The Unsuccessful Attack on the Fort on Sullivan's Island

Lieutenant Gray, a member of the Second South Carolina Regiment was an eyewitness to the battle between the British fleet and the men defending Charleston harbor and was wounded in the encounter. He recorded his experiences in two paintings which he presented to his colleague in battle, Lt. Richard Bohun Baker. No other work by Gray is known. The viewpoint is the same in both paintings: the British fleet on the right, the fort on Sullivan's Island to the left. In "The Unsuccessful Attack" the blue flag of "Liberty" is flying over the fort which was under the command of Colonel William Moultrie for whom the fort was later named.