Navy Jack-1776
In May of 1754, hostilities between the North American colonies of France and Great Britain once again exploded in full scale war. In July of that year, representatives from seven British colonies met in Albany, New York to discuss, among other things, a plan for unification. Although the plan was not carried out, it was a first step towards uniting the colonies. An illustration appeared in Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette of a rattlesnake cut into pieces with the caption “Join or Die”. Following the war, the rattlesnake became a symbol of the colonies’ growing defiance towards Great Britain.
By the start of the American Revolution, the rattlesnake had become a popular symbol for militia Flags, a few of which still exist. In the fall of 1775, South Carolina delegate Christopher Gadsden gave the Continental Congress a yellow Flag featuring a rattlesnake and the words “Don’t Tread on Me”. Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy, Commadore Esek Hopkins flew it on his flagship.
In his February 1776 “Signals for the American Fleet”, Commadore Hopkins ordered the flying of a striped flag as the signal to attack. It is likely artistic sailors embellished this striped flag with a striking rattlesnake.
An August 1776 English print by engraver Thomas Hart of Commodore Hopkins shows two ships in the background. One flying a nearly accurate Pine Tree Flag. The other flying a striped rattlesnake Flag, which may also be nearly accurate. As Hart never met the Commodore, the accuracy of the print is questioned. However, it is not questioned that flags with 13 stripes and flags with rattlesnakes were in common use during the war.
Sources
Balderston, Marion. “The Flag John Paul Jones Really Fought Under.” Huntington Library Quarterly 33, no. 1 (1969): 77–83. https://doi.org/10.2307/3817016
Bradford, William. “Pennsylvania Journal Newspaper” (January 1775) https://timeline.amrevmuseum.org/objects/pennsylvania-journal-newspaper-with-unite-or-die-image
Follows, Samuel. “Story of the American Flag” pp 9-11, (1908) Educational Publishing Company
Hamilton, Schuyler. “The History of the National Flag of the United States of America” pp. 72-79, (1852) Scholar Select
Naval History and Heritage Command. “The U.S. Navy’s First Jack” (September 2021) https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/banners/usnavy-jack.html
Office of the Historian. “Albany Plan of Union, 1754” (2016) United States Department of State Retrieved 14 January 2024 from https://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/albany-plan#:~:text=The%20Albany%20Plan%20of%20Union,American%20colonies%20adopted%20the%20plan.
Preble, George. “Our Flag, Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America” pp. 163-167, (1872) Kessinger’s Legacy Reprint
Smith, Whitney. “The Flag Book of the United State” pp. 43-46 (1970) William Marrow and Company Inc.
