Carolina Navy Reenactors

04/27/2026

A 1970s(?) painting from Darby Erd that does a wonderful job portraying state sailors c. 1778. Come see our state navy camp at Fort Moultrie, 27-28 June, where we will portray the men of the early war SC state navy, and the women who supported the fleet!

04/04/2026

Last week 250 years ago, the Rhode Island Gazette carried a report of a Providence sailor who signed up to serve in the SOUTH CAROLINA State Navy, but who decided to escape. This primary source hints at the efforts the Palmetto State made to get Northern seamen to join its ranks. SC had very few native sailors outside of harbor pilots/transient White sailors/and enslaved Black boatmen who all knew local waters well. The state would eventually require the assistance of hundreds of New England mariners, and even a few New England captains like Capt. Tufts of the Schooner 'Defence,' who fought the first battle in SC in the Revolution, Hog Island in November of 1775. This newspaper ad from March of 1776 also gives us a good sense of the material culture of Sailors in our state navy (and the fact they had no real 'uniform' per se)

03/20/2026

Where did the defenders of Fort Moultrie get their gunpowder? In the heat of battle on 28 June 1776, the soldiers of the 2nd SC Regiment were sent a fair amount of powder by Governor Edward Rutledge. According to the late, great NPS historian Ed Bearss, in his book on the battle, "About the time of [General Charles] Lee's visit, 200 pounds of powder reached the fort from the schooner Defense and soon thereafter the 500 pounds of powder sent by President Rutledge was turned over to Moultrie."

So SC sailors were present at the battle, but not engaged with the British Royal Navy. Nevertheless, they risked their safety (certainly aware British ships could have attacked them should the fort fall) to the British) to get vital powder supplies to the defenders. On 27-28 June, we will commemorate their lesser-known service at the Fort Moultrie site!

Portrayed below is a 1776 painting of the battle, found in the South Caroliniana Library in Columbia at USC.

03/10/2026

This month, 250 years ago, South Carolina's government wrote a constitution. Like the 1787 Constitution of the US, this early founding document had some laws regarding the management of the SC state navy! The provisions, along with army field officers, included bans on naval officers from serving on the governor's privy council, the election of officers by the general assembly/legislative council (or commissioned by president/governor and commander in chief).

The document's preamble also justified independence from England, in part, due to the activities of the Royal Navy: "whereas a statute hath been lately passed, whereby, under presence that the said colonies are in open rebellion, all trade and commerce whatsoever with them is prohibited; vessels belonging to their inhabitants trading in, to, or from the said colonies, with the cargoes and effects on board such vessels, are made lawfull prize, and the masters and crews of such vessels are subjected by force to act on board the King's ships against their country and dearest friends; and all seizures and detention or destruction of the persons and properties of the colonists which have at any time been made or committed for withstanding or suppressing the said pretended rebellion..."

Pictured here is President (aka) John Rutledge, along with the 1776 state seal (from after the Battle of Fort Moultrie in June)

03/04/2026

Our next event will be on 28 March at the Columbia, SC Relic Room in the State Museum. 250 years ago that week, Captain Joseph Turpin and the crew of the state navy schooner "Comet captured a British sloop called "General Clinton," which was the first major capture of a vessel by our state navy. Come help us commemorate this victory! https://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/revolution_charleston_harbor_2.html and https://southcarolina250.com/event/revolutionary-war-day-2026/

Come for the cannon but stay for the activities! As South Carolina prepares to commemorate the 250 th anniversary of the American Revolution, we present a full day of historical adventure. This day’s event is hosted by the SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum where you are transported bac...

02/03/2026

For we want to remember a nameless youth. In the furious Battle of Fort Moultrie, the American garrison of the fort miraculously stopped the British Navy from taking Charles Town on June 28, 1776. British cannonballs bounced off the spongy walls of the Palmetto fort. It's easy to only remember this early victory as a clean success, particularly when it will be (rightfully) commemorated as part of the ongoing celebrations this year. However, a number of Americans were still killed in this "Victory." We oftentimes forget the plight of the wounded and killed in stories of American victories, even when "our side won."

At some point in the day, a British cannonball killed a young child. All we know from extant records is that he was enslaved by a Lieutneant Dunbar of the 2nd SC Regiment.

Ironically, had he escaped, he could have found freedom with the very crew of the Royal Navy ship that fired on the fort and took his life. At that moment, British forces had standing orders (viz-a-viz the governor of Virginia) to free slaves who fled to British lines/served in the British military. Sadly, this young man died (either fighting, serving as a powder-runner for an artillery crew, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time). He deserves to be remembered, even if his name is known only to God/his now-deceased family. Pictured below is an anonymous painting of a Black sailor, a painting of the Battle of Fort Moultrie, and a list of casualties sof Ft Moultrie.

01/27/2026

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South Carolina's new license plate, "Where the Revolutionary War was won," rings true for those who know the history about how the war unfolded in SC.

01/27/2026

We started in 2023 with the hope of being a timeline unit that could cover everything from the Golden Age of Piracy-the Revolutionary War. After some soul-searching, we are rebuilding this year to be a dedicated Revolutionary War naval living history group. We are not a formal 'unit' in that there are commanders and dues, but a network of like-minded maritime living historians. If you would like to join this low-stress, authentic, familiy-friendly Revolutionary War group, please comment below or email organizer Benjamin Schaffer at [email protected]! Our typical schedule of events involves one-two day camping out (or day-tripping) at reenactments and museum events, and setting up a maritime history display. We usually don't do battles, but engage with spectators!

01/24/2026

This is an original enlistment paper filled out by seamen joining Captain William Henry Drayton's ship Prosper, held by the SCDAH. Come out 6-8 February at historic wormsloe in Savannah, and sign your own modified version of this enlistment document, inspire by this, to keep as a keepsake (it was offered to Georgians, to join the SC state navy even back then! Recruiters were sent from Charleston to Savannah!)

01/24/2026

By early 1776, SC was assembling quite the state navy, with at least a few hundred sailors/mariners/free and enslaved dock workers/officers fitting out these vessels. The fleet, at this moment 250 years ago, included the Schooner/Brigantine Comet, George Gabriel Powell commanding (12-14 guns by early 1776), the Schooner Defense (in late 1775, she had 12 guns, and 70 sailors/marines), Simon Tufts Commanding, the armed merchant ship Prosper, with 19 guns and and smaller pilot boats (Eagle and Hibernia). Painting below of some of these vessels was done by William Nowland Van Powell.

01/24/2026

What's in a flag? The history of the 'Don't' Tread on Me' Flag, particularly the Yellow variety is shrouded in mystery/controversy. In early 1776, Christopher Gadsden presented a yellow flag with a snake/don't tread on me, which he told the SC State Legislature had been designed for the Continental Navy. What the SC State Navy flew is more controversial/vague as we don't have surviving images of our state's ships. However, one vexiologist Peter Ansoff argues they likely flew the Palmetto Crescent flag (designed by William Moultrie). For his argument, see:https://www.pdcnet.org/85257D7A006284F7/file/A7E86E35B5BE752A85257DA9005D8550/$FILE/raven_2010_0017_0000_0024_0047.pdf
John Adams, in 1778, wrote the following: "". . .Some of the States have vessels of war distinct from those of the United States. For example, the vessels of war of the State of Massachusetts Bay have sometimes a Pine Tree; and those of South Carolina a rattlesnake, in the middle of thirteen stripes. . ."

This description is fairly similar to a hypothetical jack flown by Continental Navy ships (which were in close cooperation with SC State Navy ships in various campaigns throughout the Revolution up to 1780) (Source: https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/banners/usnavy-jack.html )

I'd like to think that the modern reconstructed "SC State Navy Flag" is similar to what may have flown above our state's vessels at some point, particularly if Gadsden (a Charlestonian) could have inspired it! A snake on thirteen stripes shows a bond that holds the country together in common cause. Maybe that's the point that SC State sailors took from the flag. In fact, the SC State Navy, like so many other state navies, was hardly a collection of provincial sailors. It was a diverse reflection of the mariners from around the Atlantic world. We know they were a diverse group, Black, White, Southern, Northern, and even Spanish/French!