 a navy ship .   Parker 's fleet had an extremely difficult crossing . Battered by storms and high seas , the first ships of the fleet did not arrive at Cape Fear until April 18 , and Cornwallis did not arrive until May 3 . After several weeks there , in which the British troops raided Patriot properties , Clinton , Cornwallis and Parker concluded that Cape Fear was not a suitable base for further operations . Parker had sent out some ships on scouting expeditions up and down the coast , and reports on the partially finished condition of the Charleston defenses were sufficiently promising that the decision was made to go there .   = = = American defenses = = =   John Rutledge , recently elected president of the General Assembly that remained as the backbone of South Carolina 's revolutionary government , organized a defense force under the command of 46 @-@ year @-@ old Colonel William Moultrie , a former militiaman and Indian fighter . These forces comprised three infantry regiments , two rifle regiments , and a small artillery regiment ; they were augmented by three independent artillery companies , and the total force numbered about 2 @,@ 000 . These forces were further augmented by the arrival of Continental regiments from North Carolina and Virginia ( 1 @,@ 900 troops ) , as well as militia numbering 2 @,@ 700 from Charleston and the surrounding backcountry .   Moultrie saw Sullivan 's Island , a sandy spit of land at the entrance to Charleston Harbor extending north about 4 miles ( 6 @.@ 4 km ) long and a few hundred yards wide , as a place well suited to build a fort that could protect the entrance from intruding enemy warships . A large vessel sailing into Charleston first had to cross Charleston Bar , a series of submerged shoals lying about 8 miles ( 13 km ) southeast of the city , and then pass by the southern end of Sullivan 's Island as it entered the channel to the inner harbor . Later it would also have to pass the northern end of James Island , where Fort Johnson commanded the southeastern approach to the city . Moultrie and his 2nd South Carolina Regiment arrived on Sullivan 's Island in March 1776 , and began construction of a fortress to defend the island and the channel into Charleston Harbor . The construction moved slowly ; Captain Peter Horry of the Patriot naval detachment described the site as " an immense pen 500 feet long , and 16 feet wide , filled with sand to stop the shot " . The gun platforms were made of planks two inches thick and fastened with wooden spikes .   Congress had appointed General Lee to command the Continental Army troops in the southern colonies , and his movements by land shadowed those of Clinton 's fleet as it sailed south . Lee wrote from Wilmington on June 1 that the fleet had sailed , but that he did not know whether it was sailing for Virginia or South Carolina . He headed for Charleston , saying " [ I ] confess I know not whether I shall go to or from the enemy . " He arrived in Charleston shortly after the fleet anchored outside the harbor , and took command of the city 's defenses . He immediately ran into a problem : the South Carolina troops ( militia or the colonial regiments ) were not on the Continental line , and thus not formally under his authority . Some South Carolina troops resisted his instructions , and Rutledge had to intervene by proclaiming Lee in command of all South Carolina forces .   Square @-@ shaped Fort Sullivan consisted only of the completed seaward wall , with walls made from palmetto logs 20 feet ( 6 @.@ 1 m ) high and 16 feet ( 4 @.@ 9 m ) wide . The walls were filled with sand , and rose 10 feet ( 3 @.@ 0 m ) above the wooden platforms on which the artillery were mounted . A hastily erected palisade of thick planks helped guard the powder magazine and unfinished northern walls . An assortment of 31 cannon , ranging from 9- and 12 @-@ pounders to a few British 18 @-@ pounders and French 26 @-@ pounders , dotted the front and rear walls . General Lee , when he had seen its unfinished state , had recommended abandoning the fort , calling it a " slaughter pen " . President Rutledge refused , and specifically ordered Colonel Moultrie to " obey [ Lee ] in everything , except in leaving Fort Sullivan " . Moultrie 's delaying tactics so angered Lee that he decided on June 27 that he would replace Moultrie ; the battle began the next day before he could do so . Lee did make plans for an orderly retreat to Haddrell 's Point .   = = = British arrival = = =   The British fleet weighed anchor at Cape Fear on May 31 , and arrived outside Charleston Harbor the next day . Moultrie noticed a British scout boat apparently looking for possible landing points on nearby Long Island ( now known as the Isle of Palms ) , just a few hundred yards from Sullivan 's Island ; troops were consequently sent to occupy the northern end of Sullivan 's . By June 8 , most
Ġa Ġnavy Ġship Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠParker Ġ' s Ġfleet Ġhad Ġan Ġextremely Ġdifficult Ġcrossing Ġ. ĠBat tered Ġby Ġstorms Ġand Ġhigh Ġseas Ġ, Ġthe Ġfirst Ġships Ġof Ġthe Ġfleet Ġdid Ġnot Ġarrive Ġat ĠCape ĠFear Ġuntil ĠApril Ġ18 Ġ, Ġand ĠCornwall is Ġdid Ġnot Ġarrive Ġuntil ĠMay Ġ3 Ġ. ĠAfter Ġseveral Ġweeks Ġthere Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġthe ĠBritish Ġtroops Ġraided ĠPatriot Ġproperties Ġ, ĠClinton Ġ, ĠCornwall is Ġand ĠParker Ġconcluded Ġthat ĠCape ĠFear Ġwas Ġnot Ġa Ġsuitable Ġbase Ġfor Ġfurther Ġoperations Ġ. ĠParker Ġhad Ġsent Ġout Ġsome Ġships Ġon Ġscouting Ġexped itions Ġup Ġand Ġdown Ġthe Ġcoast Ġ, Ġand Ġreports Ġon Ġthe Ġpartially Ġfinished Ġcondition Ġof Ġthe ĠCharleston Ġdefenses Ġwere Ġsufficiently Ġpromising Ġthat Ġthe Ġdecision Ġwas Ġmade Ġto Ġgo Ġthere Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠAmerican Ġdefenses Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠJohn ĠRut ledge Ġ, Ġrecently Ġelected Ġpresident Ġof Ġthe ĠGeneral ĠAssembly Ġthat Ġremained Ġas Ġthe Ġbackbone Ġof ĠSouth ĠCarolina Ġ' s Ġrevolutionary Ġgovernment Ġ, Ġorganized Ġa Ġdefense Ġforce Ġunder Ġthe Ġcommand Ġof Ġ46 Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġ@ - @ Ġold ĠColonel ĠWilliam ĠM oult rie Ġ, Ġa Ġformer Ġmilit iam an Ġand ĠIndian Ġfighter Ġ. ĠThese Ġforces Ġcomprised Ġthree Ġinfantry Ġreg iments Ġ, Ġtwo Ġrifle Ġreg iments Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġsmall Ġartillery Ġregiment Ġ; Ġthey Ġwere Ġaugmented Ġby Ġthree Ġindependent Ġartillery Ġcompanies Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġtotal Ġforce Ġnumbered Ġabout Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ. ĠThese Ġforces Ġwere Ġfurther Ġaugmented Ġby Ġthe Ġarrival Ġof ĠContinental Ġreg iments Ġfrom ĠNorth ĠCarolina Ġand ĠVirginia Ġ( Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ900 Ġtroops Ġ) Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġmilitia Ġnumbering Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ700 Ġfrom ĠCharleston Ġand Ġthe Ġsurrounding Ġback country Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠM oult rie Ġsaw ĠSullivan Ġ' s ĠIsland Ġ, Ġa Ġsandy Ġspit Ġof Ġland Ġat Ġthe Ġentrance Ġto ĠCharleston ĠHarbor Ġextending Ġnorth Ġabout Ġ4 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ6 Ġ@ . @ Ġ4 Ġkm Ġ) Ġlong Ġand Ġa Ġfew Ġhundred Ġyards Ġwide Ġ, Ġas Ġa Ġplace Ġwell Ġsuited Ġto Ġbuild Ġa Ġfort Ġthat Ġcould Ġprotect Ġthe Ġentrance Ġfrom Ġintr uding Ġenemy Ġwarships Ġ. ĠA Ġlarge Ġvessel Ġsailing Ġinto ĠCharleston Ġfirst Ġhad Ġto Ġcross ĠCharleston ĠBar Ġ, Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġsubmerged Ġsho als Ġlying Ġabout Ġ8 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ13 Ġkm Ġ) Ġsoutheast Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġand Ġthen Ġpass Ġby Ġthe Ġsouthern Ġend Ġof ĠSullivan Ġ' s ĠIsland Ġas Ġit Ġentered Ġthe Ġchannel Ġto Ġthe Ġinner Ġharbor Ġ. ĠLater Ġit Ġwould Ġalso Ġhave Ġto Ġpass Ġthe Ġnorthern Ġend Ġof ĠJames ĠIsland Ġ, Ġwhere ĠFort ĠJohnson Ġcommanded Ġthe Ġsoutheastern Ġapproach Ġto Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠM oult rie Ġand Ġhis Ġ2 nd ĠSouth ĠCarolina ĠRegiment Ġarrived Ġon ĠSullivan Ġ' s ĠIsland Ġin ĠMarch Ġ17 76 Ġ, Ġand Ġbegan Ġconstruction Ġof Ġa Ġfortress Ġto Ġdefend Ġthe Ġisland Ġand Ġthe Ġchannel Ġinto ĠCharleston ĠHarbor Ġ. ĠThe Ġconstruction Ġmoved Ġslowly Ġ; ĠCaptain ĠPeter ĠH orry Ġof Ġthe ĠPatriot Ġnaval Ġdetachment Ġdescribed Ġthe Ġsite Ġas Ġ" Ġan Ġimmense Ġpen Ġ500 Ġfeet Ġlong Ġ, Ġand Ġ16 Ġfeet Ġwide Ġ, Ġfilled Ġwith Ġsand Ġto Ġstop Ġthe Ġshot Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġgun Ġplatforms Ġwere Ġmade Ġof Ġplan ks Ġtwo Ġinches Ġthick Ġand Ġfast ened Ġwith Ġwooden Ġspikes Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠCongress Ġhad Ġappointed ĠGeneral ĠLee Ġto Ġcommand Ġthe ĠContinental ĠArmy Ġtroops Ġin Ġthe Ġsouthern Ġcolonies Ġ, Ġand Ġhis Ġmovements Ġby Ġland Ġshadow ed Ġthose Ġof ĠClinton Ġ' s Ġfleet Ġas Ġit Ġsailed Ġsouth Ġ. ĠLee Ġwrote Ġfrom ĠWilmington Ġon ĠJune Ġ1 Ġthat Ġthe Ġfleet Ġhad Ġsailed Ġ, Ġbut Ġthat Ġhe Ġdid Ġnot Ġknow Ġwhether Ġit Ġwas Ġsailing Ġfor ĠVirginia Ġor ĠSouth ĠCarolina Ġ. ĠHe Ġheaded Ġfor ĠCharleston Ġ, Ġsaying Ġ" Ġ[ ĠI Ġ] Ġconfess ĠI Ġknow Ġnot Ġwhether ĠI Ġshall Ġgo Ġto Ġor Ġfrom Ġthe Ġenemy Ġ. Ġ" ĠHe Ġarrived Ġin ĠCharleston Ġshortly Ġafter Ġthe Ġfleet Ġanchored Ġoutside Ġthe Ġharbor Ġ, Ġand Ġtook Ġcommand Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġdefenses Ġ. ĠHe Ġimmediately Ġran Ġinto Ġa Ġproblem Ġ: Ġthe ĠSouth ĠCarolina Ġtroops Ġ( Ġmilitia Ġor Ġthe Ġcolonial Ġreg iments Ġ) Ġwere Ġnot Ġon Ġthe ĠContinental Ġline Ġ, Ġand Ġthus Ġnot Ġformally Ġunder Ġhis Ġauthority Ġ. ĠSome ĠSouth ĠCarolina Ġtroops Ġresisted Ġhis Ġinstructions Ġ, Ġand ĠRut ledge Ġhad Ġto Ġintervene Ġby Ġproclaiming ĠLee Ġin Ġcommand Ġof Ġall ĠSouth ĠCarolina Ġforces Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSquare Ġ@ - @ Ġshaped ĠFort ĠSullivan Ġconsisted Ġonly Ġof Ġthe Ġcompleted Ġseaw ard Ġwall Ġ, Ġwith Ġwalls Ġmade Ġfrom Ġpal met to Ġlogs Ġ20 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ6 Ġ@ . @ Ġ1 Ġm Ġ) Ġhigh Ġand Ġ16 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ4 Ġ@ . @ Ġ9 Ġm Ġ) Ġwide Ġ. ĠThe Ġwalls Ġwere Ġfilled Ġwith Ġsand Ġ, Ġand Ġrose Ġ10 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ3 Ġ@ . @ Ġ0 Ġm Ġ) Ġabove Ġthe Ġwooden Ġplatforms Ġon Ġwhich Ġthe Ġartillery Ġwere Ġmounted Ġ. ĠA Ġhastily Ġerected Ġpal is ade Ġof Ġthick Ġplan ks Ġhelped Ġguard Ġthe Ġpowder Ġmagazine Ġand Ġunfinished Ġnorthern Ġwalls Ġ. ĠAn Ġassortment Ġof Ġ31 Ġcannon Ġ, Ġranging Ġfrom Ġ9 - Ġand Ġ12 Ġ@ - @ Ġpound ers Ġto Ġa Ġfew ĠBritish Ġ18 Ġ@ - @ Ġpound ers Ġand ĠFrench Ġ26 Ġ@ - @ Ġpound ers Ġ, Ġdotted Ġthe Ġfront Ġand Ġrear Ġwalls Ġ. ĠGeneral ĠLee Ġ, Ġwhen Ġhe Ġhad Ġseen Ġits Ġunfinished Ġstate Ġ, Ġhad Ġrecommended Ġabandoning Ġthe Ġfort Ġ, Ġcalling Ġit Ġa Ġ" Ġslaughter Ġpen Ġ" Ġ. ĠPresident ĠRut ledge Ġrefused Ġ, Ġand Ġspecifically Ġordered ĠColonel ĠM oult rie Ġto Ġ" Ġobey Ġ[ ĠLee Ġ] Ġin Ġeverything Ġ, Ġexcept Ġin Ġleaving ĠFort ĠSullivan Ġ" Ġ. ĠM oult rie Ġ' s Ġdelaying Ġtactics Ġso Ġangered ĠLee Ġthat Ġhe Ġdecided Ġon ĠJune Ġ27 Ġthat Ġhe Ġwould Ġreplace ĠM oult rie Ġ; Ġthe Ġbattle Ġbegan Ġthe Ġnext Ġday Ġbefore Ġhe Ġcould Ġdo Ġso Ġ. ĠLee Ġdid Ġmake Ġplans Ġfor Ġan Ġorderly Ġretreat Ġto ĠH add rell Ġ' s ĠPoint Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠBritish Ġarrival Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠBritish Ġfleet Ġweighed Ġanchor Ġat ĠCape ĠFear Ġon ĠMay Ġ31 Ġ, Ġand Ġarrived Ġoutside ĠCharleston ĠHarbor Ġthe Ġnext Ġday Ġ. ĠM oult rie Ġnoticed Ġa ĠBritish Ġscout Ġboat Ġapparently Ġlooking Ġfor Ġpossible Ġlanding Ġpoints Ġon Ġnearby ĠLong ĠIsland Ġ( Ġnow Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠIsle Ġof ĠPal ms Ġ) Ġ, Ġjust Ġa Ġfew Ġhundred Ġyards Ġfrom ĠSullivan Ġ' s ĠIsland Ġ; Ġtroops Ġwere Ġconsequently Ġsent Ġto Ġoccupy Ġthe Ġnorthern Ġend Ġof ĠSullivan Ġ' s Ġ. ĠBy ĠJune Ġ8 Ġ, Ġmost