Fort Moultrie!

What Is Fort Moultrie?

Fort Moultrie protects and interprets 138 years of Charleston’s coastal defenses from 1809 until 1947!

What Makes It Historical?

Fort Moultrie gets its name from Colonel William Moultrie, who repulsed a British naval attack from a half-built fort of logs and sand on June 28, 1776! It didn’t get much attention after that, until France and Britain went to war in 1793. Congress decided they should put more effort into fortifying the coast, but not that much effort. Twenty forts went up, including Fort Moultrie #2 in 1798, but most of them fell into disrepair. Fort Moultrie got completely obliterated by the 1804 Antigua–Charleston hurricane! Congress tried again, and Fort Moultrie #3 was completed in 1809!

Between #2 and #3, South Carolina gave the federal government full ownership of the forts in Charleston Harbor, but all that changed in December 1860 when the Palmetto State seceded from the Union! Fort Moultrie was completely indefensible and got abandoned almost immediately for Fort Sumter. Both forts were under Confederate control by April 1861 and remained that way until Charleston was evacuated in February of 1865. The Fort Moultrie of today is the result of renovations in 1870 and the Endicott improvements of 1885. Those latter improvements gave it concrete-walled batteries and guns designed to take down steel-clad warships! Fort Moultrie continued to guard Charleston Harbor through World War II, but never saw combat against the submarines or airplanes that would render this fort a relic of military history!

Worth noting about Fort Moultrie: It’s the final resting place of Seminole leader, Chief Osceola, well, most of him. After he died in captivity, his doctor, Frederick Weedon, cut off his head and kept it on display in a jar at his drug store in St. Augustine. It passed to Valentine Mott in 1843, who kept it in his collection of heads until his own demise! After that, no one knows for sure what became of the head of Osceola!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
Volunteer at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park!
Donate to Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park!
Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!