Got in a debate with one of my friends who lives down in South Carolina and he posed a theory I had never heard before. I'll post his abridged comments (he's got some long windup about educating some ungrateful millennial which I'll chop out) down below but the Crux of his comment was that we only celebrate July 4th because of a military victory in South Carolina.
Now I've done some light reading on the topic (McCullough, Phillips, Bunker, Ellis, as well as a good deal of Jefferson and Adams letters) but I'd never heard this before. I can accept that maybe this victory influenced the South Carolina delegation (even then I'm not sure, as being from PA all my education focused around Dickinson and Morris) but is there any greater truth there?
"I asked this gentleman if he had any idea why we celebrate the 4th. I reminded him that the Battle of Sullivan's Island was a decisive victory over the Bittish Royal Navy that not only secured Charleston Harbor from the invading Brittish but it sent them high tailing their Navy to New York. SC delegates rode to Philadelphia and informed our founding fathers of this victory and they struck, declared independence from England as a result of this great victory. (Keep in mind that Charleston was one of the richest ports of the day) Certainly, we would be celebrating our independence but it may have been a completely different date had it not been for this South Carolina victory. (Take that Bean Town) Indeed, South Carolina has a rich history that often goes unnoticed."
Thanks in advance!
No, that story doesn't make any sense at all.
The Battle of Sullivan's Island was fought on June 28, and Congress voted for independence on July 2 (not the 4th, which is the day the Declaration of Independence was ratified). You can't get from Charleston to Philadelphia in three days in 1776, much less two days if we assume that the "SC delegates" would have arrived on July 1 to influence the vote on the 2nd.
South Carolina had originally opposed the Lee Resolution (which was voted on on the 2nd), but Edward Rutledge was able to persuade the rest of the South Carolina delegation to vote for independence.
Your friend may have been conflating this with the story of Caesar Rodney, who rode overnight from Dover to Philadelphia to break the tie among the Delaware delegation.