The Culpeper Minute Men was organized in the fall of 1775in response to Governor Patrick Henry’s call for the Virginia militia to protect the capital at Williamsburg. Their uniform consisted of hunting shirts bearing the words “Liberty or Death” and a distinctive rattlesnake flag stating both “Liberty or Death” and “Don’t Tread On Me.”

“That flag, and the message it conveyed, really ensured the place of the minute men in popular memory,” said John Christiansen, the museum’s executive director. “That phrasing will be revived over and over for the next 250 years. It was in the minds of the men who joined the reborn Culpeper Minute Men during the Civil War in what they considered to be another American Revolution. And the sons and grandsons of those Civil War veterans carried on that legacy into what would eventually become Culpeper’s National Guard company.”

Christiansen explains that newspaper articles from the 1880s and into the early 20th century describe current members of the unit as all “direct descendants” of the original minute men. A short history and description of the flag – one of the first used by the patriot cause – is almost always included.

Culpeper continued to host Virginia and National Reserve units after World War I, but their identity as the “Culpeper Minute Men” eventually faded away. Older veterans created the Culpeper Minute Men Association to keep the memory alive locally, but the minute men were becoming part of national culture.

“America’s Bicentennial in 1976 saw an explosion of Revolutionary War commemorative items, and the Culpeper Minute Men are featured in their fair share of plates, postcards, coloring books, trading cards, tumblers, and more,” said Christiansen. “The earliest example we have is a small pewter tray dated to the 1880s and made by a Culpeper jeweler, probably for one of the Civil War veterans.”

Today, the Culpeper Minute Men are featured in the seals of Culpeper County and the Town of Culpeper, and their name is invoked in local businesses and clubs. “And don’t forget the Virginia license plate design,” says Christiansen

The exhibit will be on display through 2026. It is part of a series of events Culpeper County has prepared as part of the Virginia 250 commemorative programming.