rattlesnake flag

Any of several flags bearing the motto "Don't Tread on Me" and a picture of a rattlesnake, used historically during the French and Indian War (1754-1763) and the Revolutionary War.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

References in periodicals archive ?

Navy brought back the old rattlesnake flag in 2002 and flies it from every vessel.

Freedom freely imagined

Navy resurrected a patriotic symbol from the past when it directed its fleet to fly the red-and-white-striped "Don't Tread on Me" rattlesnake flag. Navy Secretary Gordon England said the flag would reflect the nation's determination in its war on terrorism because it represented "an historic reminder" of America's will to triumph.

Little words, big trouble: many rules are based on the way words sound together. (Mastering the Art)

During the first phase of the Revolution, these regional symbols rallied the people, from the famous "Don't Tread on Me" rattlesnake flags of the backcountry--revived by the United States Navy and flown by every American warship since 2002--to the crescent moon on Charles Cotesworth Pinckney's First South Carolina Regiment uniform.