The Gadsden Flag

You have noticed at recent demonstrations, that some of the folks wave the Gadsden flag, I thought maybe you would like a little history of the flag and why I post the Gadsden flag on the right side of this web page.

The History

In 1751, Benjamin Franklin wrote a satirical commentary in his Pennsylvania Gazette suggesting that as a way to thank the Brits for their policy of sending convicted felons to America, American colonists should send rattlesnakes to England.

In 1754, Mr. Franklin used the snake again. This time as an illustration (the first political cartoon). This was an attempt to unite the Colonies during the French and Indian War. The newspapers all over the Colonies used the illustration and the snake as an American symbol was born.



By 1775, the popular snake symbol was no longer cut into pieces and it was being used all over the Colonies. It was used for all sorts of things: buttons, money, and of course, flags and banners. It was also no longer a generic snake but a rattlesnake.

The first time we find the snake and the motto "Don't Tread on Me":

In the fall of 1775, at the battle of Bunker Hill, Gen. Washington's troops were so low on supplies (namely ammunition) that they were told "not to fire till you see the whites of their eyes."

In October, a merchant ship called The Black Prince returned to Philadelphia from a voyage to England. On board were private letters to the Second Continental Congress that informed them that the British government was sending two ships to America loaded with arms and gunpowder for the British troops.

Congress decided that General Washington needed those arms more than the British. A plan was hatched to capture the cargo ships. They authorized the creation of a Continental Navy, starting with four ships. The frigate that carried the information from England, the Black Prince, was one of the four. It was purchased, converted to a man-of-war, and renamed the Alfred.

To accompany the Navy on their first mission, Congress also authorized the mustering of five companies of Marines. The Alfred and its sailors and marines went on to achieve some of the most notable victories of the American Revolution. But that's not the story we're interested in here.

What's particularly interesting for us is that some of the Marines that enlisted that month in Philadelphia were carrying drums painted yellow, emblazoned with a fierce rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike, with thirteen rattles, and sporting the motto "Don't Tread on Me."

In December 1775, "An American Guesser" anonymously wrote to the Pennsylvania Journal:

"I observed on one of the drums belonging to the marines now raising, there was painted a Rattle-Snake, with this modest motto under it, 'Don't tread on me.' As I know it is the custom to have some device on the arms of every country, I supposed this may have been intended for the arms of America."

This anonymous writer, having "nothing to do with public affairs" and "in order to divert an idle hour," speculated on why a snake might be chosen as a symbol for America.

First, it occurred to him that "the Rattle-Snake is found in no other quarter of the world besides America."

The rattlesnake also has sharp eyes, and "may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance." Furthermore,

"She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. ... she never wounds 'till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her."

"I confess I was wholly at a loss what to make of the rattles, 'till I went back and counted them and found them just thirteen, exactly the number of the Colonies united in America; and I recollected too that this was the only part of the Snake which increased in numbers. ...

"'Tis curious and amazing to observe how distinct and independent of each other the rattles of this animal are, and yet how firmly they are united together, so as never to be separated but by breaking them to pieces. One of those rattles singly, is incapable of producing sound, but the ringing of thirteen together, is sufficient to alarm the boldest man living."

Many scholars now agree that this "American Guesser" was Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin is also known for opposing the use of an eagle — "a bird of bad moral character" — as a national symbol.


Why is it called Gadsden Flag?

Although Benjamin Franklin helped create the American rattlesnake symbol, his name isn't generally attached to the rattlesnake flag. The yellow "don't tread on me" standard is usually called a Gadsden flag, for Colonel Christopher Gadsden, or less commonly, a Hopkins flag, for Commodore Esek Hopkins.

These two individuals were mulling about Philadelphia at the same time, making important contributions to American history and the history of the rattlesnake flag.

Christopher Gadsden was an American patriot if ever there was one. He led Sons of Liberty in South Carolina starting in 1765, and was later made a colonel in the Continental Army. In 1775 he was in Philadelphia representing his home state in the Continental Congress. He was also one of three members of the Marine Committee who decided to outfit and man the Alfred and its sister ships.

Commodore Hopkins, portrait by C. Corbutt, 1776. Click here for a larger image. The Don't Tread on Me flag in this image appears to be a First Navy Jack. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Gadsden and Congress chose a Rhode Island man, Esek Hopkins, as the commander-in-chief of the Navy. The flag that Hopkins used as his personal standard on the Alfred is the one we would now recognize. It's likely that John Paul Jones, as the first lieutenant on the Alfred, ran it up the gaff.

It's generally accepted that Hopkins' flag was presented to him by Christopher Gadsden, who felt it was especially important for the commodore to have a distinctive personal standard. Gadsden also presented a copy of this flag to his state legislature in Charleston. This is 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!"

Why do I post it on my page?

I post the Gadsden flag on my page because it represents a lot of the same things it represented back in 1775...

Like in 1775, we are fighting for our liberty from a controlling government. A government that would like complete control of all of our money, personal lives, and liberty.

I believe that it is representative of a joined, yet separate, Union (like the rattles of a rattlesnake) . A Union of people with vastly different ideas but can agree that this is a great country and its people need to be free at any cost.

I believe that the Gadsden flag represents how Americans feel right now, coiled and ready to strike. The corrupt and foolish politicians are starting to hear our rattle, but they are not taking heed that we are about to strike.

I feel how Ben Franklin felt in 1775, "She [the rattlesnake] never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. ... she never wounds 'till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her."

I know that this was a long blog but I wanted to give you a little background about the Gadsden flag. If you would like more information about the Gadsden flag and maybe pick up some clip art for your page, you can go where I went for the history part of this blog: Gadsden.info