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Rebellion in Taunton
Before the thunder of Lexington and Concord, before the Continental Congress declared independence, before the first volleys of the Revolution shook the colonies, a red banner rose over the Massachusetts town of Taunton in October 1774. Across its crimson field, stitched in stark white letters, were the words “LIBERTY AND UNION.” [Taunton Flag]
To the casual eye, the Taunton flag looked like a British ensign. But to those who gathered beneath it, it was something far more dangerous: an open act of rebellion. The Taunton flag was not only a protest but a proclamation—a statement that the people of Massachusetts would stand for their liberties, even while claiming loyalty to the Crown. It was one of the first American flags to fuse those two powerful words: Liberty and Union—a union that would later become a nation.
This was the flag of a people standing on the thresholEnglishd of revolution.
Origins: The Storm Before the Revolution
By 1774, the relationship between Britain and its American colonies was unraveling. The Boston Tea Party had enraged Parliament, prompting the Coercive Acts—known in America as the Intolerable Acts—which closed Boston Harbor and stripped Massachusetts of self-governance. British troops patrolled the streets, and tensions ran high.
In response, towns throughout Massachusetts began to organize their own local governments independent of royal authority. Among these defiant communities was Taunton, a modest but fiercely patriotic town in Bristol County. The residents of Taunton had already formed a Committee of Correspondence and were quick to declare support for Boston’s resistance. [A Revolution-Era Committee of Correspondence]
On October 21, 1774, amid mounting outrage, a crowd gathered around Taunton’s liberty pole, erected in the town square. There, they hoisted a new flag—a bold red field with the British Union Jack in the canton, and beneath it, the words “LIBERTY AND UNION” emblazoned in white.
It was both a protest and a paradox: a flag that blended symbols of loyalty and rebellion. The Union Jack proclaimed their continued identification as British subjects, but the added words were revolutionary. Taunton was announcing to the world that its loyalty would end where liberty was denied.
History: A Town at the Front of Resistance
The events surrounding the flag’s raising unfolded like a small-scale revolution.
In the autumn of 1774, the royal governor Thomas Gage ordered that all colonial governments cease meeting without his consent. The citizens of Taunton refused. They ousted the loyalist sheriff, forced the royal courts to close, and formed their own town militia under local command.
The liberty pole and flag were raised in open defiance of Gage’s authority, effectively declaring Taunton free from British control months before shots were fired at Lexington. When word of the flag reached British officials in Boston, outrage followed. Loyalists in the region called it “a rebellious flag.” Ultimately, it was more than symbolic—by flying it, Taunton had risked everything.
The flag stood over the town until early 1775, when British loyalists are believed to have torn it down. But its image spread. Other Massachusetts towns raised similar banners. When fighting erupted in April 1775, many local militiamen who had once stood under the Taunton flag joined the Continental Army. Among them were men who would march to Bunker Hill and beyond. The ideals embodied in their flag had transformed into action. [Colonial Militia Fights at Bunker Hill]
Design: The Balance Between Allegiance and Defiance
The Taunton Flag’s design reflected the delicate political tightrope the colonies walked in 1774.
- The red field echoed the British Red Ensign, the maritime and colonial flag of the empire.
- In the canton, the Union Jack symbolized the connection to Britain and her monarchy.
- But the addition of the stark white words “LIBERTY AND UNION” across the crimson field transformed the flag’s meaning entirely.
This flag declared that liberty and unity among the colonies were non-negotiable. The phrase was defiant but not yet separatist—it expressed the colonists’ hope to remain within the empire, provided their rights as Englishmen were respected.
Yet beneath that hope was a rising anger. The flag’s red background could be read as both allegiance to Britain’s colors and the blood price of freedom. In this way, the Taunton flag perfectly captured the uncertainty of the moment: not yet revolution, but no longer submission. When that banner went up, Taunton became one of the first towns in America to openly defy royal authority. [An Image of the Town of Taunton During the Revolution]
Legacy: The First Flag of American Defiance
The Taunton “Liberty and Union” flag holds a singular place in American history. It was among the earliest distinctly American flags, predating both the Pine Tree Flag of New England and the Continental Colors. Its message was foundational: liberty demanded unity, and unity gave liberty strength.
After independence was won, the original flag disappeared—likely destroyed or lost to time—but its spirit endured. Taunton, proud of its revolutionary heritage, continued to celebrate the flag’s raising as a defining moment in local and national history.
In 1899, a reproduction of the Taunton flag was raised over the town to mark the event’s 125th anniversary. The city later incorporated the flag into its official seal, ensuring its symbolism would never fade. Today, the flag flies over Taunton Green as a reminder that America’s road to independence began not only in famous battles but in the bold hearts of ordinary townspeople. [The Taunton Flag Flying Today Over Taunton Green]
The flag has also come to symbolize the deeper idea that liberty and unity are inseparable. In moments of division throughout American history—from the Civil War to the modern day—the Taunton flag’s message remains relevant. It tells us that liberty cannot survive without shared purpose, and unity cannot endure without freedom.
Historians often call it “America’s First Flag of Defiance,” and rightly so. It was the first to openly combine British symbols with revolutionary words—a transition point between subjecthood and citizenship.