FORTISVEX First Navy Jack Flag 3x5 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

First Navy Jack History

Stripes, Rattlesnake, and Warning

The flag commonly called the First Navy Jack places an extended rattlesnake across thirteen alternating red and white stripes, accompanied by the warning “Don't Tread on Me.” Unlike the yellow Gadsden flag, it has a striped field and an uncoiled snake. The Navy's 1975 artwork documents this familiar modern appearance. These distinctions matter: related Revolutionary symbols should not be treated as interchangeable flags with identical service histories. View the Naval History and Heritage Command's 1975 artwork.

What “First” Does and Does Not Establish

The traditional name connects the design with the Continental Navy founded in 1775, but the complete snake-and-stripes flag is not securely documented as its first jack. Commodore Esek Hopkins's January 1776 signal instructions describe a striped jack without specifying a snake or motto. A London portrait of Hopkins printed that year includes a striped snake flag, but the Navy's historians explain why this imaginative image cannot establish actual fleet practice. The evidence allows the possibility that the early jack was simply striped. Read the Navy's assessment of the evidence.

Rattlesnake imagery itself genuinely belongs to the Revolutionary era. Hopkins's separate Gadsden standard used a coiled snake on yellow, and the snake-and-warning combination appeared in other military contexts. The careful distinction is between an authentic period symbol and an unproven claim that this exact striped design served as the Continental Navy's first jack.

A Documented Bicentennial Role

The modern service history is much firmer. For the American Revolution's bicentennial, the Navy authorized the rattlesnake jack from October 13, 1975, through December 31, 1976. It replaced the normal blue union jack during that commemorative period. The contemporary Navy magazine All Hands announced the dates and described the striped design, making this a documented adoption rather than a reconstruction based solely on later tradition. See the October 1975 All Hands announcement.

From Fleet-Wide Display to a Senior-Ship Honor

A 1980 instruction established the rattlesnake jack as an honor for the commissioned ship with the longest total active service. The Navy documents this policy.

Fleet-wide use began again on September 11, 2002, during the Global War on Terrorism. USS Cole's contemporary command history records that change on the day it took effect. See USS Cole's 2002 record.

On June 4, 2019, Navy ships and craft returned to the union jack, with the senior active commissioned ship, excluding USS Constitution, retaining the rattlesnake design. The Navy identified USS Blue Ridge for that distinction at the time. A jack is flown at the bow when in port or at anchor; it is not simply another name for the national ensign. This reproduction therefore recalls both Revolutionary imagery and an independently documented chapter of modern naval service. Read the Navy's 2019 directive announcement. See the Defense Logistics Agency's explanation of jack display.