South Carolina State Flag

Flag of South Carolina

The South Carolina flag is a simple design of a white palmetto tree under a white crescent moon on a blue field that matched the South Carolina militia in 1775. The palmetto is the state tree, South Carolina's nickname is "The Palmetto State", and the state flag features the palmetto. These various tributes are paid to the role of the palmetto in the British attack on a Charleston Harbor log fort in 1776. The wood proved so resilient that British cannon balls either sank into the wood or bounced off, making the fort impenetrable.

The state flag of South Carolina was adopted on January 28, 1861. The crescent symbol represents the silver emblem worn on the caps of South Carolina troops during the revolutionary war, and the background color matches the blue of their uniforms. Crescents were also a component of a banner carried by South Carolina protesters of the Stamp Act in 1776.

The flag also features the state tree (sabal palmetto). South Carolina's nickname is the palmetto state, a sabal palmetto tree appears on the state seal, and also on the U.S. Mint's quarter for South Carolina. The iconic sabal palm is also the state tree of Florida; all state trees - all state flags.