William Moultrie, South Carolina land grant (1730-1805) to James Bredin, granting 50 acres of surveyed land, 5 December, 1785. (Poor condition) fragments H7 1/2" W8" and H3 1/8" W7 1/4" *Biography: William Moultrie was born in Charleston, SC on November 23, 1730. He lived on a plantation in St. John's Berkeley County. Moultrie rose to prominence after serving as a militia Captain in the Cherokee expedition under Lt. Colonel James Grant in 1761. Even though William Moultrie was a political moderate, when the Revolution came, he joined the rebellion. He was elected to the 1st Continental Congress in 1774, but did not serve. On June 17, 1775, he was given the commission of Colonel in the 2nd SC Regiment. In 1776, William Moultrie was second-in-command of the Charleston, SC defenses. He was charged with construction of Fort Sullivan, which had been planned out in January 1776. Moultrie did not have stone available to construct the walls, so he used palmetto logs to build two parallel walls sixteen feet apart and filled in the gap with sand. At the time of the British arrival on June 2nd, only the south and east walls were complete. The new Southern Department Commander, Maj. General Charles Lee, arrived a couple of days later on June 4th. At 11:00 A.M., on June 28, 1776, Commodore Peter Parker began his bombardment of the fort with about 100 guns and the Battle of Fort Sullivan had begun. When three ships attempted to move into the harbor west of the fort, they got stuck on a shoal. Moultrie began a steady reply with his guns. The fort itself withstood the assault thanks to the spongy palmetto logs and the sand, which absorbed the cannon balls. Under his command that day were Lieutenant Thomas Sumter and Major Francis Marion. When General Lee visited the fort during the action, he was pleasantly surprised with how well the fort was withstanding the assault. The action ended at 9:30 PM and the beaten British ships slipped away at 11:00 PM. When word of Moultrie's stout defense of Charleston reached the other colonies, it gave the rebels new hope in their cause. Moultrie became a national hero. On September 16, 1777, Moultrie was commissioned a Brigadier General in the Continental Army. However, he did not participate in any significant field operations until after the British capture of Savannah, GA on December 29, 1778. Under Southern Commander Maj. General Benjamin Lincoln, Brig. General Moultrie was given a measure of independence of command. He commanded at Beaufort (Port Royal Island), SC on February 3, 1779 where he defeated 200 British troops. This defeat discouraged Colonel (later Maj. General) Augustine Prevost from pursuing operations north into SC until May 1779. Moultrie helped organize Charleston's defenses when General Prevost threatened the city on May 11-12, 1779. He was again elected to the Continental Congress, but declined to serve. In 1780, Moultrie was captured following the Siege of Charleston on May 12, 1780 and remained imprisoned for the next two years. He was exchanged for Maj. General John Burgoyne in February 1782. On October 15, he was promoted to Major General, the last such appointment to that grade. Following the war, William Moultrie was elected to the SC House of Representatives. In 1784, he served as Lieutenant Governor. He was then elected Governor for a two-year term, from 1785-1787. While Governor, he created the county court system and the capital was moved from Charleston to Columbia in 1786. He was elected to the State Senate in 1787. He was elected to his second two-year term as governor in 1792. He retired from public office 1794. In 1802, his Memoirs of the American Revolution was published in two volumes. Moultrie died in Charleston on September 27, 1805. He was interred at Windsor Hill Plantation.