Moultrie
[West Face]:
This Monument represents the high esteem in
which all who love freedom hold Charleston's
native son, William Moultrie
Born November 23, 1730, Moultrie served in
the Royal Assembly from 1752 until 1773. He was
Aide-de-Camp to Governor William Lyttleton in
the 1759 offensive on the southern frontier to
suppress pillaging by the Cherokee Nation. In
1760, Moultrie was promoted to captain in
Colonel Thomas Middleton's Provincial Regiment
and rose to further prominence after serving
in the Cherokee Expedition of 1761. He was
elected to the First Provincial Congress in 1774.
On June 17, 1775 , he earned the commission
of Colonel in the Second South Carolina
Regiment of Foot.
In command of Fort Sullivan on June 28, 1776,
Moultrie defeated a combined land and sea
assult by the British under the command of
Major General Henry Clinton and Commodore
Peter Parker. Maultrie's unexpected victory
gave the American forces hope in their cause,
and he became a national hero. It was during
this command that he chose for his garrison
a flag consisting of a crescent moon on a
field of blue. Commissioned a Brigadier
General in the Continental Army on September
16, 1776. Moultrie, second in command of
Charleston's defense, was captured on May
12, 1780, when the city fell. He remained
imprisoned until exchanged for Major General
John Burgoyne in February 1782. He was
appointed a Major General on October 15, 1782.
He was elected Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in 1784 and served as Governor from 1785 until 1787. Under his leadership, the government divided the state into counties, created the County Court System, and moved the State Capital from Charleston to Columbia.
He served a second term as Governor from 1792 to 1794, when he retired from public office.
William Moultrie died in Charleston on September 27, 1805 and is buried on Sulivan's Island near the site of his 1776 victory. The highest ranking military officer from South Carolina during the Revolution, he remains honored by his countrymen for his valor, patriotism and public service.
[North Face]:
With Support From
The Agriculture Society of South Carolina
The General Society of Colonial Wars
The Hibernian Society of Charleston
The National Society of the Colonial Dames
of America in the State of South Carolina
The New England Society
The Rebecca Motte Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
The St. Andrew's Society of Charleston, SC
The St. Davis Society of Charleston
The Society of Cincinnati
The South Carolina Society
The Washington Light Infantry
[South face]:
Erected and Given to
Charleston By
The Society of the Cincinnati of the State
of South Carolina
The Society of Colonial Wars in the State
of South Carolina
The Major General William Moultrie Chapter
South Carolina Society of the American
Revolution
Marker is on East Battery Street, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
