Continental Nylon Flag
$64.95
Continental Nylon Flag – The Continental Flag was allegedly carried by the colonists at the Battle of Bunker Hill, the second engagement of the Revolutionary War. The red flag features a white canton (the upper left corner) with a New England pine tree in the center. The pine tree was a common symbol representing liberty in colonial New England. Historians are divided about whether or not this flag truly appeared at Bunker Hill since there are no contemporary accounts of its presence there.
About Our Continental Nylon Flag
The pine tree was a common symbol of liberty in New England. Its use dates back to pre-colonial times to the Penacook Indians, an Algonquin Tribe that lived in New England. Penacook means "Children of the Pine Tree." To this day, the symbol of the Iroquois Indians is a pine tree with an eagle on the top. The Indians that helped the Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock survive their first winter were allegedly Penacooks. From that time on, the Pine Tree would often appear as a symbol of freedom in colonial literature and symbolism. British Red Ensign All of the colonists' flags were variations on already existing British Flags. Most took the British Red Ensign Flag as their model. This was the official flag of the British Empire from 1707 until 1801. As such, it was the first official flag of the colonies and the first official flag of the United States. George Washington flew a variation of this flag at Cambridge in January 1776 called the Grand Union flag. Various New England Flags also took an earlier version called the English Red Ensign and added the pine tree. The First Flag of New England is such a flag, and is an example of a precursor to the Continental Flag. The Continental Flag simply removed the St. George's cross (the red cross, which was the symbol of England) from the canton. Other flags, such as the Bunker Hill Flag and the Washington Cruisers Flag used the pine tree as well.