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"S" is for Sullivan's Island, Battle of (June 28, 1776)

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"S" is for Sullivan's Island, Battle of (June 28, 1776). The Battle of Sullivan’s Island was the first major patriot victory in the Revolutionary War. In February 1776, after British plans to capture Charleston were revealed, South Carolina patriots began construction of a palmetto log and sand fort on Sullivan’s Island. At 11:30 a.m. on June 28th the British fleet began a daylong bombardment. The fort withstood the pounding from the heavy British guns. The patriots returned fire and their solid shot and shells tore into the wooden ships. During the afternoon the patriots repulsed a British attempt to cross Breech Inlet from Long Island. At 9:00 p.m. the enemy ceased the attack and pulled out of the fort’s range. The British soon withdrew from the harbor, leaving Charleston free from attack until 1780.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.