South Carolina 250th Anniversary CanvasFort Moultrie Art Deco Print, Patriotic Wall Decor On June 28, 1776 , six days before the Declaration of Independence was signed, colonial defenders at Fort Moultrie repelled the most powerful British naval fleet assembled in American waters. Their fort was built from soft palmetto logs that absorbed cannon fire rather than shattering. The British fleet withdrew. South Carolina held. And the palmetto became the enduring symbol of a state that defines