Why is there a Palmetto Tree on the South Carolina Flag?
In the fall of 1775, the Revolutionary Council of Safety requested that Colonel William Moultrie design a flag for use by South Carolina troops. Moultrie selected a simple design of a white crescent on a dark blue background. The flag was the same color as the soldiers’ uniforms and the crescent echoed an emblem worn on their caps. Interestingly enough, the exact origin of the crescent prior to appearing on the caps is unclear.
When South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860, the General Assembly considered several designs for a flag to represent the new Republic of South Carolina. On January 28, 1861 they ultimately selected the design that is still the state flag of South Carolina today, the familiar palmetto and crescent moon on a dark blue background.
South Carolina Flag T-Shirts
The sabal palmetto is the South Carolina state tree and became famous for its effectiveness in providing for the defense of Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island near Charleston during the Revolutionary War. The walls of Fort Moultrie were built using palmetto tree logs, a very effective defense against British cannonballs. Why? Palmetto trees are not like most trees — they do not have rings, and as a result, the cannonballs did not break through the logs and instead sank into and became embedded in the soft but tough palmetto wood.
The crescent has a more mysterious origin. It is known to have been worn on the caps of South Carolina’s revolutionary soldiers, but the facts don’t necessarily support a link between the crescent on the solider’s caps and the flag. Another source is that it originates from the crescent as the cadence mark of a second son. Many of the early colonists were second (and third, etc.) sons who had no inheritance in England and came to America to find their fortunes. Their coats of arms would have crescents to distinguish themselves from the first sons; and thus, perhaps the crescent was adopted as a symbol for the colony. There is another line of thinking that the crescent may be derived from the crescent on the coat of arms of the Bull family, which was prominent in the early days of the colony and produced one of Charleston’s more illustrious Royal Governor.
Fort Moultrie Flag
Following the Civil War, the flag was retained by South Carolina after rejoining the United States for use as the state flag.
There is also an official pledge to the flag of South Carolina. The following is from the South Carolina Code of Laws, Chapter 1, Article 9, Section 1-1-670.
SECTION 1-1-670. Official pledge to State flag.
The pledge to the flag of South Carolina shall be as follows:
“I salute the flag of South Carolina and pledge to the Palmetto State love, loyalty and faith.”
Many of the alumni and supporters of the state’s main universities: the University of South Carolina, Clemson University and The Citadel, will display the state flag in their school colors.
