What Does the South Carolina State Flag Mean?
South Carolina's flag features a blue background with the silhouette of a white palmetto tree as its centerpiece and a white crescent in the upper left corner. The flag's color and symbols each represent a piece of state history.
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Background
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The blue background chosen for the flag comes from the color of the uniforms the state's soldiers wore in the late 1770s toward the end of the American Revolutionary War.
Palmetto Tree
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The palmetto tree featured as the centerpiece of the flag represents victory over the British at Fort Moultrie off the coast of Charleston on June 28, 1776. The fort was built with palmetto logs, and British cannonballs sank deep into the soft wood instead of penetrating the walls.
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Crescent
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The crescent represents the insignia on the caps of South Carolina's soldiers during the American Revolutionary War.
History
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Lawmakers in 1861 settled on the new flag after South Carolina seceded from the Union. It has flown over the state since then.
Display
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By law, the state flag and the flag of the United States are the only two flags authorized to fly above South Carolina's State House dome and in the chambers of the state Senate and state House of Representatives.
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