Charleston in the Revolution, 1776 to 1782

Turn the pages to see each stop on a map from its own era. Pins mark where each marker stands and where the federal record places each listing, sometimes a few miles from the ground described.

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1. 1. Battle of Fort Sullivan1776 · Charleston County · Junction of Poe Ave. and Palmetto St., adjacent to Battery Jasper at Fort Moultrie National Monument, Sullivan’s Island, Sullivan's Island
2. 2. John Rutledge Home1739–1853 · Charleston County · 116 Broad St., Charleston, Charleston
3. 3. Heyward-Washington House87 Church St. · Charleston · Charleston County
4. 4. Exchange and ProvostE. Bay and Broad Sts. · Charleston · Charleston County
5. 5. St. Philip's Church1749–1824 · Charleston County · 146 Church St., Charleston, Charleston
6. 6. The Siege of Charleston, 17801780–1782 · Charleston County · King St., at the NW corner of Marion Square near Hutson St., Charleston, Charleston
7. 7. British Evacuation of Charleston1782–1783 · Charleston County · Liberty Square, 340 Concord St., Charleston, Charleston

The dashed line connects the stops in visiting order. It isn't a road route or the path anyone marched. Google Maps handles the driving, starting from wherever you are.

Battle of Fort Sullivan

Charleston County · Junction of Poe Ave. and Palmetto St., adjacent to Battery Jasper at Fort Moultrie National Monument, Sullivan’s Island, Sullivan's Island

Front: On June 28, 1776, a British and Loyalist force seeking to capture Charleston advanced to Sullivan's Island with 9 ships and 2,500-3,000 infantry. The American defenders, 435 men under Col. William Moultrie of the 2nd S.C. Regiment, occupied a fort nearby, built from palmetto logs. Still unfinished when the fighting began, it is sometimes referred to as "Fort Sullivan" in contemporary accounts. Reverse: As Adm. Peter Parker's ships shelled the fort its log walls absorbed or deflected the British shells and the Americans lost only 37 men killed or wounded. Moultrie's shells damaged every ship, inflicted 219 losses, and forced Parker's withdrawal. A British land attack at Breach Inlet also failed. The first major Patriot victory of the war also gave S.C. its nickname, "The Palmetto State."

Sponsored by Fort Sullivan Chapter, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution

1776 map · A plan of the attack of Fort Sulivan · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library · Sheet chosen by TreeAlive

1778 map · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1825 map · Charleston District, South Carolina. · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1795 map · State of South Carolina. · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1708 map · Carte Particuliere de la Caroline. · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Full marker page →

John Rutledge Home

Charleston County · 116 Broad St., Charleston, Charleston

This house, built before the American Revolution, was the residence of John Rutledge (1739-1800), first Governor of the State of South Carolina. He was President of South Carolina, 1776-78, and Governor, 1779-82, signer of the U. S. Constitution, 1787, Chief Justice of South Carolina 1791-95, and Chief Justice of the United States, 1795. The house was altered in 1853 by P. H. Hammarskold, who added the ornamental iron.

Sponsored by South Carolina Society, Daughters of Colonial Wars

1780 map · A sketch of the operations before Charlestown the capital of South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library · Sheet chosen by TreeAlive

1746 map · A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 12). · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1708 map · Carte Particuliere de la Caroline. · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1787 map · Plan of the siege of Charlestown in South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

1790 map · Plan of the city of Charleston, South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

Full marker page →

Heyward-Washington House

87 Church St. · Charleston · Charleston County

Building · Listed 1970 · National Historic Landmark · Contributing: 3 buildings, 1 structure

The pin is the coordinate the Park Service publishes for this listing.

This page shows the federal record's own fields.

1780 map · A sketch of the operations before Charlestown the capital of South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library · Sheet chosen by TreeAlive

1746 map · A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 12). · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1708 map · Carte Particuliere de la Caroline. · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1787 map · Plan of the siege of Charlestown in South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

1778 map · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Full Register page →

Nomination file at the National Archives ↗

Exchange and Provost

E. Bay and Broad Sts. · Charleston · Charleston County

Building · Listed 1969 · National Historic Landmark · Contributing: 1 building

The pin is the coordinate the Park Service publishes for this listing.

This page shows the federal record's own fields.

1780 map · A sketch of the operations before Charlestown the capital of South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library · Sheet chosen by TreeAlive

1746 map · A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 12). · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1708 map · Carte Particuliere de la Caroline. · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1787 map · Plan of the siege of Charlestown in South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

1778 map · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Full Register page →

Nomination file at the National Archives ↗

St. Philip's Church

Charleston County · 146 Church St., Charleston, Charleston

Here in the churchyard of St. Philip's are buried/CHARLES PINCKNEY/(1757-1824)/Signer of the United States Constitution and author of the famous/"Pinckney Draught"/Governor of South Carolina/U. S. Senator and Congressman/Minister to Spain/EDWARD RUTLEDGE/(1749-1800)/Signer of the Declaration of Independence/Delegate to First and Second Continental Congresses/S. C. Legislator & Senator/Governor of South Carolina.

Sponsored by South Carolina Society Daughters of American Colonists

1780 map · A sketch of the operations before Charlestown the capital of South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library · Sheet chosen by TreeAlive

1746 map · A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 12). · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1708 map · Carte Particuliere de la Caroline. · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1787 map · Plan of the siege of Charlestown in South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

1778 map · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Full marker page →

The Siege of Charleston, 1780

Charleston County · King St., at the NW corner of Marion Square near Hutson St., Charleston, Charleston

Front: The British capture of Charleston in May 1780 was one of the worst American defeats of the Revolution. On March 30-31 Gen. Henry Clinton’s British, Hessian, and Loyalist force crossed the Ashley River north of Charleston. On April 1 Clinton advanced against the American lines near this site, held by Gen. Benjamin Lincoln’s Continentals and militia. The 42-day siege would be the longest of the war. Reverse: ) As Gen. Charles Cornwallis closed off Lincoln’s escape routes on the Cooper River, Clinton advanced his siege lines and bombarded Charleston. On May 12, 1780, in front of the American works near this spot, Lincoln surrendered the city and his force of 6,000 men, after what one British officer called “a gallant defense.” The British occupied Charleston for more than 2 1/2 years, evacuating Dec. 14, 1782.

Sponsored by South Carolina Societies of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution, and the Maj. Gen. William Moultrie Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution

1787 map · Plan of the siege of Charlestown in South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library · Sheet chosen by TreeAlive

1746 map · A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 12). · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1778 map · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1790 map · Plan of the city of Charleston, South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

1825 map · Charleston District, South Carolina. · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Full marker page →

British Evacuation of Charleston

Charleston County · Liberty Square, 340 Concord St., Charleston, Charleston

Front: On Dec. 14, 1782, the last remaining British soldiers in the Carolinas evacuated Charleston from this site. Their departure ended a 31-month occupation of the city and marked the close of the American Revolutionary War in the southern U.S., more than a year after the Patriot victory at Yorktown, Va. Control of the city was peacefully transferred after months of planning and a ceasefire agreement by the American and British armies. Reverse: Around 14,000 British and Hessian soldiers, Loyalists, and enslaved and free Blacks embarked from Gadsden’s Wharf on up to 300 ships destined for the Caribbean, East Florida, Canada, New York, and England. Patriot Gen. Nathanael Greene called the evacuation a moment “so very important to all America.” News soon arrived of England’s provisional recognition of U.S. independence, formalized in 1783 by the Treaty of Paris.

Sponsored by Revolutionary Charleston and South Carolina American Revolution Sestercentennial Commission

1787 map · Plan of the siege of Charlestown in South Carolina · Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library · Sheet chosen by TreeAlive

1746 map · A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 12). · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1778 map · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1825 map · Charleston District, South Carolina. · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

1795 map · State of South Carolina. · David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Full marker page →

Charleston in the Revolution, 1776 to 1782

7 stops across South Carolina, in trail order.

Google Maps does the driving, starting from wherever you are. We don't estimate distance or time on the road.

1. 1Battle of Fort SullivanCharleston County · Junction of Poe Ave. and Palmetto St., adjacent to Battery Jasper at Fort Moultrie National Monument, Sullivan’s Island, Sullivan's Island
2. 2John Rutledge HomeCharleston County · 116 Broad St., Charleston, Charleston
3. 3Heyward-Washington House87 Church St. · Charleston · Charleston CountyThe pin is the coordinate the Park Service publishes for this listing.
4. 4Exchange and ProvostE. Bay and Broad Sts. · Charleston · Charleston CountyThe pin is the coordinate the Park Service publishes for this listing.
5. 5St. Philip's ChurchCharleston County · 146 Church St., Charleston, Charleston
6. 6The Siege of Charleston, 1780Charleston County · King St., at the NW corner of Marion Square near Hutson St., Charleston, Charleston
7. 7British Evacuation of CharlestonCharleston County · Liberty Square, 340 Concord St., Charleston, Charleston