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.”
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.
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.
Tags: guidons, us cavalry
Nice work on the WESTERN DIAMONDBACK images and info. Service on the Mexican border? Major connectivity to Dundee. Still have ample curiosity about the unique cut of this particular guidon. Haven’t found an image matching it - YET! ;~)
I don’t know if there is any history behind the guidon in Major Dundee (though I too am a huge fan of the movie and own it on DVD), but if someone were to make a reproduction I’d buy it in a heartbeat being a former cavalryman myself and one of those RWE your congressman warned you about.
Thank for this posting,
I have been studing my Family history after I found
out my Grand father On my mother side was a Mason from the Blue Ridge Mountains
around the area this flag was to have from.
I am using the history of this flag for my Book I am written
on writing.com User Name Nauck
My sister in law was approached several times at gas stations about her “Dont Tread on Me” sticker. she was so scared she removed it. My question is: Is there or has there ever been any negative representation by this flag? Should it be offensive in any way to an African American?
[...] Here’s an addendum to a post from back in August about the Gadsden cavalry guidon in the Charlton Heston movie “Major Dundee”. [...]
Have there ever been any negative representations of the Gadsden flag? Sure. During the 1970s it had an association with biker culture, and that’s certainly negative to some people. For that matter, these days the association with the Tea Party movement is negative to some people.
As for it being offensive to African-Americans, perhaps someone saw a Gadsden flying next to the Confederate stars and bars and took offense.