Threads of Rebellion: American Iconography and Flags from the 1750s through the Revolutionary War

A Patchwork of Defiance

In the spring of 1754, two decades before the first musket of the American Revolution crackled at Lexington, Benjamin Franklin sketched a serpent cut into eight pieces, each labeled for a British American colony. Beneath it stood three words that carried the weight of prophecy: JOIN, or DIE. It was intended as a political cartoon to encourage unity during the French and Indian War, but its deeper message ran far ahead of its time. Franklin’s serpent became more than a drawing; it became an idea. And ideas, once loosed upon a restless continent, can be difficult things to cage. The serpent’s warning—unite for your own survival—would become the ideological backbone of the Revolutionary era’s most powerful banners.

As the colonies drifted away from the imperial gravity of Great Britain, they began stitching new identities one thread at a time. Flags became symbols of courage and cohesion, visual declarations of who the colonists believed themselves to be. Some banners were painted in haste, some sewn by careful hands, others improvised from whatever materials wartime scarcity allowed. But together, they formed a patchwork of defiance that helped birth a nation.

What follows is the story of those flags: how they emerged, how they evolved, how they spoke to each other across time and battlefield smoke—and how, in their fluttering fabric, they carried the hope of American independence.

I. The Birth of a Shared Identity: Franklin’s “Join, or Die”

Franklin’s segmented serpent did not fly from a pole, yet it belongs at the beginning of any story about Revolutionary flags. Its simple graphic force introduced a revolutionary notion: that the colonies were not thirteen scattered provinces but interdependent pieces of a single entity. Franklin’s serpent became a shorthand for unity, appearing in newspapers, broadsides, and even militia colors.

Benjamin Franklin’s “Join or Die” Image

Just as importantly, the serpent hinted at another concept that would echo through Revolutionary iconography: the transformation of something broken into something whole. Many of the flags to come—each with their own colors, cantons, and symbols—would represent a similar journey. The colonists were stitching themselves together into something they had never been before.

The Don't Tread on Me Flag was influenced by this flag.

II. The Stripes of Resistance: The Sons of Liberty Flag

Nearly a decade after Franklin’s cartoon, resistance sharpened in response to the Stamp Act of 1765. In Boston, the Sons of Liberty rallied under a banner of bold red-and-white stripes—initially nine, later thirteen—meant to represent unity among the colonies pushing back against British authority.

These stripes mattered. They were simple enough to reproduce quickly, yet visually loud enough to proclaim dissent. More importantly, they introduced a motif that would repeat across numerous flags of the Revolution. When later banners featured thirteen stripes, it was not merely a convenient design choice—it was a nod to these early acts of protest. The Sons of Liberty flag was the first to suggest that simple bands of color could stand for an idea as powerful as liberty itself. 

The Sons of Liberty Flag

From Boston’s Liberty Tree to the decks of colonial ships, striped flags signaled resistance and solidarity. And they whispered a quiet echo of Franklin’s serpent: stand together, or fall apart.

 

III. Liberty Among the Pines: The Pine Tree Flag

By the early 1770's, New Englanders had adopted another symbol for their burgeoning identity: the pine tree. Tall, straight, and deeply rooted, the white pine represented both the region’s natural wealth and its cultural character. For decades, the British had claimed the largest pines for Royal Navy ship masts, provoking resentment among colonists. The tree thus became a symbol of protest and independence.

The Pine Tree Flag, often featuring a green pine on a white field with the words “An Appeal to Heaven,” flew over the Massachusetts Navy and various Continental vessels. It symbolized not merely resistance but moral conviction. If earthly powers failed to protect liberty, the colonists would appeal to a higher authority.

The Pine Tree Flag

This banner influenced countless later flags by fusing a simple natural symbol with a powerful political message. Its clean design—a single symbol and minimal colors—became a model for Revolutionary iconography.

IV. The First Call for Independence: The Taunton Flag

On October 19, 1774, in the Massachusetts town of Taunton, protesters hoisted a new banner: a red field dominated by a bold Union Jack in the canton and the words “LIBERTY AND UNION” stitched beneath. The Taunton Flag represents the delicate moment when colonists still considered themselves British subjects but were asserting local rights. 

The Taunton Flag

The banner functioned as a transitional design, as its creators were holding onto the Union Jack even as it introduced the rhetoric of independence. In this sense, the Taunton Flag bridged the symbolic gap between early protest banners and the later Continental military flags. It signaled that the colonies were evolving not only in their politics but in how they presented themselves visually.

V. Stitching a New Identity: The Continental Flag

By 1775, as armed conflict erupted, the Continental Army needed unifying symbols. The so-called Continental Flag—often displayed with a red field and a white canton containing a single green pine—was one of the earliest attempts to standardize colonial military banners.

This flag borrowed from earlier symbols (the pine tree and the red field common on colonial ensigns) and paved the way toward more organized flag design. More importantly, it represented the transformation from scattered militias into a national army.

The Continental Flag shows how Revolutionary symbols evolved: flags borrowed elements from earlier designs, refined them, and pushed them closer to the fully articulated symbols of independence that would soon follow.

VI. Courage on the Frontier: The Green Mountain Boys Flag

Farther north, in the forests of what would become Vermont, Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys fought under a striking banner: a green field with a blue canton studded by thirteen white stars. This simple, bold, and instantly recognizable flag symbolized frontier independence and the rugged character of Allen’s militia.

The Green Mountain Boys’ Flag

The flag’s thirteen stars echoed the unity suggested by Franklin, the stripes of the Sons of Liberty, and the emerging identity of thirteen colonies acting as one. Though its arrangement of stars differed from later designs, the flag helped normalize the concept of thirteen symbols for thirteen colonies, pushing the Revolution’s visual language toward the idea of a united republic.

 

VII. A Banner at the Battle Line: The Bedford Flag

Of all Revolutionary flags, few are as steeped in legend as the Bedford Flag carried by Massachusetts militiamen in 1775. Its silver arm emerging from clouds, brandishing a sword, stood above the Latin motto “VINCE AUT MORIRE”—Latin for “Conquer or Die—to offer a stark expression of the stakes of rebellion.

Unlike many simple striped banners, the Bedford Flag used classical imagery and mottoes to convey a sense of ancient virtue. Its symbolism influenced the iconography of later flags that emphasized resolve and sacrifice. It also represented the localized patriotism of the early war, before the colonies fully merged into a national identity.

The Bedford Flag

As the earliest known surviving American battle flag, it stands as a reminder that the Revolution’s visual identity was not only political but deeply emotional.

VIII. The Rise of the Crescent: The Moultrie Flag

In the South, another powerful symbol emerged. In 1775, Colonel William Moultrie designed a flag for the defenses of Charleston: a dark blue field with a white crescent in the canton, the word “LIBERTY” sometimes added in its center.
The Moultrie Flag

Already a South Carolina militia symbol, the crescent represented vigilance and resilience. In the famous defense of Fort Sullivan in 1776, the flag became emblematic of Southern courage when Sergeant William Jasper risked his life to raise it again after British fire brought it down.

The Moultrie Flag’s stark, memorable design helped push Revolutionary symbolism toward cleaner, more iconic imagery. Its emphasis on the word “LIBERTY” also influenced later flags that sought to blend graphic simplicity with moral clarity.

IX. Stripes at Sea: The Serapis Flag

Perhaps the most unusual of Revolutionary banners is the Serapis Flag, most commonly associated with John Paul Jones. After capturing the British ship HMS Serapis in 1779, Jones needed a recognizable American flag to avoid being claimed as a pirate. Yet the early United States had not fully standardized its flag.

The resulting design—alternating red, white, and blue stripes with a complex arrangement of stars—embodied the improvisational nature of the Revolution. It bore elements of earlier striped flags but experimented boldly with color and pattern. Its very existence showed that the idea of an American flag was evolving rapidly, absorbing influences from naval necessity, congressional debate, and local experimentation.
The Serapis Flag

Though never widely used, the Serapis Flag demonstrated that American identity at sea required flexibility and courage. It symbolized the transition toward a more formal national banner.

X. Defiance at Guilford Courthouse: The Guilford Flag

At the 1781 Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina, militia units carried a unique flag: a deep blue field, a Union Jack in the canton, and thirteen white stars arranged on the blue ground.

This flag illustrated the ambiguous nature of loyalty and identity during the mid-war period. Despite rejecting British authority, many Americans still embedded British symbols in their banners while simultaneously asserting unity through stars or stripes.

The Guilford Courthouse Flag

 

The Guilford Flag thus served as a visual bridge between the colonial past and the independent future, influencing the idea that stars, rather than stripes alone, could represent the union of states. That concept would take its full form in the coming national flag.

XI. A Promise of a New Nation: The Bennington Flag

As the war neared its end, the Bennington Flag emerged with a bold, emotional resonance. Featuring a large “76” in the canton, which celebrated the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the banner also displayed an arch of thirteen stars above thirteen red and white stripes.

Its arrangement of stars in a sweeping arc symbolized a nation rising and expanding. The number “76” made explicit what earlier flags had only hinted: this was not merely a rebellion but the birth of a nation grounded in the events of 1776.

The Bennington Flag

 

The Bennington Flag represented a shift from improvisation to intentional symbolism. It commemorated the Revolution even as it was still unfolding.

XII. The Circle of Unity: The Betsy Ross Flag

While historical debate surrounds the true origins of the Betsy Ross Flag, its design—thirteen stars arranged in a circle on a blue canton beside thirteen red and white stripes—became the enduring symbol of American independence.

Its elegance lay in its symmetry: thirteen equal stars, none subordinated to another, forming a perfect ring. It visually captured the political philosophy of the new republic: sovereign states bound together in unity.

The Betsy Ross Flag

The stripes honored earlier protest banners; the stars echoed the Green Mountain Boys and Guilford flags; the circular arrangement suggested unity without hierarchy. In many ways, the Betsy Ross Flag was the culmination of all that came before it—a synthesis of resistance, identity, and hope.

XIII. How These Flags Carried a Nation to Victory

Flags alone do not win wars, but they shape the spirit of those who must. The banners of the American Revolution:

Unified The Colonies

From Franklin’s serpent to the circle of stars, flags reinforced the essential idea that survival and victory required collective action.

Communicated Identity In A World Without Uniforms

Militia units, naval crews, and Continental soldiers often wore mismatched clothing. Their flags told allies and enemies alike who they were.

Broadcast A Moral Message

Phrases like Liberty and Union, An Appeal to Heaven, and Conquer or Die distilled the rebellion into words anyone could understand—even across smoke-choked battlefields.

Inspired Courage

When Sergeant Jasper raised the Moultrie Flag at Fort Sullivan, or when militiamen carried the Bedford Flag at Concord, those banners became rallying points. Men ran toward them, not away from them.

Helped Forge A National Identity

By war’s end, the idea of thirteen united states had become inseparable from the visual language of stars and stripes. The evolution from protest flags to national flags mirrored the colonies’ transformation into a republic.

The Fabric of Freedom

The American Revolution was fought with muskets and artillery, but it was also fought with symbols. Every stitch in a militia banner, every stroke of paint on a field of color, carried meaning. From Franklin’s serpent to Ross’s circle of stars, the flags of the Revolution did something muskets could not: they gave people a vision of the nation they were creating.

They fluttered above ships in foreign seas, clung to splintered flagpoles on storm-swept ramparts, and whipped across open fields where farmers stood against the greatest empire on earth. They absorbed smoke, shot, and rain. They were lifted in triumph and torn in defeat. And together, they helped stitch the idea of America into being.

Several American Flags Fly as Colonists Push Back the British

Today, many of those banners survive piecemeal in museums or as fading descriptions in old journals. But the ideas they carried—unity, liberty, defiance, resilience—endure in every corner of the American story. They remind us that the Revolution was not merely a military conflict but a cultural awakening. A people imagined themselves free, and through their flags they declared it boldly.

In the end, the Revolution’s flags were more than emblems. They were promises—ragged at the edges, but powerful enough to lead a nation from rebellion to independence. 

Lord Cornwallis Surrenders to George Washington at Yorktown