Moultrie, FORT, a fortress on Sullivan's Island, at the mouth of Charleston Harbour, South Carolina, celebrated for the repulse of a British squadron commanded by Sir Peter Parker, 28th January 1776.
The fort, which had 26 guns and 435 men, and was commanded by Colonel William Moultrie (1731-1805), had been hastily built of palmetto logs, in two rows 16 feet apart, with the space between filled with sand. The spongy wood of the palmetto was found to resist the cannon balls perfectly.