Fort Moultrie (Sullivan's Island, South Carolina)
Sullivan's Island · South Carolina · Revolutionary War, Civil War
History & Significance
Colonel William Moultrie, born in Charleston in 1730, was a planter who held the rank of colonel by 1774 and owned a rice plantation with about 200 enslaved people. When he assumed command of Sullivan's Island in March 1776, he found workers using thousands of palmetto logs and sand to construct a fort sufficient for 1,000 men.
On June 28, 1776, nine British warships commanded by Commodore Sir Peter Parker attacked the incomplete fort. Moultrie's command of 31 cannons faced over 270 British cannons.
The fort's palmetto log and sand walls absorbed much of the British fire and suffered little damage. The legislature honored Moultrie's defense by officially renaming the fortification Fort Moultrie, and in September 1776, he was promoted to brigadier general in the Continental Army.
The British eventually captured Fort Moultrie as part of the Siege of Charleston in spring 1780, renaming it Fort Arbuthnot. British troops departed in 1782.
Congress authorized a second Fort Moultrie in 1794 made of brick as part of coastal defense efforts. Following severe damage from storms, a more permanent third version was completed in 1809 with brick walls and stronger defenses.
Major Robert Anderson and eighty-five Federal soldiers occupied the fort built in 1809 before moving to Fort Sumter in December 1860. During the first battle of the Civil War (April 12–13, 1861), Confederates at Fort Moultrie fired on Union troops in Fort Sumter.
In 1947, Fort Moultrie was officially decommissioned after nearly 170 years of service. Its use in defense had become obsolete with missile technology and airpower. In 1960, the Department of Defense transferred Fort Moultrie to the National Park Service, which manages the historic fort as a unit of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Original 1776 palmetto-log fort construction on display
- Revolutionary War and Civil War artifacts and exhibits
- Multiple fort iterations showcasing American military evolution
- Charleston Harbor views from defensive gun positions
- Part of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park
Sources
- https://www.nps.gov/people/william-moultrie.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Moultrie
- https://www.friendscnp.org/fort-moultrie
- https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/history-fort-moultrie
- https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/fort-moultrie/
Other Forts in South Carolina
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