The Defenders of Fort Moultrie, 1776

This is a photograph taken in White Point Garden, down by the waterfront in Charleston. I was looking for an interesting photograph of the Live Oak trees that dominate the park, and then I saw this view. This is a statue commemorating the soldiers who defended Fort Moultrie in 1776, near the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Nine warships attacked the unfinished fort, but the cannonballs bounced of the soft palmetto logs. Four hundred men fought a day-long battle with the warships which ended with the damaged British ships being driven from the area. This victory galvanized the Patriots' cause for independence. The thing I love about this photograph are the two long, twisted branches from over my head that reach out toward the statue.