Show ma 1 9 V A I 1 N X bijj at atzl x y mu a r v 7 ell Z 2 01 ago W ef 10 ra 7 dy JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN UNE 14 Is ia flag iday day the day of the oldest flag the flag that tins hns never known defeat the star spangled banner the stars and stripes old glory I 1 I 1 yes the oldest flag so old that 1025 la Is the sesquicentennial of paul reveres Rev cres ride and of lexington and concord of the capture of ticonderoga by allen alien and arnold of the second continental congress Con gresa of the mecklenburg declaration of daniel boones boonesborough Boones borough of bunker hill hlll of the taking inking command by gen george washington of the continental army of the making of esek Il commander in chief of the navy of the siege of boston no 1025 la is not tile the centennial of the ilie flag that Is for 1027 but what of that I 1 the flag Is what we have ninde made it and the ho flag stands for bunker hill just ns its surely as it stands for yorktown and fort me ale henry and monterey and gettysburg and san juan and chateau thierry Th lerry so there will bo be many flag days in 1025 juno june 14 Is flag day because june 14 1777 tho the second continental congress resolved that the flag of the thirteen united states bo be thirteen stripes alternate red and white that the union be thirteen stars white in a blue field representing the new constellation that wits was the flag under which independence wits was won it if there were american hags flags flown lit at lexington and concord they were the flags of the local militia at bunker wits was flown tile the new england flag fing a blue ground ono one corner quartered by tile the red cross of st george with a pine tree in one section and various regi mental flags the union flag that gen george washington raised january 1 1770 over tits his hend headquarters quarters at cambridge was made up of thirteen red and white stripes quartered with the british union jack in token of the fact that the Colont colonials als were lighting fighting tor for their rights as englishmen whether the flag of june 14 1777 wits was designed by betsy ross under direction or by francis delegate to congress front from new jersey a band of patriotic young women t ace e up tresses dresses to make the flag that was thrown to the wind july 4 17 1777 71 over portsmouth harbor maine the flag received its baptism of fire august 3 1777 when st leger with british and indians unsuccessfully laid siege to fort stanwix romp rome N Y september 4 1777 capt thomas thompson ran flag on the raleigh upon going into action on the high seas congress in 1704 ninde made a blunder it ordered the addition of two stars and two stripes to the flag to mark guark the admission to the union of vermont and kentucky in 1818 it eliminated the two stripes and decreed tile the addition of a star for each new state now the new constellation con fists of 48 five pointed stars in six horizontal and eight vertical rows rowa each star with one point upward it I 1 la generally accepted that the white w Z n and nd mitno innocence cici athe the red strength and valor and tile the blue vig fiance perseverance and justice the star spangled banner was first so called by francis scott key in the star spangled banner which by common consent has come to be regarded by the american people as the national air of the united states of america congress has never so BO designated it or any other air but army and navy regulations so recognize it the air la Is tin an old one the poem was written during the war of 1812 in tile the night hours of september 13 1814 while key was watching the bombardment nt by the british fleet of fort Mcl lenry in maryland the british campaign of 1814 consisted of expeditions from the north find and south sir george provost coming from canada and a combined fleet and array army coming from bermuda under admiral cochrane Coch rano and alid gen robert ross ross captured lV washington ashington find and burned the capitol Cupl tol thereupon the british moved upon baltimore but tile the land force of men wits was benton benten oft off and general ross was killed the fleet bombarded fort McI mchenry lenry unsuccessfully and departed the congress of 1914 1014 made appropriation for a handsome monument to key and to the soldiers and sailors who beat off the british army and fleet fleek this monument was dedicated juno june 14 1022 president alardin g made the dedicatory address and said in part here the patriotic sons of the earls republic crushed one of the most ambitious invasions Inva slona ever eer aimed against our nation nere here during the rage ot of combat was born the swelling anthem of Amie american rican plarl OHM it Is wholly ly f fitting r ting that flag day should be chosen for or this commemoration and rededication because our hymn of patriotism Is in an apos apostrophe troph s to the flag we love yea it la Is apostrophe and invocation as well born of 0 a patriotic and poetic soul in the travail ot of a su sublimely blimel y heroic night an american citizenship of the high hig h and simple faith of francis scott key aflame for defense and no less de devoted v doted in meeting the problems of peace will add to the luster of the banner he so proudly acclaimed every glittering star Is fixed every worth wells procession ta is the more impressive tor for its bearing every passion tor for country Is refined by it its u unfolding nf on ships of 0 mercy or vessels vessel ot of war in the armed camp or at the memorials of peace in rejoicing procession or flying filing from the staff over the simple temples of the schooling youth of america amerlean everywhere it pleases the eye and reassures reassure s the heart and stirs the soul until we sing in all confidence with the poet patriot the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave now the scene of this glorious vic epry and song Is further to be honored tile the sixty eighth congress in its closing days passed tin an act providing for tile the restoration of fort me henry floury and its permanent preservation as n national park and perpetual national memorial shrine ns as the birthplace bIrth of tile the immortal star spangled banner and made tin an appropriation of for the purpose congress has recognized the one hun dred and fiftieth anniversary of the tha battle of bunker hill by providing for the united states bunker hill sesquicentennial commission of 11 members 3 appointed by the president 4 by the president of the senate and 4 by the speaker of the house and the appropriation of in connection therewith and bunker Is worth celebrating it was the first battle of tho the revolution ol tile the americans lost it but if ever a defeat wits was a victory it was bunker and what a fight it was waa with all boston on the housetops house topa to watch it I 1 you remember of course the sequence of those first sensational days of actual hostilities in 1775 it was waa the night of the isali of april that paul revere and william dawes rode from boston to warn varo the minute men alen in advance of the british expedition Ieli tion tile the next day took placa the lexington and concord affairs ond and the militia chased the british back into boston bohton the morning of april 20 found boston arx poetically in a state of provincial troops in and by june 10 16 there wera wens a aliu gawu sands behind entrenchments all about B oston the morning of june 17 the very day that washington was appointed commander in chief by the second continental congress in philadelphia the astounded abounded british in boston discovered about one thousand americans americana digging themselves in on breeds mil on the charlestown Charies Charles town peninsula which overlooked the north part of the city british vessels immediately opened fire and gage mustered troops for attack at noon the british moved across to the peninsula in barges under gen Willi william williaim tim ilowe at 3 p nl m under cover of a cannonade the british attacked in force expecting an easy victory tho the americans held their fire until the british were within a few rods their volleys were then so deadly that the british veterans broke and ran reinforced by areah troops t the e british attacked a second time under cover of the smoke from Charles charleston town n set on ire fire for the purpose again the deadly volleys again a disorderly retreat to the shore A third attack again a deadly volley or two but this time there wits was no british retreat for the american a ammunition M wits was exhausted followed then a close and fearful hand to hand fight and in tile the end the americans americana ret retreated rented fron the field so the british won at a cost of almost a hundred officers and about 1400 men killed tin and wounded the american loss in killed wounded and captured was it was an american atory victory in defeat bunker hill destroyed forever the bugbear of the invincibility of tile the british regulars hence our american saying A bunker defeat |