ss,
Unmixed with sin; all perfect happiness.

The darling then is safe, secure from ill;
Why should we mourn that she hath left this earth,
When in that brighter land she bloometh still,
A flower more perfect, of celestial birth?
Let us submit, and own His righteous care
Who doeth well; striving to meet her there.

BATTLE OF FORT MOULTRIE.[1]

BY CHARLES J. PETERSON.

When the news of the battle of Lexington reached Charleston, South
Carolina rose in commotion. The provincial Congress, which had
adjourned, immediately re-assembled. Two regiments of foot and one of
horse were ordered to be raised; measures were taken to procure
powder; and every preparation made for the war which was now seen to
be inevitable. A danger of a vital character speedily threatened the
colony. This was its invasion by the British; a project which had long
been entertained by the royal generals. To provide in time for
defeating it, Congress had dispatched General Lee to the South. It was
not until the beginning of the summer of 1776, however, that the
enemy's armament set sail from New York, consisting of a large fleet
of transports with a competent land force, commanded by Sir Henry
Clinton, and attended by a squadron of nine men-of-war, led by Sir
Peter Parker. On the arrival of this expedition off the coast, all was
terror and confusion among the South Carolinians. Energetic measures
were, however, adopted to repel the attack.

To defend their capital the inhabitants constructed on Sullivan's
Island, near the entrance of their harbor, and about four miles from
the city, a rude fort of palmetto logs, the command of which was given
to Col. Moultrie. Never, perhaps, was a more inartificial defence
relied on in so great an emergency. The form of the fort was square,
with a bastion at each angle; it was built of logs based on each other
in parallel rows, at a distance of sixteen feet. Other logs were bound
together at frequent intervals with timber dove-tailed and bolted into
them. The spaces between were filled up with sand. The merlons were
faced with palmetto logs. All the industry of the Carolinians,
however, was insufficient to complete the fort in time; and when the
British fleet entered the harbor, the defences were little more than a
single front facing the water. The whole force of Col. Moultrie was
four hundred and thirty-five, rank and file; his armament consisted of
nine French twenty-sixe