The Bedford Flag is the oldest known surviving complete flag in the United States. It is associated with Bedford, Massachusetts, and is traditionally linked to the local militia during the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775.
The flag is made of crimson silk damask and shows an armored arm holding a sword emerging from a cloud. A banner carries the Latin motto “Vince Aut Morire,” usually translated as “Conquer or Die.” The flag is kept by the Bedford Free Public Library and is displayed as a local historical treasure.
Its exact date of manufacture is uncertain. Scientific evidence places it early in the eighteenth century, and the pigment Prussian blue shows that it cannot predate 1704. Family tradition says Nathaniel Page carried it to Concord, but contemporary documentary evidence does not conclusively prove that story.
The Bedford Flag is often confused with the Betsy Ross flag or the Bennington Flag. Those are famous American symbols, but neither is the oldest known surviving complete U.S. flag. The Bedford Flag's distinction concerns survival as a complete flag, not official national status.