History of the Gadsden Flag

 Some of you might wonder whats the "Don't tread on me flag" or also known as the Gadsden flag, and where does it come from.

Now it all started back around the French and Indian War, with Benjamin Franklin who used it to unite the colonies against the French. The media ran with it, and it soon became the symbol of the colonies during the Revolutionary War against the British.

You might ask why a rattlesnake (and no its not just because its beast). Benjamin Franklin put it this way   

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

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<sup>I might add that no one in their right mind would mess with a rattlesnake and no one wants to mess with the tea party or the United States.

The first time the Gadsden flag was carried into battle it was in 1775 by Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina for the first united states marine corps. They were also the first to use "Don't tread on me".</sup>