our banner and symbol

The background of our flag and symbol is the original symbol of the Sons of Liberty, the Sons of Liberty Flag. The flag featured nine alternating red and white vertical stripes and no other markings. Each stripe represented one of the nine colonies that attended the Stamp Act Congress: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and South Carolina. The flag symbolized colonial unity and resistance against British taxation, particularly the Stamp Act of 1765. 

In the center of the original Sons of Liberty flag is the New Sons of Liberty official seal. As you might guess, the 13 stars represent the 13 colonies that declared their Independence from England in 1776 and in the center, is a coiled timber rattlesnake; underneath the snake is the name of the organization. 

As the independence fervor grew prior to the Revolutionary War the rattlesnake had been used in numerous publications to represent unity and our desire to strike back against tyranny.  Benjamin Franklin analyzed the rattlesnake’s traits and concluded it was “found in no other quarter of the world besides America” and thus a fitting emblem for the nation. He praised its “vigilance” and “magnanimity and true courage,” noting it never begins an attack and never surrenders once engaged. His writings and cartoons often featured the rattlesnake and helped cement the snake as a potent symbol of American independence, unity, and self‑reliance. He recognized in the temperament of a fiercely independent and self-protective serpent the perfect symbol for the nascent American identity.

In his famous essay, “The Rattlesnake as America’s Symbol”, published on December 27, 1775, Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the most famous founding father and quite the citizen-scientist, displayed a keen knowledge of reptile behavior and understood that rattlesnakes temperamentally prefer to avoid confrontation; their first line of defense is to slither off.  But he noted, if perturbed or provoked, they will respond with a swift, painful, and potentially lethal response.  Weaving that nugget of serpent behavior into political commentary, Franklin created one of the shrewdest metaphors in the history of American political rhetoric.  Here is what Franklin had to say about the timber rattlesnake: 

“I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eyelids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. As if anxious to prevent all pretensions of quarrelling with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most defenseless animal; and even when those weapons are shown and extended for her defense, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal. Conscious of this, she never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her. ’Tis curious and amazing to observe how distinct and independent of each other the rattles of this animal are, and yet how firmly they are united together, so as never to be separated but by breaking them to pieces. One of those rattles singly, is incapable of producing sound, but the rising of thirteen together, is sufficient to alarm the boldest man living.   Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this is a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America? The poison of her teeth is the necessary means of digesting her food, and at the same time is certain destruction to her enemies. This may be understood to intimate that those things which are destructive to our enemies, may be to us not only harmless, but absolutely necessary to our existence…”

Brilliant both as metaphor and prophecy, Franklin’s warning about “the danger of treading on her” was echoed by the omnipresent images of the rattlesnake (including one engraved by Paul Revere) that for decades had appeared on numerous colonial broadsheets.  Specifying “thirteen” rattles, clearly referring to the 13 colonies, makes the political intent of the essay unmistakable.

Some of the famous depictions of the rattlesnake found in various publications, on flags, and posters, before and during the Revolutionary War are shown to the right under the NSL banner and seal.

Native to the Americas and most prevalent in the Eastern United States, the timber rattlesnake is the only species of rattler found in all 13 of the original colonies.  The timber rattlesnake is one of the oldest symbols embraced by the United States and was in competition to become the national symbol but, of course, it was beaten out by the bald eagle.  Benjamin Franklin depicted the snake several times through his writings and brought considerable attention to it, but it was made most notable by Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina. Gadsden designed a flag that came to be known as the “Gadsden Flag” which consisted of a coiled timber rattlesnake upon a bright yellow backdrop, with the phrase, “DONT TREAD ON ME,” printed beneath it.  The rattlesnake is unique in that it first warns those who may attempt to infringe with its rattles before it strikes – and strike it shall, with lethal intent.  This rattling feature of this snake combined with the loud yellow cloth work in conjunction to send the message, “We are here. We are no longer hiding. You have been warned.”  For its historical and metaphorical representation of the unity of the 13 colonies, the intrinsic traits of America, and the New Sons of Liberty’s desire to strike back against those who mean her harm, the timber rattlesnake is most worthy of being chosen as a symbol to be placed on the banner and seal of the organization.