Whiskey Rebellion Flag

Flags Importer

SKU:
#
804762
UPC:
802705851518
Minimum Purchase:
1 unit
Maximum Purchase:
50 units
$11.95
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OVERVIEW

This polyester with metal grommet flag was used by Western farmers to protest against the tax imposed on distilled spirits in 1791. Measures 3' x 5'.
 

In 1791 Congress placed an excise tax on whiskey to raise money to pay off Revolutionary War debt. The East Coast distilleries made almost no objection to the excise. However farmers on the frontier - then anything west of the Allegheny Mountains - protested, leading to a stillborn rebellion.

The Whiskey Rebels used various flags during their rebellion, most quite simple with an anti-Federal theme. The most common were a white flag with red stripes and a flag bearing the inscription "Equal Taxation and no Excise – No Asylum for Traitors and Cowards." Very few examples survive today, however one of the more elaborate ones still exists. This Whiskey Rebellion Flag hung on the wall in the bar of the Century Inn in Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania. The flag has a blue field with an eagle carrying a red and white striped ribbon in its beak with thirteen six-pointed stars scattered about the field. Sadly the building burned in 2015, however quick thinking owners grabbed the Whiskey Rebellion flag and saved it from the fire. 

Polyester with metal grommets. Measures 3' x 5'.