Moultrie Flag

collection

The Moultrie Flag is a cherished symbol of freedom, liberty, and Southern badassery. Send the British running in the other direction wherever you bring one of these fine accessories!

We often lie awake at night thinking about our favorite state flag. There are many fine flags to choose from, such as California’s which has got a big old bear on it. Neat! Arkansas’ state flag is a winner because it says “ARKANSAS” – there’s no patience for ambiguity in Arkansas. We’re also especially fond of the Texan flag, which is probably what an American flag would look like if it only had Texas for a state. (The Texan dream.)

But for our money, South Carolina’s flag is the best. That’s because it is closely styled after the Moultrie Flag, which flew over one of the Revolutionary War’s most epic battles. 

Back in 1776 the British sent a bunch of their dinghies to lay waste to Charleston, but first they had to contend with a little fort on Sullivan's Island. They lobbed their cannonballs at the thing for hours but were unable to make a dent in its supple saw palmetto construction. The Brits’ attempt at wading ashore produced little more effect than getting their trousers wet. The South Carolinians fought tooth and nail and won the day.

South Carolina’s flag has a big saw palmetto palm, just like the one their impenetrable fortress was made of, and a little crescent in the upper left-hand corner. The Moultrie Flag didn’t have the tree, and its crescent said “LIBERTY,” but otherwise it was pretty much the same standard that flies over South Carolinian public buildings and baseball stadiums to this day.

You don’t have to be a Southerner to honor South Carolina’s contribution to the Revolutionary War. You can just love America and liberty, and you can also just really hate the British. Or you can even be British – we don’t mind that at all so long as you order a tote bag or something as a way of paying reparations for taxing our tea 250 years ago.