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Show THE STORY OF OUR FLAG. When the colonies of Plymouth and Connecticut joined forces under the name of the United Colonies Colo-nies of Xew England, agahist the French, Dutch and Swedes, the King of England was pleased to give them a flag called "the King's standard." this league soon adopted a nag ot its own. Ihis had the cross of St. George in one corner, and a sphere, signifying the Xew World, in one of the other corners. This .flag was followed by others. One of these had s. white ground, a green pine-tree in the center, and ijhe motto, "Appeal to Heaven." Another one had seven red and six white stropes, with a rattlesnake rattle-snake stretched diagonally across it, and bearing the words, "Don't tread on me." Under this latter standard the Continental soldiers sol-diers fought at Trenton and at Princeton. In January, 1775, over the camp of the. patriot army at Cambridge was hoisted the union flag of the colonies. The crosses of England and Scotland had a place in the upper left hand corner, while the field consisted of 13 bars, red and white alternately. This banner, calledthe Grand Union flag, was made by order of congress. - On June 14, 1777, stars took the place of the crosses. The idea of the stars was probably taken from Washington's coat of arms, which was of two horizontal stripes, over which were three stars, and on the top an eagle. This is the resolution that was adopted: Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars in a blue field, representing rep-resenting a new constellation. In 1794. when Vermontrand Kentucky joined the Union, two more stripes and two more stars were-added were-added to the flag. The standard of 15 stripes and 15 stars was used I for 24 years. Under it was fought the pirates of I Algeria and the war of -1812. But on April 4, 1818, congress finally decided to reduce the stripes permanently to. 13, but to put a white star in the blue field in the upper left-hand corner for every state admitted into the Union. ALO YSIUS . BLAKE, Graduate High School. |