The design for the state flag of South Carolina was adopted on January 26, 1861. It was modified from a regimental flag flown by Colonel William Mountrie's 2nd South Carolina Regiment in the Battle of Sullivan's Island during the Revolutionary War. Fighting from Fort Moultrie, the partiots handed the British navy its first major defeat on June 28, 1776, just six days prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Moultrie's regimental flag was solid blue with a crescent design in the corner. To create the state flag design, a palmetto tree silhouette was placed in the center of the regimental flag, to commemorate the role of Fort Moultrie, a structure constructed from palmetto logs.