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History of the State Flag and the Great Seal of South Carolina
Components of the current South Carolina State Flag were first seen in 1765, on a banner carried by South Carolina protesters of the Stamp Act. The banner that the protesters hoisted displayed three white crescents on a blue background. Ten years later in 1775, Colonel William Moultrie was asked by the South Carolina Revolutionary Council of Safety to design a banner for the use of South Carolina troops. Colonel Moultrie chose a simple and direct design that displayed the crescent (new moon) on a blue field. The new flag was the same blue color of the soldier's uniforms and the silver crescent was the symbol that the soldiers wore on the front of their caps. On September 13, 1775, a blue flag with a white crescent in its upper hoist corner was raised by anti-British South Carolina Patriot Guards at a Fort in Charleston Harbor commanded by Colonel William Moultrie. The fortification, later named Fort Moultrie, was protected by Palmetto Logs that caused British cannonballs to be totally ineffective. The Palmetto Tree became the South Carolina State Tree as it had been attributed as instrumental in Colonel Moultrie's defense of Sullivan's Island against an attack by British warships 0n June 28, 1776. Cannonballs fired at the Fort from the British ships could not destroy the walls of the Fort which were built of Palmetto Logs. Instead, the cannonballs simply sank into the soft, tough Palmetto Wood. The Palmetto Tree was added to the State Flag to represent Moultrie's defense of Sullivan Island. On January 28, 1861, following secession from the Union, the South Carolina Legislature adopted a blue flag with a white crescent at the hoist and a white Palmetto Tree in the center. That flag has continued to represent the state ever since.
The Great Seal of the State of South Carolina was adopted in 1776. The Seal is made up of two elliptical areas, linked by branches of the Palmetto Tree. The image on the left is dominated by a tall Palmetto Tree and another tree, fallen and broken. This scene represents the battle fought on June 28, 1776 between defenders of the Fort on Sullivan's Island, and the British Fleet. Of course, the standing tree represents the victorious defenders, and the fallen tree is the British Fleet. Banded together on the palmetto with the motto "Quis separabit?" ("Who Will Separate?"), are 12 spears that represent the first 12 states of the Union. Surrounding the image, at the top, is "South Carolina", and below, is "Animis Opibusque Parati", or "Prepared in Mind and Resources". The other image on the seal depicts a woman walking along a shore that is littered with weapons. The woman, symbolizing Hope, grasps a branch of laurel as the sun rises behind her. Below her image is the word "Spes", or "Hope", and over the image is the motto "Dum Spiro Spero", or "While I Breathe I Hope". |
