William Moultrie was one of South Carolina's leading Patriots during the American Revolution. A man of power and substance, Moultrie was elected to the Commons House of Assembly. This would spark a political career that would last until 1794. Like many of his peers, Moultrie was a wealthy rice plantation owner, with about 200 slaves in his possession. By the 1775, relations with Britain had soured and Moultrie was elected to a Provincial Congress in South Carolina. By June of that year, he was made a colonel of the 2nd South Carolina regiment.
Because there was no official flag for either the fledgling country or South Carolina, Moultrie designed his own regimental flag: a dark blue rectangle with a white crescent in the top left corner. By March of 1776, Moultrie assumed command of Fort Sullivan on Sullivan's Island. Work was underway to build a fort sufficient for 1000 men. This fort would be constructed of palmetto logs and sand, when the British arrived on June 28, 1776, it would still be incomplete. Moultrie would command his men in triumph against ten British warships. Several days later, in response to Moultrie's victory, the fortification on Sullivan's Island would officially be named Fort Moultrie.
In 1780, now General Moultrie would be captured when the British returned to Charleston. After the war ended, Moultrie returned to politics, serving in the South Carolina House and Senate and as both lieutenant governor and governor. William Moultrie died in 1805 and was buried in the family cemetary. In 1977, archeaologists would discover Moultrie's resting place and in 1978, his remains would be moved to Sullivan's Island. Today you can visit General Moultrie's grave near the intracoastal waterway at Fort Moultrie.
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