Military
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Almost four years after their defeat at the palmetto log fort in 1776, the British returned to Charleston with a larger force, new tactics, and respect for Fort Moultrie. A British fleet of 96 ships arrived off Charleston on February 17, 1780, and General Henry Clinton, with an army of 8,500, landed 30 miles south of Charleston, moved north to capture Fort Johnson, and then marched on the city. Vice Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot, commander of the British fleet, bypassed Fort Moultrie rather than attack it, keeping the fleet 800 yards offshore and quickly sailing past despite Moultrie’s guns to anchor in Charleston Harbor. Fort Moultrie was powerless to protect the city, and the siege of Charleston began. During the siege, most of Fort Moultrie’s garrison moved to defend Charleston, leaving the fort with only 160 men, who surrendered to the British on May 7, 1780. Completely cut off by land and sea, Charleston surrendered on May 12, and the port then served the British until 1782. The loss of Charleston was a crushing blow to the patriots.
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Sullivan's Island, South Carolina · United States
