The Swainsboro Exchange Club held their weekly meeting on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, at the Rustic Grille at 12:30 p.m. With President David Davis presiding, they had 30 in attendance. The program for the Club meeting was hosted and presented by Mike Lisenby. His presentation was on the "Battle of Sullivan's Island", South Carolina. This battle was successfully won by Charleston's recruit artillerymen against a powerful British Royal Navy Squadron on the 28th of June 1776. The Royal Navy had 274 cannons and two mortars mounted on ten British warships and 30 transports carrying their 2,500 troops. The British Navy was commanded by Commodore Sir Peter Parker and the British troops were commanded by Major-General Sir Henry Clinton. The American forces had 6,500 troops commanded by Colonel William Moultrie. During the battle, the fort was struck by several thousand cannon balls, but the palmetto trunks used in the structure absorbed the shock of the strikes and the fort's structure remained intact. The American gunners were protected by the sixteen-foot-thick sand and timber walls and suffered few casualties. American's casualties were 17 dead and 20 wounded. 7,000 British cannon balls were collected on Sullivan's Island after the battle. Mike was assisted by SAR member Dess Smith III with the slide presentation as part of Mikes program.
