The first
decisive patriot victory of the American Revolution
occurred at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island,
just east of Charleston. The fort's walls were made
of palmetto logs which are very pliable and the
English cannons could not penetrate the wood. The
patriots inside the fort withstood the English barrage
and the English withdrew. The palmetto tree thus
earned its prominent spot on the South Carolina
flag.
The Mel Gibson
movie "The Patriot" was filmed in Charleston
and two prominent locales from the movie are historic
attractions in Charleston. The "ruins"
of a Spanish mission (built for the movie) where
the patriots hid in the swamp can be seen in Cypress
Gardens in Goose Creek and the location of the ball
where the patriots steal Cornwallis' uniforms and
destroy a supply ship is Middleton Place in West
Ashley.
South Carolina
lost more of its population during the American
Revolution than any other colony and its per capita
financial expense and property damage during the
American revolution was greater than any other colony.
South Carolina
was the first state to secede from the union in
1861, triggering the American Civil War, or as it
has been referred to in Dixie, The Late Unpleasantness
and The War of Northern Agression.
The first
shots of the Civil War were fired at union troops
manning Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor by Citadel
cadets from the Morris Island battery, home of the
Morris Island lighthouse today.
Bermuda is
widely considered Charleston's sister due to the
similarities between the two areas in the history
of commerce and architecture, English heritage,
and maritime past.
South Carolina's
population is less than the population of the Philadelphia
metropolitan area.
South Carolina Facts
