Page 90 - Dragon Flood

This cartoon, published in 1754 during the French and Indian War, gained great popularity
among those colonialists who desired their own identity separate from England. Images
have a powerful way of uniting people together. In 1774, Freemason Paul Revere used this
image in his publications, and in 1775 Benjamin Frankin wrote an article in which he
suggested that the serpent was a fitting symbol of the American “spirit.” Yes, indeed!

"I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she
has no eye-lids—She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance.—She never
begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem
of magnanimity and true courage.—As if anxious to prevent all pretensions of quarreling
with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her
mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most
defenseless animal; and even when those weapons are shewn and extended for her
defense, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are
decisive and fatal:—Conscious of this, she never wounds till she has generously given
notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of stepping on her.—Was
I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America?"
[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_flag]

Does it not seem fitting that the man who was a member of the Hellfire Club should choose
a serpent as the emblem of America, and that Paul Revere who frequented the Green
Dragon Tavern in Boston, the headquarters of the American Revolution, should also adopt
this symbol? We need not guess who is the ultimate author of both the Hellfire Club and
Freemasonry. It is none other than the dragon and serpent of old.

When the United States formed a navy in 1775 to intercept British ships, the first flag flown
from the fleet was known as the Gadsden Flag, named after Christopher Gadsden, a
member of the Continental Congress from South Carolina. The flag featured a yellow
background with a coiled rattlesnake in the center. On the serpent’s tail were thirteen
rattles.