South Carolina (U.S.)

Last modified: 2005-03-19 by rick wyatt
Keywords: south carolina | united states | palm tree | palmetto | crescent |
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by Mario Fabretto, 24 February 1998

• History of the flag
  • Where do the Crescent and Tree come from on the South Carolina Flag?
• Use of the flag
• SC Version of CSA Statement flag
• State Military Crest

Municipal Flags:

• Charleston
• Kiawah Island
• Lexington
• South Carolina municipal flags with incomplete information

County Flags:

• Dillon County

See also:

• S.C. Colonial/Rev. War Flags
  • South Carolina 2nd Regiment
  • Eutaw Standard
  • South Carolina Navy Ensign
• S.C. Secession Flags
  • The Original Secession Flag
  • S.C. Sovereignty Flag
• "Big Red" - The Citadel Flag
• Fort Moultrie Flag
• Interesting page of state and secession flags
• United States of America
• States of the United States

One of the original 13 colonies, South Carolina is represented by a star and a stripe on the 13 star U.S. flags.

Asked by the Revolutionary Council of Safety in the fall of 1775 to design a flag for the use of South Carolina troops, Col. William Moultrie chose a blue that matched the color of their uniforms and a crescent that reproduced the silver emblem worn on the front of their caps.

South Carolina needed a national flag after it seceded from the Union on Dec. 20, 1860. The General Assembly considered a wide range of designs, but on Jan. 28, 1861, added the palmetto to Moultrie's original design. The palmetto represented the colonials defense of the palmetto-log fort on Sullivan's Island against the British on June 28, 1776.

A resolution proposing to change the color to "royal purple" as a memorial to Confederate dead was defeated in 1899, leaving the flag's Revolutionary War symbolism complete.
Robert Hainer, 9 April 1998

Actually there were SC flags with Palmetto trees on them prior to the Civil War. The SC Militia Act of 1839 specified flags of that type (sometimes on red fields as opposed to blue) and the Palmetto Regiment of the Mexican War carried flags of this nature in the mid-1840's.

At the beginning of the secession period of 1860-1861 there were indeed a number of designs submitted to the state committee. For a detailed account of these flags please see "A Flag Worthy Of Your State And People" by Wylma Wates. This was published by the SC Dept. of Archives And History.
Greg Biggs, 9 April 1998