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British Attack
June 28, 1776
Confident of victory, British Admiral Peter Parker led his fleet of nine warships in an attack on the palmetto log fort, June 28, 1776. Parker's ships anchored only 400 yards from here, firing thundering broadsides in the nine-hour battle.
The fort walls of spongy palmetto logs and sand absorbed hundreds of projectiles fired by the fleet's nearly 300 heavy guns. Inside the fort, Colonel Moultrie's 400 patriots concentrated the return fire of their 31 cannon on the largest ships, inflicting heavy damage and casualties.
The battle ended as darkness fell – the crippled fleet pulled up anchor and drifted out of range on an ebbing tide. Charleston's defenders celebrated victory in the first major seacoast engagement of the Revolution.
Admiral Peter Parker commanded the British naval force, sent to restore the king's authority to South Carolina. Despite his defeat by the patriots, Parker was knighted and later became Admiral of the Fleet. |