South Carolina District 5 Patriots

The "Don't Tread On Me Flag" is also known as The Gadsden Flag, named after American Revolutionary War General Christopher Gadsden.

     The history of the symbolism of the rattlesnake can be traced back to Benjamin Franklin during the French and Indian War.  In 1754, he published his famous snake cut into eight sections.  The sections depicted the 13 colonies, with the New England colonies joined together as the head and South Carolina as the tail, following their order along the coast. Under the snake were the words, "Join, or Die."

     As the American Revolution continued to develop, the snake began to see more use as a symbol of the colonies.  In 1774, Paul Revere added it to the title of his paper, the Massachusetts Spy,where he paired it with a dragon, symbolizing the colonies' fight against the British. In December 1775, Benjamin Franklin published an essay in the Pennsylvania Journal under the pseudonym American Guesser in which he suggested that the rattlesnake was a good symbol for the American spirit:

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 treading on her.—Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America?

     In that same year, the United States Navy was established to intercept incoming British ships carrying war supplied to the British tropps in the colonies.  The Second Continental Congress authorized the mustering of five companies of Marines to accompany the Navy on their first mission.  The first Marines that enlisted were from Phaladelphia.  They carried yellow drums that depicted a coiled rattlesnake with thirteen rattles, and displayed the motto:  "Don't Tread On Me."  This is the first recorded mention fo the future Gadsden flag's symbolism.

      Continental Colonel Christopher Gadsden, who represented South Carolina at the Continental Congress, was one of three members of the Marine Committee who were outfitting the first naval mission.  It is unclear whether Gadsden took his inspiration from the Marines' drums, or if it was he who had inspired them.

      Before the departure of that first naval mission, Colonel Gadsden presented the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy with the now famous yellow flag, prominently displaying a coiled and ready-to-strike rattlesnake and the inscription:  "Don't Tread on Me."Gadsden also presented a copy of this flag to the South Carolina legislature in Charleston, SC.

     In 2009, The Gadsden Flag became the banner of the Tea Party Movement.  Its message has become the mantra of conservative American citizens who want to restore their country to its Constitutional Principles. 

(Source:  www.gadsden.info )

Christopher Gadsden -

A True Patriot

Colonel Christopher Gadsden

 ***************************************************

     Born in 1724, Charleston, SC, Christopher Gadsden's long-standing service to the state of South Carolina and loyalty to the United States is well documented.  Educated in England, he served on a British Warship duing King George's War.  He returned to America in 1747, bought land in Charleston, South Carolina, and served his state with honor until his death in 1805. 

     As a merchant and a patriot, he quickly rose in prominence in Charleston.  He built the wharf in Charleston that still bears his name.  He was elected to the Commons House of Assembly in 1757, and began a long political battle with autocratic royal governors. 

     He was appointed as a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress in New York City, which was convened to protest the Stamp Act.  As his fellow SC delegates, Thomas Lynch and John Rutledge, worked to draft appeals to the House of Lords and Commons, Gadsden refused to take part in any attempt to compromise on his position. 

     In his view, Parliament had no rights in the matter, and he addressed himself with outspoken support for the Declaration of Rights produced by the Congress.  His strong stance against Parliament's interference brought him to the attendion of Samual Adams, and they became lifelong friends who shared similar ideology.  Gadsden eventually became known as "The Sam Adams of the South."

     He returned to South Carolina from New York and founded the Charleston Sons of Liberty.  At a rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the mailita, he was elected as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress.  In 1776, the Continental Congress appointed him Brigadier General in the Continental Army. 

     Gadsden was a member of the South Carolina convention that drafted a new state constituion in 1778.  He was later named Lieutenant Governor to South Carolina's Governor John Rutledge. 

     When the British attacked Charlestion in 1780, President John Rutledge fled to North Carolina to ensure a "government in exile" should the city fall.  Gadsden remained as the representative of the South Carolina civil government, eventually surrendered the city, and was taken prisoner of war under British Commander, General Cornwalis.  He spent 42 weeks in a dungeon near St. Augustine, FL.  Upon his release he heard of Cornwalis' defeat at Cowpens and rushed back to South Carolina to aid in the restoration of South Carolina's civil government. 

     Gadsden returned to SC's House of Representatives, then meeting in Jacksonboro.  He was elected as the governor. However, the British had not yet surrendered Charlestion, and Gadsden knew an active leader was needed. Because his health was still impaired from his imprisonment, he declined the position.  In 1782, John Matthews became the new governor of South Carolina.

     Gadsden remained politically involved and, as a member of the 1788 South Carolina state convention, voted for the ratification of the United States Constituion. 

     He died from an accidental fall on September, 15, 1805 and is buried in St. Phillip's Churchyard in Charleston.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Gadsden

Reference:  E. Stanly Godbold, "Gadsden, Christopher"; American National Biography Online, February 2000.