Don’t Tread On Me 5x8ft 600D Nylon Gadsden
Whether you are a fan of the Gadsden “Don’t Tread on Me” flag or not, the significance behind it is unmistakable. Also easily recognizable is the implied warning from the snake itself, which closely mirrors the beliefs of our country – heed our warning lest we strike out
Although often referred to as the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, the correct name is the Gadsden Flag, named after its designer, Christopher Gadsden, an American Revolution-era politician.
The Gadsden flag’s history begins in 1775, when Christopher Gadsden, a Continental Colonel from South Carolina, designed the flag and presented it to the Colonial Marines, the American Colonies’ amphibious infantry force.
The Colonial Marines adopted Gadsden’s flag alongside another design (the Moultrie Flag, a blue flag with a white crescent overlaid with the word “LIBERTY”). Both flags served as symbols of the Continental Marines until 1798, at which point the unit transitioned into the modern-day United States Marine Corps.
After the Revolutionary War ended and the United States declared independence, the Gadsden flag fell into disuse, only occasionally flown in Charleston, South Carolina, as a historical symbol, until the flag’s modern resurgence in the 1970s.