An early symbol of South Carolina's independent streak has been returned to the state after more than 160 years. An 1833 flag from a militia group called the Abbeville Dragoons has been donated to the Confederate Relic Room and Museum by a Mississippi woman whose great-great-great-grandfather left South Carolina with the flag in 1859. Officials probably will send the banner to a Maryland flag conservation company for preservation, then put it on display in the museum in about six weeks. The hand-painted silk banner, 20¼ inches by 25¾ inches, shows a palmetto tree and the state seal on the front....