Note: The above illustration is an artist's rendition, not an actual photograph, of the Colonel John Proctor's Battalion Rattlesnake Flag.
The original standard of Colonel John Proctor's Battalion of Associators is maintained on exhibit at the State Museum of Pennsylvania (formerly the William Penn Museum). The flag is perhaps more famous than the battalion for which it was the symbol.
The 6'4" by 5'10" piece of red silk bears the image of a coiled rattlesnake with its head aimed as if to strike at the British Union Jack which occupies the upper corner next to the staff.
The letters which appear below John Proctor's intertwined initials stand for: "1st Battalion Westmoreland County Provincials".
It has been claimed that this flag was created for Proctor's battalion of militia following 17 May, 1775, when, at Hannastown, a Declaration Of Independence was announced by the freeholders of Westmoreland County.
