This article is about the American Revolution-era flag. For the former flag of Maine, see Flag of Maine (1901–1909). For for the cultural flag of New England, see Flag of New England.
Used on American vessels by October 20, 1775;[1] formally adopted by the Massachusetts Council on April 29, 1776[2]
Design
A white field charged with a green pine tree, and the words "AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN" in capital letters above the tree.
The Pine Tree Flag (or the An Appeal to Heaven Flag) was one of the flags used during the American Revolution. The flag, which featured a pine tree with the motto "An Appeal to Heaven", or less frequently "An Appeal to God", was used by a squadron of six schooners commissioned under George Washington's authority as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army beginning in October 1775.
It is also used by liberty activists and enthusiasts of the American Revolution to commemorate the Pine Tree Riot, one of the first acts of resistance by the American colonists to British royal authority eventually culminating in the American Revolution.[4]
Background
The pine tree symbol may have been used by the Iroquois League before the arrival of the Pilgrims. The term "pine tree" also referred to oaks, willows, and other trees.[5] Colonists adopted the pine as a symbol on flags and currency in the 17th century, including variants of the flag of New England and coinage produced by the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1652 to 1682.[6]
Appeal to Heaven
The only edition of John Locke's Treatises published in America during the 18th century (1773)
And where the body of the people, or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven, whenever they judge the cause of sufficient moment. And therefore, though the people cannot be judge, so as to have, by the constitution of that society, any superior power, to determine and give effective sentence in the case; yet they have, by a law antecedent and paramount to all positive laws of men, reserved that ultimate determination to themselves which belongs to all mankind, where there lies no appeal on earth, viz. to judge, whether they have just cause to make their appeal to heaven.[8]
Locke's enlightenment-age works on the topic of the philosophy of government were well-known and frequently quoted by colonial leaders in the 1760–1776 period prior to American independence. Locke's writing that most influenced the American philosophy of government was his Two Treatises of Government, and has been used to defend the secularization of American political structures.[9]Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, saw the Declaration as being copied from that work. Locke was not only one of the most-cited political philosophers during the Founding Era (~1776 to 1779), but also the single most frequently-cited source in the years from 1760 to 1776 (the period leading up to the Declaration of Independence).[10]
A flag with a pine tree on it, "a red flag with the cross of St. George in the canton with a green pine tree in the first quarter", was used in New England as early as 1704, and may have flown at Bunker Hill in 1775. It also appeared having a "white field with the motto 'An Appeal to Heaven' above the pine tree".[11]
In a letter dated October 20, 1775,[1][2] General Washington's secretary, Colonel Joseph Reed, suggested a "flag with a white ground and a tree in the middle, the motto AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN" be used for the ships Washington commissioned.[12] Two heavily armed American scows, or "floating batteries," launched on the Charles River in September 1775 had used the Pine Tree flag as an ensign; in his letter, Reed described the banner he proposed as "the flag of our floating batteries."[1][2] The six schooners commissioned by Congress beginning in October 1775 to intercept British ships entering Boston—the USS Hancock, Lee, Franklin, Harrison, Lynch, and Warren—used the Pine Tree flag.[2][1] Prior to Colonel Reed's suggestion, "an appeal to Heaven" or similar expressions had been invoked by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in several resolutions, Patrick Henry in his Liberty or Death speech, and the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms. Subsequently, the phrase was used again by the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration of Independence.[citation needed]
The following year, on April 29, 1776,[2][1] the Massachusetts Council established the flag of the state navy with a resolution stating: "...that the Colours be a white Flag, with a green Pine Tree, and the Inscription, 'An Appeal to Heaven'."[1][2][12]
The pine tree flag has been described as one of the most important flags in the colonies during 1775–1776, and the central image of the pine tree stood for wealth and power, in part because the tall trees were so important to the Royal Navy, as masts for warships.
The flag was a popular regional New England flag and was used to muster troops during the American Revolution before Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes. The flag may have served as partial inspiration for liberty trees and liberty poles.[5] Massachusetts adopted it as its first official flag and put it on their currency.
Maine, nicknamed the "pine tree state", featured on its state flag during 1901–1909 a pine tree on a buff field with a blue star in the canton.[15]
The Maine National Guard also cites the Appeal to Heaven flag as a historic military symbol of Maine, stating that it was presented in July 1775 to the 31st Massachusetts Regiment of Foot, whose soldiers were recruited from present-day Maine.[16] The regiment marched to Boston following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and served in the Siege of Boston.[16]
In 2024, a referendum question was placed on general election ballots in Maine, with 2024 Maine Question 5 asking voters: Do you favor making the former state flag, replaced as the official flag of the State in 1909 and commonly known as the Pine Tree Flag, the official flag of the State?[17] The measure failed with 55% of votes in opposition.[18]
Recent usage (1960s–present)
1968 U.S. postage stamp featuring "Washington's Cruisers Flag"
In 1968, the Pine Tree flag, or "Washington's Cruisers Flag," was featured in the 6¢ Historic American Flags postage stamp series printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.[19][20]
In May 2024, news outlets reported that the flag had been flown at the vacation home of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in 2023. This drew media attention because of the flag's use by "Stop the Steal" supporters.[23][25][26] The justice stated that his wife had displayed the flag, referred to the historic background of the symbol, and refused to recuse himself from ongoing cases involving the 2020 United States presidential election.[27][28]
^ abVile, John R. (October 5, 2018). The American Flag: An Encyclopedia of the Stars and Stripes in U.S. History, Culture, and Law. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 255. ISBN9781440857898. LCCN2018010859.
^"Letter from Justice Alito to Senators Durbin and Whitehouse"(PDF). Retrieved May 29, 2024. I recall that my wife did fly that flag for some period of time, but I do not remember how long it flew. And what is most relevant here, I had no involvement in the decision to fly that flag.
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