Carolina Day | Commemorating the Battle of Sullivan’s Island

The Palmetto Society is pleased to offer a primer on many of the essential pieces of history behind Carolina Day, which the society has been celebrating since 1777.On Wednesday, June 28, 2017, South Carolinians will celebrate the 240th Carolina Day, commemorating the Battle of Sullivan’s Island. On June 28, 1776, an assault by combined British naval and other military forces attempted to seize Charles Town, at the time, the fourth largest city in British North America, but far and away the wealthiest city in Britain’s American empire. A small force of Carolina patriots responded to this attack; they included South Carolinians, North Carolinians and Native Americans — all commanded by Colonel William Moultrie and Colonel William “Danger” Thomson. Defending Breach Inlet and Fort Sullivan, a partially completed palmetto fort, the Carolinians defied the odds and successfully repelled the invasion force. In particular, Colonel Thomson’s crack sharpshooters turned back a poorly…