(drumroll) (bagpipes play) Narrator> As we think about the American Revolution and the withdrawal of the British.

We suddenly began to realize that what we wanted to talk about was not a great joy.

that we had no longer had any association with the British, because, as you know, we renewed the association and have been close friends throughout the years.

So we really celebrating 300 years of Anglo-American tradition and continuity, rather than victory of the Americans over the British.

It's more like a son having grown up and left home and now come back and made peace with his father again.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Reporter Kay> Bagpipes quiet.

People seated.

And the words of commemoration began at Trinity Cathedral 200 years ago.

The British left never again to return in that ruling form.

That's why they sang and paid homage to ceremony and read lessons and prayed.

Church members> And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

>> That church has been very much involved with the state's history throughout his life.

Six governors are buried in that church.

Revolutionary War heroes and so on.

Then to a little bit, we're remembering that there was a time when the Episcopal Church, which used to be the Anglican Church, was the established church in South Carolina.

And that was one of the things that happened during the American Revolution.

The taxpayers, after the American Revolution no longer supported the Episcopal Church, the state but all of the churches of South Carolina.

Dr.

Rogers> ...institution of 179... >> The highlight of this service of remembering was an address by Dr.

George Rogers.

In his verbal account of South Carolina's beginnings, Dr.

Rogers traced the fight for independence from 1776 through the end of British rule in the Palmetto State, and gave some thoughts on what happened in the past and its influence on our future.

Dr.

Rogers> In order to pick up all the threads of the story inherent in that distinct period, we must think of the living present.

We must make this day a consideration of our total story, not just of an isolated moment in the past.

We must take seriously that line from the...prayer for our country, which Bishop Beckham has just so eloquently read.

Fashion into one united people, the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues.

For White South Carolinians that process had been accomplished by the 1820s.

French Huguenots, Scots, Germans, Swiss, Welsh, Irish, English had become a new thing, a South Carolinian.

perhaps not so quickly yet inevitably.

And Goldens, Gambians, Calabar, Igbos, Courantes, Mandingo and white others had become Black Carolinians, but there were still two distinct cultural worlds.

Let me contrast 1782 with 1945.

In 1782, we cut ourselves off from monarchical Europe and thus turned our attentions to the establishment of a republic.

In 1945, we defeated the totalitarian regimes of Germany and Italy.

We had observed with abhorrence, but masses inflamed by passions could do to vulnerable minorities.

So those of us returning in 1945, like the veterans of the Revolution in 1782, had a job to do to make all truly one.

In 1782, the goal was to gather all the White people together in a new society.

In 1945, the goal was to incorporate all peoples, Black and White men and women, into a Carolina society.

We are here dedicated to see that all share equally in the success of our Republican experiment.

In this movement, we have been ably led by all our recent governors, especially by our own governor, Riley.

The crisis at the moment concerns our system of education.

The low country elites sent their sons to the dissenting academies in England, to Geneva, to Oxford and Cambridge, and to the ends of court.

The leaders of the second movement provided a college here in Columbia, a notable institution in antebellum America.

Today, our educational system is in need of reform at every level elementary, secondary, college and university.

We need an educational system to fit our new society.

But I do not want to end on a note of disarray.

While this is a day of celebration, of jubilation, we have broken our daily routine to come here to demonstrate a happy satisfaction in this anniversary, to portray in some poetic form, a way to contribute to public awareness, edification and enjoyment.

It is good to celebrate.

Recall the words of the Psalm.

Oh, clap your hands together, or the peoples in a world in which almost everyone is against almost everything.

It is good to be for something and we are for our state.

We celebrate today the birth of our state in 1782 and its rebirth in 1982.

I would like to conclude with a quotation from one of America's most distinguished humanist, Jack Barzun.

I draw these words from his most recent book, Critical Questions.

We may be too lazy or blind to cooperate in the elimination of our era, but the great comfort is that even if we do not learn the right steps for ending gracefully, we shall be reborn just the same.

I say we, but I mean our spirit, which starting from boredom or feed on sensation till it recreates idea, emotion and belief in forms which we cannot imagine, but which will make our descendants cry out that it is bliss to be alive in the new dawn, and that to be young is very heaven.

As for myself, I'm 60 and still incurably optimistic, as is my state.

While I breathe, I hope.

(applause) The ceremony at Trinity Cathedral and a procession from Trinity Cathedral with the governor and the mayor of the old capital, Charleston, the mayor of the new capital, Columbia.

Representatives of the British government and all of that are come together in procession from the cathedral up to Columbia museum to see the 300 years of seals and symbols of South Carolina Governor.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Gov.

Riley> And I especially appreciate the Consul General of Great Britain.

General Trevor Gatty, for being willing to come and participate.

The fact is that our South Carolina bicentennial observance, which started in 1975 through 83, we've been very, very fortunate to have, an effective, American Revolution Bicentennial Commission headed by former senator and my close friend and outstanding historian, P. Bradley Morrow, Jr.

With his leadership and with the fine commission's, work and love and interest in South Carolina, I think we've had a very fine celebration.

It's brought out, I think, the very best in the state.

I think that Professor Rogers certainly, brought a lot of that, to focus today in his final address.

Talking, of course, about structure and character.

And as we deal in state government now with matters like reapportionment and judicial reform and just a few years passed and home rule, we can think of the structure part of that analysis.

But certainly the character of this state involves every single person in the state, and that involves all of you here and your families and friends.

And it's a great honor for me to hear such a scholarly, discussion of our past and hope for our future.

It's a real pleasure to have here also Chairman Murrow and other distinguished guests, but especially Mayor Joe Riley of Charleston, the state's first state capital.

Here, Mayor Riley represents the past, according to, (laughter) the professor, (laughter) Any of you that are familiar with his activity know that, he also moves a little toward the future also.

And then certainly, representing the future Mayor Kirk Finley, who represents our capital city, here in Columbia.

Mayor Finley, it's good to have you.

This, seals and symbols of South Carolina government through three centuries is really a once in a lifetime exhibition.

It represents the very spirit and dedication for which South Carolinians, I think, are known throughout this nation.

And that's, it's an honor to present, for a brief word, a person I've grown to know very pleasantly and respect a great deal, the British consul general, General Trevor, Trevor Gatty.

Trevor?

Gen.

Trevor> Thank you, governor.

(applause) Gen.

Trevor> Thank you all very much.

I feel that it's as though my country is, ceremonially welcomed back here.

I spent last night in the governor's mansion, and I slept in Arthur Middleton's bed, and I feel sure that we must be welcome, because I had such a sound, undisturbed night's sleep.

It's a great honor and privilege for me.

On behalf of Her Majesty, her government and my ambassador in Washington, to join in this ceremony today and in opening the exhibition and to offer you my congratulations and good wishes.

Thank you very much.

Gov.

Riley> Thank you so much.

We can thank you all for being here.

I pointed out to, Trevor very clearly that, Arthur Middleton was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and, a person that we hold in high esteem.

The, ceremony then is concluded.

And it's certainly been an honor for me representing the state and all of the distinguished people here, to be involved in it.

Thank you all for being present.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Reporter Kay> Dr.

Henry Lumpkin proudly led this procession in 1982.

The Citadel bagpipers, the array of flags and the guests helped set the mood of linking past with present and future.

The articles on exhibit here at the Columbia Museum of Art came from all over South Carolina, North Carolina and London, England.

>> The exhibition grew out of, a relationship between the South Carolina Department of Archives and History and the South Carolina American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, celebrating a very significant time in South Carolina's history.

This exhibition was developed through archives and history to show all of us how the seal developed, what we currently recognize as the official South Carolina state seal, how it evolved, and how the history of seals evolved.

And also symbols of government, not just seals.

Although seals are an important part of the iconography of the state, there are objects such as the royal governor's chair and the mace and the sword, which may or may not have South Carolina written or depicted on them.

The objects become symbols of government, and the exhibition is called Seals and symbols of South Carolina Government through three centuries.

And it's the first time ever that all of these objects have been assembled in the same space.

And it's, it's really an extraordinary opportunity to see some objects that we would never otherwise have the opportunity to see.

♪ So things that I found unusual were the royal governor's chair, for instance, which shows us, an object that a royal governor sat in.

The chair was probably built in 1756, 1758, was used by royal governors, when they presided.

And it's really an extraordinary piece of furniture or the ordinance of secession.

We have a piece of paper, which doesn't have any kind of seal on it, but it certainly, played a great role in the history of the United States.

The fact that it was written in South Carolina, it is important as a symbol of South Carolina government and South Carolina's influence on the rest of the nation.

Another exceptional item in this exhibition is the Jackson Bays.

This was presented to Major General Andrew Jackson by the ladies of South Carolina.

It was a gift.

And this was done in 1817.

And it's an exceptional piece of silverware.

It was crafted by Fletcher and Gardner, who were outstanding Philadelphia silversmiths.

It's an exceptional object that we don't have the opportunity to see because it isn't on display.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Probably the gem of the exhibition, or the royal matrices, which came over from London.

These objects were the device that allowed the government, the royal government of South Carolina, to produce seals.

And we have the two sterling silver matrices, which, when put together, create a whole seal front and back, of the original 13 colonies.

And we have reason to believe that each colony had their own, seal.

This is the only one that survived.

And there are all kinds of wonderful stories about how it got from Charleston back to London.

But it is now in the British Museum, and it's an exceptional object.

And that was brought back for the, for this exhibition.

Tim Wilson> Well, you'll have to teach me the South Carolina history.

But as I understand it, when the British first left South Carolina, Lord William Campbell took the seals on board to the Tamar which was lying off Charleston in 1776 and then he would, then he died a little bit later, but they would have almost certainly gone back to England with him then.

But it's recently been discovered by Peter Warne, an English archivist who's done a great deal of work, on the seals of the colonies that a document was sealed in Charleston in 1782, which was during the brief British re-occupation of the city.

And that document was described as sealed under the Great Seal of His Majesty's Province of South Carolina.

So we know that it was back in Charleston for a few weeks or months then.

And then it would have been brought back, and then we lose sight of it completely.

And until it appears again, really, in our catalog of seal matrices, we have the main national collection at the British Museum of of seal matrices, or seal dyes, the words mean the same.

And many of the things that we have in the museum, we simply don't know how we got them.

And and this seal is among them.

But I think it's very likely that it went back into a government store, because normally when a seal went out of use on on the change of rain or on a change of the royal arms or something like that, it was formally defaced and it was presented before the king or queen, and the king had a special little hammer which was used for defacing.

And indeed it still does.

I've been been shown the process of sealing documents in the Crown Office, in the House of Lords in London now, and the Queen still has a little hammer which is used for defacing redundant seals.

But of course, to deface this seal would have somehow been accepting the fait accompli of the, the independence of the colonies.

And so for that reason, presumably it wasn't done on its return to England in 1776 or in 1782.

Tim> Another interesting item that most of us on the staff in assembling this exhibition have been charmed by is a little object called a gorget, and this was done, it was crafted by a Charleston metal smith.

We believe it's gold washed copper, and it's a small item that was meant to be worn around the neck.

It was to obviously prevent you from being hurt in a battle.

And it was it became, by the time it was produced, it was more ceremonial than than utilitarian.

But it's an interesting little object, and that's that's probably 1814, but it's an exceptional little piece.

>> Everything in this exhibition is intere but I think if I had to pick out a favorite, it would probably be the South Carolina mace, which we see every time a governor is inaugurated, carried by the Sergeant of arms of the House of Representatives.

And, we haven't talked as much about it as the seals of George the Third or the Great Seal of State.

But this is really probably our most precious object.

It, dates way back to 1756, which, I mean, that it came over made in London and came over silver and burnished gold, for use during the colonial period, then disappeared at the end of the beginning of the revolution with...William Campbell.

After the revolution, unaccountably, appeared for sale, in the Bahama Islands, and they didn't buy it, thank goodness.

And one of our early patriots, Thomas Pinckney, somehow or other, discovered it and got hold of it and took it and put it in the first United States Bank in Philadelphia.

Why, no one exactly seems to know.

And everything that we've had in this exhibition, there's a little bit of mystery about ever and that makes it intriguing.

But at any rate, South Carolina got into a depression.

The whole United States was in the depression around 1819, and someone heard about this silver and gold British object.

They thought of it in that time up in Philadelphia that belonged to South Carolina.

So they got the idea, let's melt it down and balance the budget.

And thank God, Langdon Chavez of South Carolina was president of the First United States Bank, and they asked him to value it, and found out how much it would be to melt And he said, well, it wouldn't give you all that much help in meeting the state's expenses and it's a pretty... and of historical interest.

So instead of melting it down, why don't we put it back in use in South Carolina and think how near we came to losing this priceless object of our heritage?

Governors, We can't imagine governors being inaugurated without it in procession today.

Walt> I hope that the visitor will leave with a sense of history, seeing the place of this state in the larger history.

There are many people who, who did not go to school here as children.

So they didn't learn South Carolina history in the traditional sense of learning it in school.

People who have moved here, who will come to this exhibition and leave with a better understanding of how South Carolina became what it is today.

Dr.

Charles> There are times in your own life and suddenly you reach a certain level of maturity, and you look back on the things that have happened to you before, and you say, this is what's made me the way I am, or you look, you find something of your grandmother's or your grandfather's, and you say, this is exactly the kind of thing I would have been interested in.

And looking into our state's history and what's happened before, we do recognize ourselves and we do become more alive and more interested in life, and it renews us.

And we got a kind of a good pride out of it from knowing where we are and who we are and from where we came.

Have much more courage to wonder about what's going to happen next and where we go from here.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪