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Show Jlke OwaiutY of Mke $A- v 1 AzzxjiziT y I i. - i &3 DONT JBEAI) ftV" i I (D ,r. V (3) u"'Mf:j(T) ' . . - -it 1 1 S 1 - By ELMO SCOTT WATSON , " 1 ' V mUNK 14 Is Hug day and It recalls the ' fact that on that date In 1777 the W'S' Continental coriKrens "Itesolved, That f ' i:.;.W;sSli&si3" L, 5''" tlio flag of the thirteen United States ' " W&SMii&ff ?niTin ,,e thirteen stripes, alternate red and ft - ;-"fil1 whlte; t,mt tlie u,llon be thirteen 4 f A 3 . ' T.(fA stars, white In a blue field, repre- Sty M . , i )jjf sentlng a new constellation." Thus i 11 "S5i;sS::.-.w .:.:::.::'fv-iV Pjj It was that the new emblem of the ? "isSMM (?1) nntlon came Into ofllclal existence; f thlls " was tllflt the st"rs and Stripes V ; coat and breeches edged with green. Green was were horn , T''-f the color of the early Revolutionary cavalry's Hut. con rnry to the belief of many Amerl- VN. 1 , urjifol-m, Marion's riders wearing the Roman- oans, this docs not mean that our national ban- ?S I esque helmet of the French dragoons and culras- i.or sprang fnll-grown Into being from the brain v jf y J 1 and efi sk(rte(J tunlc wlth wWt0 re- of one man or one group of men on that June iST vers similar to that of the French guides cav- ,lay 150 years ago. The truth Is that our flag, rJ.- AJt- $ I airy whose uniform the first Napoleon was some- llKe so many other American institutions and t aW-' 1 j what partial to, wearing it quite frequently. The symbols, developed by a gradual evolution and W-'Hll ' Culpepper Minute Men wore green hunting shirts derived its inspiration from sources as varied , 'LV1 and the standard of the Georgia Rangers in the as the strains of blood which have been fused : .4N. vjft : latte art of tUe war carried green and white into making "the typical American." I VC V" I stripes! The real origin of our national flag goes back -IV ! When it came to adopting the Stars and to the banner which was flown by the expedition , v' . V Strines however the color scheme of green was th.it discovered the North American continent. p-kSmx--' gripes, This was the simple banner of St. George's cross, 1had beeQ familiar to American colonists for in red on a white Held, the old flag of England. 7j more thm 1QQ rg exercised the prevailing in- It was carried by the expedition of Giovanni I tj ) fluence in the design for the Stars and Stripes. Cabot, or as he is more familiarly known, John rPSnlnfion adontimr the flag appears in the coat and breeches edged with green. Green was the color of the early Revolutionary cavalry's uniform, Marion's riders wearing the Romanesque Roman-esque helmet of the French dragoons and cuirassiers, cuiras-siers, and a green, skirted tunic with white re-vers re-vers similar to that of the French guides cavalry, cav-alry, whose uniform the first Napoleon was somewhat some-what partial to, wearing it quite frequently. The Culpepper Minute Men wore green hunting shirts and. the standard of the Georgia Rangers In the latter part of the war carried green and white stripes. When it came to adopting the Stars and Stripes, however, the color scheme of green was dropped and various flags of red, white and blue that had been familiar to American colonists for more than 100 years exercised the prevailing influence in-fluence in the design for the Stars and Stripes. The resolution adopting the flag appears in the Journal of Congress among a whole page of resolutions reso-lutions presented by' the marine committee on the subject of the navy. On the same page with the flag and other marine committee resolutions is one appointing John Paul Jones to the command com-mand of the ship Ranger. Jones was presented a flag by some women of Philadelphia and soon afterward he had the Stars and Stripes flying at sea. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON m UNU 14 Is Hug day and it recalls the fact that on that date in 1777 the Continental congress "Itesolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States ?niTin l,e l,1lrtecn stripes, alternate red and 'feliW white; that the union be thirteen jjfA stars, white In a blue field, repre-PllS repre-PllS sentlng a new constellation." Thus JLs It was that the new emblem of the nation came Into ofllclal existence; Vtsjy thus It was that the Stars and Stripes were born. lint, contrary to the belief of many Americans, Ameri-cans, this does not mean that our national banner ban-ner sprang full-grown Into being from the brain of one man or one group of men on that June day f0 years ago. The truth Is that our flag, like so many other American Institutions and symbols, developed by a gradual evolution and derived its Inspiration from sources as varied as the strains of blood which have been fused Into ninklng "the typical American." The real origin of our national flag goes back to the banner which was flown by the expedition that discovered the North American continent. This was the simple banner of St. George's cross, in red on a white Held, the old flag of England. It was carried by the expedition of Giovanni Oahot, or as he Is more familiarly known, John Cabot, the Italian navigator, exploring for England, Eng-land, who discovered the North American continent conti-nent In 1497. Sailing along the east coast for 1,000 miles, ho laid the foundation of English claims to North America. The flag was borne later by Capt. John Smith's ships to the settlement set-tlement at Jamestown, Vn., In 1007 and again by the Mayflower to the Plymouth (Mass.) settlement settle-ment In 1020. Next In the line of descent comes the King's Colors or the Union Jack, designed In 1600; symbolizing sym-bolizing the union of England and Scotland after King James took the throne of the united kingdoms king-doms in 1003. Tills union was represented in the English flag by imposing the English red cross of St. George on the Scottish white diagonal diag-onal cross of St. Andrew, on a field of blue. There are records of the use of this flag on forts In tills country in 1079 and 1G9G, and this ensign en-sign was required In all British dominions by a parliamentary act of 1707. The term "Union Jack" was probably derived from King James signing documents in the French "Jacques," the pronunciation of which Is not unlike "Jack." The "union" came to be applied to that part of our national flag carrying carry-ing the stars. In fact, when this part of the flag is flown alone on bows of ships, it is called the "union jack" or simply "jack." Three flags that had an early Influence on the design of the Stars and Stripes were the striped flags of the Dutch republic. The Dutch, lt will be remembered, first colonized New Netherlands, before it became New York. This territory Included In-cluded New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. 1 "The Stars and Stripes Forever!" Reproduction Repro-duction of the famous picture painted by Henry Mosler. The British, evacuating New York after the Yorktown surrender in 1781, nailed the British Brit-ish flag to the flagstaff at the Battery and then greased the pole. A barefoot sailor boy volunteered volun-teered to climb up, take down the enemy flag and nail the American flag to the pole. From "The Winning of Freedom" In "The Pageant of America," Amer-ica," courtesy Yale University Press. 2 The pine tree flag of early Revolutionary war days. 3 The rattlesnake flag of the early American navy. A The 13-star flag, one of the earliest forms after the flag resolution of June 14, 1777. 5 The 15-star, 15-stripe flag, the form used after Vermont and Kentucky were admitted to the Union. 6 Flag of the Sixth Regiment of the United States Marines. Note: No. 2 to 6, Inclusive, are flags in the exhibit of the United States Marine Corps In the Federal building at A Century of Progress, Chicago. Photographs by Hack Miller. !t eenth century the red British ensign carrying the union jack in the canton. The British flag was altered after the Revolution had begun by placing 13 stripes In the fly of the flag under the British union jack. It was called the "grand union flag," and was hoisted by Lieut. John Paul Jones on December 3, 1775, In the newly formed American fleet off Philadelphia. On January 1 or 2, 1776, it was raised over the newly organized American army at 'Washington's headquarters in Cambridge. In the correspondence of that day it was referred to as the "American colors." It is interesting Contemporary illustrations of Jones' ships and the description of the new flag when it appeared in Europe, show that the early navy flags were arranged with the stars in horizontal parallel rows. Due to their number, the stars were staggered, stag-gered, that is, the stars in one row were placed opposite the spaces between the stars in the next, so that they looked like a constellation In the heavens, as the resolution had described them. On one ship they were in five rows; on another, in three. Ingenuity began to be displayed in the arrangement arrange-ment of stars in unofficial flags. In some they were arranged in a square ; in others, In a circle. Some had them in the shape of a single star, a diamond or forming the letters "U. S." At first, the Stars and Stripes were looked upon merely as a navy flag, but in 1818, under the third flag law, the present general design of the flag was established. This held the number of stripes to 13 and added a star for each state. The second flag law, passed by congress in May, 1795, provided 15 stripes for 15 states as well as 15 stars; but as the number of states was Increasing In-creasing by 1818, it was found necessary to curtail cur-tail the amount of stripes. Capt. Samuel Chester Reid, of the navy, hero of a two-day engagement between his small brig and a British squadron of three large ships, was called by the congressional committee to design a flag, and it was his idea to hold the number of red and white stripes to 13 for the original 13 states and to add a star to the union for each new state admitted. On May 18, 1S18, the navy commissioners Issued Is-sued an order, placing the stars in accordance with the navy custom, in parallel horizontal rows and with the stars on the second and fourth rows moved to the right, one-half of a star's space. The order was signed by Commodore John Rogers, president of the navy commissioners. Six months later, he issued a change in the arrangement ar-rangement of the stars, approved by the President. Presi-dent. This order required that the stars be arranged ar-ranged in vertical and horizontal, parallel rows. The act of 1818 gave the fixed rule of adding a new star on the Fourth of July next succeeding succeed-ing the admission of the state, but made no statement state-ment as to the exact arrangement of the stars and this has been a matter with which the Navy department has been chiefly concerned. This Is because the navy flies the Union alone without the stripes in the bow of ships. The navy has attended to details as to proportions and design of the flag and still issues to all de- Settlements in these states were made by Dutch colonists under their flags; that of the Dutch West India Co., with three stripes of orange, or-ange, white and blue; the United States of Netherlands, Neth-erlands, with six stripes of red, white and blue, and the Rotterdam flag of green and white stripes. The English East India company finally crowded crowd-ed the Dutch out of sea trade and this company brought a new flag to America, a nine or ten-striped ten-striped banner of alternating red and white stripes, with a small St. George's cross of red in the upper corner next to the staff. One of the variations in this flag was a pine tree or globe, representing the New world, in the upper left quarter of the union, formed by the arms of the St. George cross. In some flags of this period, the pine tree replaced the St. George cross entirely. With the Revolution, the struggling colonists wanted something different from a British flag, and the pine tree and rattlesnake emblems appeared ap-peared ; also the legend "Liberty and Union" on a plain fly of red. Then came the Stars and Stripes. When Washington left Philadelphia In 1775, to take command of the army at Cambridge, Cam-bridge, he was escorted out of the city by the Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse as far as Newark, N. J. The guidon of this troop was of yellow silk and carried In Its upper corner, next to the staff, a small union of 13 stripes of silver and light blue. Stars first figured in the union of a flag carried car-ried in 1775 on the schooner Lee by Captain Man-ley, Man-ley, a Massachusetts skipper, whose ship operat-ed operat-ed as one of Commodore Hopkins' squadron and captured the Nancy with supplies for the British Brit-ish army November 19, 1775. Thirteen stars on & blue canton formed the union of its flag. They were arranged In five horizontal, parallel rows and were five-pointed. In the blue fly of 'the flag was a white anchor with the word "Hope" above It This design was carried by Rhode Island Is-land troops at Brandywine, Trenton and York-town, York-town, but the stars were of gilt on a light blue canton. Following the early use of the English ensign which carried the St. George's cross In the canton there came into use in the colonies 1a the Eight- to note that although these American colors were used six months before the Declaration of Independence, they still carried the British union jack in the corner. The thirteen united colonies were depicted by the thirteen stripes of the field. No flag was authorized by act of congress until un-til nearly a year after the Declaration of Independence. Inde-pendence. That the "grand union" flag was little lit-tle used in the army Is seen from the many flags of other designs carried by the Revolutionary troops. In the navy, on account of the necessity of telling a friend from a foe by his colors, the same flag was generally used by all congress ships. In 1775, It was usually the pine tree flag; In 1776, and until June 14, 1777, the grand union, and after June 14, 1777, the Stars and Stripes. Privateers carried striped and rattlesnake flags of various designs but It soon became necessary to carry a uniform design, and this forced the adoption of a national flag. This Is why the resolution for the adoption of the stars and stripes appeared in the minutes of the marine committee meeting of June 14, 1777. Because green was such a prominent color In early Revolutionary war flags, it would not have been at all surprising if that color had found Its way into the national emblem. One of the most striking flags of the Revolution was a flag with green fly and a union of 13 links in an endless chain. Outside the circle of links was a circle of 13 hands or mailed fists emerging from clouds and grasping the links. In the center of the chain was a pine tree of green on a blue field. This was the flag of the Newburyport (Mass.) company. Green was also the color of the pine tree and liberty tree flags of Revolutionary days. In April, 1776, the Massachusetts council prescribed pre-scribed green and white as the uniform of officers offi-cers in their sea service, and in the same year the marine committee of the Continental congress con-gress in Philadelphia resolved that the uniform of marine officers be a green coat, white waist- partments, blueprints of changes, after approval by the President. In recent years army and navy have agreed on changes. In 1S34, the army prescribed pre-scribed the Stars and Stripes to replace its garrison gar-rison flag then in use. Until 1912 tfiere was some confusion as to the proper distribution of the 43 stars In the blue field. On October 26, 1912, this matter was definitely settled by the executive order of President Pres-ident Taft that the stars were to be arranged in six rows of eight each, symbolizing the48 states in the order of their ratification. (Thus if you wish to know which star represents your state in the flag, remember what was its number num-ber in the order of admission to the Union, then begin counting from the upper corner next to the staff and the star which comes on the number num-ber corresponding to the number in the order of admission to the Union will be the star of your state.) ( b7 Western Newspaper Colon.) |