Flags, or colors, helped boost morale and keep soldiers together on a smoky, often-chaotic battlefield. American troops marched under flags of all sorts during the Revolutionary War. A pine tree representing liberty was especially popular in New England. A coiled snake with the words “Don’t Tread On Me” appeared throughout the colonies. The Continental Congress resolved in June, 1777, that “the flag of the U.S. be 13 stripes alternate between red and white and the union be 13 stars in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” Even after the Stars and Stripes became the official flag of the United States, American forces continued to fly other flags. This red, eight-pointed star and homespun linen fragment was once part of a flag owned by Colonel Hugh Maxwell of Charlemont, Massachusetts.