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* FLAG! 

■OF' 

THE WORLD 






* M CANBLESS - *n4 « GMQSVEN OK. 




CORNELL 

UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 




Cornell University Library 
CR107 .M12 

Flags of the world by Byron McCandless 



3 1924 029 797 341 
olin Overs 




^ 



Cornell University 
Library 



The original of this book is in 
the Cornell University Library. 

There are no known copyright restrictions in 
the United States on the use of the text. 



http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029797341 



Flags of the World 



BYRON McCANDLESS 

Lieutenant-Commander U. S. Navy 
AND 

GILBERT GROSVENOR 

Editor National Geographic Magazine 



With 1197 Flags in Full Colors 
300 Additional Illustrations in Black and White 




PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 
WASHINGTON. D. C. 

U. S. A. 



rc 



Copyright by the 

National Geographic Society 

1917 



< 



Washington 

Press of Judd & Detweiler, Inc. 

1917 



THE WHITE HOUSE 

WASHINGTON 



14 December, 1917 



My dear Mr. Grosvenor: 

The Flag Number of the National 
Geographic Magazine is indeed most interest- 
ing and most valuable. I sincerely congratu- 
late you on the thoroughness and intelligence 
with which the work has "been done. It consti- 
tutes a very valuable document indeed. 

Cordially and sincerely yours, 




Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor, Director, 
National Geographic Society. 



THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY... 

W AS H INGTON . 

December 3, 1917 
Wy dear .Mr. Grosvenor: 

I wish to congratulate and thank you for the magnificent 
Flag Number of the National Geographic Magazine. It had for me a per- 
sonal as well as a national interest, because during the weeks that 
Lieutenant Commander Byron McCandless was busy in the preparation of the 
artioles and the flags whioh adorn the magazine I caught something of 
the spirit of enthusiasm and patriotism whioh marked the delightful la- 
bor which he brought to the study and preparation of what is truly an 
historic number^ To have given to the people a beautiful Flag Number 
at any time would have been in keeping with the eduoational service which 
the National Geographio Magazine has long rendered to the American pub- 
lic. To have given this service at this time, when the Flag means more 
to us than ever before in our history, and when millions of young men are 
responding cheerfully to its call because of the principles it symbolizes, 
your Flag Number may be truly said to be a contribution to the victory 
which will be won under the inspiration of the ideals which the Flag em- 
bodies. 

Sincerely yours , 

Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor, Editor, 
The National Geographio Magazine, 
Washington, D. C 

THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 

WASHINGTON. 

December 12, 1917 
My dear Mr. Grosvenor; 

I am very glad to have the second copy of the Flag Issue of 
the National Geographic Magazine which you: were good enough to send 
me, the first having already reached me at my home, and I wish to thank 
you on behalf of my associates in the War department for the Society's 
generous offer to present a special edition of 5000 copies of the mag- 
azine for the use of the men in the Army. 

This issue is not only of general interest, as all the issues 
of the magazine are, but of permanent value for reference, and of par- 
ticular usefulness to the men in the military service of the United 
States at this time. 

With best wishes and renewed thanks, I am 

Cordially yours, 



Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor, Editor, 

The National Geographic Magazine, 
Washington. D. C. 




"CW 




THE FLAG BOOK 



FLAGS symbolize the noble aspira- 
tions and glorious achievements of 
the human race ; they epitomize the 
romance of history; they incarnate the 
chivalry of the ages. 

Their origin is divinity itself ; for when, 
at the beginning of recorded time, Jeho- 
vah made a covenant with man, prom- 
ising that never again would He send the 
waters to cover the face of the earth and 
destroy all flesh, He unfurled the first 
flag — the multihued banner of the rain- 
bow — which He set in the clouds as a 
symbol of security and an assurance to 
all future generations of His watchful 
care. 

And since that day man has, in his 
finite way, employed his earthly banners 
as emblems of faith, of hope, and of high 
resolve. 

Around the bits of varicolored bunt- 
ing which the people of each land nom- 
inate as a national flag, there cluster 
thoughts of loyalty, of patriotism, and of 
personal sacrifice which have enabled the 
world to move forward, from the days 
when each individual struggled for him- 
self alone, like other wild animals of plain 
and mountain side, until, through com- 
munity of interests and unit)' of effort, 
mankind has been enabled to rear, the 
splendid structure of twentieth century 
civilization. 

When the savage began to emerge from 
his isolation and took the first steps to- 
ward becoming a social creature, profit- 
ing by association and cooperation with 
fellow human beings, one of his first 
needs was a sign or a symbol whereby he 



could distinguish during primitive battles, 
between creatures of his own tribe or 
family and those of enemy tribes. A 
peculiar type of club, a splotch of colored 
clay on the body of the warrior, and later 
some rude device on his clumsy shield 
served for 'a time the purpose of insignia. 
Eventually these bits of wood, bodily 
ornamentation, and shield signs were re- 
placed by the skins of animals attached 
to poles so that the)' might be held high 
in the air and recognized at a distance. 
.Prom such crude beginnings it is easy to 
trace the evolution of the flags of civil- 
ized man. 

Today, while it is true that we are 
thinking of the flags of our own and of 
other nations in relation to sanguinary 
strife, .-these emblems of armies and navies 
have a deep and noble significance far 
removed from their use in leading men 
to battle. In reality flags are the bul- 
warks of idealism. 

AN INSPIRATION TO PERSONA!, SACRIFICE 

The flag epitomizes for an army the 
high principles for which it strives in 
battle. Were it not for the ideals which 
it keeps ever before the soldier he would 
be bestializcd by slaughter. It keeps 
men's motives lofty even in mortal com- 
bat, making them forgetful of personal 
gain and of personal revenge, but eager 
for personal sacrifice in the cause of the 
country they serve. 

With full realization of what the stories 
of the flags of the world mean, each to 
its own people, and with the belief that 
Americans will be inspired by under- 



NoTE : The pages of the Flag Book are numbered as they appeared in the NaTionai, Geo- 
graphic Magazine (No. 4, Vol. 32). 




282 




Photograph by Paul Thompson 
THE PRESIDENT OI? THE UNITED STATES ON BOARD A BARGE WHICH FLIES HIS FLAG 
AT THE BOW WHILE) TAKING HIM FROM THE "MAYFLOWER" TO 
THE FLAGSHIP (SEE ALSO PAGE 324) 

The President's flag (No. 2, page 310) is one of the most difficult flags to make, requir- 
ing the labor of a skilled seamstress for an entire month. Every detail of the eagle, each 
feather and each scale, must be carefully embroidered. On two days of the year the ships of 
the American Navy are "full dressed," as are the battleships shown here. Those occasions 
are the Fourth of July, the birthday of the nation itself, and the Twenty-second of February, 
the birthday of him who will ever remain first in the hearts o"f his countrymen. To "full- 
dress ship" is also permissible as a matter of international courtesy, when in foreign ports, 
upon the occasion of the visited country's national holidays or in honor of the presence of 
their men-of-war. 



standing and appreciating the motives, the 
traditions, and the sentiments which have 
given birth to these various symbols of 
sovereignty, the National Geographic 
Society presents this work, devoted to 
the flags of all countries. 

In the present world struggle, in which 
the United States of America is now en- 
gaged, we of this land hold to the ideals 
represented in the history and the promise 
of the Stars and Stripes — the ideals of 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness 
safeguarded for all mankind. 

And though many must fall in the 
achievement of those ideals, a noble and 
imperishable good will endure as a monu- 
ment to their sacrifice. History can be- 
stow upon such soldiers no higher en- 



comium than that of Defenders of the 
Flag. 

In presenting 1,197 flags in accurate 
colors and design, the plates of which 
were utilized for this volume, the Society 
issued the most expensive, instructive, 
and beautiful number of its magazine in 
the history of periodical literature. 

the big task of making the flag 

NUMBER 

111 assembling the flags of the world, in 
choosing the correct from the spurious 
designs, and in mobilizing, so to speak, 
the flag lore of our own America, as vvell 
as in the research which has made it pos- 
sible to present here many flags pregnant 
with historic associations, the National 



283 



2 84 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Geographic Society has been fortunate 
in having the enthusiastic cooperation and 
active professional services of the fore- 
most flag expert of the United States 
Government and probably the leading au- 
thority in the world on flag usages among 
maritime nations — Lieut. Commander 
Byron McCandless, of the United States 
Navy. 

Lieut. Commander McCandless was the 
flag officer of the American fleet at Vera 
Cruz in 191 3, and in the performance of 
his duties there he found that the signal 
officers and enlisted men were handi- 
capped in their work by the non-existence 
of a flag book. Being far removed from 
a printing establishment, the ingenious 
officer met the condition by chiseling flag 
plates from leaden sheets and printing in 
color a book of flags with a hand-press in- 
stalled on the flagship. This unique pub- 
lication attracted wide attention among 
naval officers, and the demand for copies 
of the work became so great that the im- 
provised flag plates, made of soft metal, 
soon wore away. 

Lieut. Commander McCandless was in- 
duced by the National Geographic So- 
ciety to undertake, with the consent of 
the Secretary of the Navy, the assembling 
of the flags of the world for this volume. 
In view of the value of this flag material 
to the government, the Society has do- 
nated 5,000 copies of the Flag Book to 
the United States Navy and 5,000 copies 
to the Army. 

In addition to the expert services of 
Lieut. Commander McCandless, the Ed- 
itor has had the assistance of John Oliver 
La Gorce, the Associate Editor ; of Wil- 
liam Joseph Showalter, Ralph A. Graves, 
Franklin L. Fisher, and other members 
of the editorial staff in the months of 
research work necessary to secure the 
historically accurate data descriptive of 
the more than 1,200 flags in colors and 
in black and white. Thus, through such 
concerted effort, it is possible to present 
in this issue the most complete and au- 
thoritative work on flags ever published. 

The engraving of the coats-of-arms and 
devices appearing on many of the ban- 



ners and the preparation of all the color 
plates in their accurate proportions, as 
well as the notable achievement in rich 
color printing, have been accomplished 
through the mechanical efficiency and ar- 
tistic cooperation of the Beck Engraving 
Company of Philadelphia. In the proc- 
esses of color printing it was necessary 
to operate the presses in daylight only, 
in order that the tints and shades might 
be kept true for each of the 23,000,000 
pages (32 pages of color in each of more 
than 700,000 copies of the National 
Geographic Magazine). 

The Flag Number and the Flag Book, 
like all the other issues since the found- 
ing of the magazine twenty-nine years 
ago, owe their attractive typographical 
appearance to Messrs. Judd & Detweiler. 
Inc., of Washington, D. C. 

the work of printing 

So vast has grown the membership of 
the National Geographic Society that 
one finds it hard to realize how wide- 
spread is the geographic interest it has 
engendered or how many magazines must 
be printed before each member can re- 
ceive his or her copy. Two striking 
illustrations of the Society's numerical 
strength have come home to the Editor in 
the issuance of the Flag Number. With 
one of the largest color printing plants 
in America engaged in producing the 32 
pages of flags in colors, it took 75 work- 
ing days — three months — -to print these 
alone. 

The attention of the reader is directed 
to the little vacant spaces after flags 640 
and 666 respectively (pages 350-351). 
These blank intervals do not seem to be 
more than negligible ; and yet, running 
through the entire edition of the Na- 
tional Geographic Magazine, they oc- 
cupy more than 700,000 square inches of 
space, or 1,728 pages. Put side by side 
they would form a ribbon of paper twenty 
miles long. 

Gilbert Grosvexor, 

Editor and Director, 
National Geographic Societx. 



INDEX TO FLAGS AND INSIGNIA 

„ , . , Illustration 

Subject page 

African flags 354, 355, 358, 367 

Army flags of United States 314 

Asian flags 354, 355, 358, 367 

British Empire flags 359-366 

Australia 363 

Dominion of Canada 362 

Correct dimensions of United States flag 312 

Correct display of United States flag 

European flags ."04, 358, 367 

Flags famous in American history 388, 339, 342 

Geography of middle ages told by flags -''.70 

Insignia of uniformed forces of United States 414-419 

Makers of the Flag 

Marine Corps flags of United States ulo 

National Geographic Society flag 335 

Naval flags of the world , - . . . 347, 350, 351 

Navy flags of United States 315, 318, 319 

Pan-American flags 343, 346 

Stars and Stripes, History of 310 

State flags of United States 323-334 



Text 
Page 
372 

308, 309 
372 
378 
383 
381 
404 
404 

372, 388 
341 
3SS 
413 
304 

313, 316 
340 
369 

313, 316 
381 
286 




Photograph by Brown Brothers 



SALUTING THE FLAG IN SCHOOL. 



The salute to the flag fosters a spirit of unity and loyalty among the future citizens of 
the land, regardless of the many racial stocks from which these children may have sprung. 
Happily, educators are rapidly appreciating the importance of such outward symbols and 
ceremonies, and it is hoped that the time is at hand when such patriotic customs will be 
universally adopted in our public and private schools. 



28s 



THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN' FLAG 



The text and illustrations of this Flag X umber, in its entirety, arc protected by 
copyright, and all rights arc reserved 



K 



5 IF in augun- of that perpetual 
peace for which all mankind hopes 
as the outcome of the world war, 
immediately following the entrance of 
the United States of America into the 
great struggle to secure democracy for 
all peoples and freedom from the menace 
of militarism for all nations, the Stars 
and Stripes were received gratefully and 
reverently into that historic shrine of the 
English-speaking race — St. Paul's Ca- 
thedral, London — there to be preserved 
among the hallowed banners of the hosts 
of liberty (see page 302). 

This epochal event marked the alli- 
ance, in a sacred cause, of the two great 
self-governing Anglo-Saxon nations just 
140 years after the birth of that Star 
Spangled Banner in the travail of the 
conflict which severed the American Re- 
public from the British Empire. 

From the embattled pinnacle of high 
resolve and lofty idealism where the 
American flag has always floated, the 
course of its rise may be surveyed — an 
inspiration to the patriot, an enduring 
emblem of hope for the oppressed. The 
story of the Stars and Stripes is the story 
of the nation itself : the evolution of the 
flag is svmbolic of the evolution of our 
free institutions; its development epito- 
mizes the amazing expansion of our 
boundaries and the development of our 
natural resources : its glorious history is 
the history of the people whose sover- 
eignty it signifies. 

"in the embryonic days of the republic, 
when the Thirteen Original States were 
' still feeble British colonies bordering the 
western shores of the Atlantic, there were 
almost as many varieties of banners borne 
bv the Revolutionary forces as there are 
today races fused into one liberty-loving 
American people. 

The local flags and colonial devices 
(Xos. 361-366, 377-422) displayed in bat- 
tle on land and sea during the first months 



of the American Revolution proclaimed 
the attitude of the people of the several 
colonies in their grievances against the 
Mother Country. 

When Bunker Hill and Lexington were 
fought, some of the staunchest patriots 
were still hopeful that an adjustment of 
the difficulties with the home government 
could be effected, and although on June 
15. 1775. General Washington had been 
appointed commander - in - chief of the 
Continental forces raised, or to be raised, 
'"for the defense of American liberty."' 
the Continental Congress nearly a month 
later (July 8> addressed an appeal to 
King George in which the petitioners 
styled themselves '"Your Majesty's faith- 
ful subjects." 

DISINCLINED TO SEVER ALL TIES 

Disinclined to sever all ties with Eng- 
land, yet bitterly resentful of the treat- 
ment accorded them and unyielding in 
their determination to resist further op- 
pression, when it became necessary to 
adopt an ensign for their newly created 
navy, in the autumn of 1775. the revolt- 
ing colonies chose a flag that reflected 
their feeling of unity with the Mother 
Country, but at the same time expressed 
their firm joint purpose to demand and 
obtain justice and liberty. 

The events which resulted in the estab- 
lishment of the Continental navy, and 
therebv the birth of the first flag repre- 
sentative of the thirteen united colonies, 
constitute one of the most picturesque 
chapters in American history. At the be- 
ginning of October the Continental Con- 
gress, sitting in Philadelphia, learned that 
two unarmed Xorth Country-built brigs 
were sailing from England loaded with 
arms, powder, and other stores destined 
for Quebec. As the colonies were in sore 
need of powder and possessed neither 
factories for its manufacture nor ships 
for bringing it from abroad, Congress 



286 




THE 



BANNER UNDER WHICH THEY 
MARTIAL 



FOUGHT AND 
SHROUD 



FEEE IS NOW THEIR 



They went forth to battle and gave their lives to liberty. Theirs the hardships, theirs 
the sacrifice, theirs the honor, "nor shall their glory be forgot while Fame her record keeps." 



instructed General Washington to apply 
to the Council of Massachusetts Bay for 
the two armed vessels in its service, to 
man them and to dispatch them with all 
speed in the hope of intercepting the mu- 
nitions-laden brigs. The aid of the armed 
vessels of Rhode Island and Connecticut 
was also promised the commander-in- 
chief in this important enterprise. 

General Washington, of his own initia- 
tive, had already purchased two vessels, 
which he had fitted out, officered with 
army captains, and manned with soldiers. 
These ships were the Lynch and the 
Franklin. By November I four addi- 
tional cruisers had been added to the 
fleet — the Lee, the Harrison, the Warren, 
and the Lady Washington. . 

Of this little fleet only the Lee, under 
command of John Manley, met with sig- 
nal success in the bold undertaking. On 
November 29 it captured the brig Nancy, 
with a precious cargo of 4,000 muskets, 
31 tons of musket shot, 3,000 round shot, 
several barrels of powder, and a 13-inch 



brass mortar, subsequently called "Con- 
gress," which was to play an important 
part in forcing the evacuation of Boston. 
One of the colonial ships, the Lady 
Washington, was captured on December 
7 by H. M. S. Forney, and her colors, still 
in the Admiralty Office in London, are 
described as bearing a pale-green pine 
tree on a field of white bunting, with the 
motto, "An Appeal to Heaven" (391). 
This flag was flown by all the ships under 
Washington's command at this time, the 
design having been suggested by the 
commander-in-chief's military secretary, 
Colonel Joseph Reed, who wrote, on Oc- 
tober 20, 1775, that he wished to "fix 
upon some particular color for a flag and 
a signal by which our vessels may know 
one another." 

THE EARLY AMERICAN NAVY 

Prior to the receipt of the news of the 
capture of the Nancy the Continental 
Congress had appointed Esek Hopkins 
commander-in-chief of the navy built by 



287 




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. ■ - ..^i: -.?■»-■ , ---. ..!—■— 



the earliest perfect repre5extatiox of the graxd uxiox ex5igx 

''see xo. 364) 

The flag is a part of the decorations appearing on North Carolina currency of the issue of 

April 2, 1776 



Congress as distinguished from the sol- 
dier-manned fleet under General Wash- 
ington. Immediately following his ap- 
pointment Commodore Hopkins ( the first 
and only commander-in-chief the navy 
ever had) set sail from Rhode Island in 
that colony's armed vessel Kaiy and ar- 
rived in the Delaware River on December 
3- I 77:- The same day the commodore 
assumed the formal command of the little 
squadron which the Congress had placed 
under him. 

PAUL JOXE5 RAISES THE FLAG 

The manner in which that command 
was assumed is of signal importance, in 
that the ceremony marked the hoisting of 
the first truly American flag. And the 
distinction of having released the banner 
to the breeze belongs to that daring spirit. 
John Paul Tones, one of the chief among 
heroes in the hearts of American naval 
officers and seamen. Jones, at that time 
senior lieutenant ("corresponding to exec- 
utive officer in the navy today ) of Hop- 
kins' flagship, the Alfred, in a letter to 
"the United State; Minister of Marine. 
Hon. Robert Morris." preserved in the 



Library of Congress., thus describes the 
historic event: 

"It was my fortune, as the senior of 
the first Lieutenants, to hoist myself the 
Flag of America (I chose to do it with 
my own hands ) the first time it was dis- 
played. Though this was but a slight 
Circumstance, yet I feel for its Honor, 
more than I think I should have done, if 
it had not happened." A line is drawTi 
through the words in parentheses and the 
word "myself" has been inserted. 

This wa*s the flag 1 364 < which after- 
ward figured so extensively in the litera- 
ture of the day as the Congress Colors, 
from the fact that it first floated over the 
navy controlled by Congress. Also known 
as the Grand Union Flag and the First 
Xavy Ensign, it was the Colonial stand- 
ard from that day until it was superseded 
by the Stars and Stripes, in 1777. It 
consisted of thirteen stripes, alternately 
red and white, typifying the thirteen colo- 
nies, with a union hearing the crosses of 
St. George and St. Andrew combined 
(the national flag of Great Britain, 361) 
and signifying the Mother Country. 

There has been much confusion about 



2SS 



THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG 



289 



the flags which were displayed on the 
Alfred on that historic December day. 
The statement is often made, and cor- 
rectly, that Commodore Hopkins hoisted 
the Gadsden flag (398) — a fact which 
impresses some historians as a contradic- 
tion of John Paul Jones' assertion. Ref- 
erence to naval usage, both of that day 
and of this, however, clarifies the sup- 
posed discrepancy. Flagships display 
three flags — the ensign, flown at the 
stern ; the flag of the commanding officer, 
displayed at the mainmast ; and the jack, 
which flies from the jackstaff at the bow. 

The Gadsden flag (of yellow silk and 
bearing a coiled rattlesnake with the 
motto "Don't Tread on Me"), used on 
the Alfred as the flag of the commodore 
commanding the fleet, was presented Feb- 
ruary 8, 1776, to the Congress by Col. 
Christopher Gadsden, a delegate from 
South Carolina to the Continental body 
and one of the committee of three ap- 
pointed on October 15, 1775, to report on 
the fitting out of two armed vessels. 
When that report was made, two weeks 
later, Colonel Gadsden was one of a com- 
mittee of seven appointed to fit out four 
armed vessels. 

The jack displayed on the Alfred on 
this occasion was a small, nearly square 
flag of thirteen alternate red and white 
stripes, bearing a crawling rattlesnake 
with the legend "Don't Tread on Me" 
beneath it (365). 

CENSORSHIP IN REVOLUTIONARY TIMES 

No mention of the ceremony of Com- 
modore Hopkins' assumption of com- 
mand of the little Continental fleet is to 
be found in the Philadelphia newspapers 
of that period. Indeed, the silence of the 
colonial press about the eight vessels 
fitted out, officered, manned, and sent to 
sea was as complete as was that of the 
American press of 191 7, when General 
Pershing's expeditionary force embarked 
for the fields of France. 

The intelligence reports to the British 
Admiralty were very explicit concerning 
the event, however. In minutest detail 
these reports described the ships of the 
fleet, how they were painted, the number 
of guns, officers, and men — all accurately 
supplied by the enemy's secret-service 



agents in the colonies. For example, the 
following report, under date of January 
4, 1776, was sent from Philadelphia: 

"This day, about one o'clock, sailed the 
ship Alfred and the ship Columbus with 
two brigs. Alfred carries 36 guns, 9 and 
12 pounders ; 60 marines and about 200 
sailors. Columbus about the same num- 
ber of men and 32 guns. The two brigs 
carry 16 guns. They sailed with five or 
six merchant ships loaded with flour from 
the Congress. Hopkins commands the 
Alfred. She has yellow sides, her head 
the figure of a man, English colours, but 
more striped. The Columbus is all black, 
except white bottom, with no head. Com- 
manded by one Whipple." 

HOISTING THE GRAND UNION FLAG AT 
CAMBRIDGE 

One month after its baptism in the 
breezes, from the stern of the Alfred, the 
Grand Union Flag (364) was raised at 
Cambridge, Mass., on the very day that 
the Continental Army began its official 
existence — January 2, 177(3 — and General 
Washington is authority for the explana- 
tion that it was displayed "out of compli- 
ment to the United Colonies." It was 
two days after this event that Washing- 
ton wrote to his military secretary, Joseph 
Reed, through whom he kept in touch 
with affairs at Philadelphia : 

"We are at length favored with the 
sight of His Majesty's most gracious 
speech, breathing sentiments of tender- 
ness and compassion for his deluded 
American subjects ; the speech I send you 
(a volume of them was sent out by the 
Boston gentry), and, farcical enough, we 
gave great joy to them without knowing 
or intending it, for on that day (January 
2) which gave being to our new army, 
but before the proclamation came to 
hand, we hoisted the union flag in com- 
pliment to the United Colonies. But be- 
hold ! it was received at Boston as a token 
of the deep impression the speech had 
made upon us and as a signal of submis- 
sion. By this time I presume they begin 
to think it strange that we have not made 
formal surrender of our lines." 

Although displayed on the Continental 
Army's first birthday, neither the Grand 
Union Flag (364) nor the Stars and 






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291 




> Harris & Ewing 



THE FREMOXT FLAG 



When General John Charles Fremont, surnamed "the Pathfinder," made his way across 
the continent in the '40' s, his mission was one of peace, but the arrows in his army flag sug- 
gested war to the Indians of the plain. Therefore he inserted the calumet, or pipe of peace, 
crossed with the arrows in the talons of the eagle. It is interesting to note that the army did 
not carry the Stars and Stripes until the period of the Mexican War (see pages 307-308 and 
flag 22). 



Stripes (6), adopted by Congress a year 
and a half later, was carried in the field 
by the land forces during the Revolu- 
tionary War. The army carried only the 
colors of the States to which the troops 
belonged (see flags 394, 396, 403, 409, 
41Q, etc.) and not the national flag. 

THE FIRST VICTORY OF THE AMERICAN 
FLAG 

It fell to the lot of the newly created 
Commodore Manley (the officer who had 
commanded the Lee and captured the 
ordnance ship Xancy) to carry the Grand 
Union Flag to its first victor}-. Com- 
manding the Hancock, Manley captured 
two enemy transports, placed prize crews 
aboard, and then, with only 16 men left 
on his own ship, he engaged an armed 
vessel in sight of the enemy fleet at Bos- 
ton and succeeded in bringing his prizes 
safely into Plymouth. Following this 
daring exploit Manley received a letter 
written at Cambridge, on January 28, 
1776, by General Washington, who de- 



clared that the commodore's achievement 
merited "qiine and the country's thanks,"' 
and promised him a "stronger vessel of 
war." 

On Major Samuel Selden's powder- 
horn of that period is a carving showing 
Boston and vicinity. The British fleet is 
depicted on one side of Boston Xeck, 
while Manley 's symbolical ship Amaraca, 
flying at the stern the Continental Union 
flag as its ensign, and at the mainmast 
the pine-tree flag as the commodore's 
flag, is shown on the other side. The 
mortar carved on the horn is the famous 
"Congress" gun captured by Manley on 
the Xancy. 

The first occasion upon which any 
American flag floated over foreign terri- 
tory was on March 3. 1776. Commodore 
Hopkins, of the Congress fleet, organized 
an expedition against Xew Providence, 
in the Bahama Islands, for the purpose 
of seizing a quantity of powder known to 
be stored there and of which both Gen- 
eral Washington and the fleet were in 



202 




Photograph from Central News Plioto Service, official naval photograph 

VICE-ADMIRAL SIMS WITH BRITISH AND AMERICAN STAFF OFFICERS AT THE 

HOISTING OF THE AMERICAN VICE-ADMIRALS FLAG (65) AT ADMIRALTY 

HOUSE WHEN HE TOOK TEMPORARY CQMMAND' OF 

QUEENSTOWN AND DISTRICT 

Vice-Admiral Bayley's flag (606) is being hauled down 



293 




U. S. S. "SYLPH" FLYING THE FOUR-STAR FLAG OF ADMIRAL BENSON, CHIEF OF 

NAVAL OPERATIONS (64), ON THE MAINMAST, AND THE FLAG 

OF VICE-ADMIRAL BROWNING, OF THE BRITISH 

NAVY (606), ON THE FOREMAST 

Our naval jack (4) is flying at the jackstaff, but the motion of the steamer has given the 

stars a striped effect 



great need. Two hundred marines were 
landed, under the command of Captain 
Nichols, supported by fifty sailors, under 
Lieutenant Weaver, of the Cabot. The 
Providence and the JVasp covered the 
landing party. Fort Nassau was taken 
and a great quantity of military stores 
fell into the hands of the expedition. 

A correspondent of the London "La- 
dies' Magazine," who was in New Provi- 
dence at the time of the capture of the 
fort by the American forces, under date 
of May 13, 1776, described the colors dis- 
played by the marines and sailors as 
"striped under the union (the British 
union of the crosses of St. George and 
St. Andrew) with thirteen stripes" (364), 
while "the standard (the commodore's 
flag) bore a rattlesnake and the motto 
"Don't Tread on Me" (398). 

THE FIRST FOREIGN SALUTE TO AN AMERI- 
CAN flag 

The first salute ever fired in honor of 
an American flag (the Grand Union en- 
sign) was an eleven-gun volley given by 
the Fort of Orange, on the island of St. 
Eustatius, Dutch West Indies, on No- 



vember 16, 1776. The salute was in ac- 
knowledgment of a similar number of 
guns fired by the Andrew Doria (s,ee also 
page 401), one of the original vessels of 
Commodore Hopkins' fleet, which had 
been sent to the West Indies, under com- 
mand of Captain Isaiah Robinson, for a 
cargo of military supplies. 

The commander of the near-by British 
island of St. Christopher, hearing of the 
salute, protested to the Dutch governor 
of St. Eustatius, Johannes de Graef, who 
promptly replied that "in regard to the 
reception given by the forts of this island,, 
under my commandment, to the vessel 
Andrew Deria, I 'flatter. myself that if my 
masters exact it I shall be able to give 
such an account as will be satisfactory." 
Whereupon the British commander re- 
sponded that "the impartial world will 
judge between us whether these honor 
shots, ansxyered on purpose by a Dutch 
fort to a rebellious brigantine, with a flag 
known to the commander of that fort as 
the flag of His Majesty's rebellious sub- 
jects, is or is not a partiality in favor of 
those rebels." 

The British governor then forwarded 



-'94 




Photograph by Brown Brothers 
LAUNCHING THE U. S. S. "MICHIGAN" 

In times of peace the launching of a battleship is a gala event, attended by elaborate 
ceremonies and witnessed by enthusiastic throngs proud of the privilege of seeing the "mar- 
riage to the sea" of another man-of-war destined to uphold the honor of America. In times 
of war, however, no such crowds as attended the Michigan's launching are admitted to the 
shipyards, for an enemy might, with a bomb, undo the labor of years and destroy a formidable 
unit of our growing sea power. 



to London a report of the affair, accom- 
panied by affidavits that the brigantine 
"during the time of the salute and the 
answer to it, had the flag of the Con- 
tinental Congress flying." The British 
Government protested sharply to the 
States General of the Republic of the 
Netherlands. The Dutch demurred at 
the asperity with which England de- 
manded an explanation, but immediately 
recalled Commander de Graef from St. 
Eustatius. Thus the first salute to the 
new ensign was disavowed, although the 
Holland Republic recognized American 
independence shortly thereafter. 

In the literature of the Revolution fre- 
quent reference is found to a "plain 
striped flag" (404). Official correspond- 
ence shows that whenever this flag was 
used afloat it was as the badge of mer- 
chant shipping and privateers and not as 
the ensign of the regular commissioned 
vessels of the navy. How long the Grand 



Union Flag was in use has never been 
definitely established ; but official records 
of the navy fail to show that any other 
ensign was used until after the Star 
Spangled Banner's adoption by Congress. 

birthday of the stars and stripes 

It was nearly one year after the repre- 
sentatives of the United States of Amer- 
ica, in General Congress assembled, had 
pledged their lives, their fortunes, and 
their sacred honor for the support of the 
Declaration of Independence that the 
crosses of St. George and St. Andrew, 
emblematic of the Mother Country, whicti 
had formed the union of the Continental" 
Union flag (364), were discarded and re- , 
placed by a union composed of white ' 
stars in a blue field, "representing a new 
constellation" (see flag No. 6," page 310). ■ 

The date of the birth of the Stars and 
Stripes was June 14, 1777, and its crea- 
tion was proclaimed in a resolution of the 



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296 



THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG 



29 1 ; 



Continental Congress. While the resolu- 
tion appears in the records without any 
account of preliminary discussion and 
without any designation of specific rec- 
ommendation, the order in which it is in- 
corporated in the business of the day 
leads to the assumption that it was re- 
ported by the Marine Committee, for it is 
sandwiched in among several naval mat- 
ters. This portion of the official journal 
for the day reads : 

"Resolved, That the Marine Commit- 
tee be empowered to give such directions 
respecting the Continental ships of war in 
the river Delaware as they think proper 
in case the enemy succeed in their at- 
tempts on said river. 

"Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen 
United States be thirteen stripes, alter- 
nate red and white ; that the union be 
thirteen stars, white in a blue field, rep- 
resenting a new constellation. 

"The Council of the State of Massa- 
chusetts Bay having represented by letter 
to the president of Congress that Captain 
John Roach,, some time since appointed 
to command the Continental ship of war 
Ranger, is a doubtful character and 
ought not to be entrusted with such a 
command ; therefore 

"Resolved, That Captain John Roach 
be suspended until the Navy Board for 
the eastern department shall have en- 
quired fully into his character and report 
thereon to the Marine Committee. 

"Resolved, That Captain John Paul 
Jones be appointed to command the said 
ship Ranger." 

Thus it would seem that not only was 
the first flag of the Continental Congress 
(364) displayed for the first time from a 
naval vessel, the Alfred (see page 288), 
but that from the navy (in the person of 
the Marine Committee of the Congress 
of 1777) the nation also received the 
Stars and Stripes. 

MANY THEORIES AS TO THE ORIGIN OE THE 
STARS AND STRIPES 

There have been advanced almost as 
many theories as to the genesis of the 
Stars and Stripes as there were stars in 
the original ensign. Many hold to the 
view that the new flag borrowed the 
stripes from the ensign (364) raised by 



John Paul Jones on the Alfred on De- 
cember 3, 1775, and the stars from the 
colonial banner of Rhode Island (396) ; 
others maintain that the idea for the flag 
came from Netherlands, offering in sup- 
port of this claim the statements of Ben- 
jamin Franklin and John Adams, who 
went to Holland to borrow money for the 
struggling colonies and who told the 
Dutch that America had borrowed much 
from them, including the ideas repre- 
sented in the flag. 

Whatever their origin, there is no per- 
suasive evidence in the official records of 
the time which would lead to the con- 
clusion that the Stars and Stripes were 
in use before the resolution of June 14, 
1777. It is true, however, that the paint- 
ings of Trumbull and Peale do point to 
its earlier use. But, as to the flags ap- 
pearing in their paintings, it should be 
recalled that an anachronism could be 
readily excused in the case of Trumbull, 
because he had left the colonies while 
Washington was before Boston and was 
abroad for seven years. Peak's picture 
of Washington crossing the Delaware, 
with respect to the colors carried, is be- 
lieved to be a case of "artist's license." 

The well known story of Betsy Ross, 
so-called maker of the Stars and Stripes, 
is one of the picturesque legends which 
has grown up around the origin of the 
flag, but it is one to which few unsenti- 
mental historians subscribe. There was, 
however, a Mrs. Ross, who was a flag- 
maker by trade, living in Philadelphia at 
the time of the flag's adoption. 

BIUS RENDERED BY A EEAG DESIGNER 

A more authentic individual connection 
with the designing of the flag is to be 
found in the official records concerning 
Francis Hopkinson, one of the delegates 
to Congress from New Jersey, a signer 
of the Declaration of Independence and 
a member of the Marine Committee. In 
November, 1776, Hopkinson was ap- 
pointed one of a committee of three to 
"execute the business of the navy under 
the direction of the Marine Committee." 
He resigned as a member of the Navy 
Board in August, 1778, but continued to 
take an interest in naval affairs, as shown 




THE GUIDON, TROOP F, NEW YORK 



Photograph by Paul Thompson 
NATIONAL GUARD 



Each troop of cavalry in the American forces carries a guidon — a small flag cut "swallow- 
tail" (23). It consists of two stripes of equal width, the upper being red, the cavalry colors, 
with the regimental designation in figures. The letter of the troop, in red, appears on the 
white stripe. Two guidons are supplied to each troop — a silken banner carried into battle, 
on campaigns, and upon occasions of ceremony, and a service flag of bunting to be used at 
all other times. 



in the following letter to the Board of 
Admiralty more than a year later : 

"Gentlemen : It is with great pleasure 
I understand my last device of a seal for 
the Board of Admiralty has met with 
your Honours' approbation. I have with 
great readiness upon several occasions 
exerted my small abilities in this way for 
the public service, as I flatter myself, to 
the satisfaction of those I wish to please, 
viz.., 



The flag of the United States of America 
4 Devices for the Continental currency 
A Seal for the Board of Treasury 
Ornaments, Devices and Checks, for the new 

bills of exchange on Spain and Holland. 
A Seal for Ship Papers of the United States 
A Seal for the Board of Admiralty 
The Borders, Ornaments & Checks for the 
new Continental currency now in the press, 
a work of considerable length. 
A Great Seal for the United States of Amer- 
ica, with a. Reverse. 

"For these services I have as yet made 



298 



THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG 



299 



no charge, nor received any recompense. 
I now submit it to your Honours' con- 
sideration whether a quarter cask of the 
public wine will not be a proper and a 
reasonable reward for these labours of 
fancy and a suitable encouragement to 
future exertions of the like nature. . . ." 

Subsequently Hopkinson rendered an- 
other account to the government for the 
various designs mentioned above, together 
with numerous others, the first item on 
the list being "the great naval flag of the 
United States." On this occasion he 
asked for $2,700 compensation. Later he 
rendered a third account, itemizing the 
charge for each design, and followed this 
with an explanatory note which throws 
an interesting light on the financial status 
of the nation at that time, for he says : 
"The charges are made in hard money, to 
be computed at 50 for one in Conti- 
nental." 

This claim was never paid, a board 
which passed on accounts reporting that 
it appeared that Flopkinson "was not the 
only person consulted on those exhibi- 
tions of Fancy, and therefore cannot 
claim the full merit of them and is not 
entitled in this ■ respect to the full sum 
charged." Also the board was of the 
opinion that "the public is entitled to 
those little assistances given by gentlemen 
who enjoy a very considerable salary 
under Congress without fee or further 
reward." 

admiral Chester's account oe a 
colonial flag-bee 

Rear Admiral Colby M. Chester, U. S. 
Xavy, has suggested that John Paul Jones 
may have had a share in the design. He 
says : 

"This young officer of the Continental 
Xavy had just returned from a successful 
cruise at sea in command of war ships, 
during which he had captured a number 
of the enemy's vessels, and was in Phila- 
delphia at the time Congress was con- 
sidering the question of a national flag, 
as a member of a Board of Advisers to 
the Naval Committee of the Plouse of 
Delegates upon matters relating to the 
country's sea forces, of which the ques- 
tion of a suitable distinguishing mark to 



be worn by war vessels was one of the 
most important. 

"Possessing a most attractive person- 
ality, Paul Jones was lionized by the 
ladies of the city and patronized by some 
of the leading delegates to the Conven- 
tion, who called upon him to advise the 
legislators regarding the design for the 
flag; he thus had much to do with secur- 
ing the passage of the act of Congress 
fixing its characteristics. 

"Soon after this event took place, Cap- 
tain Jones received his appointment to 
command the Ranger, one of the Conti- 
nental frigates about to proceed abroad, 
and with the act of Congress containing 
his commission in his hands he proceeded 
with all haste to Portsmouth, New Hamp- 
shire, in which port the Ranger was fitted 
out. Here he was received with more 
distinction, even, than at Philadelphia, for 
Portsmouth being one of the principal 
seaports of the country, its inhabitants 
were more interested in ships which were 
to fly the flag and the men who were to 
man them than were those living in the 
capital of the colonies. 

"At Portsmouth Paul Jones attracted 
about him a bevy of girls who formed a 
so-called "flag-bee," who with much pa- 
triotic enthusiasm and many heart thrills 
wrought out of their own and their 
mothers' gowns a beautiful Star Spangled 
Banner, which was thrown to the breeze 
in Portsmouth Plarbor on July 4th, 1777, 
less than three weeks after Congress had 
so authorized." 

XEW ENSIGN'S FIRST ACTION AT SEA 

The story of the first time in history 
that the Stars and Stripes went into ac- 
tion at sea is told in the picturesque lan- 
guage of the American officer who com- 
manded the ship which displayed the new 
ensign — Captain Thomas Thompson. In 
command of the Raleigh and the Alfred, 
Captain Thompson sailed for France 
from Portsmouth, and on September 2, 
1777, captured the slow Xancy of the 
Windward Island fleet, which had out- 
sailed her. Having possessed himself of 
the A T ancy's signal book, Thompson, on 
sighting the fleet two days later, deter- 
mined to attack with the Alfred, but as 




a 



_ I fl *r " K - - ' rwood 

THE FREXCH ARM\ J S FIRST SALUTE TO THE STARS AXD STRIPES OX FREXCII SOIL 

Section V-14 of the American Ambulance Corps, a team of Leland Stanford Jr. Ui - 
versify students, had the honor of bearing the first American flag officially sent from the 
United States to the French front 



this vessel was a poor sailer and the wind 
had changed, the Raleigh went in alone, 
passing many merchant ships of the 
convoy. AYhen within pistol-shot of the 
commodore's ship, recognized by means 
of the signal book, Thompson records : 

"We up sails, out guns, hoisted Con- 
tinental colours and bid them strike to the 
Thirteen United States. Sudden surprise 
threw them into confusion and their sails 
flew all aback, upon which we compli- 
mented them with a gun for each State, 
a whole broadside into their hull. Uur 
second broadside was aimed at their rig- 
ging, which had its desired efrect. In 



about a quarter of an hour all hands 
quitted quarters on board the British 
man-of-war: we cleared the decks totally. 
Had not the wind favored him 
and we drifted leeward, he could not have 
fetched us and I should certainly have 
sunk the ship."" 

Thus occurred the baptism of fire at 
sea of the new flag, at the hour of sunset 
on September 4, 1777. 

THE IMPROVISED OLD GLORY OF FORT 
STAXWIX 

Just one month previously (August 3) 
the new flag had been under fire on land. 



THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG 



301 



at Fort Schuyler, which stood on the site 
of the present city of Rome, N. Y. On 
August 2 a force composed of British and 
Indians attacked the fort, which was de- 
fended by Col. Peter Gansevoort with 
some 600 men. In the afternoon rein- 
forcements — 200 men of the Ninth 
Massachusetts Regiment under Lieuten- 
ant Colonel Mellon — arrived by way of 
the Mohawk River from Albany, bring- 
ing ammunition and supplies. 

They also brought with them news- 
paper accounts of the newly enacted flag 
resolution, and immediately the fort was 
ransacked for material with which to 
make the new national emblem. The am- 
munition shirts of the soldiers furnished 
the white stripes ; a red petticoat belong- 
ing to the wife of one of the men sup- 
plied the red stripes, and Captain Abra- 
ham Swartwout's blue cloth cloak was 
requisitioned to provide the blue field of 
the union. 

In Avery's History it is set forth that 
the flag was made on Sunday morning 
and was displayed the same afternoon 
from a flagstaff raised on the bastion 
nearest the enemy. Then the drummer 
beat the assembly and the adjutant gen- 
eral read to the defenders the congres- 
sional resolution "particularizing the in- 
signia of the flag of the new republic." 

There are vouchers extant showing that 
the Continental treasury reimbursed Cap- 
tain Swartwout for the loss of his cloak, 
but the red petticoat remained a gift of 
the humble soldier's wife to the first of 
the Stars and Stripes to undergo fire. 

FIRST SALUTE TO THE STARS AND STRIPES 

All Americans recall with especial 
pleasure and pride that the first official 
salute to the Stars and Stripes was ac- 
corded by that nation to which, more 
than to any other, the United States owes 
its existence — France, the blood-ally of 
our darkest days, now, in turn, valiantly 
succored by us in her hour of sorest need. 

Again John Paul Jones figures as the 
chief actor in this flag episode. He sailed 
from Portsmouth on November 1, 1777, 
as a bearer to France of the glad tidings 
of the surrender of Burgoyne. Here is 
the officer's own account, contained in a 



report to the Marine Committee of Con- 
gress, of how the salute was obtained : 

"I am happy in having it in my power 
to congratulate you on my having seen 
the American flag for the first time recog- 
nized in the fullest and completest man- 
ner by the flag of France. I was off their 
bay (Ouiberon) that day, the 13th (of 
February), and sent my boat in the next 
day to know if the Admiral (Admiral 
La Motte Picquet) would return my sa- 
lute. He answered that he would return 
me, as a senior American Continental 
officer in Europe, the same salute which 
he was authorized by his court to return 
to an Admiral of Holland, or of any other 
republic, which was four guns less than 
the salute given. I hesitated at this, for 
I had demanded gun for gun ; therefore 
I anchored in the entrance of the bay, 
at a distance from the French fleet, but 
after a very particular inquiry on the 
14th, finding that he had really told the 
truth, I was induced to accept his offer, 
the more so as it was an acknowledg- 
ment of American independence. The 
wind being contrary and blowing hard, 
it was after sunset before the Ranger got 
near enough to salute La Motte Picquet 
with thirteen guns, which he returned 
with nine. However, to put the matter 
beyond doubt, I did not suffer the Inde- 
pendence to salute until the next morn- 
ing, when I sent word to the Admiral 
that I should sail through his fleet in the 
brig and would salute him in open day. 
He was exceedingly pleased and returned 
the compliment with nine guns" (see page 
290). 

THE SIGNIFICANCE CE OUR COEORS 

America's most gifted poets and ora- 
tors haye vied with one another in setting 
forth the significance of the red, the 
white, and the blue of the Star Spangled 
Banner. In the words of Henry Ward 
Beecher: "A thoughtful mind, when it 
sees a nation's flag, sees not the flag, but 
the nation itself. And whatever may be 
its symbols, its insignia, he reads chiefly 
in the flag the government, the principles, 
the truths, the history, that belong to the 
nation that sets it forth. The American 
flag has been a symbol of Liberty, and 
men rejoiced in it. 




Photograph by Central News Photo Service 
FLAGS WHICH SIGNALIZED AMERICANS ENTRANCE INTO THE WORLD CONELICT BEING 
BORNE INTO ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL BY THE FIRST AMERICAN TROOPS TO 
REACH LONDON AFTER THE DECLARATION OF WAR WITH GERMANY 

These Stars and Stripes were blessed in the great English shrine and are to he preserved 
for all time, together with those of our Allies, whose national emblems, like our own, are 
waving over the hosts fighting" for the world's liberty (see page 286). 



"The stars upon it were like the bright 
morning stars of God, and the stripes 
upon it were beams of morning light. 
As at early dawn the stars shine forth 
even while it grows light, and then as the 
sun advances that light breaks into banks 
and streaming lines of color, the glowing 
red and intense white striving together, 
and ribbing the horizon with bars efful- 
gent, so, on the American flag, stars and 
beams of many-colored light shine out to- 



gether. And wherever this flag comes 
and men behold it they see in its sacred 
emblazonry no embattled castles or in- 
signia of imperial authority ; they see the 
symbols of light. It is the banner of 
Dawn." 

BIBLICAL ORIGIN OF THE RED, WHITE, 
AND BLUE 

Charles W. Stewart, superintendent of 
naval records and library of the United 



302 



THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG 



503 



States Navy Department, to whom the 
Geographic is indebted for helpful ad- 
vice and criticism in the compilation of 
the data published in this number of the 
magazine, advances the following theory 
of the origin of the colors employed in 
the national ensign : 

"The flag may trace its ancestry back 
to Mount Sinai, whence the Ford gave 
to Moses the Ten Commandments and 
the book of the law, which testify of 
God's will and man's duty ; and were de- 
posited in the Ark of the Covenant within 
the Tabernacle, whose curtains were blue, 
purple, scarlet, and fine-twined linen. 

"Before the ark stood the table of 
shew-bread, with its cloth of blue, scar- 
let, and white. These colors of the Jew- 
ish Church were taken over by the early 
Western Church for its own and given to 
all the nations of western Europe for 
their flags. When the United States 
chose their flag it was of the colors of 
old, but new in arrangement and design, 
and they called it 'The Stars and Stripes.' 

"Our flag is of the colors red, white, 
and blue. Red is for courage, zeal, fer- 
vency ; white is for purity, cleanness of 
life, and rectitude of conduct ; blue is for 
loyalty, devotion, friendship, justice, and 
truth. The star is an ancient symbol of 
India, Persia, Egypt, and signifies do- 
minion and sovereignty." 

THE CALL OF THE FLAG 

Hon. Frederick C. Hicks, in the House 
of Representatives on Flag Day, June 14, 
1917, thus portrayed the meaning of the 
national ensign : 

"The flag of America does more than 
proclaim mere power or acclaim a great 
and glorious history. Its folds wave a 
benediction to the yesterdays of accom- 
plishment and beckon the tomorrows of 
progress with hope and confidence ; it 
heralds the noble purposes of a mighty 
people and carries a message of hope and 
inspiration to all mankind. Its glowing 
splendor appeals to us to demand inter- 
national justice and arbitration; it com- 
mands ns to self-sacrifice and to univer- 
sal obligation of service, which alone can 
maintain equality of rights and fullness 
of opportunity in our republic. 

"Its stars and its stripes voice the spirit 



of America calling to a nation of indom- 
itable courage and infinite possibilities to 
live the tenets of Christianity, to teach 
the gospel of work and usefulness, to 
advance education, to demand purity of 
thought and action in public life, and to 
protect the liberties of free government 
from the aggressions of despotic power. 
This is the call of the flag of the Union 
in this hour of crisis and turmoil, when 
civilization and the laws of nations and 
of humanity are being engulfed in the 
maelstrom of death and destruction." 

THE EMBLEM OF OUR UNITY 

President Wilson in a Flag Day ad- 
dress said: 

"This flag, which we honor and under 
which we serve, is the emblem of our 
unity, our power, our thought and pur- 
pose as a nation. It has no other char- 
acter than that which we give it from 
generation to generation. The . choices 
are ours. It floats in majestic silence 
above the hosts that execute those choices, 
whether in peace or in war. And yet, 
though silent, it speaks to us — speaks to 
us of the past, of the men and women 
who went before us, and of the records 
they wrote upon it. 

"We celebrate the day of its birth; 
and from its birth until now it has wit- 
nessed a great history, has floated on 
high the symbol of great events, of a 
great plan of life worked out by a great 
people. We are about to carry it into 
battle, to lift it where it will draw the 
fire of our enemies. We are about to 
bid thousands, hundreds of thousands, it 
may be millions, of our men — the young, 
the strong, the capable men of the na- 
tion — to go forth and die beneath it on 
fields of blood far away. 

"Woe be to the man, or group of men, 
that seeks to stand in our wav in this 
day of high resolution, when every prin- 
ciple we hold dearest is to be vindicated 
and made secure for the salvation of the 
nations. We are ready to plead at the 
bar of history, and our flag shall wear 
a new luster. Once more we shall make 
good with our lives and fortunes the 
great faith to which we were born, and 
a new glory shall shine in the face of 
our people." 



THE MAKERS OF THE FLAG* 
By Fraxklix K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior 



THIS morning, as I passed into the 
Land Office, The Flag dropped 
me a most cordial salutation, and 
from its rippling folds I heard it say : 
''Good morning. Mr. Flag Maker." 

"I heg your pardon. Old Glory." I said, 
"aren't you mistaken? I am not the 
President of the United States, nor a 
member of Congress, nor even a general 
in the army. I am only a government 
clerk." 

"'I greet you again, Mr. Flag Maker." 
replied the gay voice ; "I know you well. 
You are the man who worked in the 
swelter of yesterday straightening: out 
the tangle of that farmer's homestead in 
Idaho, or perhaps you found the mistake 
in that Indian contract in Oklahoma, or 
helped to clear that patent for the hope- 
ful inventor in Xew York, or pushed the 
opening of that new ditch in Colorado, or 
made that mine in Illinois more safe, or 
brought relief to the old soldier in Wyo- 
ming. Xo matter ; whichever one of 
these beneficent individuals you may hap- 
pen to be, I give vou greeting. Mr. Flag 
Maker." 

I was about to pass on, when The Flag 
stopped me with these words : 

"Yesterday the President spoke a word 
that made happier the future of ten mil- 
lion peons in Mexico; but that act looms 
no larger on the flag than the struggle 
which the boy in Georgia is making to 
win the Corn Club prize this summer. 

"Yesterday the Congress spoke a word 
which will open the door of Alaska ; but 
a mother in Michigan worked from sun- 
rise until far into the night to give her 
boy an education. She. too, is making 
the flag. 

"Yesterday we made a new law to pre- 
vent financial panics, and yesterday, may- 
be, a school teacher in Ohio taught his 
first letters to a boy who will one day 
write a song that will give cheer to the 
millions of our race. We are all making 
the f.ag." 

"But," I said impatiently, "these people 
were only working!" 

* Delivered on Flag Day, 191+ before the 
employees 01 the Department of the Interior, 
'Washington, D. C 



Then came a great shout from The 
Flag: 

"The work that we do is the making of 
the flag. 

"I am not the flag ; not at all. I am but 
its shadow. 

"I am whatever you make me ; nothing 
more. 

"I am your belief in vourself. vour 
dream of what a people may become. 

"I live a changing life, a life of moods 
and passions, of heart-breaks and tired 
muscles. 

"Sometimes I am strong with pride, 
when' men do an honest work, fitting the 
rails together truly. 

"Sometimes I droop, for then purpose 
has gone from me, and cynically I play 
the coward. 

"Sometimes I am loud, garish, and full 
of that ego that blasts judgment. 

"But always I am all that you hope to 
be and have the courage to try for. 

"I am song and fear, struggle and 
panic, and ennobling hope. 

"I am the day's work of the weakest 
man and the largest dream of the most 
daring. 

"I am the Constitution and the courts, 
statutes and the statute-makers, soldier 
and dreadnaught, drayman and street 
sweep, cook, counselor, and clerk. 

"I am the battle of yesterday and the 
mistake of tomorrow. 

"I am the mystery of the men who do 
without knowing why. 

"I am the clutch of an idea and the 
reasoned purpose of resolution. 

"I am no more than what you believe 
me to be and I am all that you believe I 
can be. 

"T am what you make me ; nothing 
more. 

"I swing before your eyes as a bright 
gleam of color, a symbol of yourself, the 
pictured suggestion of that big thing 
which makes this nation. Mystarsandmy 
stripes are your dream and your labors. 
Thev are bright with cheer, brilliant with 
courage, firm with faith, because you 
have made them so out of your hearts ; 
for vou are the makers of the flag, and it 
is well that you glory in the making." 



THE FLAGS OF OUR ARMY, NAVY, AND 
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS 

For illustrations see the corresponding numbers on the colored flags, 
pages 310 and onward 



1. United States Flag and Ensign. — On 
July 4, 1912, following the admission of Ari- 
zona and New Mexico into the Union, two 
stars were added to the Stars and Stripes, giv- 
ing the banner its present composition of 48 
stars, representing the States of the Union, 
and 13 stripes, commemorative of the Thir- 
teen Original Colonies which achieved the na- 
tion's independence. (See pages 286-304 for 
the history of the American flag; pages 303- 
304, 404-413 for the uses of the flag, and de- 
scriptive text under flags 6, 7, 8, 361, 362, 364, 
and 367 for the evolution and development of 
the Star Spangled Banner.) 

2. President's Flag. — When the President 
visits a vessel of the United States, the Presi- 
dent's flag is broken at the main the moment 
he reaches the deck and is kept flying as long 
as he is on board. If the vessel can do so, a 
national salute of 21 guns is fired as soon as 
possible after his arrival on board. Upon de- 
parture, another salute of 21 guns is fired, the 
President's flag being lowered with the last 
gun of the salute. When the President is em- 
barked in a boat he usually directs that his flag 
be displayed from the staff in the bow of his 
barge (see page 283). When he passes in a 
boat flying his flag, vessels of the navy parade 
the full guard, four ruffles are given on the 
drum, four flourishes are sounded on the bugle, 
the National Anthem is played by the band, 
and officers and men salute (see page 282). 
When the President is embarked in a ship fly- 
ing his flag, all saluting ships, on meeting her 
at sea or elsewhere, and all naval batteries, 
fire a national salute on passing (see page 324). 

Previous to the present order there were 
two designs displayed on flags and on colors 
to be used in the presence of the Commander- 
in-Chief of the army and the navy. The navy 
design was of an earlier date than that of the 
army, and consisted of the coat-of-arms of the 
United States, as shown in the Great Seal (3), 
upon a blue ground. This happened to be al- 
most identical with the infantry colors (see 
11). The President's colors were designed to 
be distinctive from the infantry colors, and 
consisted of a blue ground with a large crim- 
son star, outlined heavily with white. Within 
the star was to be seen the coat-of-arms of 
the United States, and outside the star within 
its angles were powdered small stars to the 
number of the States in the Union. The dou- 
ble display of flags and colors at the Grand 
Army Review in 1915 caused considerable 
comment, and as a result the suggestion was 
made to the President that the navy flag might 
fittingly be made distinctive from the infantry 
colors by the addition of four stars — one in 
each corner. The flags of an Admiral and of 



a General bear four stars, as a sign of com- 
mand. The President approved of the idea, 
but directed that the coat-of-arms, as shown 
on the President's seal (see 5), be used upon 
the President's personal flag and colors. 

3. The Great Seal op the United States. — ■ 
The Great Seal was adopted by the Continental 
Congress June 20, 1782. 

Arms. — Paleways (perpendicular stripes or 
divisions) of thirteen pieces, argent (white) 
and gules (red) ; a chief (upper part of the 
escutcheon), occupying one-third of the whole 
azure (blue) ; the escutcheon on the breast of 
the American eagle displayed proper (repre- 
sented in its natural colors), holding in his 
dexter (right) talon an olive branch, and in 
his sinister (left) a bundle of thirteen arrows, 
all proper (natural colors), and in his beak a 
scroll, inscribed with this motto, "B Pluribus 
Unum" (Out of Many, One). 

Crest. — Over the head of the eagle, which 
appears above the escutcheon, a glory (circle 
of light), or (gold), breaking through a cloud, 
proper, and surrounding thirteen stars form- 
ing a constellation, argent, on an azure field. 

Reverse. — A pyramid unfinished. In the ze- 
nith an eye in a triangle, surrounded with a 
glory, proper. Over the eye these words, 
"Annuit Coeptis" (He [God] has smiled on 
our undertakings). On the base of the pyra- 
mid the numerical letters MDCCLXXVI, and 
underneath the following motto, "Novus Ordo 
Seclorum" (A New Order of Ages). 

Accompanying the report, and adopted by 
Congress, was the following : 

The escutcheon is composed of the chief and 
pale, the two most honorable ordinaries (di- 
visions). The pieces, paly (equal in width and 
of two colors, alternating), represent the sev- 
eral States all joined in one solid, compact 
entire, supporting a chief, which unites the 
whole and represents Congress. The motto 
alludes to this union. The pales in the arms 
are kept closely united by the chief, and the 
chief depends on that union and the strength 
resulting from it for its support, to denote the 
confederacy of the United States of America 
and the preservation of their union through 
Congress. 

The colors of the pales are those used in the 
flag of the United States of America ; white 
signifies purity and innocence ; red, hardiness 
and valor; and blue, the color of the chief, 
signifies vigilant perseverance and justice. 

The olive branch and arrows denote the 
power of peace and war, which is exclusively 
vested in Congress. The constellation denotes 
a new State taking its place and rank among 
other sovereign powers. The escutcheon is 



305 



borne on the breast of an American eagle 
without any other supporters, to denote that 
the United States ought to rely on their own 
virtue. 

Reverse. — The pyramid signifies strength 
and duration. The eye over it and the motto 
allude to the many signal interpositions of 
Providence in favor of the American cause. 
The date underneath is that of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, and the words under it 
signify the beginning" of the new American 
era, which commences from that date. 

The reverse of the seal has never been cut 
and has been allowed to go unused officially to 
the present da}'. 

USES OF THE GREAT SEAL 

When the Continental Congress made the 
obverse of the great seal of the national arms 
it intended that the device should pass into 
common use among the people, as the flag has 
done, and like the flag, the arms at first- met 
with general approval, which soon gave place 
to an acceptance of it as an emblem of the 
power and sovereignty of the United States. 

The seal itself has, of course, a very limited 
use, which is strictly guarded by law. The 
Secretary of State is its custodian, but even 
he has no authority to affix it to any paper that 
does not bear the President's signature. 

At the present time the seal of the United 
States is affixed to the commissions of all 
Cabinet officers and diplomatic and consular 
officers who are nominated by the President 
and confirmed by the Senate ; all ceremo'nious 
communications from the President to the 
heads of foreign governments ; all treaties, 
conventions, and formal agreements of the 
President with foreign powers ; all proclama- 
tions by the President ; all exequaturs to for- 
eign consular officers in the United States who 
are appointed by the heads of the governments 
which they represent; to warrants by the 
President to receive persons surrendered by 
foreign governments under extradition trea- 
ties ; and to all miscellaneous commissions of 
civil officers appointed by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
whose appointments are not now especially di- 
rected by law to be signed under a different 
seal. 

4. Jack. — Vessels at anchor fly the union 
jack from the jackstaff (the staff at the bow) 
from morning to evening colors. The jack 
hoisted at the fore mast is a signal for a pilot 
(220). A gun may be fired to call attention 
to it. Hoisted at the mizzen mast or at a yard 
arm it denotes that a general court martial or 
a court of inquiry is in session. 

When a diplomatic official of the United 
States of and above the rank of charge d'af- 
faires pays an official visit afloat in a boat of 
the navy, a union jack of a suitable size is car- 
ried on a staff in the bow. When the Xaval 
Governor of Guam, Tutuila, or the Virgin 
Islands of the United States embarks in a boat, 
within the limits of In is government, for the 
purpose of paying visits of ceremony in his 
official capacity as Governor, a union jack of 
suitable size is carried on a staff in the bow of 
the boat. The union jack at the main was the 



flag of the Secretary of the Xavy from i860, 
to July 4, 1874, when the present flag (49) 
came into use. 

When worn out, jacks are surveyed and 
burned in the same manner as ensigns. The 
proper size of jack to display with an ensign 
is that corresponding in dimension to the union 
of that ensign (see drawing, page 312). Yachts 
may display the union jack while at anchor at 
the jackstaff from 8 a. m. to sunset, when wash 
clothes are not triced up. 

5. Seal op the President. — This is the per- 
sonal seal of the President, and the press from 
which it is made has been in use for many 
years. The device is to be seen in the Presi- 
dent's flag (2), in bronze, in the floor of the 
entrance corridor of the White House and in 
the favorite stick-pin of the President. 

6. Our First Stars and Stripes, adopted by 
act of Congress June 14, 1777 (see page 297). 
In its resolution Congress did not direct a spe- 
cific arrangement of the thirteen stars. In the 
navy it became customary to place the stars so 
as to form the crosses of St. George and St. 
Andrew, an arrangement distinctly illustrated 
in Rhode Island's banner (396). 



THE FLAG THAT INSPIRED THE 
SPANGLED BANNER" 



STAR 



7. The Flag with 15 Stripes and 15 
Stars. — When Vermont entered the Union 
(March 4, 1791J, followed by Kentucky (June 
1, 1792), it was felt that the new States should 
have the same representation in the design of 
the flag that the original thirteen States pos- 
sessed, and Congress accordingly passed the 
following act, which was approved by Presi- 
dent Washington on January 13, 1794: 

"Be it enacted, etc., That from and after the 
first day of May, one thousand seven hundred 
and ninety-five, the flag of the United States 
be fifteen stripes, alternate red and white, and 
that the Union be fifteen stars, white in a blue 
field." 

In this flag the stars were arranged in three 
parallel rows of five each, with the blue field 
resting on the fifth red stripe. This was the 
national flag for twenty-three years. It was in 
use during the war of 1812, and, in September, 
1814, waving over Fort McHenry, it inspired 
Francis Scott Key to write the "Star Spangled 
Banner." Key was aide to General Smith at 
Baltimore and had gone aboard H. M. S. Min- 
den in the harbor to arrange an exchange of 
prisoners. While being detained pending the 
bombardment on the morning of September 
14, 1814, he wrote the anthem. 

The arrangement of the stars in the Fort 
McHenry flag is the navy arrangement, that 
particular flag of immense size having been 
specially made by Mrs. Mary Pickerskill under 
the direction of Commodore Barry and Gen- 
eral Striker. The flag is now in the National 
Museum at Washington (see page 289). The 
missing star is said to have been cut out and 
sent to President Lincoln. 

This is the flag that encouraged our brave 
lads in our war against the Barbary pirates. 
It was the first ensign to be hoisted over a fort 
of the Old World. On April 27, 1805, after a 



306 



wmtm 

r* 
Hill 

_tMis™*"!- ! Mar Of iL 

I 1 




iri 






i*5i 






© Ur.derwood & Underwood 



GUAKD TO THE STANDARD 



On silver bands, encircling the lance from which the regimental standard floats, are 
engraved the names; and dates of the battles in which" that regiment has played its heroic 
part. Each standard, therefore, epitomizes the glorious .past of its command, and the men 
over whom it waves would gjadly give their lives rather than have these shining symbols of 
victory tarnished by defeat (see page 308). 



bombardment of the batteries and the town of 
Derne, Tripoli, by the Hornet, Nautilus,, and 
Argus, the landing party of marines and blue- 
jackets stormed the principal works, and Lieu- 
tenant O'Bannon o:f the marines and Midship- 
man Mann hauled down the Tripolitan flag and 
hoisted the fifteen stars and fifteen stripes in 
its place. 

It was our ensign in the Battle of Lake Erie 
(see 366') and was first carried in a man-of- 
war by Captain Porter in the Essex, around 
Cape of Good Hope, August, 1800, and by 
Commodore Porter in the Essex around Cape 
Horn on his famous cruise in 1813. It was the 
flag flown by Jackson at New Orleans. 

8. The requirement that a new stripe be 
added to the flag for each new State, however, 
soon proved embarrassing-, with the result that 
U. S. Congress on April 4, 1818, decided to 
return to the original design of thirteen stripes, 
and passed the f ollowing law : 

"Sec. 1. Be it enacted, etc., That from and 



after after. the fourth day of July next the flag 
of the United States be thirteen horizontal 
stripes, alternate red and white; that the union 
have twenty stars, white, on a blue field. 

"Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That on the 
admission of every new State into the Union 
one star be added to the union of the flag, and 
that such addition shall take effect on the 4th 
of July next succeeding such admission." 

Twenty-eight States having been admitted 
since the enactment of this law. our flag now 
contains 48 stars. There have been numerous 
laws enacted concerning die flag since that 
time, but none of them has departed from the 
fundamental principles of the lav/ of 1818. 

It is interesting to note that the army for 
many decades did not carry the Stars and 
Stripes in battle, though it was used as a gar- 
rison flag. The land forces carried what was 
known as national colors, or standards, of blue, 
with the coat-of-arms of the United States, 
comprising an eagle surmounted by a. number 



3"7 



of stars, emblazoned thereon, with the desig- 
nation of the body of troops (see 22). 

In 1834 War Department regulations gave 
the artillery the right to carry the Stars and 
Stripes. The infantry still used the design of 
22 until 1841, and the cavalry until 1887, when 
that branch of the army was ordered to carry 
the Stars and Stripes. The history of the flag 
indicates that the Stars and Stripes were not 
officially carried by troops in battle until the 
period of the Mexican War, 1846-1847. 

THE ARMY FLAGS 

The flags used by the United States Army 
to designate its several branches are divided 
into two classes — colors and standards. The 
colors are used by unmounted troops and the 
standards by mounted forces. The principal 
difference between them is that the standards 
are smaller and have no cords and tassels, be- 
cause large flags and cords and tassels would 
hinder the movements of the mounted stand- 
ard-bearer. 

Every regiment of engineers, artillery, infan- 
try, cavalry, etc., is supplied with one silk na- 
tional standard or color (17) and one silk 
regimental standard or color(n, 13, 15, 18, etc.). 

The silk national and regimental colors or 
standards are carried in battle, campaign, and 
on all occasions of ceremony at regimental 
headquarters in which two or more companies 
of the regiment participate. 

The official designation of the regiment is 
engraved on a silver band placed on the pike 
or lance. 

When not in use, colors and standards are 
kept in their waterproof cases. 

In garrison the standards or colors, when 
not in use, are kept in the office or quarters of 
the colonel and are escorted thereto and there- 
from by the color guard. In camp the colors 
or standards, when not in use, are displayed 
in front of the colonel's tent, the national color 
or standard on the right. From reveille to re- 
treat, when the weather permits, they are un- 
cased; from retreat to reveille and during in- 
clement weather they are cased. 

In action the position of the standards or 
colors will be indicated by the colonel, who 
may, through their display, inspire enthusiasm 
and maintain the morale. He may, however, 
hold them back when they might indicate to 
the enemy the direction of the main attack, 
betray the position of the main body, or tend 
to commit the regiment to defensive action. 
In the presence of the enemy and during the 
"approach" the standards are carried cased, 
ready to be instantly broken out if their in- 
spiration is required. 

In addition to the handsome silk flags, a 
national color or standard made of bunting or 
other suitable material, but in all other re- 
spects similar to the silk national color or 
standard, is furnished to each battalion or 
squadron of each regiment. 

These colors and standards are, for use at 
drills and on marches, and on all service other 
than battles, campaigns, and occasions of cere- 
mony. Not more than one national color or 
standard is carried when the regiment or any 
part of it is assembled. 



The colors of a regiment will not be placed 
in mourning or draped, except when ordered 
from the War Department. Two streamers of 
crape 7 feet long and about 12 inches wide at- 
tached to the ferrule below the spearhead will 
be used for the purpose. 

The names and dates of battles in which 
regiments or separate battalions have partici- 
pated are engraved on silver bands and placed 
on the pike of the colors or lance of the stand- 
ard of the regiment or separate battalion, as 
the case may be. For this purpose only the 
names of those battles which conform to the 
following definition are considered, viz : Bat- 
tles are important engagements between inde- 
pendent armies in their own theaters of war, 
in contradistinction to conflicts in which but a 
small portion of the opposing forces are actu- 
ally engaged, the latter being called, according 
to their nature, affairs, combats, skirmishes, 
and the like. 

The names and dates of battles which it is 
proposed to have engraved on the silver bands 
are submitted to the War Department, which 
decides each case on its merits. 

At least two companies, troops, or batteries 
of a regiment or separate battalion must have 
participated in a battle in order that the name 
of the battle may be placed on its colors or 
standards. 

A company, troop, or battery does not re- 
ceive credit for having participated in a battle 
unless at least one-half of its actual strength 
was engaged. 

The Adjutant General of the Army furnishes 
each company, troop, and battery with a suit- 
ably engrossed certificate setting forth the 
names of all battles, engagements, and minor 
affairs in which said company, troop, or bat- 
tery participated, with the dates thereof, and 
showing, as nearly as may be, the organiza- 
tions of the United States troops engaged 
therein, and against what enemy. This cer- 
tificate states that the names and dates of these 
battles are engraved on silver bands on the 
pike of the colors of the regiment or battalion, 
or the lance of the standard of the regiment 
or battalion, as the case may be, excepting in 
the case of companies which have no regi- 
mental or battalion organization. 

This certificate is suitably framed and kept 
posted in the barracks of the company, troop, 
or battery. 

Whenever in the opinion ,of a commanding 
officer the condition of any silk color, stand- 
ard, or guidon in the possession of his com- 
mand has become unserviceable, the same is 
forwarded to the depot quartermaster, Phila- 
delphia, Pa., for repair, if practicable. Should 
it be found that its condition does not warrant 
the expenditure of funds that may be involved, 
the depot quartermaster returns to the officer 
from whom received and furnishes a new 
color, standard, or guidon. 

Upon receipt of new silk colors, standards, 
or guidons, commanding officers cause those 
replaced to be numbered and retained by the 
organisation to which they belong as mementos 
of service, a synopsis of which, bearing the 
same number, will be filed with the records of 
the organization. 



308 



g. The President's colors in design are sim- 
ilar to the President's flag afloat (2), but are 
made of silk, with heavy silk embroidery and 
bordered with gold and silver fringe, with red, 
white, and blue cord and tassels, and a gold 
eagle on the pike. The colors are displayed 
when the President is in the presence of troops 
as commander-in-chief. 

10. The colors of the Secretary of War are 
used in the same manner as the President's 
colors when the war minister is the ranking 
official in the presence of troops. 

11. The infantry colors are carried by the 
several regiments, each with its own particular 
designation on the scroll below the eagle. 

12. The Assistant Secretary of War's colors 
are used in the same way as those of the Sec- 
retary of War when he is the ranking official 
present. 

13. The colors of the coast artillery corps 
have a red field, where those of the infantry 
have blue ; otherwise they are the same as the 
infantry colors, except for the yellow scroll 
and the crossed cannon. 

14. The Chief of Staff has colors with a 
field made up of a red and a white triangle, 
the red triangle having its base on the staff. 
On the center is the familiar spread eagle of 
the national coat-of-arms imposed upon a large 
white star; a small white star on the red and 
a red star on the white complete the design, 
except for golden fringe, cord, and tassels. 
This flag is flown when the Chief of Staff is 
in the presence of troops the ranking officer. 

15. The engineer colors are red, the lettered 
scroll being white, bearing above it the engi- 
neer device, a castellated fort. 

16. The colors of the corps of cadets dis- 
penses with the familiar red and blue for a 
field, gray being substituted therefor. Instead 
of the coat-of-arms there is an escutcheon 
bearing the national colors, with a cap of Mars 
on the; field, and surmounted by an eagle. The 
cadet colors are fringed with yellow and black 
and gray. 

17. The national standard used by mounted 
troops and the national colors used by un- 
mounted troops are exactly alike, except that 
the colors are larger and have cords and tas- 
sels, as on the President's colors. 

18. The cavalry standard has a field of yel- 
low and, except in size, is otherwise like the 
infantry colors, without cords or tassels. 

19. The field artillery standard is like the 
coast artillery colors, except that the crossed 
cannon between the eagle and the scroll are 
omitted. 

20. The mounted engineers' standard has 
the castellated fort to distinguish it. 

21. The standard of the United States Sig- 
nal Corps is distinguished by the wig-wag flags 
between the eagle and the lettered scroll. 

22. This is the national standard as used by 
our light artillery in the War of 1812. The 
artillery did not carry the Stars and Stripes 
until 1834, the infantry until 1841, and the cav- 
alry until 1887. 

23. This is the guidon used by each troop 
of cavalry. The figure shows the regiment and 
the letter the troop. 

24. The guidon of the field artillery is dis- 
tinguished by crossed cannons. 



25. The word "Mounted" above the castel- 
lated fort proclaims the mounted engineers' 
guidon. 

26. The guidon of the mounted engineer 
section does not have the panel bearing the 
word "Mounted." 

27. The signal corps guidon bears the wig- 
wag flags. 

28. The aero squadron's guidon duplicates 
that of the signal corps, except that the flying 
eagle is added. 

29. Telegraph company guidons show the 
wig-wag flags with a thunderbolt. 

30. This triangular pennant serves as the 
guidon of the motor-truck company. 

31. The field hospital guidon bears the ca- 
duceus of Hermes given him by Apollo and 
supposed to be a magic wand which exercises 
influence over living and dead. This guidon 
is lettered "F, H." 

32. Ambulance companies have a guidon 
like that of the field hospital service, except 
that the lettering is different. 

33. The field hospital flag is the familiar 
red cross on the white field. A rectangle be- 
low shows the night signal. 

34. The guidon of the cavalry and light ar- 
tillery during the Civil War. Prior to that 
war the cavalry used 23, and on the adoption 
of 34 General Sheridan made 23 his personal 
colors. Upon becoming Secretary of War he 
retired 34 from use and restored 23 as the 
guidon of the cavalry as it had been prior to 
the great conflict. 

35. When a lieutenant general of the army 
is in an automobile or aboard a boat officially 
the three-starred flag of command is shown. 

36. The auto and boat flag of a major gen- 
eral is like that of the lieutenant general, ex- 
cept that it has two stars instead of three. 

37. The brigadier general's automobile and 
boat flag bears the one star of the brigadier's 
rank. 

38. The chief umpire in military maneuvers 
in times of peace bears a flag with a saltire 
cross upon it, like that of St. Andrew. 

39. The flag of an artillery district com- 
mander bears crossed cannons with a shell im- 
posed upon the intersection. 

40. The flag of a post commander carried 
in the bow of a boat in which he is embarked 
officially is a pennant with thirteen stars in the 
blue, with a red fly. 

41. The ambulance flag is a white field and 
a red cross. The night signal is shown below 
the flag. 

42. The ammunition trains of the United 
States Army display a triangular pennant, 
which is accorded the right of way in time of 
battle. 

43. The camp colors' of an army are 18 by 
20 inches and displayed on an ash pole 8 feet 
long and i l /& inches diameter. 

44. The white field with its centered cross 
proclaims the chaplain. This flag is used for 
field service only. 

45. The transports under Quartermaster's 
Corps, U. S. Army, fly this flag. 

46. This is the distinguishing flag of mine- 
planters and submarine defense vessels under 
army control. It consists of a field bearing 



309 



******** 
******** 
******** 
******** 
******** 
******** 



U. S. FLAG AND ENSIGN 




PRESIDENTS FLAG 



**•••*** 

******** 
******** 
******** 
******** 
******** 



JACK 





FLAG— MAY I 1795 , 
7 (FT IVIcHENRY FLAG) 




AG— JULY 4. 1818 



310 







ENGINEER COLORS 




CORPS OF CADETS COLORS 



311 



UNITED STATES ENSIGN 




RFD 






R%D 



jdl 



fl ^iy-; 



No. 


A 


B 


C 


D 


E 


F 


G 


H 


1 


J 


K 




FEET 


FEET 


FOOT 


FEET 


FEET 


FEET 


FEET 


FOOT 


FEET 


FEET 


FEET 


1 


20 


38 


.95 


9.23 


10.77 


15.20 


1.90 


.897 


1.79 


1.23 


1,54 . 


2 


19 


36.10 


.903 


8.77 


10.23 


14.44 


1.81 


.850 


1.70 


1.17 


1.46 


3 


14.35 


27.27 


.619 


6.62 


7.73 


IC.9I 


1.24 


.642 


1.28 


.883 


1.103 


4 


12.19 


23.16 


.579 


5.63 


6.56 


9.26 


1.16 


.545 


1.09 


751 


.938 


5 


10 


19 


.475 


4.62 


- 5.38 


7.60 


.95 


.449 


.90 


.616 


.769 


6 


8.94 


16.99 


.424 


4.13 


4.81 


G.79 


.848 


.400 


.798 


.551 


.687 


7 


5.14 


9.77 


.244 


2.37 


2.77 


3.91 


.488 


.230 


.459 


.317 


.395 


8 


5 


9.50 


237 


2.31 


2.69 


3.80 


.475 


.224 


.449 


.308 


.385 


9 


3.52 


6.69 


.167 


1.62 


1.90 


2.68 


.335 


.158 


.316 


.271 


.271 


10 


2.90 


5.51 


.138 


1.34 


1.56 


2.20 


.275 


.130 


.260 


.208 


.223 


II 


2.37 


4.50 


.113 


1.09 


1.28 


1.80 


.225 


.106 


.213 


.167 


.182 


12 


1.31 


2.49 


062 


.60 


,71 


1.00 


.124 


.059 


.118 


.094 


,101 



ARMY SIZES 
Nos. \, 5 and 8 

BOAT FLAG SIZES 
Nos. 9. 10. II an<Tl2 " 



FOREIGN 


ENSIGNS 


No. 


A 


B 


1 
2 


FEET 

13.12 
8.75 


VARIABLE 
VARIABLE 



UNION JACK 



•••**• M* 



BLUE FIELD 



• ••**• •+-* 

WHITE STARS f-JH / 

• ••••«! *T* 



-C-i— S + G + G \ G 4 — G T— G — \—e\ f-C 

***•*• •$# 



UNION JACK 



'No. 


A 


B 


C 


H 


1 


G 


J 




FEET 


FEET 


FOOT 


FOOT 


FEET 


FEET 


FEET 


2 


10.23 


14.44 


.902 


.850 


1.705 


1.805 


1.170 


3 


7.72 


10.91 


.619 


.642 


1.281 


1.238 


.883 


1 4 


6.56 


9.26 


.579 


.545 


1.089 


1.158 


.751 


6 


4.81 


6.79 


.424 


.400 


.798 


.848 


.551 


| 7 


2.77 


3.91 


.244 


230 


.459 


.488. 


, .317 





SECRETARY 


ADMIRAL, 


SENIOR OFFICER 




OF THE NAVY 


VICE ADMIRAL etc 


PRESENT 




SEE FLAGS « 8 53 


SEE FLAGS &4 TO 66 


SEE FLAG 68 


No. 


A 


. B 


A 


B 


A 


B 




FEET 


FEET 


FEET 


FEET 


FEET 


FEET 


1 


10.20 


14.40 


10.20 


14.40 


8.00 


6.40 


2 


7.73 


10.88 


7.73 


10.88 


6.56 


5.25 


4 


3.60 


5.13 


4.81 


6.77 


4.90 


3.90 


6 






3.60 


5.13 







A DIAGRAM AND TABLE TO SHOW THE EXACT PROPORTION AND POSITION 0? EACH 
FEATURE OF THE STARS AND STRIPES, ACCORDING TO THE REGULATIONS 

OF THE ARMY AND NAV \ 



thereon crossed cannons and a mine, with the 
words "Submarine Defense." 

47. Army vessels engaged in the ordnance 
service fly this distinguishing flag. 

48. Vessels in the engineer service fly flags 
bearing as a distinguishing mark the castel- 
lated fort which is the emblem of the Engi- 
neer Corps. 

49. The flag of the Secretary of the Navy 
consists of a blue field bearing four white 
stars, one in each corner, and a centered an- 
chor. When that official is aboard any vessel 
of the navy his flag is displayed at the main 
mast and when on a boat it is displayed from 
a staff in its bows. 

50. This is the major commission pennant 
of the United States Navy. It is flown at the 
main mast of all of the larger ships of the navy 
as long as they are in commission, except when 
they have an officer above the rank of captain 
aboard, when the flag of command takes its 
place. 

51. The seven-star pennant is flown by the 
lesser ships of the navy when in commission, 
such as submarines and other small craft. It 
is used by' captains of ships as their pennant, 
and is carried in the bows of boats on which 
they are embarked on an official visit. 

52. The national colors of the United States 
Marine Corps bear on the middle stripe of red 
the words "U. S. Marine Corps." Regiments 
carry them together with the regimental colors. 

53. The flag of the Assistant Secretary of 
the Navy is white with blue stars and blue 
anchor, an interchange of the colors of the 
Secretary's flag. It is displayed at the main 
mast when the Assistant Secretary is the rank- 
ing officer present. 

54. This pennant is carried by vessels of 
the naval militia while in commission and is 
displayed at the main mast, unless the com- 
manding officer has the rank of commodore, 
when 73 replaces the pennant. 

55. The colors of the United States Marine 
Corps are kept at headquarters in Washington. 
They bear in Latin the motto, "Always faith- 
ful." 

56. The flag of the United States naval re- 
serve *is displayed on vessels which have been 
given a certificate that they belong to the re- 
serve forces. 

57. When the navy lands its men as infan- 
try for shore duty, they carry a blue flag upon 
which is centered a diamond of white, bearing 
a blue anchor. 

58. When an Ambassador of the United 
States goes aboard a vessel of the navy on 
official business the boat upon which he is em- 
barked bears in its bow the navy jack. The 
jack is also used by the naval governors of 
Guam, Tutuila, and the Virgin Islands of the 
United States when afloat within their juris- 
diction. The jack is nearly always the canton 
of a nation's ensign when the latter has a can- 
ton as one of its features. 

59. The regimental colors of the United 
States Marine Corps has a field of blue upon 
which is imposed an anchor, and over this the 
Western Hemisphere surmounted by the Amer- 
ican spread-eagle. Scrolls of red above and 
below the design proclaim the number of the 
regiment and the name of the corps. 



60. Vessels of the naval militia display this 
flag at the fore mast as a distinguishing mark 
The flag consists of a blue ground, a yellow 
diamond imposed thereon, bearing the blue 
anchor of the navy. 

61. When the navy lands artillery battal- 
ions for shore duty the flag they carry has s 
red field, with a centered diamond of white 
upon which appears a red anchor. 

62. The colors of the United States Naval 
Academy have a blue field, gold fringe, and a 
centered white diamond, bearing an anchor in 
white and blue. These colors are carried with 
the national colors by the regiment of mid- 
shipmen. 

63. The colors of the United States Marine 
Corps carried between 1830 and 1850 had a 
white field, gold fringe, and bore an elaborate 
design in the center, at the top of which was 
the legend, "From the Shores op Tripoli to 
the Halls of Montezuma," having reference 
to the engagements the marines participated in 
from the beginning of the Tripolitan War and 
the ending of the War with Mexico. 

64. The flag of the senior admiral of the 
navy is blue and bears four stars in the form 
of a cross. This flag is displayed at the main 
mast of the admiral's flagship, taking the place 
of the commission pennant (50) used on ves- 
sels other than flagships. It, along with those 
of the vice admiral, rear admiral, and commo- 
dore, is called a flag of command. The flags 
used today correspond to the Gadsden flag 
(398) flown by Esek Hopkins when he took 
command of the navy at Philadelphia, Decem- 
ber 3, 1775. 

65. The flag of the vice admiral has three 
stars. 

66. A rear admiral's flag has two stars. 

67. The flag of a commodore has one stai 
and is a burgee. There are no commodores in 
active service in the American navy, although 
there are several on the retired list. That grade 
has been abolished from the naval service. 

68. When vessels of the navy are togethet 
and no flag officer is present, the senior officer 
hoists at the starboard main yard arm a blue 
triangular pennant as a badge of command. 

69. The flag of the Major General Com- 
mandant of the Marine Corps has a red field 
with two white stars in the lower half and 
above them the eagle-crested hemisphere im- 
posed upon an anchor which is the emblem of 
the corps. 

70. A junior admiral in the presence of a 
senior flies a flag similar to that of the senior 
admiral, with the exception that the field is 
red instead of blue. 

71. A junior vice admiral in the presence 
of a senior vice admiral flies a red flag bear- 
ing the three stars of his rank. 

72. Rear admirals of junior grade fly a red 
flag bearing two stars while in the presence of 
rear admirals senior to them. 

73. The commodore of the Naval Militia 
carries a broad pennant, the upper half blue 
and the lower half yellow, on the blue half of 
which appears a five-pointed star. 

74. When a consul goes aboard a vessel of 
the navy on official business, a blue flag with a 
centered letter "C" inclosed in a circle of thir- 



313 



L 






■■■■■( 



















4 



fll'il'll.'l' inrm 




L47QRDNANCE VESSE 
DEFENSE VESSELS 



ENGINEER VESSELS 



314 




ADM IRA 
(SENIOR! 



SENIOR 
OFFICER 
65VICE ADMIRAL 66REAR ADMIRAL 67 COMMODORE 68 PRESENT 69 MAJ GENL 

U S M C 




70 ADMIRAL 
(JUNIOR! 



'lUVICE ADMIRAL 72REAR ADMIRAL 73 COMMODORE [74 CONSULAR 75 BRIG GENL 

, NAVAL MILITIA^ 





99 GUIDOf! 
U S M C 



315 



teen white stars tlies in the bows of the boat 
in which he is embarked. 

IS- The flag of a brigadier general of the 
United States Marine Corps is similar to that 
of a major general (69), except that it carries 
one star instead of two. 

76. The flag of the commander of a de- 
stroyer flotilla is a swallow-tail pennant of 
plain white bordered above and below with 
blue. 

77. The commander of a submarine force 
has a triangular swallow-tail pennant bordered 
above with blue and below with red. 

78. The commanders of district patrol 
forces carry a swallow-tail pennant having a 
white field bordered by red above and below. 

79. Section commanders of the patrol force 
carry a smaller duplicate of 78, with the num- 
ber of the section in Roman numerals thereon. 

79 r A- The division commander of the patrol 
force carries a red-bordered white triangular 
pennant with the number of the division in 
Arabic notation. 

80. When submarines are operating in times 
of peace a submarine warning flag is flown on 
their tenders, while the submarine itself bears 
on one of its periscopes a small metal flag of 
the same design. 

81. The boat flag of a post commander of 
the United States Marine Corps is a triangular 
pennant of blue and red, blue at the hoist and 
red in the fly, with thirteen white stars on the 
blue and the insignia of the Marine Corps on 
the red. 

82. Destroyer division commanders carry a 
white triangular pennant bordered with blue, 
with their numbers indicated on the white field. 

83. The flag of a division commander of 
the submarine force is a white triangle bor- 
dered with blue at the top and red below, 
showing the number of the division in red on 
the white. 

84. The battle efficiency pennant is one of 
the most coveted trophies of the American 
navy. There is one for each class of ships, 
such as battleships, destroyers, and submarines. 
The ship of a given class which, during the 
preceding year, has shown by her practice and 
performance the ability to hit most often and 
quickest, to steam the farthest with the least 
expenditure of fuel, water, etc., to run longest 
without breakdown, and which otherwise gives 
evidence that she might be expected to give a 
better account of herself in a battle than any 
other vessel of her class, is awarded the privi- 
lege of flying the battle efficiency pennant dur- 
ing the ensuing year. There is the keenest 
rivalry between the competing vessels of a 
class, and this little red triangular flag with 
the black disk is prized next to victory in bat- 
tle itself. 

85. This flag is flown by vessels engaged in 
convoy duty. When ships are engaged in ma- 
neuvers or are maneuvering in compound for- 
mation, this pennant is an indication to the 
other vessels of the division to take bearing 
and distance from the ship bearing it. 

86. Hospital ships fly the Red Cross flag, and 
under international law they are immune from 
attack, unless it can be shown that the ship 
flying it fails to respect all of the provisions 
of the international compact made at Geneva. 



87. This is the flag under which the marine 
corps moves quartermaster's supplies for its 
men. 

88. The interrogatory flag is used in signal- 
ing when one ship wants to make a signal in 
the interrogatory form or to announce that it 
does not understand a signal. 

89. The preparatory flag is displayed with 
a signal in order that preparations may be 
made to execute the signal itself uniformly and 
simultaneously. When the signal alone is 
hauled down, the ships having made ready, 
execute the signal. It is also hoisted when 
the ceremony of hoisting the colors in the 
morning and taking it in at sunset is the next 
thing on the program. It is raised five min- 
utes before the ceremony begins. Upon being 
hauled down by the flagship, all ships execute 
the colors ceremony simultaneously. 

90. This flag is displayed either to counter- 
mand the last signal made or the one then be- 
ing shown. 

91. This pennant has two uses. Its first use 
is in answering a call for a semaphore or wig- 
wag message, being hoisted half way when the 
ship is ready to receive the message, and all 
the way when the message has been completely 
received. It is then hauled down. Used thus, 
it might be said to be the "Aye, aye, sir" flag 
of the navy. Its other use is as a decimal or 
divisional flag in flags indicating numerals and 
quantities. 

92. This is the "No" flag of the navy. It 
is used to negative a request, or to say "No" 
to a question. 

93. The brigade pennant of the United 
States Marine Corps has a swallow-tailed blue 
field, with the number of the brigade and the 
initials of the corps in gold. 

94. When a ship asks permission of the 
flagship .to do this or that, the force com- 
mander hoists this flag with the number dis- 
tinguishing the vessel making the request, as a 
sign that it has been granted. 

95. The yellow flag, as is well known, is 
the one which proclaims that there is conta- 
gious disease aboard. 

96. This flag has two uses. Hoisted at the 
main mast, it means that the vessel displaying 
it is engaged on dispatch duty. It is always 
carried in a roll at the fore mast of vessels in 
formation, so that it can be displayed, or 
"broken out," as the sailors say, instantly, to 
indicate an accident or derangement on board 
that vessel and to warn other ships to keep 
clear. Hoisted half way, clear of the smoke- 
stack, it indicates a man overboard. 

97. The church pennant is always displayed 
when divine services on board are in progress. 

98. The cornet flag, displayed at the yard 
arm, calls all vessels present to receive a sema- 
phore or wig-wag message. Displayed at the 
fore mast, it is notice to all officers and men 
to come on board at once. 

99. The guidon of the United States Marine 
Corps has a blue field, is gold fringed, and 
bears in gold on the field the initials of the 
corps. 

100. This flag, displayed with 101, 102, 103, 
104, 105, 106, 107, 108, no, and in, indicates 
that they represent in value the numerals given 
below them. If those flags are not displayed 



316 



in connection with ioo, they have other mean- 
ings, both in the navy code and in the inter- 
national code. 

109. Displayed with a numeral signal, this 
flag summons the boat which has been assigned 
that particular number to return to the ship. 
Displayed alone, it recalls all boats then absent 
from the ship on which it is flying. 

112. These are the semaphore flags used in 
the navy. 

113. These are the wig-wag flags used in 
signal operations ashore and afloat. 

114-115-116. These pennants are used to 
repeat the first, second, and third flags in the 
hoist. 

117. This is a pennant very much in use, 
and when a ship is at anchor especially wel- 
come to the crew. It is the meal signal. When 
a ship is under way it indicates that the vessel 
is making more than standard speed for some 
purpose or other. When hoisted below the 
admiral's flag on his flagship, it indicates that 
that officer is about to leave. 

118. This pennant is displayed from the 
yard arm of a flag officer's ship when he is 
absent. 

119. The powder flag is displayed at the 
fore, mast when a ship is taking on board 
powder or munitions. It is also carried in 
boats and lighters used in transporting ammu- 
nition. 

120-171. These flags are used in designating 
various divisions and ships of the naval forces. 

INTERNATIONAL CODE OF SIGNALS 

172-197. The international code of signals 
is a great universal dictionary which makes 
communication everywhere intelligible,' regard- 
less of the tongue spoken by those using it. A 
ship using a signal book printed in English 
can communicate with a vessel using a book 
printed in French or Italian as easily as if the 
second ship were using an English book. 

The international code of signals consists of 
twenty-six flags — one for each letter of the 
alphabet — and a code pennant. By means of 
these flags 375,000 different signals can be 
made. This code was adopted by international 
agreement in January, 1901, and is almost en- 
tirely based on a system of signaling by flags 
devised by the British Government in 1856. 
The code consists of nineteen square flags 
(179-197), two burgee flags (172-173), and five 
pennants (174-178) and the code or answering 
pennant (2T3). 

When hoisted under the ensign (1 for 
United States, 829 for Great Britain, 743 for 
France, etc.), the code pennant (213) denotes 
a signal taken from the international code. 
When hoisted by itself at the masthqad, or 
where it can best be seen, it is the answering 
pennant. 

One-flag signals are for use only between 
vessels towing and being towed. The flag is 
then exhibited by being held in the hand or by 
hoisting' at the stay or fore shrouds or to the 
gaff, according to circumstances. 

Two-flag signals are '-urgent and important 1 
signals, and are made by the code pennant over 
one flag, or by combinations of any two flags 
AB to ZY. 



Three-flag signals are general signals, in- 
cluding compass signals and signals designating 
moneys, measures and weights, decimals and 
fractions, auxiliary phrases, etc. 

Four-flag signals are geographical, alpha- 
betical spelling table, or vessels numbers sig- 
nals. 

198-205. These are yacht flags, indicating 
respectively the absence of the owner, the pres- 
ence of guests, the owner's dinner, the crew's 
meal, etc. 

206-209. These figures show how the dots 
and dashes of the United States army and navy 
wig-wag code are made by flag-wavers (see 
illustration on another page). 

210-212. These are the semaphore flags of 
the United States army, the boy scouts, and 
the British forces. The boy scouts of Amer- 
ica, several hundred thousand strong, and tens 
of thousands of boys who do not belong to 
that organization, are fast learning to com- 
municate with one another by means of flags. 

213. A ship wishing to make a signal hoists 
her ensign (1 for United States, 829 for Great 
Britain, 743 for France, etc.) with this code 
flag under it (see note under 172-197). 

214-217. These figures show the numbering 
and coloring of buoys as seen coming from 
the sea, and illustrated by the alliteration "red, 
right, returning." 

218-219. These figure's represent respect- 
ively the masthead light required by the inter- 
national rules of the road for steam trawlers 
and the area required to be covered by the 
starboard and port running lights, the mast- 
head and optional range lights, and the stern 
lights of steam vessels. 

220-223. These are the day signals for a 
pilot, the first being the jack, in this case the 
United States jack, at the fore, the next two 
flags showing the signal P. T. and S. respec- 
tively, and the third the distance signal, con- 
sisting of balls and cone. 

224-229. Signals of distress include the S. 
0. S. call — three dots, three dashes, and three 
dots — the inverted ensign, etc. A continuous 
sounding with any fog signal is also a signal 
of distress. 

230. Night pilot signals include flashes of 
one minute duration at frequenting intervals, 
or a blue light showing every fifteen minutes. 

231-233. Night signals of distress are made 
through gun fire at intervals of one minute, by 
flames from a tar or oil barrel, rockets, or 
bombs. 

COAST GUARD SIGNALS 

234-238. All manned Coast Guard stations 
of the United States are equipped with inter- 
national code flags, and are prepared to send 
or receive signals in that code or by means of 
the International Morse Code. Practically all 
the stations are provided with means of tele- 
phonic communication through which the tele- 
graph lines may be reached. 

The following signals, recommended by the 
International Marine Conference for adoption 
by all institutions for saving life from wrecked 
vessels, have been adopted by the Coast Guard 
of the United States : 

Upon the discovery of a wreck by night, the 
station crew will burn a red pyrotechnic light 



317 







FORCE COM'DRS 



318 



INTER- 
NATIONAL 
CODE 
FLAGS 




©ooo 

24-2 BRIT ~ 
C 



FRENCH 241 

U S INFANTRY 




l L_ ^ 244 

242 BRITISH 243 BELGIUM 

COMPANY SIGNAL FLAGS 



■ * H 

RUSSIA GERMANY TURKE 

r^ ^i 1 1 uifl Awn \/r~ii i imtftrc *^ 



MILITIA AND VOLUNTEERS 





is 



FIRST BATTALION SECOND BATTALION THIRD BATTALION FIKSI BAT1ALION SECOND THIRD 

248 _249 250 I 251 BATT BATT 

ARMY HEADQUARTERS DISTINGUISHING FLAGS AND LANTERNS 252 253 




254FIELD ARMY 




i iSH 




CAVALRY 
U258 BRIGADE 




T m 



SB 

POST 
2610FFICE 



319 



or a red rocket to signify, "You are seen; as- 
sistance will be given as soon as possible" 

(234)- 

A red flag waved on shore by day, or a red 
light, red rocket, or red roman candle displayed 
by night, will signify, "Haul away" (235). 

A white flag waved on shore by day, or a 
white light swung slowly back and forth, or a 
white rocket or white roman candle fired by 
night, will signify, "Slack away" (236). 

Two flags, a white and a red, waved at the 
same time on shore by day, or two lights, a 
white and a red, slowly swung at the same 
time, or a blue pyrotechnic light burned by 
night, will signify, "Do not attempt to land in 
your own boats; it is impossible" (237). 

A man on shore beckoning by day, or two 
torches burning near together by night, will 
signify, "This is the best place to land" (238). 

Any of these signals may be answered from 
the vessel as follows : In the day-time, by wav- 
ing a flag, a handkerchief, a hat, or even the 
hand; at night, by firing a rocket, a blue light, 
or a gun, or by showing a light over the ship's 
gunwale for a short time and then concealing 
it. 

239-246. The insignia of the airplanes of 
the various countries "are" here shown. The 
United States makes use of the five-pointed 
star, Great Britain still retains her three crosses 
of the union jack, Germany marks hers with 
the Prussian black cross, and Turkey displays 
the familiar star and crescent. 

248-253. These represent the company sig- 
nal flags of the U. S. infantry and of the 
militia and volunteers. 

254-261. Distinguishing flags and lanterns 
}f army headquarters. 

262. The flag of the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, who is Commander-in-Chief of the Coast 
Guard and Public Health Service, has a blue 
field with crossed anchors in white centered 
thereon, the design surrounded by thirteen 
white five-pointed stars. This flag is flown 
when the Secretary of the Treasury is aboard 
vessels of the Treasury service. 

263. The U. S. Coast Guard flag was 
adopted in 1799 for the Revenue Cutter Serv- 
ice, now merged with the Life Saving Service 
into the Coast Guard. The sixteen vertical 
stripes proclaim the sixteen States that were 
in the Union at the time the design was 
adopted ; its red eagle, with the stars above 
md the escutcheon on its breast, bespeaks the 
Federal service. The badge on the seventh red 
stripe bears a shield surrounded by the motto, 
''Semper Paratus 1790" (Always prepared). It 
appears on the flag to show that it represents 
the Coast Guard. The same flag without the 
badge denotes the custom houses of the United 
States. In time of war the Coast Guard oper- 
ates as a part of the United States Navy and 
then uses the flags and pennants of the naval 
service. 

264-265. The design of the arms on the 
flags of the Secretary and Assistant Secretary 
of Commerce are identical, except for the 
transposition of colors. It is taken from the 
official seal of the department and shows on 
the upper part of the escutcheon a ship at full 
sail and on the lower part a lighthouse illu- 
mined. The service flag is hoisted at the fore 



mast on holidays, on occasions of official cere- 
monies, when entering a port after an extended 
voyage, and at any other time when the na- 
tional ensign is hoisted. At no time should a 
service flag be displayed without the national 
ensign. These flags are shown as follows: 
268, 272, 276, 280. 

266. The Assistant Secretary of the Treas- 
ury has the same flag as the Secretary of the 
Treasury, except that the colors are trans- 
posed. His flag is never flown in the presence 
of the flag of his ranking officer, 262. 

267. The pennant of the U. S. Coast Guard 
has thirteen stars and vertical red and white 
stripes. It was adopted in 1799, and is always 
displayed by Coast Guard cutters in commis- 
sion. In time of war the Coast Guard oper- 
ates -as part of the U. S. Navy and wears the 
commission pennant of the navy. 

268. The service flag of the Bureau of 
Navigation, with its white ship in a red disc 
on a blue ground is flown by all vessels of the 
Navigation Service during daylight hours. 

269. The flag of the Commissioner of Navi- 
gation is blue, bearing a full-rigged ship in 
white in the center. It is flown on Department 
of Commerce vessels when the Commissioner 
of Navigation is on board. 

270. The flag of the Customs Service is the 
same as that of the Coast Guard, except that 
the badge of the latter is omitted. 

271. The jack of the Coast Guard Service 
is a reproduction of the canton of the ensign 
of the same service. The jack of the Coast 
Guard is used only at parades on shore. Since 
the national ensign has been used as the en- 
sign of the Coast Guard, the old Coast Guard 
ensign is used only as a distinguishing flag, 
and the only jack displayed on vessels of the 
Coast Guard is 4. 

272. A white fish on a red diamond im- 
posed upon a blue ground constitutes the flag 
flown by the. vessels of the Bureau of Fish- 
eries. It was adopted in 1896. 

273. The Commissioner of Fisheries has 
one of the newest flags in the Federal service 
It is a blue banner with a white fish in the 
center and was adopted July 22, 1913. 

274. The flag of the U. S. Public Health 
Service was adopted in 1894. It is the inter- 
national yellow quarantine flag with the serv- 
ice shield thereon. The fouled anchor stands 
for the seamen in need of assistance, and the 
caduceus represents the herald or physician 
who is to bring restored health. 

275. This is the flag of the senior officer 
present, and is flown in the Coast Guard to 
indicate that the ship which displays it bears 
the force commander. 

276. The flag of the Bureau of Lighthouses 
is a white triangular pennant, red bordered, 
and bearing in the white field, parallel with 
the staff and next to it, a blue lighthouse. 

277. The flag of the Commissioner of 
Lighthouses has the white field and blue light- 
house of the service flag placed upon a square 
field of Ijlue. 

278. The Surgeon General of the U. S. 
Public Health Service flies a flag of blue, bear- 
ing the fouled anchor, of the official shield of 
the service. The design is white. 



320 



279- Coast Guard cutters patrolling the 
anchorage grounds of the large harbors of the 
United States fly at their jackstaff a flag of 
white upon which is imposed a blue anchor. 

280. The service flag of the Coast and Geo- 
detic Survey consists of a blue field upon 
which is imposed a disc of white, bearing 
within its circumference a triangle of red. 

281. The Superintendent of the Coast and 
Geodetic Survey has a flag with a blue field 
bearing a white triangle on the half next to 
the staff. This triangle, which is equilateral, 
proclaims the great work of fundamental sur- 
veying in United States waters, which is the 
chief activity of this bureau. 

282. The 30th Congress, August 7, 1848, au- 
thorized "That all such licensed yachts shall 
use a signal of the form, size, and colors pre- 
scribed by the Secretary of the Navy, and the 
owners thereof shall at all times permit the 
naval architects in the employ of the United 
States to examine and copy'the models of said 
yachts." 

283-284. The commission pennants of the 
Coast and Geodetic Survey are here shown. 
They are flown at the main mast while the 
vessels are in commission. 

285. The Secretary of Labor has a flag upon 
which are the four stars that the President and 
other members of his official family have on 
their flags, together with the seal of the De- 
partment of Labor. This includes an escutch- 
eon surmounted by a spread eagle, and bearing 
on its field the plow and other devices which 
proclaim the dignity of labor. 

286. Vessels of the U. S. Immigration Serv- 
ice display a pennant whose field is of white, 
bordered with blue and lettered with red. It 
is of a swallow-tailed, triangular design (or 
burgee) and bears, in addition to the lettering, 
the seal of the department to which it belongs. 

287. Vessels belonging to the U. S. Postal 
Service fly a red, swallow-tailed, triangular 
pennant (or burgee), bordered with blue, bear- 
ing the American spread eagle and inscribed 
with the words "United States Mail." 

288. The United States power-boat squad- 
rons carry a flag like the yacht ensign, except 
that it wears perpendicular blue stripes where 
the yacht ensign has horizontal red ones, and 
has a red canton where the yacht ensign, has 
one of blue. 

289-3OO. U. S. WF.ATHER FORECAST FLAGS AND 
STORM WARNINGS 

289. white flag, indicates. clear or fair weather. 

290. blue flag, indicates rain or snow. 

291. white and blue flag (parallel bars of 
white and blue), indicates that local rain? or 
showers will occur, and that the rainfall will 
not be general. 



292 always refers to ; temperature; when 
placed above (289,290,291) it indicates warmei 
weather ; when placed below it indicates colder 
weather; when not displayed, the indications 
are that the temperature will remain stationary, 
it that the change in temperature will not vary 
more than four degrees from the temperature 
of the same hour of the preceding day from 
March to October, inclusive, and not more than 
six degrees for the remaining months of the 
year. 

293, white flag, with black square in center, 
indicates the approach of a sudden and decided 
fall in temperature. When 293 is displayed 
292 is always omitted. 

When displayed on poles the flags should be 
arranged to read downward; when displayed 
from horizontal supports a small streamer 
should be attached to indicate the point from 
which the flags are to be read. 

In the United States the system of weathei 
signals is very complete, information of the 
approach of storms being received from vari- 
ous stations in the United States, and even 
throughout the West Indies. These warnings 
are published at the various seaports by the 
display of flags by day and by lanterns at 
night; also by bulletins and reports furnished 
to newspapers. Every effort is made by the 
Weather Bureau of the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture to give these warnings as 
early as possible at all points where they may 
be of service to mariners and others. 

Storm warnings are displayed by the United 
States Weather Bureau at 142 stations on the 
Atlantic and Gulf coasts and at 46 stations on 
the Pacific coast. 

(294) Small-craft warnings. — A red pennant 
indicates that moderately strong winds are ex- 
pected. 

(295, 296, 298, 299) Storm warnings. — A red 
flag, with a black center, indicates that a storm 
of marked violence is expected. 

The pennants displayed with the flags indi- 
cate the direction of the wind: Red, easterly; 
white, westerly. The pennant above the flag 
indicates that the wind is expected to blow 
from the northerly quadrants ; below, from 
southerly quadrants. 

(297) By night a red light indicates easterh 
winds, and a white light below a red light west- 
erly winds. 

(300) Hurricane warnings. — Two red flags, 
with black centers, displayed one above the 
other, indicate the expected approach of a 
tropical hurricane, or one of those extremely 
severe and dangerous storms which occasion- 
ally move across the Lakes and northern At- 
lantic coast. 

Small-craft and hurricane warnings are not 
displayed at night. 



321 




SECRETARY TREASURY I) U S COAST GUARD 

262 „ 263 




270 U S CUSTOMS 









274 u S public 

HEALTH SERVICE 




278SURGEON GENL.U S. 
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 





U S POWER 
SQUADRONS 



289 



WEATHER FORECAST FLAGS 



297 STORM WARNINGS 



322 




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324 



OUR STATE FLAGS 



ON PAGES 323 to 334, for the 
first time in the history of the 
United States, the flags of our 48 
States are reproduced in colors in one 
publication. 

The flags have been arranged in the 
order that the respective States joined the 
Union. If the first numeral of each num- 
ber be omitted, the relative age of the 
State is at once apparent; for instance, 
Michigan, 326, is the twenty-sixth State ; 
Maine, 323, the twenty-third, and Okla- 
homa, 346, the forty-sixth. . 

Unless otherwise stated, both sides of 
a flag are the same in design. 

These flag emblems combine much that 
is beautiful, historic, and inspiring, and 
cannot fail to thrill the heart of every 
American ; but an observer may perhaps 
wish that there was not such. a uniformity 
in design. About one-half of the States 



use the same blue ground with the State 
seal inscribed in the center, with the re- 
sult that these flags are all so similar that 
it is very difficult to distinguish one from 
the other at a short distance. 

Such designs as Maryland, 307 ; Ar- 
kansas, 325, and California, 331, etc., are 
easily distinguishable at considerable dis- 
tances. 

Many of these flags are soon to fly on 
European battlefields for the first time in 
history, borne by the National Guard of 
the several States, now mustered into the 
Federal service. Some of these State 
emblems will receive their baptism of 
fire, and to the men fighting under these 
colors will be entrusted the proud dis- 
tinction of winning the first silver bands 
which encircle the staffs of their regi- 
mental standards, thus perpetuating the 
story of each unit's worthy achievements. 



301. Delaware;. — A commission consisting 
of the Secretary of State, the President pro 
tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, created under the 
laws of Delaware, for the purpose of selecting 
a State flag and colors, made a report in 1914, 
which, while not adopted by the legislature it- 
self, has been accepted as official. It consists 
of a field of colonial blue, upon which is im- 
posed a diamond of buff which bears the coat- 
of-arms of the State of Delaware. Underneath 
the diamond there appears the following in- 
scription : "December 7th, 1787." A flag has 
been recorded in the office of Recorder of 
Deeds for Kent County and a duplicate filed 
in the office of the Secretary of State at Dover. 

302. Pennsylvania. — With a field of blue 
of the- same shade as that of the flag of the 
United States, the State flag of Pennsylvania, 
officially described in the law of June 13, 1907, 
bears the coat-of-arms of the State in the cen- 
ter on both sides. The length of the staff is 
nine feet, including the brass spearhead and 
ferrule. The fly of the flag is six feet two 
inches and its width four feet six inches. The 
edges are trimmed with knotted fringe of yel- 
low silk, two and one-half inches wide.' A cord 
with tassels attached to the spearhead is eight 

•feet six inches long and composed of white 
and blue silk strands. The coat-of-arms of the 
State consists of a shield with a ship sailing 
on an ocean in the upper third, two plows in 
the middle section, and three sheaves of wheat 
in the lower section. Two harnessed horses 
rampant support the shield ; an eagle with out- 
stretched wings forms its crest, and below it is 
a streamer carrying the motto, "Virtue, Liberty 
and Independence," 



303. New Jersey. — Under a resolution ap- 
proved March, 1896, the flag of the State of 
New Jersey is of buff color, having in the cen- 
ter thereof the arms of the State properly em- 
blazoned. This flag is the headquarters flag 
of the Governor as Commander-in-Chief, but 
does not supersede the distinctive flags which 
are or may hereafter be prescribed for differ- 
ent arms of the military or naval service of 
the State. When the measure was pending in 
the New Jersey Legislature, a memorandum 
was submitted showing why buff was chosen. 
This memorandum states that in 1779 the Con- 
tinental Congress by resolution authorized and 
directed the Commander-in-Chief to prescribe 
uniforms both as to color and facings for the 
regiments of the New Jersey Continental Line. 
Accordingly, General Washington in general 
orders directed that the coat of such regiments 
should be dark blue, faced with buff. Later it 
was ordered that the flag of the State troops 
should have a ground to be the color of the 
facing. Thus the New Jersey flag became buff 
under orders of the Father of his Country. 
The memorandum also states that Washington 
elected buff facings for the New York and 
New Jersey troops, because New York and 
New Jersey were originally settled by the 
Dutch, and Jersey blue and buff figured in the 
Netherlands insignia. It was displayed in view 
of the combined French and American armies 
in the great culminating event oi the Revolu- 
tion, the capitulation of the British army under 
Cornwallis at Yorktown. 

304. Georgia adopted a State flag in 1879. 
It has a perpendicular blue bar from top-to 
bottom next to the staff, with three horizontal 
bars — red, white, and red. On the blue per- 



325 




315 KENTUCKY (UNOFFICIAL! 

NO STATE FLAG 




TE N N £55 E £ 



326 




MISSOU Rl 

324 



327 



pendicular bar appears the coat-of-arms of the 
State. This coat-of-arms has three pillars sup- 
porting an arch with the word "Constitution" 
engraved thereon. The three departments of 
government are supposed to be represented by 
the three pillars. On the pillars are engraved 
the words "Wisdom," "Justice," "Moderation," 
these words being supposed to typify the leg- 
islative, executive, and judicial branches of the 
State government. 

305. Connecticut's colors consist of a dark 
blue background, bearing the State seal in the 
center. The seal has three grape vines, repre- 
senting the three original colonies of Connecti- 
cut — Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield. 
Beneath the vines is the State motto, "Qui 
transtulit sustinet." The Connecticut State 
flag was adopted by the General Assembly in 
1897. Its dimensions are five feet six inches 
by four feet four inches. The Latin inscrip- 
tion is a survival of the Nutmeg State's Colo- 
nial banner and, freely translated, means, "He 
who brought us over sustains us." 

306. Massachusetts. — By a law approved 
in 1908 the flag of the Commonwealth bears on 
one side a representation of the coat-of-arms 
of the State, upon a white field, and on the 
other side a blue field bearing the representa- 
tion of a green pine tree against a white back- 
ground. When carried as colors by troops, or 
otherwise, the flag is bordered by a fringe and 
surmounted by a cord and tassels, the fringe, 
cord, and tassels being of golden yellow. The 
staff is of white ash or wood of similar light 
color, tipped with a spearhead of gilt. The 
coat-of-arms was authorized under a law of 
1885. It consists of a shield having a blue field, 
with an Indian man, dressed in shirt, hunting 
breeches, and moccasins, holding in his right 
hand a bow and in his left hand an arrow 
pointing downward, all of gold ; in the upper 
corner of the field above his right arm is a 
silver star with five points. The crest is a 
wreath of blue and gold, whereon, in gold, is 
a right arm, bent at the elbow, clothed and 
ruffled, with the hand grasping a broad sword. 
The motto is "Ense petit placidam sub libertate 
^uietem." 

307. Maryland. — One of the oldest flags in 
the world at the date of its official adoption, 
the State flag of Maryland is unique in design 
and striking in its history. Although it was 
the flag of the proprietary government of Mary- 
land generations before American independ- 
ence was dreamed of, and has continued in use 
from that day -to this, it was not officially 
adopted until 1904. It represents the escutcheon 
of the paternal coat-of-arms of Lord Balti- 
more. After reciting that it is eminently fitting 
that, by reason of its historic interest and 
meaning, as well as for its beauty and harmony 
of colors, the flag adopted should be one which 
from the earliest settlement of the province to 
the present time has teen known and distin- 
guished as the flag of Maryland, the resolutions 
then provide that the first- and fourth quarters 
consist of six vertical bars, alternately gold and 
black, with a diagonal band on which the colors 
are reversed ; the second and third quarters 
consist of a quartered field of red and white, 
charged with a Greek cross, its arms terminat- 
ing in trefoils, with the colors transposed, red 



being on the white ground and white on the 
red, and all -being represented as on the es- 
cutcheon of the present great seal of Maryland. 
The flag always is to be so arranged upon the 
staff as to have the black stripes on the diag- 
onal band of the first quarter at the top of the 
staff. It is to be displayed from the State 
House at Annapolis continually during the ses- 
sion of the General Assembly and on such 
other public occasions as the Governor of the 
State shall order and direct. 

308. South Carolina's flag is reminiscent 
of secession times. Following that State's 
withdrawal from the Union, its legislature de- 
cided that it was a separate nation and should 
have a national banner. A resolution was there- 
fore adopted in 1861 providing that "the na- 
tional flag or ensign of South Carolina should 
be blue, with a golden palmetto upright upon a 
white oval in the center thereof, and a white 
crescent in the upper flagstaff corner of the 
flag." Two days later a resolution was adopted 
by the two houses providing that the white 
medallion and golden palmetto be dispensed 
with and in their place a white palmetto in- 
serted. From that time to this South Carolina 
has had a blue flag, with the white crescent 
and the white palmetto. When the State en- 
tered the Confederate Union its national flag 
became the State flag, and continues such to 
this da}'. In 1910 a law was made providing 
that State flags should be manufactured in the 
textile department of ClemsonCollege and sold 
at approximate cost to the people. Another 
provision is that the State flag shall be dis- 
played daily, except in rainy weather, from the 
staff of the State House and every court house, 
one building of the State University, and of 
each State college, and upon every public- 
school building except during vacation. Any 
person who maltneats or desecrates a flag of 
the State, wherever displayed, shall be guilty 
of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction pun- 
ished by a fine of not more than a hundred 
dollars or imprisonment for not more than 
thirty days. 

309. New Hampshire had no State flag au- 
thorized and described by law until 1909. In 
that year an act was adopted providing that 
the flag should be blue, bearing upon its center 
in suitable proportions and colors a representa- 
tion of the State seal. The inscription is as 
follows : "Sigillum Republican Xeo Hantoniesis 
1784" (Seal of the Commonwealth of New 
Hampshire). The shield is surrounded by a 
wreath of laurel leaves with nine stars inter- 
spersed. When used for military purposes, the 
flag is to conform to the regulations of the 
United States. Lnder this law New Hamp- 
shire's flag is to be displayed above the State 
House whenever the legislature is in session, 
and during meetings of the Governor and coun- 
cil when expedient, and upon such other occa- 
sions as the Governor may designate. During 
the Civil War. New Hampshire regiments car- 
ried yellow-fringed white flags, with blue and 
white cords and tassels, bearing on one side 
the State coat-of-arms and on the other that 
of the United States. 

310. "Virginia's flag is of "blue bunting, 
sixteen by twenty feet, with a circular white 
ground in the center, in which the seal of the 



328 



State is placed. The State convention of 1861 
passed an ordinance providing that "the flag 
of the Commonwealth shall hereafter be made 
of bunting, which shall be a deep blue field, 
with a circle of white in the center, upon which 
shall be painted or embroidered, to show on 
both sides alike, the coat-of-arms of the State 
as described by the convention of 1776, for one 
side (obverse) of the seal of the State." This 
seal portrays Virtus, the genius of the Com- 
monwealth, dressed like an Amazon, resting on 
a scale at one hand and holding a sword in the 
other, treading on Tyranny, represented by a 
man prostrate, a crown fallen from his head, 
a broken chain in his left hand, and a scourge 
in his right. In the exergue the word "Vir- 
ginia" appears over the head of Virtus, and 
underneath the words "Sic semper tyrannis" 
(Thus ever to tyrants). The seal of Virginia 
was prepared by a committee of which Richard 
Henry Lee and George Mason were members, 
and was adopted on the fifth day of July, 1776, 
one day after the Declaration of Independence 
was proclaimed. 

311. New York adopted its present State 
flag in 1909. The law provides that it shall be 
blue, charged with the arms of the State in the 
center. These arms, dating from March 16, 
1778, rival in beauty the insignia of any other 
State in the Union (see also 394). On the 
shield is the sun rising in golden splendor be- 
hind a range of three mountains. At the base 
of the central mountain a ship and sloop are 
shown under sail, about to meet on a river 
bordered by a grassy shore. An American 
eagle with outspread wings, rising from a globe 
showing the north Atlantic Ocean with outlines 
of its shores, forms the crest. The shield is 
supported on the right by a blue-robed figure 
of Liberty, her hair flowing and decorated with 
a coronet of pearls. In her right hand she 
holds a staff crowned with a Phrygian cap of 
gold. At her feet a royal crown is cast. The 
figure on the left is golden - robed Justice, 
crowned with pearls, her eyes bound, and in 
her left hand the familiar scales. On a scroll 
beneath the shield is the motto, "Excelsior." 

No State has been more careful in guarding 
the national flag, as well as its own emblem, 
from desecration or improper use than the Em- 
pire Commonwealth. Its laws are most explicit 
and far-reaching in providing penalties for the 
misuse of official flags for advertising purposes, 
or for defacing, trampling upon, or mutilating 
State and national colors and standards. To 
stimulate patriotism and reverence for the na- 
tional flag, the New York legislature has di- 
rected that "it shall be the duty of the school 
authorities of every public school in the sev- 
eral cities and "chool districts of the State to 
purchase a United States flag, flagstaff, and 
necessary appliances, and to display such flag 
upon or near the public-school building during 
school hours, and at such other times as school 
authorities may direct." When the weather 
does not permit the flag's display in the open 
it is placed conspicuously in the principal room 
in the school-house. 

312. North Carolina. — The law prescrib- 
ing the present State flag was enacted in 1885. 
It provides that the flag shall consist of a blue 
union containing in the center a white star with 



the letter "N" in gilt on the left and the letter 
"C" in gilt on the right of the star, the circle 
containing this design being one-third of the 
union. The fly of the flag consists of two 
equally proportioned bars, the upper red and 
the lower white. The length of the bar hori- 
zontally is equal to the perpendicular length of 
the union. The total length of the flag is one- 
third more than the width. A law enacted in 
1907 provides that the State flag shall be flown 
above every State institution and public build- 
ing except in inclement weather. It also pro- 
vides that the several Boards of Supervisors 
of the counties shall either display the flag on 
the court-house staff or drape it behind the 
judge's stand. These Boards may display the 
flag on such public occasions as they deem 
proper. 

313. Rhode Island. — Although some au- 
thorities believe that the stars of the American 
colors originated in Rhode Island's colonial 
colors (see also 396), it was not until 1877 
that this State came to have an official flag. 
The flag law was revised in 1882, and again in 
1897, when the existing banner was established. 
It is of white, five feet six inches fly, and four 
feet ten inches deep, on a pike, bearing on each 
side in the, center a gold anchor twenty-two 
inches high, and underneath it a blue ribbon 
twenty-four inches long and five inches wide, 
or in these proportions, with the motto, 
"Hope," in gold letters thereon, the whole sur- 
rounded by thirteen golden stars in a circle. 
The flag is edged with yellow fringe. The 
pike is surmounted by a spear head, its length 
being nine feet, not including the spear head. 
The flag of 1877 used blue for anchor, motto, 
and stars, red for the scroll, and white for the 
field. That of 1882 had a blue field in which a 
golden anchor and thirteen golden stars were 
centered. The flag of 1877 had as many stars 
as States, but the later flags went back to the 
original thirteen. 

314. Vermont's flag, adopted in 1862, con- 
sists of thirteen stripes, alternately red and 
white, with a canton of blue, on which rests a 
single star of white, with the State coat-of- 
arms thereon. The scene represented on the 
coat-of-arms is an actual mountain and harvest 
landscape in Vermont. The outlines of the 
mountains are those of Camel's Hump and 
Mansfield, as seen from Lake Champlain 
While the records of Vermont disclose no au- 
thority for a coat-of-arms or a flag prior to 
the act of September, 1866, this device appears 
on a State seal procured in 1821 under the 
order of the executive by Robert Temple, Esq., 
then the secretary of the Governor and Council. 

315. Kentucky. — So far as a careful search 
of the records of the State reveal, Kentucky 
has never by legislative action adopted an offi- 
cial flag. In 1880, however, a Board was con- 
vened by general order, under the Adjutant 
General, to consider and report a flag design 
for the use of the State guard. Its report 
was adopted with some modification, and by 
general order a State flag was prescribed for 
the guard and reserve militia when called into 
service. This consists of a blue field with the 
arms of the State embroidered in the center 
On the escutcheon appear two men apparently 
shaking hands. The escutcheon is surmounted 



329 




IOWA 



I II Ill r un .'Hl,V. Jll JU f 1 1 J If ■ .Il'll,: 



329 



IOWA 




CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC 



mm 



331 



CALIFORNIA 




M I N N ESOTA 



330 




"©w^ 



NORTH DA KOTA 

339 



SOUTH DAKOTA 

340 



331 



by an eagle bearing in its beak a streamer 
carrying the legend, "United We Stand. Di- 
vided We Fall." It is said that the original 
intention of the seal was to represent two 
friends in hunter's garb, their right hands 
clasped, their left resting on each other's shoul- 
ders, their feet on the verge of a precipice, 
which gave significance to the legend. But the 
engravers for the State have uniformly dressed 
the figures more to suit their ideals, with vary- 
ing heraldic effect. The escutcheon is sup- 
ported by four United States flags, a drum, 
and a cannon. 

316. Tennessee. — This unique flag was 
adopted in 1905. It consists of a fly one and 
two-thirds times as long-as--it is wide. At the 
outer or free end is a blue bar separated from 
the red field by a thin white stripe. Superim- 
posed upon the red field is a circular disk of 
blue separated from the field by a thin circle 
of white, its width the same as the width of 
the white stripe separating the blue bar from 
the red field. Upon the blue of the circular 
disk are arranged three five-pointed stars of 
white, distributed at equal intervals around a 
point which is the center of the blue field. 
Tennessee was the third State to join the 
Union (after the original thirteen), a fact 
which the three stars- recall. 

317. Ohio has the only pennant-shaped flag 
among all the States. The law making it the 
official ensign of the "Buckeye State" was 
adopted in 1902. The outer quarter of the 
field is swallow-tailed, the field itself consist- 
ing of five stripes — three red and two white — 
red at the bottom and top. At the staff end of 
the field is a triangular blue canton with the 
base resting on the staff and the apex reaching 
half way across the field. On this canton is a 
large circular "O" in white, inside of which is 
a red disk. Seventeen stars, representing all 
of the States at the time of Ohio's entrance 
into the Union, appear grouped around the 
circular "O." All of these stars are five- 
pointed. 

318. Louisiana. — Those who contend that 
the Stars and Stripes were used unofficially 
long before they were adopted by the Conti- 
nental Congress, on June 14, 1777, can point to 
the history of the Louisiana State-flag as show- 
ing that banners are often used unofficially 
long before being officially adopted. It is said 
that this flag is a hundred years old, having 
become the unofficial flag of Louisiana about 
the time of the War of 1812, yet it was not 
legally adopted until July 1, 1912. The meas- 
ure making it the flag of the State is simply a 
statute of ratification, and sets forth that it 
shall consist of a solid blue field with the coat- 
of-arms of the State, a pelican feeding its 
young, the ribbon beneath, also in white, con- 
taining in blue the motto of the State, "Union, 
Justice, Confidence." The law provides that 
the flag shall be displayed on the State House 
whenever the General Assembly is in session 
and on public buildings throughout the State 
on all regular holidays and whenever other- 
wise decreed by the Governor or the General 
Assembly. 

319. Indiana. — Although the legislature of 
the State of Indiana declared in 1901 that its 
official banner should be no other than the 



American flag itself, it reconsidered this action 
in 1917 and adopted a State emblem. The field 
of the flag is blue; its dimensions are five feet 
six inches fly by four feet four inches on the 
staff, and upon the field is centered a flaming 
torch in gold, or buff, with nineteen Stars. 
Thirteen stars are circled around the torch, 
representing the original thirteen States. In- 
side this circle is a half circle of" five stars 
below the torch, representing the five States 
admitted to the Union prior to Indiana. The 
outer circle of stars is so arranged that one of 
them appears directly in the middle at the top 
of the circle. The word "Indiana" is placed 
in a half circle over a large star - ," "typifying the 
State, which is situated just above the flame of 
the torch. Rays from the torch radiate to the 
three stars of the outer circle. This banner is 
to be carried in addition to the American flag 
by the militia forces of Indiana and in all pub- 
lic functions in which the State officially ap- 
pears. 

320. Mississippi is one of the States that 
have had more than one flag. The old flag 
was white with a blue canton with a single 
white star thereon. On the body of the white 
was a green tree. The flag was fringed with 
red and the pike was surmounted by a toma- 
hawk. After the Civil War the State adopted 
a new flag. This consists of a blue, white, and 
red field, the red at the bottom, with a red 
canton reaching down to the red stripe of the 
field. A St. Andrew's cross with thirteen. stars 
is imposed upon the canton. The tomahawk 
of the old flagstaff is replaced on the new pike 
by a regulation spear head. 

321. Illinois' State flag was authorized in 
the year 1915. The law provides that the re- 
production of the emblem on the great seal of 
Illinois be permitted when reproduced in black 
or in natural colors on a white background for 
use as a State banner. The seal of the State 
of Illinois was adopted in 1819, the year after 
the State was admitted to the Union. In the 
center is an American eagle perched on an 
American shield; back of the shield and help- 
ing to support it is an olive branch. In its 
beak the eagle holds a scroll containing the 
motto, "State Sovereignty — National Union." 

322. Alabama's colors were adopted by the 
act of February 16, 1805, which provides that 
the flag of the State shall be a crimson cross 
of St. Andrew upon a field of white; the bars 
forming the cross shall be not less than six 
inches broad, and must extend' diagonally 
across the flag from side to side. The flag 
shall be hoisted on the dome of the capitol 
when the two houses of the legislature are in 
session, and shall be used by the State on all 
occasions when it may be necessary or con- 
sistent to display a flag, except when in the 
opinion of the Governor the national flag 
should be displayed. It is said that the pur- 
pose of the legislature in enacting the State 
flag law was to preserve in permanent form 
some of the more distinctive features of the 
Confederate battle flag, especially the St 
Andrew's cross (see 375)." This being true, 
the Alab.ama flag should be^ square in all its 
lines and measurements and conform to the 
well-known battle flag of the Confederacy. 



332 



323. Maine's present flag dates from the 
year 1909. It consists of a field of blue, the 
same color as the blue field in the flag of the 
United States, the flag being five feet six inches 
long and four feet four inches wide. In the 
center there is embroidered in silk on both 
sides the coat-of-arms of the State, in propor- 
tionate size. The edges of the flag are trimmed 
with modern fringe of yellow silk two and a 
half inches wide. A cord and tassel, to be 
attached to the staff at the spearhead, is eight 
feet six inches long and composed of white 
and blue strands. The length of the staff is 
nine feet, including the brass spearhead and 
ferrule. The laws protecting the State flag are 
the same as those protecting the national flag. 
Any one who uses it for purposes of adver- 
tisement or who mutilates, tramples, or other- 
wise defaces or defiles it, whether public or 
private property, shall be punished by a fine of 
not less than five nor more than fifty dollars. 

324. Missouri formally adopted an official 
flag in 1913. It is rectangular in shape, the 
vertical width being seven-twelfths the hori- 
zontal length. The field consists of one red 
one white, and one blue horizontal stripe of 
equal width, the red at the top and the blue at 
the bottom. In the center there is a band of 
blue in the form of a circle inclosing the coat- 
of-arms in the colors established by law. The 
width of the blue band is one-fourteenth the 
vertical width of the flag, and the diameter of 
the circle is one-third the horizontal length of 
the flag. In the blue band there are set at 
equal distances from each other twenty-four 
five-pointed stars. Within the circle on a ground 
of white is the coat-of-arms of the State. The 
sinister (left) half of the circular shield shows 
the American eagle as it appears upon the 
great seal of the United States. The upper 
dexter (right) quarter is blue, with a white 
crescent. The lower dexter quarter is red, 
with a grizzly bear. It is supported by two 
grizzly bears. 

325. Arkansas as early as 1876 used an of- 
ficial State flag at the Centennial Exposition 
in Philadelphia. This was a red field bearing 
the arms of the State. But this design was 
never recognized by the legislature. Instead, 
in 1913, a committee, of which the Secretary 
of State was chairman, examined a number of 
designs and selected one for the emblem of the 
Commonwealth. This the General Assembly 
adopted by concurrent resolution, approved 
February 26, 191,3. It consists of a red field 
upon which is imposed a blue-bordered white 
diamond bearing the word "Arkansas" and 
three five-pointed stars, in blue. On the blue 
border of the diamond are twenty-five five- 
pointed white stars, which proclaim the fact 
that Arkansas was the twenty-fifth State to be- 
come a part of the American Union. 

326. Michigan's present flag dates from 
1911, when an act was passed to adopt and pre- 
scribe the design of the coat-of-arms and a 
State flag, and their use, and also to prohibit 
their desecration in any way. The law pro- 
vides that the flag of the State shall be blue, 
with the coat - of - arms superimposed on the 
center. The coat-of-arms consists of the de- 
vice and inscription of the great seal of the 
State presented by Lewis Cass through the con- 



stitutional convention held preliminary to its 
admission into the Union. Only the words 
"The Great Seal of the State of Michigan, 
A. D. 1835," are omitted. The coat-of-arms 
consists principally of a shield with the device 
"Tuebor" (I will defend), supported by an elk 
and a moose, rampant. An American eagle 
with wings outstretched forms the crest. On 
the lower part of the shield is a rising sun and 
a man, dressed in rustic garb, standing on a 
peninsula, his right arm raised and his left 
resting on a gun stock. On an unending scroll 
below appears the motto, "Si quaeris peninsu- 
lam, amoenam, circumspice" (If thou seekest 
a beautiful peninsula, look around). 

327. Florida has had several State flags, but 
the present one dates from 1899. In that year 
the Florida Legislature adopted a joint reso- 
lution providing that the dimensions of the flag 
should be three-fourths as wide as long, and 
that in the center of the field should be placed 
the seal of the State, its diameter to be one- 
third the length of the flag and its ground to 
be white. Red bars with the width one-eighth 
the length of the flag extending from each 
corner toward the center to the outer rim of 
the seal. In the seal appears a view of the 
sun's rays, a highland in the distance, a cocoa- 
nut tree, a steamboat on water, and an Indian 
woman scattering flowers in the foreground. 
The words "In God We Trust" appear on the 
inner rim of the device. Florida's seal was 
adopted by the Constitutional Convention of 
1868 and has been ratified by succeeding con- 
ventions. 

328. Texas. — The lone star flag of Texas 
dates from the days of the Republic. The 
third Congress of the embryo nation fixed its 
design, which has never been altered. It con- 
sists of a blue perpendicular bar next to the 
staff, one-third the length of the flag, with a 
star of five points in the center. The other 
two-thirds of the flag is made up of two hori- 
zontal bars, of equal width, one white and the 
other red, the white at the top. Some years 
ago a hoodlum committed an act of desecration 
against the flag, which was roundly punished 
by a native Texan. The State legislature was 
so pleased with the performance that it passed 
a special act commending the man who had 
thrashed the offender. 

329. Iowa is the latest recruit to the list of 
States having an officially adopted flag. On 
May 11, 1917, the State Regent of the Daugh- 
ters of American Revolution submitted a de- 
sign to the War Council of Iowa, which 
promptly approved it. The design was copy- 
righted and the committee having charge of its 
preparation was extended a vote of ' thanks by 
the Council. The flag as adopted consists of 
a field of white, on the upper half of which is 
an eagle in natural colors in flight, carrying in 
its beak a long pennant upon which appear the 
words "Our Liberties We Prize And Our 
Rights We Will Maintain." Below this pen- 
nant appears in large block type the word 
Iowa. The national colors are preserved, the 
field being white, the lettering of the motto 
blue, and the word Iowa red. The flag will be 
of regulation size and form, and copies of it 
are to be widely distributed by the Daughters of 
the American Revolution throughout the State. 



333 




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356 



SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR 
357 



335 



33°- Wisconsin's State flag was officially 
adopted in 1913. The law provides that it shall 
be of dark blue silk, five feet six inches fly and 
four feet four inches on the pike ; the State 
coat-of-arms is embroidered on each side in 
silk of appropriate color and design, and the 
edges of the flag are trimmed with knotted 
fringe of yellow silk two and one-half inches 
wide. The pike is nine feet long, including the 
spearhead and ferrule ; the cord eight feet six 
inches long, with two tassels composed of blue 
and white silk strands intermixed. Service 
flags may be of bunting or other material, of 
such size as may be required, and the coat-of- 
arms may be represented otherwise than by 
embroidery. 

331. California in 191 1 adopted what is 
popularly known in the State's history as the 
"Bear Flag," as the official ensign of the "Gol- 
den Gate" Commonwealth. The law provides 
that the Bear Flag shall consist of a white 
field, with a red stripe at the bottom one-sixth 
as wide as the field. In the upper left-hand 
corner of the field is a single red star, and at 
the bottom of the white field the words "Cali- 
fornia Republic." Above these words appears 
a California grizzly bear upon a grass plat, in 
the position of walking toward the left of the 
field. The bear is dark brown in color and in 
length equal to one-third the length of the 
flag. The Bear Flag dates from the days of 
the California pioneers and commemorates the 
biggest bear known to science, the California 
grizzly, now extinct. 

332. Minnesota adopted her State flag at 
the same time that she provided for a State 
flower. The ground is of white silk and the 
reverse side of blue silk, bordered with bullion 
fringe. In the center is the State seal wreathed 
with white moccasin flowers and a blue ground. 
The red ribbon of the seal, bearing the motto, 
"L'Etoile du Nord" (Star of the North), is 
continued through the wreath entwining the 
blossoms and fluttering over the lower portion 
of the flag. The seal bears in gold 1819 and 
1893, the dates, respectively, of settlement and 
of the adoption of the flag; also, in variegated 
gold, is the date 1858, the time of the admis- 
sion of Minnesota into the Union. Below, in 
gold letters, is wrought "Minnesota." Grouped 
around the seal are nineteen stars, so arranged 
that they appear to form the points of a five- 
pointed star, of which the seal itself is the 
central portion. Four of the points are made 
up of four stars each; the fifth point, at the 
top, is made up of three stars, one of them 
larger than the others, typifying the North 
Star and representing the "North Star State." 
The choice of the number nineteen was made 
because Minnesota was the nineteenth State 
after the original thirteen admitted to the 
Union. The standard of the flag is surmount- 
ed by a gold gopher and tied with a gold cord 
and tassel. 

333. Oregon followed the example of a 
majority of her sister States in devising her 
flag by making the field blue with a fringe of 
gold. The size of the flag is five feet six inches 
fly and four feet four inches on pike. The 
yellow fringe is four inches deep and the cord 
and tassel are blue and white silk intermixed. 
The length of the pike is ten feet, including 



the spearhead. The arms of the State are em- 
broidered or painted in the center with the 
number and arm of the service of the regiment 
underneath where it is used as a regimental 
flag. The arms consist of an inscription sup- 
ported by 32 stars, the number of States in 
the Union at the time Oregon was admitted, 
and divided by an ordinary with the inscrip- 
tion, "The Union." Above this inscription is 
an elk with branching antlers, a wagon,' Pacific 
Ocean, a British man-of-war departing, and an 
American steamer arriving. Below the inscrip- 
tion is a sheaf, a plow, and a pick-axe. The 
national shield forms the crest. The figures 
1859 proclaim the date of the admission of 
Oregon into. the Union. 

334. Kansas is another State which, ac- 
cording to the most careful research, has not 
officially adopted a flag. The military officials, 
therefore, have provided a blue flag upon which 
is centered the coat-of-arms of the State. Ag- 
riculture is represented by the plowman in the 
foreground, commerce by the river and steam- 
boat in the background. Above the plowman 
is a wagon train westward bound, following 
the course of empire. A herd of buffalo is 
seen retreating, pursued by two Indians on 
horseback. Around the top is the motto, "Ad 
astra per aspera (To the stars through diffi- 
culties). Underneath the motto is a cluster of 
thirty-four stars, representing the States in the 
Union at the time of the admission of Kansas. 

335- West Vircinia.— The St. J^ouis World's 
Fair was responsible for the adtifrtion of West 
Virginia's State flag. The West Virginia State 
Commission at that exposition found it neces- 
sary to adopt a flag and special design to dis- 
tinguish West Virginia from other States of 
the Union represented. Therefore, it under- 
took the task of designing a flag itself. The 
following year the legislature ratified this de- 
sign, amending it only by the addition of a 
fringe or border of gold or orange. The law 
provides that the proportions of the flag shall 
be the same as those of the United States ban- 
ner; that the field shall be pure white, upon 
the center of which, on the obverse side, shall 
be the great seal or coat-of-arms of the State, 
with the motto, "Montani Semper Liberi'" 
(Mountaineers always freemen), and beneath 
that, _ in a scroll, the legend, "State of West 
Virginia." On the reverse side of the flag ap- 
pears a sprig or sprigs of rhododendron maxi- 
mum, or big laurel, the State flower, having a 
blossom and leaves. The field of pure white 
is bordered by a strip of blue, and this in turn 
by a strip or fringe of old gold. The flag of 
the State is to be employed on all occasions 
where a special display of the State's individ- 
uality shall become necessary or be regarded as 
appropriate. 

336. Nevada has had several State flag 
laws, but the one now in force dates from 
1915. The flag it authorizes consists of a blue 
field, in the center of which is placed the great 
seal of the State of Nevada as designed in 
1912. The seal is given a scroll border, and 
the words "The Great Seal of the State of 
Nevada" are omitted. Immediately above the 
seal is the word "Nevada" in silver-colored, 
block Roman capital letters. Immediately be- 
low the seal, and in the form of a scroll, are 



336 



the words "All for Our Country." The scroll 
is red and the lettering gold. Above the center 
device is a row of eighteen gold-colored stars 
arranged in an arc, and below it a row ol 
eighteen silver-colored stars, arranged like- 
wise. Each star has five points, one point be- 
ing placed up. On the seal appear a range of 
mountains with a sun rising behind them, a 
railroad train passing a bridge, a cabin and 
team of horses, a plow, and a sickle. 

337. Nebraska's State flag consists of the 
coat-of-arms or seal on a yellow field. The 
present seal was adopted in 1867 and is thus 
described : The eastern part of the circle shows 
a steamboat ascending the Missouri River; the 
mechanic arts are represented by a smith with 
hammer and anvil in the foreground ; agricul- 
ture is pictured by a settler's cabin and sheaves 
of wheat; in the background a train of cars is 
seen heading toward the Rocky Mountains. 
Around the top of this circle, in capital letters, 
is the motto, "Equal Before the Law." 

338. Colorado has given considerable atten- 
tion to its State flag. There was legislation 
concerning a banner for the Centennial Com- 
monwealth in 1908, but the present flag dates 
from 1911. It consists of one white and two 
blue stripes of equal width and at right angles 
to the staff. The width of the flag is two- 
thirds of its length. At a distance of 1/36 of 
the total length from the staff end of the flag 
there is a circular red "C" of the same color 
as the red in the national flag of the United 
States. The diameter of the letter is one-sixth 
the width of the flag; the inner line of the 

. opening of the letter "C" is three-fourths the 
width of its body or bar, and the outer line of 
the opening is double the length of the inner 
line. Completely filling the letter "C" appears 
a golden disk. Attached to the flag is a cord 
of gold and silver intertwined, with tassels, 
one of gold and one of silver. The law creat- 
ing the flag provides that it shall be used on 
all occasions when the State is officially or 
publicly represented with the privilege of use 
by all citizens on all such occasions as they 
may deem fitting and appropriate. All pro- 
visions of the State laws regarding the misuse 
Df the national flag are made applicable to the 
abuse of the State colors. 

339. North Dakota's flag was adopted in 
1911. Its origin is almost entirely unknown. 
The Blue Book of the State says that it was 
the flag of the territorial militia, and that it is 
first remembered at Huron, South Dakota, 
when it was unfurled at an annual encamp- 
ment. That authority also states that it is not 
known who designed the flag, nor is it discov- 
erable when it was first used. With its yellow- 
fringed blue fly charged with a coat-of-arms 
that borrows the eagle from the national seal, 
North Dakota follows the example of half of 
the States in the placing of its arms on a blue, 
gold- fringed flag.- 

340. South Dakota's official flag dates 
from 1909. The law adopting it says that the 
State flag shall consist of a field of blue one 
and two-thirds as long as it is wide, in the 
center of which shall be a blazing sun in gold, 
in diameter two-fifths the width of the flag. 
Above this sun shall be arranged in an arc, in 
gold letters, the words "South Dakota," and 



below the sun in the arc the words, in gold 
letters, "The Sunshine State." On the reverse 
of the blazing sun shall be printed the great 
seal of the State. The edges of the flag shall 
be trimmed with a fringe of gold. The staff 
shall be surmounted by a spear head, to which 
shall be attached a cord and tassels of suitable 
length and size. In practice the seal of the 
State is placed on the obverse side of the flag 
and the blazing sun on the reverse, which, 
while following the general principle of flag 
designing, seems to be the opposite of the in- 
tent of the law. 

341. Montana's flag was adopted in 1905, 
the law providing that it shall be of a blue 
field, with a representation of the great seal of 
the State in the center and with a gold fringe 
along the upper and lower borders. This is a 
copy of the flag borne by the First Montana 
Infantry, United States Volunteers, in the 
Spanish-American War, except that the device 
"First Montana Infantry, U. S. V." is omitted. 
The seal of the State consists of a brilliant 
sun setting behind a range of mountains; in 
the foreground is a plow and miner's pick and 
spade. Below the pick and spade is a scroll 
reading, "Oro y Plata," which means "Gold and 
Silver." 

342. Washington State has never officially 
adopted a flag, but the military authorities 
have provided one with a green field upon 
which is centered the seal of the State. The 
vignette of General George Washington is the 
central figure and beneath it are the figures 
"1889." Around the vignette is a yellow circle 
bearing the legend, "The Seal of the State of 
Washington." 

343. Idaho's laws forbid all military or- 
ganizations within the State from carrying any 
other flag or device than the national flag and 
the flag of the Commonwealth. The latter was 
authorized by the tenth legislature in 1909, al- 
though the details of the design were left by 
the lawmakers to the Adjutant General, it 
being prescribed only that the banner should 
have a blue field charged with the name of the 
State. The dimensions, as well as the addition 
of the coat-of-arms above the ribbon with its 
legend "State of Idaho," have since been de- 
termined upon by the proper authority. The 
coat-of-arms consists of a circular device 
within a yellow border, the main feature of 
which is a moose-crested escutcheon showing 
a blazing sun rising above three mountain 
peaks and a river in the foreground. The 
supporters are a miner with pick and shovel 
and a woman bearing the scales and the torch 
of liberty. Beneath the shield appear a sheaf 
of wheat and two horns of plenty. Above the 
crest is a scroll of white with the legend in 
red, "Esto Perpetua" (May she be perpetual). 

344. Wyoming's flag is one of the new- 
est of the State flags. It was created under a 
law passed on the last day of January, 1917. 
That law provides that the width of the flag 
shall be seven-tenths of its length ; the outside 
border is red, its width one-twentieth the 
length of the flag. Next to this red stripe is 
an inner stripe of white whose width is one- 
thirtieth the length of the flag. The remainder 
of the flag is a blue field, in the center of which 
is a white silhouetted buffalo, the length of 



337 






THE RAVEN OF THE VIKINGS 

358 




jPREREVOLUTION COLONIAL FLAG 
361 











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u U S. FLAG NATION AL— CI VI L WAR 

A 367 




BLINKER HILL FLAG 
363 



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PERRYS FLAG — LAKE EK1L 



U.S. ARTILLERY COLORS 
NATIONAL — CIVIL WAR 

3 68 




INFANTRY COLORS 
REGIMENTAL r 

369 CIVIL WAR 



U S ARTILLERY 
OLORS REGIMENTAL 
370 CIVIL WAR 



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A NAVAL ENSIGN 
CONFEDERATE STATES 



374 BATTLE FLAG I 

A LSO NAVY JACK AFTER MAY I 




AMERICAN HISTORY 



338 





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FLAGS FAMOUS I F4 AMERICAN HISTORY 

339 



which is one-half that of the blue field. On 
the ribs of the buffalo appears the great shield 
of the - State of Wyoming in blue. The diam- 
eter of the shield is one-fifth the length of the 
flag. Attached to the flag is a cord of gold 
with gold tassels. All penalties provided by 
the laws of the State for the misuse of a 
national flag are applicable to the State flag. 

345. Utah's flag, consisting of a blue field 
with a border of gold and a design in the 
center, was adopted in 191 1. The design was 
revised in 1913. It consists now of a device 
in natural colors, the fundamental portion of 
which is a shield surmounted by an eagle with 
outstretched wings. The shield bears a bee- 
hive, on each side of which grow sego lilies 
and above which is the word 'Industry." At 
the bottom of the shield is a green field bear- 
ing the date 1847. with the word "Utah" above 
it. Two American flags on flagstaffs, placed 
crosswise, are so draped that they project be- 
yond each side of the shield, the head of the 
flagstaffs in front of the eagle's wings, and 
the bottom of each staff appearing over the 
face of the draped flag below the shield. Be- 
low the shield and flags and upon the blue field 
is the date "1896." the year in which the State 
was admitted to the Union. Around the entire 
design is a narrow circle of gold. 

346. Oklahoma. — The law under which 
Oklahoma adopted an official State flag was 
enacted in 191 1. The flag authorized under it 
consists of a red field, in the center of which 
is a five-pointed star of white edged with blue, 
with the figures "46^ in blue in the middle of 
the star. This number proclaims the fact that 
Oklahoma was the forty-sixth State to become 
a part of the Union. The Oklahoma flag de- 
parts from the usual in its pike head. Instead 
of the regulation spearhead, an eagle at rest, 
facing the direction of the fly, stands guard 
over the colors. 

347. Xew Mexico. — Embodying elements 
unique in flag design, the official flag of the 
State of Xew Mexico was adopted shortly 
after the Commonwealth became a member of 
the Union. The banner has a turquoise blue 
~ield. emblematic of the blue skies of Xew 
Mexico; it has a canton consisting of the flag 
of the United States in miniature in the upper 
left-hand corner, designating the loyalty of the 
people of the State to the Union ; in the upper 
right-hand corner of the field a figure 47. the 
forty-seventh star and State in the American 
Union; in the lower right-hand corner is the 
great seal of the State, and upon the field run- 
ning from the lower left to the upper right- 
hand corner are the words "Xew Mexico" in 
white, ^"hen the flag law was passed it was 
ordered that the embroidered banner attached 
to the bill should be deposited with the Secre- 
tary of State to be faithfully kept by him in 
the archives of the Commonwealth. 

348. z :a. — A bill making the flag of 
the -.'. '..- '-.•>> Arizona the banner of the Com- 
m pfnc'.Vn ■ - which it is named failed to 
pass the State Senate in 1915. but a similar 
bill was adopted early in 19 17. As finally de- 
scribed, the upper part of the flag consists of 
thirteen segments or rays, alternate red and 
yellow; the lower part is a solid field of blue, 
while upon the center is imposed a copper star. 



It was objected at the time of the adoption of 
this design that it contained nothing charac- 
teristic of Arizona ; that it infringed upon the 
ensign of Japan, and that the effect of a star 
against a rising sun was a severe straining of 
astronomy. A substitute bill was prepared and 
offered to the upper house of the legislature, 
but the original form became a law, thus es- 
tablishing one of the most striking of the State 
banners. 

349. The flag of Hawaii preserves the 
crosses of St. Andrew, St. George, and St. 
Patrick, and carries eight stripes. Some of 
the Southern States retain the cross of St. 
Andrew, but Hawaii is the only American soil 
over which float the three crosses which were 
the cantonal feature of the first flag of the 
United Colonies of America (364). 

350. The flag of the Xational Guard of the 
District of Columbia has a rectangular field, 
the fly end of which is swallow-tailed. Cen- 
tered thereon is a small hatchet, whose alleged 
manipulation in connection with an apocryphal 
cherry tree is reputed to have put the Father 
of His Country to a very trying test in the 
matter of veracity. The designations of the 
forces appear on scrolls above and below the 
hatchet. 

351. The banner of the Xational Geographic 
Society is a flag of adventure and conquest; 
a flag of adventure because it is ever carried 
beyond the horizon of known scientific fact, in 
the hope that there may be found some new 
truth that will make mankind freer in the solu- 
tion of the problems that ever confront the 
race ; it is the flag of conquest because it has 
gone to the tops of high mountains, to the in- 
most recesses of regions unexplored by civil- 
ized man, to the craters of volcanoes whose 
fiery depths have never been surveyed by the 
human eye. Those who have had its support 
have conquered polar ice and polar seas, have 
mastered many of the secrets of glacial action, 
have lent a hand to the solution of the great 
problem of vulcanism, have unearthed the holy 
city of the Incas, have rescued venerable trees 
of California from the only enemy they ever 
feared — the man with the ax and the saw. Its 
colors, typifying earth, sea, and sky, proclaim 
the illimitable reaches of the fields of interest 
over which it flies, and the vastness of the 
work of exploration and diffusion of knowl- 
edge, in which it has played no small part, and 
to which its future efforts shall ever be dedi- 
cated. 

352. The Governor of the Panama Canal 
Zone flies a rectangular flag upon which is 
centered the seal of the Canal Zone. This 
consists of an escutcheon which shows a ship 
under full sail passing through Gaillard Cut, 
at the point where it divides Gold Hill and 
Contractor's Hill. Below the escutcheon is a 
streamer bearing the now familiar words, 
"The land divided, the world united." The 
escutcheon and streamer are grounded upon a 
circle of white. 

353. The seal of the Territory' of Alaska is 
a circular field bearing in the background a 
sun rising over snow-capped, embattled moun- 
tains. In the right foreground are the waters 
that wash the shore of the territory", bearing 
two sailing vessels. To the left is a pier. 



34 r -' 



rudely constructed, and an outpost of civiliza- 
tion. In the foreground is a team of horses 
Around the whole is inscribed, "The Seal of 
the Territory of Alaska." 

354- The coat-of-arms of the Philippine Is- 
lands _waS' adopted in 1905. Its principal fea- 
ture is an,, escutcheon showing the national 
colors of the United States. Imposed upon 
this escutcheon are the arms of Manila on a 
shield, the upper half red and the lower blue. 
Upon the upper half of this shield, in gold, is 
the castle of Spain, with blue windows, and 
on the lower half a sea-lion bearing in its right 
paw a hiltcd sword. The crest is the American 
spread eagle, and beneath is a scroll with the 
words "Philippine Islands." 

355. The coat-of-arms of Mindanao and 
Sulu was adopted in 1905, along with those of 
the Philippine Islands and Porto Rico. It con- 
sists of the escutcheon of the United States, 
upon which is imposed a Moro war vinta sail- 
ing an Indian sea. Above the escutcheon is 
the American spread eagle mounted on a 
wreath, supported by the crossed weapons of 
Avar of the Indian seas, and below the device 
is a scroll bearing the words "Mindanao and 
Sulu." 

356. The present coat-of-arms of the Island 
of Porto Rico, adopted in 1905, is a restoration 
of the original arms of the Spanish colony of 
"the rich port." Therefore it is in all its parts 
reminiscent of Spanish times. On a. green cir- 
cular field is a lamb of silver on the red-bound 
hook and bearing the cross-crowned banner of 
Christ. This is the device ascribed to St. John. 



Above the lamb are the gold-crowned letters 
F and I— Ferdinand and Isabella. Surround- 
ing the green held is a white border edged 
with gold. Upon this border are the castles of 
Castile, the crowned red lions that proclaim 
Leon, the crosses of Jerusalem, and the stand- 
ards of Spain in the days when the star of her 
fame was at its zenith. 

357. The flag of the Secretary of the In- 
terior, with its light green field bearing in the 
center a golden buffalo and a five-pointed star 
in each quarter, stands for many of the na- 
tion's activities and much of the world's prog- 
ress. The Department whose chief it pro- 
claims fosters the priceless fruits of American 
inventive genius, aids and safeguards those 
who have made America the foremost min- 
eral-producing country of the earth, supervises 
the pension system through which is dis- 
charged the national duty toward those who 
have fought the battles of the Republic, spon- 
sors the cause of justice to the Red Man, who 
has given a continent to civi'ization. This De- 
partment directs the national aspects of Amer- 
ican education, and thus leads Western civili- 
zation to a new era; it is saving to posterity 
the inestimable boon of majestic forests and 
untouched stretches of primeval nature; it is 
reclaiming millions of acres of unproductive 
land and tapping the bare rocks of waste places 
with the wand of irrigation. Also it has dis- 
tributed an empire to the pioneers of the West 
and transformed a million square miles of idle 
territory into a wealth- and strength-produc- 
ing region of infinite national value. 



FLAGS FAMOUS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



358. The Raven of the Vikings. — Five 
hundred years before the arrival of Columbus 
in the New World, Eric the Red is supposed 
to have guided his ships, square-sailed, deco- 
rated with curiously carved figureheads, and 
manned by hardy Norsemen, to the shores of 
Vinland (Labrador, or Nova Scotia, or the 
New England coast), and there planted for a 
brief period this banner with the strange de- 
vice of "a raven, with wings extended and 
open bill, upon a white ground." 

359. Flag of Columdus, Standard of 
SrAiN. — A quartered flag of red, gold and sil- 
ver — the standard of Castile and Leon — is gen- 
erally accepted as having been the first Euro- 
pean banner flown on American soil. This 
truly regal standard was planted on. the beach 
before the startled gaze of the awe-struck abo- 
rigines when Christopher Columbus, richly clad, 
set foot on shore on October 12, 1492, and, in 
the name of their Catholic majesties, Isabella 
and Ferdinand, formally took possession of the 
island which he called San Salvador, but which 
is believed to have been what is now known as 
Watling Island in the Bahamas. 

360. Flag of Cabot, England. — Giovanni 
Caboto (John Cabot), the discoverer of North 
America, had m?ny points in common with his 
contemporary, Columbus. They were both 
Genoese, both believed the earth to be round, 



and that the east .could be reached by sailing 
west, and both finally set out on their voyages 
of discovery under the flag of a foreign mon- 
arch. Cabot's flag was the royal standard of 
England, the red cross of St. George on a 
white ground, and his patron was King Henry 
ATI, whose enthusiasm for the enterprise was 
quickened by the news that Columbus had 
found the East in the West. It was on June 
24, 1497, that this flag of England was planted 
in the New World (probably on the northern 
extremity of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia), 
and the explorer took possession of the coun- 
try in the name of England's king. 

361. This was the union flag which prob- 
ably was displayed from the main mast of the 
Mayflower that bore the Pilgrim Fathers to 
Plymouth in 1620, and on the ships which 
brought the English settlers to Jamestown in 
1607. These vessels also displayed St. George's 
cross (360) at the fore mast and the red ensign 
(382). The union flag had come into existence 
in 1603, when James VI of Scotland ascended 
the throne of England as James I, thus uniting 
the two countries under one sovereign after 
centuries of warfare. He ordered all ships to 
display this flag at the m?.in mast. They con- 
tinued to use their own ensigns and jacks, how- 
ever — English ships 1123 and 1127, Scottish 
ships 1131 and 831 (note 1132 for Scotch de- 



341 




ti rt 



AZTEC STANDARD 
BATTLE OF OTUMBA 
425 



BEFORE PIZARRO 



A 




irf" 




mi 


430 






PIZARRO 



CORTES STANDARD 
428 




FLAGS FAMOUS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

342 




OMINICAN REPUBLIC 
COMDG OFFICER'S PENNANT 



343 



sign of union flag). After the union of par- 
liaments in 1707 this was the only flag officially 
used on land over forts and public buildings in 
the English colonies. With the addition of 
designating numerals above a small crown at 
the intersection of the crosses, it became the 
"King's Colors" for regimental troops. 

362-363. Continental and Bunker Hill.-^ 
The illustrations show two replicas in Annap- 
olis of flags said to have been carried at Bun- 
ker Hill. The Trumbull painting of the battle 
of Bunker Hill shows 362, while others show 
363. 362 was probably formed from the Eng- 
lish ensign, shown in 1123 (in use prior to 
1705), by omitting St. George's cross and sub- 
stituting the pine tree, which was the symbol 
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (see also 391, 
399, and 401). 363 was made by inserting a 
pine tree in the upper left quarter of the old 
blue English ensign's canton (1125). 

364. This was the flag hoisted by John Paul 
Jones on December 3, 1775, as the navy ensign 
of the thirteen colonies, when Commodore Esek 
Hopkins assumed command of the navy built 
by Congress. It was also hoisted by General 
Washington January 2, 1776, as the standard 
of the Continental Army and remained as our 
national flag until the adoption of the Stars 
and Stripes, June 14, 1777 (see history of 
"Stars and Stripes" elsewhere in this number). 

365. Our First Navy Jack. — Hoisted De- 
cember 3, 1775, the same day that John Paul 
Jones hoisted 364 as the ensign of our new 
navy and that 398 was raised at the main mast 
as the flag of the Commander-in-Chief, Esek 
Hopkins (see 398 and 400). 

366. Perry's Flag. Lake Erie. — At the bat- 
tle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, Oliver 
Hazard Perry, who was in command of a fleet 
which he h?d been forced to construct in fever- 
ish haste from virgin timber, unfurled from 
his masthead this challenge to sturdy Ameri- 
canism — the dying words of brave Captain 
Lawrence. Under its inspiration the men 
fought gallantly through one of the most nota- 
ble naval engagements of the war, enabling 
Perry at its close to send the famous message 
to General Harrison, "We have met the enemy 
and they are ours — two ships, two brigs, one 
schooner, and one sloop." 

367. Although so distinguished a citizen as 
S. F. B. Morse proposed at the outbreak of 
the Civil War that the national flag, the Stars 
and Stripes, should be cut in twain, the North 
retaining the upper six and one-half stripes 
and those stars above a diagonal line extend- 
ing from the head of the staff to the lower 
corner of the canton, while the South should 
be given the lower six and a half stripes and 
the stars below the diagonal line on the can- 
ton, the remainder of each flag being white, 
neither the North nor the South saw fit to fol- 
low such a suggestion. The Stars and Stripes 
carried by the armies of the North during the 
last years of the Civil War had thirty-six stars 
in the union, as shown in 367. When Lincoln 
became President, however, there were only 
thirty- four States, which were impersonated 
at the inaugural ceremonies by thirty-four little 
girls, who rode in a gaily decorated car in the 
procession and sang to the new President, 
"Flail, Columbia." 



368. The artillery during the Civil War car- 
ried a standard with thirty-six stars arranged 
three stars at the top, three at the bottom, and 
a lay-out of thirty in six horizontal lines of 
five stars each. It will be noticed that this 
flag, like 367, was adopted after West Virginia 
and Nevada had entered the Union. 

369. The design on the colors of infantry 
regiments during the Civil War was almost a 
counterpart of that borne on the standard of 
the War of 1812 (see 22). It shows an eagle 
displayed and bearing upon its breast a shield, 
with a scroll in its beak and another below 
it, upon which appeared the designation of 
each regiment. Above the eagle are thirteen 
golden stars arranged in two arcs. 

370. The regimental colors of the United 
States artillery during the Civil War were yel- 
low. Upon the field were centered two crossed 
cannons with a scroll above and below bearing 
the designation of the regiment. 

371. This flag is the familiar "Stars and 
Bars" of the Southern Confederacy and was 
used from March, 1861, to May, 1863. 

372. This jack of the Confederate States 
was made to correspond with the provisional 
flag of the Confederacy, known as the Stars 
and Bars. It probably was flown by ships of 
the seceding States until 1863, when the navy 
jack (374) was prescribed by the Secretary of 
the Confederate Navy. 

373. This ensign was probably displayed by 
the ships of the Confederacy from 1861 to 
1S63. 

374. The navy jack of the Southern Con- 
federacy, used after May 1, 1863, had an ob- 
long red field, with a blue St. Andrew's cross 
bordered by white and having three stars on 
each arm and one at the intersection. It was 
merely the square canton of the second flag 
of the Confederacy elongated, so that its 
length was one and a half times its width. 
The battle flag of the Confederacy during the 
same period was like this navy jack, except 
that it was square, and all four of its sides 
were bordered by a white stripe one and a half 
inches wide. The battle flag carried by the in- 
fantry was forty-eight inches square, that by 
the artillery thirty-six inches, and that by the 
cavalry thirty inches square. 

375. The national flag of the Confederacy 
between May 1, 1863, and March 4, 1865, had a 
white field twice as long as wide, with the 
battle flag as its union. 

376. The Confederacy's national flag, adopt- 
ed March 8, 1865, was the same as that adopted 
May 1, T863 (375), except that one-half of the 
field between the union and the end of the fly 
was occupied by a horizontal bar of red. 

377. Hudson's Flag. — When Henry Hud- 
son glided into the unsailed waters of New 
York harbor in his little Half Moon, this flag- 
was his ensign; thus it is supposed to have been 
one of the first European flags reflected in the 
waters of what is now the busiest port on 
earth. It was the flag of the Netherlands, with 
the letters A. O. C. added to the central stripe. 
These were the initials of the Dutch East India 
Company, "Algemeene Oost-Indise Compagnie," 
under whose auspices Hudson sailed. Later it 
floated over the little huts built by the East 
India Company on Manhattan Island for the 



344 



fur traders. But in 1650 the orange stripe on 
the Netherlands flag became the red stripe of 
today's banner (775), and with the withdrawal 
of the East India Company's interests from 
New Netherlands this flag disappeared from 
our waters and shores. 

378. Dutch West India Company. — In 1621 
the Dutch West India Company was formed 
and, with other valuable concessions, was given 
control of the fur trade of the New World by 
the States General of Holland. Thus this flag 
became dominant in the waters around New 
York in 1622, and continued so for forty-two 
years. The letters G. W. C. are the initials of 
the company, "Geoctroyeerde West - Indische 
Compagnie." In 1650 the orange' stripe was 
changed to red in accordance with a similar 
change in the national flag of Holland. It was 
not until the conquest of New Netherlands by 
the English in 1664 that this flag disappeared 
from our northern shores. 

379. Endicott's Flag. — The red cross of 
St. George on the English flags was a source 
of question to the stern religionists of the 
Massachusetts Colony. John Endicott, with 
Spartan directness, attempted to settle the 
matter by cutting out a part of the red cross 
on the Salem ensign in 1634. This led to long- 
drawn litigation. Fear of offending the mother 
country struggled with the seeming idolatry of 
a cross on a flag. Finally it -was decided to 
"render unto Caesar" his own, and inasmuch 
as the fort of Castle Island, at Boston, was 
maintained in the King's name, his colors were 
allowed to fly there. It was not until 1651, 
however, that the general court of Massachu- 
setts gave official sanction to the use of the 
flag with its cross. This illustration of the 
Endicott flag, with its distinguishing blue ball 
in the first quarter of the canton, shows it 
before the mutilation. 

380. King's Standard in 1635. — The de- 
signs on this royal flag, which was in use dur- 
ing the early settlement of our country, are 
especially suggestive and carry us back to the 
very roots of English history. Each little 
symbol found its place on the flag through 
some noteworthy event in the ever-changing 
fortunes of early England. The harp on the 
third quarter is the ancient symbol of Ireland 
(see 839), which Elizabeth, in token of her 
success in dealing with the island, added to 
the royal ensign. On the second quarter ap- 
pears the lion of Scotland (see 838), in token 
of that country's union with England. The 
first and fourth quarters of the shield alike 
bear the three lions and the three fleurs-de-lis. 
Two of the lions were introduced by William 
II from the arms of his native Normandy. 
Authorities differ as to the origin of the third 
lion, some maintaining that it was added by 
Henry II in honor of his wife, Eleanor of 
Aquitaine, who brought him as a dowry three 
provinces in France. Edward III, on assum- 
ing the title "King of France," in 1340, quar- 
tered with the lions the fleurs-de-lis on a blue 
field. It remained for James I, in 1603, to 
combine these various symbols into the form 
seen here. 

381. Three County Troop. — It was in 1659 
that three counties of Massachusetts — Suffolk, 
Middlesex, and Essex — raised a company of 



cavalry called the Three County Troop, which 
continued its organization for twenty years ot 
more. Their standard is not known to be in 
existence at present; but a most interesting 
drawing of it and the original bill of cost foi 
it are preserved in the British Museum. The 
legend in the drawing reads : "Thre Count} 
Trom," apparently a mistake in copying the 
word troop from the original banner. It prob- 
ably waved above the brave Colonials in King 
Philip's War of 1675 and 1676. 

382. Under the red ensign many of Eng- 
land's greatest admirals won the victories 
which made the island kingdom mistress oi 
the seas. This is the famous "meteor flag of 
Old England," and until the union of the king- 
doms of England and Scotland under one par- 
liament, in 1707, it was the ensign of the Eng- 
lish colonies in America. It was especially 
dear to the New England colonists, who cher 
ished its brave traditions as their own. 

383. A Colonial Flag. 384. Newbury 
Mass. 388. New England, 1737. 3go. Taun 
Ton Flag. — To one interested in watching the 
growth and development of customs or in 
tracing the symbolic expressions of the ideas 
of a people, there is no more fascinating stud) 
than the growth of our own flag. Naturally 
the Colonists used at first the flags of the 
homeland (such as 361). But slowly the en 
vironment of this new, spacious country 
working in connection with the deep religious 
consciousness of the people, wrought itself 
into visible form in the flags. 

At Taunton, Mass., was raised, in 1774, flag 
number 390, the red union English flag com 
mon at the time, with the addition of the 
watchword of America — the magic watchworc 
that now, after nearly a century and a half 
bids fair to become the watchword of the 
world. 

In 383 a stronger feeling of separation is 
indicated in the plain red flag with the pure 
white canton. In 384, the flag of Newbury 
Mass., the cross is retained, but the color ol 
the field has changed to the green of the New 
England forests. 

Then, in place of the British cross, we see 
coming into prominence the sturdy native 
American emblems. A pine tree on a white 
ground was a symbol of many qualities con 
spicuous in the lives of our New England an 
cestors. Simple, austere, and bearing withal a 
stately dignity, it fittingly expressed the ideas 
of the times. Moreover, it proclaimed the 
patriots' love for this newest homeland with 
its pine-clad hills. And so it was that the pine 
tree waved over many a hard-fought field in 
those trying years. Joined with St. George's 
cross, it appeared on the blue banner of Bun- 
ker Hill (363). 

Frequently the pine tree gave place to a 
globe, as in the New England flag of 1737 
(388). Again, the pine tree alone occupies the 
white canton of a red flag, best illustrated In 
362, the Continental flag of 1775-1777. These 
historic flags picture to us in striking form the 
feelings and the hopes as well as the spirit of 
'76. 

384. (See 383.) 

385. Andros" 1 Flag. — In 1684 the charter of 
Massachusetts was annulled and the home 



345 




, 





454 





HAITI COAT .- R MS 
486 



GUATEMALA COAT ARVS HONDURAS COAT ARMS '■' ~ > ~~ ZZ -~ -= : 

-57 488 489 




5 L \ 



513 



346 




H I: b A: M MiLM 




government organized all of Xew England as 
a royal domain. In i685 Edmund Andros ar- 
rived as Governor of the province. The flag 
under his rule was the red cross of St. George 
on a white field with a gold crown in the cen- 
ter. Under the crown appeared the letters 
J. R., the cipher of King James. But in 1689, 
with the arrival in England of William of 
Orange, the colonists deposed Andros, and this 
flag was consigned to the oblivion of banners 
no longer expressive of the feelings of a de- 
veloping people. 

386. Nova Scotia. — Nova Scotia was the 
New Scotland, just as the Massachusetts group 
of colonies was the New England, for even in 
the days of King James there was no Great 
Britain, but the two separate countries. And 
that is why the vertical cross of St. George 
appeared on the Andros and other New Eng- 
land flags, while the diagonal Scottish cross of 
St. Andrew marked those of Nova Scotia. 
The center of the flag is marked by the crown 
and cipher of James Sixth of Scotland and 
First of England. He it was who united the 
two crosses into the union flag of 1606, the 
very year in which he gave the first royal 
grants of land in North America, under which 
permanent settlements grew up. It was not 
until 1801, long after the Stars and Stripes 
were known on every sea, that the red diag- 
onal cross of St. Patrick, in recognition of 
Ireland, was added to the combined crosses, 
thus making the familiar British union jack of 
today. 

387. Escutcheon Enstgn. — Early in the life 
of the New England Colonies it was seen that 
the merchant ships of the mother country 
needed a special flag to distinguish them from 
the King's ships. In 1701 we find this order 
from the Admiralty Office at Whitehall, Lon- 
don : "Merchant ships to wear no other jack 
than that worn by His Majesty's ships, with 
the distinction of a white escutcheon in the 
middle thereof." The "Governors of His Maj- 
esty's plantations" were ordered to oblige the 
commanders of their merchant ships to use 
this and no other. The merchant ships, how- 
ever, continued to fly the various flags endeared 
to their commanders by old associations. Many 
of them seem to have preferred the usual red 
or blue New England flag which had a red 
St. George's cross and a globe (388) or tree 
(363) on a white ground in the upper left- 
hand corner. 

388. (See 383O 

38g. Colonel Moultrie's Flag. — In Sep- 
tember, 1775, Colonel Moultrie, having received 
orders from the Council of Safety to take Fort 
Johnson on James Island, S. C, thought a flag 
necessary; so he devised a large blue flag with 
a white crescent in the upper corner next the 
staff, this design being suggested by the blue 
uniforms of the garrison and the silver cres- 
cents which the men wore on their caps, in- 
scribed with the words "Liberty or Death." 
Colonel Moultrie in his memoirs says that "this 
was the first American flag displayed in the 
South" (see also 106). 

390. (See 3S3.) 

391. Washington's Navy, 1775. — This was 
the flag flown by Washington's six cruisers in 
1775. The Lady Washington, a brig fitted out 



in 1775, was captured by H. M. S. Fowey on 
December 7 of the same year, and her colors 
were placed in the Admiralty Office in Lon- 
don. They are described as bearing a pale 
green pine tree on a field of white bunting, 
with the motto, "Appeal to Heaven." After 
the Continental ensign (364) came into use by 
Washington's fleet, January 1, 1776, this white 
flag and green pine tree, with variations (399), 
was adopted April 29, 1776, as the ensign of 
the vessels of the Massachusetts navy (see 399 
and 401 ; see also the history of our Stars and 
Stripes, printed elsewhere in this number). 

392. Bedford Flag. — Probably the most in- 
teresting flag of all the colonial period is this 
standard of the Bedford Minute Men, carried 
by them at the battle of Concord. It is small, 
being only about 2 l / 2 feet square, but carries 
woven among its faded threads the love and 
veneration of a grateful America. Wrought 
in silver and gold on a red ground is an arm 
appearing from a cloud, with the hand holding 
a sword. The scroll is in gold with the motto, 
"Vince Aut Morire" (Conquer or die). It now 
has an honored place among the relics of the 
Historical Society at Bedford, Mass. It bears 
a striking resemblance to the Ostend Fight en- 
sign (1144)- 

393. Philadelphia Light Horse. — This 
standard, presented to the Philadelphia troop 
of Light Horse by Capt. Abraham Markoe, and 
still displayed at the troop's anniversary din- 
ners, is one of the first American flags in 
which thirteen stripes were used. This banner 
was carried by the Philadelphia troop when it 
acted as escort to General Washington from 
Philadelphia to New York on his way to Cam- 
bridge, there to assume command of the Con- 
tinental Army. The Philadelphia troop was 
composed of 28 men, who equipped themselves 
at their own expense. Captain Markoe re- 
signed his commission as captain of this orga- 
nization late in 1775, in obedience to an edict 
of King Christian VII of Denmark, who for- 
bade any of his subjects to engage in the war 
against Great Britain. Before tendering his 
resignation, however, the commander presented 
this standard to the troop. 

394. New York. — The armed ships of New 
York are reported to have used this flag in 
T 775- The beaver reminds us eloquently of the 
prominent part the lucrative fur trade played 
in the early history of the colony. The glow- 
ing accounts brought back by Hudson of the 
rich harvest of valuable furs to be secured led 
Holland to authorize the trading companies 
which colonized New York. The beaver was 
used on the seal of New Netherlands and 
found a place on the seal of New York City. 

395. Bennington. — At the battle of Ben- 
nington, Vt, August 16, 1777, 2,000 Green 
Mountain boys, under Gen. John Stark, practi- 
cally annihilated the forces under General 
Baum. sent to capture stores and to overawe 
the country. The loss of these troops was 
partly responsible for the failure of Bur- 
goyne's carefully planned campaign and was 
one of the events that led to the open recog- 
nition of our country by France. 

396. Rhode Island. — Fashioned from white 
silk with thirteen stars on a canton of blue 
and showing a blue anchor surmounted by the 



348 



motto of the State, "Hope," on the center of 
the held, this regimental banner of Rhode Is- 
land easily takes high rank as an attractive 
flag; nor is it lacking in interesting historic 
associations. Carried safely through the in- 
tense struggle of Brandywine, at Trenton, and 
at Yorktown, it now rests in the State House 
at Providence, mute witness to the heroism of 
those who bore it to final victory (see 313). 

397. Linked Hand. — Thirteen mailed hands 
grasping the thirteen links of an endless chain 
formed one of the early representations of the 
spirit of unity in the colonies. It recognized 
the sentiment of "United we stand," and fore- 
shadowed the "E Plurihus Unum," soon to ap- 
pear as our motto. The number thirteen was 
prominent on many of the early standards. A 
common variation shows a mailed hand grasp- 
ing a bundle of thirteen arrows. 

the rattlesnake elags 

398. Gadsden Flag. 400. South Carolina 
Navy. 405. CulpepEr Minute Men. — The 
rattlesnake device was seen again and again 
on our early flags. One writer of the time 
quaintly stated that as the rattlesnake's eye 
exceeded in brightness that of any other ani- 
mal, and she had no eyelids, she might there- 
fore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance ; 
that inasmuch as she never began an attack, 
nor, when once engaged, ever surrendered, 
she was therefore an emblem of magnanimity 
and true courage. We are bound to suspect, 
however, that it was the deadly bite of the 
rattler that was foremost in the minds of the 
revolutionists who used the banners. The 
"Don't tread on me," seen on all four of the 
rattlesnake flags (365, 398, 400, and 405), lends 
color to this view. 

But it was not only the qualities of the 
snake itself, but also the ease with which 
symbolism could be added, illustrated in the 
use of the distinctive thirteen rattles, that in- 
creased the number and variety of the rattle- 
snake flags. " 'Tis curious and amazing," in 
the words of the writer quoted above, "to ob- 
, serve how distinct and independent of each 
other the rattles of this animal are, and how 
firmly they are united together. One of the 
rattles, singly, is incapable of producing a 
sound, but the ringing of thirteen together is 
sufficient to alarm the boldest man living." 

Flag 398 was presented by Colonel Gadsden 
to Commodore Hopkins to serve as the latter's 
flag as the commander-in-chief of the fleet con- 
structed by Congress, and was hoisted at the 
main mast of the Alfred December 3, 1775. 
At the same time John Paul Jones hoisted the 
union striped flag (364) at the stern (see his- 
tory of Stars and Stripes elsewhere in this 
number). On the same dav 365 was hoisted 
as the jack of the navy. Thus 364, 365, and 
398 are the most historic flags of the U. S. 
Navy prior to the adoption of the Stars and 
Stripes. 

The Southern colonies seemed especially 
fond of the device. South Carolina adopted 
for her navy the red and blue stripes crossed 
by the gliding snake, as seen in 400. 

Loyal and energetic enthusiasts in the cause 
of liberty, the people of the Piedmont region 
of Virginia rallied to the support of the Con^ 



tinental Congress. Culpeper County was a 
center of organization and her minute men 
typified on their spirited banner (405) their 
fearlessness and independence. 

the liberty and pine tree elacs 

399. Liberty Tree Flag of 1776. 401. 
Massachusetts Navy. — In all early accounts 
of colonial activities, liberty poles and trees 
bear an important part. A wide-spreading live 
oak in Charleston, near the home of Christo- 
pher Gadsden, made a shelter under which the 
leading spirits of the day often met to discuss 
political questions, and there the Declaration 
of Independence was first read to the people 
of the city. The Sons of Liberty, meeting 
under the fine old elm in Hanover Square, 
gave Boston her Liberty Tree. Under^ its 
shade a notable meeting was held just previous 
to the destruction of the tea, which led Gen- 
eral Gage to order that it be hewn down. In- 
asmuch as the felling of a venerable tree al- 
ways touches tender chords in the thoughtful, 
it is not surprising that the loss of this one 
fanned into flame the very embers of discon- 
tent that Gage had hoped to stamp out by its 
destruction. 

On flag 399 appears the well-loved and fa- 
mous Liberty Tree. This was an emblem often 
used. The solemn motto, "An Appeal to God," 
tells us of the quiet firmness with which our 
forefathers "highly resolved" to claim the 
birthright of freedom for themselves and their 
children. The sentiment first appeared in the 
"Address of the Provincial Congress of Mas- 
sachusetts" to Great Britain, the closing sen- 
tence of which began, "Appealing to Heaven 
for the justice of our cause." Through the 
long years that have passed since they won 
their victories, the greater task has developed 
for us, not only to hold with equal steadiness 
and firmness the great principles upon which 
our nation stands, but also to fight with equal 
fortitude and sacrifice that these gifts may be 
extended to the oppressed of all nations. 

When in 1652 the colony of Massachusetts 
first established a mint, the general court or- 
dained that all pieces of money should bear 
on one side a tree, thus bringing into being the 
famous pine-tree shillings. In April, 1776, the 
Massachusetts council passed a resolution as 
follows : 

"Resolved, That . . . the colors rfor the 
sea service] be a white flag with a green pine 
tree and the inscription, 'An Appeal to 
Heaven.' " 

Flag 391 had previously become familiar on 
the seas as the ensign of Washington's cruisers. 
The English newspapers of the time contain 
many references to this striking ensign. 

In 401 an extra significance is added by the 
coiled snake at the foot of the tree and the 
oft-used "Don't tread on me." 

400. (See 398.) 

401. (See 399.) 

402. The Westmoreland County Battalion 
of Pennsylvania was raised in 1775 by John 
Proctor and is still preserved in New Alex- 
andria, Pa. It is a British ensign of red silk, 
with the addition of the coiled rattlesnake and 
the familiar legend, "Don't Tread On Me." 



349 




350 



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Mill 






aim 



111 



2 X 


'O QL VI ^ 1 Ea£?§5ipJ * 




351 



4.03. Connecticut Flag. — The activities of 
1775 and 1776 emphasized the need of colors 
:o distinguish the various troops. Soon after 
che battle of Bunker Hill the States began to 
make colors for themselves. Connecticut, 
with this flag, was one of the first. Her 
motto, "Qui transtulit sustinet," of which a 
free translation is, "God, who transported us 
aither, will sustain us," was put upon one side 
af several flags of the time, with "An Appeal 
to Heaven," the Massachusetts motto, upoJ 
the other. This shows almost the identical 
form of the permanent Connecticut flag (305). 

404. Merchant and Privateer Ensign. — 
Those dashing privateers, whose exploits made 
such entertaining reading in the history books 
31* our childhood days, flew this ensign of thir- 
:een stripes. Many references and prints of 
'striped flaggs" in contemporary British litera- 
:ure prove its prevalence. The color of the 
stripes varied according to the fancy of the 
commanding officer. Merchant vessels nearly 
ahvays displayed this flag. 

405. (See 398.) 

406. Fort Moultrie. — This flag flew from 
the southeast bastion of Fort Moultrie (then 
:alled Fort Sullivan), in Charleston Harbor, 
during the famous Revolutionary battle of 
Tune 28, 1776. Early in the attack the sky- 
colored emblem fell outside the parapet Ser- 
geant William Jasper, crying out, "Don't let us 
right without a flag," vaulted over the wall 
jnder a rain of bullets, secured the flag, fixed 
t to a staff, and, triumphantly planting it firm- 
.y in place, leaped down within the parapet to 
safety. Three ringing cheers greeted his re- 
turn. After an intense artillery attack lasting 
ten hours, the British forces were compelled to 
withdraw, and the next day the entire fleet left 
Charleston Harbor. The name of the fort was 
thanged to Moultrie in honor of the gallant 
defender. This victory left the Southern 
States secure from invasion for more than 
two years. This flag is identical with Colonel 
Moultrie's earlier flag (389") first raised in 
September, 1775. with the addition of the word 

Liberty'' in white letters. 

407. Pulaski. — Erave and gallant Count 
Pulaski, who gave his life for our cause in 
[779, fought beneath this banner. A Polish 
count volunteering as a private, distinguished 
by his coolness and courage at the battle of 
Brandywine, — he was made Chief of Dra- 
goons, with the rank of Brigadier-General. 
The Moravian Sisters, of Bethlehem, Penn- 
sylvania, embroidered this flag for him. One 
side bears the words "X'nitas Virtus Forcior" 

which last word, bj' the way, should be jor- 
:or), "Union makes valor stronger." encir- 
cling the letters U. S. The other side bears 
the motto, "Xon Alius Regit.'" "Xo other gov- 
erns." with the all-seeing eye in the center 
rriangle. Pulaski raised his own independent 
:orps of infantry and light cavalry, and later 
commanded the French and American forces 
3t the siege of Savannah, where he was mor- 
tally wounded. Thus fell, at the early age of 
31. one of the many heroic foreign brothers 
who fought with us f~>r liberty. 

408 409. Xew Hampshire Regiment. — 
These two Xew Hampshire flags belonged to 
the Second Regiment of the State. They were 



taken at Fort Anne by the British Ninth Regi 
ment of Foot, commanded by Lieutenant Colo 
nel Hill, a few weeks before the decisive battle 
of Saratoga. After the surrender of Bur- 
goyne, Colonel Hill carried them to England, 
where they were treasured by his descendants, 
finally falling into the hands of Col. George 
W. Rogers, of Wykeham, Sussex. From him 
they were purchased in 1912 by Mr. Edward 
Tuck, and presented to the Xew Hampshire 
Historical Society. The}- are of the same size, 
approximately five by five and one-half feet. 

The buff flag (408) with a golden disk ir 
the center bears the motto, "We are one.' 
From the disk radiate thirteen rays and thir 
teen thin lines, each line touching a go 'den 
ring in the outer circle, with each ring bearing 
the name of one of the thirteen States. In 
the upper left corner are eight red and pale 
blue triangles which form two crosses. 

The blue silk flag with the gold fringe (4091 
bears the letters X. H, with "2nd Regt." below 
them on the small red shield in the center 
The motto on the scroll is significant. "The 
glory, not the prey." The two crosses com 
bined in the upper corner are of red and gold 

These two Xew Hampshire flags are prob 
ably the only ones now in existence which 
were captured during the Revolutionary War 

410. First Pennsylvania Rifles. — "A deep 
green ground, the device a tiger, partly en 
closed by toils, attempting the pass, defended 
by a hunter with a spear (in white) on a 
crimson field" — thus reads the description o f . 
the standard of the First Pennsylvania Rifles 
in the words of Lieutenant Colonel Hand 
written March 8. 1776. During the war this 
regiment served in every one of the thirteen 
colonies, and this banner waved at many a 
famous battle — at Trenton. Princeton, Brandy 
wine. Monmouth, and Yorktown, to mention 
only a few. 

411. Third Maryland. — The existence of 
this national flag, known to have been used as 
a regimental flag in the Revolution, sheds a bit 
of light on the darkness surrounding the ex 
tent to which the stars and stripes were used 
at the time. It is certain that this identica. 
Pag was carried by the Third Maryland Regi 
ment at the battle of Cowpens, in January, 
7778. William Bachelor was the color-bearer 
It is made of thin cotton, and is remarkably 
well preserved. It is a little over five feet 
long, and almost a yard wide, and is now in 
the flag room of the capito! at Annapolis. It 
is the only instance of the use of the "Stars 
and Stripes" as a color (i. e., by land troo>ps) 
national or regimental, during the Revolution 
ary War. that of 1812. and the Mexican War 
(See history of Stars and Stripes printed else 
where in this number.) 

412. Eutaw Standard. — This square of 
brilliant crimson formed the battle flag of Col 
William Washington's cavalry troop, and led 
the way to victory at Cowpens and at the final 
battle of the Revolution, Eutaw Springs, in 
1781 — two decisive battles of the war in the 
South. Tradition tells a quaint story of its 
origin. It seems that Colonel Washington, on 
a hurried visit to his fiancee. Miss Jane Elliot 
of South Carolina, mentioned that he had no 
flag. With quick flashes of her scissors, she 



:£2 



cut a square of gay, red damask from the back 
of a drawing-room chair, saying, "Colonel, 
make this your standard." It was mounted on 
a hickory pole and borne at the head of his 
troops till the end of the war. In 1827 it was 
presented to the Washington Light Infantry 
of Charleston by Mrs. Jane Elliot Washington, 
in person, and is one of our most treasured 
banners. 

413. Gatinois Regiment. 414. Saintogne 
Regiment. 415. Royal Deux PonTs. — A num- 
ber of French regiments were sent to America 
during the Revolutionary War. All served 
with gallantry and distinction, Savannah and 
Yorktown both being honored by their ener- 
getic and fearless fighting. The flags of all 
these regiments followed one general pattern, 
the basic idea being a white flag with colored 
triangles making squares in the corners and 
leaving a white cross extending across the cen- 
ter. They were about four feet square and 
the colors were painted on them. 

The Gatinois regiment (413) was formed in 
1776 out of two sections of a famous old 
French regiment of Auvergne, and in honor 
of its gallant conduct at Yorktown was ever 
after known as the Royal Auvergne. 

The blue, red, green, and yellow triangles of 
the flag of the Saintogne regiment (414) speak 
eloquently of dashing courage and hearty loy- 
alty at Yorktown. 

Each arm of the St. Andrew's cross in the 
Royal Deux Ppnts (415) bears the golden 
fleur-de-lis of France, while a crown holds the 
center. Quartered on the flag are the arms of 
the Duke of Deux Ponts over red and blue 
stripes. 

Rochambeau, a French count, with the rank 
of lieutenant general, was in command of the 
6,000 troops sent to our aid. He displayed a 
fine spirit throughout the war, maintaining his 
soldiers as part of the American army and 
holding himself as entirely under Washing- 
ton's command. (See "Our First Alliance," by 
J. J. Jusserand, National Geographic Maga- 
zine, June, 1917.) 

416. Ansbach. — Three Ansbach Bayreuth 
colors are now in the chapel at West Point. 
They were among the German colors captured 
at Yorktown. All are similar in main design, 
made of heavy white damask, embroidered in 
colored silk. On one side is the red Branden- 
burg eagle, with the words, "Pro Principe et 
Patria" on the scroll above. The other side 
shows the green laurel and palm, with the 
monogrammed letters S. ET C. A., the first 
four letters of which stand for "Sinceriter et 
Constanter" and the last for Prince Alexan- 
der, then reigning. It is supposed that eigh- 
teen German colors were surrendered at York- 
town; but the others are missing. 

417. NEW York Regiment. — It is surprising 
to note how few regimental flags used in the 
Revolution are in existence today. This is the 
most elaborate and detailed of any of them. 
It was made in 1778 or 1779, and is approxi- 
mately six feet square, of dark blue silk with 
a blue fringe, and bears on each side the arms 
of the State. These arms from that far-away 
day to this have remained practically un- 
changed in general design. The two figures 



are clad in costumes of the day. The dresses 
are of cloth of gold, with red mantles. 

This regimental color was carried by Col 
Peter Gansevoort at Yorktown. This is the 
same Colonel Gansevoort who was in command 
of Fort Stanwix, or Fort Schuyler, when he 
caused to be hoisted the first Stars and Stripes 
over a fort or garrison of the army, August 3 
1777. (See History of Stars and Stripes in 
this number.) 

418. Bucks op America. — John Hancock 
whose presence in Lexington was an addi 
tional cause of the, sortie that led to the fa 
mous battle, and who, with Adams, was espe 
cially excepted in the pardon issued on the 
12th of June, 1775, by General Gage, as being 
"of too flagitious a nature to admit of any 
other consideration than that of condign pun- 
ishment," yet lived to a ripe old age, and be- 
came the first Governor of the State of Massa- 
chusetts. After the close of the Revolution 
one of his official acts as Governor was to pre- 
sent this banner to the colored company, called 
the "Bucks of America," in acknowledgment 
of their valor. The flag is badly faded now 
yet shows unmistakable signs of former beauty 
The stars in the blue union were gilded. In 
size it is a little over five feet long by three 
and one-half feet wide. Notice the "Buck" 
under the green tree. 

419. TallmadgE's Dracoons. — Many a dar- 
ing exploit of Major Tallmadge, of Connecti- 
cut, and his dragoons adds luster to this flag 
On September 5, 1779, without the loss of a 
man, Tallmadge captured 500 Tories at Lloyd's 
Neck, on Long Island. His men fought at 
Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. 
This pink flag of very thin silk is about two 
and one-half feet square. The two wings on 
the center disk are of silver, while the ten ray; 
are golden. The canton deserves especial men- 
tion, as the thirteen stripes are made by six 
strips of white ribbon sewed to the silk of the 
flag. It is remarkably well preserved. 

420. Webb's Regiment. — This little flag be- 
longed to the troops under Colonel Webb, un- 
doubtedly the Third Connecticut Regiment, 
which during the course of the war was made 
up from the depleted Second and the Ninth 
It is a small, tattered, yellow flag. A pink rib- 
bon ties the green wreath, while the sword is 
painted the color of steel, and the "I" is black 
An old account of the colors of the various 
Connecticut troops states that the flag of the 
first regiment was yellow; so it is possible that 
originally this was the banner of that unit. 

421. The golden lilies of France (reduced 
to three in number by Charles V in 1365) were 
borne by many intrepid explorers anxious to 
expand the dominion of the Bourbons in the 
New World. Joliet and Marquette, the pioneer 
missionaries who rediscovered the Father oi 
Waters, and La Salle, Iberville, and Bienville, 
who figured so conspicuously in the history oi 
the exploration and colonization of Louisiana, 
all bore the fleurs-de-lis in the wilderness. 

422. French Flag, Champlain and De 
GrassE. — This was the ensign of daring Sam- 
uel de Champlain as he sailed down the lake 
that bears his name. It was also the flag of 
Count De Grasse, who, with his fleet of twenty- 
four ships of the line, sailed from the West 



353 




734 BELGIUM ENSIGN !35 BELGIUM MERCHANT ^36 CHINA NAVAL ,UcHINA NATIONAL 




JAPAN GUARD 
758 



JAPAN TRANSPORT 

759 



JAPAN COMDG OFFICER 
760 



JAPAN MAIL FLAG 
761 



354 




791 PORTUGAL ENSIGN 



355 



indies in the summer of 1781, entered the 
Chesapeake, and met the fleet of Admiral 
Thomas Graves, compelling him to return to 
New York fqr refitting and repairs. Then, by 
blocking the mouths of the York and James 
rivers, he succeeded in cutting off communica- 
tion between the British forces at Yorktown 
and those at New York, and thus assisted ma- 
terially in causing the famous surrender that 
closed the war (see National Geographic 
Magazine, June, 1917, pages 527-548). 

423. Napoleon's Flag, Louisiana, 1803. — 
Among the many changes of flag that helped 
to make romantic the early history of Louisi- 
ana, this of Napoleon stands out as memorable 
because it was hauled down to give place for 
"Old Glory" on the 20th of December, 1803. 

Each of the colors of this flag is woven into 
the tissue of French history by myriad threads. 
The blue banner of St. Martin was first used 
by the kings of France in the fourth century, 
and for 600 years was carried into battle as a 
sure omen of victory. Next came the well- 
loved Auriflamme, the gold-broidered banner 
of St. Denis. This in turn gave place to the 
"cornette blanche" — a plain white flag emblem- 
atic of the Virgin Mary, carried by Joan of 
Arc, and later adopted by the Bourbons. 

So it was not purely an accident that the 
choice of the populace storming the Bastille, 
in 1789, should have been the tricolor; and it 
is easy to see how the historic associations, as 
well as the beauty and simplicity of the banner 
itself, made it the permanent emblem of 
France. 

It was fourteen years after this tricolor had 
become the national flag of France that the 
remarkable and startling chain of events, oc- 
curring a quarter of the way around the world 
from our Father of Waters, made it possible 
for us to purchase the wonderful Louisiana 
country. 

424. RussfAN-AmERicAN Company, Alas- 
ka. — Although the Alaskan coast was explored 
in 1741, it was not until 1794 that the first, and 
even then only partially accurate, chart of the 
Alaskan mainland was made. Kodiak was set- 
tled in 1784, and in the succeeding years pri- 
vate traders raided and robbed the Indian 
villages, until the reign of lawlessness was 
checked by the formation, in 1799, of the 
Russian-American Company, which remained 
dominant in Alaskan matters for sixty years. 
And thus it was that while the young Amer- 
ican Republic was getting on its feet and meet- 
ing its first problems of administration and 
expansion this white, blue, and red standard 
was flaunting in the sunshine from many a 
ship through the long days of Alaskan sum- 
mers and flapping from the flagstaffs of many 
a trading post under the steely glitter of the 
long winter nights. In 1867 the Alaska pur- 
chase placed our own starry flag on those 
valuable far-northern shores. 

425. Aztec Standard — Battle of Otum- 
ba. — History says that Cortes and his Span- 
iards, with their allies, the Tlaxcallans, were 
on the verge of defeat at the battle of Otum- 
ba, when the Spanish leader, descrying the 
gorgeously decorated litter of the Aztec gen- 
eral and observing that he carried the battle 
standard lashed to his back, summoned several 



cavaliers and, praying to Santiago (429), they 
fought their way to the Aztec's side. Cortes 
overthrew the general and Salamanca cut the 
standard from his back. The loss of their 
emblem demoralized the Aztec forces and 
turned the tide of the battle. Cortes after- 
ward presented the standard to the Tlaxcallan 
chieftain, Maxixca, as a reward for his aid 
and friendship, and the Spanish King caused 
it to be represented on Salamanca's coat-of- 
arms. This illustration of the standard, which 
was called the Quetzalteopamitl and was com- 
posed of a golden sun surrounded by the rich- 
est plumes of the quetzal (see 487), was taken 
from the picture writings of the Tlaxcallans, 
shown in the Lienzo of Tlaxcalla (see 426). 

426. Banners, Mexican. — The Lienzo of 
Tlaxcalla is a document of great importance, 
as it represents in hieroglyphics the principal 
events of the conquest of Mexico painted by 
the Indians themselves. It is on long bands of 
linen and is divided into 86 illustrations by 
perpendicular lines. The Tlaxcallans were a 
fierce mountain people, implacable foes of the 
Aztecs, and became the staunch allies of Cortes 
after their armies were decisively defeated by 
the Spaniards on their way to Tenochtitlan. 
In numerous of these illustrations Cortes and 
his cavaliers are shown in battle, dressed in 
their armor and astride their prancing steeds, 
while by their sides are shown their Tlaxcallan 
allies, armed with their crude native weapons 
and carrying their beautiful banners (426) 
cleverly constructed of precious metals and 
bright-colored plumes, mounted on wooden 
staffs and lashed to their backs to allow free 
use of both arms. 

427. Banners — Incas. Before Pizarro.— 
"The Children of the Sun," as the Incas were 
called, lived among the mountain fastnesses of 
Peru and were as cultured as the Aztecs of 
Mexico. Their country has been called the 
"Ophir of the Occident," and well it deserved 
the name, for its treasures of precious metals 
exceeded the dreams of avarice. Like the Az- 
tecs, these ancient Peruvians used the gaudy 
plumage of tropical birds for decorative pur- 
poses, and this sketch of two old banners illus- 
trates the feathered halyards and trimming. 
These Sun-worshipers also had great rever- 
ence for the rainbow, and used a representa- 
tion of it in their royal insignia. An old de- 
scription, referring to the ceremony incident 
to the recognition of the heir-apparent, says: 
"Being recognized as of age, he was given 
command of his father's armies and was en- 
titled to display the royal standard of the rain- 
bow in his military campaigns." 

428. Cortes Standard. — "The hardy and 
romantic adventurers who followed in the 
wake of Columbus were not merely sordid 
gold hunters ; they were the descendants of 
soldiers who had for centuries fought in the 
holy wars of the Cross against the Crescent, 
and in their veins flowed the blood of the 
knight-errant and Crusader. Gold they sought 
with eagerness and without scruple; but they 
wanted glory almost as much as they wanted 
gold, and in the pursuit of both they carried 
aloft the banner of the Church." 

Around the edge of this standard of Cortes 
there appears in Spanish : "This standard was 



356 



that carried by Hernando Cortes in the Con- 
quest of Mexico." It now hangs in the Na- 
tional Museum at Mexico City — a relic of the 
stirring times when the present city was Te- 
nochtitlan, the Aztec capital and the scene of 
Montezuma's grandeur. Another standard 
carried by Cortes was, according to Prescott, 
'of black velvet, embroidered with gold, and 
emblazoned with a red cross amidst flames of 
blue and white, with this motto in Latin be- 
neath: 'Friends, let us follow the Cross; and 
under this sign, if we have faith, we shall 
conquer.' " 

429. Pizarro. — This is the banner of Pi- 
zarro, which the people of Cuzco, the royal 
city of the Inca's, presented, in 1824, to Gen- 
eral de Sucre, the trusted lieutenant of the 
liberator Bolivar and the victor of the battle 
of Ayacucho, which broke the power of im- 
perial Spain in South America. De Sucre, in 
turn, presented it to his commander-in-chief, 
who gave it to his native city of Caracas, 
Venezuela, where it is now treasured. This 
standard is said to have been carried by Pi- 
zarro when he entered Cuzco, a conqueror, in 
r S33- It hung all those intervening years in 
the cathedral of the ancient Peruvian city. In 
a letter to Bolivar, de Sucre said : "I present 
to you this standard which Pizarro bore to 
Cuzco 300 years ago ; a portion of the ma- 
terial is in shreds, but it possesses the merit 
of having led the conquerors of Peru." 

Strictly speaking, the flag is really a banner, 
or fanion, such as was generally used in the 
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. On one of 
its faces of scarlet damask the arms of Charles 
V are embroidered; on the other is represented 
the Apostle St. James (Santiago), in an atti- 
tude of combat, mounted on a white horse. 
When the standard was received in Caracas, 
the reverse side consisted only of white satin, 
and it was not discovered until 1872 that this 
was not a part of the flag, but a covering to 
protect its most interesting face, upon which 
is painted and embroidered the figure of the 
mounted warrior. The red cross of Santiago 
appears on his coat-of-mail, but the hilt is all 
that remains of the sword in his hand. 

430. Pizarro. — General San Martin, "the 
liberator of the South," believed this flag to 
be the standard of Pizarro ; but old documents 
relating to the founding of Lima by the Span- 
ish conqueror seem to prove that it was the 
banner of that city. The escutcheon granted 
to Lima by Charles V, in 1537, appears on the 
flag. 

The Municipal Council of Lima presented 
the standard to San Martin in 1821, after his 
successful campaigns in Chile, and in his fare- 
well proclamation to the Peruvians the follow- 
ing year, prior to his departure for Europe, 
he said : "I have in my possession the standard 
which Pizarro bore to enslave the empire of 
the Incas. I have ceased to be a public man, 
but by this alone I am rewarded with usury 
for ten years of revolution and war." In his 
last testament he provided that "the standard 
which the Spanish bandit Pizarro waved in the 
conquest of Peru be returned to the said Re- 
public." 



THE LIBERATORS OF LATIN AMERICA 

431. San Martin. — Flying this flag, Gen- 
eral San Martin came north into Peru with 
his Ejercito Libertadof, or liberating army, in 
1820, after having effected the complete over- 
throw of the royalists" in Chile. Forces sent 
against the liberator joined his army, and in 
Lima even the Viceroy's secretaries were revo- 
lutionists at heart. General San Martin en- 
tered the capital on July 12, 1821, and was pre- 
sented with the flag of Pizarro (see 430) ; on 
July 28 the proclamation of independence was 
issued in the Plaza Major. 

After laying the foundations of a republican 
government, the Protector journeyed north to 
Guayaquil, Ecuador, to confer with General 
Simon Bolivar, who had accomplished inde- 
pendence for the Northern States of South 
America. Then San Martin returned to Lima 
and, after placing the government in the hands 
of the first constituent congress, retired to Eu- 
rope, the recipient of every honor within the 
gift of a grateful people. 

432. Army of the Andes. — This silken 
"Banner of the Sun," as it was called, with its 
beautiful, embroidered design and edges deco- 
rated with precious stones, was made for San 
Martin's Army of the Andes by the women of 
Mendoza City, which lies at the foot of the 
Chilo-Argentine Cordillera on the Argentine 
side. The revolutionary leader carried it over 
the snow-covered mountains into Chile, which 
he liberated. 

The flag was publicly consecrated in Men- 
doza City with elaborate ceremony on January 
S, 1817. As it was unfurled a salute of twenty- 
one guns was fired, the populace shouting, 
"Long live our Argentine country." General 
San Martin then, holding aloft the banner, ex- 
claimed in a vibrating voice, "Soldiers! Swear 
to uphold this standard and die, if necessary, 
in its defense, as I swear to die !" "We swear 
to do so !" came the response, amid a triple 
discharge of musketry, followed by a salvo of 
twenty-five guns. 

The design of the badge on the field of blue 
and white is practically the same as the present 
Argentine coat-of-arms (see 453). 

433. Bolivar. — Under this flag Simon Boli- 
var, the liberator, broke the hold of imperial 
Spain upon its provinces in northern South 
America early in the 19th century. Venezuela, 
Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru owe their inde- 
pendence to him and he is worshiped as a na- 
tional hero in these countries. It is said that 
while visiting the United States on his return 
journey from Paris, where he had been an eye- 
witness to some of the stirring scenes of the 
last days of the French revolution, he was first 
impressed with the desirability of political in- 
dependence, and, returning to Venezuela, he 
began the military operations which freed hi s 
native land. 

434. Banner of Hidalgo. — "Viva America, 
viva religion, death to bad government," was 
the war cry of Mexico's soldier-priest, Miguel 
Hidalgo, who, shortly after the American col- 
onies had attained their independence, led the 
popular revolt against Spanish rule in the 
country to the south of us. His flag was the 
sacred banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the 



357 




325 SWEDEN 

ROYAL STANDARD 



C' * ( *ii'X-.. ' 



EXHH1T 



828 TUNIS- 

BEY'S STANDARD 



358 



&nr^ 




FLAG OF BRITISH EMPIRE ST GEORGES CROSS ST ANDREWS CROSS ST PATRICK'S CROSS 

839 U 830 ENGLAND "831 SCOTLAND u 832 IRELAND 





PILOT JACK 
857 



858 LLOYDS SIGNAL II CONSULAR AFLOAT 

STATIONS AND BOATS 859 



PACIFIC CABLE BOARD 
860 



359 



patron saint of Mexico, and was flown in tri- 
umph for a time; but disaster overtook him 
and, with several of his generals, he was shot 
to death at Chihuahua in 1811. Two subse- 
quent revolutions were also led by priests, 
Padres Morelos and Mier, and they, too, met 
Hidalgo's fate. They died upon the threshold 
of success, however, for Mexican independ- 
ence of Spain was accomplished in 1821. The 
banner of Hidalgo is preserved in the National 
Museum in Mexico City. 

435. Treaiv of Tordesiixas. — These flags 
appearing on maps of the sixteenth century in- 
dicate the division of territory for exploration 
and conquest by Spain and Portugal effected 
by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. Pope 
Nicholas V had given the Portuguese exclusive 
right to the "road to the Indies" in 1454, but 
he had in mind only the coast of Africa. Com- 
plicating the situation came the discovery of 
land in the west by Columbus, who believed 
that he had found the eastern shores of Asia. 
Pope Alexander VI, a Spaniard, was appealed 
to and he drew a line north to south a hundred 
leagues west of the Azores, giving the Span- 
iards the right to all that lay beyond. The 
Portuguese protested and the diplomats met at 
Tordesillas, Spain, with the result that the line 
was shifted 270 leagues farther west, approxi- 
mating the 50th meridian of longitude west of 
Greenwich. This line strikes South America 
at the mouth of the Amazon, and the Span- 
iards therefore laid claim to the greater part 
of the continent and sought to exclude all 
other nations. This probably explains why 
Portugal secured only Brazil from all this vast 
domain. 

436. Order of Christ. — This flag is to be 
found on old maps of Brazil, where it indi- 
cates the control of territory by the members 
of the Brazilian section of this ancient order, 
which was instituted by Denys. King of Portu- 
gal, in 1231, to expel the Moors from Betica, 
adjoining Portugal. According to eighteenth 
century historians, the order "added mam' gal- 
lant Countries in Asia, Africk, and Brazil, to 
the domains of Portugal, and so improved 
their own Estates, that all the Isles in the At- 
lantick do belong to them; besides the Rents 
of the Mine of St. George in Guinea, amount- 
ing to 100,000 Ducats of yearly Income." 

437. Eraztl Empire. — Driven from their 
kingdom by the invading armies of Napoleon, 
the "royal family of Portugal in 1808 took ref- 
use in Brazil, and for the first time in the his- 
tory' of the world a colony became the seat of 
government of its mother country. The prince 
regent, coming to the throne as Dom John VI, 
raised this standard of empire. In 1889 the 
colonists threw off the imperial yoke and estab- 
lished a republic, retaining in their national 
ensign (see 458) some of the characteristic 
features of the empire flag — the yellow dia- 
mond and the green field. The shield and im- 
perial crown of the old flag, however, were 
replaced by the blue globe and the republican 
motto, "Ordem e Proeresso." 

438. Spanish Flag in Mexico. — The old 
flag fro-ri ','.->.: :h this illustration has been made 
was :a'-ie ' ' Spanish troops in the war of 
Mexican independence and it now reposes, 
among other relics of that struggle, in the mu- 



seum at Mexico City, its peculiar design is 
an adaptation of the raguled cross of the Span- 
ish Bourbons, which may also be seen in the 
earlier flags of Ostend and Biscay (1143 and 
1 146), but with an added feature of crown- 
crested coats-of-arms on the ends of the cross 

439. Mexico Flag. — Migrating Aztecs, suc- 
cessors to the Toltecs in Mexico, in 1325 came 
to the shores of a lake in the valley of Mexico, 
or Anahuac, and there, as had been foretold b> 
their oracle, "they beheld, perched on the stem 
of a prickly pear, which shot out from the 
cre% r ices of a rock that was washed by the 
waves, a royal eagle of extraordinary size and 
beaut)', with a serpent in his talons and his 
broad wings open to the sun." This deter- 
mined the location of Tenochtitlan, now the 
City of Mexico. From this legend was devised 
the coat-of-arms which appears in the center 
of this flag, adopted when Mexico became in- 
dependent, in 1821 (see new coat-of-arms and 
Mexican flags 489-492-493). 

440. Alamo Flag. — This was the flag- thai 
floated in 1836 over the historic mission for- 
tress, the Alamo, at San Antonio, when Texas 
was fighting for her independence. For twelve 
days the garrison of 178 Americans held out 
under the heavy bombardment of a force of 
4,000 Mexicans. On the 6th of March the gar- 
rison was so weakened that the Mexicans were 
able to make assaults. Twice beaten back, the 
invaders were successful at last only through 
sheer weight of numbers. They gained an en- 
trance to find but five of the brave defenders 
alive. These Santa Anna ordered bayoneted 
in cold blood. The war cry, "Remember the 
Alamo," echoed over many a battlefield, lead 
ing the Texans to ultimate victory. The date 
indicated the adherence to the constitution o: 
1824, and for this reason the numbers were 
used in place of the eagle, serpent, and cactus 
of the Mexican national flag. 

441. Texas Flag (Naval). — When Texas 
seceded from Mexico and became an inde- 
pendent republic, the first flag that seems to 
have been adopted was the naval flag, with its 
single star and thirteen stripes, the latter evi- 
dently borrowed from her neighbor to the 
north, the United States. The date given for 
this is April 9, 1836, antedating by several 
months the adoption of the first national stand- 
ard of Texas, the design of which was "an 
azure ground with a large golden star central.'' 

As to the origin of the lone star there are 
several legends. One gives the honor to Henry 
Smith, head of the Provisional Government. 
who is said to have sealed his State papers 
with the impression of a brass button on his 
coat, which had in relief a single star sur- 
rounded by an oak wreath. Another story 
gives the credit to a Mrs. Venson. who pre- 
sented a flag with that device to a Texas regi- 
ment in 1836 Csee State flag 328). 

442-443. New Granada (Colombia). — 
These were the flags of New Granada, the 
confederation of South American States now 
mainlv embraced in the Republic of Colombia. 
In 1*63 these States effected a closer union 
and changed their flag from three broad verti- 
cal stripes of yellow, blue, and red to the pres- 
ent Colombian flags (shown in 462-463). The 
old and new ensigns (442 and 462) are much 



360 



alike except for the change in stripes, for they 
both have the coat-of-anns and the same col- 
ors. The eight-pointed star is on both mer- 
chant flags (443 and 463), but on the latter it 
is placed on an oval shield. 

444. Ecuapor. — This flag of Ecuador when 
it was a part of the Republic of Colombia had 
as its coat-of-arms a design which was very 
similar to that used at present (see 480). The 
circle of seven stars in the upper part of the 
blue stripe represented the seven provinces of 
the republic. 

445. South Peru. — The flag of this coun- 
try was in existence but a short time, for the 
Peruvian - Bolivian Confederation, to which 
South Peru belonged, only endured about two 
years. In the process of evolution which 
brought about the present South American na- 
tions, stirring events occurred with great ra- 
pidity and States formed by political factions 
were dissolved almost overnight. This par- 
ticular confederation was inaugurated May 1, 
1837, and consisted of three States — North 
Peru, South Peru, and Bolivia — with a presi- 
dent for each and with General Santa Cruz as 
the supreme director, or dictator, of the whole. 
It was dissolved following severe fighting and 
the overthrow of the dictator. 

446. Guatemala. — Conquered in 1525 by 
the Spaniards under Don Pedro de Alvarado, 
who became famous as Cortes' chief lieutenant 



in the conquest of Mexico and was dispatched 
by him to effect the conquest of the lands to 
the south, Guatemala continued under Spanish 
rule until 1821, when independence was at- 
tained. The Guatemala of those days con- 
sisted of the whole of Central America, and 
it was not until 1S39 that it broke up under 
civil wars into the five republics of Guatemala, 
Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua, and 
Costa Rica. The flag shown in the illustration 
was the standard adopted May 31, 1858, which 
preceded the present ensign (see 482). 

447 - 448 - 449. Entre Rios, Corrientes, 
Santa Ee. — These were the flags of the Span- 
ish settlements established in wdiat is now Ar- 
gentina. In the days of the viceroys they were 
under the control of a government located at 
Buenos Aires, which in turn was under the 
authority of the vice-royalty of Peru. Later 
Buenos Aires became the seat of its own 
viceroy, having authority over the Argentine 
Confederation, composed of these three States 
and the territory now occupied by Uruguay, 
Paraguay, and Bolivia. Entre Rios, Corri- 
entes, and Santa Fe are still in existence, their 
flags today having the same relative impor- 
tance of our own State flags. The golden sun 
in the center of the Entre Rios flag is still used 
in the same position on the ensign of modern 
Argentina (see 450- 



THE FLAGS OF PAN-AMERICA 



450. The flag of the Pan-American' /Union 
is a pennant adopted in 1907 and embodies all 
of the colors of the twenty-one republics of 
the Western Hemisphere. 

451. The national banner of the Argentine 
Republic was devised in 1812. The Congress 
of Tucuman formally recognized it as the 
standard of the new Argentine Republic, then 
officially designated "The United Provinces of 
the Rio de La Plata." The Argentine banner 
is something more than merely the national 
flag of that Republic. It is associated in a 
large measure with the glories of Latin Amer- 
ica, for, under the leadership of General de 
San Martin (see also 431) and General Bel- 
grano, it helped to free Bolivia, Chile, Peru, 
and Ecuador. This flag has three stripes, sky- 
blue at the top and bottom and white in the 
middle. In the center of the held is a golden 
representation of the sun. 

452. The merchant flag of Argentina, known 
as the "Bandera Menor," or flag of peace, is 
exactly like the national ensign, except that the 
blazing sun is omitted. 

453- The presidential flag of the Argentine 
Republic consists of a banner upon which the 
national coat-of-arms is emblazoned. The es- 
sential principle of the coat-of-arms is that of 
an ellipse divided by the horizontal diameter, 
the field of the upper half being sky-blue and 
that of the lower half white. In the center of 
the upper section is a carmine liberty cap, sup- 
ported by a vertical golden staff, held upright 
by two clasped hands. Around the ellipse is a 



border consisting of a wreath of two inter- 
twined laurel branches. At the apex there is 
a representation of a golden sun. 

454. After Bolivia was liberated by the 
sword of Gen. Simon Bolivar (see also 433), 
a national flag and coat-of-arms were adopted. 
The national ensign consists of three stripes — 
red at the top, gold in the middle, and green 
at the bottom. The red denotes the animal 
kingdom, the gold the mineral kingdom, and 
the green the vegetable kingdom. In the cen- 
ter of the field is placed the national coat-of- 
arms. 

455. The merchant banner of Bolivia is a 
duplicate of the national ensign, with the coat- 
of-arms omitted. 

456. Bolivia's coat-of-arms is elliptical in 
form. In the center appears the mountain 
crest of Potosi, celebrated for its traditional 
mineral wealth; beneath this are an alpaca, a 
sheaf of wdieat, and a breadfruit tree. In the 
upper part is a rising sun with light cloud ef- 
fect. At the apex is the inscription, "Bolivia." 
On each side of the oval are three Bolivian 
banners, a cannon, two rifles with fixed bayo- 
nets pointing upward at an angle; on the right 
is an Inca battle-axe and on the left a liberty 
cap; above all, as a crest, is the condor of the 
Andes between two branches of laurel and 
olive. 

4.57. The flag of the Argentine Admiral 
ashore is blue, with three stars next to and 
parallel with the staff, and an anchor in the 
center of the field. 



361 




CIBRALTAR 
861 




- = = _= :om ,s_E z- '.•-'. ;_:e=mv 
663 864 665 



*&#b 



CUERNSEY 
867 



IGOV. GENERAL— CANADA 
u 868 



w 





878^ 

ONTARIO QUEBEC NOVA SCOTIA 875 NEVA/ MANITOBA 877 PRINCE BRITISH 

872 873 874 BRUNSWICK 876 EDWARD I. COLUMBIA 





881 ^-S^S5>' 882"^^^^" - 884 ~»- ^ 885 

579 NEW BERMUDA BAHAMA SOMBRERO AND JAMAICA TURKS AND LEEWARD 

FOUNDLAND 880 ISLANDS BAHAMA LIGHTS 833 CAICOS ISLES ISLES 




= BADOS WINDWARD ST. LUCIA 

886 ISLES 883 



891 "~^X-^ 892 

. = " BRITISH BRITISH 

890 CU1ANA HONDURAS 




= - = - _ : . ; - — -• .z - 

904 



TONGA— ENSIGN 
905 



" '- z - — z _s~c ■•• = 
907 



362 




923 



STRAITS LABUAN 

SETTLEMENTS 924 



CEYLON HONG KONG WEIHAIWEI MAURITIUS SEYCHELLES 

925 926 927 928 929 



930 ENS FEDERATED 
1 MALAY STATES 








1 JACK MALAY STATES 
U 931 




ENSIGN PAHANG 
ll 932 







H 








\ 




| 934 ENSIGN — PERAK 


ENSIGN— i 
" 92 


ELANGOR 
5 




936 KELANTAN 




944/RE<3ent ke.dah 945 trengganu 




363 



45k. The present hag of Brazil was largely 
irheroeo from the extinct empire. It consists 
of a green field. twice as ionsr a? wide, on which 
a diamond-shaped .".scire is inscribed in yel- 
low. The green represents the vegetable king- 
dom and the yeliow the mineral. The blue 
circle within the yellow diamond, studded with 
stars, is a representation of the heavens at Rio, 
when the constellation of the Southern Cross 
:s at the meridian. The words stamped :n the 
course of the terrestrial orbit mean "Order 
and Progress." 

459. The President's flag of Brazil consists 
of a tine held, with the national coat-ot'-arrns 
in the center. The large rive-pointed star typi- 
fying the unity and territorial integrity of the 
nation is bisected in such a manner that one 
~r the halves oi each point is green and the 

table and mineral -veakh of the country. The 
blue circular band inscribed within the star 
contains twenty-one small silver stars, remind- 
ers of the twenty States of the Brazilian Union 
ant the neutral city of Rio de Janeiro. The 
rive large stars in the center of the coat-01- 

em Cross. The entire shield is upheld by a 
vertical swc-rd. m the center ot whose nilt on 
a red field is set a star. The shield is encircled 
by two branches of coffee and tobacco plants 
as emblems of the country's agricultural wealth, 
while the straight golden rays, radiating in all 
directions outward and upward beyond the 
shield, centre the rising of the sun — that is. 
the gl eric us future and destiny of Brazil. In- 
scribed below are the words "Esrados L rridos 
do Brazil" I the Lrthed States of Brazil) and 
-he da _ e of the establishment oi the republic, 
November 15. iS-S-p. 

4cc October ic. 00:7. will be the centennial 
:•£ the Chilian hag. October :S. :S:r. Gen. 
Bernardo O Higgirs. the supreme dictator of 
Chile, decreed its adoption. It consists 01 a 
field, the l:wer half of which is red and the 
upper white, with a blue canton in the upper 
left-hand c truer occupied by a large r.ve- 
pointed silver star. 

461. The tanner of the President of Chile 
consists of the national ensign with the coat- 
of-arms of the country thereon, lice condor 
and guemnl sutt-crtirg the shield represent the 
strongest and most majestic bird of the Chilian 
Arties and the most peculiarly Chilian quad- 
ruped. The nift tf three feathers which 
crowns the shield was formerly used as a spe- 
cial mark of distinction on the hat oi the Presi- 
dent of the Republic, as a representation 01 the 

the old days of wetter, ships the sailor who 
first succeeded in ': arcing a warship of the 
enemy and came out of the action alive was 
rewarded ~z-y being crowned with a naval dia- 
dem of gold. Copies of this crown appear on 
the head cf the condor and the guemul. The 
•"nscrip'tion en the coat-ot-arms means "By 
Bight" or Might." 

462. Ciljmbia inherited its flag and coat- 
tf-arms £r:rc the Republic of Xew Granada, 
of which it is the successor Following the 
death of Simon Bolivar, the Colombian Crier. 
set up by him, which consisted of the present 
re ?,->H-= of Venezuela. Ecuador. Colombia. 



and Panama, cease t : _ - nst-and New Granada 
one oz the succeeding States. ado»pted what is 
. now the coac-of-arms and the flag of Colom- 
bia. The upper half of this flag is yellow, the 
lower half divided between light blue and 
bright red. the red strip being at the bottom 
On the ensign is embroidered the national coat- 
of-arms. 

463. The merchant flag of Colombia is a 
replica of the national ensign, except that in- 
stead of the ccat-of-arms there appears a 
bright red oval surrounding a small held of 
blue, upon which is imposed an eight-pointed 

464. Colombia '5 coat-: 1 -arms consists of a 
shield divided into three horizontal sections. 
the upper section displaying upon a field of 
blue a golden pomegranate tinged with red. 
with the leaves and stem of the same color. 
On each side of the pomegranate is an in- 
clined golden cornucopia, the one on the right 
pouring out toward the center gold coins and 
the one on the left overflowing with the fruits 
of the tropics. The middle section of the 
shield is platinum colored and bears a red lib- 
err;.- cap supported upon a lance. The lower 
section represents a silvery-waved ocean, di- 
vided by the Isthmus of Panama, with full- 
rigged ship in both the Pacific Ocean and 
Caribbean Sea. The shield is supported by 
four national banners. The crest shows the 

from its b eak hanging a laurel wreath to which 
is attached a streamer bearing the inscription 
in Lann. in black letters. "Liberty and Order.* 

465. For a description of the coat-of-arms 
of Chile, see 461. 

466. Costa Kica's flag is made up of eve 
stripes, blue at the top and bottom, red in the 
center, and white between the red and blue 
The red stripe is double width. The national 
C'Oar-of-arms. in diameter equal to the red 
stripe, is placed in the center of the field. 

467. The merchant flag of Costa Rica is a 
duplicate of the ensign except that the coat- 

468. As revised by the decree of 1906. the 
ccat-cf-arrrs of Cista Rica represents three 
volcanoes and an extensive valley between rwc 
oceans, with a merchant ship sailing on each 
of them. On the extreme left of the line that 
marks the horizon is a rising sun. On the 
upper part of the ~eld are two myrtle palms. 
half covered and ; fined by a white ribb on 
which contains the following inscription in gold 
letters : "Republica de Costa Rica." The held 
between the peaks of the volcanoes and the 
myrtle palms contains nve stars of equal size 
arranged in an arc. The crest of the shield is 
a blue ribbon interlaced in the shape of aercwr. 
and bearin? in silver letters the inscription. 
"America Central." 

469. The quarantine flag of Cuba is yellow 
with a black anchor and Greek cross superim- 
posed up-n the center. 

470. The Cuban patriotically calls his na- 
tional flag "La Estrtlla c^litc-ia."' or *_]The 
Lone Star." This banner became the otcicial 
emblem, of Cuba on the- 3:0*01 of V.^y. igra. It 
consists of a held with three blue and rwc 



h*-p *-or" 



wnite 



onzonta 



:es. wit 



a so 



set n the 



•iter of a red ecnilater 



•■ star 
iar.ele 



imposed upon the staff end of the field. The 
"lone star" is taken from the banner of the old 
Republic of Texas, the equilateral triangle 
from Masonic symbolism. 

471. The flag of the Secretary of the Navy 
of Cuba has a blue ground and an anchor in 
white in the center. 

472. The national coat-of-arms of Cuba 
was adopted during the revolutionary period 
of the republic's history. It has the form of 
an ogive shield and is divided into three sec- 
tions, two of which are in the lower two-tthirds 
of the shield. In the left half of the lower 
two-thirds are three blue and two white stripes 
of the Cuban flag. In the right half is depicted 
a characteristic landscape of rural Cuba. The 
upper third of the shield shows a sea with two 
rockj' capes, between which is a golden key 
closing the strait thus formed, signifying that 
Cuba, with her fine geographical position, is 
the key to the Gulf of Mexico. The golden 
disk of the sun, rising out of the waves of the 
sea and shedding its rays in all directions, rep- 
resents Cuba, redeemed by the blood of mar- 
tyrs and heroes, with a bright and glorious 
future before her. The shield is supported by 
fasces surmounted by a crimson liberty cap on 
which appears a five-pointed star. Two inter- 
twined branches, the one of evergreen oak and 
the other of laurel, denoting respectively en- 
during strength and vitality and victory, en- 
circle the right and left sides of the shield. 

473. The flag of the Captain of the fleet of 
Cuba is a blue triangular pennant with an 
anchor in white imposed on it. 

474. When the people of the eastern part 
of the island of Haiti threw off the yoke of 
the Haitian Government and established the 
Dominican Republic, they designed a flag 
which consists of a field crossed in both direc- 
tions with white. The upper quarter next the 
flagstaff and the lower quarter at the free end 
are blue, while the lower quarter next the 
staff and the upper quarter at the free end are 
red. In the national ensign the coat-of-arms 
of the Dominican Republic appears on the 
white cross. 

475. The merchant flag of the Dominican 
Republic is like the national ensign except that 
the coat-of-arms is omitted. 

476. On the shield of the coat-of-arms of. 
the Dominican Republic appear the Cross, the 
Bible, and the colors of the country. Below 
floats a streamer with the inscription, "Dios, 
Patria, Libertad" — "God, Country, Liberty." 
These words were the secret password of "La 
Trinitaria," the patriotic society which inau- 
gurated the revolution that resulted in the 
freedom of the republic. 

477. The admiral's flag of the Dominican 
Republic is like the national ensign (474) ex- 
cept that the outward third of the fly is swal- 
low-tailed. 

478. Under a legislative decree entered in 
tqoo the national flag of Ecuador is the old 
Venezuelan flag of 181 1. The only difference 
between it and the Colombian flag (462) is 
that the Ecuadorean coat-of-arms appears in- 
stead of the Colombian. The law provides 
that the flag raised over the national buildings, 
warships, fortresses, and those hoisted by the 
diplomatic and consular agents of the republic 



in foreign countries, shall bear the coat-of- 
arms of the nation in the center on the yellow 
and blue stripes. 

479. The Ecuadorean law of 1900 provides 
that the flag used by individuals and merchant 
shipping shall be the national colors without 
any insignia. The flags flown over municipal 
buildings have, under that law, a circle of 
white stars on the blue stripe, of a number 
equal to that of the provinces which compose 
the republic. 

480. The coat-of-arms of Ecuador consists 
of an oval shield, supported by the colors of 
the republic, in the upper part of which is a 
representation of the sun, with that part of the 
zodiac in which are found the signs corre- 
sponding to the months of March, April, May, 
and June. At the left of the shield is a repre- 
sentation of Mount Chimborazo, washed by a 
river on which floats a steamship. The shield 
rests on consular fasces, the emblem of repub- 
lican dignity, and is crowned by a condor with 
outstretched wings. 

481. The commanding officer's pennant of 
the Dominican Republic is triangular, with the 
representation of the national colors still pre- 
served. 

482. The present national flag of Guate- 
mala is one which was provided under a de- 
cree of 1871, restoring the colors fixed by the 
National Assembly in 1S23. It consists of three 
vertical stripes of equal dimensions, blue and 
white, the latter in the center. The national 
ensign bears the coat-of-arrfis of the country 
on the white stripe. 

483. The merchant flag of Guatemala is 
like the national ensign except that the coat- 
of-arms is omitted. 

484. The National Congress of Honduras 
in 1866 made the flag of the republic that of 
the old Central American Federation — two blue 
stripes and one white stripe between, placed 
horizontally, and in addition a group of five 
stars, five-pointed, in the center of the white 
field'. In the national ensign these stars are 
replaced by the coat-of-arms and regrouped so 
as to form a curved row of five stars below 
the escutcheon. 

485. The Honduras merchant flag, which 
the law says is the national flag, as distin- 
guished from the war flag, has the five stars 
so grouped in the center of the white stripe as 
to form an "X." 

486. The coat-of-arms of the Republic of 
Haiti was established under the constitution " 
of 1843. It consists of a palm surmounted by 
the cap of Liberty and ornamented with a 
trophy of arms, with the motto, "L'Union fait 
la force" (In union there is strength). When 
President Soulouque established himself as 
Emperor Faustin I, he modified the coat-of- 
arms, but it was restored in 1861 and has since 
remained unchanged. 

487. Guatemala's coat-of-arms dates from 
1871. It consists of a shield with two rifles 
and two swords of gold entwined by laurel 
branches. On the scroll are the words "Liber- 
tad, 15 de Setiembre de 1821" (Liberty, 151b 
of September, 1S21). Above the scroll is a 
quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala, corre- 
sponding to the American eagle. It is said that 
this bird never survives captivity, even when 



365 




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367 



taken in early life. In the ancient days of the 
Indians none but the royal family could wear 
its beautiful feathers. The tail feathers of the 
male, which sometimes reach a length of three 
feet, are of a peacock green ranging to indigo, 
and contrast with the scarlet breast of this 
proud and unconquerable bird. 

488. The coat-of-arms of Honduras is an 
elaborate affair, with a shield supported on the 
mountains of the republic, and surmounted by 
two horns of plenty, out of which all good 
things in tropical fruits and flowers are flow- 
ing. On the shield is a pyramid, with a blazing 
sun rising out of the green waters of the sea. 
Around the shield is an inscription which 
reads, "Republic of Honduras — Free, Sover- 
eign, Independent — 15 Sept., 1821." 

489. Mexico Coat-of-Arms. — The design 
for the coat-of-arms of Mexico has been 
changed very recently from that shown on the 
flag pictured in 439 to this arrangement, which 
shows a side view of the eagle. It is, of course, 
based upon the legend relating to the founding 
of Mexico City. It has the same fundamen- 
tals — the eagle, the serpent, the nopal cactus, 
and the branches of laurel and evergreen oak — 
but, in addition, has the words "Estados- 
U nidos-M exicanos" (United States of Mexico) 
to round out the circle and further to identify 
the seal. The change was made in January, 
19,17. under the direction of President Car- 
ranza, the explanation given being that it con- 
forms more closely to the ancient Aztec picto- 
graphs of the event. 

4go. The national flag of Haiti consists of 
a field, the upper part of which is blue and the 
lower red, with the coat-of-arms of the coun- 
:rv in the center. The flag was adopted in 
1843. 

491. The merchant flag of Haiti is blue and 
red, exactly like the national ensign, except for 
the absence of the coat-of-arms. 

492. Dating from 1823, the national flag of 
Mexico consists of three parallel, vertical bars, 
the one next the flagstaff being green, the mid- 
dle one white, and the outer one red. The 
three guarantees of the republic, which date 
from that time, are symbolized in the flag. 
The green denotes independence, the white the 
purity of religion, and the red the union of the 
Spanish element with the Mexican nation. On 
the white bar is placed the national coat-of- 
arms (see also 439-489). 

493. Mexico's merchant flag is exactly like 
the national ensign, except that the coat-of- 
arms is absent. 

494. The ensign of Nicaragua consists of a 
-.eld of three horizontal bars, the upper and 
lower blue and the middle one white, with the 
:oat-of-arms of the country on the white bar. 
This flag dates from 1823. although in 1S54 it 
.vas superseded by another banner, which, in 
its turn, gave place to the old one again. The 
:oat-of-arms consists of a triangular shield 
'So. 498). 

495. According to the law cited by the Pan- 
American Union respecting the merchant flag 
of Nicaraeua. merchant vessels shall not bear 
the coat- t'-arms on the flag. 

496. The present escutcheon of the Repub- 
lic of Panama is described in the Constitution. 
.'t rests upon a field of green, symbolical of 



vegetation. It is ogival in form and divided 
into three parts. The center of the shield 
shows the Isthmus with its two seas and the 
sky, wherein is depicted the moon rising over 
the waves, with the sun setting behind the 
mountains, thus marking the solemn hour of 
Panama's declaration of independence. The 
upper part is subdivided into two sections. In 
the right-hand section, on a silver field, appear 
a sword and gun, so placed as to suggest 
abandonment, signifying an eternal farewell tc 
the civil wars that have heretofore been the 
cause of the country's ruin. In the section tc 
the left, on a field of red, appear a spade and 
hoe, crossed, to symbolize labor. The lower 
part of the shield is also subdivided into two 
sections. The right-hand section shows, on a 
field of azure, a cornucopia, the emblem of 
plenty, and in the left-hand section, on a field 
of silver, is a winged wheel, symbolizing prog- 
ress. Surmounting the shield and covering it 
with outstretched wings is poised an eagle, the 
emblem of sovereignty, its head turned to the 
left and holding in its beak a silver streamer 
with ends flying to right and left. On the 
streamer is the following motto: 'Pro mundi 
beneficio" (For the benefit of the world). 
Above the eagle seven golden stars are grouped 
in the form of an arch, representing the prov- 
inces into which the republic is divided. As 
decorative accessories two national flags, gath 
ered at the lower extremity of the staff, are 
stacked on either side of the shield. 

497. The field of the flag of Panama is di- 
vided into four quarters. The upper quarter 
next to the flagstaff is white and the lower one 
farthest away from the staff is also white 
The lower quarter next the flagstaff is blue 
and the upper quarter farthest away is red. In 
the upper white quarter appears a blue star anc 
in the lower white quarter a red star. Both 
the flag and coat-of-arms of the republic are 
only provisional, the constitution authorizing 
a contest for the adoption of a permanent de- 
sign. 

498. The present escutcheon of Nicaragua 
was borrowed from the old "United Provinces 
of the Center of America," of which it was a 
member. On the base appears a range of vol- 
canoes, located upon a strip of land washed by 
both oceans ; surmounting these and in the 
upper part of the triangle appears a rainbow, 
below this a liberty cap radiating light. Around 
the escutcheon appears the legend in gold, "Re- 
publica de Nicaragua America Central." 

499. The law prescribing the coat-of-arms 
of Peru says : "The coat-of-arms of the Peru- 
vian Republic shall consist of a shield divided 
into three fields, to wit : one of sky blue, to the 
right, on which shall be a llama looking toward 
the left ; another of white, to the left, with a 
cinchona tree; in the base a field of red with 
a cornucopia, from which flow coins of golc 
These emblems symbolize the riches of Pen 
in the three natural kingdoms. The shield shal' 
bear as a crest a civic crown (laurel wreath 
and <:n either side a flag and a standard wi ti- 
the national colors." 

500. Paraguay's coat-of-arms consists of 
palm and olive branches interlaced at the ver- 
tex with a circular space between : in the cen- 
te- - f h:s space is the morning star, and in 



?Ci 



the outer border the inscription, "Republica de 
Paraguay." 

501. The ensign of Paraguay is composed 
of three bars — the upper red, the middle white, 
the lower blue — running horizontally. In the 
center on the obverse side appears the national 
coat-of-arms. On the reverse side, also in the 
center, is the seal of the Hacienda (Treasury), 
a circle bearing the inscription, "Paz y Jus- 
ticia" (Peace and Justice), in the center of 
which is depicted a lion in a vigilant attitude, 
defending the Phrygian cap — the symbol of 
liberty — above him on a pike. 

502. The national standard and flag of Peru 
is composed of three vertical stripes, the end 
ones red and the middle one white. On the 
latter appears the coat-of-arms with its crest, 
and surrounded at its base by a laurel branch 
to the left and a palm to the rieht, both tied 
together at their lower ends. This flag was 
established by the Peruvian Congress which 
met in 1825 and has never been changed. 

503. The merchant flag of Peru is the same 
as the national ensign, except that the coat-of- 
arms is omitted. 

504. The merchant flag of Paraguay has the 
same colors as the national ensign, the coat- 
of-arms being omitted; in its place appears "at 
the end of the white stripe next to the flag- 
staff the seal of the department having to do 
with merchant marine matters. 

505. The flag of the admiral of the Para- 
guayan navy is a swallow-tailed banner in the 
national colors, with a yellow half moon on 
the end of the white bar nearest the swallow 
tail. 

506. In 1912 the Congress of Salvador or- 
dered a return to the original coat-of-arms 
and flag of Central America as they existed 
in the days of the "United Provinces of the 
Center of America." The flag consists of the 
familiar three horizontal bars, the upper and 
lower blue and the central one white, with the 
coat-of-arms of the country in the middle of 
the white bar. This is the flag for ports and 
vessels and for government envoys to foreign 
countries. 

507. The merchant flag does not bear the 
coat-of-arms, but on the middle stripe is in- 
scribed in silver letters, "Dios, Union y Lib- 
ertad." 

508. Uruguay has but one flag for its na- 
tional banner and the emblem of its merchant 
marine. This consists of nine stripes, five 
white and four blue, white at the top and bot- 
tom. In the upper corner next to the staff is 
a white canton on which appears a blazing sun. 
This is known as "El Sol de Mayo" (The Sun 
of May), symbolizing the awakening of the 
colony into independent national life. 

509. The escutcheon of Uruguay is an oval 
crowned with a sun and divided into four 



quarters. Jn the upper right-hand division is 
depicted, on a field of blue, a pair of scales, 
symbolizing equality and justice; in the upper 
left-hand division, on a field of silver, the 
Ccrro of Montevideo, as a symbol of power; 
in the lower right-hand division, on a field of 
silver, a horse running loose, symbolizing lib- 
erty ; and in the left-hand lower quarter, on a 
blue field, an ox, as a symbol of abundance. 
The field is inclosed within two branches of 
olive and laurel joined at the bottom by a bow 
of azure. 

510. The law establishing the coat-of-arms 
of Salvador says : "The escutcheon of El Sal- 
vador shall be an equilateral triangle. At its 
base shall appear a cordillera of five volcanoes 
located on a strip of land appearing to be 
washed by both seas ; inthe upper part a rain- 
bow curved above ; beneath an arc, a liberty 
cap radiating light, and in the form of a semi- 
circle an inscription, "15 de Setiembre 1821." 
Surrounding the triangle and in the form of a 
circle shall be inscribed in letters of gold, 
"Republica de El Salvador en la America 
Central," and at the base of the triangle, 'Dios, 
Union y Libertad." The great seal of the na- 
tion, that of the Secretary of the National 

'Assembly, and that of government representa- 
tives and tribunals of justice bear the same 
coat-of-arms. 

511. The coat-of-arms of Venezuela was 
established under a decree of 1905. It consists 
of a shield divided into three parts, the one at 
the right yellow, with a sheaf of seven heads 
of wheat. The second section is red, bearing 
arms and two national flags bound together 
with a wreath of laurel. The third section 
occupies the entire lower portion of the shield, 
is blue, and bears an untamed wdiite horse. 
The crest of the shield is an emblem of plenty, 
two cornucopias flowing with fruit. At the 
lower edge of the shield is a branch of laurel 
and palm tied together by a ribbon, bearing in 
gold letters the following inscription : "Inde- 
pendencia — Libertad — 5 de Julio de 181 1 — 24 
de Marzo de 1854 — Dios y Federacion" (Inde- 
pendence — Liberty — God and the Federation). 
July 5, 181 1, was the date of the republic's 
declaration of independence, and March 24, 
1854, the date of the abolition of slavery. 

THE NAVAL FLAGS OF THE WORLD 

514-727. These flags and pennants, showing 
all of the flags of command, commission pen- 
nants, jacks, and pilot flags of the navies of 
the world, are used in the same manner as 
the corresponding ones of the United States, 
and the reader is directed to descriptions 49, 
50, 51, 53, 54, 58, and 64-68, inclusive, for in- 
formation as to the time, occasion, and manner 
of their respective use. 



.369 








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ALCIER 

COLOURS 

1192 



TITUAN 

COLOURS 

1193 



5ALLEY 

COLOURS 

1194 



SALLEY 

(MOROCCO! 

1195 



MOCO ARABA 
"1196 



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NOPLE 
1197 



THE FLAGS_OF THE WORI J3 TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO IN 1705 

371 



THE FLAGS OF EUROPE, ASIA, AND AFRICA 



728. The flag of Abyssinia consists of three 
horizontal stripes, the uppermost green, the 
middle yellow, and the bottom red. This ban- 
ner flies over that part of Africa which was 
known in Bible times as Ethiopia. It is the 
emblem of authority of a government which 
has been called a sort of feudal monarchy. 
The Emperor's title is "King of Kings." Cer- 
tain parts of the country are ruled by princes, 
some of them appointed by the Emperor and 
others self-constituted. Some of these princes 
have retinues of supporters who are perpetual 
warriors and whose usefulness lasts as long as 
there are any insubordinate tribes to pacify. 
The Abyssinian army, numbering about 150,000, 
is largely composed of cavalry and is well 
adapted for swift movement, as it is not in- 
cumbered by any commissariat, its maintenance 
being obtained from the inhabitants of regions 
through which it passes. 

729.. The flag of Albania has a red field, 
upon which is imposed a black double-headed 
spread eagle. This flag dates from 1913. in 
which year a council of six members, chosen 
by the powers of Europe, set up the principal- 
ity as an offset to Serbia's desire to possess a 
port on the Adriatic Sea. Austria resented 
Serbia's designs on the ground that the small 
nation would cut off the dual monarchy from 
an outlet to the Mediterranean in a way as 
prejudicial to her interests as the closed Dar- 
danelles were prejudicial to the interests of 
Russia. 

730. The coat-of-arms of Andorra, one of 
the four vest-pocket nations of the world, has 
a quartered shield bearing thereon the episco- 
pal miter, the crozier of Urgel, the red and 
yellow pales of Aragon, and two belled cows. 
Andorra is under the joint sovereignty of 
France and the Spanish Bishop of Urgel. It 
is governed by a council of twenty-four mem- 
bers elected for four years by the heads of 
families in each parish. The council elects a 
first and second syndic to preside; the execu- 
tive power is vested in the first syndic, while 
the judicial power is exercised by a civil judge 
and two magistrates. France and the Bishop 
of Urgel each appoint a magistrate and a civil 
judge alternately. The permanent delegate of 
the prefect of the Pyrenees-Orientales has 
charge of the interests of France in the re- 
public. 

731. A century ago Napoleon declared, "I 
recall a miniature republic lost in a corner of 
the Pyrenees." Today the hero, the conqueror, 
and the soldier, merely a handful of dust, is 
often recalled by Andorra. But in its mild- 
ness, its weakness, its isolation, the republic 
has found strength, and its colors float upon 
the breeze as independent as they were a cen- 
tury ago, when they waved over an island of 
peace in the great sea of human carnage dur- 
ing the Napoleonic wars. For nearly six cen- 
turies it has been thus. The war between 
France and England, -begun at Crecy and Poi- 



tiers, did not move the tiny country. Queen 
Isabella and Ferdinand left it unmolested. 
Charles Y, dreaming dreams of empire as great 
as those of Charlemagne, did not crush it upon 
his way to the Netherlands or to Italy. Philip 
II, weaving his web of expanding power 
around so many principalities, cast no entang- 
ling thread about it. Cynical Louis XI did 
not deign to harm it, and Louis XIY, although 
he ordered that there should be no more Pyre- 
nees, left it undisturbed. It was a spectator of 
the Carlist War in Spain in 1833 and of the 
contest between France and Germany in 1870. 

732. Built upon a rampart of rocks and hid- 
den upon the southern slope of the Pyrenees, 
liberty has found a home in Andorra for a 
thousand years. Appreciating the services ren- 
dered by the Andorrans in his campaign 
against the Moors, Charlemagne gave them a 
charter of freedom and permitted them to gov- 
ern themselves. Louis the Pious confirmed 
these rights, and from that day to this the tiny 
country has been self-governed under its own 
code of laws. The Spanish Bishop of Urgel 
holds spiritual supremacy and looks after edu- 
cational matters and religious instruction. 
France exerts a temporal influence by appoint- 
ing the provost from the department of Ariege 
to control the military activities of the repub- 
lic. The blue, yellow, and red flag of Andorra, 
with its coronet in the center, is the youngest 
thing in the nation. It is only fifty years old. 
having originated in the reform of 1866 to 
emphasize the autonomy of the valley; but 
neither of the co-suzerains has approved it. 
It is displayed when the council is in session. 

733- The flag of the Chinese army has a 
red field upon which is centered a black star 
bearing eight yellow points, with nine yellow 
disks on the body of the star. This is the flag 
of the republic and is entirely different from 
the one flown by the Chinese armies in the 
past. 

734. The royal standard of Belgium con- 
sists of three vertical bars — black, yellow, and 
red — with black next the staff. The national 
arms are imposed upon the middle or yellow 
bar. These arms consist of a golden lion on 
a black ground. Its tongue and jaws are red. 
The shield is ensigned with the royal crown of 
Belgium and the supporters are two golden 
lions. The motto of Belgium is "L'Union fait 
la force" (Union makes strength). The black, 
yellow, and red of the Belgian flag are the 
colors of the Duchy of Brabant, and were 
adopted in 1831, when the monarchy was 
founded. 

735. Belgium's merchant flag is a duplicate 
of the royal standard, except that the coat-of- 
arms is omitted. 

736. The flag of the Chinese navy under the 
republic is red, with a blue canton in the upper 
corner next the staff, upon which is a large 
white sun with ravs emanating in the form of 
small triangles. This flag succeeds the one in 



,372 



which the dragon, on a yellow field, was shown 
in the act of devouring a red sun. 

737. China's national flag, which is also 
used in the merchant service, consists of five 
broad horizontal stripes, the uppermost red, 
the next yellow, the next blue, the next white, 
and the one at the bottom black. These colors 
stand respectively for China, Manchuria, Mon- 
golia, Tibet, and Turkestan. 

738. The royal standard of Denmark con- 
sists of a swallow-tail red fly with the danne- 
brog, or silver cross, upon it. The origin of 
this cross is said to date from 1219, when King 
Waldemar, at a critical moment in his career, 
averred that he had seen this cross in the 
heavens. He asserted that it became strength 
for him and saved Denmark. At the intersec- 
tion of the dannebrog is the coat-of-arms. The 
first quarter of the shield represents Denmark, 
with three blue lions, crowned, on a golden 
ground powdered with red hearts. The second 
quarter represents Schleswig, with two blue 
lions on a golden ground. The third quarter 
stands for modern Sweden and shows three 
golden crowns on a blue field; Iceland is rep- 
resented by a silver hawk on a red ground ; 
the Faroe Islands by a silver goat walking on 
a blue ground, and Greenland by a silver polar 
bear on a blue ground. The fourth quarter 
proclaims Jutland, a blue lion at the top on a 
golden ground with ten red hearts below ; Van- 
dalia has a golden dragon on a red ground, and 
Holstein is represented by three leaves of 
nettle and the three nails of the Passion of 
Christ. The supporters are two savage men 
wearing green wreaths and holding wooden 
clubs (see also 1172). 

739. Denmark's ensign is the same as the 
royal standard (738), except that the national 
coat-of-arms is omitted. It is the oldest na- 
tional ensign in existence. 

740. The merchant flag of Denmark has a 
red field with a white cross upon it, and omits 
the swallow-tail feature of the ensign. 

741. The flag of Iceland is of the same di- 
mensions as the Danish merchant flag, the field 
being blue and the cross red, with thin white 
stripes separating the red of the cross from 
the blue of the field. 

THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE 

742. The flag of the President of France 
consists of the French tricolor, with the initials 
of the President in gold on the white stripe. 

743. The familiar and inspiring tricolor of 
France dates from the year that gave the 
United States its Constitution — 1789. The best 
authorities are doubtful as to the true story of 
its origin, but there are three principal theories 
as to the derivation of its combination of 
colors. The first of these, and the most au- 
thentic, is that after the taking of the Bastille, 
when Lafayette had been appointed by accla- 
mation commander-in-chief of the National 
Guard, he devised for the Guard a new cock- 
ade made of the white of the royal family and 
of the colors of Paris time out of mind, which 
were and continue to be red and blue. From 
this cockade, most historians believe, came the 
French national flag. Another version links 
the tricolor with the three historic flags of 



France — the blue of the Chape de Martin, the 
red of the oriflamme, and the white of the 
Bourbons. It will be recalled that the Chape 
de Martin was supposed to be the original 
cloak which St. Martin divided with a beggar 
at Amiens, which act was followed by a vision 
of Christ making known to the angels this deed 
of charity. The chape was in the keeping of 
the monks of Marmoutier, and Clovis carried it 
when he conquered Alaric, while Charlemagne 
bore it at Narbonne. When the kings of 
France transferred the seat of government to 
Paris, the local saint, St. Denis, was held in 
high honor, and gradually the plain scarlet 
banner, known as the oriflamme, and kept in 
the abbey church, supplanted the blue of St. 
Martin as the national colors. The oriflamme 
appeared for the last time at the battle of 
Agincourt, in 1415. The Huguenot party in 
France adopted the white flag, and when Henry 
III, himself a Protestant, came to the throne 
he made it the royal ensign. His successor, 
Henry IV, the first king of the Bourbons, 
adopted it as the national flag. The third ac- 
count of the tricolor's origin is that it is copied 
from the shield of the Orleans family, as it 
appeared after Philippe figalite knocked off the 
fleur de lis. During the first and second em- 
pires, the tricolor became the imperial stand- 
ard, but in the center of the white stripe was 
placed the eagle, while all three stripes were 
richly powdered with the golden bees of the 
Napoleon family. The flag of France today 
waves over territory nearly one and a half 
times as large as that covered by the United 
States. French colonies have a total of ap- 
proximately 4,500,000 square miles. Among 
the flags of the earth, only the Union Jack and 
the banner of Russia float over more territory. 

744. The flag of the French Governors of 
Colonies consists of a blue field with a canton 
of white and red in the quarter next to the 
flagstaff, a blue stripe as wide as the white 
and the red stripe separating the canton from 
the staff. This flag is to be flown below the 
national ensign. 

745. The flag of French Indo-China and of 
the Lieutenant Governor of Senegal is a dupli- 
cate of the flag of the French Governors of 
Colonies, except that it is swallow-tailed. 

746. The flag of Greece consists of nine 
alternate stripes of blue and white, four white 
and five blue, with a canton of blue in the 
upper corner next the staff, upon which is im- 
posed a white cross bearing at its point of in- 
tersection a Greek crown. The colors of the 
flag, white and blue, were derived from the 
arms of Otto of Bavaria, who was called to 
the throne of Greece in 1833. The motto of 
the nation reads, "My strength is my people's 
love." 

747. The merchant flag of Greece is a dupli- 
cate of the ensign, with the exception that the 
crown is omitted from the cross in the canton. 

748. The ambassadorial flag of Italy con- 
sists of a white fly, upon which is superim- 
posed, in a line descending from the upper 
corner next the staff to the lower corner of 
the fly, three blue six-pointed stars. 

749. When a merchant ship is taken over 
by the Italian navy, it flies a triangular pen- 
nant, the base half of which next the staff is 



373 



blue and the apex half white. Upon the blue 
is placed a crowned anchor, proclaiming the 
government and the navy. 

750. Italy's royal standard consists of a 
square blue field on which is centered the na- 
tional coat-of-arms. A crown appears in each 
corner of the flag outside the encircling collar 
of the Annunciation. Within this collar is a 
crowned black spread-eagle on blue. On its 
breast is an oval shield bearing a silver cross 
on a red ground, the arms of Savoy (see also 
1 181). The collar itself is composed of a se- 
ries of red and white roses and the letters 
F. E. R. T., meaning "Fortitudo ejus Rhodum 
tenuit" (His firmness held Rhodes), this being 
a tribute to Amadeus the Great from the 
Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, in 1310, for 
his help against the Saracens at the siege of 
Rhodes. The pendant of the collar of the An- 
nunciation bears a design representing that 
holy event. 

751. When Napoleon made the northern 
provinces of Italy into a kingdom, in 1805, he 
gave it a flag of three colors — green next to 
the flagstaff, white in the middle, and red at 
the fly end. This flag disappeared when Na- 
poleon was overthrown, but was revived when 
Victor Emmanuel, King of Sardinia and a 
representative of the house of Savoy, became 
king. Today Italy's ensign consists of the 
Savoy arms, surmounted by a crown, on the 
central white vertical • stripe of Napoleon's 
green, white, and red. 

752. The Italian merchant flag is an exact 
duplicate of the ensign, with the exception that 
the crown is omitted above the arms. 

753. The flag of the Governor of Eritrea, 
the Italian colony in Africa, consists of a white 
field upon which are imposed the arms and 
crown of Italy. 

754. The flag of the Emperor of Japan con- 
sists of a red field upon which is centered a 
golden representation of the yellow chrysan- 
themum. It is essential that the flower should 
invariably have sixteen petals. While the use 
of this flower as a badge is not necessarily 
confined to the imperial family, its members 
alone have the right to use the sixteen-petalled 
form. If used by any other family, society, 
or corporation, it must be with a number of 
petals less or more than sixteen. 

755. The flag of the Japanese crown prince 
is like that of the emperor, except that the 
chrysanthemum is centered in a rectangle 
formed by a line of white on the red field of 
the flag. 

756. The Japanese ensign consists of a ris- 
ing sun, slightly to the left of the center of a 
white field, with rays radiating to all points of 
the compass. Both the sun and the rays are 
red, and the device is generally known as the 
sunburst. 

757. The Japanese merchant flag is white, 
of rectangular form, with a rayless red sun in 
the center, its diameter approximately half the 
width of the field. 

758. The Japanese guard flag is of white, 
with two horizontal parallel dancetty lines in 
red across it. A "dancetty" line is zigzag, re- 
sembling the "worth" of a r-ail fence, with deep 
indentations. 

759. The Jap.anese transport flag is identical 
with the Japanese guard flag, with the excep- 



tion that the dancetty lines are blue instead of 

re d- , 

760. The Japanese commanding officer s flag 
is a swallow-tail white, with the red sun and 
four rays, two vertical and two horizontal. 

761. This flag, flown by all ships under 
Japanese registry carrying mail, consists of a 
white field with two horizontal red stripes, 
separated by a narrower white stripe occupy- 
ing the upper half. The lower half is quar- 
tered by a red stripe, which, with the lower of 
the two horizontal red stripes, forms a T- 
square. 

762. The flag which distinguishes a Japa- 
nese repair ship is the same as that displayed 
by a transport, with the exception that the bot- 
tom and top of the white field are bordered 
with red stripes. 

763. In 1910 the Kingdom of Korea was 
abolished by Japan, whose influence in this ter- 
ritory had been recognized as paramount by 
the treaty which ended the Russo-Japanese 
War. The name of Chosen was given the 
State, and the red and white of the Japanese 
ensign were utilized in the flag adopted. 

764. The national ensign of Liberia, which 
is also the merchant flag, has eleven horizontal 
stripes of red and white, red at the top and 
bottom, with the blue canton in the upper cor- 
ner next to the flagstaff, on which is super- 
imposed a large white star. This flag was 
adopted ' at the time the Republic of Liberia 
was established, in 1847, by colonists from 
America. 

765. The flag of the President of Liberia 
consists of a square blue standard upon which 
is imposed a shield containing the red and 
white stripes of the national colors, and above 
it the five-pointed star of the republic. 

766. The coat-of-arms of Liechtenstein (see 
767) consists of a shield imposed upon the 
mantle of the Prince of the Holy Roman 
Empire, with his crown forming the crest. On 
the escutcheon, which is quartered, are the 
arms of Silesia for Ritberg; the second quar- 
ter of the shield, with its six stripes of red 
and gold, and green crown of rue cutting them 
diagonally, represents Khuenring; the third 
quarter, half red and half silver, is for Trop- 
pau ; the fourth quarter, of gold, with its black 
harpy crowned, represents East Frisia. At the 
point of the shield in blue is a golden hunting 
horn, representing Jagerndorf; the small red 
and gold shield in the center, imposed upon all 
four quarters, represents Liechtenstein itself. 

767. With its field shared by yellow and 
red, the latter occupying the lower half, the 
national banner of the principality of Liechten- 
stein flies over a nation having an area of 65 
square miles. This miniature principality lies 
between Austria and Switzerland. It consists 
of Schellenberg and Vaduz, formerly fiefs of 
the Roman Empire. Schellenberg in 1699 and 
Vaduz in 1712 came into the possession of the 
House of Liechtenstein and were set up as a 
principality by Emperor Carl VI in 1719. After 
the break-up of the empire in 1806, the princi- 
pality was incorporated in the Rhine Confed- 
eration. When the map of Europe was remade 
after the Napoleonic wars, it be.came a part of 
the German Confederation and remained so 
from that time until 1866, when the Confedera- 
tion broke up. Since then it has not joined 



374 



itself with any other nation. There is no pub- 
lic debt and the inhabitants have not been 
liable to military service since 1867. 

768. With its tricolor of red, white, and 
blue in three horizontal bars, red at •the top 
and blue at the bottom, the flag of Luxemburg 
flies over a country that did not raise a hand 
to check the invader in 1914. An alien army 
now passes over its soil at will and unresented. 
The population of Luxemburg is approximately 
260,000, and it is governed by a reigning Grand 
Duchess and a Chamber of Deputies. The 
Grand Duchy was included from 1815 to 1866 
in the Germanic Confederation. By the treaty 
of London in 1867 it was declared neutral ter- 
ritory and its integrity and independence were 
guaranteed. 

769; . The Prince of Monaco flies a flag con- 
sisting of a white field upon which is a crowned 
shield, -covered with lozenge-shaped figures of 
red and silver, surrounded by the collar of the 
order of St. Charles, instituted in 1863. The 
shield bears as a pendant a Maltese cross. The 
supporters are two monks with swords. The 
motto placed over the shield is "Deo Juvante" 
(God Helping). 

MONACO— SMALLEST NATION ON EARTH 

770. The red and white flag of Monaco 
floats over the smallest nation on earth. The 
entire area of the territory, whose symbol of 
authority it is, is only eight square miles. Al- 
though it is smallest in area, there are three 
smaller in population. It has 23,000 inhabit- 
ants, as compared with 5,231 for Andorra, 
10,716 for Liechtenstein, and 11,513 for San 
Marino. Monaco is a small principality on the 
Mediterranean, surrounded by the French de- 
partment of Alpes-Maritime, except on the side 
toward the sea. After 968 A. D. it belonged 
to the house of Grimaldi. The reigning prince 
was dispossessed during the French Revolu- 
tion, in 1792, and, died in 1,795- In 1814 the 
principality was reestablished, but placed under 
the protection of the Kingdom of Sardinia by 
the treaty of Vienna in 1815. In 1848 the towns 
of Mentone and Roccabruna (now known as 
Roquebrune) revolted and declared themselves 
free. The prince thereupon ceded his rights 
over them to France and the principality thus 
became geographically ,an enclave of France, 
when the Sardinian garrison was withdrawn 
and the protectorate established in 1815 ended. 
The prince was an absolute ruler until 1911, 
when a representative government was set up. 

771. The State flag of Montenegro Has a 
red field bordered with white. In the center 
is the royal coat-of-arms, with its double- 
headed spread-eagle in silver and holding in 
its talons a scepter and an orb. A small shield 
on the breast of the bird contains the letters 
"H I," and underneath the eagle is a golden 
lion passant. The initial H is the Montene- 
grin N and refers to Nicholas, the King. "I" 
is the Roman numeral, the letters together 
standing for Nicholas I. 

772. The military standard of Montenegro 
consists of a square field of red bordered with 
white, a Greek cross centered upon the red. 
The cross bears at its intersection the "H I" 
of the Montenegrin coat-of-arms. 



773. The naval flag of Montenegro is a tri- 
color with red at the top, blue in the middle, 
and white at the bottom in horizontal stripes. 
On the blue is a gold crown, below which are 
the letters "H I." The merchant flag is the 
same as the naval ensign, except that the letters 
and crown are omitted. 

774. Morocco's flag now consists of a red 
field upon which is imposed a five-pointed star 
of striking design. This star proclaims the 
passing of Turkish influence in Morocco. 
Under the old regime the familiar crescent of 
the Mohammedan world was borne on the Mo- 
roccan flag where the star is now imposed. 
The old flag of Morocco was red, bearing what 
appeared to be scissors, but which were in 
reality crossed yataghans. 

775. The national flag of the Netherlands 
consists of three horizontal bars, red at the 
top, blue at the bottom, and white between. It 
is national flag, ensign, and merchant flag — all 
in one. In the sixteenth century it was orange, 
white, and blue, the orange being in honor of 
William the Silent, Prince of Orange. Both 
the victories of Van Tromp and De Reuter 
were gained under the present colors (see 377)- 

776. The royal standard of the Netherlands 
is buff quartered by a cross of blue. In each 
buff quarter there is placed a hunter's horn in 
blue, and upon the intersection of the cross is 
the royal coat-of-arms, consisting of a blue 
ground dotted with golden billets and bearing 
a crowned golden lion rampant. The lion 
grasps in one paw a naked sword and in the 
other a cluster of arrows. The shield has for 
its crest a crown. 

777. The standard of the Prince of Nether- 
lands is the reverse of the royal standard 
(1776) in its coloring. The cross is buff and 
the quarters are blue. Instead of the hunter's 
horns of the royal standard there are golden 
lions like the lion of the coat-of-arms, which 
appears in the center of the cross in both 
standards. 

778. The flag of the Arabians, also typical 
of Muscat and Zanzibar, is scarlet. Elsewhere 
the red flag is the emblem of mutiny and dis- 
order, and was carried recently by the Revo- 
lutionists of Russia during the eventful days 
which marked the overthrow of the Romanoff 
dynasty and the establishment of a republican 
form of government. The red flag was a 
widely used national emblem two centuries 
ago, Spain, Venice, Genoa, Tetuan, Salley, and 
Camphen being partial to it (see 1141, 1188, 
1 193, and 1 194). 

779. The Governors of Surinam and Cura- 
cao bear a flag which has the national colors 
of the Netherlands, with the addition of two 
white disks in the red stripe near the staff. 

780. The merchant reserve of the Nether- 
lands bears a flag which is like the national 
ensign, except that an anchor and a crown are 
imposed upon the middle of the white bar. In 
order to make room for these, an arc is cut out 
of the blue stripe at the bottom and the red 
stripe at the top and the -white stripe enlarged 
accordingly. 

781. The ensign of the Governor General 
of the Dutch East Indies is a triangular swal- 
low-tail pennant showing the national colors 
of the Netherlands and attached to the flag- 
staff by the means of a toggle. 



375 



782. Repair ships of the Netherlands fly a 
flag with the regulation red, white, and blue 
bars, the staff end of the red bar giving way 
to white and forming a canton upon which is 
placed a red anchor capped by a crown. 

783. The royal standard of Norway has a 
red field upon which is centered a golden lion 
rampant holding a battle-ax. 

784. Norway's ensign is red and three- 
tailed, a blue cross edged with white extending 
to a point between the swallow-tail. It thus 
preserves the shape of the Swedish ensign, 
from which it was fashioned, that ensign hav- 
ing a yellow cross on a blue field (see 826). 

785. The merchant flag of Norway is like 
the ensign (784), except that the swallow-tail 
effect is omitted. 

786. The senior admiral's flag of Norway 
consists of the ensign with the addition of a 
saltire cross of white in the upper quarter next 
to flagstaff. 

787. The imperial standard of Persia con- 
sists of a blue square field with the national 
colors in a small canton in the upper corner 
next to the staff. In the center is a white 
circle on which the Persian coat-of-arms ap- 
pears, showing a lion holding a sword, a rising 
sun in the background, and the crown of the 
empire above the lion. The lower half of the 
circle is bordered by a wreath. 

788. The military flag of Persia is unique 
in that it embodies a very pale shade of green 
and a delicate shade of pink as the upper and 
lower hues of its tricolor. The middle stripe 
is white and bears the Persian sword-carrying 
lion with the sun peeping over his back. The 
crown of the empire is imposed upon the green 
stripe. The wreath rests upon the pink. 

789. The ensign of Persia is like the mili- 
tary flag, except that the crown and wreath 
above and below the lion are omitted. 

790. The merchant flag of Persia is the 
same green, white, and pink arrangement as 
seen in the ensign and military flag of the 
nation, but without the Persian lion. 

791. The colors of the flag of Portugal are 
green and red, the third of the field next the 
staff green, and the two-thirds at the fly end 
red. The arms of the country are centered on 
the dividing line between the two colors. These 
arms consist of a large silver shield upon 
which are five small blue ones arranged in the 
form of a cross, each of them bearing five 
plates of silver. Around the shield is a red 
border upon which are placed seven golden 
castles. Alfonso I defeated five Moorish 
princes in the historic battle of Ourique and 
adopted the five small blue shields to com- 
memorate his triumph. The five white spots 
on the small shields represent the five wounds 
of Christ, in whose strength Alfonso believed 
he had defeated the infidels. The red border 
of the shield was added by Alphonse III in T252, 
after his marriage to a daughter of the King 
of Castile. The circle of gold upon which the 
shield and its border are imposed, together 
with the green of the flag, which is that of the 
cross and ribbon of the Knights of St. Benedict 
of Aviz. commemorate the fame of Prince 
Henrv the Navigator. 

792. The flag of the President of Portugal 
is solid green, with the Portuguese coat-of- 
arms in the center. 



793. The flag of the Governor General of 
the provinces of Portugal is white, with a strip 
of green placed horizontally across the held 
and the coat-of-arms centered on it. 

794. The flag of the dependent Kingdom of 
Poland (so nominated after the Napoleonic 
wars) has a white field with the blue cross of 
St. Andrew, which proclaims Russian suzer- 
ainty. Upon the red canton is a crowned 
spread eagle. 

795. Roumania's flag has three vertical 
stripes, blue next the flagstaff, yellow in the 
middle, and red on the fly. In the standard 
the blue and the red bars are narrow and the 
yellow very wide. Upon the yellow is placed 
the national coat-of-arms, a canopy of ermine 
on which is a crowned shield. On the quar- 
tered field of the shield appear a golden eagle 
displayed on blue, a lion's head in gold dis- 
played on red, a golden demilion issuing from 
an antique crown on red, and two dolphins in 
gold displayed on blue. There is also a small 
shield of pretense quartered in white and black. 
The shield is supported by golden lions ram- 
pant. The motto, "Nihil sine Deo" (Nothing 
without God), is below the shield on a ribbon. 
Four crowns appear, one in each corner of the 
flag. 

796. The Roumanian ensign is like the 
standard, except that the three stripes are of 
equal width, and crowns in the four corners 
of the flag are omitted. 

797. Roumania's merchant flag is blue, yel- 
low, and red, like the ensign, except that the 
arms are omitted. 

798. The Roumanian coast guard flag has 
the national colors, together with an anchor, 
above which is a crown on the yellow stripe. 

RUSSIAN FLAGS 

799. The ensign of the Russian navy is a 
blue cross of St. Andrew upon a field of white. 
The Russians venerate St. Andrew as their 
patron saint, believing that it was he who se- 
cured the adoption of Christianity by their an- 
cestors. It has been asserted that he preached 
in Scythia. Peter the Great, under his name 
and protection, in the year 1698, instituted St. 
Andrew's as the most noble order of Knight- 
hood of the Empire. St. Andrew is also the 
patron saint of Scotland, but there the cross 
is white upon a field of blue (see 831). 

800. The white, blue, and red horizontal 
stripes of the Russian merchant flag are remi- 
niscent of the day when Peter the Great was 
learning ship-building in Holland. The Dutch 
flag is a tricolor of red, white, and blue. Peter, 
in making his flag, turned these colors upside 
down, but was afterward advised that he was 
flying the flag employed by the Dutch as a sig- 
nal of distress and disaster. He thereupon re- 
vised his flag, putting the white at the top and 
the red at the bottom, with the blue between. 

801. The flag of the volunteer fleet of Rus- 
sia is the same as the merchant flag, except 
that there is a trumpet in the center of the blue 
field. 

802. Russia's customs flag consists of a blue 
field with a canton in the upper corner next 
the staff showing the merchant flag in minia- 
ture, while in the lower corner next the staff 
are two combination caducei and tridents 

crossed. 



376 



803. The flag of the Russian admiralty con- 
sists of four anchors interlocked and arranged 
in the form of a St. Andrew's cross. 

804. The flag of the Commander-in-Chief 
of the Russian Navy is flown only while the 
country is at war. It consists of a white field 
upon which is imposed the blue cross of St. 
Andrew, the upper quarter nearest the staff 
being occupied by a canton consisting of a 
white-bordered blue cross of St. Andrew and 
a white St. George's cross on a red field. A 
blue anchor is centered in a white field im- 
posed upon the insection of the crosses. 

805. The flag of Russia's Minister of War 
consists of a white field with a red canton on 
which is imposed the blue cross of St. Andrew 
and the white cross of St. George. Here again 
the Russians reverse the British in their in- 
signia, the latter placing the scarlet cross of 
St. George on a field of white, while the Rus- 
sians place a white cross on a field of scarlet. 
Below the canton appears the shield with 
crossed muskets and cannons. 

806. The flag of Russia's aeronautic service 
is like that of the Minister of War, except that 
the fly is shorter and the shield in the lower 
left-hand corner is omitted, while a red-winged 
anchor is added in the lower right-hand corner. 

807. The royal standard of Serbia consists 
of a field of red, blue, and white, surrounded 
by an indented border of the same colors. 
Upon the field, which is square, is centered the 
coat-of-arms of the country. This consists of 
a red shield within a crowned ermine canopy. 
The shield bears a silver eagle displayed, hav- 
ing upon its breast another shield with a silver 
cross and the date 1804. The supports are two 
natives holding flags of the colors, while the 
motto is "Spes mihi prima Deus" (My hope is 
God first of all). 

808. The Serbian merchant flag is red, blue, 
and white, like the Russian merchant flag in- 
verted. The latter flown as a signal of distress 
might be mistaken for the Serbian merchant 
emblem normally displayed. As Servia has no 
seaport and no merchant navy, 808 is largely a 
flag of hope for a navy. 

809. Russia's transport navy flies a blue flag 
with a white canton upon which appears the 
blue cross of St. Andrew. 

810. Russian transports employing civilian 
crews fly a blue flag with a union next the 
flagstaff in the upper corner, showing the 
colors of the country. 

811. The flag of Siam consists of a scariet 
field on which is a white elephant. The ele- 
phant is in full trappings and harness and 
stands on a platform. In the upper corner 
next the hoist appear a pagoda-crowned anchor 
and a wheel. The elephant recalls the tradi- 
tion of the founder of the nation. Before 
Xacca, the reputed founder, was born, his 
mother dreamed that she had given birth to a 
white elephant. The Brahmans affirmed that 
Xacca, after undergoing 80,000 reincarnations, 
finally did actually become a white elephant, 
and as such was received into the company of 
the celestial deities. On this account the white 
elephant is held a sacred beast, and the Siam- 
ese rejoice to place themselves beneath so po- 
tent a protector. 

812. The merchant flag of Siam now con- 
sists of a field of five stripes — red, yellow, red, 



white, red. The central red stripe is broader 
than the other four stripes, which are of equal 
width. This flag replaces the old red flag upon 
which was imposed the white elephant of 
Siamese tradition without any trappings or 
harness and without the anchor and wheel of 
the national ensign. The merchant flag is of 
recent origin. The flag book of the United 
States Navy, published in 1914, and that of the 
British Admiralty, published even more re- 
cently, show the elephant flag instead of the 
new striped one. 

813. The Siamese emblem of royal au- 
thority, the royal standard, has an orange-hued 
field upon which is represented an image of 
the East, a man eagle. This standard is of 
comparatively recent adoption. Formerly there, 
was used a blue flag having a red border. 
Upon this was imposed the royal coat-of-arms. 
which consisted of an escutcheon portraying a 
three-headed elephant in the upper half and 
the white elephant and crossed swords in the 
two quarters of the lower half. 

814. This is the coat-of-arms of what 
claims to be the oldest State in Europe — San 
Marino. Next to Monaco, it is in area the 
smallest independent country in the world. It 
has thirty square miles of territory and a pop- 
ulation of 11,513. The coat-of-arms consists 
of three hills in gold upon a field of blue. 
These hills are Monte Guiato, Monte Cucco, 
and Monte Gista, each bearing a castle sur- 
mounted by a plume. The shield has a gold 
crown as a crest and is surrounded by branches 
of laurel and oak united by a ribbon inscribed 
with the word "Liberty." 

815. The merchant flag of San Marino, 
which, though that of a belligerent, the little 
republic having dared to declare war against 
the Central Powers, has probably never yet 
been encountered by a German submarine be- 
cause, as may well be imagined, the merchant 
navy of the mountain republic is not large. 

816. The ensign of the Republic of San 
Marino consists of a field the upper part oi 
which is blue and the lower half white. The 
coat-of-arms is centered on it. It is this flag 
that the soldiers of San Marino carry when 
they march to the aid of their ally, Italy. 

817. The royal standard of Spain proclaims 
more of the glory of the empire that was than 
of the country which now exists. It consists 
of a purple field upon which is imposed the 
Spanish coat-of-arms. This bears the lion of 
Leon and the castle of Castile. It also bears 
the arms of Aragon; the device of Sicily; the 
red and white stripes, which proclaim the arms 
of Austria; oblique stripes of yellow and blue 
within a red border, which tell of the flag of 
ancient Burgundy; the black lion on the golden 
ground, which is the heraldic bearing of Flan- 
ders ; the red eagle, which is the device of 
Antwerp; the golden lion of Brabant; the 
fleur-de-lis and checkers of ancient Burgundy; 
the arms of Portugal, and the fleur-de-lis of 
France. The whole is surrounded by the collar 
of the Golden Fleece. 

818. The ensign of Spain is yellow, bor- 
dered at the top and bottom by a stripe of red. 
On the broad yellow stripe is an oval shield 
bearing a crown and showing the arms of 
Castile impaling Leon. . 

819. The merchant flag of Spain consists of 



377 



five stripes, three yellow and two red, yellow 
at the top and bottom. The central stripe is 
wider than the others. The flag bears no de- 
vice, but the colors are those of Aragon and 
Castile. 

820. The flag of Switzerland consists of a 
red field with a white cross. When the Red 
Cross was recognized at the International Con- 
ference at Geneva, in 1863, a distinguishing 
badge was devised for times of war and peace. 
It will be noticed that the colors adopted are 
those of Switzerland counterchanged, the red 
cross being in a white ground. 

821. The Captain General of the fleet of 
Spain flies the familiar red and yellow colors 
with an anchor placed horizontally on the yel- 
low bar. 

822. Spanish ambassadors fly a swallow-tail 
flag made up of white, red, and yellow. The 
third of the flag next to the staff is white and 
red, white at the top and red below. The mid- 
dle bar of the flag is yellow and upon it two 
crossed tasseled pencils are imposed. The third 
of the flag at the fly end is red. 

823. The flag of a Spanish minister is like 
that of an ambassador, except that instead of 
the pencils there are three blue disks on the 
yellow bar. 

824. The military and naval service of 
Tunis has a flag consisting of a red field, upon 
which is centered a white disk having a diam- 
eter half the vertical width of the flag. Upon this 
disk a red crescent and a red star are imposed. 
The flag is inherited from Turkey, although 
it is no longer under Turkish domination. 



825. The royal standard of Sweden consists 
of a blue flag bearing a yellow cross. This 
flag is swallowtailed and the horizontal arm of 
the cross in the fly projects.- Upon the inter- 
section of the cross is placed the coat-of-arms 
of the country. 

826. The ensign of Sweden is like the royal 
standard, with the exception that the coat-of- 
arms is omitted. 

827. The merchant flag of Sweden is a rec- 
tangular blue flag, bearing the yellow cross. 
The blue and yellow were regarded as colors 
of freedom and independence at: the time they 
were incorporated in the Swedish flag. 

828. The standard of the Bey of Tunis is a 
fearfully and wonderfully made flag. It con- 
sists of seven horizontal stripes — red, yellow, 
red, green, red, yellow, red — the green stripe 
being double the width of the others. The 
stripes do not extend the full length of the 
flag, but join a narrow green stripe next to 
and parallel with the staff. Every red stripe 
has four yellow-centered green disks and four 
yellow stars arranged alternately. On every 
yellow stripe are four red stars and four black 
disks with red centers arranged in the same 
way. On the broad central green stripe is a 
double-pointed dagger with white blade and 
red handle, gold and red stars being distributed 
about it. This flag is a western variation of 
the old flag of the days of Moslem authority. 
In those days there were thirteen stripes in- 
stead of seven. Tunis is now under French 
dominion and the tricolor is the supreme ban- 
ner of the land. 



THE FLAGS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



829. The national flag of the British Empire, 
the union jack, combines the crosses of St. 
George (830), St. Andrew (831), and St. Pat- 
rick (832). When the union of the two crowns 
of England and Scotland took place upon the 
accession of James VI of Scotland to the Eng- 
lish throne as James I, the cross of St. An- 
drew, the patron saint of Scotland, and that of 
St. George, the patron saint of England, were 
combined, and all ships were ordered to fly at 
their maintop the new flag, while at the fore- 
top the English were still to fly the red cross 
of St. George and the Scots the white cross of 
St. Andrew. 

This was the first union jack (361), as it is 
generally termed, though, strictly speaking, the 
name of the flag is "great union," being a jack 
only when flown from the jackstaff of a ship 
of war. James I always signed his name 
"Jacques," and it is believed in many quarters 
that the jack and the jackstaff of the navy de- 
rived their names from that fact. Others con- 
tend that "jack" was used as early as the close 
of the sixteenth century. Lord Howard's ships 
in their attack upon the Spanish Armada, in 
1 1588, are described as carrying a "jack" on the 
! jackstaff, their jack being a small edition of 
the red cross of St. George. 

That St. George's cross was placed over St. 
Andrew's was distressing to the Scots, who 



made it the subject of an appeal to the King 
(see 1 132) . But even a king cannot solve all of 
the problems of heraldry. That art has no way 
of making two devices on a flag of equal value. 
If they be put side by side the position next 
the staff is more honorable than the one re- 
mote from it, just as the upper portion of a 
flag is more honorable than the lower. After 
the death of Charles I, the union of Scotland 
and England was dissolved and the ships of 
parliament reverted to the use of the simple 
cross of St. George, while those of Scotland 
took up the cross of St. Andrew again. When 
Cromwell became protector he restored the 
union flag, imposing the Irish harp upon its 
center. 

After the Restoration, Charles II removed 
the harp, and so the original union flag was 
revived and continued in that form until 1801, 
when, upon the legislative union of Great Brit- 
ain and Ireland, the cross of St. Patrick was 
incorporated. To combine these crosses with- 
out losing the characteristic features of each 
was not easy. Each had to be distinct and at 
the same time retain a border which would 
denote its original ground. To place the red 
cross of St. Patrick on the white cross of St. 
Andrew would have obliterated the latter, and 
vice versa. Therefore it was decided to make 
the white broader on one side of the red than 



378 



the other. This breaks the continuity of direc- 
tion of the arms of St. Patrick's cross, but 
permits the Irish and Scottish crosses to be 
distinguished from one another. 

The union jack flies from the jackstaff of 
every man-of war in the British navy. With 
the Irish harp on a blue shield displayed in the 
center, it is flown by the Lord Lieutenant of 
Ireland. The Governor General of India adds 
to it the star and device of the Order of the 
Star of India and flies it; colonial governors 
add the badge of their colony in the center and 
fly it; diplomatic representatives use it with' 
the royal arms in the center. As a military 
flag it is flown over fortresses and headquar- 
ters, and on all occasions of military cere- 
mony. The admiral of the fleet hoists it at 
the mainmast of a man-of-war as his flag. 

830. The red cross of St. George is reputed 
to have originated during the Crusades. The 
story goes that while engaged in a great battle 
the soldiers of England were wearied and, 
seeing that the number of enemies did not de- 
crease, began to despair. At this critical mo- 
ment an infinite number of heavenly soldiers, 
all in white, descended from the mountains, 
the standard bearers and leaders of them being 
St. George, St. Maurice, and St. Demetrius. 
When the Bishop of Le Puy first beheld them 
he cried aloud to his troops, "There are they, 
the succours which in the name of God I 
promised you." As a result of the miracle the 
enemies turned their backs and lost the field, 
there being slain one hundred thousand horse, 
besides foot innumerable, and in their trenches 
such infinite store of victuals and munitions 
were found that the Christians were refreshed 
and the enemy confounded. This great victory 
at Antioch led to the recovery of Jerusalem, 
and during the Crusades England, Aragon, 
and Portugal all assumed St. George as their 
patron saint. 

The cross of St. George was worn as a 
badge over the armor by every English soldier 
in the fourteenth century, if indeed not in 
earlier times. It was the flag under which the 
great seamen of Elizabeth's reign traded, ex- 
plored, and fought; it was the flag that Drake 
bore around the world; and to this day it is 
the flag of the British admiral (see 60s). 

831. St. Andrew has been the patron saint 
of Scotland since about 740 A. D. How he 
came to be such has never been satisfactorily 
settled. When he suffered martyrdom, in the 
year 69 A. D. at Papras, his remains were care- 
fully preserved ; but in 370, Regulus, one of 
the Greek monks to whom they had been en- 
trusted, learned in a vision that the Emperor 
Constantine was proposing to move them to 
Constantinople. In compliance with the in- 
structions received in the vision, Regulus at 
once visited the shrine and removed the arm 
bones, three fingers of the right hand, and a 
tooth, and, putting them into a chest, set sail 
with some half dozen companions. After a 
stormy voyage -the vessel was dashed upon a 
rock and Regulus and his companions landed 
on an unknown shore and found themselves in 
a gloomy forest. The natives there listened to 
their story and gave them land on which to 
build a church for the glory of God and the 
jenshrining of the relic. This inhospitable shore 
proved to be that of Caledonia (Scotland). 



832. Authorities agree that, devoutly as mil- 
lions love it, the use of St. Patrick's cross is 
in defiance of all ecclesiastical usage and cus- 
tom, because St. Patrick never suffered mar- 
tyrdom, but died in his bed at the ripe age of 
ninety. It is said that he was never canonized, 
and that his sainthood, like his cross, is due to 
popular error. It has been suggested by some 
that the X-like form of cross, both of the Irish 
and of the Scots, is derived from the sacred 
monogram of the labarum of Constantine, 
where the X is the first letter of the Greek 
word for Christ. This symbolic meaning of 
the form might readily have been adopted in 
the early Irish church and thence carried by 
missionaries through Scotland. Another Sug- 
gestion is that the red cross on a white field 
was the heraldic device of the Geraldines, dat- 
ing at least from Maurice Fitzgerald, the 
grandson of Rhys, the great King of South 
Wales, who landed in Ireland in 1169 on the 
invitation of King Dermod of Leinster, and 
that it is in fact a banner not of St. Patrick, 
but of the Norman Invader, which was adroitly 
held up to the people of these islands as dis- 
tinctive of the patron saint. 

St. Patrick was born in Scotland, near where 
Glasgow now stands. The date of his birth 
was about the middle of the fifth century. His 
father was of good family, and while the fu- 
ture saint was under the paternal roof divers 
visions revealed to him that he was destined 
for the great work of the conversion of Ire- 
land, at that time steeped in idolatry. He re- 
signed his birthright and social position and 
took the burden of the Irish upon him. Or- 
dained a deacon and priest, he was ultimately 
made a bishop, in which capacity he traveled 
over the whole island, founding monasteries, 
and filling the country with churches and 
schools and with piety and learning. Tradi- 
tion has it that he found Ireland a land of 
barbarism and left it a seat of learning and 
piety. It continued for centuries a center of 
mental and spiritual light. 

833. With its three golden lions represent- 
ing England, its red lion rampant standing for 
Scotland, and its golden harp for Ireland, the 
royal standard was first hoisted on the Tower 
of London on the first day of January, 1801. 

How England came to be represented by 
three lions is not entirely clear. Two lions 
were assigned as the arms of William the Con- 
queror, a lion each for Normandy and Maine, 
but there is no distinct evidence that he bore 
them. As a Crusader, Richard Cceur de Lion's 
banner bore two lions combatant, but on his 
second great shield three lions passant guard- 
ant appear. The date of this shield is 1 195, so 
that for nearly seven and a quarter centuries, 
with the exception of the days of Cromwell, 
the three golden lions on the red field have 
typified the power of England. 

The rampant lion of Scotland dates from the 
time of William the Lion, about 1165. It be- 
came a part of the royal standard in 1603. 
The Scots did not like the idea of their lion 
being placed in the second quarter any more 
than they relished the thought of St. Andrew's 
cross being placed under that of St. George. 
They claimed that after the death of Queen 
Elizabeth the Scottish crown virtually an- 



379 



nexed the English, and felt so bitter about it 
that for many years after the union on all 
shields devoted to Scottish business, and on 
the flag displayed north of the Tweed the 
arms of Scotland were placed in the first quar- 
ter, as they are on the monument to Queen 
Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey (see also 
IT33). 

The early standard of Ireland contained 
three gold crowns on a blue field. Henry VIII 
substituted the harp, and James I finally placed 
it on the third quarter of the royal standard. 
The Earl of Northampton, writing in the reign 
of King James I, suggested that the best rea- 
son that he could observe for the use of the 
harp was that it resembled the country it typi- 
fied in being an instrument that cost more to 
keep it in tune than it was worth. 

The royal standard is hoisted only when the 
King is actually within the palace or castle, or 
at the saluting point, or on board the vessel 
which flies it. The King's regulations say : 
"The royal standard, being the personal flag 
of a sovereign, is not to be displayed in future 
on board His Majesty's ship or on official 
buildings, as has hitherto been customary on 
His Majesty's birthday and other occasions; 
but it shall only be hoisted on occasions when 
the sovereign is actually present or when any 
member of the royal family is present, repre- 
senting the sovereign." 

834. The white ensign, bearing the red cross 
of St. George with the union flag of the Em- 
pire as its canton, is the fighting flag of the 
British navy. When at anchor in home ports 
the British ships hoist their colors at 8 o'clock 
in the morning in the summer-time and at 9 
o'clock in the winter, and when abroad either 
at 8 or 9, as the commander-in-chief directs. 
On the hoisting of the ensign all work stops 
and all ranks must get on deck, standing at 
the salute as the band plays the opening bars 
of the national anthem, the man at the hal- 
yards timing his pulls, so that the ensign 
reaches the truck at the last note of the band, 
just as it reaches the deck in the evening, 
when it is played down. The regulations pro- 
vide that British ships shall not on any account 
lower their flags to any foreign ships whatso- 
ever, unless the foreign ships shall first or at 
the same time lower their flags to them. 

835. The blue ensign of the British Empire is 
now flown by naval reserve vessels, public offi- 
cers afloat, the consular service, the government 
vessels of the several colonies, by hire ' trans- 
ports, by hired surveying vessels commanded 
by officers of the royal navy, by commissioned 
officers serving as mail agents, by the Fishery 
Board for Scotland, by the Pacific Cable Board 
ships, by Lloyds (in boats), by the Indian Ma- 
rine, and by Royal Naval Reserve. The privi- 
lege of flying the blue ensign is also allowed 
to British merchantmen commanded by officers 
on the retired list of the royal navy, or by 
officers of the Royal Naval Reserve, on condi- 
tion that either officer commanding the ship is 
one of these, that ten of the crew belong to 
the reserve, or that the ship is in receipt of 
an admiralty warrant. Yacht clubs Cexcept the 
royal, which flies the white) fly the blue ensign. 
When flown by ships belonging to the British 
public service, it bears in the fly the seal or 



badge of the office to which the ship is ac- 
credited. For example, hired transports fly 
it with a yellow anchor in the fly (see 846) ; 
the ordnance department of the War Office 
displays it with a shield en the fly bearing a 
cannon and cannon balls 'see 854). 

836. No other flag in the world flutters in 
the breeze of as many ports or sails as far 
and wide as the red ensign of the British Mer- 
chant Marine. At the beginning of the present 
war nearly one-half of all of the cargo- and 
passenger-carrying ships of the earth sailed 
under these colors. It is not improbable that 
more than half of all the passengers and car- 
goes sailing the seven seas were carried upon 
them, for no nation's ships were more effi- 
ciently handled. At that time the tonnage of 
the British Merchant Marine was more than 
four times as great as that of Germany. 

837. Uther Pendragon, father of King 
Arthur, had a vision of a flaming dragon in 
the sky. This his seers interpreted as mean- 
ing that he should ascend the throne. After 
his accession he had two golden dragons fash- 
ioned, one of which he carried into battle. 
The Anglo-Saxon kings were impressed with 
the image and incorporated it into their arms. 
Not until the twentieth century was it officially 
restored, as proper only to the race of Uther 
Pendragon. Under the reign of Edward VII 
it was incorporated into the armorial bearings 
of the Prince of Wales. 

838. The lion rampant with the tressure, 
which is the device of Scotland and which is 
seen in the second quarter of the British royal 
standard, first appeared on the seal of King 
Alexander II about 1230 A. D. Without modi- 
fication in color or form, it was borne by all 
the sovereigns of Scotland, and on the acces- 
sion of James VI to the throne of England as 
James I, in the year 1603, it became an integral 
part of the king's standard, and has so re- 
mained to this day. 

839. The story of the harp of Ireland, which 
appears on the blue field of the Irish standard, 
has been told in the account of the history of 
the British royal standard (833), on which it 
appears in the third quarter (see also 1133). 

840. The three golden lions of the standard 
of England are, as told in 833, of doubtful 
origin. Certain it is that, except for the break 
which occurred in the years that Cromwell was 
Protector, they have typified the might of Eng- 
land for seven hundred years. 

841. The royal family's standard of the 
British Empire is the same as the royal stand- 
ard (833). except that it has a white border 
and bears as an escutcheon of pretence the 
arms of Saxony (998), proclaiming the conti- 
nental origin of the royal family. As the name 
of the reigning family has been changed re- 
cently, it is probable also that its standard will 
be changed in this same particular. 

842. The flag of the Lord Lieutenant of 
Ireland is the national flag of the British Em- 
pire, with the golden harp of the Irish on a blue 
escutcheon at the intersection of the crosses. 

843. The County Lords Lieutenant, when 
on land, fly the union with a crown over a 
sword borne horizontally along the middle arm 
of St. George's cross. Each county of Great 
Britain and Ireland has such a chief official 



380 



who controls the appointment of justices of 
the peace and issues commissions in the local 
military organizations, and in earlier times was 
charged with the defense of his county in case 
of disturbance. 

844. The flag of British diplomatic func- 
tionaries is that of the Empire, bearing upon 
the intersection of the crosses a white shield 
surrounded by a garland. The shield is charged 
with the royal arms — that is, the lions of Eng- 
land, the red lion of Scotland, and the harp of 
Ireland — in the quarters corresponding to those 
of the royal standard (833), with a lion and a 
unicorn, rampant, for supporters. 

845-860. These are the flags of various de- 
partments of the British Government. 

BRITISH COLONIAL FLAGS 

The union jack (820) is the national flag of 
the colonies as well as of the mother country, 
and, although it is a rule more honored in its 
breach than in its observance, no other flag is 
to be flown ashore. The ensigns are, strictly 
speaking, maritime flags and are not supposed 
to be displayed ashore. According to British 
flag law, the union jack, in its plain condition 
and without emblazonment or badge, is the 
only flag an individual or corporation in Brit- 
ish realms may properly fly. However, since 
the shipping of the principal colonies is accus- 
tomed to fly the red ensign with the badge of 
the colony represented in the fly (see 871, 911, 
968, etc.), this flag is frequently, if not indeed 
usually, displayed by the people of the several 
colonies as their particular flag. Vessels bear- 
ing colonial governors or other administrative 
officials of badge-possessing rank fly the union 
jack with a badge of the colony placed within 
a wreath at the intersection of the crosses. 
Vessels of the colonial public service display 
the blue ensign with the badge of the colony 
from which it hails in the fly. 

861. The badge of Gibraltar is a castle and 
key, appropriate to the strategic position of 
this natural fortress. An inscription on a 
scroll below represents Mount Calpe, Calpe 
being the ancient name of the European Pillar 
of Hercules as distinct from Ape's Hill, the 
African Pillar. 

862. The badge of Malta is a gold-bordered 
shield of white and red, and not the eight- 
pointed silver cross of the Hospitallers (see 
1 169). 

863. The badge of Cyprus has two red lions 
adapted from the antique. 

864. The badge of the Isle of Man consists 
of an escutcheon upon which are three tri- 
rorporate running legs. They are joined at 
the upper part of the thighs and flexed in a 
triangle. Once these legs were the arms of 
Sicily, but they were bare ; when appropriated 
hy the Manxmen, they were first supplied with 
hose, later incased in armor, and finally 
equipped with spurs. 

865. Alderney's badge is a green medallion 
bearing a golden lion crowned and rampant. 

866. Jersey contents herself with a badge 
showing the three lions of England. 

867. The badge of Guernsey shows the three 
lions of England with the addition of a sprig 
at the top. 



868. The flag of the Governor General oi 
Canada consists of the national flag of the 
British Empire with the arms of Canada, sur- 
rounded by a wreath and crowned, imposed 
upon the intersection of the crosses. 

869. The badge of Canada has a shield 
quartered. In the first quarter is the shield o( 
Ontario (872), in the second of Quebec (873) 
in the third that of Nova Scotia (874), and in 
the fourth that of New Brunswick (875). Thf 
provinces of Prince Edward Island, Manitoba 
and British Columbia do not appear, having 
joined the Dominion after the arms were de 
vised. Around the escutcheon are intertwined 
wreaths and above it the crown of the Empire 

870. The blue ensign of Canada is the Brit 
ish blue ensign with the addition of the es- 
cutcheon of the Colonial Government imposed 
on the fly end. 

871. The merchant flag of Canada is thf 
red ensign of the British merchant marine, 
with the shield of the Canadian Government 
imposed on the field. 

872. Ontario's badge has an escutcheon, the 
upper third of which bears a cross of St 
George on white and the lower two-thirdf 
three maple leaves on green. 

873. The badge of Quebec is an escutcheon 
of gold with a horizontal bar of red in the 
center. At the top of the shield are the lilies 
of France, which proclaim the old French do- 
minion. The lion of England on the red bar 
proclaims the present rule, and the maple leaf 
at the bottom is the emblem of Canada itself 

874. Nova Scotia's badge is an escutcheon 
of gold with a horizontal bar of blue in the 
middle. The bar bears a silver salmon. Above 
and below the blue stripe are thistles, which 
are reminiscent of Scotland (see also 386). 

875. Bearing the golden lion of England at 
the top and the ancient lymphad or galley be- 
low, the badge of New Brunswick has the 
same colors in its field as that of Quebec. 

876. Manitoba's badge is an escutcheon 
bearing the cross of St. George at the top on 
white and a natural-colored buffalo on green 
below. 

877. Prince Edward Island, which joined 
the Dominion in 1873, has for its badge a 
shield which bears the British lion at the top 
on red and two trees, one large and one small, 
on white. The inscription is "Parva sub in- 
genti" (The little under the great). 

878. British Columbia's badge consists of a 
shield bearing the union jack at the top and a 
rising sun below, its rays extending over five 
blue and white horizontal stripes which occupy 
the middle section of the shield. 

879. Newfoundland is Great Britain's "senior 
colony," being the earliest discovered, though 
not continuously occupied, of British overseas 
dominions. Its badge is a Mercury introduc- 
ing to Britannia a kneeling sailor who has just 
landed from a boat. "These gifts I bring you" 
is the inscription. At the top are the words 
"Terra Nova." 

880. Bermuda's badge is a white shield on 
which is represented the wreck of the Sea 
Venture, under Sir George Somers, in 1609. 
There is shown a cliff loftier than the ship's 
masthead, and the imposed escutcheon bearing 
the scene is supported by a red lion. 



3Si 



88i. A large and two small ships within a 
garter surmounted by a crown constitute the 
principal device of the badge of the Bahamas. 
On the garter are words which tell us that the 
pirates have been expelled and that business 
has been resumed. This is the badge of the 
group of islands which include what is now 
known as Watling's Island, believed to have 
been the first landing place of Christopher 
Columbus, who called it San Salvador. 

882. The badge of Sombrero and Bahama 
Lights has a blue field bearing a ring of red 
inclosing a lighthouse shedding its rays. The 
ring is crowned and inscribed "Board of 
Trade." Above the crown is a scroll bearing 
the word "Bahamas." 

883. Jamaica's badge shows an escutcheon 
bearing St. George's cross and surmounted by 
a lizard. Upon the cross are distributed, one 
at each arm and one at the intersection, five 
pineapples. The escutcheon is supported by 
two Indians. 

884. The Turks and Caicos Islands, which 
are close to the Bahamas, have an escutcheon 
which consists of a full-rigged sailing ship in 
the background, a man making salt in the mid- 
dle foreground, and the name of the islands 
below. 

885. On the badge of the Leeward Islands 
appears in the middle distance a mountainous 
coast, skirted by a full-rigged ship; in the 
foreground is another ship ; on the shore a 
pineapple, larger than either ship, and three 
smaller ones. Above the whole appear the 
British royal arms. 

886. Britannia, robed in blue, red, and er- 
mine, and ruling the waves from the backs of 
two sea-horses, forms the principal scheme of 
the badge of Barbados. One sea-horse in this 
badge has a blue tail. 

887. The Windward Isles have a badge 
which makes use of a garter encircling a blue 
field, upon which is placed a quartered shield- 
red, yellow, green, and purple. The device is 
crowned. The motto is, "I Pede Fausto," 
"Make a propitious beginning." 

888. St. Lucia, the chief coaling station of 
the British fleet in the West Indies, has for a 
badge a landscape in which appear the Pitons, 
twin mountains of the island, and the ever- 
bubbling volcano Soufriere, with a land-locked 
harbor in the foreground. The Latin motto 
below describes this harbor as "Hardly a faith- 
less guard for ships." 

889. St. Vincent's badge has a classical 
group showing a woman holding a branch and 
another kneeling before the altar of the law, 
upon which she is placing a wreath. The badge 
bears the motto, "Pax et Justicia." 

890. Discovered by Columbus on his third 
voyage, Grenada seems to have taken his ship, 
in full sail and running before a spanking 
breeze toward the island, as its badge. The in- 
scription "Clarior e Tenebris" means "Brighter 
out of the darkness," and doubtless refers to 
the fact that Grenada is beyond the hurricane 
line. 

891. The badge of British Guiana, the Brit- 
ish Empire's continental holdings on the coast 
of South America, consists of a clipper in full 
sail surrounded by a garter of gold. 



892. The facts that British Honduras is a 
mahogany colony, that it belongs to the British 
Empire, and that it is given to trading, are 
brought out in the shield of the colony, which 
is circular, one-third of it being devoted to 
the display of the tools of mahogany logging, 
the second third showing the union jack, while 
the remaining third bears a full-rigged sailing 
ship. 

893. Trinidad and Tobago have a badge 
which shows a mountain in the background, a 
frigate in the left middle ground, and a blue 
ensign on a jetty in the right middle ground. 
A boat, a smaller ship, a house, and several 
spars showing behind the jetty complete the 
picture. Below, on white, is a Latin inscrip- 
tion meaning "He approves of the people unit- 
ing and entering into treaties." 

894. A white bull standing in tussac grass 
and a frigate in a river close by form the 
badge of the Falkland Islands, lying off South 
America and belonging to England. 

895. The smaller British islands of the Pa- 
cific are under the control of the Western 
Pacific High Commissioner. His badge is the 
crown of the Empire above the letters W P 
H C. 

896. The main feature of the badge of the 
Fiji Islands is an escutcheon bearing at the 
top on red the British lion. Below is the red 
cross of St. George on white. The quarters 
thus formed bear specimens of the vegetable 
and bird life of the islands. The shield is 
supported by two Polynesians wearing skirts 
of straw and standing on a scroll upon which 
is inscribed a motto in the native language. 
The crest is a native catamaran in full sail. 

897. The resident commissioner of the New 
Hebrides has as a badge a disk of white en- 
circled by a wreath of green and red and bear- 
ing a crown with the words NEW HEBRIDES 
around it. 

898. The Protectorate of the British Solo- 
mon Islands has a simple badge, consisting of 
the royal crown, surrounded by the three words 
on a white field, British solomon islands. 

899. The British Resident of the Gilbert 
and Ellice Islands, in the southern Pacific, has 
a badge which consists of a white field bearing 
below the letters B R, above which is a crown. 

900. The Governor of New Zealand flies a 
flag which consists of the national flag of the 
British Empire, bearing at the intersection of 
the crosses the badge of the island (901). 

goi. New Zealand's badge is a wreath-en- 
circled design of white, bearing four stars in 
the form of a cross, with the letters N Z in 
the center. The stars are emblematic of the 
southern cross, which appears in the skies over 
New Zealand. 

902. The blue ensign of New Zealand bears 
the southern cross on the fly, the stars being 
red with white borders. 

903. The red ensign of New Zealand bears 
the southern cross in white stars of five points. 

904. The ensign of Paratonga, which flies 
over sundry islands in the Pacific, has a field 
consisting of three stripes, the upper and the 
lower red and the middle one white. Upon 
the white stripe are three five-pointed blue 
stars. 



382 



905. The Friendly Islands of the South Pa- 
cific, constituting the Protectorate of Tonga, 
have an ensign with a red field and a white 
canton in which appears the cross of St. 
George. 

906. The standard of the Protectorate of 
Tonga has a quartered field, the first and 
fourth gold, the second red, and the third blue. 
The first quarter bears three six-pointed stars. 
The red quarter . bears a crown. The third 
quarter bears a flying dove. On the fourth 
quarter are three "big sticks." Upon the center 
is a six-pointed white star bearing a small St. 
George's cross. 

907. The customs flag of the Protectorate 
of Tonga consists of a field 1 the upper part of 
which is blue, the lower part white, with a 
white canton, upon which is imposed the red 
cross of St. George. On the white part of the 
field are the initials H M C, proclaiming His 
Majesty's Customs. 

Australia's flags 

908. The flag of the Governor General of 
Australia is the familiar union jack bearing 
upon the intersection of the crosses a wreath- 
encircled, crowned star, which is the badge of 
the Commonwealth. 

909. The star of Australia originally had six 
points, one for each of the original States, but 
was altered to include a point for the Northern 
Territory. The present badge of the Common- 
wealth is therefore a seven-pointed star, with 
a crown above, set within a laurel wreath. 

910. The blue ensign of the Commonwealth 
of Australia has a large seven-pointed star be- 
low the union, and on the fly end five small 
stars representing the Southern Cross. The 
Southern Cross exercises a strong appeal to the 
people south of the Equator. Even Humboldt 
felt its influence and said that in the solitude 
of the seas it was hailed as a friend from 
whom he and his companions had long been 
separated. This constellation never sets in 
Australia (see also 83s). 

911. By a warrant of the Lords Commis- 
sioners, issued in 1903, vessels registered in 
Australia were authorized to fly the red ensign 
or merchant flag of Great Britain "having in 
the center of the lower canton next the staff 
and pointed directly to the center of the St. 
George's Cross a white six-pointed star, indi- 
cating the six Federated States of Australia," 
and in the fly the Southern Cross, as in the 
blue ensign. In 1908 the desirability of adding 
a seventh point to the star of Australia, for 
the Northern Territory, was recognized, and 
merchant vessels were authorized to fly the red 
ensign as pictured here. 

912. A blue Maltese Cross coming down 
from the order of St. John and bearing the 
crown of the Empire on the intersection forms 
the badge of Queensland. 

913. New South Wales has for its badge a 
St. George's cross on white, with the lion of 
the British Empire on the intersection and four 
golden stars of the southern cross on the arms. 

gi4. The State of Victoria in the Common- 
wealth of Australia has for its badge a blue 
field bearing the constellation of the southern 



cross, with the royal crown of the Empire 
above. 

915. South Australia has made the white- 
backed piping crow take the place of the Amer- 
ican spread eagle on her arms. The badge of 
that State consists of a yellow field bearing the 
piping crow displayed. 

916. The celebrated black swan, which was 
first discovered on western Australia's principal 
river, since named the Swan, has served to 
typify in the popular mind the contrariety of 
the southern continent's flora and fauna to 
those of the rest of the world. This bird rep- 
resented on a circular gold field has been ap- 
propriately chosen as the badge of western 
Australia. 

917. A red lion passant upon a circular 
white field serves as the design on the badge 
of Tasmania. 

918. The badge of the territory of Papua is 
a white disk, with the name of the territory 
below and the crown of the British Empire 
above. 

919. The flag of the North Borneo Company 
is a British union jack, bearing upon its inter- 
secting crosses a red lion, on a field of gold. 

920. Sabah, a small settlement on the Ma- 
lacca Strait side of the Malay peninsula, and 
included within the State of Selangor, has a 
governor whose flag is yellow, with a red lion 
centered, in what the exponents of heraldry 
call a passant guardant attitude. 

921. Sarawak, a territory of some 42,000 
square miles on the coast of Borneo, has a 
yellow flag upon which is imposed a cross of 
St. George, the half of which, next the staff, 
is black instead of the regulation red. Upon 
the intersection of this cross is superimposed a 
crown. 

922. The flag of the Rajah of Sarawak is 
like that of the country he rules, except that 
the arm of the cross next the fly is split apart, 
and each section tapered, extending to a corner 
of the fly. In 1842 Sir James Brooke bought a 
large territory from the Sultan of Brunei. He 
ruled this country for a long time as the Rajah 
of Sarawak, his nephew succeeding" to the posi- 
tion in 1868. The population of Sarawak is 
estimated at 500,000 Malays, Dyaks, Jayans, 
Kenyahs, Muruts, with Chinese and other set- 
tlers. 

923. The Straits Settlements, a British col- 
ony which comprises Singapore, Penang, and 
Malacca, on the Strait of Malacca, has for a 
badge a red diamond with three crowns on a 
three-armed field of white. 

924. Labuan, which was formerly the small- 
est colony in the British Empire, being about 
the size of the Isle of Wight, but which has 
since been incorporated in the Straits Settle- 
ments colony, has a badge which shows a 
brigantine sailing past a very high rock, beyond 
which is rising a golden sun. 

925. The badge of Ceylon, whose authentic 
history goes back to the 5th century B. C, 
when an invasion of Hindus from northern 
India established the Sinhalese dynasty, has a 
pagoda, in front of which is an elephant. The 
background is blue and the foreground green, 
surrounded by a diamond-studded border of 
red and gold. 



383 



926. Hongkong's badge shows a harbor 
scene in which appear a junk and a tea clipper. 
Hongkong is a Chinese city, now under British 
sovereignty, and possessed of a naval base of 
first magnitude. 

927. Weihaiwei, a British holding on the 
Chinese coast, is represented by a badge upon 
which appear two mandarin ducks on the banks 
of a stream. 

928. The motto of Mauritius proclaims it, 
"The star and the key of the Indian Seas." 
On its badge, which is a quartered shield, azure 
and gold, appear the symbolical key and star 
and a galley. The supporters are a red and 
white dodo on the dexter side and a red and 
white antelope on the sinister. Each of the 
supporters has a stalk of sugar cane in front 
of it. Mauritius is an island in the Indian 
Ocean, 500 miles from Madagascar, having 
about 720 square miles of territory and about 
377,000 inhabitants. 

929. Seychelles and its dependencies consist 
of ninety islands and islets, with a total esti- 
mated area of 156 square miles, lying along the 
coast of Africa. They are represented on its 
badge by a tall palm tree, with a smaller tree 
near by and a turtle at its foot, and the motto 
Finis coronat opus. 

930. The ensign of the Federated Malay 
States is one of the comparatively few ensigns 
of the world that use black. The field consists 
of four horizontal stripes, white at the top, 
then red, yellow, and black in order. Upon the 
center is an oval of white bearing a running 
tiger. The Federated Malay States are Perak, 
Selangor, Negri-Sembilan, and Pahang. They 
occupy a large portion of the Malay peninsula 
and are under British protection. 

931. The jack of the Federated Malay States 
has a unique design. It preserves the colors 
of the Malay States ensign, but uses them as 
triangles instead of stripes. The red triangle 
has its base on the staff ; the black triangle, its 
base on the fly; the base of the white triangle 
is at the upper edge, and that of the yellow at 
the bottom. The apexes of the triangles meet 
in the center of the flag. 

932. The ensign of Pahang, one of the four 
Federated Malay States, has a field the upper 
half of which is white and the lower half 
black. Pahang has 14,000 square miles of terri- 
tory and a population of 118,000. 

933. The ensign of Negri-Sembilan, one of 
the four Federated Malay States, consists of a 
yellow field, with a union bearing two triangles, 
one of which, its base resting on the staff, is 
black, and the other, its base resting on the 
yellow field, is red. 

g34. Perak, also a Federated Malay State, 
has an ensign consisting of three horizontal 
stripes, the upper white, the lower black, and 
the middle yellow. 

935. The ensign of Selangor is yellow and 
red and is quartered. The first quarter is red 
and bears the star and crescent of the Moham- 
medan world; the second quarter is yellow, the 
third yellow, and the fourth red. Selangor is 
about the size of Delaware and has a popula- 
tion of 300.000. 

936-945 (inclusive). These are the flags of 
the Malay States not included in the Federa- 
tion. They are all under British protection. 



The relations of Johore with Great Britain are 
defined by a treaty dated December 11, 1885, 
amended by agreement on May 12, 1914, in 
which the Sultan agreed to accept and to act 
upon the advice of a British officer called the 
general adviser. The rights of suzerainty, pro- 
tection, administration, and control of the 
other four States were transferred from Siam 
to Great Britain by the Anglo-Siamese treaty 
of March 10, 1909. The State of Kelantan, on 
the east coast of the peninsula, with an area of 
5,870 square miles and a population approxi- 
mating 300,000, is represented by 936 and 937, 
ensign and merchant flags respectively. There 
are only four post-offices in the entire State. 
The flag of Johore (938) is black, with a red 
union bearing the star and crescent of the Mo- 
hammedan religion. The flag of the Sultan of 
Johore (939) is white, bearing a crescent and 
star in blue, the star being nine-pointed. Pedis 
flies a yellow and black flag (940), the upper 
half yellow and the lower black. The Rajah 
of Perlis flies a yellow flag (941), with a shield 
inclosed within a wreath. The flag of Kedah 
(942) is red, with a green crescent and a shield 
half surrounded by a wreath. That of the 
Sultan of Kedah (943) is yellow, with a green 
shield, a red crescent, and a green wreath. 
The Regent of Kedah flies a green flag (944), 
bearing a yellow shield, crescent, and wreath. 
Trengganu has a flag (945) the staff third of 
which is white and the remainder black. 

946. The Governor General of India flies the 
familiar union jack, with the star of India, 
crowned, at the intersection of the crosses. 

947. The badge of India consists of a five- 
pointed star inclosed within a garter and sur- 
rounded by golden rays, as a sunflower. Above 
is the crown of the Empire. 

948. The Indian marine flies the blue ensign 
of Great Britain, with the star of India in the 
fly. 

94g. The jack of the Indian marine is the 
union jack on a field of blue. 

950. The flag of the local Indian maritime 
government is the blue ensign of Britain, bear- 
ing on the fly a golden lion, rampant, carrying 
in its forepaws the crown of Empire. 

951. The flag of the Conservators of Bom- 
bay has seven horizontal red stripes separated 
by thin white stripes. The central red stripe 
forms with a perpendicular bar the red cross 
of St. George, on which is centered the seal of 
the Conservators, consisting of two small es- 
cutcheons leaning together on a field of white 
and having a crown above them. 

952. The flag of the Trustees of Bombay, 
a body which has in charge the light-houses 
and other shipping activities on the Bombay 
coast, has a blue cross placed on the field cor- 
responding to the red cross of St. George. 
This cross quarters the field, the first quarter 
bearing a light-house, the light represented by 
rays of red, and the other three quarters bear 
shipping scenes along the coast. 

953. The Witu forest lies within the pro- 
tectorate of British East Africa. Its flag is a 
red field upon which is centered a union jack, 
about half as long and half as wide as the 
field itself. 

954. British ascendency in Egypt dates from 
the 18th of December, 1914, when the govern- 



384 



ment of the Empire deposed the reigning 
Khedive, on the ground that he had adhered to 
the King's enemies. The British protectorate 
has been recognized by France. The new 
Egyptian flag of red has three white crescents, 
with the horns toward the fly, and each con- 
taining a five-pointed white star. This flag 
was the personal standard of the Khedive and 
now takes the place of the former national 
flag, which was distinguished from the Turkish 
by having a star of five instead of six points. 

955. The flag of British East Africa is the 
national banner of the Empire, bearing upon 
the intersection of the crosses a red lion, ram- 
pant, or aggressively walking forward on his 
hind legs. A passant lion, as shown in 917, is 
one walking ahead on all fours, with right 
paw uplifted; encircled by a wreath. 

956. Armed vessels of the British East 
Africa Company carry the blue ensign of 
Britain, with the red lion of East Africa on 
the fly. 

957. The East Africa merchant 'flag is of 
the familiar red ensign type, with the red lion, 
rampant, in a white disk on the fly. 

958. The Somaliland Protectorate in East 
Africa has an area of about 68,000 square 
miles; its population is about 300,000, mostly 
nomadic, almost entirely Mohammedan. The 
badge of the protectorate bears the head and 
shoulders of a Kudu, one of the antelopes of 
that region. 

959. The Nyassaland Protectorate, which 
was formerly known as British Central Africa, 
with an area of 39,000 square miles and a popu- 
lation of 1,100,000, has a badge which shows a 
tree on a diagonal yellow, white, and black 
background. 

960. Nigeria, with approximately 336,000 
square miles, an area as large as New England 
and Texas together, has a population of about 
[7.000,000. In 1900 a proclamation was issued 
which, without abolishing domestic slavery, de- 
clared all children born after January 1, 1900, 
free; it also forbade the removal of domestic 
slaves for sale or transfer. The badge of this 
protectorate has a red field, upon which are 
imposed two interlocked triangles in the form 
of a six-pointed star. In the center is the 
crown of the British Empire. 

961. 962, 963. An elephant in front of a 
palm tree, with mountains in the background, 
forms the device of the badge of West Africa, 
with the initials "G" for Gambia, "S. L." for 
Sierra Leone, and "G. C." for Gold Coast, mak- 
ing the badge representative of each of the 
subdivisions of West Africa. 

964. St. Helena has a badge which shows 
an Indian merchantman on a green sea. steer- 
ing between two high cliffs. St. George's cross 
on the ensign of the ship is reminiscent of 
days long ago. 

965. The Governor General of the Union of 
South Africa flies the national flag of the Brit- 
ish Empire, with the coat-of-arms of South 
Africa in the center. 

966. The badge of the Union of South Af- 
rica consists of a shield quartered and showing 
the figure of Hope for Cape Colony, two gnus 



for Natal, an orange tree for the Orange Free 
State, and a trek wagon for the Transvaal. 
The gnus and the orange tree are on gold, and 
Hope and the wagon on red and green respect- 
ively. The crest is a lion and the supporters 
antelopes; the motto, "In union there is 
strength." 

967. The Union of South Africa has as its 
official flag the blue ensign of Great Britain, 
with the coat-of-arms, as described in 966, on 
the fly. 

968. The merchant flag of the Union of 
South Africa, which is made up of Cape Col- 
ony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State, 
is the red ensign of Britain, bearing the Union's 
coat-of-arms in a white disk on the fly. 

969. The badge of the Cape of Good Hope 
shows a shield bearing on red a golden lion, 
rampant, and supported by a gnu and an ante- 
lope. On a scroll below the shield is "Good 
Hope" in Latin. 

970. The badge of Natal shows two gnus, 
the odd-looking African antelopes, with the 
imperial crown above. The export of gnu 
hides is an important industry in Natal, and 
the number of these animals has been greatly 
reduced by hunting. 

971. The Orange River Colony, before it 
became the Orange Free State of the Union, 
had on its badge a springbok in alert attitude. 

972. Before the formation of the South Af- 
rican Union the badge of the Transvaal showed 
a lion, couchant, resting on the veldt. 

973. Rhodesia's badge has a blue field, with 
a golden lion grasping an elephant's tusk in its 
right paw. The name of this colony, as well 
as the letters B. S. A. C. appearing below its 
device, recalls the means by which this region 
was secured and developed for Great Britain, 
namely, Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa 
Company. 

974. The High Commissioner of South Af- 
rica has as his badge a blue disk with the ini- 
tials S. A. H. C. and a crown above. 

975. This shows the wreath used around 
the badges of the colonial possessions when 
imposed upon the union jack, at the intersec- 
tion of the crosses, to betoken the presence of 
the colonial representative on the ship flying 
it. There are a few notable exceptions — the 
wreath around Canada's badge is not the regu- 
lation laurel, but is made of maple leaves (see 
869) ; that around New Zealand's badge con- 
sists of two fern leaves (see 901) ; the Union 
of South Africa has a wreath of mimosa (see 
966), while India's star is circled by the garter 
which in turn is surrounded by the blazing rays 
of a sun (see 947). When the badges are used 
on the blue and red ensigns they are not sur- 
rounded by wreaths, except in the case of the 
blazing sun of India. 

976. The badge of military officers afloat. 
as, for instance, when crossing the English 
Channel, or when going to the Saloniki front, 
has a blue field, uoon which are inscribed in 
rold the initials "G. R." (George Rex), sur- 
mounted by the crown of the Empire. 

077-986. These flags are used by the various 
British officials. 



385 



FLAGS OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, BULGARIA, 
GERMANY, AND TURKEY 



987. The ensign of Austria-Hungary has 
three horizontal stripes, red at the top and 
bottom, with white between. Upon the white 
stripe are imposed the shield of Austria next 
the staff and of Hungary next the fly. Above 
each shield is the crown of its kingdom. The 
Hungarian crown differs from the Austrian, 
being that of St. Stephen. The Austrian shield 
repeats the red, white, red-striped design of 
the flag, and was the device of the ancient 
dukes of Austria, dating back to the twelfth 
century. 

988. The merchant flag of Austria-Hungary 
was introduced in 1869 by a commission ap- 
pointed to blend the flags of the two countries. 
As the Hungarian flag is red, white, and 
green, the blending was accomplished by mak- 
ing the bottom stripe of the Austro-Hungarian 
ensign one-half green. Thus the half of the 
merchant flag containing the Hungarian shield 
preserves the distinctive Hungarian tricolor. 

989. The imperial standard of Austria- 
Hungary consists of a yellow field bordered 
with small black, red, and white triangles rep- 
resenting flames. It is square and in the center 
are placed the arms of the Austrian monarchy. 
These consist of a black double-headed eagle 
crowned, the double head indicating the former 
Holy Roman Empire. Over the eagle appears 
the crown of Austria. In one claw the eagle 
holds a sword and scepter and in the other an 
orb. On its breast appears a shield divided 
equally into three vertical portions. The red 
lion rampant on a golden ground in the first 
section represents the House of Hapsburg; 
the silver section on a red ground stands for 
Austria; the three eaglets in silver on a red 
band upon a golden ground are reminiscent of 
Lorraine. The shield is surrounded by the 
colors of the Order of the Golden Fleece and 
of Maria Theresa. On the wings of the eagle 
are the arms of the eleven provinces. This 
flag commands a different salute from any 
other in the world, it is believed. Under Aus- 
trian naval usage the Emperor is saluted by 
twenty-one guns followed by fifteen hurrahs. 
A minister of state or field marshal gets nine- 
teen guns and eleven hurrahs ; a general thir- 
teen guns and seven hurrahs; a commodore 
eleven guns and three hurrahs, while ambassa- 
dors, archbishops, consuls, and others all Have 
their definite share of gunpowder and requi- 
site allotment of shouting. 

990. The royal standard of Bulgaria is a 
square red flag bordered with black and green 
triangles, -upon which is emblazoned the royal 
lion of the coat-of-arms of the country. On 
the body of the lion is a shield having a blue 
field bearing a series of diagonal and horizon- 
tal lines. 

g9i. The ensign of Bulgaria is white at the 
top, red at the bottom, and green between. In 
a canton appears the golden lion rampant of 



the Bulgarian arms, upon red. The lion is 
crowned. 

992. Bulgaria's merchant flag is of white, 
green, and red, white at the top and red at the 
bottom. 

993. Germany's imperial standard has a 
cross, black with white border, the field being 
yellow, and the intersection of the cross bear- 
ing a shield containing the arms of Prussia 
surmounted by a crown and surrounded by the 
collar of the Order of the Black Eagle. The 
yellow field of the flag is diapered over in 
each corner with three black eagles and the 
crown. The arms of the cross reach out to 
the four edges of the flag and bear the legend, 
"Gott Mit Uns, 1870," the date commemorating 
the origin of this standard. 

994. The standard of the King of Prussia 
very closely resembles the imperial standard, 
except that the field of the flag is red instead 
of yellow. The cross which this flag and the 
preceding one bear is the cross of the Teu- 
tonic order and dates from the close of the 
twelfth century. 

995. The ensign of the German Empire has 
a white field, upon which is imposed a large 
black cross, having at its center a circle in 
black outlines containing the black Prussian 
eagle crowned. The arms of the cross quarter 
the flag. In the canton there is the merchant 
flag in miniature, upon which is superimposed 
the black cross of the Teutonic order (994). 

996. The merchant flag of Germany, con- 
sisting of three bars, black at the top, white in 
the middle, and red at the bottom, dates from 
1867. In that year it was decreed that the flag 
of the North German Confederacy should be 
black, white, and red, and when the twelve 
southern States joined the federation the same 
flag was continued as the merchant symbol of 
the Empire. Prior to 1867 no German national 
flag had ever flown upon the ocean, each of 
the various States and free cities having its 
own special colors (see also 1153, 1154, Ii6f5, 
etc.). In a speech delivered that year the 
Minister of the Crown stated that the combi- 
nation of colors was emblematic of a junction 
of the black and white Prussian flag with the 
red and white ensign of the Hanseatic League. 

997. The standard of the King of Bavaria 
has a field of blue and white lozenges, -upon 
which is centered the coat-of-arms of the 
kingdom. This bears a quartered shield with 
a golden lion, crowned, on a field of black, 
representing the Rhine Palatinate in the first 
quarter; the second quarter is red and silver 
for the Duchy of Franconia; the third quarter 
has eight stripes of silver and red crossed by 
a pale of gold, for the Margravate of Burgau; 
the fourth quarter has a .blue lion rampant, 
crowned with gold, -for .the County of Vel- 
dentz. Upon all is a fusiform of striped silver 
and blue, which represents Bavaria. Above this 



386 



device is the royal crown, supported by two 
lions regardant, each of them gold crowned. 
The whole is upon a royal mantle, which, in 
its turn, is crowned. 

998. The standard of the King of Saxony 
reproduces part of the heraldic device found 
in the arms of the ruling family, namely, a 
green crown of rue cutting diagonally across 
ten alternate black and gold bars. 

999. The flags of the maritime States of 
Germany are black, white, and red, black at 
the top and red at the bottom, with. an anchor 
and crown in the center, where the white stripe 
is swelled out to accommodate them, and with 
the badge of the respective States, 1003-1008, 
inclusive, as a canton in the upper corner next 
the staff. 

1000. The imperial marine flag is like those 
of the maritime States, except that the badge 
is omitted. 

1001. The standard of the King of Wurtt- 
emburg is yellow with three half horns of a 
stag in black, antlered. In each of the four 
corners of the standard is a crown. 

1002. The Grandduchy of Hesse has a 
standard consisting of three horizontal stripes, 
red at the top and bottom and white between, 
with the white stripe larger than the others. 
Upon the white stripe is a blue shield charged 
with a lion having a forked tail and striped 
with red and white. The standard has a crown 
in each of its four corners. 

1003. This badge, with its black eagle, placed 
as a canton on the flag of the German mari- 
time States, proclaims that the ship flying it 
belongs to Prussia. 

1004. The badge of the free city of Bremen 
is red and bears an antique key of silver. It 
is crowned with gold. 

1005. Placed in the. canton of the flag of 
the maritime States of Germany, this badge 
proclaims the authority of Oldenburg. On it 
is a shield the first quarter of which, made up 
of red and yellow stripes, represent Olden- 
burg; the second quarter, a gold cross on blue, 
represents Delmenhorst ; the third quarter, a 
golden cross surmounted by a miter on blue, 
represents Lubeck ; the fourth quarter is 
cheeky, of four rows of red and white, and 
proclaims Birkenfeld. In the point of the 
shield is a golden lion, representing Jever. 

1006. The badge of Hamburg is a red 
square upon which is placed a castle having 
three silver towers, over an anchor. 

1007. Mecklenburg's badge has a yellow 
field upon which appears the head of a black 
buffalo with red mouth, white horns, and 
golden crown. 

1008. The badge of Lubeck has a black 
double eagle displayed, its tongue, beak, and 
claws red, and its breast charged with an es- 
cutcheon halved in white and red. 

1009. When the flag of the imperial marine 
©f Germany omits the golden anchor and 
crown from the middle stripe of white and 
substitutes the crowned black eagle of the Em- 
pire, it proclaims that the building or vessel 
displaying it is under the jurisdiction of the 
Foreign Office. 

1010. When the flag of the imperial marine 
has 'this badge substituted for the anchor and 
crown, it means that the ship or building dis- 



playing it is under the jurisdiction of the other 
departments of the German Government. 

ion. This badge, in place of the anchor 
and crown on the flag of the imperial marine 
of Germany, transforms it into the flag of the 
postal service of the Empire. 

1012. Merchant vessels in the naval reserve 
of Germany bear the black, white, and red flag 
of the German merchant marine, with the black 
cross on the end next the staff. 

1013. The landes flag of Prussia consists of 
a white field bordered at the top and bottom 
with black and bearing on the half next the 
staff the displayed black eagle of Prussia. 

1014. The flag of the German Governors of 
East Africa and Kiao-Chau was the merchant 
flag with the eagle of the Empire on the cen- 
tral white stripe. The former colony has now 
been practically conquered by British forces 
and the Japanese have taken charge of Kiao- 
Chau. 

1015. The flag of the commander-in-chief 
of the naval forces of Germany has a square 
white field occupied by the black cross, with 
guns arranged in the form of a saltire thereon. 

1016. The flag of the inspector general of 
the German navy has a red-bordered white 
field with the black cross quartering the white. 

1017. The ensign and merchant flag of 
Turkey consists of a red field upon which is 
imposed a white crescent moon and a five- 
pointed star. The Turks adopted this device 
when they captured Constantinople in 1463. It 
originally was the symbol of Diana, who was 
the patroness of Byzantium. When the Turks 
adopted the crescent as a badge of triumph it 
promptly fell into disuse in the western world, 
and they secured a complete monopoly upon 
it. Though originally a pagan symbol, it re- 
mained throughout the rise and development 
of the Greek Church a special mark of Con- 
stantinople. Even to this day in Moscow and 
other Russian cities the crescent and the cross 
may be seen combined on the_ churches, the 
object being to indicate the Byzantine origin 
of the Orthodox Church. The origin of this 
quarter moon dates from the time of Emperor 
Philip, the father of Alexander the Great. 
While he was trying to take the city he set his 
soldiers to work on a dark night to undermine 
the walls, but the crescent moon appeared in 
time to reveal the design to the people and 
Philip was thwarted. In acknowledgment the 
Byzantines erected a statue to Diana and made 
the crescent moon the symbol of their city. 

1018. The personal flag of the Sultan of 
Turkey, which corresponds to the royal stand- 
ards of other monarchies, or the President's 
flag in our own country, is scarlet and bears 
in the center a device which changes with each 
succession to the throne. This device, accord- 
ing to tradition, originated in the fourteenth 
century, when Sultan Murad, being unable to 
write his name on a treaty, dipped his open 
hand in ink and pressed it on the document. 
In the spaces of the figure thus made the 
scribes wrote his name, the title Khan, and the 
epithet "Ever Victorious." Now, the name of 
the reigning sovereign, within the same figure, 
appears on the flag, surrounded by a rayed 
halo of somewhat starlike form. 



387 



ioig. The chief of the staff of the German 
navy flies a flag of white fully quartered by a 
black cross, upon whose intersection is im- 
posed a disk of white, a circle of gold rope, 
and a sword. 

1020. The flotilla flag of the German navy 
consists of a swallow-tailed pennant, hung free 
from the flagstaff and bearing the black cross. 

1021. The Sultan of Turkey flies a different 
flag afloat from that which is borne for him , 
ashore. As commander-in-chief of the Turk- ' 
ish naval forces he has a red banner upon 
which is centered a white anchor with a blaz- 
ing sun in the center of each quarter of the 
flag. 

1022. The religious flag of Turkey is green 
instead of the familiar red of the ensign and 
merchant banner. It bears the usual crescent 
and star in white and is the banner that is 



borne upon all religious occasions. It has been 
under this banner that untold thousands of 
Christians in the Mohammedan world have 
suffered at the hands of the followers of 
Islam. 

1023. The customs banner of Turkey is of 
the same general design as the national ensign, 
except that the star and crescent are inclosed 
in a rectangle made of a thin white stripe close 
to and parallel with the border. 

1024. The flag of Crete is quartered by a 
white cross. The first quarter is red and bears 
a five-pointed star in white, while the other 
three quarters are blue. This was the flag of 
the high commissioner appointed by Great 
Britain, Russia, France, and Italy, and later 
proposed by Greece with the permission of the 
Powers, who governed the island before its 
annexation to Greece. 



HEROIC FLAGS OF THE MIDDLE AGES 

The Geography of the Earth as Known in Medieval Times Symbolised in 

p6 Historic Standards 



(Nos. 1025-1120) 



THE earliest representation of the 
flags of all nations is to be found 
in an illuminated manuscript of a 
Franciscan friar, a native of Spain, who 
was born in 1305 and who, according to 
his own claim, wrote his monumental 
"Book of the Knowledge of All the King- 
doms, Countries, and Lordships that 
there are in the World and of the En- 
signs and Arms of Each Country and 
Lordship ; also of the Kings and Lords 
Who Govern Them," after having visited 
all the places which he describes. 

Geographers and historians hesitate to 
accept the friar's claim as literally true, 
but it is evident that he was a great trav- 
eler and a close observer, and though he 
is prone to weave legend and hearsay into 
his narrative, there is, nevertheless, a re- 
markable fund of information in this 
priceless manuscript, written a century 
and a half before Columbus discovered 
America, and which now reposes in the 
Biblioteca Nacional at Madrid. 

"In the name of God the Father and Son 
and Holy Ghost, three individual persons in 
one essence. I was born in the Kingdom of 
Castile, in the reign of the very noble King 
Don Sancho, when the era of the world, ac- 
cording to the Hebrews, was 5,065 years, and 
the era of the deluge 4,407 years, and of Nebu- 
chadnezzar of Chaldea 2.502 years, and of 
Alexander the Great of Macedonia 1,617, and 
of Caesar, Emperor of Rome, ^,343, and of 



ARTIST AS WELL AS TRAVELER 

The manuscript of the anonymous 
Franciscan whose travels extended as far 
east as Java, by way of Mecca, was edited 
by the Spanish scholar Marcos Jimenez 
de la Espada, 40 years ago, with the aid 
of Don Francisco Coello, the eminent 
geographer. It was recently published in 
English, together with the flags (see page 
371), by the Hakluyt Society. 

The devices are very beautiful and rich, 
both in color and in design, the Fran- 
ciscan evincing great skill in reproducing 
in some instances the banners and in oth- 
ers the coats-of-arms of the kingdoms 
and principalities which he visited. 

The story of these flags of the world 
570 years ago and of the kings and coun- 
tries over which they waved is best told 
in the words of the Franciscan himself, 
who makes no attempt to differentiate be- 
tween what he actually saw and what he 
heard (the numbers in the text refer to 
the corresponding flag on page 371). 

Christ 1,304 years, and of the Arabs 706, on 
the nth day of the month of September. 

"There are in the Kingdom of Castile 28 
cities and many other towns, castles, and vil- 
lages. Know that this Kingdom of Castile and 
Leon has all the seacoast of the west as far as 
Bayona the greater, and borders on Navarre 
and Aragon and Granada. The ensigns of the 
kings of this kingdom are a flag with two 
castles and two lions quarterly (1025). 



388 



"I departed from the Kingdom of Castile 
and went to the Kingdom of Portugal, where 
I found four large cities, and three great rivers 
flow across it. This kingdom borders on the 
western sea and the Kingdom of Castile and 
Leon. The arms of this kingdom are castles 
all round and qumas (shields with five white 
circles, representing the five wounds of the 
Saviour) in the middle (1026). 

"I went to Bayona (Bayonne the greater, 
which is in Gascony. It is seated on the west- 
ern sea, near the Pyrenean Mountains (Pyre- 
nees). The Lord of this Bayona has for his 
flag white with a cross red" (1027). 

At the time of the Franciscan's visit Bayonne 
was under the King of England, and the flag 
was therefore the St. George's cross (830), 
adopted by Richard Cceur de Lion during the 
Third Crusade. 

"I left Bayona and entered Navarre, a very 
rich kingdom, in which there are three great 
cities. Three great rivers flow through it. The 
king of it has for a sign the flag as follows" 
(1028). 

At the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, in 
[212, Sancho, King of Navarre, and his knights 
broke the chain which defended the approach 
to the tent of "En-Nasir," the Almohade Sul- 
tan. The victory which followed resulted in 
laying all Mohammedan Spain at the feet of 
the Christians. From that time the kings of 
Navarre bore the chain on their coat-of-arms 
and on their flag. 

"I departed from Navarre and crossed the 
Pyrenees. On the left side of these mountains 
is the noble city of Tolosa (Toulouse), where 
the liberal arts are studied, and the lord of 
this Tolosa has for his sign a red flag with a 
cross of gold (1029). 

"I left Tolosa and turned along the coast of 
the country of Burdeo (Bordeaux), and then 
to Rochela (La Rochelle), a rich city of 
France, and thence I went to the point of 
Sanmae, which is in the province of Bretanea 
(Brittany) ; thence to the Gulf of Samalo (St. 
Malo), and thence to the province of Nor- 
mandia (Normandy). All these are in the 
Kingdom of Francia (France), where there 
are many cities, towns, and villages. Know 
that the Kingdom of France borders on the 
Mediterranean, where there is a city called 
Marbonne, and on the Alps of Alsace and on 
the coasts of Flanders, and all the coasts of 
Gascuena (Gascony) to the Pyrenees. The 
King of France has three fleurs de lys of gold 
(1030). 

"I left Paris and went to Roan and Chalon, 
and thence to a city on the coast which they 
call Diepa (Dieppe), and I left it and reached 
a rich city called Cales (Calais), which is in 
the province of Picardy. Know that from this 
Cales to the island of England is a short cross- 
ing of eight miles (leagues ?). I departed 
from Cales and went to the country of Flan- 
ders, to a noble city, Brujas (Bruges). The 
lord of that country has a flag — gold with a 
black lion (1031). 

"Thence I crossed a great river which they 
call Rinus (the Rhine), which passes by Co- 
lona (Cologne), a great city of Germany. In 
this city they say that the three Magian kings 
are interred who worshiped Jesus Christ in 
Belem (Bethlehem). But when I traveled in 



the Empire of Cataya (China) I was in a city 
called Solin (Saba?), and they showed me 
three highly revered monuments, and they were 
in honor of the three Magian kings who adored 
Jesus Christ, and they said that they were na- 
tives of that city. In this Germany there are 
some very high mountains which they call the 
German Alps. . . . The Emperor of Ger- 
many has for his device a flag — yellow with a 
black eagle crowned (1032). 

"I departed from Colona and went to a city 
called Colanda (Holland), in the Kingdom of 
Frisia. I then passed over a great river, Albia 
(Elbe), rising in the mountains of Boemia 
(Bohemia). Here the German Sea forms the 
great Gulf of Frisia, and in that gulf there are 
four islands. The King of Frisia's device is a 
flag — gold with three long black lions (1033). 

"In the Kingdom of Boemia there are seven 
great cities, the largest called Praga (Prague), 
where they crown the King of Boemia. This 
Praga is all surrounded by a lofty range which 
they call the Mountains of Boemia. In the 
middle there is a great plateau and in its center 
is the city, surrounded by a great river called 
Albia. The King of Boemia has for his de- 
vice a flag — white with a red lion crowned 
(1034). 

"I left Boemia and went to the province of 
Sant Nurio (Sandomir), and to another the 
name of which was Curconia (Cracow) and 
Culman (Culm), which are great provinces 
between Germany and the greater sea, and 
though it may be that they are inhabited by 
Christians, still they are schismatics ; and I ar- 
rived at two great cities between the greater 
sea and the Sea of Germany, called Litefama 
(Livonia) and Catalant (Courland). It is a 
very populous land and the king of it has for 
a device a white flag with this sign (1035). 

the vanished kingdom 

"I entered the Kingdom of Polonia (Po- 
land), where there are five great cities, the 
largest being Santa Maria (Mariempol), where 
they crown the kings. The King of Polonia 
has for his design a green flag with this sign 
in red (1036). 

"I left the Kingdom of Polonia and went to 
the Kingdom of Leon, which the Germans call 
Lumbrec (Lemberg), in which there are five 
great cities. It must be known that this King- 
dom of Leon (Galicia) borders on the prov- 
ince of Rumenia (Livonia) and with the King- 
dom of Suava (Swabia). The king has a 
green flag with a red cross (1037). 

"After this I turned to the other coast of 
the German Sea (Baltic), to the part of the 
Trasmontana, being the land of Europe I will 
mention further on. I entered a great prov- 
ince they call Suevia (Sweden) and found the 
city of Roderin (Roggerwick), very rich and 
populous, though the land is very cold. It has 
in it nine cities. The King of this Suevia has 
for his device a yellow flag with two red lions 
facing each other" (1038). 

A few years before the visit of the Fran- 
ciscan the first union between Norway and 
Sweden had taken place under the three-year- 
old king, Magnus, who, however, lost both 
kingdoms before his death. 

"I left the city of Roderin and, going on 



380 



board a ship, I passed to an island they called 
Gotlandia, which is in the German Gulf, and 
on tins island there is a great city called Bisuy 
(Wisby), in which there are 90 parishes, and 
the island is well peopled. There is a smaller 
island called Oxilia. The king of these islands 
has a flag of gold and purple bars" (1039). 

It was in the century preceding the Fran- 
ciscan's visit that the wealth of the city of 
Wisby, or Bisuy, as he called it, became pro- 
verbial, and an old ballad relates that "the Got- 
landers weigh gold with 20-pound weights and 
p'ay with the choicest gems. The pigs eat out 
of silver troughs and the women spin with 
gold distaffs. A few years after the friar's 
visit Wisby was attacked by the King of Den- 
mark, who after a bloody battle, in which 1,800 
peasants fell trying to defend the gates of the 
city, took possession of the whole island. 

"I ascended the lofty mountains of Noruega 
(Norway), which is a very strong kingdom 
containing three great cities. They call the 
largest Regis (Bergen), where they crown the 
kings. And be it known that this Noruega 
toward the north is uninhabited, and that the 
year makes one day for six months and an- 
other six months' night, and there are men 
who have their heads fixed on their breasts 
with no neck whatever, but I did not see them. 
The king of this Noruega has for his device 
a flag — gold with a black lion (1040). 

"I departed from Noruega in a ship of the 
English, and we shaped a course west and 
came to an island, very large, called Salanda, 
which is at the entrance of the Gulf of Frisia, 
already mentioned. The island of Salanda 
(Zeeland) is very populous and has four great 
cities, called Salandi (Copenhagen), Risent 
(Ringsted), Escondin (Stor Hcdding), Alenda 
(Lealand). The king of this island has for 
his device a flag — gold with a black lion, as in 
Noruega (1040). 

"I left the island of Salanda (Zeeland) and 
we made a long voyage, arriving at another 
island called Tille (Telemarken, in the south 
of Norway), and from thence we came to the 
island of Escocia (Scotland) and found in it 
three great cities — one called Donfres (Dum- 
fries), another Eneruic (Edinburgh), another 
Veruic (Berwick). The king of this Escocia 
has for his device a red flag with three long 
lions of gold" (1041). 

The explanation for the Franciscan's con- 
fusion of the arms of England with those of 
Scotland is quite simple. His visit took place 
during the reign of David Bruce, who married 
an English princess, and he probably saw her 
arms on a flag in Scotland and assumed it to 
be the device of the reigning monarch. 

ENGLAND CONTAINED "ELEVEN GREAT CITIES" 

"I departed from the land of Escocia and 
came to the Kingdom of Inglaterra (England). 
Know that it is a very well populated country 
and that it contains eleven great^ cities. The 
largest, where they crown their king, is called 
Londres (London). The king of those lands 
has for his arms, on a flag quarterly, m two 
quarters, fleurs de lvs, gold on a field azure, be- 
cause the king is of the house of France, and 
in the other two quarters, in each one, on a field 
gules (red), three ounces gold" (1042). 



The "ounces" which the friar depicts in his 
device for the English king, it will be ob- 
served, are almost identical with the "long 
lions" which he erroneously credited to Scot- 
land (1041). 

"I left Inglaterra in a boat and reached the 
island of Irlanda (Ireland), which is a short 
crossing of a mile (!). They say that for- 
merly it was called Ibernia. In this island 
there is a great lake, and they say that the 
lake brings good fortune, because many en- 
chantments were made on its bank in ancient 
times. The king of this island has the same 
arms as the King of Inglaterra (1042). 

"Being in Irlanda, I sailed in a ship bound 
for Spain, and went with those on that ship on 
the high sea for so long that we arrived at the 
island of Eterns (Faroe Islands), and another 
called Artania (Orkneys), and another called 
Citilant (Shetland Islands), and another called 
Ibernia (Iceland). All these islands are in a 
part where the sun (never?) sets in the month 
of June and they are all peopled. In Ibernia 
there are trees and the fruit that they bear are 
very fat birds. These birds are very good eat- 
ing, whether boiled or roasted. The men in 
this island are very long lived, some living 200 
years. They are born and brought up in a way 
which makes them unable to die in the islands, 
so that when they become very weak they are 
taken away and die presently. 

"In this island there are no snakes nor 
vipers, nor toads, nor flies, nor spiders, nor 
any other venomous things, and the women 
are very beautiful, though very simple. It is 
a land where there is not as much bread as 
you may want, but a great abundance of meat 
and milk. The king of this island has for his 
device the same flag as the King of Noruega 
(1040). 

"After this I departed from the island of 
Ibernia in a ship, and voyaged so far over the 
western sea that we sighted Cape Finisterre 
and arrived at Pontevedra, in the province of 
Galicia (Spain). Thence I went to a town in 
the Kingdom of Castile, as I mentioned be- 
fore, which they call Tarifa. It was founded 
by a very powerful Arab named Tarif. Near 
this town Albuacen, king of all the land of 
the west, was defeated and conquered by the 
very noble king, Don Alfonso of Castile, who 
pillaged all his tents and took his treasures, 
his women, and his horses." (This was the 
battle of Salado, in which the King of Castile, 
Alfonso XI, defeated Abu-1-hasan Ali, King 
of Morocco, on October 28, 1340.) 

"I departed from Tarifa and went to the 
city of Aljezira (Algeciras), where is the rock 
of Gibraltar, being places in the dominions of 
the King of Castile. 

"I went to Malaga, a very luxurious city of 
the Kingdom of Granada. In this kingdom 
there are three cities. The grandest, where 
they crown the kings, is Granada. This king- 
dom is bounded by the Mediterranean and the 
Kingdom of Castile. The device of this king 
is a red flag with Arabic letters of gold, such 
as Mahomad, their prophet, bore" (1043). 

The friar made an altogether excusable er- 
ror in copying the Arabic inscription, which 
should read, "No conqueror but God." 

"I departed from the Kingdom of Granada 



.300 



and went to the Kingdom of Aragon, a very 
rich and well supplied kingdom. I found five 
great cities in it. The chief one, where the 
kings are crowned, is Zaragosa (Saragossa). 
It is bounded by Navarre, Castile, France, and 
the Pyrenees. The king has for his device 
nine pales gules and or" (1044). (Nine strokes 
red and gold.) 

There is a picturesque legend concerning 
the adoption of this device. Far back in his- 
tory an heiress of Aragon married the Count 
of Barcelona, and the gold shield of the latter 
was adopted by the kingdom. After a battle, 
however, Raymond Berenger, Count of Barce- 
lona, wiped his bloody fingers down the shield 
and thereafter it became "or with five pales 
gules" — gold with five red strokes. 

"I left Barcelona and went along the coast 
to the country of Ampuria, and thence to the 
city of Narbona (Narbonne), which is by the 
shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The lord of 
it has a white flag with a red cross like that of 
Tolosa (1029), and in each quarter a sign like 
this (1045), for this city belonged to Ray- 
mondo Conde de Tolosa. . . . 

"I ascended the mountains and down to 
Genoua (Genoa), a very rich city on the shores 
of the Mediterranean Sea. The lord of it has 
for his device a white flag with a red cross, and 
with the word 'Justicia' " (1046). 

It was about the time of the Franciscan's 
visit that Genoa elected its first doge, Simone 
Boccanera, 15 years after whose death, in 1363, 
the republic city engaged in one of its many 
disastrous wars with Venice, during which the 
Genoese galleys reached the very threshold of 
their rival in the Adriatic and could have dic- 
tated a most advantageous peace had they not 
boasted that they would "bit and bridle the 
horses of Saint Mark." 

"I departed from Genoua and entered Lom- 
bard}', where there are many great and rich 
cities. I left Lombardy and came to Pisa, a 
land very fertile with a temperate climate. It 
has a flag gules (red)" (1047). 

Pisa had reached the zenith of its power 
during the century preceding the friar's visit. 
Its red flag had been banished from Corsica 
by the Genoese in 1300, and 23 years later the 
kings of Aragon supplanted it with their own 
over Sardinia. 

"Leaving Pisa, I came to Tuscany, in which 
there is a city called Florence. The lord of it 
has for his device a white flag with a red cross. 
I went from Tuscany to the noble city of 
Rome, which is the head of the empire of the 
Romans. The devices of Rome are a red flag 
with a gold bar, on which are letters" (1048). 
(S. P. Q. R. — Senatus Populusque Romanus — 
the Roman Senate and People.) 

TRANSPLANTED LILIES OF FRANCE 

"I left Rome and arrived at Naples, a very 
luxurious, well supplied, and pleasant land, in 
which are the provinces of Pulla (Apulia) and 
Calabria. There are many rich cities. The 
King of Naples has for his device a purple flag 
with gold fleurs de lys, for he is of the house 
of France. Above is a red slip which they call 
a label (1049). 

"I departed from Naples and went over to 
the island of Sicily, a short passage. It is very 
luxurious and well supplied. There are in it 



eight large cities. This Sicily has a flag parted 
per saltire (the field divided into four parts by 
two lines), two quarters argent (silver or 
white), with eagles sable, the other two bars 
gules and or, for the king is of the House of 
Aragon (1050). . . . 

"I went to the city of Venecia, which is at 
the head of the gulf on the sea. The lord of 
this Venice has for 'his flag — argent, a winged 
lion gules like the lion of St. Mark" (1051). 

The friar omits the words "Pax tibi, Marce, 
Evangelista meus" ("Peace be with thee, Mar- 
cus, my evangelist"), which are supposed to be 
inscribed on the open book or scroll held by 
the lion. 

"I departed from Venecia in the same galley 
and coasted along the side of Esclavonia 
(Croatia-Slavonia), passing by a city called 
Aquylea (Aquilea), and another called Triesa 
(Trieste). The king of this Esclavonia has 
for his device a yellow flag in halves; the red 
half near the hoist has a white star and the 
other half is yellow (1052). 

"In the Kingdom of Esclavonia there is a 
very high mountain called Boxina (Bosnia), 
where four rivers rise. All these rivers enter 
the Kingdom of Ungria (Hungary) and unite 
with the great river Danube, which rises in the 
Alps of Germany. Now this land of Boxina 
(Bosnia) marches with Germany and Ungria, 
and the mountains are in its center, and they 
are mountains well peopled, with a well sup- 
plied land ; but they are not Catholic Chris- 
tians, and the king of these mountains has the 
same arms as those of the King of Esclavonia 
(i°53>- 

"I departed from Boxina and went along the 

coast to the city of Jara (Zara), thence to 

Sinbochon (Sebenico in Dalmatia), and thence 

to Narent (in Dalmatia, at the mouth of the 

Narenta) (1054). 

"With this Narent there marches a city 
called Dulcecno (Dulcigno), which, with the 
adjacent mountainous country, is very pleasant 
and well supplied. In these mountains two 
very great rivers rise — one called Dranoya (the 
Drave), the other Pirus (Epirus or Drina) — 
which flow into the Kingdom of Ungria, fall- 
ing into the great river Danube and forming 
in Ungria ten islands. They call the first 
Ungria La Mayor, whence the Kingdom of 
Ungria took its name. 

"Know that in this Ungria there are many 
rich cities. The Kingdom of Ungria (Hun- 
gary) marches with Greece and Germany, 
Esclavonia, Bolonia (Bologna), and Burgaria 
(Bulgaria). The flag of this kingdom is part- 
ed per fess (that is, in two equal parts), upper 
half with fleurs de lys of France, because the 
king is of the House of France (Louis I of 
Hungary, 1342-1382, came, in the male line, 
from Charles of Anjou, brother of St. Louis), 
the lower half bars gules and argent (1055). 

"I departed from the Kingdom of Hungary 
and went along the coast to a city called 
Durazo (Durazzo). There I took ship and 
proceeded to the island of the Morea (the 
Peloponnesus, the peninsula portion of the 
mainland of Greece). In it there are seven 
great cities (1056 and 1057). 

"I left the island of the Morea and went to 
the island of Rodas (Rhodes). This island 
belongs to the order of St. John" (1058). 



391 



The Knights of the Order of the Hospital 
of St. John of Jerusalem, afterward known as 
the Knights of Rhodes and the Sovereign Or- 
der of the Knights of Malta, came into exist- 
ence in Jerusalem during the First Crusade. 
After its expulsion from the Holy Land at the 
fall of the Latin Kingdom, the order was estab- 
lished in Rhodes in 1309, where it was holding 
sway at the time of the friar's visit and where 
it remained until 1522. 

"I left the island of Rhodes and went to the 
island of Candia (Crete), and thence to an- 
other island they call Negropont (Eubcea), 
which the Venetians conquered. I left the en- 
trance to the greater sea and Constantinople, 
which I will describe further on, to my left, 
and went to the city they call Satalia (Adalia), 
of Greek Christians. This Satalia is part of 
the province of Naturi (Anatolia). The King 
of this Satalia has for his device a flag with 
bars wavy argent and purpure and over all the 
sign of Solomon's seal" (1059). 

Adalia, known in ancient times as Attalia, 
played a conspicuous part in the history of the 
eastern Mediterranean during the Middle Ages. 
It was from this port that Louis VII sailed 
for Syria in 1148, and it was the assembling 
point for Richard Cceur de Lion's descent upon 
Cyprus during the Third Crusade. 

THE RICH LAND OF TURKEY 

"The city of Satalia and others as far as the 
lesser Armenia are all in the province of 
Turquia (Turkey), which was called, in an- 
cient times, Asia Minor. In it there are many 
lordships and provinces which it would be hard 
to enumerate, for this Turquia extends to the 
greater sea, and be it known that it is a very 
rich land, well supplied with all goods. The 
king of this province has this flag for his de- 
vice (1060). 

"I went along the coast of this Turquia to a 
city called Corincho (Kongos). The king of 
this land has a black flag with five white 
crosses (1061). 

"I departed from Corincho and went to the 
city they call Feradelfia, or Feradelfin (Phila- 
delphia), which marches on that of Troy, 
which in ancient times King Menelaus of 
Greece destroyed. Troy was the head of all 
that Asia Minor which they now call Turquia, 
and its device is a flag half white, with a red 
cross, the other half yellow, with a red square 
(1063). 

"In this Turquia there is another province 
they call Cunio (Iconium, modern Konia), in 
which there is a rich city called Cunyo, with 
much territory, and the king has a flag with 
bars wavy argent and gules" (1064) (silver 
and red). 

Following its conquest by the Seljuk Turks 
in the eleventh century, Konia became one 
of the most brilliant cities of the medieval 
world. Many splendid mosques, palaces, and 
tombs adorned the place, which was sur- 
rounded by a wall two miles in circumference. 
Beyond the city proper spread the gardens and 
villas of a numerous suburban population. 
From the splendor of the city sprang the 
Turkish proverb, "See all the world, but see 
Konia." 



"There is also another province called Sau- 
asto (Sebastia, or Siwas), anciently Sausco, 
from a city of that name which was the head 
of all the cities. This city of Sauasco was the, 
ancient Samaria, though now it is Sauasco, 
head of the kingdom, with a white flag having 
five red crosses (1064). 

In the time of the Franciscan Siwas, known 
in ancient times as Megalopolis-Sebastia, was 
enjoying its second period of prosperity, hav- 
ing been rebuilt by the great Sultan Ala-ed- 
din Kaikobad I. Fifty years after the friar 
wrote his "Knowledge of the World," Siwas' 
flag was trampled in the dust by the impla- 
cably cruel Tamerlane, who buried alive 4,000 
of its inhabitants. 

"I entered Armenia the Less, which is all 
surrounded by very high mountains, and within 
the mountains there is a plain country in which 
there are 360 towns and villages and castles." 

This reference should not be confused with 
the Armenia of today. The Franciscan is re- 
ferring to a small principality founded in 1080, 
which gradually grew until it became the in- 
dependent kingdom of Lesser Armenia. It 
was a Christian State set in the midst of Mos- 
lem principalities and gave valuable assistance 
to the Crusaders, although it was hostile to 
the Byzantine rulers. It had a tempestuous 
existence extending over a period of about 
three centuries. 

"On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, in 
the place where it ends, you must know that 
anciently this Armenia was called the island of 
Colcos ; for in this Armenia an arm of the sea 
enters in which there is a small island called 
Porto Bonel (in the Gulf of Alexandretta, or 
Iskanderun), and here was the temple to the 
enchanted golden sheep which bewitched Jason 
the Greek. 

"After this Armenia is the island of Chipre 
(Cyprus), and in this Chipre there are four 
great cities. The King of Chipre has for his 
design a flag parted per pale argent five crosses 
gules and purpure (purple), two fleurs de lys 
palewise, because he is of the House of France" 
(Armenia the Less, 1065, and Cyprus, 1066). 

At the- close of the twelfth century the 
reigning prince of Cyprus provoked the wrath 
of Richard Cceur de Lion by ill-treating the 
Crusaders. The English monarch thereupon 
captured the island and sold it to the Knights 
Templar, who in turn sold it to the French 
crusader, Guy de Lusignan, titular King of 
Jerusalem. It was Hugh IV, one of the ablest 
of the Lusignan dynasty, who was governing 
Cyprus at the time of the friar's visit. This 
was the sovereign to whom Boccaccio dedi- 
cated one of his works and who brought about 
an alliance with the Pope, with Venice, and 
the Hospitallers, which resulted in the capture 
of Smyrna, in 1344. 

After visiting many of the cities of Syria 
and Palestine, including Jaffa, Acre, Caesarea, 
and Ascalon, the friar says of Jerusalem: 

"Know that in this Suria (Syria) is the city 
of Iherusalem, which was sanctified by the holy 
temple of Salamon (Solomon), built there, and 
was consecrated by the blood of Ihesu Christo. 
This land was anciently called Cananea after 
Canaan, son of Noe (Noah). Afterward it had 
the name of Judea after Juda, son of Jaco 



392 



(Jacob). Know that this province was taken 
by the French when they made the conquests 
beyond seas. The device of this province is a 
white flag with red crosses, like this" (1067). 

Sir Clements Markham, vice-president of 
the Hakluyt Society and translator of the 
Franciscan's Book of Knowledge, notes that 
there was no authority for these five crosses 
gules in the arms of Jerusalem. The correct 
arms were metal on metal; argent a cross po- 
tent or (gold) between four lesser crosses or. 

"Suria marches with the land of Jafet 
(Japhet), and this Jafet borders the very rich 
city of Damasco (Damascus), well supplied 
with all things. Near this Damasco flows the 
river Eufrates. The king has a yellow flag 
with a white moon (1068). 

"Egipto (Egypt) borders on Suria. I came 
along the coast to a port called La Risa (the 
Port of Risa). And I took the road to the 
west and came to Damiata (Damietta), a noble 
city surrounded by the river Nilus (Nile). 
Know that here the King of France was de- 
feated and a prisoner when he went to make 
conquest beyond sea (Louis IX, defeated at 
Massura, near Damietta, in 1250). On the 
banks of this river Nilus is situated the great 
city Alcaira (Cairo), where the kings of 
Egipto are crowned. The device of this king- 
dom is a white flag with a blue moon (1069). 

THE HIDING PLACE OF THE ROSETTA STONE 

"I left Alcaira and went to the coast where 
is the city of Alexandria, which is noble and 
rich. From this Alexandria to the isle of 
Roxeta the distance is ten leagues, all peopled 
with villages. (Rosetta is the Egyptian town 
made famous for all time by the discovery 
near here of the "Rosetta Stone" in 1799, the 
inscribed block of basaltic rock which unlocked 
the secrets of hieroglyphic writing.) The king 
of this Alexandria has for his device a yellow 
flag and in the middle a black wheel in which 
is a gray lion (1070). 

"I departed from Alexandria and went by 
the coast to a city called Luchon (Lucha), 
where the king has a yellow flag with a white 
moon (1071). 

"Leaving Luchon I came to Mon de Barcas 
(Barca) and Bona Andrea (Apolonia), which 
is in Berberia (Barbary), and thence to Tolo- 
meta (Ptolemais), on the seashore. The king 
has for a device a white flag with a yellow 
sash on a lance (1072). 

"From Tolometa I came to Puerto Magro 
(the mouth of the river Magra, ancient Cyni- 
phus), and thence to Tripul (Tripoli), of Ber- 
beria. It is called Tripul because it is bounded 
by the Triplicana Mountains. This Tripul is 
a rich city and the king of it has for his de- 
vice a white flag with a green palm tree and 
two red keys (1073 and 1074). 

"I went from Tripul to Rahasa (Ras Maja- 
bes), Capiz (Gabes), and Faquiz (Alfaques), 
and thence to Africa (Mahdia, in Tunisia), a 
rich city. Know that 26 miles from this Africa 
is a great tower called Ligem, and from this 
tower to Alcairahuan (Kairowan) there are 40 
miles. At this Alcairahuan the king of all 
Africa toward the west, named Albohacem 
. ( Abu-1-hasan Ali), was defeated and all his 
tents were pillaged. The King of Africa has 



for his device a white flag with a purple moon" 
(1075). 

The Franciscan's mention of the battle be- 
tween Abu-1-hasan Ali and Ahmed, near Kairo- 
wan, which occurred in 1348, is of special in- 
terest, as it is the latest date mentioned by the 
chronicler. The friar probably did not visit 
Kairowan, for with the exception of Mecca 
and Medina it is the most sacred of cities in 
the eyes of Mohammedans, and up to the time 
of the French occupation, in 1881, no Christian 
was permitted to pass through its gates with- 
out a special permit from the bey.) 

"I went thence to Cucia (Susa, in Tunisia, 
built on the site of the Roman Hadrumetum), 
and thence to Tunez (Tunis), which is a great 
and rich city, well supplied with all things, and 
is the head of all Berberia (Barbary). The 
flag of the king is white with a black moon 
(1076). 

"I went to Bona (old name, Hippo), where 
St. Augustine was bishop. It is a rich city. 
The king of it has a white flag with a black 
moon (like Tunis — 1076). I departed from 
Bona and went to the city of Constantina 
(Constantine), which is all surrounded by a 
river. The king has a flag parted per fess 
white and yellow (1078). 

"I left Constantina and arrived at Bugia 
("Bougie). It is a very strong and ancient city. 
The king has for his device a red flag with a 
yellow cross-bow" (1080). 

AN EARLY SIGNALING DEVICE 

Long before the Franciscan's visit to Bou- 
gie it had become the greatest commercial 
center on the North African coast and had 
attained a high degree of civilization. There 
is evidence that the heliograph was used here 
for signaling from special towers as early as 
the middle of the eleventh century. During 
the century following the visit of the friar it 
became the stronghold of the Barbary pirates. 

"I went from Bugia to Arguer (Algiers), 
thence to Brischan (Bresia), a city on the sea- 
coast. The king of it has a white flag with a 
sign like this (1082). 

"I departed from Brischan and went to the 
island of Mayorcas (Majorca), in which there 
is a noble, rich, and well supplied city. The 
king has for his device a flag with bars vert 
(green) and sable" (1077). 

The colors which the Franciscan ascribes 
to the Kingdom of Majorca constitute internal 
proof that he visited the country prior to 1375, 
for in that year the island was. annexed by the 
King of Aragon and its flag, of course, as- 
sumed a red-and-gold hue (see 1044). 

"I entered Numedia as far as the river of 
Muluya until I arrived at the strong city of 
Cepta (Ceuta). Know that Cepta is opposite 
to Algezira (Algeciras) and Gibraltar, places 
of the King of Spain. The gulf of the sea, 
called the strait of Azocaque (Strait of Gibral- 
tar), passes between Cepta and Gibraltar. The 
king of this city has for his design a red flag 
with two white keys (1079.) 

"I departed from Cepta and went to the 
noble city of Fez, where the kings of the Bena 
Marin (kings of the lineage of Befli Merin) 
always reside. At Fez their kings are crowned 



392 



and reside and they have a flag all white 
(1081). 

"Thence I went to Nife (Anafi?) and Aza- 
mor. Know that in this province is the very 
noble city of Marruecos, which used to be 
called Cartagu the Great (Carthage, a mistake 
in which the traveler confuses Morocco with 
Tunis). A consul of Rome named Scipio 
Africanus conquered it in the time of the sov- 
ereignty of the Romans. Afterwards the Goths, 
who were the lords of Spain, were the sover- 
eigns here. The King of Marruecos has for 
his device a red flag with a chess-board black 
and white (1083). 

"I climbed the mountains of Cucia La-Alta 
(western Atlas), which is a country well sup- 
plied with everything. These mountains are 
very high and it is a most dangerous land, for 
there are not more than two very perilous 
passes. The king has 'for his device a flag — 
white with a black lion" (1084). 

The friar's next objectives were various 
points along the West African coast as far as 
the Senegal River, traveling always in a "pan- 
filo" — a galley used in the Mediterranean dur- 
ing the Middle Ages, equipped with two masts 
for sails and one row of oars. He next visited 
many of the islands in the Canary and Madeira 
groups. Returning to the mainland, he joined 
a party of Moors who were crossing the Sa- 
hara with gold for the King of Guinea. He 
continues : 

"We came to some very great and high 
mountains in the middle of the Zahara (Sa- 
hara), and afterward we traveled a very great 
distance over the desert until we came to an- 
other mountain (oasis?) called Infurent (Ze- 
fran). Here I parted from these Moors and 
joined some others. I then went to Sulgu- 
menca (the ancient town of Segelmessa, now 
Tafilet), a rich city in the Zahara, near a river 
which comes from the clear mountains. The 
king of it has for his device a white flag with 
the root of a green palm tree, in this manner 
(1085). 

"I went with some Moors over the Zahara 
until we arrived at Tocoron (Tamagrut, on 
the river Dra), which is a city among some 
mountains. The inhabitants are negroes, and 
the King of Tocoron has for his device a white 
flag with a black mountain in the middle, like 
that of the King of Guynoa (Guinea) (1086). 

"Thence I went to Tibalbert (Tibelbelt, south 
of the Atlas), a city on some very high moun- 
tains ; thence to another mountain, which is 
under the King of Guynoa (Guinea), and 
thence to Buda, a well-supplied city, also on 
the top of a mountain. Know that the city 
was peopled by a king of Tremecen ; for he 
was bad and did evil things and the people 
wanted to kill him. So he fled, with his treas- 
ure, to this place and founded this city of 
Buda (an oasis south of Atlas). Its flag is 
white with a red moon (1087). 

"Afterwards I departed from Buda and went 
by the Zahara to another mountain called Ga- 
nahe (Ghana), in which there is a rich, well- 
supplied city of the same name. It is the head 
of the kingdom, where they crown the kings. 
And the King of Guynoa (Guinea) has a gold 
flag with a black mountain in the middle 
(1088). 



GOLD-MINING ANTS AS BIG AS CATS 

"Of Guynoa there is much to say. It con- 
tains seven mountains well peopled and land 
yielding abundantly as long as there are moun- 
tains ; elsewhere it is all Zahara. Two ranges 
of mountains extend to the Rio Del Oro 
(Senegal River), and there they collect the 
ivory teeth and the gold in the ant-hills which 
the ants make on the river banks. The ants are 
as big as cats and dig out much earth. This 
kingdom marches with the Kingdom of Or- 
gana (a kingdom on the upper Senegal), in 
which also there is much desert. Organa is 
the head of the kingdom, where the king is 
crowned. The King of Organa has for his 
device a white flag with a green palm tree and 
two keys (1089). 

"I traveled for a very long distance on 
camels, until I arrived at the kingdom they 
call Tremecen (Tremizen, or Telensin, which 
extended along the Barbary coast between Me- 
lilla and the present seaport of Bougie), which 
borders on the river Nilus (Nile). They live 
always at war with the Christians of Nubia 
and Etiopia (Ethiopia). There are in this 
kingdom five large places inhabited by negroes. 
Know that these inhabitants of this kingdom 
of Tremecen peopled it from Berberia (Bar- 
bary). The king has for his device a purple 
flag with a white moon (1090). 

"Thence I went to another kingdom called 
Dongola (west of Nubia), marching with the 
deserts of Egipto (Egypt) and the river Nilus. 
It is a country well peopled with Christians 
from Nubia, but they are negroes. It is a rich 
land and very well supplied and with many 
fruit trees. The land has a very hot climate. 
The King of Dongola has for his device a 
white flag with a cross like this" (1091). 

After revisiting Cairo in company with some 
Genoese merchants whom he met in Dongola, 
the Franciscan journeyed to Damieta (Dami- 
etta), where he embarked for Ceuta. He dis- 
embarked and journeyed through Morocco, 
crossed the Atlas Mountains, where he met 
some Moorish traders and embarked with them 
on a galley for another cruise down the west 
shore of Africa. After leaving the mouth of 
the Senegal River "we went on for a very long 
distance," continues the friar, "always keeping 
in sight of the coast, leaving behind us the 
Islas Perdidas (the Atlantic Islands), and 
came to an island inhabited by many people. 

"They call this island Gropis (Galpis, of the 
Bissagos group, off the coast of Portuguese 
Guinea). It is a well-supplied island, but the 
people are idolaters. They took us all before 
their king, and wondered much at us and our 
language and customs. The merchants who 
armed the galley made much profit. The 
king's device is a white flag with the figure of 
his idol" (1092 and 1093). 

The Franciscan now left the Moors and 
journeyed to towns in the Soudan and Sene- 
gambia. He marvels at the gold, the amber- 
gris, and the ivory which come from this torrid 
region, and declares that the Mountains of the 
Moon, also called the Mountains of Gold, are 
supposed to be the highest in the world, and 
that the five largest rivers in the world have 
their sources in these lofty regions. He gives 



304 



no picture of the flag of this kingdom, which 
he calls Gotonie, and designates as "one of the 
largest in the world," but describes the device 
as "some yellow sashes on a spear." His nar- 
rative continues : 

"I departed from this Kingdom of Gotonie 
(Soudan and Senegambia) and arrived at a 
gulf connected with the sea, and in the gulf 
there are three islands. I crossed this gulf 
until I came to a great city called Amenuan 
(Miniana and Amina, regions north of the 
Kong Mountains). It is a very great and 
populous kingdom, with a land supplying all 
that is good, but the people are heathens and 
believe in idols. The kingdom contains eight 
great cities, one of which is Amenuan, in which 
the king always resides and is crowned. The 
king has a white flag with an idol (1094). 

"In this Kingdom of Emenuan there enters 
a branch of the river Eufrates (Niger — the 
friar does not confuse this with the Mesopo- 
tamian Euphrates, but assumes two rivers with 
the same name). This river forms three 
branches, one entering the middle of the King- 
dom of Amenuan and the other branches flow- 
ing round the whole kingdom, the width in 
some places being two days' journey. When I 
crossed this great river I first made a long 
journey along its banks, which are very popu- 
lous (referring evidently to the river Benue, 
a tributary of the Niger). 

A MYTHICAL MONARCH 

"I came to a great city called Graciona, 
which is the head of the Empire of Ardeselib, 
a word meaning 'Servant of the Cross.' The 
Ardeselib is defender of the Church of Nubia 
and Ethiopia, and he defends Preste Juan 
(Prester John), who is Patriarch of Nubia and 
Abyssinia." 

Prester John, to whom the Franciscan re- 
fers, was a mythical Christian potentate, whose 
name appears many times in the chronicles of 
the Middle Ages, and he is endowed with many 
attributes of greatness, wisdom, and magic. 
Originally he was supposed to be a monarch 
of Asia, his capital being somewhere in India. 
During the fourteenth century, however, the 
mythical Prester John's domain w.as trans- 
ferred to Africa, and he then became the Chris- 
tian king of Abyssinia. 

"Preste Juan rules over very great lands and 
many cities of Christians. But they are ne- 
groes as to their skins and burn the sign of 
the cross with fire in recognition of baptism. 
But although these men are negroes they are 
still men of intelligence, with good brains, and 
they have understanding and knowledge. Their 
land is well supplied with all good things, and 
excellent water of that which comes from the 
Antarctic Pole, where, it is said, is the earthly 
paradise. They told me that the Genoese 
whose galley was wrecked at Amenuan and 
who were saved were brought here. It was 
never known what became of the other galley 
which escaped. The Emperor of Abdeselib 
has for his device a white flag with a black 
cross like this" (1095). 

The friar's reference to the Genoese galley 
relates to the voyage of Vadino and Guido de 
Vivaldo, navigators who set sail in 1821 in an 
attempt to reach India. One of them reached 



a city in Ethiopia called Menam, where the 
crew was imprisoned and none ever returned. 

"I departed from Graciona and traveled over 
many lands and through many cities, arriving 
at the city of Malsa (Melee, or Melli?), where 
the Preste Johan (Prester John) always re- 
sides. 

"This is a well-peopled and well-supplied 
land. From the time I came to Malsa I heard 
and saw marvelous things every day. I in- 
quired what the terrestrial paradise was like, 
and wise men told me that it consisted of 
mountains so high that they came near to the 
circuit of the moon. No man has been able to 
see it all, for of twenty men who went not 
more than three ever saw it, and that they had 
never heard tell of any man who had ascended 
the mountains. 

"They further told me that these mountains 
were surrounded by very deep seas, and that 
from the water of those seas come four rivers 
which are the largest in the world." 

Perhaps this is a vague reference, based on 
hearsay, to those noble lakes which constitute 
the reservoirs of the Nile and Congo basins — 
Albert Edward, Tanganyika, Nyassa, and Vic- 
toria Nyanza. It was not until centuries later 
that these lakes were definitely located. In 
fact, Victoria Nyanza, which, next to Lake Su- 
perior, is the largest fresh-water lake in the 
world, was not discovered until 1858, by J. H. 
Speke, while seeking the source of the Nile. 

"The waters which descend by these rivers 
make so great a noise that it can be heard at a 
distance of two days' journey. All the men 
who live near it are deaf and cannot hear each 
other, owing to the great noise of the waters. 

"In all time the sun in those mountains is 
there day and night, either on one side or the 
other. This is because half those mountains 
are over the horizon and the other half are 
over the horizon, so that on the top of the 
mountains it is never either cold nor dark, nor 
hot nor dry, nor moist, but an equable tem- 
perature. All things, whether animal or veg- 
etable, can never decay nor die. 

"They told me many other secrets of the 
stars both as regards judgments and magical 
virtues ; also concerning herbs, plants, and 
minerals, and I saw several marvelous things. 
The Greeks call this place Ortodoxis, and the 
Jews Ganheden, and the Latins Paraiso Ter- 
renal, because there is always a good tempera- 
ture. The device of Preste Johan is a white 
flag with a black cross (1096). I departed 
from Malsa and took an eastern route." 

The Franciscan was the first writer to locate 
the mysterious Prester John in Abyssinia. 

"I went for a very long distance, meeting 
with people of many beliefs and with strange 
manners and customs which it would take long 
. to describe, until I came to a gulf of the Sea 
of India which enters into the land fifty days' 
journey. In this gulf there are three very 
large islands, called Zanzibar (probably an 
error of the copyist for Acibar), Alcubil (Ku- 
ria Muria), and Aden (peninsula), which is 
the largest and the most populous. It lies 
against Arabia, and here the Red Sea begins, 
and penetrates the land westward forty days' 
journev. On its shores are many cities, towns, 
and villages. 



395 



A RED RED SEA 

"When the ships come from India they ar- 
rive at Aden and pay a tithe of their merchan- 
dise, because between the island Aden and the 
point of Aden there is a rich city. Then there 
is a very narrow place to pass, and a ship then 
enters the Red Sea and discharges its cargo at 
a city they call Sacam (Suakin), belonging to 
the King of Caldea. 

"This Red Sea is so called because the bot- 
tom consists of red ochre which makes the 
water red. By this sea the Jews passed when 
they went forth from the Egyptian captivity 
of Faraon the King (Pharaoh). Presently I 
entered Caldea, which is all surrounded by two 
very great rivers, rising in the mountains of 
Toro (Taurus). One is called Cur (a mistake 
for Tigris) and the other called Eufrates, but 
not the one of Nubia. Both these rivers reach 
the Indian Sea in the gulf they call the Black 
Sea (Persian Gulf). This Caldea is a rich, 
populous, and well-supplied land. 

"Know that in this province is the Tower of 
Babel, which the giants built in the center of a 
great plain, the Agra de Senabar (Shinar), 
and here was the great city of Bauilonia (Baby- 
lon), which is now destroyed, of which the 
lord was Nabucodonusor (Nebuchadnezzar). 

"I crossed an arm of the Eufrates and en- 
tered the province of Baldaque (Bagdad), in 
which there is a great city which they call 
Bandacho (Bagdad), and Nabucodonusor 
(Nebuchadnezzar) was king of these prov- 
inces. I departed from Bandacho and went to 
Mesopotamia. I left Mesopotamia and went 
to a city where the river Cur (Tigris) forms 
a great island called Ansera, in which island 
there is a great city. Beyond this river is the 
site of the city of Niniue (Nineveh), which 
was destroyed for its sins. Know that this re- 
gion contains very extensive lands, many cities 
and villages, and is all encircled by the two 
great rivers called Eufrates and Cur (Tigris). 
From the borders of the Red Sea to the shores 
of the Persian Gulf as far as Aquysio (Kishm) 
we cannot give different devices because Cal- 
dea and Baldaque are all in one lordship and 
it is all one region. 

"I crossed the river Cur (Tigris) and made 
a very long journey until I came to Arabia, 
traversing a great extent of land and arriving 
at the city of Al Medina (Medina), where 
Mahomat was born. Thence I went to Me- 
dian (Mecca), where is the law and testament 
of Mahomat in an iron chest and in a house 
of calamita stone. For this reasonit is in the 
air, neither ascending nor descending. Know 
that this Mechan is the head of the empire of 
the Arabs. Its device is a red flag and on it 
Arabic letters in gold (1097). 

"I departed from Mecha and traveled over 
the Kingdom of Arabia onwards until I arrived 
at a. very large city they called Fadal (Fartak), 
on the shores of the Sea of India. I remained 
there sometime and then went on board a ship 
and passed a very large and well-peopled 
island called Sicocra (Socotra). There is in 
it a very large citv also called Sicocra, under 
the rule of the King of Arabia. This same 
island the ships touch coming from India laden 



with spices. It has a red flag with Arabic let- 
ters (1098). 

THE WEALTH OF INDIA 

"I then traveled with some merchants for a 
very great distance and arrived at a kingdom 
of Delini (Delhi), belonging to the kings of 
India. It contains extensive lands, very rich 
and populous. The cities I came to were nine. 
Know that in this Kingdom of Lini (Delhi) 
the pepper and ginger and aloe ripen, and many 
other spices, of which there are great harvests, 
which are taken over all the world. They call 
this province India the sandy (Sind and Raj- 
putana), and the color of the people is black. 
They use Turkish bows. They are a wise 
people, with good memories, and learned in all 
kinds of knowledge. The device of the king 
is a white flag with a gold pale (1099). 

"I departed from the Kingdom of Dilini and 
entered that of Viguy (Bijaya-nagar), which 
is on the other coast of the Indian Sea. Be- 
yond this kingdom there is an island in the 
Indian Sea called Sagela (Ceylon), in which 
there is a great and rich city. In this island 
there are workings whence gold, silver, and 
other metals and very large rubies come; 
others smaller. This kingdom marches with 
the Empire of Armalec (Bengal), with the 
Kingdom of Linj and with the Indian Sea. 

"Know that this Indian Sea is a branch 
which joins to the great eastern sea. Some 
say that it covers all the world up to the west- 
ern sea. Wise men say that as far as the Ant- 
arctic Pole there is a great land forming a 
tenth part of the whole earth. The learned 
call this land Trapouana (Sumatra), marching 
with the island of Java and extending to the 
westward along an arm of the great sea which 
surrounds the whole earth and of which the 
Indian Sea is part. 

"Know that in the islands of Java and Tra- 
pouana there are 45 extensive regions, the 
greater part desolate, owing to the great heat 
of the sun. But in the inhabited parts they 
gather much pepper and many other spices. 
Here are the great griffins and the great cock- 
atrices. The king has for his device a white 
flag with a gold wand. 

"Afterwards I departed from the Kingdom 
of Viguy and passed over a gulf of the Indian 
Sea, which they call the Gulf of Bengala (Ben- 
gal), because on its shore is a great city called 
Bengala, of the Empire of Armelec, and it is 
the capUal of the kingdom. I passed thence 
to the Kingdom of Oxanao (Burma?), which 
is on the shore of the Indian Sea. Along the 
shores of Oxanao the sea is green ; it is an arm 
of the Indian Sea between this Oxanap and 
the island of Java. The King of Oxanap has 
for his device a white flag with a pale of gold 
(similar to Delhi — iorjg). 

"I departed from Oxanap, went on board a 
ship with some merchants, and sailed over the 
green sea until we came to the island of Java, 
a very great island in the Indian Sea about 40 
days' journey in length. The island is very 
populous, but there are no cities, because all 
the people live in the country and gather spices, 
pepper, and odoriferous gums. It is a very 
hot land. The people are black and thev adore 



306 



the Emperor of Cathay (China), whose image 
they have on their flags (noo). 

"On leaving Java I returned to Oxanap and 
took the way to the Kingdom of Armalec, whose 
device is a white flag with a pale of gold (simi- 
lar to Delhi — 1099). I departed from the Em- 
pire of Armalec and traveled by land for a 
great distance over a well-peopled country, 
with flocks, but no cities nor towns, because 
all the inhabitants live in the country. 

TO THE END OF THE EARTH 

"At last I arrived in the Empire of Catayo 
(China), where all the cities are on the shores 
of the eastern sea, which joins with the Sea of 
India. This sea of the east is full of reefs 
and islands, and to the eastward there is no 
news of any lands, only waters, as in the west- 
ern sea. 

"Know that Catayo (China) is the end of 
the earth in the line of Spain. This empire is 
irrigated by three great rivers, which rise in 
the Montes Caspios (Himalaya Mountains) 
and are led off into many parts. They call the 
largest of these rivers Magot (Hoang-Ho), 
for it rises near the castle of Magot (the Great 
Wall), which is one of the gates of encircled 
Tartaria (Tartary). They call this emperor 
Gosman Imperator Morroy, and Grand Can, 
Lord of the East. His device is a gold flag 
and in the middle an emperor seated, in white 
cloths, with an imperial crown on his head, in 
one hand a Turkish bow, in the other a golden 
apple (1101). 

"I departed from the Empire of Catayo to- 
ward the north, up the "course of the river 
Magot (Hoang-Ho), and traveled for 65 days. 
I did not find town nor city. The land is en- 
tirely inhabited by tribes with flocks. It is all 
a plain country and has no stones nor trees 
nor people who eat bread, but only meat and 
milk. Thence I reached the Montes Caspios 
(Himalayas) of Magot. 

"Know that these mountains are of immeas- 
urably height and surround Tartaria from sea 
to sea, and there is only one very narrow pass. 
Here there is a castle built of magnet iron 
throughout, for nature made it in this manner 
and it reaches to the clouds. At its foot rises 
the river Magot. On the other side there is 
another castle which is as high and built of the 
same stone, called Got (Gog and Magog, men- 
tioned in Ezekiel xxxviii). The castles are 
very high on the top, so that ten thousand men 
can reside in each of them. Between the two 
are the Iron Gates which shut the entrance to 
Tartaria. 

"Within this Tartaria there are countless 
tribes who do not observe any of the com- 
mandments of God, except that they do no evil 
one to another. They are very confident and 
great fighters, both on foot and on horseback, 
insomuch that Alexander was unable to con- 
quer them or to enter their country by the 
mountains, for they shut and fastened those 
iron gates by placing great rocks against them, 
and they were closed for a long time. Even- 
tually they removed the obstruction, coming 
out and conquering a great part of the world 
themselves. From that lineage came all those 
of the Empire of Catayo. 



"From that lineage also came those of the 
empires of Armalec, Mesopotamia, all the Per- 
sians, those of the Empire of Sara (Caspian), 
as well Turks and Tartars, Saracens and Goths 
Some of them turned to the law of Abraham 
and others turned Moors. The wise men of 
Tartaria say that when 7,000 years of the era 
of Adam are completed they will be lords of 
the whole face of the earth and will make all 
peoples conform to their law and their freedom. 
This enclosed Tartaria forms a fourth part 
of the whole earth. 

"In the Empire of Catayo there is a king- 
dom called Scim (perhaps a kingdom of hear- 
say), which borders on the Kingdom of Sar- 
magant (Samarkand), Bocarin (Bokhara), and 
Trimic (Tibet). The flag of its king is white, 
with a figure of the sun in the center (1102), 

Europe's first account or Tibet 

"The Kingdom of Trimic (Tibet) is all sur- 
rounded by mountains, which give rise to many 
fountains and rivers. Those who are born here 
have very long lives. They are men of clear 
understandings and good memories, learned in 
the sciences and live according to the law 
They say that the men who first heard of sci- 
ence and learning were these, and that the Per- 
sians heard of those things from them. For 
this reason they deserve honour above all other 
men; for others do not equal these in learning 
or science." 

This is the earliest European account of the 
people of Tibet. 

"I departed from Magot, where I had re- 
sided for sometime, and traveled with some 
companions, 25 days' journey to the westward, 
to the city of Bocarin (Bokhara), where the 
king always resides. Here I met with mer- 
chants who came from Catayo and traveled 
with us, 35 days' journey, to another city, called 
Cato, the head of a kingdom with very exten- 
sive territory (probably a region bordering on 
Siberia). But all the people live in the coun- 
try, except the people of one city where the 
king lives. These two kingdoms have for a 
device a yellow flag with many white stars 
(1103). 

"We departed from the Kingdom of Cato 
and traveled a great distance without finding 
town nor city, yet the country was inhabited 
and with many flocks. We came to a moun- 
tain which is a spur from the Montes Caspios 
and extends to the Sea of Sara (Caspian). 
This mountain is 125 days' journey long. 

"We crossed it by a very high pass and again 
traveled a long distance over a country with- 
out cities or towns until we came to a great 
city called Norgancio (Khiva), in the Empire 
of Uxbeco (Shah Usbek, who reigned during 
the first half of the fourteenth century over a 
vast region stretching from the Dnieper to the 
Ural Mountains). The King of the Norgan- 
cio has for his device a white flag with the 
sign of Uxbeco Emperor of Sara (on the Cas- 
pian) red" (1104). 

Journeying westward by way of the Caspian 
Sea, which he crossed in a ship belonging to 
Christians, the friar visited Armenia. His re- 
cital continues : 

' "Then I went to see the mountains of Ar- 
menia the Greater, where the ark of Noe 



397 



(Noah) arrived when it escaped the universal 
deluge. This mountain is of salt stone as white 
as crystal. Know that it is one of the highest 
mountains in the world. No man has been 
able to ascend it, though attempts have been 
made many times. These mountains are in the 
Empire of Persia. All round the country is 
inhabited by Armenian Christians, who are the 
guards of the emperor, and he places much 
trust in them. 

"I departed from Armenia and came to the 
great city of Toris (Tabriz), which is the capi- 
tal of the Empire of the Persians. It is one of 
the grandest cities in the world, well supplied, 
rich, and in a good climate. For this reason 
the Persians are wise and very well versed in 
all the sciences. They have learned men with 
a profound knowledge of the stars. The Em- 
peror of Persia has for his device a yellow 
flag with a red square in the middle (1105). 

"I went over a great part of Persia, going 
thence to the Kingdom of Saldania and its rich 
and noble city (Sultanieh?). Its king has for 
a device a yellow flag with a red square (sim- 
ilar to Persia's — 1105). 

"I departed from Saldania and went with 
some merchants a long distance until I came 
to the city of Ayras (Shiraz), called by the 
Tartars Sarax, where the Empire of Persia 
ends. It is a well supplied city, rich and very- 
ancient. They say that in this city was first 
discovered the astronomy or law of the stars, 
for this city is in the line of the center of 
Persia. The cities I have visited in Persia are 
Casar (Kazan), Serrans, Thesi, Spaor (Ispa- 
han), Jorjaman (Georgia), Spalonero (Raze- 
lain), Saldania (Sultanieh), and Toris (Ta- 
briz). 

"In this last town is where Besnacayt, the 
Emperor of Persia, was crowned. His empire 
extends from the Sea of Sara (Caspian) to 
the Persian Gulf, where is the city of Hor- 
mixio (Ormuz), and from the Mare Mayor 
(Black Sea) to Aquisio, also on the Persian 
Gulf. Its length is 125 days' journey and its 
width from the river Cur to the city of Siras 
(Sari?) 100 days' journey. Benascayt, Em- 
peror of Persia, assembled a very great host 
and went to fight with Uxbeco, Emperor of 
Sara (the Caspian). 

"There arrived more than a million and a 
half of cavalry. Then Benascayt promised 
some Armenian monks, whom he consulted, 
that if he won the battle he would become a 
Christian. The Armenian Christians who came 
with him marched with a cross before them, 
and, God helping, he conquered. Uxbeco was 
defeated and his cavalry pillaged and their 
women captured. The conqueror advanced far 
into the enemy's country. 

"After this I left Persia with some mer- 
chants who came from Catavo (China). 
Thence we traveled for a great distance with- 
out coming to any city, for all the inhabitants 
lived in the country. 

"I came to a city called Tripul of Suria 
(Syria), which is on the shore of the Medi- 
terranean (not the Tripoli of North Africa, 
previously mentioned). There I embarked in 
a ship of Christians and went to Chipre (Cy- 
prus), thence to the Morea, and thence to 
Creta, Negropont (Eubcea), and a kingdom of 



Greeks which they call Salonica, bordering on 
Macedonia, where the great Alexander reigned. 
The King of Salonica has for his device a red 
flag with a yellow cross and four chain links 
(1106). 

GALLIPOU IN AN EARLY CAMPAIGN 

"Thence I went to a city called Galipoli, 
which is on the shore of the gulf between the 
Mediterranean and the greater sea. By this 
way the French passed when they conquered 
Suria. Thence I went along the seacoast to a 
city they call Recrea (Heraclea), and thence to 
the city of Constantinople, a rich city, the cap- 
ital of the empire, where they crown the kings. 
Here there is a church of God called Santa 
Sofia, which is very wide, lofty, and beautiful. 

"Before it there is a tower of stone which 
has not been ascended. On the summit of this 
tower there is placed a knight with his horse 
of metal. It is very large, and he has on his 
head an episcopal cap (probably a nimbus or 
crown). It is in honor of the Emperor Con- 
stantine. His right hand is extended toward 
Turquia, which was formerly called Asia 
Minor, on the other side of this gulf of the 
sea. The Emperor of Constantinople has for 
his device a flag quarterly, first and fourth 
argent a cross gules, second and third gules a 
cross, or (gold) between four chain links or 
(1107 and 1108). 

"I left Constantinople and entered the Mare 
Mayor (Black Sea), proceeding along the 
coast on the left hand to a great city called 
Vecina (Vidin). Here nine rivers unite and 
fall into the Mare Mayor. These nine rivers 
make a great commotion before this city of 
Vecina, which is the capital of the kingdom. 
It has a white flag with four red squares 
(1109). . . . 

"I proceeded along the shores of the eastern 
side of the Mare Mayor (Black Sea) for a 
very long distance and arrived in the Kingdom 
of Sant Estropoli (Sebastopol), which is in- 
habited by Comanes Christians. Here there 
are many people who have Jewish descent, but 
all perform the works of Christians in the sac- 
rifices, more after the Greek than the Latin 
Church. The king has for his flag — gules a 
hand argent (1110). 

"I left Sant Estropoli and ux-nt to Gorgania 
(Georgia), which is between the Mare Mayor 
(Black Sea) and the Mar de Sara (Caspian), 
a very extensive land of the Empire of Uxleto 
(Uzbeg). I then went along the shore to the 
city of Trapesonda (Trebizond), where I re- 
mained for some time. This empire borders 
on Turquia, but the people are Greek Chris- 
tians. The Emperor of Trapesonda has for 
his device a red flag with a golden two-headed 
eagle. 

"I departed from Trapesonda and arrived at 
the Kingdom of Semiso (Samsun), a large 
and populous territory bordering on Turquia 
and the Mare Mayor. The king has for his 
device a white flag with a sign like this (1112). 

"I came to Feradelfia (Philadelphia) and 
found a rich and well supplied city. It is in 
Turquia, anciently called Asia Minor. The 
king has for his device a flag parted per pale, 
argent and azure and on a field argent a cross 
gules (1113)- 



308 



"I departed from the Kingdom of Feradelfia 
and went to another kingdom, called Stologo 
(Hypsili, in Asia Minor), which contains ex- 
tensive territory near the sea. The king has 
for his device a red flag charged with a black 
wheel (1114). 

"I left Stologo, traveling by land with some 
merchants; went across all Turquia and came 
to the city of Sauasco (Siwas?). Leaving that 
place I crossed a river, traveled over Jorgania 
(Georgia) until I arrived at the Sea of Sara, 
at a city called Deruent (Derbent). I went 
along the shores of the Sea of Sara (Caspian). 

"I entered a great province called Roxia 
(Russia), in which there is a city called Xor- 
man(?), the capital of the kingdom (1115 and 
1 1 16). It is bounded by the great lake of 
Tanay, which is three days' journey in length 
and two broad (an imaginary body of water 
in which most medieval geographers believed). 
Thr^e very great rivers flow from it. One of 
these, the Nu (Dwina), bounds a great prov- 
ince called Siccia (Scythia), a very cold coun- 
try. In this Siccia there is a great city, the 
capital of the kingdom, called Nogorado (Nov- 
gorod). The king has for his device a red flag 
with a white castle (1117). 

"I came to Maxar, a kingdom in which there 
are three great cities — Casama (Kazan), Lasac 
(Lechel, in the province of Kazan), and Mons- 
caor (Moscow). This King of Maxar (Oren- 
burg) has for his device a purple flag with 
white stars (1118). 

"From Maxar I went to the Kingdom of 
Siluana, which they call Septen Castra, and the 
Greeks call it Horgiml (Transylvania). It is 
encircled by two great rivers — the Turbo 



(Dniester) and the Lusim (Dnieper). The 
king has for his device a green flag with a red 
scimitar (1119). The people are schismatic 
Christians. 

THE MIDNIGHT SUN 

"Ascending the river Tir (Dniester) toward 
the north, there are two very large provinces 
called Yrcania and Gotia (northern Russia), 
whence the Goths came forth who entered 
Spain. It is called the land of Nogulaus. The 
people are strong and warlike, but their coun- 
try is very cold. This Gotia and Yrcania 
march with the lofty mountains of Trasmon- 
tana (mountains of Norway). 

"In these mountains the north star is seen in 
the middle of the heavens, and throughout the 
year there is daylight for six months and 
night for six months. It is uninhabited, yet 
they say that men are met with whose heads 
come out of their shoulders, having no necks 
whatever. Their beards are on their breasts, 
and their ears reach to the shoulders. There 
are also found in this land very great bears 
and wild beasts, as I have already related. 
These two provinces of Yrcania and Gotia 
were peopled by the Godos, who came from 
the closed Tartaria, from the castle of Got and 
Magot (Gog and Magog), when they deliber- 
ated on the siege of Alexandre and the con- 
quest of the greater part of the world (device 
of Yrcania — 1120). 

"I went to Flanders, and from there to Se- 
ville, the city from which I first started." 

Thus ends the recital of the Francis- 
can's wandering's. 



PENNANTS OF PATRIOTISM 200 YEARS AGO 



(Nos. 1123-1197) 



PROBABLY John Beaumont, an 
English author who lived during 
the last half of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, had never heard of the anonymous 
Franciscan friar who wrote his "Book of 
Knowledge" (see page 388) about the year 
1350; and yet Beaumont has left to pos- 
terity a work on nations and their flags 
which strangely parallels the book of the 
Spanish churchman, save that whereas 
the latter's volume is beautifully hand 
illumined with the colored coats-of-arms 
of the nations of earth in his day, the 
Englishman relies upon somewhat crude 
black and white copper plates, with the 
letters R (red), W (white), Y (yellow), 
etc., chiseled out to indicate the colors. 

The flags reproduced on page 371 of 
this issue of the Geographic have been 
prepared in colors, in large measure 
from the black and white drawings which 
Beaumont included in the third edition of 



his book, published by John Motte in 
London in the year 1 701. The full title 
of the work is : 

"The Present State of the Universe, or 
an Account of the Rise, Birth, Names, 
Matches, Children, and near Allies of all 
the present Chief Princes of the World. 
Their Coats of Arms, Mottos, Devices, 
Liveries, Religions, and Languages. The 
Names of their Chief Towns, with some 
Computation of the Houses and Inhabit- 
ants. Their Chief Seats of Pleasure, and 
other Remarkable things in their Do- 
minions. Their Revenues, Power, and 
Strength. Their respective Styles and 
Titles, or Appellations. Also An Account 
of Common-Wealths, relating to the same 
Heads. The Third edition continu'd and 
enlarg'd, with the Effigies of all the 
Crown'd Heads of Europe; as also the 
various Bearings of their several Ships 
at Sea." 



399 



There are three British ensigns — the white, 
blue, and red. 

To understand the use of the red, the white, 
and the blue ensign in the British navy, it is 
necessary to know the organization of the huge 
fleets of that day. In a fleet there were the 
center, the van, and the rear. 

The admiral of the fleet, with the union flag 
at the mainmast of his flagship, commanded 
the vessels of the "center," and they were re- 
quired to display red ensigns (1123), referred 
to countless times in history as the famous 
"meteor flag of Old England" on account of 
its red field and the red cross of St. George. 
The vice-admiral of the white, with his white 
flag (1121) at the fore of his flagship, com- 
manded the vessels of the van (fore), and they 
displayed the white ensign (1124). The rear- 
admiral of the blue, with his blue flag (1122) 
at the mizzen of his flagship, commanJed the 
vessels of the rear (mizzen), and they wore 
the blue ensign (1125). So that the ensigns 
indicated the squadrons, and the colors and the 
positions (main, fore, and mizzen) of the ad- 
mirals' flags the ranks of the commanding 
admirals. This practice was of long standing, 
and of course came from the English navy, 
there being practically no Scottish navy. This 
is all made clear by examination of the ad- 
mirals' flags, 1 121 and 1122, and the ensigns 
1123, 1124, and 1125 of the year 1705 (two 
years before the union of the crosses of St. 
George and St. Andrew). 

At the time of our Revolution the same flags 
of rank and the same ensigns were in use, but 
with the union flag of England and Scotland 
in their cantons. These ensigns continued to 
have this significance until 1864, when the red 
ensign disappeared from the place of honor in 
the British navy, the white ensign (834) be- 
coming the exclusive ensign of the navy, the 
blue ensign (835) for public vessels (with a 
badge in its fly) and naval reserve vessels, 
and the red ensign (836) became the exclusive 
property of the merchant marine. 

The red flag of defiance (1126) has for cen- 
turies been the symbol of revolution and of 
mutiny. 

Queen Elizabeth chartered the East India 
Company in 1600. Its flag (1129) has peculiar 
interest for America, as some historians de- 
clare that it was the parent banner of our 
Stars and Stripes. Benjamin Franklin is re- 
puted to have urged its adoption at a dinner 
which he and Washington attended on De- 
cember 13, I77S, and at which he is said to have 
declared : "While the field of your flag must 
be new in the details of its design, it need not 
be entirely new in its elements. It is fortunate 
for us that there is already in use a flag with 
which the English Government is familiar, and 
which it has not only recognized but protected. 
I refer to the flag of the East India Company." 

The East India Company's banner at that 
time was slightly different, however, from the 
colors shown here (1129), for in 1707 the union 
between England and Scotland took place and 
the St. George's cross was combined with that 
of St. Andrew. The East India Company flag 
vanished from the seas in 1858, when the 
British Government took over its functions. 

The Guinea Company (also a chartered trad- 



ing organization of England) carried its check- 
ered red and white ensign (1130) up and down 
the West African coast for many years. In 
1663 its vessels brought from Guinea the gold 
from which the first English "guineas" were 
coined. 

The Scottish ensign (1131) and Scottish Un- 
ion flag (1132) recall an interesting bit of con- 
troversy between the subjects of "South Britain 
and North Britain," as the English and Scotch 
were then designated. With the union of the 
two countries under James I, it became neces- 
sary to devise a new flag. A royal ordinance 
of April 12, 1605, recites the following: 

"Whereas some difference hath arisen be- 
tween our subjects of South and North Britain, 
traveling by seas, about the bearing of their 
flags, — for the avoiding of all such contentions 
hereafter, we have, with the advice of our 
council, ordered that from henceforth all our 
subjects of this isle and kingdom of Greater 
Britain, and the members thereof, shall bear 
in their maintop the Red Cross, commonly 
called St. George's Cross (1127), and the White 
Cross, commonly called St. Andrew's Cross 
(831), joined together, according to a form 
made by our heralds, and sent by us to our 
admiral to be published to our said subjects; 
and in their foretop our subjects of South 
Britain shall wear the Red Cross only, as they 
were wont, and our subjects of North Britain 
in their foretop the White Cross only, as they 
were accustomed" (see also 829). 

The Scottish Union flag (1132) carries the 
quarrel a step farther. , The Scottish superim- 
posed the white cross on the English red; the 
English, on their side, superimposed the red 
cross on the white. 

The Irish ensign at the beginning of the 
eighteenth century (1133) bore the cross of 
St. George in the canton and a gold harp on 
a green field, thoroughly appropriate for the 
"Emerald Isle." 

Holland's five flags 

In his "Book of the Universe," Beaumont 
ascribes five flags to Holland at the dawn of 
the eighteenth century (1134, 1135, 1136, 1139, 
1 140). Holland became an independent State 
in 1579, and in 1599 its flag was officially 
designated as orange, white, and blue, in three 
horizontal stripes, these being the colors of the 
great leader, William, Prince of Orange. In 
some manner never satisfactorily explained 
(see 377 and 775), the orange became red early 
in the seventeenth century, and it was under 
the tricolor (red, white, and blue) that the 
naval heroes Tromp and De Ruyter fought 
their many brilliant sea engagements with the 
English between 1652 and 1654. 

Concerning the city of Amsterdam (1137) 
two centuries ago, Beaumont furnishes the 
following unique description : "Amsterdam is 
the most considerable city of all Holland ; the 
houses are generally built of brick, and it's 
built on piles like Venice. As to what propor- 
tion of bigness this city bears to London I 
have no exact account. Amsterdam for riches, 
trading, shipping, fair streets, and pleasant 
habitations scarce yields to any other city of 
the world. The whole town being in a low. 



400 



aiiir shy ground, the water is let in through all 
the considerable streets, and it's all built upon 
piles, or high fir trees, driven down perpen- 
dicularly so close together that nothing can 
be forced betwixt them." 

With the exception of Amsterdam, perhaps 
no other town in Holland had more right to 
a flag of its own than Flushing (1138), for it 
was in this seaport that the standard of liberty 
was first raised after the "Water Beggars" had 
taken Briel in 1572, the first overt act of the 
Dutch in their war against Spanish supremacy. 

Concerning Genoa, whose red flag (1141) 
was identical with that of the scarlet emblems 
of Venice and Spain, Beaumont gives this 
picturesque description at the close of the 
seventeenth century : 

"The State of Genoa is, like that of Venice, 
govern'd by a Doge or Duke, with this Ex- 
ception, that the Office of the Duke of Genoa 
lasts but for three years, whereas the other is 
for life. He has for his Ordinary Guard five 
hundred Germans. Controversies between 
Citizens are adjudg'd by a Court called the 
Rota, consisting of Lawyers, not Natives of 
Genoa. They are under the Protection of the 
King of Spain (hence the identity of the 
Spanish and Genoese red flag). Genoa was 
under the Government of several Princes till 
the year 1528, when Andrew Doria established 
there the Form of Government observ'd to this 
day, which is Aristocratical. There is seen in 
the Town the statue of Andrew Doria, mounted 
on a Horse of Cast Copper, with this Inscrip- 
tion on the pedestal, Liberator Populi." (It 
was after this liberator that the brig Andrew 
Doria, the first vessel to obtain a salute for 
the American flag, was named — see page 295.) 

Tradition says that Russia derived its blue, 
white, and red flag (1142) in the following 
manner : Peter the Great, while learning ship- 
building in Holland, adopted the Dutch ensign 
(1136), merely reversing the colors. But the 
Russians were not flattered by this, for it made 
them appear like "Dutchmen in distress" (the 
sign of distress being an inverted flag). Sub- 
sequently the order was changed to white, blue, 
and red (the present Russian merchant flag — 
800), but in 1701 the Czar of Muscovy (Peter) 
had only added the blue cross in the white 
stripe to distinguish his flag from the Dutch 
distress signal. 

ostend's brave banner 

Ostend, the last stronghold of the Dutch in 
South Netherlands against the Spaniards, well 
deserved the distinction of a fight standard 
(1144) as well as an ensign (1143). This little 
fishing village, of scarcely three thousand souls 
at the beginning of the seventeenth century, 
withstood one of the most remarkable sieges 
of history, the chroniclers of that time being 
amply justified in comparing it to the siege of 
Troy. 

It resisted the Spaniards for three years and 
seventy-seven days (July 5, 1601, to September 
20, 1604), and it is computed that one hundred 
thousand lives and four million dollars were 
sacrificed in its reduction. All the engineering 
skill and resources of the age were employed. 
Targone, a famous Italian engineer, invented 



a great floating battery to close the harbor, and 
a fortress on wheels with a draw-bridge to 
span water gaps (forerunner of the twentieth 
century tank cars). 

The defenders used great bonfires and hoops 
of flaming pitch to light the battleground dur- 
ing night attacks. Earthworks were mined and 
countermined. Red-hot shot were fired into 
the city. To prevent conflagrations, the garri- 
son covered all the houses with sod. When 
there was no more earth suitable for the con- 
struction of fortifications, the besieged turned 
to the graveyards, exhuming their heroic dead 
and using their bodies as ramparts for the 
living. 

When the town finally hauled down its flag 
it was with the honors of war, granted by 
Spinola, the chivalrous Genoese commander oi 
the Spanish forces, who gave a splendid ban- 
quet to the republican officers in his pavilion. 

The Spanish flag (1145) is of special interest 
at this period of history, for it recalls the War 
of the Spanish Succession, which followed the 
death of Charles II, in 1700, the last of the 
Austrian (Hapsburg) dynasty to sit on the 
throne of Castile and Leon. Beaumont rec- 
ords : 

"On the first of November, 1700 N. S. (New 
Style), died Charles II of Spain, after a long 
illness, or rather after a diseased life of almost 
40 years. In his pretended last will, he is 
said to have left the Duke of Anjou, second 
son of the Dauphin of France, his heir and 
successor to all his dominions, who immediately 
took upon the title of Philip V, King of Spain, 
etc. 

"But the German Emperor is far from 
acknowledging him as such." . . . 

The coat-of-arms which Beaumont places on 
the Spanish banner (1145) is far from com- 
plete, for the King of Spain at the beginning 
of the eighteenth century bore the insignia of 
Castile, of Leon, Aragon, Sicily, Granada, 
Portugal, Algarve, Austria, Ancient Burgundy 
and Modern Burgundy, Brabant, Flanders, and 
of Antwerp, capital city of the Holy Empire. 
Surrounding the large shield may be seen the 
collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece. 

The King of Spain, as one of his minor titles, 
was known as the Lord of Biscay. The Bis 
cay ensign (1146) was a white cross "raguled ' 
on a red field. The raguled cross in heraldry 
is described as "trunked" or having many cuts, 
resembling two ragged staffs in the shape of a 
cross. The Spanish Bourbons used it as their 
insignia; hence it appeared on the flag of 
Ostend (1143), a Spanish possession. 

The New England ensign (1147), with the 
pine tree in the first quarter of the St. George's 
cross, was the first distinctively American flag 
of the American colonies. It should be re- 
membered that this is an ensign and was used 
by vessels only (see also 362-364, 379-390). 
The national flag of the colonies was that of 
the mother country, the union flag (361). 

The French galley standard (1148) was of 
red with numerous fleurs de lys in gold. In 
the center were the arms of France. Beau- 
mont recites that "the arms of France in the 
days of Pharamond and his three successors 
were gules (red) three crowns or (gold). 
Clovis the Great altered them to azure (blue) 



401 



strewn with flower-de-luces or, and Charles VI, 
who came to the crown in 1380, reduced the 
lilies in his coat-of-arms to three." 

White became the national color of France 
during the Hundred Years War. Later the 
Huguenot party adopted the white Hag, and 
when Henry III, himself a Protestant, came 
to the throne, in 1574, it became the royal en- 
sign. In the following reign (Henry IV) it 
became the symbol of the French Bourbons. 
Thus the French ensign (1149), a simple white 
banner, came to be the basis of many of the 
French flags (see 1150, 1151, 1157, 1158, H59. 
1 160, and 1 161). The ensign (1149) was the 
flag under which Cartier sailed on his voyage 
of exploration to Canada, and the emblem 
which floated from the flagship of Admiral De 
Grasse, whose victory off Yorktown was a 
most important factor contributing to the suc- 
cess of the American Revolutionary War (see 
422). Joan of Arc bore a white flag with gold 
embellishments at the Battle of Orleans. 

The French cornet (1159) is distinctive only 
in its swallow-tail shape; in modern signaling 
it is usually called a burgee. 

The blue crosses in the banners of Province 
(Provence) (1150), of Bretagny (Brittany) 
(1151), and Normandy (1158), and the blue 
stripes of Picardy (1161) recall the fact that 
from earliest recorded times until the seat of 
French Government was removed to Paris 
(when the red of that city's patron, St. Denis, 
was adopted) blue was a favorite color of the 
Franks. It was under the plain blue flag 
known as "Chape de St. Martin" that Clovis 
won his great victory over Alaric in 507, and 
Charlemagne, bore it at Narbonne. This was 
supposed to be the original cloak which^ St. 
Martin, while stationed at Amiens, divided 
with a beggar ; the following night he had a 
vision of Christ making known to his angels 
this act of charity (see also 743). 

Marseilles had a white ensign of its own, 
with a white cross on a blue square in the first 
quarter (1160). 

The Zealand colors (1152) are, naturally, 
those of Holland. On the white bar is the 
distinctive feature, the red lion of the Zealand 
(Zeeland) coat-of-arms. In the same manner 
the flag of Middleburgh (1156), the capital of 
Zeeland, had the colors of Holland, with its 
own gold tower in the white band. 

The Hanseatic League, the famous federa- 
tion of North German towns which controlled 
the commerce of northern Europe during the 
Middle ages, had for its colors red and white, 
two of the three colors which survive in the 
flag of modern Germany (996). The chief city 
of the federation was Lubeck (1153). Ham- 
burg, also an important city of the league, 
bore a red flag with a white tower (1154), 
while Bremen's emblem (1166) was a red and 
white chess-board. Rostock, not content with 
the league's red and white, added blue (1167), 
thereby giving her citizens the same occasion 
as the Russians for complaining that they ap- 
peared like "Dutchmen in distress" (see note 
on the flag of the Tsar of Moscovy — 1142). 
Dantzick (Dantzic) employed the league's 
red, but placed upon that field three gold 
crowns, arranged vertically (1165). 



The Munich flag (1164) had an unfortunate 
color combination, the yellow frequently fad- 
ing out, leaving the banner a French white 

(ii49)- 

Lunenburgh (Luneburg) was one of the 
most important towns of the Hanseatic League. 
Its flag (1174) included the red field common 
to Hamburg and Dantzic, but with a winged 
Pegasus in gold as the distinctive feature. 

The flag of Heyligeland (Heligoland) (1155) 
is of especial interest at this time on account 
of the tremendously important role which the 
scraps of land (it was one island up to 1720, 
when a violent eruption of the sea severed a 
neck of sand and made two islets of it) are 
playing in the present war as an impregnable 
naval and submarine base for Germany. Heli- 
goland was a fief of the dukes of Schleswig- 
Holstein in 1705, but the free city of Hamburg 
frequently held it in pawn for loans advanced 
to the dukes. In 1807 England obtained it 
from Denmark, and 27 years ago made the 
great mistake of 'ceding it to Germany. 

The Swedish man-of-war ensign (1162) and 
Swedish merchant flag (1163) 200 years ago 
were virtually the same as today (826 and 
827), with the exception that the blue in the 
modern standards is of a much lighter shade. 

The Genoa ensign (1168) is identical with 
the St. George's jack (1127). 

THE MALTESE CROSS 

Few flags of history can rival in romantic 
interest the red banner with its eight-pointed 
white cross (1169), emblem of the island of 
Malta. The eight points of this famous Mal- 
tese cross are supposed to represent the eight 
Beatitudes. In their monasteries the Knights 
of Malta wore black habits with Maltese 
crosses over their hearts. In war their coat- 
of-arms was crimson with the white Maltese 
cross, like the flag. 

The flag of Jerusalem (1170) at the begin- 
ning of the eighteenth century contained the 
same five crosses which the Franciscan monk 
pictured in 1350 (see 1067), save that the cen- 
tral cross at the later period quartered the 
flag, and the "Croisettes," as they are called in 
French, occupied the four quarters. 

Tuhen (Thuin, Belgium) was one of several 
cities of the low countries whose device at the 
beginning of the eighteenth century was a 
white swan (1171). 

The Danish man-of-war (1172) and mer- 
chant flags (1173) are the oldest national em- 
blems now in use, their history dating back to 
the year 1219, when Waldemar is supposed to 
have seen a cross in the sky while leading his 
troops against the Livonian pagans. The flag 
is known as the Dannebrog (Strength of Den- 
mark). On the time-stained walls of the medi- 
eval church on the island of Heligoland there 
is still to be seen a painted Dannebrog. 

The city and district of Surat, the green flag 
of whose Grand Mogul (1175) was distin- 
guished by two gold scimitars, was the site of 
the first factory (trading post) established by 
England in India, a seed which has developed 
into a great Eastern Empire. 

Bengal's Grand Mogul bore a white flag with 
a red scimitar (1176) two centuries ago. It 



402 



was at this time that the East India Company 
purchased from the great grandson of Shah 
Jahan (builder of the Taj Mahal) the group 
of Bengal villages which grew into the city of 
Calcutta. 

Now an unimportant fishers' town, Enchysen 
(Enkhuizen) once well deserved the right to 
have a flag of its own (1177). Long ago it 
harbored the fleets of Charles V and Philip II 
of Spain, when their word was law in all the 
low countries. Its banner preserved the yellow 
and red of Aragon. 

The flag of Legorne (Leghorn) (1178) con- 
tains the five red roundels (little circles) pe- 
culiar to the arms of the Great Duke of Tus- 
cany, who derived a large share of his reve- 
nues from this seaport. 

The winged lion of St. Mark (1179) is as 
familiar to students of flags as the eagles of 
the Roman Empire and the dragon of St. 
George in British heraldry. It is placed on the 
Venetian red flag (1141) in honor of the 
patron saint of the republic. St. Mark, while 
on a missionary journey to Italy, according to 
a very ancient legend, was stranded on the 
Rialto when it was still an uninhabited island. 
Here the future greatness of Venice was re- 
vealed to him in a vision. The lion was the 
commonly accepted symbol of the saint in all 
early Christian art. 

The Pope's colours (1180) include the red 
field (red being the color of the livery of the 
Holy Father als6) with the white cross of Cal- 
vary and the white lamb, the significance of 
which are apparent. ,. 

THE BANNER OF SAVOY 

The white cross on the red field, device of 
the House of Savoy (1181), has played an im- 
portant role in the history of Europe. Beau- 
mont gives this account of its adoption hy the 
dukes of Savoy : "This coat was given to 
Amadeus the Great by the Knights of Rhodes 
in 1315, with these letters in lieu of a motto. 
'F. E. R. T.'— that is, 'Fortitude Ejus Rhodum 
Tenuit' (His valor has saved Rhodes). The 
occasion was that Amadeus V, surnamed the 
Great, forced Mahomet II, Emperor of the 
Turks, to raise his siege at that time from 
before the city of Rhodes. The said cross is 
the cross of St. John of Jerusalem, whose 
knights at that time were owners of Rhodes." 

The Portugal man-of-war (1182) and mer- 
chant flags (1183 and 1184) bore the same dis- 
tinguishing features — five shields with the five 
circles representing the five wounds of Christ, 
the castles surrounding the inner shields and 
the armillary sphere, reminiscent of that na- 
tion's maritime prowess in the sixteenth cen- 
tury, 200 years ago, as they do now (see mod- 
ern flags 791, 792, and 793). 

The broad, deeply notched border, differing 
in color from the field of the flag, is one of 
the peculiar characteristics of many Chinese 
banners (see 1185 and 1186). Tunquin (Tong- 
king or Tonquin) was a place of great interest 



to geographers 200 years ago. It was de- 
scribed as containing 20,000 cities and towns, 
"and many more there would be, but that many 
of the people choose to live on the water than 
on the land; so that the greatest part of their 
rivers are covered with boats which serve them 
instead of houses." Silks, according to the 
eighteenth century report, were worn in Ton- 
quin by rich and poor alike. 

Anchonia's (Ancona) red and white stripes 
(1187) indicate its reliance upon the Pope. 
The province, with its capital of the same 
name boasting the finest harbor on the south- 
west coast of the Adriatic, was a semi-inde- 
pendent republic during the Middle Ages. 

Camphen (Kampen) was one of the impor- 
tant members of the Hanseatic League. Its 
ensign (1188) was the simple red field seen in 
the Hamburg, Luneburg, and Dantzic flags, 
but without any coat-of-arms or symbol such 
as distinguished the devices of its sister cities. 
Today Kampen is a thriving little town in Hol- 
land, with a population of about 20,000. Its 
days of glory were in the fifteenth centun . 

Its red field charged with a golden crescent, 
the flag of Tunis (1189) was for centuries one 
of the most important banners of the Moham- 
medan world. Tunis rose in importance as 
Carthage declined. It is still the largest city 
in North Africa, outside of Egypt. It began 
to blossom following the Arab conquest, and 
became the chief port for pilgrims from Spain 
on their way to the sacred city of Kairowan. 

Between 1350 and 1705 the flag of Tripoly 
(Tripoli) underwent a complete change. At 
the beginning of the eighteenth century its 
banner of white and green bands (1190) was 
floating over the marine nest of the notorious 
Tripolitan pirates, the scourge and terror of 
the Mediterranean. A century later America 
was to fight its first foreign war against these 
sea robbers. 

Algier (Algiers) (1191 and 1192) was also 
a haunt of Barbary pirates during the six- 
teenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. 
The outlaws of this port were not suppressed 
completely until 1830, when on the 4th of July 
of that year a French army under General de 
Bourmont effected the city's capture. 

In the very year that Columbus discovered 
America a band of Andalusian Moors built the 
walls of the town of Tituan (Tetuan) (1193), 
the only open port of Morocco on the Medi- 
terranean Sea. Sallee (Salli), whose red flag 
(1194) is almost identical with that of Tetuan. 
was once the haunt of the Salli Rovers. It 
also had another flag of unique design (1195). 

The flag of Moco Araba (Mocha, Arabia) 
(1196) was of great importance two centuries 
ago, for at that time Mocha was one of the 
greatest coffee ports of the world. 

The Christian crosses which adorned Con- 
stantinople's flags (1107 and 1108) at the time 
of the visit of the Franciscan friar in 1350 
were long since replaced by the crescent of the 
Mohammedan Turk, as shown in the flag of 
1705 (1197). 



403 



THE CORRECT DISPLAY OF THE STARS 

AND STRIPES 



WHILE there is no federal law 
in force pertaining to the man- 
ner of displaying, hanging, or 
saluting the United States flag, or pre- 
scribing any ceremonies that should be 
observed, there are many regulations and 
usages of national force bearing on the 
subject. 

In raising the flag it should never be 
rolled up and hoisted to the top of the 
staff before unfurling. Instead, the fly 
should be free during the act of hoist- 
ing, which should be done quickly. It 
should be taken in slowly and with dig- 
nity. It should not be allowed to touch 
the ground on shore, or the deck of a 
ship, nor should it be permitted to trail 
in the water or in the dust. It should 
not be hung where it can be contami- 
nated or soiled easily, or draped over 
chairs or benches for seating purposes, 
and no object or emblem of any kind 
should be placed upon it or above it. 

A common but regrettable practice at 
public meetings is to drape the flag like a 
tablecloth over the speaker's table and 
then to place on the flag a pitcher of ice 
water, flowers, books, etc. Another 
equally careless practice, and, unfortu- 
nately, quite common, is to tie small 
United States flags to the bottom of a 
stage curtain ; when the curtain is raised 
the flags are lifted aloft and are effect- 
ively displayed, but when the curtain is 
lowered, so that the stage scenes may be 
shifted, the flags trail in the dust of the 
stage floor. 

The flag should not be festooned over 
doorways or arches. Always let the flag 
hang straight. Do not tie it in a bow 
knot. Where colors arc desired for dec- 
orative purposes, use red, zt'hite, and blue 
bunting. 

The flag should not be hoisted upside 
down, other than as a signal of distress 
at sea, when it may, if necessary to ac- 
centuate the distress and make it easily 
recognized at a distance, be knotted in 
the middle of its length, forming what 
is called a "weft." 



International usage forbids the display 
of the flag of one nation above that of 
any other with which it is at peace. Such 
an act is considered an insult in times of 
peace, and is always followed by a de- 
mand for an explanation and apology. 
When the flags of two or more nations 
are displayed, they should be on separate 
staffs, or on separate halyards of equal 
size and on the same level. 

The flag should never be raised or low- 
ered by any mechanical appliance. 

When the national colors are passing 
on parade, or in review, the spectator 
should, if walking, halt, and if sitting, 
arise and stand at attention and uncover. 

When flags are used in unveiling a 
statue or monument they should not be 
allowed to fall to the ground, but should 
be carried aloft to wave out, forming a 
distinctive feature during the remainder 
of the ceremony. 

Where the national flag is displayed 
with State or other flags, it should be 
given the place of honor on the right. 
Its use should be confined as much as 
possible to its display upon the staff. 
Where used as a banner, the union should 
fly to the north in streets running east 
and west, and to the east in streets 
running north and south. 

Old, faded, or worn-out flags should 
not be used for banners or other second- 
ary purposes. 

When no longer fit for display, the flag 
should be destroyed privately, preferably 
by burning or other methods lacking the 
suggestion of irreverence or disrespect. 

Over only three buildings in America 
does the national flag fly officially night 
and day continuously — over the east and 
west fronts of the National Capitol 
and over the adjacent House of Repre- 
sentatives and Senate Office Buildings. 
The two emblems over the Capitol 
("storm-flag size) are replaced every six 
weeks, the wear and tear, due to wind 
and rain, being excessive. 

Over the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentative wings of the Capitol the flags 



404 




Photograph by U. S. Navy Department 

SENDING AND RECEIVING SEMAPHORE MESSAGES ON THE SIGNAL BRIDGE 

Bluejackets are never graduated in the "two R's" of warship education — "readin' and 
'ritin' " with flags. The radio and the wireless telephone have accomplished marvels in facili- 
tating communication between the units of a fleet, but the semaphore and the wigwag flag 
still have their place in the service. 



fly only while those bodies are in session 
and during a recess. At adjournment, 
either at the end of a day's work or for 
a session, they are lowered. 

When the Stars and Stripes float from 
the flagstaff of the White House, from 
sunrise to sunset, it is indicative of the 
presence in Washington of the President. 

An act of Congress passed in 1905 
provides that a trade-mark cannot be reg- 
istered which consists of or comprises 
"the flag, the coat-of-arms, or other in- 
signia of the United States, or any simu- 
lation thereof." An act passed in 1917 
provides penalties for the desecration, 
mutilation, or improper use of the flag 
within the District of Columbia. The 
Department of Justice has held that any 
alien enemy tearing down, mutilating, 
abusing, or desecrating the United States 
flag will be regarded as a danger to the 
public peace or safety within the mean- 
ing of the President's proclamation of 



April 6, 1917, and will be subject to sum- 
mary arrest and punishment. 

At every military post or station it is 
the practice in the army, each day in 
the year, to hoist the flag briskly at sun- 
rise, irrespective of the condition of the 
weather, and to lower it slowly and cere- 
moniously at sunset, indicating the com- 
mencement and cessation of the activities 
of the day. While the flag is being low- 
ered the band plays the national anthem, 
which for the army and navy is the "Star 
Spangled Banner." If there is no band 
present the field music sounds "To the 
colors." Officers and enlisted men out of 
rank face toward the flag, stand at atten- 
tion, and salute. (For a description of 
army flags see page 307 and onward.) 

A military force is said to be accorded 
"the honors of war" when, after a spe- 
cially honorable defense, it has surren- 
dered its post, and is permitted by the 
terms of capitulation to march out with 



405 




Photograph by Crown Bi-others 

INSURING ACCURACY IN A FACTORY WHERE GOVERNMENT FLAGS ARE MADE 

The United States Government uses thousands of flags annually, not only the Stars and 
Stripes and the various flags and pennants of its own army and navy officers and civilian 
officials, but the flags of other countries as well. Every warship of our navy carries 43 
foreign flags, for ceremonial purposes. The flag-maker in a government ensign factory must 
test all buntings. Sample lots are soaked and washed with soap in fresh water one day and 
the next in salt water. They are then exposed to weather for ten days, 30 hours of which 
must be sunlight. The colors must not fade or "run." The material is also tested for its 
strength. The flag shown above is the Portugal ensign (791"!. 



colors flying, bands playing, and bayonets 
fixed. It retains possession of the field 
artillery, horses, arms, and baggage. The 
French, Russian, and other governments 
require that in every case the commander 
of the place must not surrender until he 
has destroyed all flags ; but this must be 
done before signing the capitulation. 
General Stoessel destroyed all Russian 
flags at Port Arthur. 

The Hague rules of land warfare for- 
bid the improper use of the flag of truce, 
of a national flag, or of the military in- 
signia and uniform of the enemy, as well 
as the distinctive badges of the Geneva 
Convention. In practice it has been au- 
thorized to make use of the enemy's flag 
and uniform as a ruse, but not during a 
combat. Before opening fire these must 
be discarded. Whether the enemy's flag 
can be displayed and his uniform worn 



to effect an advance or to withdraw is 
not settled. 

NAVY CEREMONIES OF RAISING AND 
LOWERING THE COLORS 

Shore stations under the jurisdiction 
of the Navy Department display the na- 
tional ensign from eight o'clock in the 
morning to sunset. The same is true of 
ships at anchor. Ships coming to anchor 
or getting under way before or after the 
regular hours hoist their colors if there 
be sufficient light for them to be seen. 
Unless there are good reasons to the con- 
trary, ships display their colors when fall- 
ing in with other men-of-war or when 
near land, particularly when passing or 
approaching forts, lighthouses, or towns. 

The ceremonies aboard a ship in com- 
mission when the ensign is raised and 
lowered are most impressive. At morn- 



406 




Photograph by Brown Brothers 

CUTTING FLAG STARS BY MACHINERY 

Five-pointed stars are used exclusively on our national flags today, but in the early days 
of the Republic the six-pointed star frequently appeared. Until 1842 the stars of the Great 
Seal of the United States were six-pointed, and they are still to be found on the "Liberty" 
side of many of our silver coins. 



ing "colors," the band plays the national 
anthem, at the beginning of which the 
ensign is started up and hoisted smartly 
to the peak. All officers then face the 
ensign and salute, and the guard of the 
day and the sentries come to present. I f 
there be no band, the field music sounds 
"to the colors." If the ship happens to 
be in a foreign port the national anthem 
of that country is played following the 
raising of the ensign. Then follow the 
national anthems of the ships of war 
present, in the order of rank. 

At sunset "colors" the ensign is started 



from the peak at the beginning of the 
national anthem and is lowered slowly 
and with dignity. All officers and en- 
listed men face toward the colors. If 
in uniform, covered or uncovered, or in 
civilian clothes, uncovered, they salute at 
the first note of the anthem, retaining the 
position of salute until the last note of 
the anthem. If not in uniform and cov- 
ered, they uncover at the first note of 
the anthem, holding the headdress oppo- 
site the left shoulder, and remain in that 
position until the last note of the anthem, 
except in inclement weather, when the 



407 




Photograph by Paul Thompson 

THE LIVING EMBLEM OF OCR NATIONAL UNION 

On mam- occasions and in mam- places throughout the United States the effective climax 
of a civic pageant is the formation of a mammoth living flag by school children wearing the 
red, white, and blue. The great emblem of liberty shown above was formed by the school 
children of bait Lake Citv. 



headdress may be slightly raised. The 
same marks of respect are shown to the 
national anthems of other countries. At 
'"colors." pulling boats passing near a 
man-of-war, of any nationality, lie on 
their oars, and steamers stop their en- 
gines, the coxswains saluting and mem- 
bers of the crew outside the canopy stand- 
ing facing the colors and saluting. 

7HE USAGES in flag salutes 

On board ships of the navy it is cus- 
tomarv for officers and men whenever 



reaching the quarter-deck, from aboard 
boat, from a gangway, or from the shore, 
to salute the national ensign. They stop 
at the top of the gangway, or upon arriv- 
ing at the quarter-deck, face the colors 
and salute. On leaving the quarter-deck 
the same salute is given. This is distinct 
from the salute to the officer of the deck. 
\Yhen warships enter a port where 
there is a fort or batten- displaying the 
national flag, or a commissioned ship of 
war, they display at the main the flag 
of the country in whose waters they are, 



-z'i 




Photograph by Paul Thompson 

SCHOOL CHILDREN 01? NEW YORK OBSERVING AMERICANIZATION DAY IN 

CITY HALL PARK 

In this wonderful assemblage, truly representative of patriotic Young America, there are, 
perhaps, children whose forebears have come to our shores from all of the nations of the 
earth; and it is these children of alien races who are uniting and cementing a heterogeneous 
people into an indivisible and invincible force which, under the Stars and Stripes, is today 
battling for the liberty of the world. 



and salute it with a national salute of 
twenty-one guns. The ships of the 
United States Navy do not salute forts 
and cities of the United States, and do 
not fire salutes in honor of any nation, 
or of any official of any nation, not form- 
ally recognized by this country. It is 
customary to fire salutes only between 8 
a. m. and sunset. They are never fired 
between sunset and sunrise. During the 



present war salutes have been dispensed 
with as between allied countries. 

The United States today requires that 
no ship of the navy shall lower her sails 
or dip her ensign unless in return for such 
compliment. A dip is made by quickly 
lowering the ensign and without pause 
quickly returning it to the peak. 

A flag or an ensign at half-mast is the 
universal sign of mourning. Before be- 



409 



















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411 




412 



INSIGNIA OF UNIFORMED FORCES OF UNITED STATES 41c 



ing placed at half-mast the flag must al- 
ways be raised to the top of the staff, and 
before it is lowered from half-mast it 
must likewise be hoisted to the top. 

WHEN A FINEST FARES FORTH TO BATTLE 

At the command "Clear the ship for ac- 
tion," the battle ensigns are mastheaded 
and final preparations are made for bat- 
tle, and under no circumstances is an ac- 
tion to be commenced or a battle fought 
without the display of the national en- 
sign. When an enemy's ship strikes her 
colors in battle, the commanding officer 
of the man-of-war to whom she struck 



is required to continue the action with 
other ships of the enemy, but takes pos- 
session of the surrendered ship as soon 
as possible. 

Striking the flag is an indication of 
surrender. The articles for the govern- 
ment of the Navy of the United States 
require the punishment by death, or such 
other penalties as a court-martial may 
adjudge, of any person in the naval serv- 
ice who strikes, or attempts to strike, the 
flag to an enemy or rebel without proper 
authority, or when engaged in battle 
treacherously yields or pusillanimously 
cries for quarter. 



THE INSIGNIA OF THE UNIFORMED FORCES 
OF THE UNITED STATES 



Presented in the six succeeding pages are the 
insignia of the various branches of the United 
States Army and Navy and of the organizations 
cooperating with them. By means of these il- 
lustrations one may identify the rank and arm 
of the service of the wearer of practically any 
American uniform seen during the period of 
the war — information which is of especial value 
at this time, when the young men of America 
are flocking to the colors and donning the uni- 
form of our country to help in the titanic strug- 
gle to make the "World Safe for Democracy." 

By direction of the Secretaries of War and 
Navy, officers and men wear only the service 
uniform for the duration of the war, dispensing 
with the handsome dress uniforms which give 
color to elaborate peace-time social functions 
in all the capitals of the world. Brass buttons 
have generally been discarded, and in their 
place in the Army and Marine Corps the more 
subdued color of bronze is in keeping with the 
somber olive drab of the field uniforms, reduc- 
ing the visibility of the forces to a minimum. 

In the comparatively short time we have been 
at war several important changes have been 
made and new branches and officers created. 
Generals Pershing and Bliss have been raised 
to the rank of full general — a grade vacant 
since the Civil War; and while no Admiral of 
the Navy has been appointed to succeed the 
late Admiral Dewey, Admirals Benson, Mayo, 
Caperton, and Knight have been made full ad- 
mirals, and Admirals Sims and Coffman Vice- 
Admirals — grades recently revived by act of 
Congress in order that our officers may rank 
with" the men of the Allied Forces with whom 
thev are cooperating. 

The U. S. Marine Corps, "the soldiers of the 
sea," operate, as usual, under the general direc- 
tion of the Secretary of the Navy. The pri- 
vates of this fighting force wear caps as a part 
of their field uniform while on board ship. On 
land they follow the style set by the army and 
wear the field service hat, with the difference, 
however, that they wear no colored cord, but 



have their metal corps device fastened to the 
crown. At the front they, as well as the men 
of the army, are wearing the shrapnel helmet. 

During times of peace the U. S. Coast Guard, 
acting under the Treasury Department, polices 
the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards, and its cut- 
ters are the foes of smugglers and other law- 
breakers. It also performs life-saving service 
on these shores, enforces the sealing laws in 
northern waters, and patrols the sea lanes of 
commerce for icebergs and derelicts. In time 
of war the Coast Guard automatically becomes 
a branch of the navy. 

The U. S. Public Health Service is an es- 
pecially important organization in war times, 
and its men in uniform are performing a valu- 
able service in safeguarding the health of sol- 
diers at home by creating the best sanitary con- 
ditions in the territory surrounding the great 
encampments. 

Many patriotic societies are cooperating with 
the military forces to lessen the soldier's hard- 
ships, and chief among these is the American 
Red Cross, which is facing an enormous task 
in caring for the sick and wounded, besides fur- 
nishing numerous comforts for the men in the 
field. This great organization is vastly in- 
creased in personnel, and a field uniform, with 
appropriate insignia, has been recently adopted 
for its officials abroad, the essentials of which 
are shown on page 419. 

With the forces in the field, both in this 
country and abroad, are hundreds of men who 
are dispensing the hospitality of the V. M. C. A. 
and the Knights of Columbus, and are looking 
out for the welfare of the soldiers in every 
manner their ingenuity can devise. These men 
are distinguished by insignia worn on semi- 
military uniforms (see page 419). 



Note. — The Italian airplane insignia, painted 
on wings of machines, are like the French, No. 
240, on page 319, except that the centers are 
green. 



414 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 





SERVICE HAT 

Worn by Officers in field and all Enlisted Men. 

GENERAL OFFICERS . . '. GOLD CORD 

ALL OTHER OFFICERS . . . . . a . GOLD AND BLACK CORD 

RESERVE OFFICERS TRAINING CAM? . RED. WHITE AND BLL'E CORD 




ENLISTED MEN 



INFANTRY 

CAVALRY . 
ARTILLERY 
MEDAL OF HONOR MEDICAL.. 



LIGHT ELL'S CORD 
. YELLOW CORD 
. SCARLET CORD 

MAROON AND WHITE CORD 



ENGINEERS . - . 
ORDNANCE . 
SIGNAL CORPS . 
FIELD CLERKS 



QUARTERMASTER CORPS 



. SCARLET AND WHITE CORD 
. BLACK AND SCARLET CORD 
ORANGE AND WHITE CORD 
BLACK AND SILVER CORD 




MAJOR CAPTAIN FIR5T ; - C '. ND 

.SILVER, ***»• UELT UEtT 

INSIGNIA OF RANK ON SHOULDER LOOPS COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE U. S. ARMY 



ULSP 



\)BLGLLARS (B; KLitK. L5 



GENERAL STAFF 





ARMY 



JLDGE AD\ OCATE QLAR [LRMASTER'S 
GENUS DEPT. DEPT. 




E3 E3 Q 




ENGINEER AIDE TO CENT. CAVALRY 
CORPS VT'T "V^" 




E3 

DENT.AJ. CORPS ORDNANCE 

SANITARY CORPS € _, CORPS 

\ETERLNARY CORPS *f fe 
AMBULANCE ODRPS <S 7T 
NURSES CORPS " £f 



ONTlRCOAT SLEEVE5 



GENERALS HAVE STARS OF RANK 

COLONEL FIVE STRIPS OF BRAID 

LT. COLONEL . . . FOLR - - - 

MAJOR THREE - - - 

CAPTAIN TWO - 

FIRST LEUT. . . . ONE STRIP 



PHILIPPINE PORTO RICO 

crru rrc ocr.T 



COLLAR DEVICES COMMISSIONED OFFICERS 

aa w-ii ike tppropf j:c corp* dcruze 



B 



SLEEVCTNSIGNIA RE5ER\E OFFICERS 
TRAINING CAMPS 





WEST FOLNT INTERPRETERS 



COLLAR DEVICES COMMISSIONED OFFICERS 






QUARTERMASTER ORDNANCE 
CORPS 





CA) NATIONAL (B) NATIONAL (C) REGULAR 

ARMY GUARD ARMY 



DISCIPLINARY 
BARRACKS 





V5L5T POINT MIUTARY ACADEMY "DETACHMENTS 
CAVALRY ENGINEERS ARTILLERY 









COLLAR INSIGNIA ENLISTED MEN.U. S. A- 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 




MASTER GUNNER 



MASTER ENCINEER 

HOSPITAL SERGEANT COAST ARTILLERY. 



CUI-l COMMANDER OBSERVER FIRST CLASS 

CHIEF MECHANIC COAST ARTILLERY COAST ARTILLERY 

FIELD.ARTILLERt 




CHIEF PLANTER 
COAST ARTILLERY 



OOOOO 



HORSESHOER aADC ^ '"' EXCELLENCE 

IN TARGET PRACTICE 



CHEVRONS AND SLEEVE INSIGNIA OF NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND ENLISTED MEN.U. S. ARMY 

* ■ a . ; . , Conforming in color to arm of service I See hat cord colors opposite page ) 





MILITARY AVIATOR 

Junto, M.l.tary A.iato, and Reserve Mil.t.ry Aviator without Slat 







ENLISTED MEN 



ENUSTED AVIATOR 




"ENLISTED MECHANICIAN 



INSIGNIA OF AVIA TION SECTION, SIGNAL CORPS U S ARMY 

.»>Mt»»»»»»»»»fct>*l.»>t»»»»>«. S s of Signal Corp, on collar, and Enlisted Men regular Signal Corp, buttons on collar 
red ,n „lve, thread with e „ld U. S. and worn on left brea.t, Enhsted Men on sleeve 



416 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 




MEDAL OF HONOR ' 



SERVICE UNIFORM CAP 
ALL COM M15510NED OFFICERS 

Gc i Bn JD n .;»«V a4 , ul l 1 ,w 4 | ,n !1 o: ;! 
CoM 8f».d De..r» i.m.]*f F« C=.=.-» aa d ry^- --? 
StaS Oisai wit ™^i oi rUw Adaur*! or Capta 

hl*t M„ P f pU, a Gold Br*d 
Ll C43iaurJ t n L.ciirrar.ix j=d Eancai b»-e ■ 

C.U B..;d «, V,*>r 




NAVAL A\'IATORS 

BAH Rti «U*W ON LEFT BREAST 
Nits! Artntwj vol saltans leirmblini: Muw Corp. f*W * 
T.ce bat »ith rcsaUlion up and ihoaldct < 



COLLAR Blue S>m[i C«u» 



ADMIRAL OF THE NAVY 



■'# ~- * * 




<+<* 



COMMANDER ISdrex Leall 




LiEUTENANT Junior Gr»d. 



CAP DEVICE 
ALL COMMISSIONED OFFICERS 



SLEEVE Bl^W^Con 



SHOULDER 

I \V>,.ie5enieeCa»rs 



ADMIRAL 
OF THE \A\T 



VICE ADMIRAL 




•<*$>*•!*« 



VICE ADMIRAL 



9 *&&> + 



REAR ADMIRAL 




COMMANDER 



UELT COMMANDER 



UEL TENANT 



Juiioi Grade 




•CHI 

COMMANDER 

<cam 

UELT. COMMANDER 

can 

LIEUTENANT 

LIEUTENANT JunierGr.de 




ENSKN E ■.; ._'. ENSIGN 

COLLAR, SLEEVE AND SHOULDER INSIGNIA OF COMMISSIONED UNE OFFICERS OF THE U. S. NAVY 

5 5 p<mi 



***> 



MEDICAL OFFK 

■'•_--_-_- . ■ - 

Between Smpei 




PA1 OFFICERS 

\Tt :e Cloth 

Bet-«eStrt>« 



PROFESSORS OF 
MATHEMATICS 

Oli^e Green doth 




NAVAL 

CONSTRUCTORS 

Beeweea Smnea 





anu'ie. e^A. .=d J, 




CAP DEVICE FIRST CLASS SECOND CLASS 

M1DSH1&MEN 



NAS AL RESERVE 
FORCE 

Vera oa collar in lieo of ctrpa 
•icricr. Le gCiia 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



417 







WARRANT OFFICER'S CAP CAP DEVICE— WARRANT OFFICERS CAP DEVICE— PETTY OFFICERS PETTY OFFICERS CAP 



« NAVAL RESERVE WBCI 




U, S. NAVAL RESERVE FORCE. 




CHIEF SA1LMAKER CHIEF PHARMACIST CHIEF PAY CLERK MATE 

SHOULDER MARKS— CI IIEF WARRANT OFFICERS, U. S. NAVY (For Warrant Officers Omit Stripe) 






CHIEF BOATSWAIN 
( HIF.F GUNNER 
CHIF.F MACHINIST 




V;-;i 



CHIEF CARPENTER 
CHIEF SAILMAKER 
CHIEF PHARMACIST 

INSIGNIA OF RANK. ON SLEEVES OF WARRANT OFFICERS, U. S. NAVY 






Chief Boal wain, Cunnrr and Mnehinisl-Silver D;v,ee. Cold Sta 



B M taw.i n .&.nn e r.ndM«eh 1 <.i.._Cold Device. Silver Sd COLLAR DEVICES OF WARRANT OFFICERS.U. S. NAVY Ch,ef Carp^.e,. Sa.lmaUr, Ph", 



Leu rhan 20 Vearg* Scrvi te -Gold 





GUN POINTER 



TORPEDOMAN NAVY "E" 

DISTINGUISHING MARKS ON SLEEVES OK PETTY OFFICERS U.S. NAVY Fdi e -« ,,c -" 

Those MarkedXAlao Worn by Enlisted Men Not Petty Officers 





QUARTERMASTER 
THIRD CLASS 



QUARTERMASTER MACHINISTS MATE 

DISTINGUISHING MARKS PETTY OFFICERS 
OF AVIATION SERVICE 



DISTINGUISHING MARK. ENLISTED MEN. NAVAL MILITIA 



413 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 





ADJUTANT AND PAYMASTER'S OUARTERM ASTER'S 

INSPECTOR'S DEPT. DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT 



MARINE CUNNER, 



U. S. MARINE CORPS 
FIELD SERVICE HAT 

Worn on Shore w,th Field Service Uo.forn 

(Officer! wear Cold «td Scarlet Hit CordJ 

Enlitifd Urn weal no cords. 



u s. Marine corps 
FIELD SERVICE CAP 

Officer, and Enlisted Men 
Worn Aboard Ship and Other 
Occasions When Pre.cnbed 



U. S. MARINE CORPS DEVICE 

Worn on all Hsu and Capi and on 
ComrnUsionedOfLcer. ColUri 




COLLAR ORNAMENTS STAFF AND WARRANT OFFICERS 

Staff Officer* Wear both Corps and Department Device 

Warrant Officers Wear Department Device Only 

U0S 



COLONEL LT- COLONEL MAIOR CAPTAIN FIRST LIEUT SECOND LIEUT WARRANT OFFICERS 

RANK INSIGNIA COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE U. S. MARINE CORPS ON OVERCOAT SLEEVES 




SECOND LEADER 
OF BAND 

'"With Three Ch^om 



GUN POINTER 



GLNNER'. 
SERGEANT 

DISTINCTIVE SLEEVE MARKS EXUSTED f MEN OF THE U. S. MARINE CORPS 

Nate: The U 5. Marine Corps follows generally the Insignia of the U. S. Army, with the exceptions shown above 
Shoulder loop insignia is the same as (or similar rank in the army, but besides being worn on service coat is also worn on overcoat shoulders. 



DRUM MAJOR 

Wnh Three Chevron*) _ 








Vuri lilt ^>i S-ji c= S'-wea 

COLLAR 'BlueVrvic.Cn; 




PETTY OFFICER'S CAP DEVICE 

COM.'.i:ii:^-.£D OFF 'EP'5 CAP DEVICE 

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD 

SLEEVE | Blue Service Coau. SHOULDER tw&SSH^ 



CAPTAIN COMMANDANT 



SENIOR CAPTAIN AND CAPTAIN 



SENIOR CAPTAIN AND CAPTAIN 



Two Bart— Fim Lienl 
One Bar— Second Liel 
No Bar— Third Lieotei 



Two Stripes— First Lieutenant 
One and One-hall Stripes — Second 

One Stupe— Third Lieutenant 






Save* Uaf-En, 
Geld Leaf- Captain 

O^Ba." Wd Lieutenant 

No Leal or Bars— Third Lieutenan 

."■o Ar, ihor, Leaves in Center — Cad 



LIEUTENANTS 



ENGINEER OFFICERS 



Stripes as Shown — Engineer-in-Chief 
Half Widib Center 5irrpe-t*pi*.n 

Two Equal Sln&ei — First Lieutenant 
One and Oae-hali Stripea — Second 

One Stripe -Third Lieutenant 

No Stripes — Cadet 



I Brown Velvet Between Stripes 






CON 


•"- . 


"TOR 




SaL_l< 


jj 


-' — 


ITE 






iTRICT S 





Cold Leaf-Senior Supe> 
Two Bars-First Lenten. 
One Ear-Second Lieotei 
Anchor OtiIt— Third Lie 



CONSTRUCTORS 

■ 5uipct u Shorn — Str.ioi SuOelin- 
One uk! One-hill 5inp«-Srcont 
Lripe-Ttiid Lien 



CONSTRUCTORS 
I I I 



COLLAR DEVICES OF 
WARRANT OFFICERS 
U. S. COAST GUARD 



DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS Ccsn Cloth Between Suioe, district slperlntendems 
COLLAR, SLEEVE AND SHOULDER INSIGNIA OF COMMISSIONED OFFICERS 
OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD 




MASTER AT-ARM5 



a □ 



No I SLRFMAN 





CARPENTER SAILMAXEP BLACKSMITH COXSWAIN WATER TENDE? 

SPECIALTY MARKS PETTY OFFICERS U. S. C 

(Worn wilb rating badges similar lo those ai (ooi of p= 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



419 



U.S. 






COLLAR 

WORN ON EACH SIDE BACK OF U- S\ 



CAP DEVICE 

UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 



t£k £k ^k j£k f\ 4tk ^k 

SURGEON ASST. 5URC SENIOR SURG PASSED ASST. ASST SURC. PROFESSOR QUARANTINE CHAPLAIN INTERNE 

GENERAL CENERAL 'SILVER' SURG. HYCIEN1C LAB. INSPECTOR 

SURGEON icoldi INSIGNIA OF RANK ON SHOULDER LOOPS 



«* 



is ^^ ^jfeff ^ ' ^Eci r - fe^ l^bS atcSv fe^r cH ' ! 




III 

PHARMACIST PHARMACIST PHARMACIST 



KOTE. C«Hc<a of Cl e -W 



PHARMACIST PHARMACIST 

Od CLASS) '^d CLASS) 

SLEEVE MARKS ON OVERCOATS 








STATION ENCINEER 



PILOT MARINE ENGINEER FIRST COOK 

EMPLOYES' SLEEVE MARKS (Maroon Silk) 



SURGICAL NURSE 



r ft 1 x * s. 






COOK CARPENTER COACHMAN YARDMAN MESSENGER LAUNDRVMAN NIGHT s'HIPKEEPER BOATSWAIN COXSWAIN 

SPECIALTY MARKS (Maroon Silk) WATCH SPECIALTY MARKS (Maroon Silk) 

UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 



THE GENEVA CROSS 



* 

US. 

....I 

SHOULDER LOOP 



>W#%? 




'*■ ' 'W^f SLEEVE MARKS 

MAJOR GENERAL . 2 STARS COLONEL ... 5 BARS BLUE CLOTH 

BRIGADIER CENERAL I STAR LT. COLONEL .4 

CAP DEVICE Major 

AMERICAN RED CROSS ^SSff. 







COLLAR SLEEVE 

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS SECRETARIES 




Photograph by May I*. Smith 



MAKERS OF THE FLAG 



Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 
And this be our motto - "In God is our trust." 
And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 



420 



RJRnMBHHBBH 




ifhraWttTOBHwmOT