Asked by the Revolutionary Council in the fall of 1775 to design a flag for the use of South Carolina troops, Col. William Moultrie chose a blue which matched the color of their uniforms and a crescent which reproduced the silver emblem worn on the front of their caps. The crescent moon is an increasing moon and represents increasing power. (Three of the crescent moons were used on an earlier South Carolina banner protesting the 1765 Stamp Act.) The flag that Moultrie designed is the flag that was restored to its position by Sgt. William Jasper during the attack on Fort Moultrie. The palmetto tree was added later to represent Moultrie's heroic defense of the palmetto-log fort on Sullivan's Island against the attack of the British fleet on June 28, 1776. The news of this victory gave representatives of the thirteen colonies at the Second Continental Congress the courage to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4.