Here at Breach Inlet in June 1776, Americans commanded by Colonel William "Danger" Thompson repelled a British attempt to capture unfinished Fort Sullivan by land. The British planned a coordinated land and sea assault to establish a base of operations for taking their ultimate prize - Charles Town.
Troops under Colonel Thompson, a prominent civic and military leader from the South Carolina Backcountry, opposed British land forces camped on Long Island (now Isle of Palms) across Breach Inlet. British Major General Henry Clinton and Lord Charles Cornwallis intended to cross Breach Inlet, march to the other end of Sullivan's Island, and storm Fort Sullivan from the rear while British warships bombarded the fort from the harbor. The success of the Patriot defenses at Breach Inlet and Fort Sullivan was a major setback for British efforts to stifle American independence.
"Resolved, That the thanks of the United States of America be given to Major General Lee, Colonel William Moultrie, Colonel William Thompson, and the officers and soldiers under their commands; who, on the 28th of June last, repulsed, with so much valour, the attack which was made on the State of South Carolina, by the fleet and army of his Britannic Majesty."Continental Congress
July 20th, 1776
" . . . my Life and Fortune are devoted to the Cause of the thirteen United States of America & to the general propagation of Liberty . . . "
William Thomson
17727 - 1796
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