Moultrie Flag-September 1775

In September of 1775, the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, under the command of Col. William Moultrie, took control of Fort Johnson, on St. James Island, S.C.  There being no national Flag at the time, Col. Moultrie created a Flag to fly over the fort.  In his memoir, Moultrie describes a blue Flag having been made to match the uniforms of the South Carolina troops with a crescent matching the crescent on the troops’ caps.  The Moultrie Flag is considered the first American Flag flown in the south.

In early 1776, Col. Moultrie was ordered to oversee the fortification of Sullivan Island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor.  On 28 June 1776, the British fleet unleashed an overwhelming bombardment on the unfinished fort.  British cannon balls bounced off the fort’s spongy palmetto log walls.  The American cannons, however, devastated the oak ships of the British fleet. 

During the barrage, the blue Flag with a crescent was hit, falling on the beach outside the fort.  Sargent William Jasper leapt over the wall, and with cannon balls raining down, rescued the Flag and raised it back over the fort.  The Battle of Sullivan Island was the first major victory for the Americans of the war.

 The word “Liberty” was added to the Flag later.  The Moultrie Flag became the inspiration for the South Carolina State Flag.

Sources:

Bragg, C.L. “William Moultrie” Washington Library, Digital Encyclopedia. Retrieved 9 February 2024 from https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/william-moultrie/#8

Hatcher, Richard. “Moultrie Flag” (2016) University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/moultrie-flag/

Moultrie, William. “Memoirs of the American Revolution” pp. 86-87, 90-91, 179 (1802) Reprint, New York: New York Times.

Preble, George. “Our Flag, Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America” pp. 143-144, (1872) Kessinger’s Legacy Reprint

Smith, Whitney. “The Flag Book of the United States” p. 198 (1970) William Marrow and Company Inc.