The story goes that the Craigs were descendants of Covenanters who had fled from Scotland after the brutal defeat at Battle of Bothwell Brig, south of Glasgow, on 22 June 1679.
There's a family tradition that Andrew and Susanna Craig, from Dreghorn in Ayrshire, didn't stay long in Ireland and apparently crossed the Atlantic around 1684 – they "fled from religious persecution in Scotland to the North of Ireland, but finding it little better in Ireland came to America in 1684; exiles for their allegiance to the principles of Presbyterianism". They settled in New Jersey at Elizabethtown in Union County. Their graves can be seen in St John's Church there.
Almost a century later, a branch of the Craig family had moved further west – first to Lurgan Township in central Pennsylvania and then onwards to westernmost Pennsylvania. By now the father of the household was Samuel Craig. His first wife, Elizabeth McDonald, had died of smallpox along with two of their young children. His second wife was Ireland-born Jane Boyd. They arrived in Westmoreland County in 1772 and settled in Derry Settlement there.
The Westmoreland County community was one of many in the 13 Colonies to voice their opposition to the policies of the London government following the Boston Tea Party of December 1773, and especially so after the Battle of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775 – the famous "shot heard around the world". The Westmoreland County community gathered at Hanna's Town fort on 16 May 1775 and published their Hanna's Town Resolves.
The community also decided to organise a new local battalion, to be led by Colonel John Proctor. Samuel, and his sons Alexander, John, and Samuel Jr., all joined up.
They planned to return to Hanna's Town on 24th May to muster the battalion. Samuel Sr. was appointed as the battalion's Color Bearer. So, they needed a flag.
Like so many American flags of that era, they just followed the familiar British Red Ensign design and customised it. It was Samuel's daughter, 18-year-old Elizabeth Craig, who made it.
The original of the Rattlesnake Flag of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania is displayed in the William Penn Memorial Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It measures 76 inches by 74inches. It originally read “DON’T TREAD UPON ME”...
The Rattlesnake Flag was proposed in the meeting of May 16, 1775 at Hanna’s Town, Pennsylvania, where a group of local men drew up the “Hanna’s Town Resolves,” a letter of protest to King George III of England written before the Declaration of Independence. It was made with great care and handcrafted by Elizabeth Craig, daughter of Samuel Craig, Sr. (the Color Bearer). Elizabeth was 18 years of age at the time. It is the oldest banner representing what is now the United States.It was brought home by Elizabeth’s brother General Alexander Craig and handed down to his daughter Margaret Craig and then to Jane Maria Craig, great granddaughter of General Alexander Craig.When Jane Maria Craig moved to New Alexandria from the Craig farm, she brought the flag,wrapped in newspaper, with her. During the Civil War, when John Hunt Morgan threatened toraid this section, she hid the flag, determined that in any event, this highly prized relic should not be lost. She willed the flag to the state.It found its way to the attic where it gathered dust until discovered in 1913 by Mrs. Gertrude Seanor, who bought the home of Jane Maria Craig. Gertrude took it to her parents William C. and Mary L. Steele who, having realised its great importance, had Gertrude take the flag to James Cook where he displayed it in his drug store. It was then taken to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for safe keeping by J. C. Gibson and William Cunningham.
Lt. Samuel Craig, Sr. (Color Bearer) and his three sons (Brig. Gen. Alexander, John, and Samuel, Jr.) were with the army of General George Washington when it crossed the Delaware River to fight at Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey. Samuel Craig, Sr. carried the Rattlesnake Flag of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania throughout these battles.
