Part 2 of my #AmericanRevolution #vexillology series: Gadsden

Designed in 1775, the flag is named for Christopher Gadsden, brigadier general in the Continental Army. He gifted it to Commodore Esek Hopkins, and the flag was unfurled on the main mast of Hopkins' flagship on December 20, 1775. Two days later, Congress made Hopkins commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy. The Continental Marines also flew the flag during the early part of the war.

The rattlesnake had been a "symbol of the unity" among rebels in the colonies, and had a long history as a political symbol in America. Benjamin Franklin used the snake for his “Join, or Die”woodcut in 1754. Gadsden intended his flag as a "warning to Great Britain" not to violate the liberties of its American subjects.

In the decades and centuries since, the Gadsden flag has been a symbol of rebellion, libertarianism, individualism, liberty, and dissent among many groups, and has (unfortunately) been adopted by many right wing statist groups in recent years, despite its history of rebellion.

#grownostr