Publisher:Warbranch Press
Year: 2005
Author/Illustrator: Kate Salley Palmer
Reading Level: Grades K-5
ISBN: 0966711440

Palmetto: Symbol of Courage

Palmetto: Symbol of Courage tells the story of South Carolina's state tree. Read it to learn how a tree helped win a battle in the Revolutionary War and why it appears on the state flag.

On June 28, 1776—exactly one week before the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia—South Carolina patriots on Sullivan's Island defeated a heavily armed British fleet and saved Charleston from being captured. It was the first important Revolutionary War victory against the British in the South—and it caught everyone, including the patriots, by surprise. When the patriots had hastily constructed their little fort out of palmetto logs and beach sand on Sullivan's Island, even they had not expected it to withstand the British ships' cannons. But luckily, most of the British cannonballs simply sank into the spongy palmetto logs and sand and did very little damage to the fort or the soldiers inside. Carefully aiming their own cannons, the soldiers of South Carolina's Second Regiment, commanded by Col. William Moultrie, did great damage to the British ships, and the fleet had to sail away in shambles. After the battle, the palmetto tree was adopted as the state tree and prominently featured on South Carolina's beautiful state flag—one of the most beautiful in the United States.

Palmetto: Symbol of Courage is an important resource book for teaching SC History in third-grade Social Studies classes. A number of school districts across South Carolina have already ordered Palmetto: Symbol of Courage for all their third-grade teachers. Contact us today to bring this resource to your students!