Gadsden FlagDon't Tread on Me
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The Gadsden Flag

Welcome to Gadsden.info, my website and blog devoted entirely to the Gadsden flag, the defiant "Don't Tread on Me" symbol of American independence and freedom.

I've been a fan of the Gadsden flag for years. I started this site in 2001 for other fans and as a way to help keep the spirit of the symbol alive.

In addition to the blog on this page, there are four content areas:

  1. The fascinating history of the Gadsden flag. This is as much as I've been able to gather through extensive personal research:


  2. Recommendations on the best places I know for buying Gadsden flags and related items:


  3. Free Gadsden flag downloads and resources:


  4. Interesting usages of the Gadsden flag and Don't Tread of Me symbolism:

Do you have a "Don't Tread on Me" tattoo or have you used the flag in an interesting way? E-mail me. I'd love to see it.

Yours in liberty,

Chris Whitten
chris--<at>--interesting.com (replace the --at-- with @)



Don't Tread on Me Flags

Gadsden flag

My top recommendation for buying Gadsden flags is FlagLine. It's a family-owned mail-order business based in Colorado. Josef, the owner, has been serving customers I've sent him from this site since 2001. He's trustworthy and he has the best prices.



Don't Tread on Me Merchandise

Gadsden flag products Larry and Patrick at the Gadsden and Culpeper American Heritage Shoppe have the widest selection of Gadsden products I've ever found: t-shirts ... hats ... license plates ... magnets .... everything.

Everything I've gotten from them is high-quality and the prices are right.

If you tell them I sent you, they'll thrown in a free "Don't Tread on Me" sticker with any purchase.

DTOM Blog

Gadsden in 1903 calendar

September 17th, 2009

I found this image in a 1903 calendar from the Equitable Life Assurance company. It featured six historical American flag images with the Gadsden on the final page for November and December.

1903 calendar featuring Gadsden flag

1903 calendar featuring Gadsden flag

On the back of this page, the advertisement reads: “The Equitable Life Assurance Society has always meant defence — defence and protection for the family and home, for the helpless, for the widow, the orphan, and the aged. Every year millions of dollars are paid to widows and orphans on the death of the breadwinner … and this protection has — through the Equitable — been given by the union of hundreds of thousands of citizens for the purpose of protecting each other.”

Didn’t they know this is what the government is for?

A Rattlesnake Cavalry Guidon

August 31st, 2009

A guy named GSR e-mailed me today about Sam Peckinpah’s 1965 Western starring Charlton Heston, “Major Dundee“.

GSR is a superfan of this movie. Superfan. He writes, “I could not guess how many times I saw Major Dundee in 1965. It was a box office bomb, the folks at the theater let me in for free until Major Dundee went away, which I’m sure they were thankful for. I could not turn away from the themes or the signature violence (Pekinpah). Recently been re-released, restored scenes, new musical score, playing on TCM, available on DVD.

“Regardless, this film sparked my interest in the Gadsden. Never have been able to find out if this particular Gadsden, [a] cavalry guidon, was real or an invention of 1965 Hollywood representing the diverse unit Major Dundee put together.”

Gadsden rattlensnake on cavalry guidon

GSR says this rattlesnake guidon is highly visible in many scenes of Major Dundee

Was a rattlesnake flag like this used by US cavalry in the post-Civil War era? I have no idea.

GSR speculates that Second Amendment champion Charlton Heston, star of the movie, might have had something to do with it.

Or maybe Peckinpah added the rattlesnake flag himself. He had a definite individualist/anti-authoritarian streak. He’s famous for his 1969 film “The Wild Bunch.” And he was a US Marine in World War II and a student of history.

Perhaps there is some historical basis for this. The crest of the 14th Cavalry Regiment has a coiled rattlesnake that’s very similar. On this crest it represents service on the Mexican border.

Rattlensnake on cavalry insignia

14th Cavalry Regiment Insignia

The rattlesnake is used in the same way on the insignia of various field artillery units, e.g. the 130th Field Artillery Regiment, 143rd Field Artillery Regiment, and 164th Field Artillery Battalion.

Since the movie is set on the Mexican border, maybe this is the historical connection. GSR and I will be anxious to hear if anybody out there has other ideas or insights. In the meantime, I’m putting “Major Dundee” on my Blockbuster queue.

Branded with Don’t Tread on Me tattoos

August 22nd, 2009

It’s Tattoo Tuesday. On a Saturday.

I love it when people send me their Don’t Tread on Me rattlesnake tattoos. And I know you love to see them. (Or else you’d stop reading right here. It’s a simple system.) Here are the latest.

Jay's Gadsden tattoo

Jay

Jay sent me a picture of his tattoo the day he got it, July 25.

He wrote, “I am in the National Guard and after I got out of my initial entry training I decided I wanted a tattoo. To me the Gadsden Flag represents what our founding fathers meant for this country and The Constitution which I swore to protect against all enemies both foreign and domestic. (’This we’ll defend’ is the Army motto.) Those beliefs along with the direction in which I feel our nation is heading made me decide to show whose side I am on.”

Jay, we’re on your side.

Peter's shiny new Gadsden flag tattoo

Peter

Here’s another shiny new one. Peter from Houston, Texas, says he “got this tat on 7/25/09 at Magic Needle in Humble, TX.” Coincidentally, that’s the same day as Jay above.

“For the past 16 years I have worked in the oilfield industry, environmental cleanup specifically, so I work hard for the money that the government takes from me every two weeks. After the outcome of the last presidential election and seeing the direction that this government is going in is of great concern to me. The Gadsden flag represents to me standing up for what you believe in, taking pride in our nation, keeping big government in check, and protecting our individual rights as Americans.”

Well said, huh? I love this line: “I work hard for the money that the government takes from me every two weeks.”

Adam and his friend are joining

Adam and his friend are joining

The story behind this duo is seriously implausible. Maybe somebody out there knows Adam and can vouch for him. But whether or not any of the following is embellished for dramatic effect, it’s still fun and the tattoos are super cool.

Adam F. in NY sent me a picture with just his arm.

“I got it because I found your website, and never knew that the Join or Die snake was the starting point for the Gadsden flag, and sadly, never knew that the American Revolution used snakes instead of stars and stripes. I was just amazed by it all, and thought Franklin’s essays about its symbolism was the cure for everything wrong with America’s role in the world.”

Then he includes a second picture, with two arms.

“The other arm is my friend Sasha, who I didn’t know had the same tattoo until I got it.”

Bill S.'s Don't Tread on Me tattoo

Bill S.

Bill S. is “mad as hell with the direction our country seems to be going and I wanted a way to be easily identified so I can meet other like minded people. May God Bless America!”

I guess the idea of being easily identified as a potential “extremist” by the powers-that-be doesn’t scare him. Bravo.

Bill's Don't Tread on Me tattoo

Bill from Mass.

Bill from Massachusetts is a veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division and a “pissed off American.” :-)

“This is my daily reminder to not let the extreme left socialist government destroy this country. Love your web site and heading to Washington 12 SEP 2009 for the National Tea Party Day.”

Tens of thousands of other freedom-loving Americans will be meeting him there.

Mini-Gadsdens at Indiana parade

August 12th, 2009

The presence of Don’t Tread on Me flags continues to grow at all sorts of public gatherings around the country. My friend Dave Mc reported to me about a “Denver Days” parade in Denver, Indiana, last Saturday. In addition to about eight to ten full-sized Gadsden flags, he says he saw the Miami County Tea Party group handing out mini-Gadsdens to anyone who wanted them. “Best part for me,” Dave says, “was my 13-year-old explaining to some of his friends what it was and what it meant.”

Rattlesnake decals on motorcycle

August 4th, 2009

Shaun Khoenle, a technical sergeant in the US Air Force, took the rattlesnake background images from this site (http://www.gadsden.info/i/gadsden-bg.gif) and the Navy Jack sister site (http://www.navyjack.info/i/navyjack-bg.gif) and turned them into decals for his motorcycle.

And they look awesome. Check ‘em out …

Rattlesnake on motorcycleRattlesnake on motorcycle

DTOM rattlesnake decals on Shaun's bike.

Shaun says, “I have always liked what they represent. Especially what the ‘American Guesser’ wrote about the rattlesnake.

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