Sons of Liberty Vertical Rebel Stripes Flag

Sons of Liberty Vertical Rebel Stripes FlagFly the flag banned by the Crown that the Tavern mongers, wharf rats, and other seedy characters looking to cause trouble among the Sons of Liberty sported. Accounts of the original banners are a bit sketchy. This was a secret organization after all, and flying the flag in public was a risky act that was bound to make it as good as a target for the Crown. But we do know the original flag was basically nine stripes vertically alternating in red and

Fly the flag banned by the Crown that the “Tavern mongers, wharf rats, and other seedy characters looking to cause trouble” among the Sons of Liberty sported. 

Accounts of the original banners are a bit sketchy. This was a secret organization after all, and flying the flag in public was a risky act that was bound to make it as good as a target for the Crown. But we do know the original flag was basically nine stripes vertically alternating in red and white. Or, as it turns out 13-stripe variants with snakes, teacups, and all sorts of other things on the flag. Likewise, red and white standards weren't even standardized. Some flags were green and white or even yellow and white. 

Were the vertical stripes used to contrast or protest the British East India Company flag that had 13 horizontal stripes? Probably not. But it's not really clear.

We do know that the first American flag adopted by the Continental Congress, the Grand Union Flag, was based directly on the East India company's. Honestly, it simply was the East India Company's flag, but slightly truncated. The British East India Company had complementary interests in ending the Stamp Act as the Sons of Liberty, so it could have even been a sly public relations gimmick to tie in powerful business interests to the tax protest. That's just conjecture, however.

Once the Crown outlawed the vertical rebel stripes entirely, some accounts say that the Sons of Liberty started using a horizontal version that had thirteen stripes just like the British East India Company's flag, so something may have been connected somehow. Though in truth, many of the flags may have also just been British Red Ensigns defaced in protest as contemporary accounts may suggest. 

Whatever the case, the Sons of Liberty Rebel Stripes Flag is a wonderful symbol of American resistance, independence, and patriotism.

• 100% polyester
• Knitted fabric
• Fabric weight: 4.42 oz/yd² (150 g/m²)
• Print on one side
• Blank reverse side
• 2 iron grommets

 

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