History of Charleston

On June 28, 1776 General Sir Henry Clinton along with 2,000 men and a naval squadron tried to seize Charles Towne, hoping for a simultaneous Loyalist uprising in South Carolina. When the fleet fired cannonballs, the explosives failed to penetrate Fort Sullivan's unfinished, yet thick, palmetto log walls. Additionally, no local Loyalists attacked the town from behind, as the British had hoped. Col. Moultries' men were able to return fire and inflicted heavy damage on several of the British ships. The British were forced to withdraw their forces, and the fort was renamed Fort Moultrie in honor of its commander.

This battle kept Charles Towne safe from conquest for four years, and therefore was perceived as so symbolic of the revolution that it spawned a number of key icons of South Carolina and the revolution:

During the battle, the flag Moultrie had flown in the battle (which he had designed, himself) was shot down. It was then hoisted into the air again by Sargent William Jasper and kept aloft, rallying the troops, until it could be remounted. This Liberty Flag was seen as so important that it became the Flag of South Carolina, with the addition of the palmetto tree, the logs of which had been used to make the fort so impenetrable.

The day of that battle, June 28, is now a state holiday known as Carolina Day.

Clinton returned in 1780 with 14,000 soldiers. American General Benjamin Lincoln was trapped and surrendered his entire 5,400 men force after a long fight, and the Siege of Charles Towne was the greatest American defeat of the war. Several Americans who escaped the carnage