Taunton Liberty & Union 1775 1776 1777 Colonial American 12x18 Inch Early USA Stick 30" Wooden Staffs Cemetery American 250th Anniversary Flags


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Home MassachusettsBefore Old Glory, There Was the Taunton Flag

Before Old Glory, There Was the Taunton Flag

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The people of Taunton, Mass., celebrate the Taunton Flag with a friendly festival on their green every October. But when first raised on Oct. 21, 1774, the flag inspired an angry controversy.

The Taunton Flag

The Taunton Flag

Taunton, Mass., was a hotbed of rebellious fervor. By the time the town raised the Taunton Flag, it had sent lawyer Robert Treat Paine to the First Continental Congress representing Massachusetts.

Six years earlier, Paine defended a 16-year-old slave named Bristol accused of murdering the sister of Dr. William McKinstry to gain his freedom. Paine lost the case and Bristol died on the gallows.

In 1774, Taunton’s Sons of Liberty ran Loyalists out of town. One of the last to go was McKinstry, though the Sons allowed his wife to stay behind.

The Taunton Flag

On Friday, October 21, 1774, patriotic Tauntonians erected an enormous liberty pole. On Monday, October 24, the Boston Evening Post reported the story:

We have just received the following intelligence from Taunton… A liberty pole 112 feet long was raised. Attached to it was a Union flag with the words Liberty and Union sewed on. The following lines were fixed to the pole:

Bird's-eye view of the Taunton Green in 1875

Bird’s-eye view of the Taunton Green in 1875

Design and origin

The Fort Moultrie flag features a dark blue background with a crescent moon (or possibly a piece of throat armour known as a gorget) in the canton. On the crescent shape, the word “LIBERTY” is printed.

In September 1775, South Carolina patriots were preparing to defend their colony against British troops. They wanted a flag to signify to the British that they had taken Fort Johnson on James Island, in Charleston, South Carolina. Colonel William Moultrie was commissioned by the Revolutionary Council of Safety to create a design, and he produced the Liberty Flag.

The colors and symbols used on the flag matched the uniforms worn by Moultrie’s men. The white crescent symbol for example featured prominently on the front of their caps – shown below.

 It was a precursor to the Stars and Stripes, representing the colonies' desire for independence while still acknowledging their Anglo American  heritage.  

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