Gadsden Flag

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The "Don't Tread on Me" flag (Gadsden flag) is a well-documented Revolutionary War-era symbol held and referenced in collections at the Library of Congress (LOC), with roots in earlier colonial symbolism. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has less direct digitized primary material on its specific origins but covers related Revolutionary War naval and Continental Congress records.

Join or Die: Topics in Chronicling America

In The Pennsylvania Gazette, May 9, 1754, Benjamin Franklin published the "Join or Die" woodcut, the first political cartoon published in a newspaper in America. It represents America as a snake severed into various provinces. Prior to the French and Indian War, Franklin hoped to persuade the American colonies to unite against the French and their Native American allies. The image, the first to address unification of the colonies, would later be used as a symbol of the American Revolution.

During the American Revolution, the call to "Join or Die" made multiple reappearances throughout early American newspapers. However, this time, the call was for the American colonies to join against the British for independence. Read more about it!

The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.

The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.

Timeline

May 9, 1751 In The Pennsylvania Gazette, "Americanus" suggests sending rattle snakes back to England in response to the exporting of felons to the Colonies. "Americanus" is a pseudonym belonging to Benjamin Franklin.
May 9, 1754 The first known instance of the "Join or Die" political cartoon is published in The Pennsylvania Gazette. This is the first image to address unification of the colonies.
September 21, 1765 The "Join or Die" image is published on the masthead of The Constitutional Courant at the onset of the American Revolution.
July 7, 1774 The Massachusetts Spy, or, Thomas's Boston Journal publishes a different "Join or Die" political cartoon underneath the newspaper's masthead. In this version, the snake confronts a winged beast.
July 27, 1774 The Pennsylvania Journal, or, Weekly Advertiser publishes a modified version of the political cartoon changed to "Unite or Die."
December 27, 1775 In The Pennsylvania Journal, or, Weekly Advertiser, "American Guesser" (another Franklin pseudonym) wrote about seeing the rattlesnake symbol on "one of the drums belonging to the marines ... with this modest motto underneath it, "Don't Tread on Me." The rattlesnake is adopted as a representation of America.

Origins and History (from LOC and Primary Context)

  • The rattlesnake as an American symbol traces to Benjamin Franklin’s famous 1754 “Join or Die” political cartoon in The Pennsylvania Gazette, depicting a severed snake (representing the colonies) with the call to unite against French and Native American threats during the French and Indian War. This imagery evolved into a symbol of colonial unity and defiance.
  • By late 1775, a rattlesnake with the motto “Don’t Tread on Me” appeared on drums of the Continental Marines. An essay (likely by Franklin under the pseudonym “American Guesser”) in the Pennsylvania Journal (December 27, 1775) explicitly linked it to American representation.
  • Christopher Gadsden (South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress, brigadier general) designed the yellow flag with a coiled rattlesnake ready to strike and the motto “Don’t Tread on Me.” He presented it as a standard for the Continental Navy commander-in-chief (used by Commodore Esek Hopkins on the USS Alfred). In February 1776, he presented one to the South Carolina Provincial Congress, where it was displayed.

The LOC’s Chronicling America collection (historic newspapers) and exhibits document this timeline extensively, tying it to patriotic unity during the Revolution.

LOC Holdings and Images

The Library of Congress has several relevant items:

  • Prints and Photographs Division includes illustrations referencing the flag or similar rattlesnake motifs, such as a 1860 lithograph from Savannah, Georgia, showing a secession-era banner with a coiled rattlesnake and “Don’t Tread on Me” (titled “The first flag of independence raised in the South”).
  • Other items link it to colonial flags, the Bill of Rights era illustrations, and Revolutionary symbolism (e.g., alongside Liberty trees or early naval flags).
  • Exhibits like “Creating the United States” note the snake as a symbol of patriotic unity with the motto “Don’t Tread on Me.”

You can search the LOC Prints & Photographs Online Catalog or Chronicling America for digitized images and newspaper mentions.

National Archives (NARA)

Direct primary artifacts or dedicated records on the Gadsden flag itself are not prominently digitized in public searches of catalog.archives.gov (which focuses more on federal records, military logs, and presidential papers). However:

  • NARA holds broad Revolutionary War naval records, Continental Congress journals, and Marine Committee documents that would reference early naval ensigns and standards like the one Gadsden promoted.
  • Related materials appear in contexts like flag history, commemoratives, or broader American symbols, but the flag’s primary documentation is stronger in congressional journals (accessible via LOC or published editions) and secondary historical analysis.

For deeper research, check NARA’s catalog for Continental Navy or South Carolina delegation records from 1775–1776.

Later Use and Context

The flag saw revival in various eras, including Southern contexts during the Civil War lead-up (as in the LOC Savannah print) and modern patriotic/libertarian movements. Official institutions like LOC treat it as a core Revolutionary symbol of resistance to tyranny, rooted in Franklin’s imagery and Gadsden’s naval contribution—not tied to later reinterpretations.

Recommended starting points:

These sources emphasize its role as an early emblem of American defiance and naval identity.

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