NOW talk about it.
RATTLESNAKE FLAG of COLONEL JOHN PROCTOR’S 1st BATTALION
WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
American Revolution
“Tradition holds that the flag was made in 1775 at Hanna’s Town from a pre-existing British standard. The flag measures seventy-six inches by seventy inches. The field of the flag is red silk. The canton in the upper right hand corner consists of individual pieces of red, white and blue silk and forms two crosses. The red on white represents the English cross of St. George; the white on blue the Scottish cross of St. Andrew. The retention of the British symbol on the flag indicates that the inhabitants of Westmoreland County, although ready to resist the tyrannical acts of the British Parliament, still considered themselves loyal subjects of King George III.
In the center of the field is a rattlesnake coiled to strike. The snake’ s thirteen rattles signify the American colonies. The rattlesnake device is painted directly on the silk, as is the lettering and decorative scrollwork. The painting was obviously done by a skilled artisan. The gold banner is lettered in black, “DON’T. TREAD. UPON. ME.”; the first two letters of the word UPON have flaked away over the years. Unlike the rattlesnake on other early flags, the snake on the Proctor flag faces right toward the symbol of the British empire. Above the snake is the monogram of John Proctor and the letters, “I. B. W. C. P.”, 1st Battalion, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania or Provincials.
This flag was carried at the battles of Trenton and Princeton, and throughout the rest of the war. The flag was not flown from a pole. The staff was inserted through the sleeve on the canton side of the flag and carried by the color bearer of the battalion”
I had numerous ancestors who served in this battalion and fought in the battles mentioned
http://www.oldwestmorelandrifles.com/family.html
NOW talk about it.