Don't Tread On Me Rattlesnake Colonial Flag Throw Blanket

At the onset of the Revolution, standards were not so standardized. One of the most popular, however, was the one that rebel marines began to fashion, featuring the Eastern rattler over the motto "DONT TREAD ON ME" on items like drums. The true derivation of what has come to be known as the "Gadsden flag" gets a bit murky from there, however. By 1775, the image of a coiled snake ready to lash out was fairly ubiquitous in the colonies. It was seen on buttons, money, standards, and newspapers. In fact, the snake had been used for well over a decade as an icon of colonial aspirations toward independence. What we do know is that the standard's namesake, Colonel Christopher Gadsden, was indeed a member of the Marine Committee. He presented this flag to Commodore Esek Hopkins. At least one that looks like the one we've all come to recognize—a snake above the motto on a yellow field. For this colonial flag reimagining, we looked at a number of different accounts from historians and vexillo