Editor’s Note: This summary is taken from a 2025 story about the historical importance of June 28 for South Carolinians. Related links are at the bottom.
Cities across the Palmetto State will come alive today with celebrations and commemorations for Carolina Day. You can join commemorations and reenactments to honor the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, the first major naval victory of the American Revolution.
Carolina Day is important because South Carolina is at the heart of the American Revolution. Nearly a third of all battles and skirmishes took place in South Carolina. And on June 28, 1776, South Carolina patriots defended a makeshift fort on Sullivan’s Island. Built with palmetto logs that absorbed the shock of British cannons, it repelled a powerful British fleet offensive, preserving Charleston and boosting colonial morale days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The unfinished fort boasted only 31 cannons with which a garrison of soldiers repelled nine man-of-war ships with nearly 300. The victory is a tale of underdog victory that showed leaders in the American colonies that the fight for freedom from British tyranny was winnable.
According to the S.C. Encyclopedia, the fort would have been a square with 500-foot-long walls with a bastion at each corner. Builders placed thousands of palmetto logs in two parallel walls 16 feet apart. Between the walls were tons of sand. By the time of the battle, only two walls and bastions were complete, and only 400 soldiers were stationed at the fort. Another 300 stood at the north end of the island to keep British marines from crossing Breach Inlet.
On June 8, the British fleet demanded surrender, which was rejected. And on June 28, warships advanced on the fort and began firing just before noon. The fort’s guns responded, and the cannonfire continued through the evening. Despite taking heavy fire, the fort survived with little damage. The interwoven fibers of the palmetto logs and the thick berm of sand between them absorbed the shock of British volleys.
The less-pliable ships, however, did not. Patriot cannons severely damaged two British ships and moderately damaged two more. A fifth was scuttled after it ran aground in the mud.
British troops ultimately saw more than 200 casualties, compared to only 40 among patriots. It wasn’t long before the Royal Navy withdrew, and the unnamed fort was named to honor its commander, Col. William Moultrie. Now, the site is part of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park.
Related stories and opinions:
- Opinion, 6/18/26: S.C. gets head start on nation’s 250th
- News, 2/13/26: Historic sites plan Revolutionary War events for SC250
- Opinion, 6/29/24: New book dives into S.C.’s role in Revolutionary War
- Opinion, 6/28/24: Celebrate freedom on Carolina Day, July 4
- Photos, 6/26/22: Sullivan’s Island celebrates Carolina Day 2022
- Opinion, 6/26/21: Celebrate Carolina Day with gusto
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