A house RESOLUTION

 

TO COMMEMORATE FEBRUARY 22, 2026, AS "GEORGE WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY" IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND TO ENCOURAGE ALL CITIZENS OF THE PALMETTO STATE TO REMEMBER AND HONOR OUR GREAT COUNTRY'S FIRST PRESIDENT, WHO LED OUR ANCESTORS THROUGH THE DARK DAYS OF REVOLUTION TO THE FOUNDING OF A NEW NATION.

 

Whereas, born in Virginia on February 22, 1732, President George Washington became known as the "Father of Our Country" as a result of the critical role he played as commander in chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, his service as president of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and his two terms as the first president of the United States of America (1789-1797); and

 

Whereas, in 1791, in an effort to unify the new country, President George Washington toured the Southern states. On April 27, he crossed into South Carolina and headed to Horry County. On April 30, he spent the night in Georgetown and the next morning had breakfast with Eliza Lucas Pinckney and her daughter Harriott Horry at Hampton Plantation. Washington then spent more than a week, May 1-10, visiting locations across Charleston County, a period of time longer than his stay in any other location during his tour of the Southern states; and

 

Whereas, during his stay in Charleston, President Washington visited many local sites, including Awendaw Barony, the home of Joseph Manigault; See Farm, the country home of Governor Charles Pinckney; the ferry landing at Haddrell's Point in what is now known as Mount Pleasant; Prioleau's Wharf; the Exchange Building; the home of Thomas Heyward, now known as the Heyward-Washington House; the city home of Governor Pinckney on Meeting Street; the Orphan House; St. Michael's Church; and St. Philip's Church, all in downtown Charleston; and

 

Whereas, President Washington also joined General William Moultrie and others in surveying local military installations and the remains of the lines and batteries thrown up for the defense of the city when it was attacked by the British fleet and army, including Fort Johnson on James Island, as well as Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island; and

 

Whereas, upon leaving the city proper, President Washington crossed the Ashley River on a bridge that ended at the modern-day Bees Ferry Road, where he visited Sandy Hill, the home of his cousin, Colonel William Washington. He further visited the home of Thomas Bee near Jacksonboro. President Washington then made stops in Savannah and Augusta before passing through Edgefield on his way to Columbia, where he was greeted by troops and entertained at the Lafayette House. Finally, he visited Camden before crossing over into North Carolina; and

 

Whereas, President George Washington struggled with the institution of slavery throughout his life. At the end of his life, he made the decision to free all the enslaved people he owned upon the death of his wife, making him the only president of the nine who owned slaves to do so. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

 

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, commemorate February 22, 2026, as "George Washington's Birthday" in South Carolina and encourage all citizens of the Palmetto State to remember and honor our great country's first president, who led our ancestors through the dark days of revolution to the founding of a new nation.

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