Moultrie, William (1730-1805) Revolutionary War general, born in Charleston, South Carolina. His lackluster record as a field commander in the Continental army never equaled the promise of his first major success as commander of a South Carolina regiment on Sullivan's Island at the mouth of Charleston harbor. Advised by the general in charge of Charleston's defenses to evacuate the fort because it was certain to fall in the face of a probable British attack, Moultrie declined to do so. A large British expeditionary force launched an assault which Moultrie's troops successfully repelled. For his achievement he received the official thanks of Congress.

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(mūl'trē) , 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. Even Moultrie's skill failed to prevent the fall of Savannah 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).

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