page_title: Battle of Sullivan's Island
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Sullivan's Island / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Engraving of a sketch of the 1776 Battle of Sullivan's Island, made by a British Army officer. Caption reads: A plan of the attack of Fort Sulivan, near Charles Town in South Carolina by a squadron of His Majesty's ships on the 28th day of June 1776, with the disposition of the King's land forces and the encampments and entrenchments of the rebels, from the drawings made on the spot.
context_page_description: The Battle of Sullivan's Island or the Battle of Fort Sullivan was fought on June 28, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. It took place near Charleston, South Carolina, during the first British attempt to capture the city from American forces. 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 decided instead to act against Charlestown. Arriving there in early June, troops were landed on Long Island, near Sullivan's Island where Colonel William Moultrie commanded a partially constructed fort, in preparation for a naval bombardment and land assault. General Charles Lee, commanding the southern Continental theater of the war,
  would provide supervision.
context_section_description: 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 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. Thunder and Friendship anchored about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the fort while Parker took Active, Bristol, Experiment and Solebay to a closer position about 400 yards (370 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 Thunder's 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's 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 cannon 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 of 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 Sphinx and Syren, but 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, Bristol and Experiment, which took hit after hit from the fort's guns. Chain shot fired at 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.
  At one point during the battle, the flag Moultrie had designed and raised over the fort was shot down. Sergeant William Jas
caption: A British engineer's map made following the engagement.
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