A clear message emblazons the Gadsden flag - “Don’t Tread on Me!” Considered one of the earliest American flags, the Gadsden flag features a rattlesnake - ready to strike - coiled on a yellow background. Later displaced by the Betsy Ross flag’s circle of 13 stars as America’s first official flag, the Gadsden flag’s history can be traced back to the writings of Benjamin Franklin. He coined the rattlesnake as a satirical symbol of colonial unity and anti-British sentiment in the 1750s that persisted across decades through the Revolutionary War. The snake slithers into the Culpeper flag’s “Liberty or Death” motto as well as topping the Gadsden flag’s “Don’t Tread on Me! “ warning.
Adhesive