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“I have not yet begun to fight.”
—American Navy Captain John Paul Jones’ reply to a British demand that he surrender his ship
The Motivation Behind the Creation of the 1st Navy Jack
When the American Revolution began in 1775, the colonists faced many overwhelming challenges. One of the most glaring was their massive disadvantage on the seas. The colonists had no established navy, no professional fleet to rival the powerful Royal Navy, and little more than merchant ships hastily converted into war vessels. But what they lacked in resources, they made up for in determination. To declare their resolve at sea, they raised a flag that was both a warning and a declaration of identity: the 1st Navy Jack.
With its bold red-and-white stripes, its coiled rattlesnake stretched across the banner, and the defiant words “Don’t Tread on Me,” a motto which appeared on several flags of the era, the 1st Navy Jack became the earliest maritime emblem of the United States. It told the world that even without ships of the line or heavy cannon, America’s sailors would fight with the courage of a rattlesnake: small but deadly when provoked.
This flag was not just a naval ensign; it was a declaration of freedom upon the seas. Its legacy continues to inspire the U.S. Navy today, reminding sailors that liberty must be defended with vigilance, determination, and courage.
[Photo: The 1st Union Jack]
The 1st Navy Flag in Action: Early Naval Engagements
The 1st Navy Jack is believed to have flown on the 1st Continental Navy ships during raids in the Caribbean and along the American coastline. Though vastly outgunned, these vessels harassed British supply lines, captured merchantmen, and demonstrated that the colonists would contest British control of the seas.
The 1st Navy Flag in Action: John Paul Jones and Naval Defiance
While John Paul Jones is most famously associated with later naval flags and his own personal ensign, the rattlesnake imagery of the 1st Navy Jack helped establish the fierce reputation of American sailors. Under the banner of the 1st Union Jack, Jones’s declaration, “I have not yet begun to fight!” when asked to surrender echoed the spirit embodied in the rattlesnake banner.
[Photo: John Paul Jones]
Origins of the 1st Navy Jack
The origins of the 1st Navy Jack lie in the desperate efforts of the Continental Congress to create a navy capable of challenging Britain. They were defined by several needs and developments, including:
1. The Birth of the Continental Navy
On October 13, 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the outfitting of ships to disrupt British supply lines. This date is now celebrated as the birthday of the United States Navy. These early vessels, manned by merchant sailors and volunteers, needed a unifying symbol to distinguish them from ordinary ships.
2. The Contributions of Commodore Esek Hopkins
The 1st Navy Jack is traditionally associated with Commodore Esek Hopkins, commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy’s 1st squadron. Historical accounts suggest that his sailors raised the 1st Union Jack as they set sail in 1775–1776. In this way, the symbolism of the rattlesnake flag became inseparable from the Navy’s earliest efforts.
[Photo: Commodore Esek Hopkins]
3. The Prevalence of Banners with Similar Icons
The rattlesnake motif was already popular by the mid-1770s. Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina had introduced the bright yellow Gadsden Flag, featuring a coiled rattlesnake and the motto “Don’t Tread on Me,” which quickly spread among colonial forces. The Navy adopted the 1st Union Jack, a variant of Gadsden’s Flag to be used for its own identity, using stripes to represent unity and the rattlesnake to symbolize deadly resistance.
Design of the 1st Navy Jack
The design of the 1st Navy Jack is both striking and symbolic, carefully chosen to communicate America’s revolutionary spirit. It features:
Thirteen Stripes: The flag consists of thirteen alternating red and white horizontal stripes, symbolizing the original thirteen colonies. Like the land-based Continental flags, these stripes proclaimed unity in the struggle for independence.
The Rattlesnake: Stretched diagonally across the stripes is a long, coiled rattlesnake. Unlike the compact coil of the Gadsden Flag, this serpent slithers across the flag’s full width, representing the colonies spread along the eastern seaboard and the ambition of American Navy captains to spread colonial power.
The Motto “Don’t Tread on Me”: Placed beneath the rattlesnake, the phrase is both warning and challenge. It captured the colonists’ refusal to submit to tyranny, echoing sentiments that had already electrified Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech.
The imagery tied directly into colonial identity. The rattlesnake, an animal unique to the Americas, had been used in Benjamin Franklin’s famous “Join, or Die” cartoon. By the time of the Revolution, it had become a symbol of unity and resistance. The 1st Navy Jack made that rattlesnake America’s 1st symbol at sea.
The Legacy of the 1st Navy Jack
The 1st Navy Jack remains one of the most enduring emblems of American defiance at sea. Unlike more polished national symbols, it embodies the raw determination of a fledgling nation whose citizens dared to challenge an empire. Ultimately, the flag delivers three unforgettable messages:
1. Unity in Struggle: The thirteen stripes remind us that independence was achieved only through solidarity among the colonies.
2. Vigilance Against Oppression: The rattlesnake warns that liberty, once gained, must be defended with constant watchfulness.
3. Endurance of Naval Tradition: The flag links modern sailors with the Continental Navy, reminding them that the fight for freedom began on fragile decks crewed by ordinary men.
[Photo: An American Naval Vessel Flying the 1st Union Jack in Modern Times]
When the 1st Continental sailors hoisted the 1st Union Jack in 1775, they sent a clear message across the seas: America might be young, small, and fragile, but it would never submit. The 1st Navy Jack carried that promise in every ripple of its stripes and in every coil of its rattlesnake. Beneath it, sailors risked their lives against the most formidable navy in the world, not for conquest or empire, but for the right to live free.
Even today, when the 1st Navy Jack flies from the mast of a modern warship, it carries with it the voices of those first sailors. It whispers their warning, sharp and uncompromising: “Don’t Tread on Me.” It is a reminder that liberty is never secure without vigilance, that the seas of freedom must always be defended, and that the spirit of 1775 still lives in every wave, every stripe, and every coil of the centuries-old banner.