Dorchester under the Crescent

Patriot Forces are occupying the fort at Dorchester for the first Dorchester under the Crescent on September 8th-9th. This will be a 2nd South Carolina event with drilling, demonstrating camp life, and other aspects of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. More information to come for the event in the next few weeks. For information about the 2nd SC please visit thier website.

http://www.2ndsc.org/

The 2nd SC have a long history at the fort at Dorchester starting in 1775 when two companies under the command of Francis Marion "The Swamp Fox" were sent there to get the defenses in order against possible Tory attacks. During the time with Marion as commander of the fort  he put the fortifications and military barracks in better order and trained local militia. 

Happy Carolina Day

http://swampfoxbrigade.blogspot.com/2010/05/battle-of-sullivans-island-part-1.html

Carolina Day remembers important Revolutionary battle

• by brian hicks
  bhicks@postandcourier.com
• Posted: Thursday, June 28, 2012 12:10 a.m.

Today marks the 236th anniversary of the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, a conflict that made Moultrie a local household name and set the British back considerably in their quest to tame the colonists.

“This was an early turning point,” said Doug MacIntyre, president of the Fort Sumter-Fort Moultrie Historical Trust. “We can only speculate as to what might have happened if the patriots had not prevailed.”

On June 28, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was being hashed out in Philadelphia, the British Navy descended on Fort Sullivan at the south end of the island as thousands of ground troops simultaneously tried to cross Breech Inlet to take the island’s north end.

It was part of Britain’s southern strategy to mobilize loyalists in the South Carolina backcountry and control one of the colonies’ most important ports.

Commodore Peter Parker aimed the might of the British Navy at the palmetto-log fort guarding the harbor entrance while Gen. Henry Clinton tried to take the island with 3,000 troops that had landed on Long Island (now Isle of Palms).

The most famous detail of that day remains the spongy palmetto logs of Fort Sullivan repelling British cannon fire — a detail that guaranteed the palmetto its place as a state icon. But Mac-Intyre said the battle at Breech Inlet was perhaps even more impressive.

The inlet in those days was at least a mile wide, a dangerous obstacle course of rushing water, sandbars and oyster beds. And if that weren’t bad enough, Clinton had to face a formidable force assembled by Col. William Thomson.

Thomson and his back-country troops were joined by Indians from the Catawba and other tribes, as well as some slaves.

There were 780 men in all, but once the fight started, Clinton feared that he was facing an army of perhaps 4,000. Mac-Intyre said Clinton never got a foothold in Sullivan’s Island.

Meanwhile, William Moultrie repelled the British Navy so handily that, after the war, Fort Sullivan was renamed in his honor.

MacIntyre, who will speak today at the Carolina Day ceremony in White Point Garden, said new accounts of that day are still coming to light, and they paint a portrait of Charles Town as worried and anxious — just as it would be a few years later when the British had the city under siege again, this time more successfully.

Although the state celebrates Carolina Day every year, much of the rest of the country has forgotten what a pivotal moment it was in the Revolutionary War.

“It was an embarrassment for Peter Parker, a rising officer in the Royal Navy,” said W. Eric Emerson, director of the state Department of Archives and History.

“It’s the most powerful navy in the world, and they are beat by a gang of rebels in a palmetto-log fort. I think it’s pretty significant, and wish more people would recognize it.”

Reach Brian Hicks at 937-5561 or follow him on Twitter at @BriHicks_PandC.

New park could be historic treasure

This is what we have been working on the past year, so we hope to get back to work on the blog now that it has become a reality. 

Author(s):    BY BO PETERSEN
bopete@postandcourier.com Date: June 21, 2012 Section: Metro

SUMMERVILLE - The jungle-like stretch of the Ashley River, where it turns from a blackwater creek to a tidal stream, alone made Dorchester County's newest park property irresistible. The property might well have once held Gen. William Moultrie's "lost fort," among the most significant regional Revolutionary War sites not yet located.

There's one more thing: This park just might make money.

"Canoe and paddleboat rentals, shelter rentals, festivals, weddings, there's so many resources out there. The entire canvas is a blank slate that can actually pay for itself, in my opinion," said Tom O'Rourke, Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission executive director, who was consulted on the purchase.

The 83-acre tract Dorchester County is buying for its latest nature park is a prized piece of open land in the densely packed suburban area outside Summerville.

The county voted Monday to buy the property for $1.35 million. The site, formerly slated for residential development, had been in bank receivership.

It sits north of the river and east of Bacons Bridge Road, diagonally across the bridge from the newly opened woodland trail, Rosebrock Park.

The river tract is the third significant property bought in the past few years in the suburban lower county, where the county previously had no parks. In 2010, voters overwhelmingly passed a $5 million bond for parks and open space.

The other property is the Pine Trace tract off Miles Jamison Road.

The county also purchased 2 acres fronting the river tract along Bacons Bridge Road that it plans to sell for a compatible business to help pay for the park.

County Councilman Jay Byars, whose district includes the river property, said the park could be up and running relatively quickly. Some $3 million worth of infrastructure already is in place from the previous development effort, he said, including sewer lines, a fishing pond with gazebo, a dock on the river and a riverside trail with boardwalks.

With that value already on the ground and the potential for the park to support its own operation, the purchase "was a no-brainer," he said.

"You've got 3,000 feet of frontage on the Ashley River that the public can get out and enjoy. I don't think there was any argument on council. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Then there's the "lost fort."

If archaeological digs confirm the place as the site of the Moultrie's camp, Byars suggested that the park might well be developed around that history, making it a regional attraction.

"I'm excited about the potential, the preservation of an important site and what it can do for the economy of the county," said Summerville historian Steven Steele.

The historic Bacon's Bridge crossed the river in the vicinity during the Revolutionary War and was a key strategic point, the inland wagon route to the fort and town just downstream at what is today the Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site.

Moultrie's camp would have protected the bridge.

Together, the nearby sites could make up a bigger historical trail attraction that could be traveled by water.

Patrick O'Kelley, who wrote a history of the American Revolution in the Carolinas, has visited the park site.

At one point, more than 1,000 American soldiers, some under "Swamp Fox" Francis Marion, were stationed near the bridge, a massive encampment that likely took up at least some of the park grounds, O'Kelley said.

"It's entirely possible" the park is that site, he said. "It makes sense."

Reach Bo Petersen at 937-5744, @bopete on Twitter or Bo Petersen Reporting on Facebook.

General Moultrie's Lost Fort

Most people know the story of General Moultrie’s fort on Sullivan's Island that was named for him after he lead the forts defense against the British on June 28^th in  1776. This fort becomes the symbol of resistance in Charlestown against the crown after its walls of palmetto logs were able to with stand the bombardment of the British Navy and Col. Thomson at the other end of Sullivan's Island was able to keep the British troops on Long Island (Isle of Palms) from crossing Breech Inlet and attacking the fort by land.

General Moultrie’s forgotten fortification can be found in Dorchester County on the Ashley River. This is the earth redoubt that he built to guard the access to Charlestown near Summerville, SC. This was an important crossroad for the defense of Charlestown 28 miles up the Ashley River. This was the bridge that leads across the Ashley River to White House Meeting House named in the honor of Reverend White, which the British burned under General Provost during his raid against Charlestown in 1778 and to Dorchester Road which was the main road leading directly to Charlestown. This fortification was built between January and February of 1780 to block any British advance coming up from Savannah that were going to link up with the British General Clinton who had landed on Johns Island and was already moving his forces to James Island under the protection of the Royal Navies big guns.  At this fortification he had over 300 hundred horseman that were used as a reconnaissance force and or a rapid response force should the British appear at other crossings to impede their crossings. This cavalry force was composed of the 1st Continental Dragoons under the command of Lt. Col. Anthony White and the 3rd Continental Dragoons under the command of Lt. Col. William Washington, Col. Daniel Horry’s South Carolina Light Dragoons and other mounted troops from the local militia and unattached cavalry. This group of cavalry was put to good use in late March of 1780 by checking a British Calvary force consisting primarily of the British Legion and the 17^th Light horse under the command of Col. Tarlton who had yet to earn his American nickname Bloody Tarleton.  The infantry force was composed of the 2^nd South Carolina with around 250 men who defended the palmetto fort on Sullivan’s under Moultrie’s command in 1776 and whom at this time were under the direct command of his second in command at Fort Moultrie, Francis Marion. Marion’s other role at Bacon's Bridge was to form the local militia from the surrounding parishes and have them ready to defend Charlestown. This was no easy task because the locals were in fear of the British burning their homes while they were away.

Once General Lincoln, who was in total command of the defenses of Charlestown realized the British planned to cross at Stono Ferry he began to pull all his available forces to Charlestown proper  and General Moultrie’s position on the Ashley River was abandoned as his forces reported to Charlestown.  

This did not end the importance of this site since Marion would returned under the command of General Lincoln as a General in the South Carolina Militia and with a well earned nickname “The Swamp Fox”. Marion would come back to the site several times to check possible British advances or passing through to other areas of operations.

Today the spot where the fortification was located has been located and is now in the process of being protected for future generations so they won’t forget Moultrie’s lost fort as previous generations have.

June 28th, 1776 Battle of Sullivan's Island; Part 14 Battle of Sullivan's Island

         On the morning of June 28^th, 1776 we find Col. Moultrie with Col. Thomson at the advance guard going over the situation there, when they hear a cannon fired and start to see the British Fleet making preparations to weigh anchor. Once they realize what was happening, Moultrie jumps on a horse and begins his short three mile ride to the unfinished fort at the other side of the island where Lt. Col. Isaac Motte  and Major Francis Marion where sounding to quarters  inside the fort to prepare for the British fleet. When Moultrie left Thomson he left him in charge of the Third South Carolina Regiment, a detachment of the Fourth South Carolina Artillery manning the two guns, South Carolina Militia, the First North Carolina Continentals under the command of Colonel Clark, a group of Catawba Indians, and the Raccoon Company of Riflemen totaling around 770 men with two pieces of artillery an 18 pounder and six pounder dug in. At the fort, the Second South Carolina and  a detachment of the Fourth South Carolina Artillery Regiment totaling around 435 men where now at their guns reading for action as Moultrie rode up to the fort.

On Mount Pleasant, at Haddrell’s Point, General Armstrong was at full alert waiting to see if Clinton on Long Island was going to assault Sullivan’s Island or at Mount Pleasant so he had his troops consisting of South Carolina Militia, the Fifth South Carolina under Col. Isaac Huger, Sixth South Carolina under Lt. Col. Thomas Sumter, North Carolina Continentals, and the Eighth Virginia totaling around sixteen hundred troops. They were placed near the fortification at Haddrell’s point and at other points where Clinton could possibly make an attempt of landing at. At this point to reinforcements were sent to Sullivan’s Island because General Lee wanted to make sure the main land was protected first and of his worries of the fort being undependable as discussed before. If Lee was to order Armstrong to send troops to Sullivan’s Island they would have to be carried over in boats as the bridge that General Lee had long sought was not deemed safe for usage. 

On James Island, Fort Johnson, was manned by the First South Carolina commanded by Christopher Gadsden. They were now at battle station inside the fort and at the new battery built a little ways from the fort covering the harbor.

In the town proper of Charlestown General Lee had the rest of the South Carolina Militia, North Carolina Continentals, and the Fourth South Carolina under the command of Lt. Col. Owen Roberts prepared to defend the city proper against any attack there.

The South Carolina Navy was in port for the most part with its sailors being distributed among the new fortifications in Charlestown and along with its powder and guns.  The big exception to this was the Defence, the hero from the Battle of Hogg’s Island which was stationed in the cove behind the fort, placed there in the original defense plans of Charleston Harbor by the Patriots. Its purpose was to try to prevent the British ships from getting behind the fort if possible.

General Clinton was on Long Island with his First Brigade under the command of Cornwallis and his Second Brigade under the command of Vaughn. They had procured as many boats as possible for their amphibious assault across Breech Inlet and were now prepared to go over once the fleet began its bombardment. They had fitted some of the boats with 3 pound cannon to help with the keep the Patriots busy as they rowed across the inlet. Also HMS Lady William and HMS Raven were moving up Hamlin Creek to in range of the Advance Guard to give cover to the boats as they made their attempt across the inlet with HMS Ranger on the Atlantic side also trying to maneuver into range. 

The Royal Navy under the command of Admiral Parker had fired the signal shot from the HMS Bristol at 10:30 AM and was now trying to move from Five Fathom Hole to within range of the fort. This process took over an hour for the first hot at the effort did not occur until 11:30 AM when HMS Thunder began to fire thirteen inch mortar shells towards to the fort. As the bombardment began in earnest from the rest of the fleet joining in General Lee’s nightmare of British ships getting behind the fort on Sullivan’s Island began to come to fruition. HMS Actaeon, HMS Syren, and HMS Sphinx began to maneuver towards the cove behind the fort. We can only imagine the fear that the Patriots had as they had no real way to stop these British ships as they moved closer and closer towards their objective of cutting off the fort and firing at it from three sides with the British heavy navel guns. When the times are their darkest that’s when the Lord always seems to shine through. At this point the three ships which were now almost at a point of cutting off the fort ran hard a ground in the harbor unable to free themselves for some time and totally removing themselves from influencing the battle. As these ship’s crews worked feverishly to free their ships from the sand bar, the bombardment continued with HMS Bristol, HMS Experiment, HMS Solebay, and others  pounding the fort with their heavy guns.

With the bombardment going in full force General Lee was in Charlestown desperate for information to figure out the plan of British attack. We recall he never wanted to defend Sullivan’s Island for which the British would have been grateful for since their main objective was the island in order to close the harbor to shipping. With this in mind Lee is now waiting to see where the British blow will come with their infantry on Long Island destine to try to make an attempt somewhere to gain a foot hold. With Clinton’s plan not being clear to Lee and the fact he felt that the fort could not with stand the bombardment of the Royal Navy he did not send powder or troops to the island when the fight first began as he felt they could be lost when the island.

To see surprise of General Lee the fort was doing just fine with the troops inside it very well protected by their sixteen foot high walls that were filled with eight foot of sand in the finished sections. The cannon balls that the British were firing was doing little damage to the fort proper because of their range they were firing from, because of fear of grounding and the fact that palmetto logs are flexible enough to withstand the force of impact without splintering or breaking. As the Patriots returned fire they were starting to inflect damage on the fleet but with their limited powder supply they could not fire without the possibility of running out of powder so they fired very slowly to conserve powder. At this point when the firing was the most it was now time for Clinton to as he put it find some way for the army to assist in the assault with no clear point of attack in place.

General Clinton now decided it was time for the army to make its amphibious assault attempt across the inlet. Under the cover of HMS Lady Williams, HMS Raven, and HMS Ranger the special units of the 15^th, 28^th, 33^rd, 37^th, 46^th, 54^th, and 57^th regiments of foot began to lad in the boats for their dash across the inlet in boats. What a far cry this was from the original plan of splashing across the inlet at low tide. HMS Lady Williams and HMS Raven moved past the troops loading on the boats to take up position to cover them and to bring their cannons into range of the Patriot advance guard.  Also at this point the Royal Artillery that Clinton had brought with him to the island began to fire from Long Island, Green Island, and an oyster bank where they had placed some cannon at. As the navy moved into position Thomson’s eighteen pound cannon roared into action and began to fire at these two ships in Hamlin Creek to great effect, causing damage to the ships and fear among the sailors. At this point in the cannon dual, Clinton chooses to send his boats loaded with troops to start across the inlet. The ships which had been sent to cover the landing where trying to counter the Patriot artillery when they went aground trying to maneuver in the creek. This no left Clinton's exposed troops to the mercy of the Patriots whose dug in position had given them ample protection from the British army and navy. Once the British troops came into range the patriot’s cannon they began to fire grape shot from their eighteen pounder and six pounder leaving the exposed troops in an awful fire. With the Royal Navy unable to cover the landings anymore and with his troops defenseless to the patriot cannon fire he calls the boats back to Long Island to await further developments.  With this, the land battle part of the Sullivan’s Island ended with the hope of the British now relying on the Royal Navy’s cannon to force the Patriots out of their fortifications and into the open.

At the height of the battle between the fort and the British Navy one of the greatest stories of South Carolina heroism in the American Revolution occurs. The flag staff of the fort was cut in half by a cannon fired by the British. This was important because once a force lowered its flag it showed they were not going to continue the fight. At this moment a sergeant in the Second South Carolina by the name of William Jasper saw what had happened and grabbed the flag and an artillery staff placed the flag on the staff and stood fully exposed to British fire at the top of the wall until a make shift flag pole could be made to place the flag on so that the British and those watching from elsewhere knew the fort was fighting on.

Around 4PM General Lee decided to go to Sullivan’s Island to see for himself how the fort was holding up. He finally arrives at the fort at 5PM from Charlestown at the same time two hundred pounds of desperately needed powder arrives from the South Carolina Navel ship Defence. Also around 5PM the 8^th Virginia arrived at the advance guard with a detachment of South Carolina troops to bolster the troops there under Thomson. After a short inspection of the fort and talking with Moultrie and his staff, Lee returns to Charlestown in order to hurry powder and other supplies to the fort.

By night fall, no advantage had been gained by Parker or Clinton on Sullivan’s Island. Parker had failed to destroy the fort on the island and Clinton had not obtained a foot hold on it for his troops. The fleet had taken a beating from the slow and steady fire from the fort and needed time for repairs. Also the three ships which had grounded in the inner harbor two had managed to get free with HMS Actaeon still not able to free herself. The British Army was on Long Island secure from counter attack, but was also smarting from their attempted attack across the inlet. Also the time was drawing near for the British to sail north to join Howe on his New York Campaign. With little chance of success now possible the British after a few days decided it was best to sail north to join Howe without any more loss of men or ships.

Thus the Patriots of South Carolina gained the first major victory of the American Revolution even before the Declaration of Independence is signed. 

Next up, after action report 

The fortifications on Sullivan's Island the morning of June 28th, 1776; Part 13 Battle of Sullivan's Island

The fort had 31 cannons mounted on the morning of June 28^th, 1776 ranging from 9 pounders to the large 26 pounders. About half of the fort was completed with the side facing Northeast and northwest till not yet finished. These would be the sides opposite the entrance to Charlestown Harbor. The fort was designed to hold one thousand men, but on the morning of the 28^th the unfinished fort had four hundred and twenty four men of the Second South Carolina, a twenty man detachment of the Forth South Carolina Artillery Regiment, plus the workers who had begun the daily working on the fort under the direction of the Continental Engineers Baron Massenborg and DeBrahm.

Below is a replica of a section of fort's wall at the SC State Museum in Columbia, SC

We find Major Francis Marion of the Second South Carolina in command of half of the cannon inside the fort going about his daily duty of inspecting the men and fort waiting to see when the British would attack.

Over the fort flew an indigo blue flag with a white crest moon in the top left corner. A debate about the rest of makeup of the flag still goes on today. The debate centers on the word “LIBERTY”  and if the word was on the flag or not. If it was on the flag the word “LIBERTY” was on the bottom of the flag or inside the crest moon. Moultrie describes the word “LIBERTY” inside the crescent moon and that’s good enough for us since he would have had to okay the design and making of the flag.      

At the Advance Guard we find Moultrie and Thomson with his Third South Carolina, South Carolina Militia, a detachment of North Carolina Continentals, and the Raccoon Company of Rifle men behind a sound dug in position totaling around seven hundred and seventy men with an eighteen pound cannon and six pound cannon covering Breech Inlet. At 10:30AM this morning, the battle began with a signal cannon fired from the HMS Bristol fired to begin the British assault on Sullivan's Island.  Thus we find Moultrie jumping in the saddle riding hard and fast back the three miles to his command and his destiny on this June day.   

Francis Marion enters the picture: Part 8 Battle of Sullivan's Island

With this blog being named after Marion’s Brigade you would figure it would be about Marion. Well to be honest it is, but we had to set the tone for Marion to enter the picture and there are lots of interesting stories about the revolution in South Carolina that we want to share also. So we will try to blend the two at times and concentrate on one or the other at other times.

Francis Marion by the fall of 1775 was a respected elected official in South Carolina politics which had voted for independence and was an officer in the 2nd South Carolina. He was also an experienced militia soldier who had served as an enlisted member of South Carolina Provincial Calvary with his brother and as a lieutenant in the infantry fighting the Cherokee in the back country of South Carolina and Eastern Tennessee in two different wars serving with such men as William Moultrie, Andrew Pickens, and Peter Horry. This military experience served him well in the inner circles of planter aristocracy in Charleston where they selected him to become a captain in the 2nd South Carolina, serving under his old commander from fighting the Cherokees, William Moultrie.

He first is to see action when he was chosen along with two other highly recognized militia military leaders who had join the line infantry Captain Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Captain Barnard Elliot to take Fort Johnson from the British on June 21st, 1775 by the South Carolina Council of Safety. However, Marion and his men did not take part on the assault against Fort Johnson, which was not defended, since Lord Campbell had already left it earlier and spiked the cannons to keep them out of Patriot use. Marion and his men were still off loading at the transport when the others decide to attack because of  fear of alerting the fort to their presence. With Marion being selected for this assignment it shows just how highly he was thought of in early South Carolina military circles.

After the taking of Fort Johnson the Patriots started to build up defenses in the harbor proper to eject Lord Campbell and the two British ships which he maintained in the harbor to try to keep some control of the colony and to rally Loyalist support to the crown which never materialized. As a result a military depot to store powered, munitions, cannons, and important papers was established at the old fort at the town of Dorchester thirty miles up the Ashley River from Charleston. This fortification  was built in 1757 to protect a brick powder magazine and surrounded by a tabby wall for extra protection during the French and Indian War. As the supplies built up the fears of Loyalist coming from the back country of South Carolina to take the material there increased. As a result Moultrie sent Marion on November 19th, 1775 to Dorchester with command of his company and Captain Huger’s to secure the tabby fort there and make it ready for any possible attack. This was accomplished by Marion without incident and he remanded at Dorchester for some months protecting the very valuable material stored at this site.

The order reads as follows

Dated: November 19, 1775

"To Captain Francis Marion

     You are to proceed with all expeditions with yours, and Cap. Huger's companies to Dorchester, to reinforce the troops there, and to take specialcare in guarding and defending the cannon, gunpowder, and public records at that place. you are to take command of the whole of the troops at that place, till further orders. You are to apply to the commottee in Dorchester, for a sufficient number of negroes in the public service, to remove the cannon lying by the water-side to a spot more safe, and convenient, near the fort or bacrraks, etc.

Willaim Moultrie"

In late January or early February Marion and his detachment was ordered to Fort Johnson on James Island and then to Haddrell’s Point where a battery was nearing completion by the Continental forces while Moultrie and most of the 2nd South Carolina was starting in earnest to build the main fortifications on Sullivans Island. While at the fortifications at Haddrell’s Point, Marion was promoted to Major in the 2nd South Carolina and took his place as second in command to Moultrie. Once this occurred he along with his detachment transferred to Sullivans Island to help with the work on the fortifications there.

So in early June 1776, we find Francis Marion, a Major in the 2nd South Carolina and second in command of the major fortification on the South Eastern side of the island ready to meet their fate against the British Empire.

Battle of Sullivans Island Part 4: Charleston prepares for war

The pre revolution defenses of Charleston were mainly Fort Johnson on James Island, the town militia, and parish militia. The only other military buildings in the general area around Charleston were the Powder Magazine in Charleston and the tabby fort at the town of Dorchester 30 miles upriver from Charleston. The common thread for these defenses was that they were never meant to fight off a major power alone. They were designed to hold off attackers until the British Fleet and Army could come to the rescue of Charles Town. As long as the colony of South Carolina had the protection of the crown it could hold its own against the Native Americans, but not much more. Also with the protection of the crown the colonist did not want to add more defenses because that would require public spending which would causes taxes and we know how they felt about taxes.




Fort Johnson had been guarding the harbor since 1704 on the Southern entrance to the harbor protecting against the ever present Spanish threat from Florida and the French threat from the Caribbean which caused it to be strengthened in 1759 during the French and Indian War. The Powder Magazine was built in 1713 to hold the powder stores for the colony. By the time of the revolution it had already gone out of service, but was used by the patriots as a meeting point and for storage for incoming troops and their munitions. The Powder Magazine can still be visited today in down town Charleston. The fort at the town of Dorchester was built in 1757 to help protect the town from possible French and Indian attacks during the French and Indian War. Its location on the Ashley River meant that it would be the first road block on one of the two the main river transport systems from the interior of South Carolina to the capital at Charleston the other system being the Cooper River. It was constructed out of tabby walls on a bluff overlooking the river. In 1775 a powder magazine was built out of brick in the middle of the fort for storage of extra powder outside of Charleston for either Charleston’s defense if they needed it or for a forward storage area for the interior of the colony by the Patriots. This site can also be visited today to see the fort still intact, a church site, and what’s left of the Powder Magazine.

These defensive positions around Charleston were not in the best of shape in 1775 when the colony of South Carolina decided to rise up with the other colonies to defy their King. In fact, by 1775 the powder magazine and the fort at Dorchester were for the most part abandoned. Fort Johnson was in little better shape, but it was kept in some state of readiness by the British.

This was the state of defense in Charleston when they decided to join the other colonies. As soon as the path was clear that some sort of armed revolt was coming the colonist began to construct works on different parts of the harbor for their protection against their new threat, the British.

This began to change once the South Carolinas began to organize a patriot government. In September of 1775 the South Carolinas took position of Fort Johnson and began to arm the fort with new cannons and to repair the cannons the British had spiked upon their abandoning of the fort. The strengthening of Fort Johnson was assigned to the First South Carolina. Also, this was the time period that the fort at Dorchester began to get its new powder magazine. Four 18lb guns were also placed on Haddrell’s point, on present day Mount Pleasant to guard the Cooper River entrance to Charleston in the inner harbor defenses. This building up of the batteries around Charleston helped to convince Gov. Lord Campbell and the two British ships in the harbor the HMS Tamar and HMS Cherokee where he was trying to cause an uprising of Natives and Tories that it was time to leave before they were caught in a trap.

One of the first things that came about on Sullivan’s Island was that Col. Moultrie of the 2nd South Carolina ordered men from both the 1st and 2nd SC to send a combined force of 225 men to the island on January 10th, 1776 to build a fascine battery on the tip of the island guarding the entrance to the harbor. A fascine battery is one made primary out of sticks that are tied together almost like baskets for protection. Facing any type of artillery barrage this type of battery would be of little use to its defenders. So on March of 1776 Col. Moultrie was ordered to Sullivan’s Island to build a fortification of real substance with his 2nd South Carolina that could hold out the Royal Navy. This was accomplished with the use of mechanics, army personnel, slaves, and volunteers who worked around the clock to build the fortification. This fort was built out of sand and palmetto logs which came from all over the harbor. To get the palmetto logs to the island, they were tied together in rafts and floated to the beaches of the island and then dragged to the construction site by animal and man power. The plan was for the fort to have 16 feet thick walls and 500 feet long around its perimeter with walls 10 feet higher than the gun placements. The palmetto trees would form an inner and outer wall with sand in between to give maximum protection to the guns and their crews inside the fort.

Besides Fort Johnson on James Island, another battery was placed on James Island with twelve cannons in an inner defense position in case the British Fleet got past Fort Johnson. This second battery on James Island was also garrisoned by the 1st South Carolina.

Christopher Gadsden

In the city proper the town was building redoubts, fortifications, and batteries to repel the British if they should get past the outer harbor defenses. One of the most substantial fortifications was placed on and near Gadsden’s wharf one of the largest private wharfs in North America and which was garrisoned by the 4rth South Carolina. Its owner Christopher Gadsden was a member of the 1st and 2nd Continental Congress and a Lt. Col in the 1st South Carolina Regiment. He is also famous for the Gadsden Flag which he designed with the yellow back ground, coiled snake, and the words “don’t tread on me” located on it. These fortifications in the city proper mainly went up on the Cooper River side of Charleston since it was the location where almost all of the industry in Charleston was located at during this time period.

During the spring of 1776 the harbor was full of the sounds of construction and troops drilling in the air as the thought of a British fleet showing up outside the harbor made the work have urgency and real purpose. Also during this time period troops began to come from Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia to aid in the defense of Charleston. Along with the troops came Continental Officers such as General John Armstrong, General Charles Lee, and other to help build and lead the defense of Charleston.



The next in piece in the series will be on the British fleet arriving and the battle.

Battle of Sullivan's Island Part Three

As the British began to pull anchors and set sail for Charleston Harbor, the Patriot forces there were putting their defenses in the ready. This process had already started in January of 1775 when the colony voted to leave the British Empire and set up its own government. This was done after they had sent five representatives to the Continental Congress in September of 1774 in hopes of repairing the relationship between colony and mother country. The Continental Congress was unable to solve the problems and all hope was lost when word reached South Carolina of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts in May of 1775. Once the South Carolines knew there was to be a shooting war they began to build up defenses and recruit troops.


The first troops raised to fight the British Empire in South Carolina were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th South Carolina. The first two were to be of the line with the third being a ranger regiment to control the inland region of South Carolina and the forth was designated an artillery regiment. Also in the fall of 1775 South Carolines started to take control of key military sites in the harbor and the city proper. This included the fort on James Island, Fort Johnson, the powder magazine in downtown Charleston, and other strategic points in the harbor. The other strategic points included Haddrell Point and at the water front of Charleston, where cannons were placed to defend the city and to help dislodge Governor Campbell from the harbor, where he was still trying to govern from two British warships sitting there. The other keep point that the Patriots began to place guns was on Sullivan’s Island. Sullivan’s Island is located on the Northern approach to the harbor and with it being fortified caused the governor and the British fleets to leave before damage could be done to them in the late fall of 1775. While this was going on in Charleston, militia in the outer parishes of South Carolina began to drill and prepare for the British.

While the South Carolina Provincial Government was preparing for the expected British attack the merchants in Charleston were producing goods as fast as they could. These goods were for the war effort in the North and also for the new trade routes that opened once South Carolina decided to leave the Empire. The workshops and the docks were at full capacity bringing in much need war material and profit for the local merchants. Ships from many nations were in and out of Charleston harbor as fast as they could load and unload. These ships were not involved in diplomatic relations; they were involved in moving valuable cargo to and from Charleston to the Caribbean and other points on the globe. This preparing for war and making a profit for the local merchants and farmers went on for a few months. That was until the return of John Rutledge in February of 1776 from the Continental Congress with word of a British fleet heading south from New England. In February of 1776 the first meeting of the General Assembly occurred and they elected John Rutledge President of South Carolina.

The election of John Rutledge (pictured to the right) marked a turning point in creating a stronger defense of Charleston. Besides the election of Rutledge in February in March the Continental Congress also started to take the threat of a British invasion of the South very seriously and they appointed General Charles Lee as Commander of the Southern Theater of operations. General Lee made his head quarters in Williamsburg, Virginia as he felt that either Virginia or South Carolina would be the place that the British struck in the South. Also in March of 1776 President Rutledge ordered a fort built on Sullivan’s Island to defend the Northern approach to the harbor. He gave this task to Col. William Moultrie and his command, the 2nd South Carolina.

In the next article we will discuss how the fort was built on Sullivan’s Island and

how other defenses were created in Charleston.

Col. William Moultire