On June 28, 1776, nine British warships under the command of Sir Peter Parker weighed anchor and began moving toward Sullivan’s Island outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Col. William Moultrie, commanding the 2^nd South Carolina Regiment in an unfinished palmetto log fort, ordered his men to their posts to prepare for a defense. The first four British ships moved into position and anchored 400 yards from the fort. In an amazing display of British firepower, the British ships began to fire broadsides, simultaneously firing all the cannon from one side of the ship. The broadsides were deafening as hundreds of British cannonballs screeched through the air and slammed into the palmetto walls of the fort. Local newspapers later described the cannonade as “one of the most heavy and incessant cannonades perhaps ever known.”

As the walls of the fort shook violently, Moultrie’s men coolly manned their cannon and returned the fire as best they could. A continuous roar of cannon fire from hundreds of artillery pieces belched forth, quickly filling the harbor with the sight of white smoke and the smell of burning sulfur. The crash of the cannonballs mixed with the screams of wounded men filled the air.

As the British cannon boomed away, their solid shot hit the walls of the palmetto fort. But the soft, spongy wood of the palmetto (and the 16 feet of sand behind them) absorbed the shock and the balls either buried themselves into the wall or bounced off and fell harmlessly to the ground. Meanwhile, the British ships endured terrible damage from the American shore batteries. American cannonballs smashed into the oak of the British ships, causing havoc and bloodshed.

As the British front four ships continued to trade shots with Moultrie’s men, three other British ships started a planned movement around Sullivan’s Island to fire into the unprotected rear of the fort. However, the British pilots did not know the configuration of the harbor; thus, they maneuvered toward the vulnerable rear, they ended up grounding on a shallow sand bar known as the “Middle Ground.” All three ships became stuck on the sand and were now out of the battle. This costly error stole from the British their best option for driving Moultrie and his men from the fort.

As the British navy realized they were in for a long-drawn-out fight, the British army north of Sullivan’s Island attempted to cross the Breach Inlet and land soldiers on Sullivan’s Island but were driven back. One Patriot remembered that the American artillery “spread Havock [sic], Devastation, and Death, and always made them retire faster than they advanced.” The battle now depended entirely on the action occurring at the unfinished fort.

A surgeon with the British fleet noted that the British ships were “raked fore and aft” by American artillery. He wrote that “perhaps an instance of such slaughter cannot be produced; twice the quarter-deck was cleared of every person except Sir Peter.” In the maelstrom on the British flagship, the Bristol, British officers and sailors quickly fell. The captain of the Bristol, John Morris, had his arm ripped off by an American cannonball and died a week later. The former royal governor of South Carolina, William Campbell, was also on board the Bristol and suffered a wound to his side and eventually died from it two years after the battle. Sir Peter Parker, commander of the British fleet, himself was wounded slightly in the fighting—his breeches were torn apart, and his thigh and knee were cut and bloody and needed to be helped below deck. One British officer on the Bristol noted that “no slaughterhouse could present so bad a sight, with blood and entrails lying about, as our ship did.”

British shots that made it through the embrasures killed and wounded some of Moultrie’s men. The first man killed in the fort was Cpl. Samuel Yarbury. After he was hit and fell dead, the men pushed his body off the firing platform and yelled, “Revenge, let us revenge our comrade’s death!” Not long after, Sgt. James McDaniel was hit by an enemy cannonball that took “off his shoulder and scouped [sic] out his stomach.” While bleeding to death in the sand, McDaniel cried out: “Fight on, my brave boys; don’t let liberty expire with me today!”

Gen. Charles Lee noticed the dead and wounded in the fort and how many of the wounded were missing limbs. He then wrote, “with their limbs they did not lose their spirits; for they enthusiastically encouraged their comrades never to abandon the standard of liberty and their country. This I do assure you, is not the style of gasconading romance usual after every successful action but literally a fact.”

At one point in the barrage, a British cannonball knocked the 2nd South Carolina’s flag off the ramparts. In Charleston, hundreds of civilians looked on “with anxious hopes and fears, some of whom had their fathers, brothers, and husbands in the battle; whose hearts must have been pierced at every broadside.” When they witnessed the flag struck, a gasp went up; they feared it was a sign that Moultrie was surrendering. Sergeant William Jasper, seeing the flag fall to the ground, yelled to Moultrie, “Don’t let us fight without a flag!” Moultrie replied: “What can you do? The staff is broke.” In a scene of amazing courage, Jasper jumped on top of the ramparts and ran down to the northeast bastion as cannonballs flew all around him. He jumped down to the outside of the fort and grabbed the blue flag. Climbing back up to the top of the rampart, he grabbed a sponge staff used by the artillerymen and fastened the banner to it. He then planted the makeshift flagpole into the rampart under a maelstrom of iron. Waving his hat, he exclaimed: “God save liberty and my country forever!” The flag securely in place, he jumped back safely into the fort. It was an amazing display of bravery under fire and “revived the drooping spirits” of the civilians in Charleston, prompting the men of the fort to break into loud cheers.

The cannonading continued after the sun set and darkness fell. After more than 10 hours of furious cannonading, Parker reluctantly ordered his ships to retreat from the fort, and the proud British fleet limped away to lick its wounds. They suffered grievously in the fighting, both in damage to their ships and loss of lives and limbs. The British had lost 64 men killed and 141 wounded. On the American side, Moultrie listed 12 men killed (including a slave who was referred to as a “mulatto waiting boy”) and 25 men wounded. It had been a long, hot, and bloody day, but the Americans successfully repelled the British invasion.

Because of the victory at the battle of Sullivan’s Island, the palmetto tree became the state’s symbol and can be seen emblazoned on the state flag to this day. Also, the state seal of South Carolina portrays the palmetto tree over a broken oak tree. The oak tree represents the British navy, as their ships were made of oak, and the palmetto represents the fort on Sullivan’s Island.

Just a few weeks later, on August 12, Charlestonians learned that on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress had declared independence, and celebrations were held throughout the city. While July 4 would be a revered day for independence, the people never forgot the victory on June 28. The day would be termed “Palmetto Day” or “Carolina Day,” and every year after (from 1777 through today) the people of Charleston and South Carolina celebrate the June 28 victory over the British invaders.

Want to learn more about this battle and all the actions around Charleston, South Carolina during the Revolutionary War?  Check out my book: “To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston, 1776 – 1782”