First Navy Jack

In late 1775, as the first ships of the Continental Navy readied in the Delaware River, Commodore Esek Hopkins issued an instruction directing his vessels to fly a "striped" jack and ensign. The exact design of these flags is unknown. But, since about 1880, this jack has traditionally been depicted as consisting of thirteen red and white stripes charged with an uncoiled rattlesnake and the motto "Dont Tread on Me" ; this design appeared in a color plate in Admiral George Henry Preble's influential History of the Flag of the United States. In 1778, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sicily, thanking him for allowing entry of revolutionary ships into Sicilian ports. The letter describes the new flag of the colonies according to the 1777 Flag Resolution, but also describes a flag of "South Carolina, a rattlesnake, in the middle of the thirteen stripes." The rattlesnake had long been a symbol in the colonies of resistance and defiance to the Crown. The phrase ''"Don't Tread on Me"'' may have been coined during the American Revolutionary War, a variant perhaps of an earlier image. A snake severed in segments and labelled with the names of the colonies and the legend "Join, or Die", had first been published in Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754, as a political cartoon reflecting on the Albany Congress. The rattlesnake (specifically, the Timber Rattlesnake) is especially significant and symbolic to the American Revolution. The rattle has thirteen layers, signifying the original Thirteen Colonies. Additionally, the snake does not strike until provoked, a characteristic expressed by the phrase "Don't tread on me" (see Gadsden flag). Typically the flag's rattlesnake is depicted with red scales on its back, but some have depicted the snake as all-gold. ==Modern use==

Shipboard in honor of those killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Modern use of the flag is usually traced to 1976, when the United States celebrated its Bicentennial. All commissioned naval vessels were directed to fly the First Navy Jack for that calendar year while moored or anchored, and their commanding officers were authorized to retain and fly it thereafter. The flag that had been used before, and afterward was the standard, was the fifty-star Union Jack. In 1980, Secretary of the Navy Edward Hidalgo directed that the warship or fleet auxiliary (e.g. a vessel designated as a "United States Ship" or "USS") with the longest active status shall display the First Navy Jack until decommissioned or transferred to inactive service. The status of the flag was changed on May 31, 2002. Navy Secretary Gordon England issued SECNAV Instruction 10520.6, directing all warships and auxiliaries of the U.S. Navy to fly the First Naval Jack as a "temporary substitution" for the Jack of the United States "during the Global War on Terrorism". The honor of "oldest ship" in the Fleet was conferred on the following U.S. Navy vessels: Other U.S. Navy uses Since September 11, 2002, U.S. Navy installations and facilities ashore have been allowed but not required to fly the First Navy Jack from multi-halyard gaff-rigged flagpoles when the United States ensign is also flown. The First Navy Jack has also been authorized for wear as a patch by sailors and naval officers on flight suits and certain versions of the Navy Working Uniform (NWU), including sailors and naval officers wearing the Army Combat Uniform (ACU) while assigned to and serving with Army units, at the discretion of the local Army commander. For the NWU and ACU, the patch is typically worn on the opposite sleeve as the U.S. flag. This First Navy Jack, along with the Serapis flag, is also featured on the crest of the guided missile destroyer . During the War in Afghanistan, U.S. Navy sailors and officers assigned to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were authorized to wear the First Navy Jack on their MultiCam-patterned Army Combat Uniform (ACU) on the right sleeve, below the U.S. flag. ==Non-military uses==

Like other snake flags, the First Navy Jack has been used by non-Navy people in protest or commemoration. For example, opponents to a smoking ban in Franklin, Indiana, flew Navy Jacks outside their homes and businesses. A First Navy Jack flag was also placed at a makeshift memorial on Boylston Street after the Boston Marathon bombing. ==See also==