“C” is for Council of Safety. In June 1775, prompted by rumors of British sponsored slave and Indian attacks and news of the hostilities between British and patriot forces at Lexington and Concord, the Provincial Congress of South Carolina created a powerful thirteen-member committee to act as the supreme executive power in the province--to be called the Council of Safety. Chief among the business of the council was the command and administration of the provincial military force and issuing paper currency to finance military expenses. In addition to the Indian problem, a strong loyalist presence began to emerge in the backcountry. When the Provincial Congress met again in November 1775, it elected a new Council of Safety that constituted the executive power of the province until the adoption of a permanent government in March 1776.
C” is for Council of Safety
