Gadsden flag
The Gadsden flag is a historical American flag. It is comprised of a yellow field with a depiction of a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike with the legend "DONT TREAD ON ME" positioned below the rattlesnake. It is named after Christopher Gadsden.
History
Snake symbology
The symbol of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake as a symbol of the American colonies can be traced back to the publications of Benjamin Franklin. In 1751, he made the first reference to the rattlesnake in a satirical commentary published in his Pennsylvania Gazette. It had been the policy of Britain to send convicted criminals to America, and Franklin suggested that they thank the British by sending rattlesnakes to England.
In 1754, during the French and Indian War, Franklin published his famous woodcut of a snake cut into eight sections. It represented the colonies, with New England joined together as the head and South Carolina as the tail, following the form of the coast. Under the snake was the message "Join, or Die." This became the first political cartoon published in an American newspaper.
As the American Revolution grew closer, the snake began to see more use as a symbol of the colonies. In 1774, Paul Revere added it to the title of his paper, The Massachusetts Spy, as a snake joined to fight a British dragon.
Gadsden's flag
In fall 1775, the U.S. Navy was established to intercept incoming British ships carrying war supplies to the British troops in the colonies. To aid in this, the Second Continental Congress authorized the mustering of five companies of Marines to accompany the Navy on their first mission. The first Marines that enlisted were from Philadelphia and they carried drums painted yellow, depicting a coiled rattlesnake with thirteen rattles, and the motto "Dont Tread On Me." This was the first mention of the Gadsden flag's symbology.
At the Congress, Continental Colonel Christopher Gadsden was representing his home state of South Carolina. He was one of three members of the Marine Committee who were outfitting the first naval mission. It is unclear whether Gadsden took his inspiration from the Marine's drums, or if he inspired them himself.
Before the departure of that first mission, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Navy, Commodore Esek Hopkins, received the yellow rattlesnake flag from Gadsden to serve as his distinctive personal standard. Gadsden also presented a copy of this flag to his state legislature in Charleston and was recorded in the South Carolina congressional journals:
Col. Gadsden presented to the Congress an elegant standard, such as is to be used by the commander in chief of the American navy; being a yellow field, with a lively representation of a rattle-snake in the middle, in the attitude of going to strike, and these words underneath, 'Don't Tread on Me!'
Contemporary significance
Considered one of the first flags of the United States, the flag was later replaced by the current Stars and Stripes (or Old Glory) flag. Since the Revolution, the flag has seen times of reintroduction as a symbol of American patriotism.
- The First Navy Jack, which was directly related to the Gadsden flag, has been in use by the U.S. Navy, and since the September 11 Terrorist Attacks, it is flown on all active naval ships.
- Unofficial usage of the Gadsden flag by the U.S. Government has been seen, particularly in the wake of September 11, 2001, most notably by Customs and harbor patrol boats in U.S. ports and individuals serving abroad in the U.S. Military.
- The Gadsden flag has become an important symbol to many libertarians. A Gadsden flag was presented to the town manager of Killington, Vermont, by a representative of the Free State Project after that town's 2004 vote to pursue secession from Vermont.
- The flag is still popularly flown in Charleston, South Carolina, being the city where Christopher Gadsden first presented the flag, and where it was commonly used during the revolution, along with the blue and white crescent flag of pre-Civil War South Carolina.
- The Gadsden flag appears many times in the 2000 film The Patriot in Charleston and in battle alongside the Old Glory flag.
- Metallica used the image of a coiled rattlesnake on the cover of their self-titled 'Black' album, which included the song Don't Tread On Me.
See also
External links
- The Gadsden Flag — An extensive history of the Gadsden flag and rattlesnake symbol.