In the autumn of 1775, with war newly declared and the future uncertain, General George Washington faced a daunting problem: he needed ships, yet he had no navy, no official fleet, and no government funds to build one. What he did have was determination, faith, and a handful of schooners commissioned from the Massachusetts coast. On those vessels he ordered a striking new flag, a white field bearing a single pine tree and the words ‘An Appeal to Heaven”. Few Americans today know this story, yet the flag represents one of the most spiritually significant moments in the nation’s founding.
Long before the Revolution, the eastern white pine symbolized New England. Tall, straight, and ideal for ship masts, these trees were so valuable that the British Crown claimed the largest for itself, marking them with the “broad arrow.” Colonists who cut them risked prosecution. When Washington placed the pine on his flag, the message was unmistakable: these trees, this land, and this people belonged not to a king, but to God. The pine had appeared on colonial coins and militia flags, but the phrase beneath it elevated the symbol into a declaration of faith.
“An Appeal to Heaven” came directly from philosopher John Locke’s “Second Treatise of Government”. Locke argued that when earthly authorities become tyrannical and no court can offer justice, the oppressed may appeal to God Himself. The Founders, steeped in Locke’s writings, believed they had exhausted every earthly remedy. They had petitioned, negotiated, and pleaded for redress. When all failed, they concluded that only God could judge their cause and that He would.
In late 1775, Washington commissioned a small fleet from Marblehead and Beverly, Massachusetts, to intercept British supply ships. His secretary, Colonel Joseph Reed, specified the flag to be flown: a white banner with a green pine tree and the inscription ‘An Appeal to Heaven”. This fleet, often called “Washington’s Navy,” predated the official Continental Navy. Crewed by ordinary fishermen and merchants, these men sailed into danger under a flag that declared their belief that their struggle was not merely political, but moral and spiritual.
From a Christian perspective, the flag is remarkable not for what it asks of God, but for what it acknowledges about Him. It affirms that God is sovereign over nations, that earthly powers are accountable to a higher authority, and that when human justice fails, divine justice does not. This was not the distant God of deism, but the biblical God who hears and acts. The Declaration of Independence echoed this worldview months later, proclaiming that all people are “endowed by their Creator” with unalienable rights.
Today, the Appeal to Heaven flag has reemerged in churches, homes, and prayer gatherings. For many, it symbolizes a foundational truth: America was shaped by people who believed that ultimate authority rests not in government, but in God. When institutions falter, the flag reminds us that we still have recourse, an appeal to the One who governs all history.
—Katherine Stewart, Custom Representative, Swanson Christian Products – www.swansoninc.com
