The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-01-18

ed for use with che SCate Lag IN tue
Schools by the flag committee Of the
Dauehters of the American Revolu-
tion of South Carolina and has been
officially adopted by that body:
AT the ouset of the war between
the American colonies and Great
Britain two regiments Of South
Carolina troops were holding a fort
on an island protecting Charleston.
This was in Its. It so happened
that hese soldiers wore blue uni
forms, and On their caps was sill
yer crescent. They had no flag at
that time as the fight with Great
Britain had Just begun. William
Meultrie, who commanded the fort,
was requested by the Council OF
Safety, an organization Of leading
citizens, to fashion a flag. In those
days flags were much more used m
war than now, because fighting was
more IN the open, and in other ways
very differet from modern war. So
they had to have a flag, and General
MouHrie decided that it should be
like the Informs an the cap insignia
Of his men. This explains why our
State flag is blue and why that little
crescent, looking like new moon,
is found in one of it corners.
There's a palmetto tree inr the
flag, too but that did not come until
later. In the summer of 1776 a Brit
ish fleet attacked fort on Sulli-
vans Island near Charleston and
the result was a disaster, for the
fleet. That fort, later named Fort
Moultr1e, was built Of Palmetto logs
and those logs stopped the shot from
British cannon. The result of the
fight was oson. known all over the
State and everywhsre people told
the story of how the palmetto logs
withstood the fire of the enemy. And
that's the reason the figure Of the
palmetto tree was put in the creator
Of the flag. ..
AL of this wassbefore we had a
national emblem. The colonial troops
Of bhe thirteen States in the Revo-
lution used their respective State
banners for quite time. In those
days our forefathers were fighting
for liberty more than fo union, so
the. various States were more inpor-
tant political units than they are
now. Not until the Civil War, or the
war of Secession or the War Be-
tween the States as you pre-
fre to call twas the question of
union finally decided. Since that war
the State flags have not had their
old time prestige; though, of course,
they viii never be dispensed with.
This flag of ours, with it's fine
colors and pretty design, has had
career that is not surpassed by any
other State banner. It waved it's tri-
uTnph over forts and over field troops
in. the Revolution. It waved again in
victory in the war of 1872. Seminole
Indians learned TO fear it in the
Seminole war. And in our war with
Mexico in 1S4S, the palmetto flag
was the first to be planted inside
the fortress in Mexico City. That
was bloody fight, and one of the
greatest honors our flag ever won
was to be first inside the Mexican's
stronghold. 1t was carried there by
the Palmetto regiment, made up of
South Carolina troops.
A curious and interesting feature
Of the history of our flag is that it
was once national banner for
South Carolina was once an inde-
pendent republic: That was between
the time we seeded from the Union
and entered the Confederate States
of America, a matter of a few
months beginning late in 1860 and
ending early in 1861. After much
discussion back and forth between
the House and Senate, it was finally
agreed on January %, 1861 that the
flag of South Carolina, an independ-
ent commonwealth then, should be
the blue field, with white crescent