Battle of Sullivan’s Island

Battle of Sullivan’s Island
Greetings, today I will talk about one of the most important battles that took place during the early years of the American Revolution, the Battle of Sullivan’s Island near Charleston, South Carolina. South Carolina at the time was the riches of the 13 colonies and supplied most of rice and indigo for the colonies.
From the Book
The American Revolution – 1776

Transcript:

Battle of Sullivan’s Island
Greetings, today I will talk about one of the most important battles that took place during the early years of the American Revolution, the Battle of Sullivan’s Island near Charleston, South Carolina. South Carolina at the time was the riches of the 13 colonies and supplied most of rice and indigo for the colonies.
From the Book
The American Revolution – 1776
https://mossyfeetbooks.com/2026/05/13/the-american-revolution-1776/

Battle of Sullivan’s Island

Greetings, today I will talk about one of the most important battles that took place during the early years of the American Revolution, the Battle of Sullivan’s Island near Charleston, South Carolina. South Carolina at the time was the riches of the 13 colonies and supplied most of rice and indigo for the colonies.
Before starting, I want to announce that my book The American Revolution – 1776 is now available in softbound, ebook and audio book formats on Amazon and many other online book sellers. Listeners will find a link to the book in the description of this podcast.
From the Book
The American Revolution – 1776

After several aborted attempts due to unfavorable winds and tides, British Admiral Parker managed to maneuver his fleet into position to attack Fort Sullivan, in Charleston Harbor on June 28, 1776. Commodore Parker had to have the cannons removed from the two largest warships to allow them to pass over the shoals that led to the harbor.
British Fleet
The British had two 50-gun warships leading the fleet, Parkers flagship, the HMS Bristol and the HMS Experiment. The flotilla also had six frigates that had between 20 and 28 guns each. There were three smaller ships that carried between six and eight guns each. The flotilla had 30 transports to ferry invasion troops ashore. The combined firepower of this fleet was well over 250 guns.

British troop strength at the time of the battle consisted of the 15th, 28th, 33rd, 37th, 54th, and 57th regiments and a part of the 46th regiment. British troop strength totaled approximately 2500 troops. The British fleet had been short on supplies, however, and the crews of the ships had subsisted on 2/3 rations for the four weeks they had been deployed. They had had no meat during that time, thus many of them were weakened and too sick unfit to man their stations. With some difficulty, Parker found 50 sailors fit enough to man the troop transports that would carry the British troops ashore.

The Americans had removed all navigational aids like buoys that indicated water depth, etc. The British, hindered by inadequate charts of the complicated coastline, had to waste valuable time sounding the bay and placing buoys. The South Carolinians had recruited six regiments of militia as well as three companies of artillery, which totaled about 2000 men. Continental troops at the battle site included two regiments of North Carolina and one Virginia regiment, which totaled another 2000 men. The Charleston militia included about 700 men. Thus, the Americans had about 6500 soldiers to counter the British threat.

Admiral Parker did not anticipate any problems capturing Fort Sullivan. He expected that once his naval guns had taken out the fort’s cannons, he could land seamen and marines to take the fort and hold it until General Clinton’s troops could take possession. He planned to move three of his frigates into positions to control key roads around the fort and prevent patriot forces from deploying fire ships to disrupt his fleet. The frigate’s position would also allow him to use the ship’s guns to keep the defenders from abandoning the fort after the British began firing.

On the morning of the attack, the Colonel Moultrie had about 435 men inside the fort to defend it from the British attack. The Americans had also deployed another 780 soldiers to defend the northern end of Sullivan’s island against Clinton’s expected attempt to land troops on the island. Moultrie had dug a morass in the center of the fort to absorb British cannon fire. Only the south and north walls were completely done. The fort had 31 cannons, but only enough gunpowder for about 35 rounds for each cannon. The cannon ranged from French 28 pounders to many smaller ones. Admiral Parker finished the final positioning of his troops by 9:00 AM. When the last ship moved into position, the gunner fired a signal shot, indicating that all was ready. Sometime around 10:30 AM Parker ordered the cannonade to begin, with the British bomb ketch Thunder opening fire first. Immediately after the Thunder opened fire, three other ships, the 50-gun Bristol, 50-gun Experiment, the 28 gun Active and the 28-gun Solebay added to the crescendo. The cannonade had little effect, as the cannonballs bounced off the spongy palmetto wood. The morass in the center of the fort swallowed up most of the cannonballs that entered the fort, preventing the explosions from causing much damage. With limited gunpowder available, Moultrie ordered his gunners to fire only after careful aiming. Thus, Moultrie’s cannon returned fire in a slow, deliberate manner. They used chain shot, which consists of two cannonball halves held together with a short length of chain, to fire into the rigging of the British ships. When Parker tried to land two boatloads of seaman to attack the island, the defenders used cannon loaded with grape shot to repel the attack. The frigates Parker had deployed to harass the defenders and prevent them from retreating from the fort ran aground. The British managed to free two of the ships but had to burn the third. Several thousand cannon shots hit the fort; however, the palmetto logs did not splinter. The 16-foot sand barrier between the two log walls also played an important role in absorbing the fury of the attack. Parker’s fleet did not fare nearly as well. American cannon fire cut the anchor chains of two of the ships, allowing them to drift lengthwise to the defender’s fire. The Americans fired two rounds that hit the stern of the ships. The cannonballs careened down the entire length of the ships, causing much damage and killing or maiming many sailors. The chain shot continued cutting away the ship’s rigging. General Lee visited the fort in the afternoon, noted that the defenders were doing well and sent another 700 pounds of gunpowder to the fort. It appears that the fort was well supplied with cannonballs. The slow, deliberate fire of Moultrie’s guns had a devastating effect on the British ships. Apparently, Parker had not anticipated the precise cannon fire of the American gunners, nor did he expect the fort to survive his bombardment. He had anchored his ships too close, with the effect that the American guns inflicted heavy damage and caused much loss of life. He continued the battle until 11:00 PM. at that point, he broke off the engagement and had his ships sail out of the range of American guns.
The Aftermath
British casualties included 40 dead and 71 wounded. American casualties were 17 dead and 20 wounded. The British fleet limped off and remained for several weeks, repairing their ships while Parker and Clinton decided upon a course of action. At length, the fleet departed, heading to New York where they would take part in the attack on that city. Word of the first major victory of the fledgling War of Independence filtered back to Philadelphia. An exuberant Congress thanked Fort Moultrie’s defenders and named the fort after its commander, Colonel William Moultrie. The British would not return to attack Charleston again until 1780.

Other events of the week included:

On June 28, 1776 the Maryland Provincial Congress held an emergency meeting during which they rescinded their order to their delegates to the Continental Congress to oppose independence. The Provincial Congress voted to support independence, becoming the 12th state to support independence.

The Fifth Virginia Convention convened on May 6, 1776, and continued in session through July 5, 1776. On June 12 the Convention adopted the Declaration of Rights, which defined individual rights in the colony. The document passed on June 29 established a framework of government for the new state that replaced their subservience to England. By adopting this new constitution, Virginia essentially became an independent state.

June 29, 1776 – British Fleet Arrives Near Staten Island
The long-anticipated arrival of the British fleet in New York Harbor occurred when British General Richard Howe arrived in Lower New York Bay. Sentinels keeping watch on the east side of Staten Island notified General George Washington by signaling the arrival of the fleet. By day’s end over 45 British ships had arrived to drop anchor just off Staten Island. Washington reported the occurrence in a letter to John Hancock, the President of Congress, the same day.

June 30, 1776 – New York Provincial Congress Abandons New York
With the approach of the British fleet, the New York Provincial Congress abandoned New York. It would next meet on July 9, 1776, in White Plains, New York.
July 01, 1776 – American Forces Arrive Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga
By late June and early July, the retreating American army had reached Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga, which is about 100 miles south of Montreal on Lake Champlain. Meanwhile, the British, commanded by General Guy Carleton, had taken up positions further up the Richelieu River on the northern part of Lake Champlain. Both the American forces and the British forces knew that Lake Champlain was an important strategic point. Whoever controlled the Lake controlled eastern New York and western New Hampshire.

July 1, 1779 – Cherokee War Parties Begin Raiding South Carolina Frontier
Settlers pushing into Kentucky and the frontier areas of South Carolina had encroached on Cherokee land. The Cherokee Chief Dragging Canoe urged his tribe to drive the settlers out. The British Governor of Detroit had encouraged an entourage of Shawnee, Lenape, Iroquois, Ottawa and other tribes to travel to South Carolina to join the Cherokee in a war against the settlers.

Upon the arrival of the British fleet, General Washington had requested Congress to send more reinforcements. General Nathaniel Heard arrived on July 2, 1776, with his brigade, the first large force to arrive from the colonies to the south.

As you can see, I have omitted the most important event of the week. I will publish a special edition on Saturday, July 4 that chronicles the Continental Congress’ treasonous act, issuing the Declaration of Independence.

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