In celebrating the birth of the United States of America, on this Independence Day, it seems only fitting that we give pause, and consider how we honor her throughout the year.
Troop 501 is an incredibly patriotic Boy Scout Troop. We have retired our Great Nation’s flag, multiple times, in conjunction with the Veterans of Foreign Wars. We (Mrs Hufford) started the annual Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery New Year Good Turn, at which Troop 501 presents and posts the Colors. And, we have even been honored to be the on-field Color Guard for our Nation’s Standard at a game of the Major League Baseball’s National League Saint Louis Cardinals! 
As a symbol of our pride, and our dedication to the values of Scouting, and as a reminder of our Duty to Country, we proudly wear the Rattlesnake motif, and verse, “Dont Tread on Me,” from the Gadsden Flag, on of the earliest flags of the American Revolutionary War, embroidered on our neckerchiefs of yellow-gold fabric.
In the image to the right, a postcard from our past, the Gadsden Flag, noted in the caption to be our Nation’s First Flag, Revolutionary War Patriots capture British commanders, at the Battle of Bunker Hill, along with the flag of Washington’s Crusaders, and the Continental Flag.
As an outward sign of our deeply held patriotic values, and our tenacity in our brotherhood and solidarity to each other – and to honor another Scout – Eagle Scout Drew Vitello conceptualized the simple, yet complexly significant re-design of the Troop 501 Neckerchief, during Summer Camp, in 2013. It has been a smashing success, and with (and without) our campaign hats, certainly commands attention, whenever we are around!
To help re-enforce these lessons of American History and patriotism, we fly a variety of Historic United States Flags from the Revolutionary War – Era, posting a different flag of historic significance, each day. We open Summer Camp with the Bedford Flag. The amoured arm, holding a sword, descending from a cloud, with three cannon balls in the background, is the arm of God. The Latin inscription, which reads, “Vince Aut Morire,” written from top down on the front, and the bottom up, on the obverse, is translated into English as, “Conquer or Die!” The Bedford Flag is the oldest existing flag in the United States, the second oldest in the western hemisphere and the only flag carried by the Minutemen at the battle of the North Bridge in Concord on April 19, 1775, and it was the flag that was flying, representing our fledgeling Nation, over the “Shot that was heard ’round the world,” starting the American Revolution.
It had a long history before the Revolution, for it had been used as a standard of the Massachusetts Bay cavalry Troop for over 100 years and had seen service in the Indian Wars many times before that great day at the bridge.
In 1659, when the cavalry troop was organized, arrangements were made for a proper emblem. The flag was probably made in England for the Massachusetts Bay Colony sometime between 1660 and 1670. Records of the order for the flag, and a description of the proposed emblem, are in the British Museum.
