History of the Flag: Part 2 Martin Link

Gadsden Flag #3

There were at least six variations for the rattlesnake motif on flags throughout the Revolutionary War. One of the more popular, with widespread use, was designed by Col. Christopher Gadsden, a regimental commander, a member of the Naval Committee and a delegate to Congress from South Carolina.

His design consisted of a bold, yellow cloth with a coiled rattlesnake in the center, and the motto, “Don’t Tread on Me.” He gave one of the first competed flags to Commodore Esek Hopkins, Commander of the Continental Navy, who flew it from his flagship. This version of the rattlesnake flag was also carried by regiments from South and North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and the famous Culpepper Minutemen of Virginia.

Bennington Flag #4

In the fall of 1777, just months after Congress passed the Flag Resolution, Gen. Burgoyne’s British army was campaigning down the Hudson River in an effort to quash the revolution. He learned that the town of Bennington, Vermont harbored a large supply of colonists’ food and ammunition. Burgoyne sent several units to capture or destroy the supplies, but instead were soundly defeated by American troops on August 16, 1777.

Their flag greatly resembled the resolution’s description (7 white and 6 red stripes, instead of the

opposite) and is considered to be the oldest known Stars and Stripes to be carried into battle, and the first Stars and Stripes raised in victory in the Revolutionary War.

History of the Flag: Part 2

By Martin Link

In the summer of 1776, the thirteen colonies under British authority broke away, declared their independence, and set about trying to resolve a multitude of monstrous problems dealing with finance, military matters, establishing a government, and creating a new national identity.

The simple, basic concept of what should constitute the national flag of the United States of America took almost a year before it was addressed by Congress, reacting to pressure from the Navy, as well as requests from several Indian Tribes. The new Continental Congress, on June 14, 1777, enacted a resolution that, “The flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.”

As these colonies/states struggled for their independence; it was still a common consensus to adopt the colors of their former flag, the Grand Union Jack, into their new national flag—red, white, and blue. The symbolic meanings of each color were also absorbed into our folklore. Red-hardiness and valor; White—purity and innocence; and Blue— vigilance, perseverance, and justice. As for the stars, they have been used as a heraldic device since ancient times to symbolize humankind’s strong desire to achieve greatness. Among the earliest use of the six-pointed star symbol in the American colonies was the 1680 seal of Providence, Rhode Island.

For almost a century now, June 14th has been nationally recognized as “Flag Day.”

The Eagle Wasn’t Always America’s Living Symbol

The snake as a symbol of colonial unity in America first emerged around the outset of the French and Indian War, which began in 1754. British armies stationed in the colonies, but fighting the French and their Indian allies for control of Quebec, and Canada in general, had recruited several militia units from the western counties of Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia.

When the war was over, several years later, and in England’s favor, the militia units were discharged. But they had gotten a reputation of preferring to fight in various outfits of frontier clothing, usually for concealment, and, if the situation looked bad, retreat. This style of warfare did not sit well with the more structured British method of military engagements, and by war’s end the two entities (although fighting on the same side) felt very bitter toward each other. When Gen. James Wolfe called these colonial militiamen, “the dirtiest, undisciplined, most contemptible cowardly dogs,” a militia commander responded, “We are like the rattlesnake, we stay close to the ground, we blend into the surroundings—but if you step on us, we’ll give you a bite you will never recover from.”

In the early 1770s, Dr. Benjamin Franklin wrote an article for his

Philadelphia paper that drew parallels between the virtues of the rattlesnake and those of the thirteen colonies. In what was one of the first ever political cartoons published in a newspaper, Ben Franklin illustrated a segmented rattlesnake, with each piece identified as a separate colony, with the admonition, “Join or Die.” Franklin’s snake illustration fired public imagination, and very soon it was being reproduced in newspapers throughout the American colonies/states, appearing with a variety of mottos, such as “Unite and Conquer.”

By the time the Revolutionary War was over, Rattlesnake motifs were common on Naval flags. It appeared on the mastheads of several papers, including the “Virginia Gazette,” and several states used the image on their paper currency.

Today, the Stars and Stripes waves proudly over America, and few people remember how the image of a rattlesnake stirred the emotions of patriots fighting for unity and freedom. It was the symbol under which many brave men fought, bled, and died; a symbol that carried the ominous warning that Americans would never surrender their freedom without a fight—Don’t Tread on Me.