Fort Moultrie, at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, was originally constructed during the Revolutionary War and was modernized for the War of 1812, the Civil War, and the two World Wars. Today it is part of the Fort Sumter National Historical Monument.
For those who don't know, I live in a converted campervan and am traveling around the country, posting photo diaries of places that I have visited. :)
After the Loyalist defeat at Moore’s Creek in 1776 during the Revolutionary War, British General Henry Clinton cancelled his planned North Carolina landing and milled about offshore with his fleet, waiting several weeks for reinforcements from England to arrive, to be commanded by General Charles Cornwallis. They were delayed by weather, and it wasn’t until May that the British ships finally anchored.
With these fresh troops at last arrived, Clinton continued on to Charleston, reaching the city on June 4 and putting troops ashore on one of the islands in the harbor. Over the next three weeks, in several skirmishes, the redcoats found themselves pinned down and unable to move, partly because one of the shoals they had planned to advance across proved to be too deep to ford even at low tide.
Clinton then decided to force his way into the harbor by bombarding and destroying Fort Sullivan with his naval force. On June 28, the cannonade began. The British had over ten times as many cannons as the American defenders, but the Fort was solidly built from sand and palmetto logs, and withstood the bombardment. The American cannons managed to damage several British ships, and three of the besieging warships ran aground in the shallow shoals. Two of these were refloated: the third was burned to prevent its capture.
During the 13-hour bombardment, a cannonball shattered the flagpole from which the rebel flag (consisting of a white crescent on a blue field) was flying, and it fell to the ground outside the fort’s walls. Since lowering one’s flag was a signal of surrender, an American militiaman named William Jasper promptly jumped off the wall, retrieved the flag, and returned to affix it to the top of the parapet. Today a statue stands at Charleston Harbor in his honor.
As night fell, Clinton realized that his invasion attempt had failed, and ordered a withdrawal. He had suffered over 200 casualties compared to around 30 for the Americans. Only one of his frigates remained seaworthy. Three weeks later, after making hasty repairs to their ships, the British left Charleston and sailed back to New York. They would not return to the southern colonies in force for several more years.
Fort Sullivan was renamed Fort Moultrie, after the American officer who commanded it during the attack. Abandoned after the Revolutionary War, it was rebuilt in time for the War of 1812 and the Civil War, then modernized again for the Spanish-American War. During the two World Wars, it served as a base for anti-submarine duty.
Today, Fort Moultrie is part of the Fort Sumter National Park at Charleston SC, which also contains the Civil War site of Fort Sumter. Various parts of Fort Moultrie have been restored to depict the different parts of its history, from the Revolutionary War to World War II. Sadly, there is nothing left of the original 1776 sand and log fort, but the gravesite of General William Moultrie is found next to the Visitors Center.
Some photos from a visit.