An antique, indigo-blue silk flag featuring a detailed, hand-embroidered central emblem. The emblem sits upon a small patch of green grass and includes a collection of military and symbolic items: a tan shield with a crescent moon, a red cap on a pole, and draped flags or fabric in light blue and tan.
Ongoing Exhibition

American Battleground: South Carolina's Revolution

Opening June 27, 2026 | Trace South Carolina’s transformation from a thriving British colony to one of the Revolution’s most important battlegrounds.

Museum Hours

Open today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

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Vita Potior Libertas

Liberty Rather Than Life

Opening June 27, 2026

*** Enjoy FREE general admission on opening day, live music, curator talks and more! ***

Coming this summer, the South Carolina State Museum will present a new exhibition in honor of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. 

Through dramatic visuals, powerful artifacts and engaging multimedia, the exhibition traces South Carolina’s transformation from a thriving British colony to one of the Revolution’s most important battlegrounds. Guests will see well-known figures and moments alongside surprising, lesser-known stories that reveal how central the state was to the war and the nation that followed.

An interactive “Battle Stations” map brings the conflict to life, allowing guests to explore hundreds of battles and skirmishes across the state through technology and dynamic storytelling.

The exhibition will also explore how the Revolutionary War shaped everyday lives. Patriots and loyalists. Lowcountry merchants and Backcountry farmers. Women, free and enslaved Black people, and Native communities. Their stories will reveal how the war meant different things to different people.

American Battleground: South Carolina's Revolution was made possible with support from:

Illustrated graphic of a cartoon shark wearing a black and gold tricorn hat, floating against a blurred underwater background with sea plants and small glowing lights. The shark has a playful expression with large black eyes and sharp teeth, giving the image a whimsical, colonial-inspired look.
SC250th Anniversary American Revolution Logo with blue and red text

Salute to 250 Day | Sat., June 27th

You Are Invited to Celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution!

This special day will offer FREE general admission for guests to mark the grand opening of our new major exhibition, American Battleground: South Carolina’s Revolution. Plus, see the debut of the planetarium experience, Revolutionary Astronomers, enjoy live music, participate in curator talks, and more.

Learn More About Salute to 250 Day
Revolutionary Astronomers Planetarium show
Distressed blue silk fabric with II REGT embroidered in the center top of the image. The thread is faded so the embroidery appears gray in color.

2nd South Carolina Regt. Flag

VITA POTIOR LIBERTAS | Liberty Rather Than Life

Carried by the 2nd South Carolina Regiment during the Revolutionary War, this historically important flag will be the signature object in a new exhibition. 

Explore the History of the 2nd SC Regiment Flag

Explore a New Era of Exhibitions

American Battleground: South Carolina’s Revolution is the first major exhibition developed and produced under the Reimagine the Experience (RTE) initiative. RTE is a collaborative effort to feature more of the museum’s extensive collection on display and renew more than 150,000 square feet of gallery space with updated exhibitions and immersive multimedia features that help place guests at the center of the experience.   

Click Here to Learn More About Reimagine the Experience

Party Reflections Logo
Museum gallery rendering featuring a large interactive table display in the center, a wall-sized mural of Revolutionary War-era figures on the left, and digital screens where visitors engage with historical content; a map of the eastern United States spans the right wall.

Rendering of exhibition gallery featuring an interactive digital display. Artwork by G&A. 

Oval brass buckle with a worn gold-toned surface, featuring an engraved monogram topped by a small crown motif. The buckle is photographed upright against a plain light gray background.

“King George Belt Buckle.” Brass. Museum Purchase.

Close-up of a historic sword hilt with a gold-toned lion-head pommel, a curved knuckle guard, and a tightly wrapped grip, with part of the steel blade extending to the right against a plain gray background.

Unknown maker. British Officer’s Sword, c.1770. Steel, brass and copper. Courtesy of Anonymous Lender. 

Crossed historic weapons on a neutral background: a flintlock pistol with a curved wooden grip and brass fittings laid diagonally over a steel-bladed sword with a gold-toned hilt and lion-head pommel.

IL.95.1.8. Unknown maker. British Officer’s Sword, c.1770. Steel, brass and copper. Courtesy of Anonymous Lender and SC2018.39.7. Unknown maker. Unmarked Flintlock Pistol, c. 1770. Brass, iron and wood. Museum Purchase. 

An antique, indigo-blue silk flag featuring a detailed, hand-embroidered central emblem. The emblem sits upon a small patch of green grass and includes a collection of military and symbolic items: a tan shield with a crescent moon, a red cap on a pole, and draped flags or fabric in light blue and tan.

Second SC Regiment flag. 1776. Silk; Embroidered. Collection of The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History and the South Carolina State Museum. 

Museum gallery rendering featuring a large interactive table display in the center, a wall-sized mural of Revolutionary War-era figures on the left, and digital screens where visitors engage with historical content; a map of the eastern United States spans the right wall.
Oval brass buckle with a worn gold-toned surface, featuring an engraved monogram topped by a small crown motif. The buckle is photographed upright against a plain light gray background.
Close-up of a historic sword hilt with a gold-toned lion-head pommel, a curved knuckle guard, and a tightly wrapped grip, with part of the steel blade extending to the right against a plain gray background.
Crossed historic weapons on a neutral background: a flintlock pistol with a curved wooden grip and brass fittings laid diagonally over a steel-bladed sword with a gold-toned hilt and lion-head pommel.
An antique, indigo-blue silk flag featuring a detailed, hand-embroidered central emblem. The emblem sits upon a small patch of green grass and includes a collection of military and symbolic items: a tan shield with a crescent moon, a red cap on a pole, and draped flags or fabric in light blue and tan.

More to Explore

Picture of the Museum's 2026 SCAHOF Display
Planetarium

Revolutionary Astronomers

Debuts June 27, 2026 | This new planetarium experience takes audiences back to the American Revolution to discover the crossroads between history and...