Appeal to Heaven Mini Patch - 1"

This is a 1" x 1" mini PVC patch with velcro backing + a sew on loop patch. Designed for more subtle uses on clothing, hats, or gear, or on our handmade leather DVLP x Carriger Crafted Patch Accessory.

The Appeal to Heaven flag, also called the Pine Tree Flag, is one of the earliest banners of the American Revolution. It shows a green pine tree on a white field beneath the words "An Appeal to Heaven."

The motto comes from John Locke's Second Treatise of Government (1689). Locke argued that when rulers become tyrants and no earthly judge remains to settle the dispute, a people's only recourse is an appeal to Heaven. He drew the idea from Scripture. In Judges 11:27, Jephthah faces the Ammonite king and says, "The LORD the Judge be judge this day." For the colonists, the phrase declared that their cause rested on God's justice, not merely on force of arms.

The pine tree was already a symbol of New England. It appeared on the Massachusetts pine tree shilling of 1652 and on colonial flags long before the war. It also carried a grievance. The Crown reserved the tallest New England pines as masts for the Royal Navy, and colonists were forbidden to cut them.

In October 1775, George Washington outfitted a small fleet of armed schooners to intercept British supply ships. His military secretary, Colonel Joseph Reed, proposed that the vessels fly a flag with a white field, a tree in the middle, and the motto "Appeal to Heaven." The following April, Massachusetts adopted the same design as the official flag of its state navy.

Today the Appeal to Heaven flag remains a reminder that America's founders placed their cause, and their rights, in the hands of God.