Sunday, June 28, marks the kickoff for honoring and celebrating South Carolina’s vitally important support for liberty 250 years ago. On that day, more than 400 brave souls thwarted powerful British warships in the Battle of Sullivan’s Island and kept alive the zeal for change from a monarchy.
Now is the time to honor the memory of those colonial patriots as Carolina Day. Had they not been victorious, America’s bid for independence, now celebrated every July 4, might have turned out far differently.
That underdog victory on Sullivan’s Island, just six days before the Declaration of Independence was adopted, became the first major naval win by patriots from the 13 colonies.
The odds on that fateful day in a sweltering South Carolina were daunting. Fort Sullivan had 435 militia men and 31 cannons in a stronghold built of palmetto logs and sand. But mighty Great Britain had 2,200 infantry and nine man-of-war ships hovering near the entrance of Charleston Harbor and laden with the explosive power of nearly 300 cannons.
But by the end of a day of sweaty, bloody fighting, the palmetto fort held as its fibrous logs absorbed shocks from British cannons. And the patriots’ cannons severely damaged two ships and moderately damaged two more. The British scuttled another frigate after it grounded. In all, 12 patriot fighters died in a battle that wounded 25 more of their troops. But 220 British were killed and wounded, including marines who landed on Isle of palms, only to drown in Breach Inlet.
Next Sunday, South Carolinians will proudly celebrate the 1776 naval victory. Six days later, the nation will celebrate its sesquicentennial with an Independence Day of fireworks, speeches and reenactments from sea to shining sea.
By July 4, 1776 — less than a week after the first major patriot naval victory of the Revolutionary War — 56 leaders of 13 American colonies unanimously adopted a revolutionary document in Philadelphia saying they were independent states no longer subject to British rule.
The second sentence of their Declaration of Independence is familiar and continues to inspire: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” What followed was a long list of grievances about British rule.
Across the United States, we need to unite behind the courageous words in the declaration that sparked movements of freedom around the globe. We need to remember our shared values and what makes us American. What we don’t need is continued meandering down the road of authoritarianism — which would sicken the Founding Fathers.
On July 4 as you shoot fireworks, roast hot dogs, grill burgers and tipple on a frosty cold one, make sure you remember how the 1776 defense of the Holy City put starch in the clothing of patriots throughout the colonies. Our victory then showed how people in these “united states” could stand up to Britain with more than words.
That Carolina Day victory should inspire us today to stand up again for those same founding values and denounce anyone who tries to erode American freedom.
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