The flag he designed became known as the Grand Union Flag. In 1775, Colonel Christopher Gadsden was in Philadelphia representing his home colony of South Carolina at the Continental Congress and presented this new naval flag to the Congress.

Unlike most other states, the Massachusetts State Navy was never officially disbanded and simply became part of the United States Navy. The navy used 25 vessels over the course of the war, acting in various roles such as prison ships, dispatch vessels, and combat cruisers. It was founded to defend the interests of Massachusetts from British forces. This naval militia was active during most of the Revolutionary War. It also flew this flag over the floating batteries which sailed down the Charles River to attack the British in the Siege of Boston. In April 1776, the Massachusetts Navy adopted as its flag (naval ensign) a white field charged with a green pine tree. Massachusetts is one of three states with its own naval ensign, the others being South Carolina and Maine. The Pine Tree has been a popular symbol of American independence in New England for years. The term Pine Tree flag is a generic name for a number of flags used by the New England and Massachusetts colonies from 1686 to 1778. Other newspapers took up the snake theme.

To remind the delegates of the danger of disunity, the serpent was shown cut to pieces.Įach segment is marked with the name of a colony, and the motto “ JOIN or DIE” below. Three years later, the Gazette printed a political cartoon of a snake as a commentary on the Albany Congress. The author suggested that the colonists return the favor by shipping a cargo of rattlesnakes to England, which could then be distributed in the noblemen’s gardens. In 1751, Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette carried a bitter article protesting the British practice of sending convicts to America. The rattlesnake was the favorite animal emblem of the Americans even before the Revolution. Three hundred Culpeper Minutemen led by Colonel Stevens marched toward Williamsburg at the beginning of the fighting. These men formed part of Colonel Patrick Henry’s First Virginia Regiment of 1775. This flag represented a group of minutemen from Culpeper, Virginia. The original is housed at the Bedford, Massachusetts Town Library. The Latin inscription “Vince Aut Morire” means “ conquer or die.” The arm emerging from the clouds represents the arm of God. However, he reports that this was done hours before the Bedford’s militiamen arrived at Concord. Barker), who reported that British grenadiers chopped down and destroyed a flag and liberty pole standing on a hill near Concord Center. There is, however, no real proof, either from testimonials or diaries that mention any flag flown that day by either side, except one by a British officer (Lt. Legend claims it is the flag carried by Bedford Minuteman, Nathaniel Page, to the Concord Bridge on April 19, 1775, at the beginning of the American Revolution. It’s description matches one made for a cavalry troop of the Massachusetts Bay Militia in the French and Indian Wars. The Bedford Flag may be the oldest complete flag known to exist in the United States. Today, it is one of a handful of a pre-revolutionary flags known to exist. Later, this Liberty flag was reportedly carried by the First New York Line Regiment, who largely came from Schenectady, between 1776-1777 during the revolution. On top of this Liberty Pole hung a homemade blue silk flag measuring 44 by 44 inches with the word “ LIBERTY” in white sewed on one side. In 1771, a liberty pole was erected the center of the City of Schenectady, New York, as a protest of British policies and interference in the communities’ affairs. They proclaimed loyalty to the Crown, but laid claim on behalf of the colonists to the rights of Englishmen, and called for a union of the colonies against current English colonial policies. They were flags of protest and petition flown throughout the Thirteen Colonies during the five years prior to the outbreak of the Revolution.

Colonial “Liberty” Protest Flagsįlags with the word “Liberty” on them came to be called Liberty Flags and were usually flown from Liberty poles. This was the first national flag of the English colonies, and Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown under this flag. This flag was widely used on ships during the Colonial period. This was the best known of the British Maritime flags, or Ensigns, which were formed by placing the Union flag in the canton of another flag having a field of white, blue or red. British Red Ensign, also called the “ Colonial Red Ensign” and the “ Meteor” Flag, was adopted by Queen Anne as the new flag for England and her colonies in 1707.

King under the mountain flag