SC H5187

South Carolina House Resolution commemorates February 22, 2026, as "George Washington's Birthday" in the state

George Washington was born February 22, 1732, in Virginia and served as commander in chief of the Continental Army, president of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and first U.S. president (1789-1797)

Washington toured South Carolina in 1791 as part of his Southern states tour, spending over a week (May 1-10) in Charleston County—longer than any other location on the tour

During his visit, Washington toured numerous Charleston sites including Hampton Plantation, the Exchange Building, St. Michael's Church, Fort Johnson, and Fort Moultrie, and visited locations in Georgetown, Columbia, Camden, and Edgefield

Washington was the only slaveholding president to free all enslaved people he owned, which he arranged to occur upon his wife's death