On this day in 1724, the “Sam Adams of the South” is born. You may not know this Patriot’s full name, but you have certainly seen the flag named after him!
Christopher Gadsden was nothing if not a fiery patriot. He was among the first to see the need for a declaration of independence. He led the Sons of Liberty in Charleston, S.C., and he rallied his fellow citizens to oppose the Stamp Act passed by the British Parliament. In 1766, he wrote a column in the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal. At the head of his column, in bold letters, was the phrase “Aut mors aut libertas”—Liberty or Death! Patrick Henry’s use of the phrase would popularize the expression, later. But Gadsden used it earlier. Indeed, one early historian of the American Revolution, David Ramsay, spoke of the “decisive genius of Christopher Gadsden in the south, and of John Adams in the north.” If that genius had prevailed, Ramsay noted, then perhaps separation from England would have occurred earlier than it did. Gadsden served in the first Continental Congresses in 1774 through 1776. During that time, he served on the Naval Committee (later renamed the Marine Committee). He is credited with designing a personal standard for Esek Hopkins, the commander of the Continental Navy fleet. You guessed it! That flag was a yellow field with a coiled snake and the words “Don’t Tread on Me” emblazoned across the bottom. Later, Gadsden was taken prisoner when the British laid siege to Charleston in 1780. He was held in solitary confinement for 42 weeks. He was eventually freed, but he never really recovered his health. Yet another great Patriot that has gone largely unnoticed in American history textbooks.
