The Battle of Sullivan's Island, South Carolina

Did anyone go to the beach over the Fourth of July? Maybe still there? Maybe want to still be there, but staring at the four walls in the old cubicle again? We have a lot of nice beaches here in the U.S. My wife and I went to Seaside, FL, last year, and that was fantastic. I highly recommend it, with its emerald waters and beautiful cottages. I grew up visiting the beaches of South Carolina, primarily. From Myrtle Beach down to Hilton Head, South Carolina has some beautiful stretches of sand, and they know how to meet the customer's needs. There are boardwalks, large fishing/walking piers, wide beaches, waves good enough for surfing, loads and loads of shopping venues (even one completely on the water called Barefoot Landing), great golf, universities, and of course, amazing history.

Some of the history of the South Carolina Lowcountry is very overt, and some of it is hidden beneath it all. For instance, Blackbeard the pirate blockaded the Port of Charleston in the 1700's, and the U.S. Civil War had its first major engagement here between two organizations that still exist today: The U.S. Army and the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. That was the bombardment of Fort Sumter, and it was one of several battles over the forts that helped to secure Charleston Harbor. It was not the first battle that those forts were used in, and many were used up through World War II.

In June of 1776, the Revolutionary War was in full swing in the northern colonies. The British knew that there was a lot of sympathy for the Crown in the southern colonies, and prepared to move in that direction to gather support and set up strongholds to keep the flames of revolution from raging out of control as they had in the north. Charleston was a key city to take if the British were to have control in the south. By early June, they had moved just outside of the harbor with 2,200 troops and 9 warships. To land on the peninsula that Charleston sits on, the warships had to navigate the sandbar-laden harbor. Look it up on Google Earth and follow along. There are several islands that line the entrance, and on Sullivan's Island, on the north side of the harbor, the Continental Army decided to build a fort to protect the city. COL William Moultrie commanded the 2nd South Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army, and he assembled a host of interesting personalities to help build the fort and defend against imminent attack. He had been building the post since March, but had not completed it by the beginning of June.

Some of the officers that joined COL Moultrie at Fort Sullivan were Major Francis Marion, the future legendary figure known as "The Swamp Fox," and Thomas Sumter "The Gamecock." Others were famous in their day for leading troops against the Cherokee in an earlier conflict, and General Washington even sent General Charles Lee to oversee the preparations, as this was an extremely important post for the colonies to hold (I'm referring to it as "the colonies" because the Continental Congress would not declare independence for another week or so after the battle ended.).

The British strategy was a two-pronged attack on the fort: heavy bombardment from the sea to knock down batteries from the main walls in the front, circle around to the north of the island and fire into the fort over the lower walls in its rear, fire large mortars from the ship Thunder into the fort itself, and to attack by land from Long Island (now the Isle of Palms) to the north. The U.S. Army consisted of about 480 in the fort, and just under 800 to prevent a land attack outside of it. There was no U.S. Navy to protect the fort, only a few support boats to move personnel and supplies. Fort Sullivan, as it was named, had 31 guns to the superior firepower of 300 guns on the man-of-war vessels bearing down on them.

The forces are ready, the match is set, and the battle is ready to begin on a hot summer day in the calm Charleston Harbor.

If you wargame this one, even in your head, you will almost always come up with the same result.

You're going to be amazed at the reality. Listen in to the American Front Porch podcast this weekend for a full account of a battle that we cannot afford to forget.