1st Navy Jack

As the first ships of the Continental Navy readied in the Delaware River during the fall of 1775, Commodore Esek Hopkins issued a set of fleet signals. His signal for the "whole Fleet to Engage" the enemy provided for the "strip'd Jack and Ensign at their proper places." Thus, from the very beginning of our Navy, the Jack has been used on board American warships. The first navy Jack was a flag consisting of 13 horizontal alternating red and white stripes bearing diagonally across them a rattlesnake in a moving position with the motto "Don't Tread On Me." The temporary substitution of this Jack represents an historic reminder of the nation's and Navy's origin and will to persevere and triumph.

 

The message is as clear today as it was back then. Recently the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard have started to fly this flag again, to symbolize America's war on terrorism.