Fort Moultrie is a historically significant spot located on the port of Charleston in South Carolina (home of Palmetto State Armory).
Its strategic importance has proven pivotal in a couple of conflicts over the years, including the American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War.
Interestingly, Blackbeard the Pirate can be credited with demonstrating the importance of coastal defenses.
So, let’s walk the plank and dive into the waters near Fort Moultrie.
The Menace of Blackbeard
Established as a province of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1712, Charleston was a major hub of local trade. Its port provided protected access to the Atlantic Ocean.
Trade flourished, with farmers and merchants shipping out wares and receiving goods in kind from other ports of call.
While an unimproved fort existed back in the early years of Charleston, an infamous figure helped solidify the need for fortifications.
In 1718, Blackbeard seized the port, demanding a ransom of medicine. Some sources indicate many of his pirates suffered from venereal diseases. The feared pirate boldly sailed into the port with Queen Anne’s Revenge and a fleet of sloops.
There, he held the waterway and effectively created a blockade, seizing ships and taking prisoners for several days. Commerce screeched to a halt until the Charleston surrendered the medicine.
American Revolutionary War
Built on Sullivan’s Island to protect the Port of Charleston with a garrison of up to 1,000 men, Fort Moultrie’s fortifications were originally made of Palmetto logs.
Canon emplacements were strategically located to blast any menacing ships that tried to enter the port.
And that’s just what they did in June of 1776. A British fleet of nine ships assaulted the port and were met with 300 to 400 defenders stationed at the fort.
Col William Moultrie marshaled his forces and routed the red coats with fortified canons. The palmetto logs served a critical role, reportedly bouncing back many of the enemy cannonballs.
The fort was named in Moultrie’s honor. This small victory was one of the first in the American Revolution, but Fort Moultrie would become pivotal again in the American Civil War.
American Civil War
After the War of 1812, an artificial island was constructed in the port, and Fort Sumter was built upon it.
Located to the south and west of Fort Moultrie, the pair of sister forts offered overlapping lanes of fire on any would-be invaders from the sea.
The South seceded from the Union in 1860, and federal troops garrisoned at Moultrie relocated to Sumter, thinking it was a stronger location.
Confederate troops took over Fort Moultrie and shelled the devil out of Fort Sumter — a move that marked the official start of the American Civil War.
Retirement
Fort Moultrie underwent a lot of changes in its makeup over the years. As technologies and understandings of materials improved, the fortifications were upgraded to face evolving threats.
The old fort continued to serve as part of the coastal defense network through World War I and even World War II.
In 1947, Fort Moultrie was closed, and in 1960 it was decommissioned and handed over to the National Park Service.
This is a new style of article for Pew Pew Tactical, if you liked it — let us know in the comments! If you didn’t enjoy it…well phooey. To catch up on previous Pictures from History, click on over to our History Category.
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