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Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Fort Multrie on Sullivan's Island

Cannons and the Fort


By the entrance to the Fort Multrie Museum


Looking up to the sky


Palmetto tree, the (ugly) lighthouse and the Fort


Fort Sumter is so close, you can almost throw a stone across



Fort Moultrie is the name of a series of forts on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and nickname (Palmetto State) of South Carolina.



History
The fort was unnamed and not yet complete when Admiral Sir Peter Parker and nine British warships attacked it on June 28, 1776, near the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.The soft palmetto logs did not crack under bombardment but rather absorbed the shot; there were even reports of cannon balls actually bouncing off of the walls of the structure. In any case, Charleston was saved from capture, and the fort was named for the commander in the battle, William Moultrie, and the locals, to this day celebrate 'Carolina Day' to commemorate the bravery of the defenders of the fort, the 2nd South Carolina Regiment. The fort was eventually captured by the British in the siege of Charleston. (See the southern theater in the article titled American Revolution for more information).





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