By Jerry Bellune
JerryBellune@yahoo.com
Does our state flag's palmetto tree look like a toilet bowl brush?
Apparently some critics of the new flag design think so.
According to Sen. Ronnie Cromer, the non-paid study committee of archivists and historians came up with this design based entirely on historical data. 
"However many are not happy with the palmetto tree design so the committee is looking at updating the design based on those used by flag makers.  
"Admittedly, the palmetto tree, although historically correct, did not appeal to most of the people making the comments. 
" The committee felt they can amend the bill to have a flag that everyone can be proud of."
Scott Malyerck who proposed standardizing the state flag told the Charleston Post and Courier that the design changed from its early roots in the Revolutionary War.
The committee based their selected shade of indigo — Pantone 282 C — on the color of the uniforms worn by Col. William Moultrie’s 2nd SC Regiment in the Revolutionary War.
They determined the shape of the crescent by studying the crescent badges that Moultrie’s soldiers wore on their caps.
The design committee couldn’t determine exactly why the regiment chose the crescent as its symbol but they don’t believe it was meant to depict a moon, Malyerck said.
In early versions, the crescent’s tips were pointed directly upward, making it look unlike a crescent moon.
The Palmetto tree was added to the flag to honor Moultrie’s June 1776 defeat of nine British warships that attacked his crudely made fort on Sullivan’s Island in an effort to invade Charleston.
The British pounded the soon-to-be-named Fort Moultrie with cannons for much of the 9-hour fight, but the fort was made with spongy palmetto logs that absorbed the cannonballs and minimized the damage.
The researchers even located and studied a 1776 painting of that battle, zooming in on the fort’s flag to see how the crescent was positioned in the upper left hand corner.
“It’s an important symbol for our state and we ought to get it right,” Malyerck said.