Carolina Day’s traditional celebration held Friday, June 28

The Palmetto Society is pleased to announce that Jack D. Warren, Jr., renowned scholar and executive director of the Society of the Cincinnati and its American Revolution Institute, will speak on Carolina Day under the shade of the live oaks and alongside the Sergeant Jasper statue at White Point Garden at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, June 28. Mr. Warren is a native of Washington, D.C. and has served on the faculties of the University of Massachusetts, Brown University and the University of Virginia. He also has been deeply involved in the preservation of historic places associated with George Washington and he was the senior editor for the “The Papers of George Washington,” leading the production of the presidential series.

Preceding the talk, the Palmetto Society welcomes all to attend a service of thanksgiving at St. Michael’s Church that begins at 10 a.m. and should last approximately an hour. Then, the Palmetto Society and invited historical groups will gather at Washington Park at 11 and begin marching at 11:30 toward White Point Garden.

The Palmetto Society invites and encourages the public to participate in what will be the state’s 242nd annual Carolina Day. Furthermore, the society asks all citizens to fly their Palmetto State flags — either the original Moultrie Flag with a white crescent on an indigo blue background or the current version — on June 28. Church bells will ring at 11:30 a.m.

As many South Carolinians may recall, Carolina Day celebrates the great victory of the patriots during the Battle of Sullivan’s Island in 1776 — the first major victory of the Revolution and one that inspired many Americans to believe that they actually could defeat the mighty British who had the most powerful military force in the world at that time. When the signers of the Declaration of Independence affixed their signature to the famous document in August of 1776, these founding fathers were keenly aware of the victory in Charleston Harbor, which is proven by various documents of the time and as noted in an essay by the late Seabrook Wilkinson many years ago.

Celebrating Carolina Day since 1777, the Palmetto Society is independently incorporated in S.C. and has a board composed of leaders from Revolutionary War heritage groups that include the Society of the Cincinnati, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution.