Sir Peter Parker's Attack against Fort Moultrie

The title of the painting and the date of the battle—June 28, 1776—are inscribed on the back of the canvas in James Peale’s own handwriting. The approximately ten-hour engagement took place when the British attempted to capture Charleston, South Carolina. The fort, incomplete at the time, was under the command of Colonel William Moultrie. American losses were small at about thirty-five casualties with twelve deaths, while the British casualties were reported as 205. After refitting the surviving ship Bristol, the British command left the area and sailed to New York.
A similar scene of the battle, barely perceptible, appears in the background of Charles Willson Peale’s 1782 portrait of Colonel William Moultrie owned by the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. It is believed that James Peale created the scene displayed here during the same year. See also the information on the Attack, Engagement, Defeat pictures in this exhibition.

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