SOUTH CAROLINA’S HISTORIC BANNERS
“Throw thy bold banner to the breeze!, Front with thy ranks the threatening seas, Like thine own proud armorial trees, Carolina! Carolina!” – Henry Timrod
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National Flag: Our ‘Palmetto Flag.’ In late 1860 and early 1861, before SC helped create the new Confederate States, this was flag of the Republic of South Carolina – a completely independent country. It’s since been the flag of our occupied Republic. The origins of our flag lie in the Revolutionary War. Patriots cut down palmetto trees to contruct a hastily-built fort near Charleston. British cannon balls bounced off the water-logged palmetto logs, giving rise to it as a symbol of resistance to tyranny. Later, when SC again faced external tryanny, the old colonial symbols were quickly adopted for the new cause of freedom. It is therefore, a flag of secession, resistance and liberty.
Fort Moultrie Flag: The flag flow by our colonial ancestors at a hastily-built fort on an island near Charleston. There they cut down palmetto trees as their own defense. These water-logged trees deflected British cannon fire and the SC patriots won an important victory that gave rise to the palmetto tree as a symbol of liberty and resistance. Interestingly, this flag was actually square, not rectangular.
Sovereignty Flag: As the movement for secession grew to engulf the entire State many flags were flown to support sovereignty and independence. This is one of the more popular and continues to be flown to this day by those who remember fondly our short period of self-rule. The design obviously had a great influence on the later Confederate battleflag. The single star in the middle represents SC, the first to secede, with the other Southern States represented with smaller stars. And the cross is straight up like northern European flags, rather than lying on its side. Our national symbols appear in the top left corner.
Secession Flag: This flag appeared before and around the time of SC’s secession in support of independence. The large single star represents Southern unity in the face of Federal oppression. The cresent stands for South Carolina – long associated with Charleston and the State.
Citadel Battleflag: The cadets of the Citadel, South Carolina’s military college, fired on the Federal troops that illegally remained on State soil after our departure from the Union. They fought bravely throughout the war, including participating in the defense of Charleston. The flag is still flown by Citadel cadets and fans of the school’s sports team. It has also become associated with the College of Charleston, previously an all-girls’ college, and with the city and Low Country in general.
