The British finalize their plans; Battle of Sullivans Island part 6

At the start of June, General Clinton and Admiral Parker had made their way to Charleston harbor with their combined task force of navy and army personnel. This was an impressive force with over 50 ships of all sizes descriptions preparing for their attack on Charleston. The fleet included 52 ships including HMS Bristol (Flagship, 50 guns), HMS Experiment (50 guns), HMS Actaeon, HMS Active, HMS Solebay, HMS Syren, HMS Sphinx, HMS Friendship, HMS Lady Williams, bomb vessel HMS Thunder, transports, supply ships and others with totaling around 300 heavy navel guns. The ground component of the task force was divided up into 2 brigades. The First Brigade was commanded by Lt. Col James Webster with the Light Infantry Companies of the 4th, 15th, 28th, 33rd, 44th, 46th, 54th, 57th, and the 28th and 37th full regiments of the line.

The Second Brigade was commanded by Col. Charles Earl Cornwallis with the 15th, 33rd, 46th, 54,  57th Regiments of the Line, the 1st Royal Marine Regiment, and the 84th also referred to as the “Young Highlanders” or “Royal Highlander Emigrant Regiment”, a provincial regiment that was supposed to come to full strength in North Carolina until the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge ended that hope with the defeat of the Scottish provincial recruits there. The British Army had committed over 2,800 men to this expedition, first against New Bern in North Carolina and now against Charleston in South Carolina, once the North Carolina expedition was cancelled. The artillery component of the army was manned by the Number 1, 2, and 4 companies of the Royal Artillery manning ten guns.

With this combined task force, Admiral Parker and General Clinton along with thier staffs went over possible plans of attack to take Sullivans Island and to seal Charleston Harbor off to the outside World with a mighty blow from the King’s Army and Navy. As early as middle May Admiral Parker had been getting reports from the ships he had sent to Charleston Harbor to gather intelligence about the harbor and its defenses that the harbor was being fortified. In these reports he received information about Fort Johnson and other works being built up by the rebels. The one that got the most attention was the fortification being built on Sullivans Island, where it was being reported that a substantial fortification was being built there to control the northern entrance to the harbor. Clinton and Parker agreed that if Sullivans Island could be taken that they could shut down Charleston Harbor to all trade and could tie down a large rebel force that would have to either try to remove the British from Sullivans Island if they took it or would have to act as a holding force to prevent the British from attacking other points on the coast from a base on Sullivans Island. The key to this is, understanding that taking Charleston was never an option for the British. They did not have the man power to take Charleston proper nor the ability to raise Loyalist to come to their aid in the initial fight in trying to take the town proper. One of the key advisers for this plan of shutting down the harbor was Royal Gov. Lord Campbell who was able to with two Royal ships the HMS Tamer and HMS Cherokee to prevent shipping in the harbor until he left in the fall of 1775. If the British were able to accomplish this it would have been a major blow to the commerce of the Patriots but also the production and distribution of war material.

The initial plan was being ironed out once the British Fleet moved into Five Fathom Hole in Charleston Harbor a safe part of the harbor out of range of Patriot artillery and summer storms on the open sea. Admiral Parker wanted to do a combined attack with the Royal Navy and Royal Army affecting a “coup de main” against the unfinished fortifications on the island. To accomplish this he was going to use the heavy artillery of the fleet to reduce the fort while General Clinton used the flat boats of the fleet to land on the Northern side of the island during the navel bombardment. After the army landed in the small boats under Parker's plan they were to fight their way across the island to the back of the fort and gain entrance from the unfinished part of the fort. Thus taking control of the fort and sealing off the harbor for the British. General Clinton had another idea of how to take the fortification on Sullivans Island. His plan was to land his men on Long Island and have them charge over from Long Island to Sullivans Island across Breach Inlet which according to his intelligence or lack thereof was only 18 inches deep at low tide. Thus he would be able to deploy his field artillery to cover his advance against the rebels across the inlet as his troops splashed across the water and towards the unfinished fort. This would reduce the risk of boats over turning in the surf full of troops during an attack and would allow his men to first disembark from the fleet with little trouble and allow organization on the beach before the attack. Once across the inlet as with Parkers' plan they would head to the back of the unfinished fort and take it from the rear. The plus and the minus of the each plan were discussed by the staffs of each officer and by the two primary officers at some length once the fleet was anchored in the harbor. The final decision was made to go with Clinton’s plan of landing at Long Island and attacking from a base camp there.

On June the 9th the plan was put into action as General Clinton with elements of his army began to land on Long Island securing it against no resistance and establishing a temporary camp there to prepare for the assault against Sullivans Island.

  The next article will be on the thunder before the storm

The final touches to the Charleston Defense; Part 5 Battle of Sullivan's Island

At the end of May 1776 the British fleet began to move down the coast of North Carolina into South Carolina towards Charleston. As they did this they did not try to hide their movements as they proceeded southward staying alongside the coast most of the way. As a result the Patriots were able to send riders to the capital with the size of the British Fleet and updates of its location along the coast. Examples of this coastal watch program are noted by Gov. Rutledge in written exchanges between himself and patriot officers in the harbor such as Col. Moultrie and Brigadier General John Armstrong who had been named the head of the defenses of Charleston. General Armstrong was an experienced soldier from Pennsylvania who had won praise in the French and Indian War as a commander of Pennsylvania troops and was also an engineer who had began to organize and build the defenses in Charleston. The information gathered and shared by these men told of the British fleet being around forty ships and their location as they came past each parish and safe harbor such as Bulls Bay near Georgetown, North of Charleston.

As the news spread of the impending British Fleet movement’s people began to flee Charleston and head inland to other homes and anywhere where they could safely move their families to. Charleston began at the first of June to resemble a military post rather than one of the busiest commercial harbors in North America with most of the foreign and commercial vessels leaving port and going to safe harbors in the Caribbean and towards Savannah to await the outcome of the impending battle. Also at the start of June, Gov. Rutledge ordered all of the outlying Parish Militia to turn out and to report to Charleston with all speed. This call to the county side was headed by the local and backwoods Parish militia and they started to report in piecemeal to the capital for its defense. For most of this militia it was their first time to Charleston and they were greeted with open arms for the by the Low Country rice gentry who had previously always had looked down on their unwashed cousins from the woods such as the Scotch-Irish, Dutch, and German settelers. You can only imagine what the scene was on the roads to and from Charleston as the town folks from Charleston were heading inland on their buggies and carts with their valuables as the back woods men with their buckskin shirts and hunting rifles passed each other on the roads.

Also starting at the first of June with the sighting of the fleet moving toward Charleston every slave and able body man went to work around the clock on the defenses in Charleston. This building of additional fortifications or finishing fortifications was on the Islands of James and Sullivans, the town proper, and other key points in the harbor.

By June the 7th most of the British fleet had moved into Charleston Harbor and was heading to an anchorage known as Five Fathom Hole in the outer harbor. From this point they could clearly see the fortifications on James and Sullivans Island and began to finalize their plan of attack on Charleston without fear of Patriot interference.

On June the 8th General Charles Lee arrives in Charleston from Williamsburg, Virginia with troops from Virginia and North Carolina and took command of its defense from General John Armstrong who then became the second in command. This change of command was made with the British sitting in the outer harbor with an attack emanate to the Patriots at any moment that the tides and winds were favorable to the British. Charles Lee was born and raised in England and came to the American causes with vast military experiences with the British Army having served in the French and Indian War as a lieutenant and with the 44th Regiment of Foot as a captain. He also has served as a soldier of fortune for the King of Poland before moving to America in 1773 to settle in Virginia. He was considered a military treasure by most of the Patriots from New England to the South. His vast military knowledge made him on par with Washington in the eyes of his new country. So with his arrival in Charleston it made its defenders feel even more confident than before knowing they had a commander with vast amounts of knowledge and experience to help defend their city. Also behind General Lee were a few more troops making their way through North Carolina from Virginia to further aid the defense.

Once General Lee meet with Gov. Rutledge and the Council he took over the defense of Charleston officially and began to examine the defenses. During this process he had some defenses torn down, some built up, and others moved to better effect a defense in Charleston. His biggest issue was with the fortification on Sullivans Island that Col. Moultrie and the 2nd South Carolina along with slaves and other workers were trying to finish with work around the clock under the direction of French engineer Baron Massenbourg . When Lee went to Sullivans Island he found the fort unfinished and his mind undependable. He went so far as to utter a now famous description of the fort as a “slaughter pen” and wanted to remove the troops and cannon from Sullivans Island to be disbursed in other defense positions in the harbor. This idea was floated to Gov. Rutledge and his council where the answer came back a resounding no to leaving the fortification on Sullivans Island. You must remember the Continental Army was still in its infancy and it needed the states support to exist. The states wrote the checks for the army under the Articles of Confederation, but they did not give up their rights. So the first political question came up to General Lee should he try to order the troops off the island or should he give into local authorities? General Lee chose to give in to Gov. Rutledge, but with strings. He ordered as many troops off the island as he could without alarming the local government and removing as much powder as he could also. Thus if the British were able to overrun the island and fortification Lee would limit his initial loses in men and material. Another concern for Lee was the plan for evacuation of the fortification and other island defenses if the British were able to land successfully on the island. While all of this political move and counter move was happening in the city the British Fleet was making preparations for their attack of Charleston just outside of the harbor, but still visible to the Patriots.

General Lee found out that there were not enough boats that could be left on stand by ready for an evacuation of the Sullivans Island or any plans for doing so. As a result Lee ordered a floating bridge from Mount Pleasant be built using barrels as the floating bases for boards to be put across for the troops to escape or reinforce as needed. This bridge was not stable or safe and troops asked to cross over it refused to on the grounds they were in fear for their lives.

Another defense position that Lee found on Sullivans Island was a small fortification being built by a French engineer who had donated his services to the American cause, Captain Ferdinand de Braham that would play a major role in the battle. This fortification was made out of palmetto logs, sand, and some say tabby structure was located on the North East side of the island and it was guarding Breach Inlet which stands between Sullivans Island and Long Island (later renamed Isle of Palms). The purpose of this fortification originally was to prevent small British ships from entering the harbor through Breach Inlet thus getting behind Sullivans Island and making their way into the harbor proper. The ships that could get through this breach would have to be very shallow drafted ships to make it clear and were not considered much threat from this point, however a defensive position was placed there for safety sake. This position was commanded by Col. William Thomson of the 3rd South Carolina Ranger Regiment. This regiment was formed for the defense of the back country of South Carolina by the men of this region. It was formed as a mounted regiment that would fight on foot so that its members could carry a fight to the natives, Loyalist, or other threats with all the speed they could muster. This regiment was accompanied by a detachment of the 4rth South Carolina lead by a Lt. Mitchell (the artillery regiment) to man the 18lb and 6lb guns, Col. Clark with his 1st North Carolina Regiment, Col. Daniel Horry with South Carolina militia, a company of Catawba Indians and other local tribes which had joined this company lead by Captain Boykin, and a company of riflemen calling themselves the Raccoon Company lead by Captain Allston bringing the total to around 750 men at this point. The men at this position also had a 6lb cannon and an 18lb cannon for the defense of Breach Inlet. Fortifications of some type were built to shield the men and the cannon from the expected British attack by ship. This position was referred to as the “Advance Guard” by the Patriots. Just a quick note this position was built before the British landed on Long Island as a deterrent to ships so please keep this in mind as we look at events as they unfold.

On June the 8th the entire British Fleet had entered the outer parts of Charleston Harbor and was resting in Five Fathom Hole. It was at this point that General Clinton sent a message to the defenders of Charleston to surrender. This was rejected by Gov. Rutledge without any discussion and thus the stage is set for the Battle of Sullivans Island in Charleston Harbor.

On June the 9th the British started to land in large numbers on Long Island and began to set up camp and to put pickets across Breach Inlet form the Patriot Advance Guard position on Sullivans Island. The two enemies were now separated by Breach Inlet which the Americans knew to be at least seven feet deep at low tide and which the British were about to learn the same.

According to Chief Justice of South Carolina at the time of the attack William Henry Drayton through his noted that his son John Drayton published at the time of the British attack o Charleston was defended by “6,500 men coming from 1,400 Continentals from North Carolina; 500 Continentals from Virginia; 1,950 Continentals form South Carolina; 700 Charleston militia; 1,972 Parish militia.” It will become very interesting to see how very few of these troops though never fired a shot in the battle to defend Charleston.

The next article will be the British plan of attack.

Battle of Sullivans Island Part 4: Charleston prepares for war

The pre revolution defenses of Charleston were mainly Fort Johnson on James Island, the town militia, and parish militia. The only other military buildings in the general area around Charleston were the Powder Magazine in Charleston and the tabby fort at the town of Dorchester 30 miles upriver from Charleston. The common thread for these defenses was that they were never meant to fight off a major power alone. They were designed to hold off attackers until the British Fleet and Army could come to the rescue of Charles Town. As long as the colony of South Carolina had the protection of the crown it could hold its own against the Native Americans, but not much more. Also with the protection of the crown the colonist did not want to add more defenses because that would require public spending which would causes taxes and we know how they felt about taxes.




Fort Johnson had been guarding the harbor since 1704 on the Southern entrance to the harbor protecting against the ever present Spanish threat from Florida and the French threat from the Caribbean which caused it to be strengthened in 1759 during the French and Indian War. The Powder Magazine was built in 1713 to hold the powder stores for the colony. By the time of the revolution it had already gone out of service, but was used by the patriots as a meeting point and for storage for incoming troops and their munitions. The Powder Magazine can still be visited today in down town Charleston. The fort at the town of Dorchester was built in 1757 to help protect the town from possible French and Indian attacks during the French and Indian War. Its location on the Ashley River meant that it would be the first road block on one of the two the main river transport systems from the interior of South Carolina to the capital at Charleston the other system being the Cooper River. It was constructed out of tabby walls on a bluff overlooking the river. In 1775 a powder magazine was built out of brick in the middle of the fort for storage of extra powder outside of Charleston for either Charleston’s defense if they needed it or for a forward storage area for the interior of the colony by the Patriots. This site can also be visited today to see the fort still intact, a church site, and what’s left of the Powder Magazine.

These defensive positions around Charleston were not in the best of shape in 1775 when the colony of South Carolina decided to rise up with the other colonies to defy their King. In fact, by 1775 the powder magazine and the fort at Dorchester were for the most part abandoned. Fort Johnson was in little better shape, but it was kept in some state of readiness by the British.

This was the state of defense in Charleston when they decided to join the other colonies. As soon as the path was clear that some sort of armed revolt was coming the colonist began to construct works on different parts of the harbor for their protection against their new threat, the British.

This began to change once the South Carolinas began to organize a patriot government. In September of 1775 the South Carolinas took position of Fort Johnson and began to arm the fort with new cannons and to repair the cannons the British had spiked upon their abandoning of the fort. The strengthening of Fort Johnson was assigned to the First South Carolina. Also, this was the time period that the fort at Dorchester began to get its new powder magazine. Four 18lb guns were also placed on Haddrell’s point, on present day Mount Pleasant to guard the Cooper River entrance to Charleston in the inner harbor defenses. This building up of the batteries around Charleston helped to convince Gov. Lord Campbell and the two British ships in the harbor the HMS Tamar and HMS Cherokee where he was trying to cause an uprising of Natives and Tories that it was time to leave before they were caught in a trap.

One of the first things that came about on Sullivan’s Island was that Col. Moultrie of the 2nd South Carolina ordered men from both the 1st and 2nd SC to send a combined force of 225 men to the island on January 10th, 1776 to build a fascine battery on the tip of the island guarding the entrance to the harbor. A fascine battery is one made primary out of sticks that are tied together almost like baskets for protection. Facing any type of artillery barrage this type of battery would be of little use to its defenders. So on March of 1776 Col. Moultrie was ordered to Sullivan’s Island to build a fortification of real substance with his 2nd South Carolina that could hold out the Royal Navy. This was accomplished with the use of mechanics, army personnel, slaves, and volunteers who worked around the clock to build the fortification. This fort was built out of sand and palmetto logs which came from all over the harbor. To get the palmetto logs to the island, they were tied together in rafts and floated to the beaches of the island and then dragged to the construction site by animal and man power. The plan was for the fort to have 16 feet thick walls and 500 feet long around its perimeter with walls 10 feet higher than the gun placements. The palmetto trees would form an inner and outer wall with sand in between to give maximum protection to the guns and their crews inside the fort.

Besides Fort Johnson on James Island, another battery was placed on James Island with twelve cannons in an inner defense position in case the British Fleet got past Fort Johnson. This second battery on James Island was also garrisoned by the 1st South Carolina.

Christopher Gadsden

In the city proper the town was building redoubts, fortifications, and batteries to repel the British if they should get past the outer harbor defenses. One of the most substantial fortifications was placed on and near Gadsden’s wharf one of the largest private wharfs in North America and which was garrisoned by the 4rth South Carolina. Its owner Christopher Gadsden was a member of the 1st and 2nd Continental Congress and a Lt. Col in the 1st South Carolina Regiment. He is also famous for the Gadsden Flag which he designed with the yellow back ground, coiled snake, and the words “don’t tread on me” located on it. These fortifications in the city proper mainly went up on the Cooper River side of Charleston since it was the location where almost all of the industry in Charleston was located at during this time period.

During the spring of 1776 the harbor was full of the sounds of construction and troops drilling in the air as the thought of a British fleet showing up outside the harbor made the work have urgency and real purpose. Also during this time period troops began to come from Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia to aid in the defense of Charleston. Along with the troops came Continental Officers such as General John Armstrong, General Charles Lee, and other to help build and lead the defense of Charleston.



The next in piece in the series will be on the British fleet arriving and the battle.

Battle of Sullivan's Island Part Three

As the British began to pull anchors and set sail for Charleston Harbor, the Patriot forces there were putting their defenses in the ready. This process had already started in January of 1775 when the colony voted to leave the British Empire and set up its own government. This was done after they had sent five representatives to the Continental Congress in September of 1774 in hopes of repairing the relationship between colony and mother country. The Continental Congress was unable to solve the problems and all hope was lost when word reached South Carolina of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts in May of 1775. Once the South Carolines knew there was to be a shooting war they began to build up defenses and recruit troops.


The first troops raised to fight the British Empire in South Carolina were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th South Carolina. The first two were to be of the line with the third being a ranger regiment to control the inland region of South Carolina and the forth was designated an artillery regiment. Also in the fall of 1775 South Carolines started to take control of key military sites in the harbor and the city proper. This included the fort on James Island, Fort Johnson, the powder magazine in downtown Charleston, and other strategic points in the harbor. The other strategic points included Haddrell Point and at the water front of Charleston, where cannons were placed to defend the city and to help dislodge Governor Campbell from the harbor, where he was still trying to govern from two British warships sitting there. The other keep point that the Patriots began to place guns was on Sullivan’s Island. Sullivan’s Island is located on the Northern approach to the harbor and with it being fortified caused the governor and the British fleets to leave before damage could be done to them in the late fall of 1775. While this was going on in Charleston, militia in the outer parishes of South Carolina began to drill and prepare for the British.

While the South Carolina Provincial Government was preparing for the expected British attack the merchants in Charleston were producing goods as fast as they could. These goods were for the war effort in the North and also for the new trade routes that opened once South Carolina decided to leave the Empire. The workshops and the docks were at full capacity bringing in much need war material and profit for the local merchants. Ships from many nations were in and out of Charleston harbor as fast as they could load and unload. These ships were not involved in diplomatic relations; they were involved in moving valuable cargo to and from Charleston to the Caribbean and other points on the globe. This preparing for war and making a profit for the local merchants and farmers went on for a few months. That was until the return of John Rutledge in February of 1776 from the Continental Congress with word of a British fleet heading south from New England. In February of 1776 the first meeting of the General Assembly occurred and they elected John Rutledge President of South Carolina.

The election of John Rutledge (pictured to the right) marked a turning point in creating a stronger defense of Charleston. Besides the election of Rutledge in February in March the Continental Congress also started to take the threat of a British invasion of the South very seriously and they appointed General Charles Lee as Commander of the Southern Theater of operations. General Lee made his head quarters in Williamsburg, Virginia as he felt that either Virginia or South Carolina would be the place that the British struck in the South. Also in March of 1776 President Rutledge ordered a fort built on Sullivan’s Island to defend the Northern approach to the harbor. He gave this task to Col. William Moultrie and his command, the 2nd South Carolina.

In the next article we will discuss how the fort was built on Sullivan’s Island and

how other defenses were created in Charleston.

Col. William Moultire

Battle of Sullivans Island Part Two

                                                                                              

 Lord Dartmouth (pictured to the right) and Lord Germain (pictured to the left) with the approval of King George III and Prime Minister Lord North in London had decided on a plan of action to start retaking control of the rebellious colonies with a Southern Strategy. The strategy was for Major General William Howe to send troops that were massing in Ireland the 15th, 37th, 53rd, 54rth, and 57th of Foot plus others under the command of Lord Cornwallis, along with any extra troops he could spare from service in the Americas to the Cape Fear area in North Carolina. Once they were in North Carolina, they would retake the colony for royal control and then turn it over to the Loyalist who Royal Governor Josiah Martin of North Carolina and Royal Governor Lord William Campbell of South Carolina had told anyone who would listen that the Loyalist were ready to rise up if they felt safe and had support from the crown in the South. The interesting part of this argument is that both of these governors that had been ejected from their post by the colonist in North and South Carolina with no resistance from the large amount of Loyalist they kept telling the crown would help. Ground zero for the North Carolina campaign would be the former royal capital of North Carolina, South Port on Cape Fear. Once royal control had been assumed in South Port, then the army could start to move into the country side to quell the rebels there. General Howe chooses Major General Henry Clinton to lead the army for the expedition to the South with Gov Martin and Gov. Campbell with him to retake control of their respective colony. To round out the Royal Armies command structure was Major General Cornwallis who would lead the first brigade and Major General John Vaughan who would lead the second brigade.

                                                                                                                      

  The navel part of this combined army and navy operation would be Admiral Peter Parker (pictured to the right). His main job was to give support to the army initially as they went ashore and to protect the transportation ships in route to North Carolina from Ireland. Admiral Parker would be in charge of over 50 ships with nine of them being ships of the line with two fifty gun ships in the fleet. He left from Ireland in December of 1775 with his transports in tow to start the retaking of the colonies in the South.

     On January 20th, 1776 Clinton leaves Boston with his small force of the 4th and 44th Regiments of Foot Light Comapanies along with the 84th to rendezvous with Admiral Parker on the coast of North Carolina at Cape Fear. On March 12th, 1776 Clinton and his force arrives off the coast of North Carolina at Cape Fear. Once Clinton arrives off the coast of North Carolina he learns from locals of the defeat of the loyalist force that was coming to his aid on the coast to retake the colony. This force of Loyalist numbering over 1500 men under the command of Donald McDonald was defeated by a Patriot force lead by Col. Richard Caswell at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge on February 27th, 1776. This defeat had totally routed the Loyalist in North Carolina who had now gone into hiding and were not to be relied upon for help with Clintons force on the coast. On May 3rd in 1776 Admiral Peter Parked arrives in Cape Fear with part of his fleet which had already started to arrive in late April and continued to follow him into Cape Fear for two weeks. The fleet had been dispersed on their crossing of the Atlantic by storms which had caused the staggered arrival of the fleet into Cape Fear.

     Once all the principals were in Cape Fear, a meeting took place between General Clinton and Admiral Parker about the prospects of taking North Carolina back for the crown. After this meeting it was decided that North Carolina would not be at this time be an appropriate target with the resources available to the crown and no more Loyalist support coming from the colonist. So the next decision was to decide if they were going to call of the mission or attack a different colony. The only two colonies that fit the bill for the second option of conquest was Virginia to the North or South Carolina to the South of Cape Fear.

     Charleston was the third largest and richest port in the colonies and was producing war materials for the rebels in New England. With her navel stores and great harbor up for grabs the two commanders made a quick decision and decided on Charleston as the new target for their force. If it could be captured it would reduce the rebel supply line and provide a great base of operations for the next domino to fall in the Southern Strategy. General Howe had already written to Clinton telling him that his services would not be needed in Howe’s summer campaign for New York and its harbor after he had been ejected from Boston in March and Howe was now in Halifax. Also intelligence had been gathered about an unfinished fort guarding the northern entrance to the harbor of Charleston from British ships which had been sent to there to gather intelligence about the harbors defense. The report told of an unfinished fort on Sullivan’s Island on the Northern entrance to the harbor and Fort Johnson on the Southern entrance to the harbor on James Island. These two coastal defenses were the only two things stopping the British from entering the harbor proper and Charleston. Admiral Parker felt with the information that he had obtained from his scout ships that he could reduce the unfinished fort on Sullivan’s Island with his fleet, thus allowing the British to take control of the Northern entrance to the harbor and shutting the port down as the army moved in to secure key points on the main land from a secure base of operations on Sullivan’s Island while the navy blockaded the port.

     Thus on May 30th, 1776 the sites of the British Empire were set on Charleston with the fleet leaving Cape Fear to start their journey southward towards Charleston. The fleet included 52 ships including HMS Bristol (Flagship, 50 guns), HMS Experiment (50 guns), HMS Actaeon, HMS Active, HMS Solebay, HMS Syren, HMS Sphinx, HMS Friendship, HMS Lady Williams, bomb vessel HMS Thunder, transports, supply ships and others with totaling around 300 heavy navel guns. The army on board the transports included the Light Infantry companies of the 4th “The Kings Own” and 44th, Grenadiers, the15th, 28th, 33rd, 37th, 46th, 53rd, 54th, 57th, 84th “Royal Highland Emigrants” of foot, Royal Artillery with 20 heavy field guns plus several 3 pounders, Royal Engineers, totaling 2200 Royal Army personnel and 700 Royal Marines totaling 2900 soldiers and marines. This large force was bearing down on Charleston like a hurricane wanting to unleash its fury against the colonist who had rebelled against their king’s rule in Charleston.

     However, Charleston knew the British were coming and was in the process of preparing a gala reception for the British Empire as it tried to bring its rule back to these rebellious colonists. The city known Worldwide for its hospitality was in no mood to welcome them back with open arms, instead it was preparing a welcome the British Empire and World would soon not forget.

The next article will be on how the city prepared for the British invasion.

Battle of Sullivans Island Part 1

     Sullivan’s Island sits on the North East entrance to Charleston Harbor, right beside the main shipping channel for large vessels coming into the port proper. Its geographic location makes it the perfect site to build a fort on the northern side of the harbor to protect this entrance. From this vantage point all shipping would have to come within range of its guns before passing into the harbor. On the Southern side of the harbor sits Fort Johnson which protects the Southern entrance to the harbor on James Island. This fort had been in service for many years on and off with the threat coming from the French and the Spanish for the decades. In 1775 there was no fortification on Sullivan’s Island and no need until the Colony decided to join the other colonies in breaking away from Britain. In January of 1775 a Provincial Congress was called for in South Carolina and it voted to break away from England and formed a rebel government in Charleston. As a result the Royal Governor Lord William Campbell escaped their capture by boarding one of the Royal Navy ships in the harbor for protection.

     Here, in the harbor, Lord Campbell tried to continue Royal rule in South Carolina by trying to get Loyalist to rise up against the rebels and writing to General Howe in Boston and Lord North in London, England to send troops to retake Charleston for the crown. In his letters he told them of the Loyalist presence still in the colony that only need the support of Royal Troops to help them to rise up against the rebels. For months Lord Campbell wrote letters from the harbor to London and tried to secretly contact Loyalist in the interior of the colony to rise up against the rebels. The support of neither the Loyalist nor the Royal Troops materialized so he left with the Royal Navy leaving Charleston Harbor in the fall of 1775 and thus the last Royal presence in the colony left with him.

 
Lord North

While this was playing out in South Carolina, General Howe and General Washington were in a stalemate in Boston before Howe left Boston with the British army and loyalist in March of 1776. With the stalemate going on in New England a plan was being formed by Lord North the Priminister of Great Britian and Lord Germain Secratory of State for the American Department in London on how to take back the colonies starting with the South and then like dominos moving northward to retake the colonies. This strategy was based upon the information give to them by the Royal Governor of South Carolina Campbell and North Carolina Josiah Martin. Their main contention was that if Royal troops came to the Carolinas that the Loyalist in great numbers would turn out in support of the King. This would allow the Royal troops to take an area and then the Loyalist could hold it as they moved to the next colony to subdue it. If this could happen then the rebellion could be put down quickly and his majesties power restored.

Below is a map of Charleston Harbor

First Battle of Charleston Next Topic

Our next subject will be on the events leading up to, the actual battle, and the events afterwords of the First Battle of Charleston. This will be the lead up to the anniversary of the battle on June 28th, Carolina Day.

The Battle of Stono Ferry Part III: The Conclusion

On the morning of June 20th General Lincoln was now set to attack the British works protecting the Stono Ferry with the Southern Continental Army. His two prong plan of attack using General Moultrie as a diversion on James Island is sound to keep the attention of the main British force from coming to the aid of the troops at the Stono Ferry while he attacks with the main force. His pickets and skirmishers are already in contact the with their British counter parts taking shots at each other and he is ready to begin the attack at 7AM. On the British side they know that the Americans are camped not to far away and they are waiting for a possible attack, they are not surprised when the Americans start to advance towards them. They were however caught in an interesting situation, with the main part of their army on Johns Island with the rest still holding the position on the Stono Ferry. Remember Prevost was trying to get back to Savannah with his army in tack and this was his most vulnerable point on the way back. So he was hoping to avoid a fight but had set his defenses up to give him the most effective defense with the least amount of troops. He also had a British Navy barge armed with heavy cannons on his left flank in the Stono River to add to his defenses.

With these two enemey armies in the initial phase of combat the American attack was dealt a major blow to its efforts without General Lincoln realizing it. General Moultrie and his diversionary force of militia had not crossed in significant numbers onto James Island because of a shortage of boats and as a result General Moultrie called of his diversion. This allowed the British to have their main army ready to reinforce the troops at Stono Ferry, because they were not threatened elsewhere once the American attack was known to be in full force at the Stone bridge head.



General Lincoln started his attack without knowing his diversion from General Moultrie was not happening. He sent his North Carolina militia to attack the Hessians on the British left flank and his Continentals from North and South Carolina to attack the British right flanks which were both guarded by cannon fortified redoubts. As they moved towards their objectives the attack started to gain steam as they started to push the British pickets back to the fortifications. However the attack on the British right by the Continentals was halted almost immediately, not by the British fire but by a marsh creek that was unknown to the Americans. For those who don’t live in the Low Country these marsh creeks are filled with pluff mud that’s like quick sand and water mixture. Once the Continentals reach this marsh creek it stopped their part of the attack instantly. On the British left flank the North Carolina militia was making head ways against the Hessians stationed there until the British barge on the Stono River started to open fire along with members of the 71st who were sent to that section to help secure their flank.



Once the attack was going the British started to send reinforcements back across the Stono River as fast as the boats could take them. The British started to rush down the cause way to get to the boats that were stationed there. General Lincoln saw that he was not making head way and that the British reinforcements were already crossing back across the river, so he called off the attack after only 55 minutes. He ordered a retreat back away from the battle field to be covered by his reserve force of Brigadier General Count Kazimierz Pulaski and his Legion along with Andrew Pickens and his upstate militia which had not been deployed in the battle. This was a good thing because the 71st sallied out towards the retreating Americans and was driven back by Count Pulaski and his force as the main force retreated towards their camps.



In the after math of the battle it was learned that out of the 900 originally deployed by Prevost 26 were killed and 163 wounded. Lincoln’s force of 1200 reported 146 killed/wounded and 150 men missing or captured after the battle in reports. These numbers are not great, but the battle won by the British allowed them to evacuate the Stono Ferry bridge head three days later with no more loss of life and to make their way to Savannah without further inference from the Americans.



The result of this battle was that South Carolina was still free of British troops near Charleston, but the British army which was out in the open and vulnerable was allowed to escape back to Savannah and its defenses. If the Americans would have been able to defeat this British force it would of been a major blow to Prevost and his army’s chances of holding Georgia. Instead as the future would show this Prevost and his army that made it back to Savannah would play a major role in the defeat of the combined French/American force that attacks Savannah and in the final attack on Charleston.

Below is a map of the South Carolina and Georgia's coast line and the roads system from around the time of the Revolution. By looking at it you can see the trail Prevost used to get to Charleston and his escape route using the coast and the sea islands to make his way back to Savannah.

Battle of Stono Ferry Part Two

As we left off last time, General Prevost has decided to move his British troop back to Savannah using the Sea Islands as protection since the Royal Navy controls these waters and so that he can move his troops through areas where they can find supplies. To accomplish this, he first selected the Stono Ferry as his main land disembark point to start his plan of island hopping back to Savannah. From the Stono Ferry he was shipping his troops across from the river from main land to John’s Island. So this is the point where he needed to protect his beach head the most. This was the one spot where the Continentals could attack him without having to chase him from island to island. Also this point gave him an avenue to allow any Tories to join his ranks and to forage if possible.


To accomplish this goal, he built a position guarding the ferry. This included three redoubts with cannons, an abates all along the perimeter of fallen trees with the limbs and points sticking out to slowing the enemy advancing, and around 900 men under the command of Lt. Col John Maitland of the 71st Regiment of Foot (Frasier’s Highlanders). With Lt. Col Maitland at Stono Ferry he had his First battalion of the 71st, a detachment of Royal Artillery, a detachment of Hesse Kassel Regiment (Hessians), the Royal North Carolina Regiment (Provincial Unit), a royal navy barge, and South Carolina Tory Militia. Their job to hold the ferry landing on the Charleston side until the main British force had made its way across Johns Island. They were not looking for a fight since the main bulk had already crossed the river and they were exposed until they got across the Stono also.

The date that started the British retreat from Charleston back to Savannah was May the 12th when the bluff was up and Prevost decided the time was right to leave. Some time on June the 12th General Lincoln decided it was time to follow the British with his full Continental Army. Charleston was secure from the British attack and this was his chance to attack them with a superior force. To accomplish this he decided on a two prong attack. The first prong was to be himself with the 4rth North Carolina, the 5th North Carolina, the 4rth South Carolina (Artillery), North Carolina Militia, the Sixth South Carolina, the 3rd South Carolina (Rangers), the 1st Georgia, the 2nd Georgia, the 3rd Georgia, the 4rth Georgia, South Carolina Militia, Count Pulaski’s Legion, North Carolina Dragoons, South Carolina Dragoons, South Carolina Militia, and Virginia Militia. This main force was to proceed directly from Charleston down the Jacksonboro Road to Stono Ferry and attack the British position there. While he was doing that General Moultrie of the first attack of Charleston fame was to take a mixture of militia and some Continental troops from the garrison of Charleston and move across the Wappoo River to James Island. Once on James Island he was to make a demonstration to catch the main British forces attention while he attacked the exposed force on the main land. The big problem for this was that he needed to cross the river before the attack was to begin to accomplish this diversion of the main British force, which as events pan out he does not accomplish.

On the morning of June 20th almost six weeks since Prevost asked Charleston to surrender, General Lincoln had forced marched his army 8 miles and was now ready to attack the Stono Ferry with his main force.  The British force was behind its defensive works and readying its self for the American attack. This sets the stage for part three of the Battle of Stono Ferry which will be up next week.


The American Forces at the Battle of Stono Ferry


Commanding
Brig. General Benjamin Lincoln

Right wing of Attack
Commander Brig. General Jethro Sumner of North Carolina

4th North Carolina
Hillsborough District Militia NC
4th SC Artillery detachment

Left Wing of Attack
Commander Brig. General Isaac Huger

1st South Carolina
3rd South Carolina
4rth SC Artillery detachement
6th South Carolina
1st Brigade of South Carolina Militia
2nd Brigade of South Carolina Militia
3rd Brigade of South Carolina Militia
4rth Brigade of South Carolina Militia

Reserve:
Commander Brig General Count Pulaski

Pulaski’s Legion
South Carolina Light Dragoons
Lower Ninty six District regiment
Virginia Militia
Catawba Indian Company
Virginia Militia Artillery

Flags of the Hesse Kassel and 71st Regiments

The Battle of Stono Ferry June 20th, 1779 Part 1

         The Battle of Stono Ferry is an end result of the second battle of Charleston. The second battle of Charleston has not drawn much attention as the first Battle of Charleston with the heroic siege of the fort built out of palmetto logs has in history with names such as Marion, Jasper, and Moultrie that now grace the history books. The story of the heroic little fort standing up to the might of the British army and navy during the first battle of Charleston and thus giving the United States even before the Declaration of Independence was signed their first great victory against the British. This historic victory is still celebrated in South Carolina unofficially as Carolina Day in Charleston with a parade and other events. The third battle of Charleston was one of sorrow and disgrace as the entire American army of the South under the leadership of General Lincoln surrendered to Cornwallis and his army without honor. This third battle stripped the South of any Continentals until Gates came South for his ill fated battle at Camden. Of course this battle did allow South Carolina’s heroes such as Marion, Pickens, and Sumter to come to center stage, which is a discussion for a different day.




       The Battle of Stono Ferry was basically a major rear guard action as the British General Prevost was heading back to Savannah after his failed attempt to bluff Charleston into surrendering which almost worked. While General Lincoln and the Southern Continental Army were near Augusta trying to bring that area into Continental control Prevost saw an opportunity to relieve the pressure on Augusta by driving his force into South Carolina from his base in Savannah and towards Charleston. His thoughts were that once Lincoln saw this threat he would leave his Augusta operations and race back to Charleston for its defenses which were very light consisting primarily of General Moultrie with a few Continentals and local militia. On this initial feint against Charleston to relieve pressure on Augusta, Prevost came to a realization on the march. Lincoln was not doing as expected; instead he was staying around Augusta and not racing back to Charleston. This lack of interest by Lincoln gave Prevost a great opportunity if he was daring enough to take it. The opportunity was to take Charleston while the primary defense force was too far away to assist. To Prevost credit, he took the chance and started to race towards Charleston with all speed capturing other smaller ports such as Beaufort and Port Royal along the way. Once at the gates of Charleston with no siege equipment or significant forces to storm Charleston, General Prevost did what had gotten him to the gates of Charleston, he tried to bluff the city into surrender. Sadly enough this almost worked since the city leaders were willing to put Charleston into a sort of neutrality until the war of Independence was decided. This has been debated by many as either this was a ruse to stall for Lincoln and his force to raise the siege or a real proposal for neutrality to save the business of Charleston. The bottom line is that the debate inside the walls was real and heated between the local government and General Moultrie the hero of the first battle of Charleston to decide the fate of the city. The good news was that the decision was made for them once General Lincoln and his army started to race towards the relief of Charleston. This was the result of Lincoln finally and almost too late to rescue the crown jewel of the South from British control. So after two days Prevost lifted the siege and decided to return to Savannah with his army in tow. The only question now was how he was going to accomplish this. He had two main ways to accomplish this, the first was to return the way he had come or by the islands that dot the coast of South Carolina and Georgia all the way to Savannah. There were two problems that caused him to not choose the first option. The first was the Continental army which was now bearing down on him with the militia turning out in force to extract him and his force out of South Carolina by force of battle. Prevost could not risk losing his army in a major battle because as a result Savannah would be lost back to the Americans and the British Southern strategy would be lost. The other problem was that on the way from Savannah to Charleston he had stripped the land he passed of food and material to keep his army moving towards Charleston. On the way back this way he would have little food stuffs to feed his army since they had just travelled this way. So the choice he made was a daring one, he would retreat back to Savannah with his army via the coastal islands using the water ways as a means to transport his troops through as General MacArthur during World War Two would refer to as “island hoping”. The second result of this route was that he could use the water ways as defensive positions to help keep the American Army in check since they did not have any real navel support as he to interfere with the crossings. The other advantage of this move was that it allowed the Royal Navy to help keep him supplied and protected. Thus we are now at the battle of Stono Ferry.