Have you seen South Carolina’s state flag recently? Did it look strange? Actually there are at least 4 different designs and 2 backgrounds, one red and the more popular blue. The flag was born during the American Revolution. Col. William Moultrie designed a flag with a protective piece of armor worn across the throat called a “gorget” with the word “Liberty” on it. The blue background was for his soldiers’ uniform color. What appears to be a crescent moon is actually believed to be a gorget. Soldiers wore gorget symbols on their hats in tribute to the days when they had to wear body armor. During the Civil War, a palmetto tree was added to the flag to commemorate Moultrie’s successful defense of Charleston harbor during the American Revolution. Moultrie’s men built their fort with palmetto trees on Sullivan’s Island at the mouth of the harbor. The logs’ spongy nature absorbed the British cannon shots and did not splinter. Since state lawmakers will have a lot to be concerned about in 2019, they have turned over seeking a solution for a standard design to a State Flag Study Committee made up of historian Walter Edgar, Eric Emerson of the S.C. Department of Archives and 6 others. Committee member Scott Malyerck said the design of the state flag has never been standardized. That led different manufacturers to use different designs for the crescent and the palmetto tree on the flag and different shades of blue. They will propose a standard design for the flag by Feb. 1 next year.