 of the British fleet had crossed the bar and anchored in Five Fathom Hole , an anchorage between the bar and the harbor entrance . With the fort on Sullivan 's Island only half complete , Admiral Parker expressed confidence that his warships would easily breach its walls . Optimistically believing he would not even need Clinton 's land forces , he wrote to Clinton that after the fort 's guns were knocked out , he would " land seamen and marines ( which I have practiced for the purpose ) under the guns " and that they could " keep possession till you send as many troops as you think proper " .   The British fleet was composed of nine man @-@ of @-@ war ships : the flagship 50 @-@ gun Bristol , as well as the 50 @-@ gun Experiment and frigates Actaeon , Active , Solebay , Siren , Sphinx , Friendship and the bomb vessel Thunder , in total mounting nearly 300 cannon . The army forces in the expedition consisted of the 15th , 28th , 33rd , 37th , 54th , and 57th Regiments of Foot , and part of the 46th . On June 7 , Clinton issued a proclamation calling on the rebel colonists to lay down their arms . However , the inexperienced defenders fired on the boat sent to deliver it ( which was flying a truce flag ) , and it was not delivered until the next day . That same day , Clinton began landing 2 @,@ 200 troops on Long Island . The intent was that these troops would wade across the channel ( now known as Breach Inlet ) between Long and Sullivan 's , which the British believed to be sufficiently shallow to do so , while the fleet bombarded Fort Sullivan .   General Lee responded to the British landing with several actions . He began reinforcing positions on the mainland in case the British were intending to launch an attack directly on Charleston . He also attempted to build a bridge of boats to provide an avenue of retreat for the fort 's garrison , but this failed because there were not enough boats to bridge the roughly one mile ( 1 @.@ 6 km ) channel separating the island from Charleston ; the unwillingness of Moultrie and Rutledge to support the effort may also have played a role . The Americans also constructed an entrenchment at the northern end of Sullivan 's Island , which was manned by more than 750 men and three small cannons , and began to fortify a guard post at Haddrell 's Point on the mainland opposite Fort Sullivan .   General Clinton encountered the first major problem of the attack plan on June 17 . An attempt to wade the channel between the two islands established that part of the channel was at least shoulder @-@ deep , too deep for troops to cross even without the prospect of enemy opposition . He considered using boats to ferry the troops across , but the Americans , with timely advice from General Lee , adopted a strong defensive position that was virtually impossible to bombard from ships or the Long Island position . As a result , the British and American forces faced each other across the channel , engaging in occasional and largely inconsequential cannon fire at long range . Clinton reported that this meant that Admiral Parker would have " the glory of being defeated alone . " The attack was originally planned for June 24 , but bad weather and contrary wind conditions prompted Parker to call it off for several days .   = = Battle = =   On the morning of June 28 , Fort Sullivan was defended by Colonel Moultrie , commanding the 2nd South Carolina Regiment and a company of the 4th South Carolina Artillery , numbering 435 men . At around 9 : 00 am that morning , a British ship fired a signal gun indicating all was ready for the attack . Less than an hour later , nine warships had sailed into positions facing the fort . Thunder and Friendship anchored about 1 @.@ 5 miles ( 2 @.@ 4 km ) from the fort while Parker took Active , Bristol , Experiment and Solebay to a closer position about 400 yards ( 370 m ) from Sullivan 's Island , where they anchored facing broadside to the fort . Each of these ships began to fire upon the fort when it reached its position , and the defenders returned the fire . Although many of Thunder 's shots landed in or near the fort , they had little effect ; according to Moultrie , " We had a morass in the middle , that swallowed them up instantly , and those that fell in the sand in and about the fort , were immediately buried " . Thunder 's role in the action was also relatively short @-@ lived ; she had anchored too far away from the fort , and the overloading of her mortars with extra powder to increase their range eventually led to them breaking out of their mounts . Owing to shortage of gunpowder , Moultrie 's men were deliberate in the pace of their gunfire , and only a few officers actually aimed the cannons . They also fired in small volleys , four cannon at a time . One British observer wrote , " Their fire was surprisingly well served " and it was " slow ,
Ġof Ġthe ĠBritish Ġfleet Ġhad Ġcrossed Ġthe Ġbar Ġand Ġanchored Ġin ĠFive ĠF athom ĠHole Ġ, Ġan Ġanch orage Ġbetween Ġthe Ġbar Ġand Ġthe Ġharbor Ġentrance Ġ. ĠWith Ġthe Ġfort Ġon ĠSullivan Ġ' s ĠIsland Ġonly Ġhalf Ġcomplete Ġ, ĠAdmiral ĠParker Ġexpressed Ġconfidence Ġthat Ġhis Ġwarships Ġwould Ġeasily Ġbreach Ġits Ġwalls Ġ. ĠOptim istically Ġbelieving Ġhe Ġwould Ġnot Ġeven Ġneed ĠClinton Ġ' s Ġland Ġforces Ġ, Ġhe Ġwrote Ġto ĠClinton Ġthat Ġafter Ġthe Ġfort Ġ' s Ġguns Ġwere Ġknocked Ġout Ġ, Ġhe Ġwould Ġ" Ġland Ġseam en Ġand Ġmarines Ġ( Ġwhich ĠI Ġhave Ġpracticed Ġfor Ġthe Ġpurpose Ġ) Ġunder Ġthe Ġguns Ġ" Ġand Ġthat Ġthey Ġcould Ġ" Ġkeep Ġpossession Ġtill Ġyou Ġsend Ġas Ġmany Ġtroops Ġas Ġyou Ġthink Ġproper Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠBritish Ġfleet Ġwas Ġcomposed Ġof Ġnine Ġman Ġ@ - @ Ġof Ġ@ - @ Ġwar Ġships Ġ: Ġthe Ġflagship Ġ50 Ġ@ - @ Ġgun ĠBristol Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġthe Ġ50 Ġ@ - @ Ġgun ĠExperiment Ġand Ġfrig ates ĠAct ae on Ġ, ĠActive Ġ, ĠSole bay Ġ, ĠSiren Ġ, ĠSph inx Ġ, ĠFriendship Ġand Ġthe Ġbomb Ġvessel ĠThunder Ġ, Ġin Ġtotal Ġmounting Ġnearly Ġ300 Ġcannon Ġ. ĠThe Ġarmy Ġforces Ġin Ġthe Ġexpedition Ġconsisted Ġof Ġthe Ġ15 th Ġ, Ġ28 th Ġ, Ġ33 rd Ġ, Ġ37 th Ġ, Ġ54 th Ġ, Ġand Ġ57 th ĠReg iments Ġof ĠFoot Ġ, Ġand Ġpart Ġof Ġthe Ġ46 th Ġ. ĠOn ĠJune Ġ7 Ġ, ĠClinton Ġissued Ġa Ġproclamation Ġcalling Ġon Ġthe Ġrebel Ġcolonists Ġto Ġlay Ġdown Ġtheir Ġarms Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġthe Ġinexperienced Ġdefenders Ġfired Ġon Ġthe Ġboat Ġsent Ġto Ġdeliver Ġit Ġ( Ġwhich Ġwas Ġflying Ġa Ġtruce Ġflag Ġ) Ġ, Ġand Ġit Ġwas Ġnot Ġdelivered Ġuntil Ġthe Ġnext Ġday Ġ. ĠThat Ġsame Ġday Ġ, ĠClinton Ġbegan Ġlanding Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ200 Ġtroops Ġon ĠLong ĠIsland Ġ. ĠThe Ġintent Ġwas Ġthat Ġthese Ġtroops Ġwould Ġw ade Ġacross Ġthe Ġchannel Ġ( Ġnow Ġknown Ġas ĠBreach ĠIn let Ġ) Ġbetween ĠLong Ġand ĠSullivan Ġ' s Ġ, Ġwhich Ġthe ĠBritish Ġbelieved Ġto Ġbe Ġsufficiently Ġshallow Ġto Ġdo Ġso Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe Ġfleet Ġbomb arded ĠFort ĠSullivan Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠGeneral ĠLee Ġresponded Ġto Ġthe ĠBritish Ġlanding Ġwith Ġseveral Ġactions Ġ. ĠHe Ġbegan Ġreinforcing Ġpositions Ġon Ġthe Ġmainland Ġin Ġcase Ġthe ĠBritish Ġwere Ġintending Ġto Ġlaunch Ġan Ġattack Ġdirectly Ġon ĠCharleston Ġ. ĠHe Ġalso Ġattempted Ġto Ġbuild Ġa Ġbridge Ġof Ġboats Ġto Ġprovide Ġan Ġavenue Ġof Ġretreat Ġfor Ġthe Ġfort Ġ' s Ġgarrison Ġ, Ġbut Ġthis Ġfailed Ġbecause Ġthere Ġwere Ġnot Ġenough Ġboats Ġto Ġbridge Ġthe Ġroughly Ġone Ġmile Ġ( Ġ1 Ġ@ . @ Ġ6 Ġkm Ġ) Ġchannel Ġseparating Ġthe Ġisland Ġfrom ĠCharleston Ġ; Ġthe Ġunwillingness Ġof ĠM oult rie Ġand ĠRut ledge Ġto Ġsupport Ġthe Ġeffort Ġmay Ġalso Ġhave Ġplayed Ġa Ġrole Ġ. ĠThe ĠAmericans Ġalso Ġconstructed Ġan Ġent rench ment Ġat Ġthe Ġnorthern Ġend Ġof ĠSullivan Ġ' s ĠIsland Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġmanned Ġby Ġmore Ġthan Ġ750 Ġmen Ġand Ġthree Ġsmall Ġcannons Ġ, Ġand Ġbegan Ġto Ġfort ify Ġa Ġguard Ġpost Ġat ĠH add rell Ġ' s ĠPoint Ġon Ġthe Ġmainland Ġopposite ĠFort ĠSullivan Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠGeneral ĠClinton Ġencountered Ġthe Ġfirst Ġmajor Ġproblem Ġof Ġthe Ġattack Ġplan Ġon ĠJune Ġ17 Ġ. ĠAn Ġattempt Ġto Ġw ade Ġthe Ġchannel Ġbetween Ġthe Ġtwo Ġislands Ġestablished Ġthat Ġpart Ġof Ġthe Ġchannel Ġwas Ġat Ġleast Ġshoulder Ġ@ - @ Ġdeep Ġ, Ġtoo Ġdeep Ġfor Ġtroops Ġto Ġcross Ġeven Ġwithout Ġthe Ġprospect Ġof Ġenemy Ġopposition Ġ. ĠHe Ġconsidered Ġusing Ġboats Ġto Ġferry Ġthe Ġtroops Ġacross Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe ĠAmericans Ġ, Ġwith Ġtimely Ġadvice Ġfrom ĠGeneral ĠLee Ġ, Ġadopted Ġa Ġstrong Ġdefensive Ġposition Ġthat Ġwas Ġvirtually Ġimpossible Ġto Ġbombard Ġfrom Ġships Ġor Ġthe ĠLong ĠIsland Ġposition Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġthe ĠBritish Ġand ĠAmerican Ġforces Ġfaced Ġeach Ġother Ġacross Ġthe Ġchannel Ġ, Ġengaging Ġin Ġoccasional Ġand Ġlargely Ġinc onsequ ential Ġcannon Ġfire Ġat Ġlong Ġrange Ġ. ĠClinton Ġreported Ġthat Ġthis Ġmeant Ġthat ĠAdmiral ĠParker Ġwould Ġhave Ġ" Ġthe Ġglory Ġof Ġbeing Ġdefeated Ġalone Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe Ġattack Ġwas Ġoriginally Ġplanned Ġfor ĠJune Ġ24 Ġ, Ġbut Ġbad Ġweather Ġand Ġcontrary Ġwind Ġconditions Ġprompted ĠParker Ġto Ġcall Ġit Ġoff Ġfor Ġseveral Ġdays Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠBattle Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠOn Ġthe Ġmorning Ġof ĠJune Ġ28 Ġ, ĠFort ĠSullivan Ġwas Ġdefended Ġby ĠColonel ĠM oult rie Ġ, Ġcommanding Ġthe Ġ2 nd ĠSouth ĠCarolina ĠRegiment Ġand Ġa Ġcompany Ġof Ġthe Ġ4 th ĠSouth ĠCarolina ĠArt illery Ġ, Ġnumbering Ġ435 Ġmen Ġ. ĠAt Ġaround Ġ9 Ġ: Ġ00 Ġam Ġthat Ġmorning Ġ, Ġa ĠBritish Ġship Ġfired Ġa Ġsignal Ġgun Ġindicating Ġall Ġwas Ġready Ġfor Ġthe Ġattack Ġ. ĠLess Ġthan Ġan Ġhour Ġlater Ġ, Ġnine Ġwarships Ġhad Ġsailed Ġinto Ġpositions Ġfacing Ġthe Ġfort Ġ. ĠThunder Ġand ĠFriendship Ġanchored Ġabout Ġ1 Ġ@ . @ Ġ5 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ2 Ġ@ . @ Ġ4 Ġkm Ġ) Ġfrom Ġthe Ġfort Ġwhile ĠParker Ġtook ĠActive Ġ, ĠBristol Ġ, ĠExperiment Ġand ĠSole bay Ġto Ġa Ġcloser Ġposition Ġabout Ġ400 Ġyards Ġ( Ġ370 Ġm Ġ) Ġfrom ĠSullivan Ġ' s ĠIsland Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthey Ġanchored Ġfacing Ġbroad side Ġto Ġthe Ġfort Ġ. ĠEach Ġof Ġthese Ġships Ġbegan Ġto Ġfire Ġupon Ġthe Ġfort Ġwhen Ġit Ġreached Ġits Ġposition Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġdefenders Ġreturned Ġthe Ġfire Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġmany Ġof ĠThunder Ġ' s Ġshots Ġlanded Ġin Ġor Ġnear Ġthe Ġfort Ġ, Ġthey Ġhad Ġlittle Ġeffect Ġ; Ġaccording Ġto ĠM oult rie Ġ, Ġ" ĠWe Ġhad Ġa Ġmor ass Ġin Ġthe Ġmiddle Ġ, Ġthat Ġswallowed Ġthem Ġup Ġinstantly Ġ, Ġand Ġthose Ġthat Ġfell Ġin Ġthe Ġsand Ġin Ġand Ġabout Ġthe Ġfort Ġ, Ġwere Ġimmediately Ġburied Ġ" Ġ. ĠThunder Ġ' s Ġrole Ġin Ġthe Ġaction Ġwas Ġalso Ġrelatively Ġshort Ġ@ - @ Ġlived Ġ; Ġshe Ġhad Ġanchored Ġtoo Ġfar Ġaway Ġfrom Ġthe Ġfort Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġover loading Ġof Ġher Ġmort ars Ġwith Ġextra Ġpowder Ġto Ġincrease Ġtheir Ġrange Ġeventually Ġled Ġto Ġthem Ġbreaking Ġout Ġof Ġtheir Ġmounts Ġ. ĠO wing Ġto Ġshortage Ġof Ġgun powder Ġ, ĠM oult rie Ġ' s Ġmen Ġwere Ġdeliberate Ġin Ġthe Ġpace Ġof Ġtheir Ġgunfire Ġ, Ġand Ġonly Ġa Ġfew Ġofficers Ġactually Ġaimed Ġthe Ġcannons Ġ. ĠThey Ġalso Ġfired Ġin Ġsmall Ġvol leys Ġ, Ġfour Ġcannon Ġat Ġa Ġtime Ġ. ĠOne ĠBritish Ġobserver Ġwrote Ġ, Ġ" ĠTheir Ġfire Ġwas Ġsurprisingly Ġwell Ġserved Ġ" Ġand Ġit Ġwas Ġ" Ġslow Ġ,