06/04/2026
As we begin to prepare for Carolina Day later this month, we share this memory from 1978 as published in Transactions, No. 83:
"On June 28th, 1978, the remains of Gen. William Moultrie were re-interred under an impressive stone tablet, at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island. The General, who died in 1805, had been buried at Windsor Hill Plantation, just north of Ashley Phosphate Road, in Charleston County. The grave was never marked.
For more than a century, it had been sought by various groups and individuals, notably the Rt. Rev. William A. Guerry, father of our president, The Rev. Canon Edward B. Guerry, both descendants of Gen. Moultrie. Vandals had been at work in the plantation cemetery and it was felt that the graves there needed identification first, and protection later, if anything were to remain. Finally, Canon Guerry enlisted the aid of Robert L. Stephenson, director of the Institute of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of South Carolina. Using modern scientific methods, searchers found the graves of eight members of the Moultrie family and identified them. All except the general were re-interred at St.James, Goose Creek Church. Elaborate ceremonies marked the re-burial of Gen. Moultrie at the fort bearing his name, on Sullivan' Island. Canon Guerry had the unusual privilege of reading the burial service over his ancestor (as well a over the others buried at St. James, Goose Creek.) Many of the general's descendants were present, along with representatives of patriotic societies. A band, in 18th century uniforms played the Dead March from Handel's oratorio, Saul, and a detachment of the reorganized Second Regiment, South Carolina Line attended, firing a salute at the close of the ceremony. Gov. James B. Edwards delivered a moving address."
The Society looks forward to honoring Carolina Day on June 27, 2026. Come join us!
