Unsung: William Moultrie and the Battle of Sullivan’s Island

Presented by Norm Rickeman

On June 28, 1776, six days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the British Navy attacked a fort located on Sullivan’s Island, in an attempt to seize Charles Town Harbor. A strategic position that controlled the commerce of most of the Colonial South, Charles Town was thought to be the key to British dominance in the Carolinas. Commander of the 2nd Regiment, Colonel William Moultrie ordered the fort’s reconstruction earlier in 1776, instructing his men to build a large wall out of felled palmetto trees. Though advised to abandon the fort before the attack, Moultrie and his men remained and the fort held during the battle, leading to the creation of a new South Carolina flag, featuring the palmetto tree. Join Norm Rickeman as he explores the details of the Battle of Sullivan’s Island and the life of Colonel William Moultrie, an unsung hero of the American Revolution.

Norm Rickeman is a volunteer historian with the National Park Service at Fort Moultrie in Sullivan’s Island, SC. He has a special interest in the Battle of Sullivan’s Island and the contributions of the patriot commander, William Moultrie, believing both are underrepresented in the history of the American Revolutionary War.

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