Lot 204E email save

AMERICAN REVOLUTION - William MOULTRIE. 1779.

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Charleston: 18th December 1779. 1p., folio (330 x 170 mm). Signed at the foot by State Treasurer John McCall and signed by Moultrie on verso. Left edge scalloped. Condition: minor separations. rare war-date document printed in south carolina and signed by william moultrie. When Brigadier General Moultrie signed the present loan agreement, he was already a national hero. The fort on Sullivans Island at the entrance to the harbour of Charleston was built by Moultrie. Originally called Fort Sullivan, it was eventually re-named in his honour after he repulsed a British naval attack on 28 June 1776. The British tried again to capture Charleston in May 1779 and very nearly succeeded. South Carolina's General Assembly, in a desperate attempt to alleviate the State's financial straits passed an Ordinance in September 1779 which allowed the Treasury to borrow money from private individuals. Three months later, as General Clinton sailed south on what was to be the final attempt on Charleston, Moultrie lent his State the large sum of £9000 at 10% interest per annum, re-payable at three months notice after the first year. On 12 May 1780 Moultrie was captured by the British at the conclusion of General Clinton's successful siege of Charleston. Moultrie remained imprisoned for two years, until he was eventually exchanged for Major General John Burgoyne in February 1782.

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