“We have just received the following intelligence from Taunton, ‘that on Friday last a Liberty Pole of 112 Feet long was raised there, on which . . . a Union Flag [was] flying, with the Words LIBERTY and UNION thereon. . . . ‘“ (1). So wrote an unnamed correspondent from Taunton in the pages of the Boston Evening Post’s edition of October 24, 1774.

Sometimes antique shopping can lead to a history lesson. I look for bicentennial items and I was attracted to a glass with an early American flag – the Taunton Flag. According to the text on the back of the glass, Taunton residents took the English Red Ensign and added the words “Liberty and Union.” They raised a flagpole on the Taunton Common and one October 21st, 1774 and they hoisted the flag as a symbol of their dissatisfaction with Britain.

The Old Colony Museum in Taunton has posted good information on the flag. Colonial self-rule was threatened by the passage of laws like the Stamp Act in 1765. British troops were sent to Boston to maintain order when colonists began to protest that their rights as Englishmen were threatened. The “Intolerable Acts” closed Boston Harbor to shipping and the 1692 Massachusetts charter was revoked. Conventions were held in counties to coordinate resistance. The Bristol County convention was held in Taunton. At that time the sovereignty of George II was accepted, but Parliament was blamed. Taunton relied upon the maritime industry and the closure of the port of Boston impacted their economy. Loyalists were blamed and several notable ones were run out of town. The flag was created by the Sons of Liberty, and was the first flag to fly in protest to British rule while still remaining loyal to the crown.

Some sources believe that the Taunton Flag symbolized that at that time local Americans were not looking for independence but were looking to maintain their union with Great Britain. They wanted to keep their liberties and Englishmen.

For more information: https://www.oldcolonyhistorymuseum.org