The Department of the Army has continued to use the rattlesnake in its seal, flag, and emblem for over 240 years. Instead of “Don’t Tread on Me”, the design includes the words “This we’ll defend”. Congress approved a design for the seal of the War Office that included the rattlesnake. The flag served as the personal standard of the flagship.Īlong with the Navy, the Continental Congress adopted the rattlesnake symbol. The motto “Don’t Tread on Me” appeared below the snake.īefore the mission departed in December of 1775, Gadsden presented the commander-in-chief of the navy with a yellow flag featuring his original design. He painted the drums yellow with a coiled rattlesnake with 13 rattles. Congress soon authorized the creation of five companies of Marines to accompany the newly formed Navy.Ĭontinental Colonel Christopher Gadsden was part of the Marine Committee responsible for outfitting the naval mission. In the fall of 1775, months after the start of the war, General George Washington established the Continental Navy. The rattlesnake was again used as a symbol for America during the Revolutionary War. Franklin’s cartoon is also credited as being the first political cartoon to appear in an American newspaper.
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