Christopher Gadsden

Christopher Gadsden was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1724 and made his fortune as a merchant and wharf-owner in one of colonial America's wealthiest cities. Educated partly in England, he returned to South Carolina and became a committed advocate for colonial rights long before most of his fellow planters recognized the depth of the conflict with Britain. He represented South Carolina at the Stamp Act Congress of 1765 and was among the earliest voices calling for unified colonial resistance, earning him a reputation as one of the most radical leaders in the South.

Gadsden served in the Continental Congress and as a colonel in the Continental Army, and it was in the latter capacity that he designed the flag that would bear his name: a coiled rattlesnake on a yellow field above the motto "Don't Tread on Me." The image was an expression of his philosophy that the colonies must meet British aggression with unyielding resistance. He was present in Charleston during the preparations for the defense of Fort Sullivan in June 1776, where he supported the decision to hold the fort against the advice of Continental commanders who considered it untenable. When the defense succeeded, Gadsden's confidence in the capacity of South Carolina forces to resist British power seemed vindicated. He continued to serve in the state legislature and as lieutenant governor, remaining one of the most prominent figures in South Carolina's Patriot movement throughout the war.

Gadsden's later Revolutionary career was marked by personal hardship equal to his earlier prominence. After the fall of Charleston in May 1780, the British imprisoned him in the dungeon of Fort Augustine in Florida, where he spent nearly a year in solitary confinement. He refused to accept parole on terms he considered dishonoring and endured the punishment without yielding. After his release and the end of the war, he continued in South Carolina politics and declined the governorship when offered it. He died in 1805, revered as one of the founders of the Patriot movement in the South, and the flag he designed became a symbol of American liberty that would be rediscovered and reused in subsequent centuries.