The fortifications on Sullivan's Island the morning of June 28th, 1776; Part 13 Battle of Sullivan's Island

The fort had 31 cannons mounted on the morning of June 28^th, 1776 ranging from 9 pounders to the large 26 pounders. About half of the fort was completed with the side facing Northeast and northwest till not yet finished. These would be the sides opposite the entrance to Charlestown Harbor. The fort was designed to hold one thousand men, but on the morning of the 28^th the unfinished fort had four hundred and twenty four men of the Second South Carolina, a twenty man detachment of the Forth South Carolina Artillery Regiment, plus the workers who had begun the daily working on the fort under the direction of the Continental Engineers Baron Massenborg and DeBrahm.

Below is a replica of a section of fort's wall at the SC State Museum in Columbia, SC

We find Major Francis Marion of the Second South Carolina in command of half of the cannon inside the fort going about his daily duty of inspecting the men and fort waiting to see when the British would attack.

Over the fort flew an indigo blue flag with a white crest moon in the top left corner. A debate about the rest of makeup of the flag still goes on today. The debate centers on the word “LIBERTY”  and if the word was on the flag or not. If it was on the flag the word “LIBERTY” was on the bottom of the flag or inside the crest moon. Moultrie describes the word “LIBERTY” inside the crescent moon and that’s good enough for us since he would have had to okay the design and making of the flag.      

At the Advance Guard we find Moultrie and Thomson with his Third South Carolina, South Carolina Militia, a detachment of North Carolina Continentals, and the Raccoon Company of Rifle men behind a sound dug in position totaling around seven hundred and seventy men with an eighteen pound cannon and six pound cannon covering Breech Inlet. At 10:30AM this morning, the battle began with a signal cannon fired from the HMS Bristol fired to begin the British assault on Sullivan's Island.  Thus we find Moultrie jumping in the saddle riding hard and fast back the three miles to his command and his destiny on this June day.