Website and Blog
June 1, 2010 5 Comments
This website and blog are for those interested in the American Revolution. We are focused on a specific event: the June 1776 fight at Breach Inlet during the Battle of Sullivan’s Island near Charles Town (now Charleston), South Carolina. We seek to understand this important but overlooked battle and share the history with the public.
I hope you will explore the site and offer constructive feedback and suggestions. Click on maps or other images to enlarge them for greater detail.
Every page except this Home page is interactive. Simply write what you think in the Reply or Comment section at the bottom of any other page. The first time you post a comment, you will be asked to enter a name of your choice (which others will see) and your email address (which others will not see).
This site presents a summary of the history and describes a small, public park at the site of the battle. To see remarks and photos from the 2011 dedication, reception, and exhibits, visit the Dedication section of this website, https://thomsonpark.wordpress.com/dedication. Text from the 2012 Carolina Day address about the Battle of Sullivan’s Island may be found here Carolina Day Remarks.
Since completion in 2012, Thomson Park has been enhanced with a new historical marker and a bike rack and benches donated by friends and family in memory of loved ones.
Please contact me at dougmacintyre1@gmail.com or 843-860-9173 if you’d like to contribute to ongoing maintenance and improvement of the privately-funded park. Our fiscal agent is The Fort Sumter – Fort Moultrie Historical Trust, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that extends the reach of the National Park Service with programs and projects to help preserve, protect, and utilize historic sites for the common good.
Thanks for your interest. I hope you enjoy learning about the Battle at the Breach.
Doug MacIntyre dougmac1776 on the blog dougmacintyre1@gmail.com 843-860-9173
About dougmac1776
Thomson Park 
Doug: This is a great research site and you are to be commended for taking on this project. I suggest you add pages for your “allied forces” – supporters of the project; to post the primary documents; to post links to on-line pension statements of those who fought at BI; an order of battle for both sides; and your research map collection. The maps can be stored and displayed with free on-line Arc GIS on-line software. http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcgisonline/community-maps.html You can also link your bibliography to John Robertson’s great on-line library of 18th and 19th Century resources which describe this important battle. http://lib.jrshelby.com A great resource for depicting the troop movments of both sides is Bill Anderson’s American Revolution Troop Deployment Timeline mapping page. http://home.earthlink.net/~historycarolina/AmRevTroopDeployment.htm
Excellent overall site, Doug! You are to be commended for bringing this project to completion and adding to the knowledge of the Revolutionary War period in this area for future generations. Many thanks to you and the numerous supporters who’ve made the park happen.
Doug,
Great site. My 5th Great Grandfather was there. His name was PVT John Dick. After the war he moved to KY. His captain was William Brown.
Darrell Goss
I believe you’re on the right track, Darrell. You apparently have seen your ancestor’s Revolutionary War pension application. Thanks to Will Graves, it can be found here http://southerncampaign.org/pen/#pensions; John Dick’s file is W8668.
The history as I understand it supports several points in the application:
• Our evolving order of battle shows a Captain Brown in the 3rd Regiment; I did not know his first name was William.
• Thomas Sumter’s troops were stationed on the mainland, separated from Sullivan’s Island by two miles of marsh and creeks. Upon learning the British landed on Long Island June 8, MG Charles Lee ordered an attack by Thomson’s and Sumter’s regiments. The order was rescinded two days later before the attack was launched, but some of Sumter’s men could have remained at Breach Inlet with Thomson. Lee was ordering men back and forth between Sullivan’s Island and Mount Pleasant as he tried to determine how to defend Charles Town.
• There were skirmishes nearly every day in late June, any of which could have resulted in John Dick’s hip wound. In addition to the documented fights at Breach Inlet, some people believe (without clear evidence) the British landed a party on the mainland and cut the road leading to Wilmington. The road (now US Hwy 17) was in Thomas Sumter’s area of responsibility.
• On July 15 – after the climax of the battle but before the British evacuated – Thomson reported that soldiers approached Long Island via a creek from the mainland, apparently for reconnaissance. Their boats probably would have embarked from Bolton’s Landing in Sumter’s area. As they approached Long Island, the British fired on them 10 times with field pieces.
• The Indian fight mentioned in Samuel Allen’s supporting statement occurred immediately after the Battle of Sullivan’s Island. Col Thomson and part of his 3rd Regiment fought in this campaign, which suppressed a wide-scale Cherokee uprising that coincided with the Battle of Sullivan’s Island. They marched over the mountains after the Indians and had at least one “pretty severe battle” wherein Patriots were wounded and killed.
I will appreciate any other documentation you find about John Dick’s service in the Charles Town area.
My son and his family have lived on Isle of Palms for four years. My grandchildren attended Sullivan’s Island Elementary which meant four trips a day to the school. We have visited Sullivan’s Island many times before they lived there. Ft. Moultrie was always a highlight of our trips when my sons were very small. I never knew about this battle which is a terrible thing. My wife’s patriot ancestor Andrew Houser was in Thomson’s Rangers according to his approved pension application. He stated that he arrived at Ft Moultrie one day after the battle. I had always thought that his troop simply arrived from Orangebugh after the battle. He did not mention the battle at Breech inlet, which was why he arrived a day after the Battle at Ft. Moultrie. He and his fellow soldiers were protecting the northern flank. My son is making a trip to the park now. Thank you for help saving the history of a major battle.