Don't Tread on Me

Charlotte Selton: You have done nothing for which you should be ashamed.
Benjamin Martin: I have done nothing. And for that I am ashamed.
--The Patriot

Alongside bald eagles, rattlesnakes became early symbols of American ideals. Their nasty nature when provoked made rattlesnakes popular metaphors among Colonials who increasingly identified with their own communities and with the idea of liberty instead of with the British empire.

As the American Revolution commenced, flags and other paraphenalia commonly featured images of coiled rattlesnakes and the motto 'Don't Tread on Me.'

Among the most famous of these was the Gadsden flag. Christopher Gadsden was a colonel in the Continental army who developed several copies of a yellow fielded rattlesnake standard for the army and for his home state of South Carolina. The Gadsden flag flew over Charleston in 1776.

The Gadsden flag was considered one of the first flags of the United States. It was replaced by the current Stars and Stripes standard in 1777.

Its association with American ideals of liberty and disagreement with government finds the Gadsden flag popular among people seeking a return toward those ideals. The flag can be seen at many Tea Party events, for example.

Naturally, it has handsomely decorated this blog since the first post.