The reason for the redesign is that there is no official state flag. On South Carolina's 230th birthday, learn the Revolutionary War history behind the state flag. The first option is that it is a gorget, which was the crescent worn on the caps of the South Carolina revolutionary soldiers. The crescent and tree symbolize the defense of Charleston in 1776, shortly after the colony of South Carolina had declared its independence from England. tours@charlestonfootprints.com. South Carolina’s “palmetto flag” was officially made the state banner in 1861. He quotes Moultrie's diary, which says the design is simply a crescent, which is fellow historian Eric Emerson's view. Your email address will not be published. The crescent and tree symbolize the defense of Charleston in 1776, shortly after the colony of South Carolina had declared its independence from England. The proposed 2020 official South Carolina state flag design. Then there's the gorget argument. South Carolina's flag was ranked as the 10th best designed state or provincial flag in North America by the North American Vexillological Association in 2001. There is much debate as to what the crescent in the upper left corner was originally meant to symbolize. This version is actually what most people believe. Ironically, this flag was stolen from the state capitol in Columbia in 1865 by Iowa troops under Sherman, who burned and ransacked that city. S.C. Colonial/Rev. The flag of the U.S. state of South Carolina has existed in some form since 1775, being based on one of the first Revolutionary War flags. Over the past fifteen years, I have seen many, many organizations in South Carolina refer to the crescent on the state flag as having been a depiction of a "gorget," a relic of medieval neck armor that, by the time of the American Revolution, had evolved into an officer's symbol of rank. It is still kept at the Historical Society of Iowa, which should be willing to give back the property of a sister state (after all Iowa, wasn’t the Union “preserved” by those troops?) South Carolina officially adopted the flag with palmetto and crescent in January 1861, shortly after it seceded from the Union. Historian Rodger Stroup says flag originated with Col. William Moultrie, who took the blue of his soldiers' coats and the crescent shape from their hats to fashion a signal to let the city of Charleston know if and when the British were coming during the Battle of Sullivan's Island prior to the Revolutionary War. ... Stroup tells us that some people believe the crescent to be an homage to the gorget, a piece left over from the era when armor was in use. Your email address will not be published. -- Dr. Eric Emerson, Director and State Historic Preservation Officer the S.C. Department of Archives and History. The word gorget means a piece of armor worn around the throat in battle. About 100 years later when South Carolina seceded from the union, the people of the state wanted a new flag … The military blue and the crescent-shaped chest plate (called a gorget) are from the Revolutionary War uniforms and were used on the Liberty Flag, one of the oldest flags in the United States, which is from South Carolina. The crescent, which they insist is not a moon, was angled the right way. (original post)Moultrie designed the flag. Through the 19th century, the crescent on the state flag also appeared wit… The crescent does resemble the necklace/ ornamental collar worn by … Is it a moon, as many people say? Crescent is Gorget Posted on May 14, 2011 ... South Carolina’s “palmetto flag” was officially made the state banner in 1861. Crescent is Gorget. U.S. This illustration of a medieval gorget in no way resembles the crescent found on the state flag. 3. The word gorget means a piece of armor worn around the throat in battle. And it's ancient origins are in a moon. 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