An Appeal to Heaven Double-Sided 3×5 flag
In September 1775, the Massachusetts Navy launched two strong floating batteries on the Charles River, Massachusetts, and in October, they fired on the British in Boston. Also in October, Washington commissioned the schooners, Lynch and Franklin, to cruise the Bay. When referring to these schooners, Col. Joseph Reed, Washington’s secretary, in a letter from Cambridge, Mass. to Colonels Glover and Moyland, dated October 20, 1775, gave the following instructions: “Please fix upon some particular color for a flag and a signal by which our vessels may know one another. What do you think of a flag with a white ground and a tree in the middle, the motto ‘AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN’ – this is the flag of our floating batteries.” By February 1, 1776, a total of six such “armed Vessels” of the Navy of The United Colonies of North America, had been commissioned by George Washington. In April 1776, the Massachusetts council passed a series of regulations for the Navy, among which was the following: “Resolved, that the uniform of the officers be green and white and that the colors be a white flag, with a green pine tree, and the inscription, ‘An Appeal to Heaven’.” The flag was officially adopted by the Massachusetts Navy in April of 1776. Many revolutionary war symbols and flags have recently been revived to represent resistance to an ever-expanding and overreaching federal government.
The double-sided construction consists of two individual flags sewn together, back to back with a blocker liner in between, thus creating a heavy, 3-layer design. The liner helps prevent the artwork on one side from showing through to the opposite side. The artwork and lettering are both visible and readable from both sides of the flag.
- Two solid pieces of printed, nylon fabric sewn together with blocker liner
- Lightweight, 200 denier nylon
- Bright colors
- 4 rows of stitching on the fly end to prevent premature fraying
- Reinforced header with brass grommets
- Flag size: 3′ x 5′
