The Jenerette family has a long history of service to South Carolina and to our nation, from the American Revolution thru the Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq. Our flag's history is an important part of our family and our heritiage. Here is the history of South Carolina's flag:
Colonel William Moultrie was asked
by the Revolutionary Council of Safety in the fall of 1775 to
design a flag for the use of South Carolina troops in preparation
for the hostilities with England. He chose a blue that was the
color of the Carolina soldiers uniforms and a crescent moon that
matched the emblem worn on the front of their caps.
On March 26, 1776 in Charleston, the Second Provincial Congress
of South Carolina set up an independent government, ending British
rule in the colony and elected John Rutledge as President. It
reconvened the same day as the South Carolina General Assembly.
Years later, on December 20, 1860, when South Carolina again declared
its right of Independence, this time from the Federal Union, a
national flag was needed. The General Assembly considered a wide
range of designs and on January 28, 1861 added the palmetto tree
to Col. Moultrie's original Revolutionary War flag. The tree symbolized
the colonial victory of Sullivan's Island palmetto-log fort against
the British in June 1776 and the new design became the National
Flag of the Republic of South Carolina.
ELIAS JEANERETTE is listed on the roster of American troops who
served during the Revolutionary War at Fort Sullivan, which was
later re-named Fort Moultrie. He enlisted in Georgetown in 1776
and was a Sergeant in the 4th South Carolina Regiment of Artillery,
commanded by Col Beekman, in the Company of Capt James Mitchell.
Elias was later wounded in the battle of Stono, and was taken
as a prisoner of war when Charleston was captured by the British
in May 1780. The father of twenty-six children, Elias died in
1833 in North Carolina.
Samuel Thomas Jenerette, Elias and Margaret's youngest son, served in the Confederate Army during the War of Southern Independence in Company "B" Manigault's Battalion of South Carolina Artillery and Samuel's oldest son, Wilson, who served with the 14th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry was captured by the Federals in battle and died in Point Lookout prisoner of war camp in Maryland on September 8, 1862. Wilson was 16 years-old when he enlisted; he was born in Horry County April 11, 1845.
Van Jenerette, Major, Infantry, U.S.Army; is Samuel Thomas Jenerette's great-great-grandson and served in combat on the Korean DMZ in 1968-69. Van and Katherine's son Christian served as a US Army Cavalry Scout in Iraq in 2015 and their youngest child born August 1, 2001 is named Wilson Jenerette.
Katherine Marie Jenerette, is a U.S. Army veteran who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf and after receiving a direct commission as an Officer she served in Afghanistan 2011-2012 in Kandahar Province. Katherine was wounded in Panjwai District and is a recipient of the Purple Heart.
