June 28 – Carolina Day

nPostednon June 28, 2015

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nWhatnhappens when an unfinished American fort made out of palmetto logsnand sand – a fort with just 31 cannons – was attacked by thenBritish Royal Navy with their 270 cannons?

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n ThenAmericans withstood the attack and held onto the fort!
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nOnnthis date in 1776 – just a week before the Declaration ofnIndependence was adopted by the Continental Congress – a fort onnSullivan’s Island in South Carolina was attacked from the sea by anfleet of British ships and from the land by 2,000 British soldiers.

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nHow-oh-how,nyou might ask, did the greatly outnumbered Americans win? n

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ThenAmerican forces had 780 sharpshooters to defend the fort. The channelnbetween Long Island, where the British troops had landed, andnSullivan Island was too deep for the land forces to wade across. And they couldn’t come across by small boat without getting picked off bynsharpshooters.

nIn the meantime, the British had miscalculated thendepth of the water, so some of their ships ran aground. With thosenships stuck or damaged, the others couldn’t organize a proper attack.

nFinally, the ships that fired cannons at the fort made very littlenimpact, because the palmetto logs were sort of spongy; they absorbednthe impact of the cannon balls without affecting the fort or itsnoccupants. On the other hand, the cannon fire by the Americans badlyndamaged the British fleet.

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nAfternabout nine hours, the British withdrew. They didn’t attack any harbornor city in South Carolina again until 1780.

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Bynthe way, the Liberty Flag used during this battle tonrally the troops later served as the inspiration for South Carolina’snstate flag. It makes a lot of sense to me, now, that the palmettontree appears on the flags – because the palmetto really didnsafeguard the Americans against the British attack!

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nThenanniversary of this first American victory in South Carolina, duringnthe Revolutionary War, was celebrated the next year as Palmetto Day.nEventually, it became Carolina Day. n

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nAlsonon this date:

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