Betsy
Ross's stars and stripes.
People were free to choose their own banners.
The Minutemen of Culpeper County, Virginia, chose
a flag that looks generally like the Gadsden flag, but also includes the
famous words of the man who organized the Virginia militia, Patrick Henry:
"Liberty or Death."
By the way, there's a fair amount of confusion
about the spelling of Culpeper. You often see it spelled Culpepper, with
three p's. These are both, legitimate alternate spellings of an English
surname. But the flag should definitely be spelled Culpeper, since that's
the official spelling of Culpeper, Virginia.
Note: This history of the Gadsden flag was written by me, Chris Whitten,
based on extensive personal research. It also appears on FoundingFathers.info.
You are welcome to quote from it, reprint excerpts, or even republish the
entire thing. However, please give me credit and link to Gadsden.info.
If you want to copy images, see the Gadsden
flag clip art page. Thanks!
