What the Appeal to Heaven Flag Really Means

Cancel culture has come for another flag but it's another fabrication.

Once again cancel culture has come for another victim. This time, the political left and the media have targeted the Appeal to Heaven flag from the 1770s. The real target is Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, whose wife flew the Appeal to Heaven flag. The goal is to convince Alito to recuse himself from the presidential immunity case under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court. But this flag flap is another fabrication, one that must be rebuffed.

Often, it’s hard to know what to make of these attacks on historical things or historical people. The average person usually doesn’t have a deep enough knowledge of American history to refute or evaluate historical items, people or events when they are attacked. That’s one reason why these Marxist attacks are effective. What the average person does have, however, is common sense. That’s all you need to start deciphering the Appeal to Heaven flag.

What does the pine tree mean?

In the center of the Appeal to Heaven flag is a pine tree. Back in the days of the American Revolution, Americans viewed the pine tree as a symbol of New England itself. Why? Trees were New England’s greatest natural resource. In contrast, Old England was a small island filled with people.

America had what England didn’t have: an abundance of trees. New England’s best export was lumber. Hence, New England became synonymous with trees, much like the eagle symbolizes the United States of America today.

Pine trees were featured on other flags. In the 1700s, a white flag with a red cross was the flag of St. George, who was the patron saint of England. If a St. George flag also featured a pine tree in the top left corner, then that flag signified New England.

Likewise, a solid red flag was called the British Red Ensign. If the red flag featured a pine tree in the left corner, then it signified New England instead of Old England. In multiple ways, pine trees were equivalent to New England.

What Does Appeal to Heaven Mean?

Above the pine tree are the words “Appeal to Heaven.” This flag means what it says: “pray.” An Appeal to Heaven is a prayer to God in Heaven.

Joseph Reed, a secretary for George Washington, ordered the creation of the Appeal to Heaven flag for naval vessels in 1775. Massachusetts designated the Appeal to Heaven flag for its state navy.

General George Washington used the phrase “Appeal to Heaven” to encourage his troops after the loss of the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777.

“Altho’ the event of that day, from some unfortunate circumstances, was not so favorable as could be wished, the General has the satisfaction of assuring the troops, that from every account he has been able to obtain, the enemy’s loss greatly exceeded ours; and he has full confidence that in another Appeal to Heaven (with the blessing of providence, which it becomes every officer and soldier humbly to supplicate) we shall prove successful,” he wrote in General Orders on September 13, 1777.

Not as obvious is another meaning for the phrase. “Appeal to Heaven” was also a way to say: to be honest with you or to be frank. If someone told you that they had appealed to Heaven, it meant they had a pure heart or motive because they’d sworn or checked their heart with God. “He made the most solemn Appeal to Heaven that this was his only view in writing the letter,” William Tudor, an attorney for the Continental Army, wrote to John Adams about a 1775 legal case.

A Deeper Meaning for Appeal to Heaven

Appeal to Heaven was often linked to the idea of purity. In 1790, President Washington used “Appeal to Heaven” to refer to the American Revolution in a letter he wrote to the veterans of the Society of the Cincinnati: “As members of our institution (Society of the Cincinnati), on a former occasion, we appealed to Heaven and our own hearts for the purity of our intentions.”

After he was president, Washington responded to President John Adams, who was facing problems with France and England. He again referred to the word pure when referencing Appeal to Heaven.

“Satisfied therefore, that you have sincerely wished and endeavoured to avert war, and exhausted to the last drop, the cup of reconciliation, we can with pure hearts appeal to Heaven for the justice of our cause, and may confidently trust the final result to that kind Providence who has heretofore, and so often, signally favoured the People of these United States,” Washington wrote.

During the American Revolution, the Appeal to Heaven flag meant that New England was calling on God for salvation from the British military.

John Locke, a philosopher who influenced the Declaration of Independence, used the Appeal to Heaven phrase to explain that when men had no other options, no other judges on earth, then they were left to appeal to heaven for their remedy. “The people have no other remedy in this, as in all other cases where they have no judge on earth, but to appeal to Heaven,” Locke wrote in Two Treatises of Government.

No doubt the Americans of the revolutionary era concluded that there was no judge to save them from King George III. They had no other remedy but to appeal to heaven. They prayed that God would favor them and save America. In their minds, they did so with pure hearts. As you can see, Appeal to Heaven means what it says and then some.

So, why the controversy? The media and some politicians are trying to pressure members of the U.S. Supreme Court to recuse themselves from the presidential immunity case relating to J6. Their illogical fallacy goes like this: Because Justice Alito’s wife flew the Appeal to Heaven flag, which was also held by someone on J6, then she must be an insurrectionist, too. This is illogical, ludicrous and unjust.

Flying a flag that means “pray to Heaven” is and must remain culturally acceptable. To use it as a cudgel against a Supreme Court Justice is a violation of the First Amendment. Supreme Court Justices and their families do not surrender their free speech rights.

Our country is deeply hurting right now. Inflation is negatively affecting everyone. The border is in crisis. We’d be better off if more people flew flags appealing to Heaven rather than trying to use it to pressure a Supreme Court justice to recuse himself from a case. We’d be better off if more people evaluated their motives and sought to have a heart of integrity.