What's In A Name? ... Fort Moultrie

Well folks, we had planned to go back downtown to look at the parks and city buildings that are so extraordinary in this beautiful city but - as we were putting photos together and talking about the things we had seen we got kinda excited about our trip out to Sullivan's Island.  So - we made an executive decision to take you out there before we go back downtown.  But don't worry - there's a lot to see in the city and we want you to be there with us.  For now, though - we'll leave town heading east on U.S. Highway 17 and we immediately encounter one of Charleston's newest "wonders of the world" - the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.  With all due respect to Mr. Ravenal who played a significant role in S. C. politics and in the city, I've gotta tell you - to most South Carolinians the bridge over the Cooper River between Charleston and Mount Pleasant will always be known as "The Cooper River Bridge."  This structure - which replaced the old Grace Memorial and Silas Pearman Bridges is a true engineering marvel.  I won't take the time here to go into all of the amazing features but I had the privilege of meeting and talking to one of the designers and believe me - this thing is incredible.  I regret that we wont get to spend some time on the bridge or the place located at the other end that has such extraordinary meaning for me - Mount Pleasant - but we've got things to see!!!
Imagine, if you will, having a "time machine" with which you could travel back and forth in time, observing 'history' as it was being made and then zipping forward to see the change the passage of time brought. Well, a visit to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island, S.C. can simulate that experience for you. Located on the other side of the Ben Sawyer Bridge from the Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island - despite it's awesome history - has remained largely undiscovered by 'developers' until recently. Now, this formerly quiet haven has begun to stir with the increased interest of those who recognize the incredible potential for gracious living here. New homes have carefully been integrated into the historic seashore cottages and homes in a tasteful blend. But a brief walk on the beach is all it takes to transport me back in time more than six decades to summers spent with treasured family members.  Even more recently - the Uncle I mentioned, whose home on Queen Street we visited yesterday, took Linda and me to lunch at Dunleavy's Bar and Grill here during our last visit with him. But

Sullivan's Island Lighthouse

the object of our visit today involves history of a different kind - the creation of a State and a Nation and a people adjusting to unbelievable changes in their world.  As far back as the early 1700's it was clear to the people who settled Colonial South Carolina that the points of land at the tips of Sullivan's and James' Islands were strategically crucial to the defense of the Charleston peninsula.  Fort Johnson, built in 1704 at "Windmill Point" on James Island, was the first site of the city's defenses.  It was not until hostilities between the Colonies and England escalated to the point of war that an additional fort on Sullivan's Island(now known as Ft. Moultrie) was planned.  Originally named "Fort Sullivan" it was still under construction when William Moultrie, Commander of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment (a position also held by his older brother some years earlier) was given command.  Since there was no flag representing the state or the fledgling colonial forces at the time, Moultrie took the crescent moon that decorated the 2nd Regiment uniform caps and placed it on a field of blue (the color of the uniform jackets of his troops) and raised it over the fort.  Shortly thereafter, British forces attacked the harbor and Fort Sullivan expecting to destroy the palmetto log structure.  To their extreme surprise, the palmetto logs absorbed the cannonballs with little effect and the British were successfully repulsed.  Later, a palmetto tree was added to

General William Moultri

Moultrie's flag in honor of it's role in the defense of Charleston and it became the flag of South Carolina.  As you can tell, the fort was named for Moultrie and he was ultimately promoted to the position of Major General, the last person to receive that rank from Congress.  Fort Moultrie protected the city, the state and the country for more than 170 years and memorabilia from each era of its existence can be found there today.  It is the only park in the National Parks system that contains exhibits covering the entire history of our use of coastal defense fortifications - from 1776 to 1947.  In fact the fort has seen some very unusual parts of our history.  As most of us remember from school, when the U. S. flag was designed the original intent was to add a star and a stripe for each new state that was added.  We followed that plan until Vermont and New Jersey joined the union in 1791 and 92, bringing the total of stars and stripes to fifteen.  Seeing that things were going to get a bit crowded for future states, Congress made the decision to drop back to the original thirteen stripes with each new state getting a star on the July 4th following its admission.  Since hostilities between the U.S. and Great Britain caused the fort to be re-opened in 1809 the flag that flew then is still flown today.  It was this version of our flag that Francis Scott Key was watching at Fort McHenry when he was inspired to write our national anthem.  Of course, not just the flag but military technology changed dramatically over the years.  The revolutionary war era guns seem tiny compared to those that followed shortly afterward and served to defend the fort during the War of 1812.  Continued advancements resulted in even greater firepower in only a few short years.  As the years went by the fort was expanded and new gun emplacements were added.  The varied combatants that both attacked and defended Fort Moultrie spanned a dizzying array of national allegiances.  American revolutionaries, British troops, Southern Secessionists and Union Soldiers all took their turns over the years.  As the rhetoric grew more and more heated, Maj. Robert

Fort Sumter Seen From Fort Moultrie - April 11, 2012

Anderson, commander of the facility in 1861 moved his troops to newly created Fort Sumter in the harbor.  While Fort Sumter was difficult to see in the photos we looked at the other day, Linda took an amazing shot that includes something that almost proved that we were in a time machine!!!!  Take a look at this shot on the left!! No, you're not hallucinating, that really is a three-masted schooner sailing by!!   You can almost imagine being there as the soldiers at Fort Johnson on the other side of the harbor and the Citadel Cadets on the Battery began preparing to open fire and bring the nation into a four year nightmare.  It would not be long before one of Major Anderson's former students at West Point, General P.G.T. Beauregard, would lead Southern troops in taking Fort Sumter and the nightmare was underway for real.  As the world became smaller and new foes were threatening, the old fort gathered her strength for another tour of duty.  World War II saw the final chapter in coastal defense forts and the changes to Fort Moultrie were astonishing.  Expanded troop levels, new ways of communicating, totally new responsibilities (the fort now became a major meteorological station) changed things forever here.  Although the historical events that took place here are amazing, to me it is equally remarkable how many extraordinary leaders have commanded the facility.  We don't have time to talk about all of them but one of the most remarkable of all was a man who would ultimately become one of the greatest military - and civilian - leaders our country has known.  General George Marshall served here prior to the time that he was chosen by President Roosevelt to lead our armed forces.  During my service days there were Europeans who flatly stated to me that General Marshall saved their countries with "The Marshall Plan."  During WWII my own father served at Ft. Moultrie for a time so the ties for me just keep coming!! Interestingly, the fort has also been the scene of some other incredible historical events.  There are monuments here that attest to the complexity of our military history and the confusing relationships Americans have had with each other.  The long, tragic history of conflict between Native Americans and European Americans is something that continues to haunt us over the years.  In the 1830s, when the U.S. Government decided to re-locate Seminole Indians living in Florida, armed resistance flared up.  One of the greatest leaders of the indians was Osceola.  Captured by forces in Florida, he was imprisoned and later transferred to Fort Moultrie where he remained until his death from malaria just three months after his capture.  Despite his role in the Second Seminole War, Osceola was highly respected by people on both sides of the conflict.  He was buried with full military honors and has been recognized with memorials throughout the land including a national park named for him in Florida.  Near Osceola's grave is another sad memorial.  It is an obelisk shaped much like the Washington Monument commemorating the sailors of the USS Patapsco that struck a Confederate mine and sunk in Charleston Harbor in January of 1865, just three months before the surrender at Appomatox Courthouse.  Well, I know I've just gone on and on in this post but it was such an emotional one for me that I just couldn't help it.  There is so much history here and the people who were the centerpieces of that story were so very, very real - almost larger than life.  But then you realize that it was all of them - General Moultrie's brave regiment, Maj. Anderson's company of less than 200 (13 of whom were musicians) braving the might of overwhelming forces, countless soldiers, sailors and marines who unhesitatingly stepped into the very doorway of death to serve the colony, the state, the nation they loved.  Wow!!!  Well folks, we're just about at the end of our visit to Charleston but we'll probably come back for a few final notes.  You wouldn't believe how many pictures we DIDN'T get to add but there's only so much you can absorb!!!  Anyway, thanks for joining us.  Come on back soon for more adventures with SCTravelersX3.  See ya.




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Location:Charleston, S.C.