History of the Navy Jack
The flag consists of a rattlesnake superimposed across 13 alternating red and white stripes with the motto, "Don't Tread On Me."
First Navy Jack of the United States was used by the Continental Navy from October 13, 1775 through December 31, 1776. In 1980, the Secretary of the Navy directed the commissioned ship in active status having the longest total period in active status to display the rattlesnake jack in place of the union jack until decommissioned or transferred to inactive status.

The rattlesnake had long been a symbol of resistance to the British in Colonial America. The phrase "Don't tread on me" was coined during the American Revolutionary War, a variant perhaps of the snake severed in segments labelled with the names of the colonies and the legend "Join, or Die" which had appeared first in Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754, as a political cartoon reflecting on the Albany Congress.

The rattlesnake (specifically, the Timber Rattlesnake) is especially significant and symbolic to the American Revolution. The rattle has thirteen layers, signifying the original Thirteen Colonies. And, the snake does not strike until provoked, a quality echoed by the phrase "Don't tread on me."



USS Independence became the oldest ship in the Navy's active fleet on June 30, 1995. With this distinction, "Freedom's Flagship" proudly displayed the Revolution-era First Navy Jack, commonly
called the "Don't Tread On Me" jack from her bow.

After thirty-nine years of naval service, USS Independence (CV 62) held her decommissioning ceremony Sept. 30 1998, at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA. The Honorable John H. Dalton, Secretary of the Navy, was the guest speaker in the ceremony which is to include the transfer of the First Navy Jack, also known as the "Don't Tread on Me" jack. The honor of flying the First Navy Jack is held by the Navy's oldest continuous active-duty ship.