William Moultrie

William Moultrie (pronounced Moltree), 1730—1805, American Revolutionary general, b. Charleston, S.C. He had fought against the Native Americans (1761) and served in the colonial assembly before the advent of the American Revolution. In the war his gallant defense of a small fort on Sullivans Island (later named Fort Moultrie) prevented (1776) Sir Henry Clinton and Sir Peter Parker from taking Charleston, South Carolina. Even Moultrie's skill failed to prevent the fall of Savannah, Georgia to the British in 1778. He was captured in the fall of Charleston to the British in 1780. After the war he served as governor of South Carolina (1785—87, 1795—97). He wrote Memoirs of the Revolution as Far as It Related to the States of North and South Carolina (1802).