During the American Revolution, the first fort was built on Sullivan′s Island, constructed of palmetto logs and sand, but was still incomplete when Commodore Sir Peter Parker of the Royal Navy and nine British men-of-war attacked it on June 28, 1776. After a nine-hour battle, the ships were forced to retire. Why? The British cannonballs kept bouncing off of the palm trees.

Charlestown was saved from British occupation, and the fort was named in honor of its commander, Colonel William Moultrie. In May 1780 the British captured Charlestown, including Fort Moultrie, but the city was not evacuated until December 1782 as the Revolution entered its final year. After the war, Fort Moultrie was neglected, and by 1791 little of it remained.

Then, in 1793, war broke out between Great Britain and France. The next year Congress, seeking to safeguard American shores, authorized the first system of nationwide coastal fortifications. A second Fort Moultrie, which was just one of twenty new forts along the Atlantic coast, all having been completed by 1798.

However, it too suffered from neglect and was finally destroyed by a hurricane in 1804. By 1807 many of the other First System fortifications were in need of extensive repair. Congress responded by authorizing funds for a Second System, which included a third Fort Moultrie. By 1809 a new brick fort stood on Sullivan′s Island.

In December 1860 South Carolina seceded from the Union, and the Federal garrison abandoned Fort Moultrie for the stronger Sumter. Three and a half months later, Confederate troops shelled Fort Sumter into submission, plunging the nation into civil war.

In August 1863, Federal shore batteries on Morris Island began an eighteen month bombardment of Fort Sumter, yet Charleston′s defenses held. When the Confederate army evacuated the city in February 1865, Fort Sumter was little more than a pile of rubble and Fort Moultrie lay hidden under the band of sand that protected its walls from Federal shells.

The new rifled cannon used during the Civil War had demolished nearly all the brick-walled fortifications.

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I awake during the sunglow, drive to a f-mart for a cup of hot and watch the suntouch from the jammer. Over the last few days, I have noticed several times a flock of geese flying in formation heading south. Methinks this is the same flock that I have been seeing and we are all headed to the same direction, south. After getting a refill in my cup, I too make headway southward with the geese but of course, I use the jammer and drive on US highway 17.

Later in the morning, I arrive at my first stop today, Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. Methinks, one might ask Who is Charles Pinckney? That is exactly what I asked the ranger at the site. What I came to find out is he was one of the four South Carolina delegates to constitutional convention and subsequently a signer of the document. The Pinckney family was very prominent in the South Carolina colony and very active in the early politics of the day. Politics, hum!

Leaving the Pinckney home, I type in Fort Sumter National Monument in my GPS and it takes me to Charleston Harbor but to a different unit than I was thinking about. Nevertheless, Fort Moultrie National Monument turned out to be a very interesting tour stop as the coastal defense display provided exhibit from the American Revolution, Civil War and both World Wars.

In fact, different sections of the fort showed the progress of the armaments and bunkers used during the different periods. In all, this is the best preserved fort I have seen, even better preserved than the Cape Disappointment batteries of Fort Stevens, Washington. Methinks, when it comes to forts, Fort Moultrie has become one of my favorites.