Palmetto Brigade Flag

Palmetto Brigade Flag

This flag, known as the Flag of the Palmetto Guard, was the first Confederate flag to fly over Fort Sumter.

Union Maj. Robert Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter on Apr. 13, 1861, after Confederates shelled the fort on April 12 and 13, 1861. The following day, Styles Bird, Jr., a private inthe 18th South Carolina regiment called the Palmetto Guard, hoisted his unit’s flag over the fort as Confederates entered.

It featured a red star, signifying the Republic of South Carolina, and a Palmetto Tree, the symbol of the Revolutionary War battle at Sullivan’s Island (current site of Fort Moultrie), on a white background.