COLOMBIA – A team of senior historians did the research and determined what the flag of the state of South Carolina should look like once and for all.
Rest assured, there is not much change.
The flag will still have a white and growing Palmetto tree against an indigo blue background, a combination of historically significant elements that makes the South Carolina flag one of the most iconic flags in the country – and undoubtedly one of the good ones.
But next year, lawmakers will have a chance to define design details that have been evolving since the official specifications for the last flag were revoked in 1940.
The height and shape of the tree in the center of the flag. The indigo tone that colors the background. The thickness and angle of the crescent in the upper left corner – note: the crescent is not a moon, historians say.
All were left to the creative imagination of individual designers, instead of specifications set out in state law.
That’s why the design of the Palmetto tree on its lid may look thinner than that of your koozie beer. That’s why the crescent moon on the flag at the top of the Statehouse’s dome can point in a different direction than the flag on your balcony.
But not any more.
A team of history buffs formed by lawmakers in 2018 studied the history of the SC flag, including its various shades and designs, and defined a new model for the General Assembly to vote when it meets again in January.
Scott Malyerck, Newberry’s political adviser who first proposed to standardize the state flag and served on the design committee, said the group worked hard to get design elements from its oldest roots, which date back to the Revolutionary War.
The group, which included acclaimed historian Walter Edgar and Director of Archives and History Eric Emerson, sought help from archaeologists and several museums to track the first editions of the state flag.
They based their selected indigo shade – Pantone 282 C – on the color of the uniforms worn by Colonel William Moultrie’s 2nd South Carolina Regiment in the Revolutionary War.
A screen capture of the 1776 flag raised by the 2nd South Carolina Regiment in the American Revolution. Provided
They determined the shape of the crescent by studying the crescent emblems that Moultrie’s soldiers wore on their caps during the war. The design committee was unable to determine exactly why the regiment chose the crescent moon as its symbol. But they don’t believe it was meant to represent a moon, said Malyerck.
In some previous editions of the flag, the tips of the crescent were pointed directly upwards, making it look very little like a crescent moon.
For a time, the regiment’s flag included only the crescent moon against an indigo backdrop.
The Palmetto tree was added to the flag to honor Moultrie’s defeat, in June 1776, of nine British warships that attacked his roughly built fort on Sullivan’s Island in an effort to invade Charleston. The British bombarded what would soon be called Fort Moultrie with cannons for much of the nine-hour fight, but the fort was made with spongy palm logs that absorbed the cannonballs and minimized the damage.
The researchers even located and studied a 1776 painting of that battle, enlarging the fort’s flag to see how the crescent was positioned in the upper left corner.
“It is an important symbol for our state and we must get it right,” said Malyerck.
Of course, it is not the most critical problem that the General Assembly will face in 2021.
But the proposal, submitted by Republican state senator Ronnie Cromer of Newberry, is unlikely to take much time to be debated.
Proponents of the project say they cannot imagine why anyone would object.
State Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, says she plans to give the bill a hearing on the Senate Family and Veterans Services Committee. She predicted it would last until the passage.
Talk to Avery Wilks at 803-374-3115. Follow him on Twitter at @AveryGWilks.