This publication was prepared to satisfy the research needs as
enumerated in Historical Resource Study Proposal FOSU-H-4, The
First Two Forts, 1776-1904, and so much of Historical Resource
Study Proposal FOSU-H-1, Historical Base Maps, Fort Moultrie, as
applies to the first two forts. This report documents the
structural history of the Revolutionary Fort Moultrie and the
1794-1804 fort. Fort Moultrie is well-known to students of American
History. On two occasions actions centering on the fort had
important and far reaching repercussions for our country. On June
28, 1776, American Patriots posted behind the palmetto and sand
parapets of the fort repulsed, with heavy losses, a formidable
British naval squadron. This victory came at an important time for
the Americans. Until this moment, General George Washington in 1176
had accomplished little beyond hurrying the British evacuation of
Boston. The American army sent to overrun Canada had collapsed. Now
word came of a victory in the South. News of the success reached
Philadelphia shortly after the Declaration of Independence had been
proclaimed. Now independence might become something beyond the bold
statements set forth on parchment. Then in December 1860 Major
Robert Anderson, when threatened by South Carolina Secessionists,
evacuated Fort Moultrie and transferred its garrison to Fort
Sumter. Three and one-half months later, South Carolina
artillerists from Fort Moultrie participated in the bombardment of
Fort Sumter, which sparked the Civil War. There have been three
Fort Moultries. The first of these was the palmetto and sand fort
of the American Revolution, which the South Carolina assembly named
in honor of Col. William Moultrie, following the repulse of the
British fleet. Fort Moultrie, No. 1, disappeared in the
post-Revolutionary years. Tradition has it swallowed by the sea. In
1794, when war with Great Britain appeared imminent, the Congress
appropriated money for coastal defenses. Construction was started
on Fort Moultrie, No. 2. With the easing of tensions following the
Jay Treaty, work was suspended. The fort, a typical First System
work, was completed in 1798 during the Quasi-War with France. Fort
Moultrie, No. 2, was battered by high tides in 1803 and wrecked by
the hurricane of 1804. Four years later, in 1808, when war again
threatened with Great Britain, the construction of Fort Moultrie,
No. 3, was commenced. A masonry work of the Second System, the fort
was completed and garrisoned in December 1809. This is the Fort
Moultrie of today, although it was greatly modified during the
Civil War, the years 1872-1876, and between 1897 and 1903. There
are no surface remains of the first two Fort Moultries, and this
study is designed to provide information as to the structural
history of these two forts. The location of these two forts will be
pinpointed in hopes that an archeological investigation will be
undertaken and their foundations exposed.
General
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