Gadsden (Don't Tread On Me) Flag

The Gadsden flag or “Rattlesnake Flag” as it is sometimes more commonly known, has a rich and complex history dating back to well before our country claimed its independence from Great Britain.  During the Revolutionary War, the rattlesnake symbol was already a well-established symbol in the colonies.  Ben Franklin first made reference to the rattlesnake as far back as 1751.  The colonies embraced the rattlesnake as a colonial symbol and its popularity grew.  By 1774, Paul Revere included the rattlesnake in the masthead of the Boston newspaper The Massachusetts Spy.  On December 27, 1775, in an article published in The Pennsylvania Journal, Benjamin Franklin explained why the rattlesnake was a perfect symbol for the colonies:  “The rattlesnake’s 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 magnan