Flag of South Carolina

The Moultrie Flag (also known as the "Liberty Flag")

In 1775, Colonel William Moultrie was asked by the Revolutionary Council of Safety to design a flag for the South Carolina troops to use during the American Revolutionary War. Moultrie's design had the blue of the militia's uniforms and a crescent taken from their cap insignia. It was first flown at Fort Johnson.[2]

This flag was famously flown in the defense of a new fortress on Sullivan's Island, when Moultrie faced off against a British fleet that had not lost a battle in a century. In the 16-hour battle on June 28, 1776, the flag was shot down, but Sergeant William Jasper ran out into the open, raising it and rallying the troops until it could be mounted again. This gesture was considered to be so heroic, saving Charleston from conquest for four years, that the flag came to be the symbol of the Revolution, and liberty, in the state and the new nation.

Soon popularly known as either the Liberty Flag or Moultrie Flag, it became the standard of the South Carolinian militia and was presented in Charleston by Major General Nathanael Greene when the city was liberated at the end of the war. Greene described it as having been the first American flag to fly over the South.

The palmetto was added in 1861, also a reference to Moultrie's defense of Sullivan's Island; the fortress he had constructed had survived largely because the palmettos, laid over sand walls, were able to withstand British cannon.

Following its declaration of secession from the Union, the newly independent state of South Carolina considered many designs for its "National Flag", with the first official draft for a flag being finalized on January 21, which was a white ensign with a green palmetto, and a blue canton with a white increscent.[3] After a week of debate, they decided on an existing unofficial state flag with an upward facing crescent on a blue field, modifying it by adding a palmetto at the center of the field.[4] On January 26, 1861, the South Carolina General Assembly adopted a new flag by adding a golden palmetto encircled with a white background. This flag has become known as the "2-day flag" because the golden palmetto was changed to its current design after two days on January 28 to a simple white palmetto on the blue background.[5]

The Palmetto Flag quickly became a symbol of the secessionist movement. During the secession winter, it was unfurled at various places around the country, even as far away as Nebraska City, Nebraska, by pockets of Southern partisans. Less than three months after its adoption, a variation of the palmetto flag unfurled over Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861, the day it was occupied by the Confederate Army, making it the first of the Confederate flags to replace the Stars and Stripes of the United States of America, from which the Confederacy had seceded.[6] The flag consisted of a palmetto on an entirely white background with a red star in the upper left quadrant and is commonly known as "The Palmetto Guard Flag."

The Sovereignty flag was never recognized as an official flag in South Carolina, but there are also claims that it was flown for a short period of time in South Carolina after its secession on December 20, 1860. Another significant flag is the "South Carolina Secession Flag"; the day after South Carolina seceded, a red flag with two tails, a large white star and a down-right facing crescent at the top by the flag staff was raised over the Charleston Custom House. It then spread to other cities as a symbol of secession.[7] At the beginning of the American Civil War a similar flag was flown at Morris Island by cadets from The Citadel as they fired upon United States supply ships.

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  First official draft for a State Flag
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  2-day Flag
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  Flag of South Carolina (1861)
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  Sovereignty/Secession Flag
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  South Carolina naval ensign during Revolutionary and Civil Wars
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  The flag flown by Citadel cadets over Morris Island, South Carolina during the American Civil War