An Appeal to Heaven – Our First National Flag
Although the Pine Tree Flag was not officially established by the Act of Continental Congress, it became in fact the official Naval Ensign for the time being.
Summary History of the “Appeal to Heaven” Flag
In the fall of the year 1775, the colonists created a fleet of six ships known as “Washington’s Cruisers.” These brave little vessels sailed forth to capture British stores and ammunition bound for America’s shores.
The ships were the “Lynch,” the “Franklin,” the “Lee,” the “Harrison,” the “Warren” and the “Lady Washington.” The Lee was the only one of this first American Fleet to meet with success upon the high seas, capturing the British brig Nancy, caring arms, ammunition, and provisions to the British Army in America.
These “Washington Cruisers” flew the first national flag known as “An Appeal to Heaven Flag” also known as the “Pine Tree flag” and “Washington Cruisers flag”. It was a white flag bearing a pale green pine tree with the motto “Appeal to Heaven.” It was one of the first flags that the freedom fighters used during the American Revolution. The history of the Pine Tree Flag is filled with battles, revolution, religion, and a bit of divinity.
Therefore, let’s start the story from the very beginning!
Main Reason for the Pine Tree Flag
Was Appeal to Heaven flag voted by Congress as the official American flag? Far from it. Back in the day when Americans started their battle for freedom with success, opportunities arose to fly any flag representing America. Not just to declare a victory, but for the occupied forts to be clearly distinguishable from the ones still kept by the British.
It just happened so that due to the turn of events, this was the flag that was designed and chosen to fly on Washington’s battleships.
Why the Pine Tree
There are two possible reasons why the pine tree was chosen as the central image.
First of all, the story goes beyond the arrival of the colonists, while the indigenous tribes were still fighting among themselves for the right to territory in the 16th century. Five nations were warring for decades before they decided to put an end to it once and for all. As a symbol of the treaty, the tribe leaders buried their weapons under a pine tree, which eventually became known as the “tree of peace”. In time, the pine tree also got associated with the multi-tribal support of American independence and support of the Revolutionary War.
The second reason has to do with the very nature of the tree, to say the least. Pilgrims noted the qualities of New England’s eastern white pine and soon began exporting it. The tree was extremely valued in the colonial shipbuilding industry due to its high quality and dimensions. So, a pine tree was observed as something precious.
It is precisely the preciousness of the pine tree that led to further events that would inspire the Appeal to Heaven Pine Tree flag design.
Pine Tree Riot — the Beginning of the Rebellion
As pine trees were so precious for building army ships, the British government issued a statute that banned 12-inch diameter trees to be cut. A New Hampshire mill owner, who refused to pay the fine for having cut the forbidden pine trees, started a riot with other mill owners and townsmen against the sheriff and his deputy who came to arrest the mill owner. In short, the two officials were whipped with a tree switch and forced out of the town with glee.
This act was taken as one of the first protests against British rule and policies, so the pine tree became associated with rebellion. This made it a perfect fit for the revolutionary flag(s).
Meaning Behind Appeal to Heaven
To fully grasp the meaning of this quote on the Pine Tree flag, one has to go back in history to the times of kings and queens. Namely, the people were taught king or queen had the divine right to rule. Hence, any action against them would be considered an ultimate sin, a rebellion against Heaven, a devil’s work.
In order to justify the American fight for freedom from this common point of view, British philosopher John Locke gave his opinion against the theory of the divine right in his Second Treatise on Civil Government.
In short, Locke explained that if the appeal on earth fails, the people have to appeal to heaven for justice and guidance. If they can’t fulfill a just cause by appealing to earthly laws and rulers, they can make an appeal to heaven to reach justice.
Naturally, John Locke was very popular among freedom fighters and his appeal to heaven has been mentioned even in official documents such as the Declaration of Independence.
The Design and Adoption
To sum up, all of the above led to the adoption of the flag on October 21st, 1775, as George Washington needed a flag for the commissioned ships. The Pine Tree flag designer was Washington’s secretary, Colonel Joseph Reed.
Just a year after, in 1776, the Appeal to Heaven flag was adopted as the state navy flag.
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Parts Taken From GH15 – Dutch Sheets – A Flag Reborn (from Apr 27, 2023 GH15)
This flag was actually used before the Stars and Stripes existed in many ways it is the banner under which America was born. Now this does nothing to dishonor Old Glory; nonetheless the symbolism of this earlier flag is extremely important. The Banner of the original has the phrase “Appeal To Heaven” across the top. This phrase our Founders took from the writings of John Locke an influential English philosopher from the mid 1600s. Locke wrote a series of papers on natural laws; stating that human rights originated with God, not with government. Locke made the case that when people had done everything humanly possible to experience those god-given rights and failed in doing so there remained but one option, and here I quote him from his 2nd letter on Civil Government: “and where the body of the people or any single man is deprived of their right or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no Appeal on Earth; they have a liberty to appeal to heaven.” So you can see Locke’s phrase “appeal to heaven” states clearly that when all resources and the ability to attain Justice on Earth are exhausted, an appeal to Earth’s ultimate judge is the final recourse.
This concept would become a foundational philosophy in American society; even used in the Declaration of Independence. George Washington and his contemporaries used the Appeal to Heaven phrase in America’s cause for freedom from Britain’s tyranny; having exhausted all peaceful possibilities of experiencing the Liberty they so desired the colonists realized their only hope for freedom was through War. Yet with Britain’s great military weaponry and wealth contrasted by the colonists dire lack of these resources; any military attempt to break free from British rule was preposterous, even laughable. Laughable that is unless almighty God intervened. The Stance of the colonists was simple, their right to Freedom came from God, He would help them. We will appeal to Heaven they declared, and the flag was born. From the days of the pilgrims Godly men and women have believed almighty God was involved in the birth of our nation they also felt that if a nation chose to partner with and honor God, it would experience His favor and blessing in extraordinary ways. Washington and the colonial dreamers agreed they believed The Sovereign was indeed birthing a city set on a hill that can’t be hidden; a light to the world. They no doubt knew of John Winthrop, a leader of the Puritans Massachusetts Bay Colony, using this phrase in his 1630 speech on board the Arbella to describe what he believed God wanted to build in America, we’ll take a look at a piece of Winthrop’s Sermon later. They knew of the planting of the cross at Cape Henry in 1607 and of the ensuing prayer meeting dedicating the land to God’s glory.
Here is Pastor Robert Hunt’s Prayer for our nation at that cross planting, a nation not yet even founded…yet another proof of America being a Covenant nation unto God!
We do hereby dedicate this Land, and ourselves, to reach the People within these shores with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to raise up Godly generations after us, and with these generations take the Kingdom of God to all the earth. May this Covenant of Dedication remain to all generations, as long as this earth remains, and may this Land, along with England, be Evangelist to the World. May all who see this Cross, remember what we have done here, and may those who come here to inhabit join us in this Covenant and in this most noble work that the Holy Scriptures may be fulfilled.
After Hunt’s Prayer, they read together the following passage, from Psalms, Chapter 22, verses 27 & 28
“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord’s and he ruleth among the nations”
I hope you will continue to pray for God’s will to be done in the United States of America. I believe the Lord ‘will’ continue to send forth His Word from this country.
Back to the story of the Appeal to Heaven Flag. These founders had also read the Mayflower Compact from 1620, stating the dangerous voyage to these shores that they made was, I quote: “for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.” Would God honor these events and prayers, even more importantly, was he inspiring these actions? Was America God’s dream not just theirs? They believed, these colonists they believed the answer to these questions was yes; the pilgrims absolutely believed America had a god-given Destiny, and our founding fathers did as well. Throughout our history America’s presidents and leaders have also reiterated this belief. John F Kennedy referenced Jesus from Matthew, Chapter 14 – the city on a hill; and John Winthrop’s famous “City Upon A Hill” sermon, as did Ronald Reagan and numerous other presidents.
I include here, for times sake, just a short portion of Winthrop’s Sermon, pertinent to out Muse (you can find the whole Sermon online just by searching either John Winthrop or “A City upon a Hill” sermon online, it would be worth you time to read, Berean, it’s an important part of our country’s history:
Here now, a portion of Winthrop’s Sermon:
The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us, as His own people, and will command a blessing upon us in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of His wisdom, power, goodness and truth, than formerly we have been acquainted with. We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies; when He shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, “may the Lord make it like that of New England.” For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God’s sake. We shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going.
And to shut this discourse with that exhortation of Moses, that faithful servant of the Lord, in his last farewell to Israel, in Deut. 30 he spoke to Israel. “Beloved, there is now set before us life and death, good and evil,” in that we are commanded this day to love the Lord our God, and to love one another, to walk in his ways and to keep his Commandments and his ordinance and his laws, and the articles of our Covenant with Him, that we may live and be multiplied, and that the Lord our God may bless us in the land whither we go to possess it. But if our hearts shall turn away, so that we will not obey, but shall be seduced, and worship other Gods, our pleasure and profits, and serve them; it is propounded unto us this day, we shall surely perish out of the good land whither we pass over this vast sea to possess it.
Therefore let us choose life,
that we and our seed may live,
by obeying His voice and cleaving to Him,
Now Modern day revisionist Liars try to rewrite and remove these FACTS of our Covenant WITH GOD in this land’s very FOUNDING from our history because these FACTS do not fit the rewritten narrative lies they wish to brainwash you with and the call history; but the truth will always trump their lies.
General George Washington leader of the American Revolution obviously believed in these divine words and plan; he commissioned the several ships we talked about earlier for the Revolutionary War efforts, and highlighting their dependence on providential help, each vessel flew under the Appeal to Heaven Banner. As we also pointed out earlier, The popularity of the flag spread and it was soon flying throughout the colonies, as well as being adopted as the flag of the Massachusetts State Navy.
It became the symbol of these colonists unwavering Spirit of Liberty as well as a clear statement of where they placed their faith.
So you see America was born under a banner of Prayer. That Appeal To Heaven Flag is a stark reminder that our strength alone did not birth this nation. We were birthed by the hand of God; and we were born not just for our personal blessing and freedom, we were created to represent Christ around the world. In our now admittedly spiritually weakened state, America must appeal again. Just as we were no match for the military power controlling us in that day in our own strength, we are no match for the spiritual Powers controlling us now. Only that which birthed us then, can rebirth us now!
Please Join Me And Let Us Pray for America:
Father the way you raised up America; the way you raised America up as a voice in the Earth is indeed remarkable. You did so knowing you would use her to be a trumpet of the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. We are humbled and inspired by this; we are deeply impacted by the knowledge we were born under a movement of Prayer, that it truly was through appealing to you, Father God, our Adonai Elohim, that our freedom was produced. Just as you have brought this flag, the ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag out of hiding, we pledge to you that we will appeal once again and we believe you will once again free us from oppression; this time from within.
America shall be saved! Father, overthrow the evil trying to destroy our heritage and Destiny; overthrow those who defile our children and promote perversion. We bind these efforts in the name of Jesus. Just as our Founders placed in the Declaration of Independence we are appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the moral uprightness; the righteousness of our intention. So Lord, in Jesus name, we ask you to bring Revival to America; we pray for your church, the Ecclesia, to rise to the Glorious level you speak of in Scripture; a worthy Bride for you and an expression of your Authority over the Earth. Make us an Ecclesia the Gates of Hell cannot Prevail against, just as you said. We call this forth in the name of Jesus and declare that America shall be saved!
We decree that our Appeal To Heaven will be heard, and will succeed! Amen.
One Pilgrim's Journey 