops were reembarked on their transports, and on July 21 the British fleet withdrew northward to help the main British army in its campaign
New York and New Jersey campaign
The New York and New Jersey campaign was a series of battles for control of New York City and the state of New Jersey in the American Revolutionary War between British forces under General Sir William Howe and the Continental Army under General George Washington in 1776 and the winter months of 1777...
against New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. To add insult to injury, one of the British transports grounded off Long Island and was captured by Patriot forces.
The British did not return to Charleston until 1780, when General Clinton successfully besieged the city
Siege of Charleston
The Siege of Charleston was one of the major battles which took place towards the end of the American Revolutionary War, after the British began to shift their strategic focus towards the American Southern Colonies. After about six weeks of siege, Continental Army Major General Benjamin Lincoln...
and captured an entire army. Until the South again became a focus of the war in late 1778, its states provided military supplies to the northern war effort and produced trade goods that brought in valuable hard currency to fund the war effort.
Admiral Parker and General Clinton engaged in a war of words after the battle, each seeking to cast the blame on the other for the expedition's failures. Although Clinton was not blamed by the government, popular opinion held him responsible, and Parker was lauded for his personal bravery.
Legacy
Fort Sullivan was renamed Fort Moultrie shortly after the battle to honor Colonel William Moultrie for his successful defense of the fort and the city of Charleston. Extensively modified in the two centuries after the battle, it was supplanted by Fort SumterFort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
as the principal defense of Charleston prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The site was turned over to the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
in 1960, and is now part of Fort Sumter National Monument.