<P> At the Congress, Continental Colonel Christopher Gadsden represented his home state of South Carolina . He was one of seven members of the Marine Committee who were outfitting the first naval mission . </P> <P> Before the departure of that first mission in December 1775, the newly appointed commander - in - chief of the Navy, Commodore Esek Hopkins, received the yellow rattlesnake flag from Gadsden to serve as the distinctive personal standard of his flagship . It was displayed at the mainmast . Hopkins had previously led The United Companies of the Train of Artillery of the Town of Providence, before being appointed to lead the Navy . The 1775 flag of the Providence Train of Artillery's featured a coiled timber rattlesnake and the motto "Do Not Tread on Me" along with an anchor, cannons and the motto "In God We Hope" on a gold background . The flag presented to Hopkins as Commander of the Continental Navy is a simplified version of that design . </P> <P> Gadsden also presented a copy of this flag to the Congress of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina . This was recorded in the South Carolina congressional journals on February 9, 1776: </P> <P> Many variations of the Gadsden flag exist: </P>

What does the flag with the snake mean