South Carolina is getting fired up about the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next year with The Battle of Sullivan’s Island. It’s a new film production by Wide Awake Films commemorating Charleston’s role in the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, and you’ll feel right at home.
In the opening shot, an SC250 Anniversary logo is afloat on waters off Sullivan’s Island, signalling the state’s commemoration of the American Revolution is underway. On the screen, the surf’s familiar foamy churn then gives way to an equally mesmerizing, rhythmic image: a blue flag with a familiar lone crescent billowing in the ocean breeze.
A stately serif font emerges, revealing more. A date, May 31, 1776, alerts us that we are no longer on the Sullivan’s Island of today, where sun worshippers and olive oil gelato beckon. We have journeyed to the time before the current onslaught of beach traffic and chic boites, but one also facing a slew of visitors from off.
Inside a canvas tent, a quill pen darts up and down, an urgent dispatch from Col. William Moultrie to John Rutledge, president of South Carolina who is soon to sign the Declaration of Independence. The dispatch flags a grim view from his telescope: a formidable squadron of British vessels 20 miles off Dewees Island barreling toward his unfinished Sullivan’s Island fort.
Yes, the British are coming — and things on the balmy barrier island are about to get real.
Close up: Carolina Day
The rest is American history. In these parts, most locals know the events leading up to a triumphant moment on American soil known now as Carolina Day.
On June 28, 1776, the Battle of Sullivan’s Island pitted Moultrie, Sgt. William Jasper and their men against forbidding British forces, cementing South Carolina in the history of the American Revolution to be perpetually celebrated as Carolina Day.
Rob Shenk, chief content officer for Wide Awake Films, underscores the magnitude of this historic Carolina triumph.
“This great and unexpected victory over the Royal Navy and British army was not only one of the first true military victories of the Revolutionary War, but also served to protect and preserve Charleston from British occupation early in the war,” he said. “The victory at Sullivan’s Island created much-needed heroes for the Patriot cause in South Carolina and established many of South Carolina’s most enduring symbols.”
History buffs aside, the present-day, less-inclined cultural consumer may view a revisit of centuries-old history as dust-mite dry. Not so much in this film — and on this topic. Around these parts, most folks see a celebration of Carolina Day as serious fun.
When June approaches, they’ll get plenty hot and bothered, decked out in colonial attire in the thick of summer torpor, when celebrating that miraculous day when a scrappy Southern colonel, who was outnumbered and outgunned, held off the swagger of the approaching redcoats.
Moultrie and company did so with little more than palmetto logs, packed sand and the derring-do of state troops, Carolina continentals and allied Native Americans, including 30 Catawba warriors.
Shenk notes that two and a half centuries on, more general knowledge of and appreciation for this astonishing victory have waned.
“The Battle of Sullivan’s Island is truly a story of a vastly overmatched underdog prevailing against some of the most experienced naval and military forces imaginable,” he said.
Capturing a moment
The Battle of Sullivan’s Island captures this history moment, converging action filmmaking and historical rigor in a crowd-pleasing, visually dynamic manner. On Nov. 6 at Charleston Library Society, SC250 Charleston premiered the new work by Wide Awake Films Director Shane Seley before a rapt, packed crowd.
The film production was commissioned by South Carolina 250, and premiered in partnership with SC250 Charleston, the locally-based nonprofit formed to commemorate and highlight Charleston’s crucial role in the fight for independence. Charleston has been identified by Congressional legislation as one of the four cities that played a key role in the revolution, along with New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
Among the priorities in the commemoration is the celebration of Carolina Day, a transformative moment in the state about which many members of the general public may know very little, “to generate awareness, excitement, appreciation and enthusiasm that we can leverage leading up to the event,” Shenk said.
And it does so with absorbing nuance, drama and pace.
“The film thoughtfully depicts the tensions and passions that were impacting all during this time in history, clearly illustrating how complex this moment was,” Marissa Sams, executive director of SC250 Charleston, told Charleston City Paper.
Clocking in under 15 minutes, The Battle of Sullivan’s Island is free and accessible online. It is also being shown at the S.C. Historical Society museum and at the Fort Moultrie National Park visitor center. SC250 Charleston anticipates that in the months ahead, it will be available in many more venues.
Shenk, who also serves as treasurer of the SC250 Charleston steering committee, says the hope is that the retelling of the story, featuring cutting-edge animation, live-action sequences and a powerful audio track, will make people more excited and more aware of why Carolina Day commemorations matter.
Gathering historians, filmmakers and reenactors, The Battle of Sullivan’s Island includes period costumes, animated maps, VFX shots and 3D warships, charting the advance of the British with plenty of action. The film aims to be easy on the eyes and cognition, something Sams says it has delivered.
“It’s also super-digestible and beautifully shot so it’s a great way for those unfamiliar with this historic moment, and a bit intimidated by how to connect with this subject — a way to learn about this significant battle and its relevance to who we are today as South Carolinians,” she said.
Shenk said he is already heartened by the response to the film, which seeks to engage and educate the public.
“If one looks at the current viewership and supportive comments on its YouTube page, we already see that the film is indeed achieving its goals.”
To view the film, visit wideawakefilms.com/sullivansisland. For more information about SC250, visit sc250charleston.com.
Four must-see SC250 exhibitions in Charleston
Voices of Revolution in South Carolina
Now on view at the S.C. Historical Society Museum through the summer of 2027, this exhibition commemorates the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution by featuring original manuscripts from the Historical Society’s collection as well as loans of fascinating artifacts from sister institutions across
the state.
- 100 Meeting St. More: schistory.org
Speaking Truth
Opened in October to be permanently housed in International African American Museum’s Center for Family History, Speaking Truth gathers 52 testimonials from Americans sharing their families’ connections to enslavement via early American colonists, prominent slave traders and signers of the Declaration of Independence. It reveals a more complete and unflinching history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and chattel slavery in what became the United States.
- 14 Wharfside St. More: iaamuseum.org
Ringleaders of Rebellion
A major special exhibition at the Charleston Museum, Ringleaders of Rebellion: Charleston in Revolt, 1775–1783 explores Charleston and the Lowcountry’s pivotal role in the American Revolution, from the early resistance against the Crown to the final victory. Highlights from the museum’s collections and significant national and international loans will be on view, with rare items such as the HMS Bristol logbook, one of the first copies of the Declaration of Independence printed in Charleston by Peter Timothy and an Eliza Lucas Pinckney dress.
- Jan. 31 to Sept. 20, 2026. 360 Meeting St. More: charlestonmuseum.org
Conversations of Freedom at Middleton Place
Opening April 2025, this new exhibition on display in the historic South Flanker, the surviving portion of the original house complex, examines Charleston’s integral role in the Revolutionary era through stories that inspire reflection, dialogue and shared understanding. As the home of Arthur Middleton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence with deep Revolutionary ties, the House Museum will provide a unique Lowcountry setting for mining the layered meanings of liberty and independence, by way of carefully interpreted period rooms, personal narratives and historical objects illuminating the ideological, political and personal struggles of the era.
- 4300 Ashley River Road. More: middletonplace.org
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