Currently, the Gadsden Flag is probably the most popular flag in the United States, other than "Old Glory," herself. Many know that it is found often in Tea Party rallies, but do you know the History and significance of this flag? I'd venture to say that few even know it by its name, much less the man behind its name, or from whence its concepts originate or who adopted it in its early days.
Colonel Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina was the one to present this specific flag to the legislature of South Carolina, to the 2nd Continental Congress, and to the first Commander in Chief of the Navy, Commodore Esek Hopkins.
Colonel Gadsden represented his state and the Marine Committee at that Congress, as they authorized the first Navy and the Marines to go with it on their first missions. But he wasn't the first to espouse a rattlesnake as a symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin preceded him by twenty years. But why a rattlesnake?
"I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids—She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance.—She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage.—As if anxious to prevent all pretensions of quarreling with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most defenseless animal; and even when those weapons are shewn and extended for her defense, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal:—Conscious of this, she never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of stepping on her.—Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America?" Benjamin Franklin, aka American Guesser, Pennsylvania Journal, Dec 1775
Unlike current insurance company advertisements portray, the rattles have no offensive capacity. The rattles serve as a warning, while the fangs and poison serve as the weapon. The rattlesnake of the Gadsden Flag has 13 rattles, just as Ole Glory has thirteen stripes, and originally 13 stars, as there were 13 colonies which set out to throw off the yoke of a distant monarch.
The first Marines marched to yellow drums painted with the rattlesnake of the Gadsden flag.
Colonel Gadsden served as a delegate to the 1st and 2nd Continental Congresses. He was the leader of the the South Carolina Patriot Movement and called the "Sam Adams of the South." In the 1740's, he served in the King's Navy. In the 1750's, he served as a Captain in the Militia, fighting the Cherokees. In the 1760's, he served as a delegate in the Stamp Act Congress, where his position was ardently that the Parliament had no jurisdiction. He was a founder of the Sons of Liberty in South Carolina. He left Congress in 1776 to command the 1st South Carolina Regiment as a Brigadier General of the Provincial Congress of South Carolina.
In 1778, he was elected Vice-President of South Carolina, an office that became Lieutenant Governor during his term. From 1780 to 1781, he was a Prisoner of War, held in Solitary Confinement by the Brits in Florida. In 1782, he was elected Governor of South Carolina, but declined due to continued poor health from his POW days. He died in 1805 and is buried in St Phillip's Churchyard in Charleston, SC.
The Gadsden Flag represents the very founding of Our Liberties, the very first Marines, the founding of our Navy, and Liberty herself. Flag Expressions offers the Gadsden Flag and many others. Use the coupon code "WOTN" for a 15% discount for this or any other product at Carrot-Top or Flag Expressions.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Gadsden Flag History
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