The Battle of Sullivan's Island saw the 9 ships and 2000 soldiers under Admiral Peter Parker and General Henry Clinton fail to capture a partially-constructed palmetto palisade from the few hundred men composing Col. William Moultrie's militia regiment over the course of a day's fighting on June 28, 1776. Moultrie had been forced to ignore the order to retreat from his general, Charles Lee, under commands from his president John Rutledge. In the end, the spongy palmetto-and-sand defenses completely neutralized the British naval bombardment and gave the Royal Navy its first defeat in a century. The Liberty Flag used by Moultrie's men formed the basis of the later South Carolina flag and the victory's anniversary continues to be commemorated as Carolina Day.