250 years ago today, on June 28, 1776, a half-finished fort made of palm tree logs and sand did something it had no business doing: it beat the most powerful navy on earth and saved the American South. We just hit the 250th anniversary of one of the most improbable victories of the entire Revolution.
The setup looked hopeless. A massive British fleet under Admiral Sir Peter Parker sailed into Charleston harbor to crush the rebellion in the south before it could grow. Guarding the city was an unfinished little fort on Sullivan's Island, defended by Colonel William Moultrie and a few hundred men. The walls weren't even done. One British officer reportedly figured they'd flatten it in an hour.
Then the palmetto logs did the impossible. The fort was built from soft, spongy palmetto wood packed with sand, and instead of shattering when the British cannonballs hit, the logs just absorbed them. Iron sank into the mush and stuck. The fleet hammered that fort for hours and could not break it, while the American gunners coolly fired back and tore the British warships apart. Several ships ran aground. Admiral Parker himself got hit so hard that the blast literally ripped the seat out of his pants.
And then the moment that became legend. When a cannon blast knocked the fort's flag down, Sergeant William Jasper climbed out over the wall, in the middle of the bombardment, grabbed the fallen colors, and raised them back up so everyone could see the fort still stood.
By nightfall the British fleet limped away. They wouldn't seriously come back to the south for nearly three more years. South Carolina loved that fort so much it put the palmetto tree on its state flag, where it still flies today.
A quarter of a millennium later, the lesson still lands. Sometimes the thing everyone writes off as too soft and too unfinished to matter is the exact thing that refuses to break.
British forces launch a full assault on Fort Sullivan, South Carolina.
The position does not fall as quickly as they would have pleased; British cannon fire bounces off the Patriot Fort, which is constructed of palmetto logs.
The British bullets cut down the militia flag, and young Patriot Sergeant William Jasper races to the pole and raises it under withering fire.
Meanwhile, American fire does substantial damage to Royal Navy ships.
Although 2,200 British troops and nine ships attacked a fort with only 400 militia inside, just 12 Patriots are killed for the loss of 91 British and severe damage to their ships.
They do not take the Fort and they are compelled to retreat.
The Iliad portrays a conflict where there were great warriors and virtuous heroes on both sides. If you are American, this is how you should view the Civil War.
Your girlfriend has been stomping around the house, slamming doors, sighing and groaning for no apparent reason
It's too soon to tell, but you start suspecting that she could be mad about something
She storms into the kitchen with you and just glares menacingly
You greet her - "Hello!"
She rolls her eyes and scowls. Another classic sign she may be angry
You decide to make a move and get ahead of this, before it's too late
"Are you mad about something?"
Another eyeroll
Bingo. Looks like you've diagnosed the problem
From here, you know it's like reeling in a fish. You just have to keep asking "are you mad" while she repeatedly denies it
Eventually you'll have asked enough times that she becomes convinced you actually care about her feelings and reveals the secret to you
Approximately 2 hours later, she's been worn out. You get your answer
"I know you're in love with Ashley."
What? Who is Ashley
You wrack your brain, but nothing comes up
"Ashley??"
"Oh, don't play dumb. It's written all over your face. I've known you loved her ever since that night I introduced you."
Introduced us? Wait... was this that quiet girl from her office she brought to dinner last month?
"The girl from work?"
"Yes. 'The girl from work.' I saw the way you were looking at her all night. I know you've been upset since I gained weight, I know you like blondes, I know she's exactly your type. Both of you are always on your phones around me now, I wonder why? But we all know what's happening. There's no point pretending any longer, I'm not s-"
As your girlfriend continues on for the next three hours, you start to wonder - could she be correct?
Is it possible you ARE in love with Ashley?
It would be totally insane for her to just imagine all this, right?
Ashley must be extremely beautiful for your girlfriend to feel this mogged by her
Now that you reflect on it, yeah. Ashley WAS gorgeous. She looked like she was from a really good family, too. Ashley is definitely too classy to have a breakdown like this also, so a marriage to her would surely be less irritating than this current situation you're in
You interject to cut off your girlfriend and respond. It's quite difficult, as she's loudly sobbing by this point, completely catatonic, barely reachable
Eventually you succeed in getting her to quiet down long enough for a response
"You've convinced me. Ashley is the woman of my dreams. As of this instant, my relationship with you should be considered null and void. I will henceforth be pursuing Ashley, with the goal of marriage."
The Iliad wasn’t “written” first of all
Second, its not universal, there is nothing applicable in it to most men’s lives.
It’s for the Promachos, the front fighting hero, for the adherents of the Goddess of plunder
The noble and bold
That it survived against all odds is itself indicative of divine intent, but divine intent for what? Not for cowards and slaves to debate
Men once wanted to be legends, wanted to climb mountains named after kings dead for centuries, wanted to put their flag somewhere cold and empty just to prove they could. even outcasts once wanted their name whispered for generations, ugly, uneducated composers, wanderers, all of them reaching for their idea of immortality. now man wants to be left alone, wants his girl quiet, wants his father forgiving without the talk, wants his belly flat without the fast, wants the kingdom without the cross. and when the day of reckoning arrives you will not be asked what you suffered, you will be asked what you dared. and your mouth will be dry, and your hands will be empty
"My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death.
I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me."
Stonewall Jackson