NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
rsssssr :tf BOOK
OF THE FLAG
EVA MARCH TAPPAN
THE NEV/ YOBIT i
PUBLIC LIMARY
•ASTOR^LEN©*
TILDffN FOUEDaTTON'
Au Early Kt'*oluti<)(iar> h la^
The Lil)erty Tree.
THE LITTLE BOOK
OF THE FLAG
BY
EVA MARCH TAPPAN
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
1917
THE I^EW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
u
ASTOR. LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
R J9t8 L
COPYRIGHT, I917, BY EVA MARCH TAPPAN
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Published September /g/7
CONTENTS
I. The Flags that brought the Colonists . . i
Flags under which the early colonists sailed — The
English "ancient flag" — The "meteor flag," "Union
Jack," or " King's Flag " — Endicott cuts the cross from
the English flag — The militia object to the cross on the
flag — A flagless fort — Dr. Cotton's decision.
II. The Pine-Tree Flag and Others .... 8
Flags common among the colonists — The New
England Alliance — The pine-tree flag and coins —
Flags of the militia — The red coat flag.
III. Liberty and Liberty Poles 14
The demand for liberty — Opposition to the Stamp
Act — Oliver hanged in efiigy — The Liberty Tree in
Boston — The liberty pole in New York — The Albany
plan — The snake design.
IV. The Land of Many Flags 20
The Bedford flag — Flags at the beginning of the
Revolution — Sergeant Jasper saves the flag — The
rattlesnake on the flag.
V. When Washington went to Cambridge . . 27
The Philadelphia Light Horse Troop — The army at
Cambridge — The backwoodsmen — Indians off^er
their services — General Putnam unfurls a scarlet flag
— The Liberty Tree.
iv CONTENTS
VI. The "Grand Union Flag" 32
The "Grand Union Flag" — Possible sources of the
design — First raised in Somerville — Flags on sea and
land — Flag hoisted over the Alfred by John Paul
Jones — Franklin's letters of marque.
VII. The First United States Flag .... 39
The flag of the United States as decreed by Congress
— The Betsy Ross flag — Significance of the Colors —
Captain Jones put in command of the Ranger — The
' ' quilting party ' ' — The Drake strikes her colors to the
Ranger — The United States flag is saluted by the
French — The flag goes down with the Bon Homme
Richard.
VIII. Flags One would have liked to see . . 48
The Fort Stanwix flag — Pulaski's banner — The
first Fourth of July celebration — General use of
"thirteen" — Copley's delay to paint in the flag —
A Nantucket skipper carries the flag to London —
The last battle of the Revolution — The New Haven
peace rejoicing.
IX. The Flag of Fifteen Stripes and Fifteen Stars 56
The flag of fifteen stripes and fifteen stars decreed by
Congress — Worn by "Old Ironsides" — Leads against
Tripoli — Seen at Constantinople — Among the In-
dians of the Louisiana Territory — "The Star-Span-
gled Banner" — Marking the birthplace of Wash-
ington.
X. The Star-Spangled Banner 63
Congress decrees the present flag — No law for the ar-
rangement of the stars — The manufacture of bunting
— Flags for the navy — Flags for the War Department
— "Old Glory."
CONTENTS V
XI. The Flag in War 70
The flag at Chapultepec — The surrender of Fort Sum-
ter — The flag raised again at Fort Sumter
Arizona flag of the Rough Riders.
The
77
XII. The Flag in Peace
Perry opens Japan to the world — Raising the flag over
the legation in Sweden — Hauling down the flag in
Cuba — The flag at the North Pole — The flag on
Westminster Palace.
XIII. How TO BEHAVE TOWARD THE FlAG ... 85
Flag Anniversaries 90
Selections
The Star-Spangled Banner
The Flag in the Darkness
A Song for Flag Day .
The Flag goes by
What the Flag stands for
Union and Liberty
Your Country and your Flag
Francis Scott Key 93
. Benjamin Harrison 95
Wilbur D. Neshit 96
Henry Holcomh Bennett 98
Henry Cabot Lodge 100
Oliver Wendell Holmes lOl
. Edward Everett Hale 103
The Home Flag . . Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 104
Old Flag Hubbard Parker 105
Britannia to Columbia .... Alfred Austin 107
Makers of the Flag . . . Franklin K. Lane 109
Our Flag Margaret Sangster 112
Our History and our Flag William Backus Guitteau 113
The American Flag . . Joseph Rodman Drake II 5
The Flag of our Country . . Robert C. Winthrop 116
America Samuel Francis Smith 1 17
Index 119
THE LITTLE BOOK OF
THE FLAG
CHAPTER I
THE FLAGS THAT BROUGHT THE COLONISTS
More than three hundred years ago a little
sailing vessel set out from Holland, crossed the
Atlantic Ocean, and followed down our coast
from Greenland. Its captain, Henry Hudson, was
in search of a quick and easy route to Asia, and
when he entered the mouth of the river that is
named for him, he hoped that he had found a
strait leading to the Asiatic coast. He was dis-
appointed in this, but the Indians welcomed
him, the mountains were rich in forests, and the
ground was fertile. *'It is the most beautiful
land in all the world," declared the enthusiastic
navigator.
Henry Hudson was an Englishman, but he
sailed in the employ of the Dutch East India
Company, and soon the flag of this Company was
well known along the Hudson River. It was the
old flag of Holland, three horizontal stripes, of
2 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
orange, white, and blue, with the initials of the
Company on the white stripe. Hudson had not
found a new route to Asia, but he had opened the
way for the fur- trade. In a few years the Dutch
had estabhshed trading-posts as far north as
Albany. They had also founded a city which we
call *'New York," but which they named "New
Amsterdam." So it was that in 1609 the Dutch
flag first came to the New World.
Nearly thirty years after the voyage of Henry
Hudson, a company of Swedes made a settlement
on the Delaware River. This had been planned
by the great Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden.
''That colony will be the jewel of my kingdom,"
he said; but the ''Lion of the North" was slain
in battle, and his twelve-year-old daughter Chris-
tina had become queen. That is why the loyal
Swedes named their little fortification Fort
Christiana, and over it they raised the flag of
their country, a blue banner with a yellow
cross.
In course of time the Swedes were over-
powered by the Dutch, and then the Dutch by
the English; so that before many years had
passed, the only flag that floated over the "Old
Thirteen" colonies was that of England. This
was brought across the sea by the settlers of
our first English colony, Jamestown, in Virginia.
THE COLONISTS' FLAGS 3
Moreover, they had the honor of sailing away
from England in all the glories of a brand-new
flag made in a brand-new design. The flag of
England had been white with a red upright
cross known as ''St. George's Cross"; but a new
king, James I, had come to the throne, and the
flag as well as many other things had met with
a change. James was King of Scotland by birth,
and the Scotch flag was blue with the white
diagonal cross of St. Andrew. When James be-
came King of England, he united the two flags
by placing on a blue background the upright
cross of St. George over the diagonal cross of St.
Andrew; and he was so well pleased with the
result that he commanded every English vessel
to bear in its maintop this flag, "joined together
according to the form made by our own heralds,"
the King declared with satisfaction. It was the
custom at that time to call "ancient" whatever
was not perfectly new, and therefore the flag used
before James became king was spoken of as the
"ancient flag," while the new one became the
" King's Flag" or the " Union Jack." This change
was made in the very year when the grant for
Virginia was obtained, and therefore the little
company of settlers probably sailed for America
with the " King's Flag" in the maintop and the
"ancient flag" in the foretop.
4 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
On land, among the colonists, sometimes one
flag was floated and sometimes the other. In
Massachusetts the red cross of St. George seems
to have been much in use ; but before long that
red cross began to hurt the consciences of the
Puritans most grievously. To them the cross
was the badge of the Roman Catholic Church.
Still, it was on the flag of their mother country,
the flag that floated over their forts and their
ships. The Puritan conscience was a stern mas-
ter, however, and when one day John Endicott
led the little company of Salem militia out for
a drill, and saw that cross hanging over the
governor's gate, the sight was more than he
could bear, and he — but Hawthorne has al-
ready told the story : —
Endicott gazed around at the excited countenances
of the people, now full of his own spirit, and then
turned suddenly to the standard-bearer, who stood
close behind him.
"Officer, lower your banner!" said he.
The officer obeyed; and brandishing his sword,
Endicott thrust it through the cloth, and, with his
left hand, rent the red cross completely out of the
banner. He then waved the tattered ensign above his
head.
"Sacrilegious wretch!" cried the High Church-
man in the pillory, unable longer to restrain him-
self, "thou hast rejected the symbol of our holy
religion!"
THE COLONISTS' FLAGS 5
"Treason, treason!" roared the Royalist in the
stocks. "He hath defaced the King's banner!"
"Before God and man, I will avouch the deed,"
answered Endicott. "Beat a flourish, drummer! —
shout, soldiers and people! — in honor of the ensign
of New England. Neither Pope nor Tyrant hath
part in it now!"
With a cry of triumph the people gave their sanc-
tion to one of the boldest exploits which our history
records.
Endicott was one of the court assistants, but
he was now removed from his position and for-
bidden to hold any public office for one year. He
was fortunate in being permitted to retain his
head.
Endicott had been punished, but the Puritan
conscience was not yet at rest, and now many of
the militia declared that they did not think it
right to march under the cross. The whole mi-
litia could not well be punished, and the com-
missioners for military affairs were as doubtful
as the honest militia men about what should be
done. "We will leave it to the next General
Court to decide," they said, **and in the mean-
time no flags shall be used anywhere."
This seemed a comfortable way to settle the
question, but unluckily there was a fort on Castle
Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor, and
when an English vessel came sailing in, its cap-
6 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
tain refused to pay any attention to a fort with-
out a flag. Then the officer in command rose to
his dignity and made the ship — maybe with the
aid of a ball across her bows — strike her colors.
The captain complained to the authorities that
the commandant of this flagless fort had insulted
his flag and his country. The authorities were
just a bit alarmed. To insult a flag and a coun-
try was a serious matter. ''What shall we do to
make amends?" they queried. ''Let the officer
who proffered the insult come on board of my
vessel and say in the presence of the ship*s com-
pany that he was in fault," replied the captain.
This was done, and the sky cleared.
But the troubles of the colonists were by no
means over. The mate of another vessel de-
clared with considerable emphasis that these
people were all rebels and traitors to the King.
Surely the thought of such a report as this
going back to England from a tiny colony cling-
ing to the edge of the continent was enough to
alarm the boldest. Discussions were held, and
Dr. John Cotton was appealed to.
A canny man was this Dr. John Cotton, and
he decided that inasmuch as the fort belonged
to the King, it was proper that it should dis-
play the King's Flag, whatever it might be, —
"while vessels are passing," he added shrewdly;
THE COLONISTS' FLAGS 7
but that, as for the militia, each company
might have its own colors, and not one of
them need bear a cross. So the great tempest
passed by.
CHAPTER II
THE PINE-TREE FLAG AND OTHERS
In some of the colonies at least, the people must
have led a rather somber life, with little pleasure,
much hard work, and much discomfort ; but they
fairly reveled in flags. The Indians in their war-
fare preferred to hide behind trees rather than to
flourish banners, and the white men soon learned
to follow their example. Nevertheless, it always
seemed to the minds of the colonists a little
irregular and out of place not to carry a flag of
some sort when they were setting out on an ex-
pedition.
Probably we do not know one in twenty of all
the designs for banners that entered the fertile
minds of these colonists, but they were so nu-
merous'that if they had all been displayed at the
same time, they would have almost hidden the
settlements. Not all colonists were as afraid of
a cross as were the good folk of Salem. In New-
bury, Massachusetts, a certain company of foot
rejoiced in a flag of vivid green. In the upper
corner next the staff was a square of white con-
taining a red cross. The kindly councilor, who
THE PINE-TREE FLAG AND OTHERS 9
had ordered the flag to be made in England
"with all convenient speed," evidently had some
sense of humor, for he wrote at the end of his
letter to the company, "The number of bullets
to be put into your colors for distinction may be
left out at present without damage in the mak-
ing of them." Another flag, belonging to a com-
pany of Massachusetts cavalry, seems to have
been something quite out of the common, for it
was of damask and silk and adorned with silver
fringe. A real artist must have used his brush
upon it, for the bill read, " For painting in oyle on
both sides a Cornett on rich crimson damask,
with a hand and sword and invelloped with a
scarf e about the arms of gold, black and silver" ;
and for all that gorgeousness, generously painted
"on both sides, "the charge was the moderate one
of £5 25. 6d, This was made for what was known
as the "Three County Troop," composed of cav-
alry from Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk Coun-
ties in Massachusetts, and was probably used in
King Philip's War.
Now, wherever a discoverer planted the sole
of his foot, he took possession for his sovereign of
all the land in sight and all the land which joined
that land. Naturally, the claims of the colo-
nies soon conflicted. The good folk of New Eng-
land made an alliance to defend themselves
lo THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
against the Dutch, Swedes, and French. They
managed to be good alHes for forty years with-
out a flag. Then came one brilliant enough to
make up for the delay, and sent to them across
the sea by no less a man than King James II him-
self. This was of white with a St. George's cross of
red. In the center of the cross was a golden crown
and under it the King's monogram in black. A
few years later matters in England had changed.
King James II had proved to be a very poor sort
of sovereign, and it was made clear to him that
for his health and comfort — possibly for his head
— it would be wise for him to leave the country.
This he did in alarm and at full speed, tossing
the royal seal into the Thames on his way. It
is small wonder that New Englanders preferred
a new flag. The only marvel is that they waited
so long a time before getting it. When it was
finally chosen, it proved to be red with a white
canton or union cut by a red St. George's cross
into four squares. In one of these squares was the
representation of a pine tree. This representa-
tion can hardly have been a work of art, for one
historian says unkindly of it that it " no more re-
sembled a pine tree than a cabbage." Evidently
the brave colonists were not artists. Neverthe-
less, even if the good folk of Massachusetts could
not draw a pine tree, they were fond of it, and
THE PINE-TREE FLAG AND OTHERS ii
their General Court decreed that it should be
stamped upon the coins minted in that colony.
Now it was the right of the King to coin money,
and when Charles II heard that the ambitious
colonists were making it for themselves, he was
not pleased. ''But it is only for their own use,'*
said a courtier who favored the colonies, and
taking a New England coin from his pocket, he
showed it to the King. "What tree is that?"
demanded the aggrieved monarch. "That," said
the quick-witted courtier, "is the royal oak which
saved Your Majesty's life." "Well, well," said
the King, "those colonists are not so bad after
all. They're a parcel of honest dogs!" Perhaps
they were, even if their likenesses of pine trees
could not be distinguished from cabbages and
oaks. Hawthorne's story, "The Pine-Tree Shil-
lings," is written about this inartistic coinage.
So the story of the flags went on. Besides the
English flag every little company of militia had
its standard. One flag bore a hemisphere in the
corner in place of a pine tree, and another bore
nothing but a tree. The colonists did not trouble
themselves about being artistic or choosing colors
of any special significance; if the ground of the
flag was of one color and the cross or whatever
other figure was chosen was of another, they
were satisfied. Charleston, South Carolina, had
12 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
a specially elegant flag — blue with a silver cres-
cent — to use on "dress-up" days. After a time
even the Indians were sometimes furnished with
flags, for one kindly governor gave them a Union
Jack as a protection. He presented them also with
a red flag to indicate war and a white one as a
sign of peace; and probably the fortunate In-
dians felt with all this magnificence quite like
white folk.
In 1745, when that remarkable expedition
of New Englanders — which had "a lawyer for
contriver, a merchant for general, and farmers,
fishermen, and mechanics for soldiers" — set
ofT to capture Louisburg from the French, they
sailed proudly away under a flag whereon was
written in Latin, "Never despair, for Christ is
our leader." It was on this same expedition that
a new flag was hoisted, the like of which was
never seen before. An officer discovered that a
battery on the shore of the harbor was appar-
ently vacant. There was no flag flying from the
staff and no smoke rising from the chimney. It
looked as if that battery might be taken easily.
On the other hand it was also quite possible
that this was a ruse and was meant to decoy
the colonists within. The oflicer concluded to
run the risk — of losing the life of some one else.
Holding up a bottle of brandy before the thirsty
THE PINE-TREE FLAG AND OTHERS 13
gaze of an Indian, he said, "If I give you this,
will you creep in at that embrasure and open the
gate?" The red man grunted assent, crept in,
and opened the gate. Then the officer and
twelve men took possession. Soon a message
went from the officer to his general as follows:
"May it please your honor to be informed that
by the grace of God and the courage of thirteen
men, I entered the royal battery about nine
o'clock, and am awaiting for a reinforcement
and a flag." Sometimes the colonists were want-
ing in the grace of patience, and this was one of
the occasions. A soldier, tired of delay, decided
that, although he could not provide reinforce-
ments, he could provide a flag; so up the staff
he clambered with a red coat in his teeth. He
nailed it to the top of the staff, and it swung
out in the wind, much to the alarm of the citi-
zens, who sent one hundred men in boats to re-
capture the battery. The hundred men fired, but
the brave little company kept them from land-
ing and held their position till the general could
send help.
CHAPTER III
LIBERTY AND LIBERTY POLES
After the middle of the eighteenth century
there was much talk among the colonies of lib-
erty. It is possible that not all the people were
quite clear in their minds what that "liberty**
might mean ; but whatever it was, they wanted it.
England required nothing more of her colonies
than other nations required of theirs. The colo-
nies asked nothing of England that would not be
granted to-day as a matter of course. The diffi-
culty was that the mother country was living
in the eighteenth century, while the colonists
were looking forward into the nineteenth. A de-
mand for liberty was in the air. The pole on
which a flag was hung was not called a flag pole,
but a liberty pole.
Most of the flags on these liberty poles bore
mottoes, many of them decidedly bold and de-
fiant. When the Stamp Act was passed, the
wrath of the people rose, and now they knew
exactly what they wanted — "No taxation
without representation." The stamped paper
brought to South Carolina was carefully stowed
LIBERTY AND LIBERTY POLES 15
away in a fort. Thereupon three volunteer com-
panies from Charleston took possession of the
fort, ran up a blue flag marked with three white
crescents, and destroyed the paper. New York's
flag had one word only, but that one word was
"Liberty." Portsmouth, New Hampshire, had
a banner inscribed ''Liberty, Property, and
no Stamps." In Newburyport, Massachusetts,
there was a regular patrol of men armed with
stout sticks. "What do you say, stamps or no
stamps?" they demanded of every stranger, and
if he had a liking for a whole skin, he replied em-
phatically, "No stamps." One wary newcomer
replied courteously, "I am what you are," and
was uproariously cheered.
In going from one colony to another, it was
not uncommon for a man to get a passport from
the sons of Liberty to attest to his standing as a
"Liberty man." When the stamps made their
first appearance, Boston tolled her church bells
and put her flags at half-mast. Indeed, a new
sort of flag appeared in the shape of an efligy of
Oliver, the stamp distributor, swinging from the
bough of a great elm which stood by the main
entrance to town. The Chief Justice ordered
this image to be removed. "Certainly," replied
the people politely, "we will take it down our-
selves this very evening." So they did, but they
i6 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
laid it upon a bier and marched in a long pro-
cesssion through the old State House. Here, in
the Council Chamber, the Governor and his
Council were deliberating. Shouts came up from
below, "Liberty, Property, and no Stamps!" and
"Death to the man who offers a piece of stamped
paper to sell!" "Beat an alarm," the Chief
Justice commanded the colonel of the militia.
"But I cannot," replied the colonel, "my drum-
mers are in the mob." The procession marched
on, burned the effigy in front of the distributor's
house, gave three rousing cheers, and went home.
In New York, when the rumor spread that a ship
laden with stamps was approaching, all the ves-
sels in the harbor put their colors at half-mast.
When every distributor of stamps had re-
signed his office, there was another outburst of
banners. Charleston, South Carolina, hoisted a
liberty flag, surmounted by a branch of laurel.
The tree in Boston on which the effigy of the
stamp distributor had been hung had become an
important member of colonial society. It had
been formally named the "Liberty Tree," and
the ground under it was called "Liberty Hall."
Banners were often swung from its branches, and
notices were nailed to its trunk. Fastened firmly
to the trunk was a tall liberty pole, and when-
ever any one caught a glimpse of a red flag
LIBERTY AND LIBERTY POLES 17
waving from the top of the pole, he knew that the
Sons of Liberty were to hold a meeting. When
the Stamp Act was repealed, the Liberty Tree was
the very center of rejoicing. At one o'clock in
the morning, the church bell nearest it was rung
joyfully. At the first rays of dawn, the houses
about it, even the steeple of the church, all blos-
somed out with banners, and at night the tree
itself was aglow with lanterns. In New York
a liberty pole was set up with a splendid new
flag on which was inscribed, "The King, Pitt,
and Liberty."* It almost seemed as if "liberty"
meant having whatever sort of flag might suit
one's whim.
This New York pole had rather a hard time.
British soldiers cut it down twice, and when a
third pole was raised, sheathed with iron around
its base, they managed to cut that down also, al-
though it bore the legend, ' ' To His Most Gracious
Majesty George III, Mr. Pitt, and Liberty."
The city authorities would not risk planting an-
other pole on city land, and thereupon the Sons
of Liberty bought a piece of land for themselves,
and marched up in brilliant procession; first a
full band, playing with all its might, then six
horses, made gorgeous with bright ribbons,
drawing from the shipyard a fine new pole,
sheathed in iron two thirds of its length. It was
i8 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
escorted by the Sons of Liberty in full numbers.
Three flags floated over the little procession, but
their mottoes were not so impressively loyal as
the earlier ones. These read, "Liberty and Prop-
erty." Nevertheless, ''liberty" did not yet mean
separation from the mother country; it meant
only freedom in making some of their own laws ;
and what was known as the "Union Flag" did
not refer to any union of the colonies, but rather
to the union of Scotland and England. This
flag, the regular flag of England, was red, with
the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew on a
blue field forming the Jack.
Once, however, more than twenty years before
the Revolutionary War, there had been some talk
of a union of colonies, beginning with the sugges-
tions of the most far-sighted man in America,
Benjamin Franklin. In 1754, when war between
France and England was on the point of breaking
out, there was a meeting at Albany of delegates
from several colonies. They had come to see if
they could make sure of the aid of the Six Na-
tions of Indian tribes; and here the sagacious
Franklin brought forward his plan for a union.
His scheme was for the colonies to elect a Grand
Council, which should meet every year in Phila-
delphia, to levy taxes, enlist soldiers, plan for de-
fense, and, in short, to attend to whatever con-
LIBERTY AND LIBERTY POLES 19
cerned all the colonies. Whatever affected them
separately was to be managed by the colony in-
terested. This Council was to have much the
same powers as our Congress of to-day; but there
must be a place in the scheme for the King,
of course; so Franklin proposed that the King
should appoint a president who should have the
right to veto the acts of the Grand Council. This
was the ** Albany Plan.'* Franklin was much
in earnest about the matter, and had a cut made
for the Pennsylvania Gazette picturing a rather
unpleasant device, a snake sliced uncomfort-
ably into ten parts, the head marked " NE, " for
New England, and each of the other pieces with
the initials of some one of the other nine colonies.
With the motto, ''Unite or die," this work of
art appeared for a number of issues at the head
of the Gazette; but many years passed before
the colonies began to make any practical use of
the wisdom of Franklin in 1754.
CHAPTER IV
THE LAND OF MANY FLAGS
When Paul Revere galloped through the vil-
lages of Middlesex, calling "for the country folk
to be up and to arm," there was not much spare
time for collecting flags, and probably when
"The farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall," —
they did not trouble themselves to flourish a
flag before they shot. Yet, if we may trust a
family tradition, at least one flag waved over the
plucky farmers. It seems that for a long while
one member or another of the Page family of
Bedford had been accustomed to carrying the
colors of the militia, and therefore when the
alarm was given and Nathaniel Page started for
Concord, it was as natural for him to seize his
flag as his gun. Moreover, this story has the
bunting to back it up, for the Bedford flag re-
mained in the Page family until presented to the
town a century after the close of the war. It is
rather a pity that it did not come a little sooner,
for an old lady of Page descent confessed that in
THE LAND OF MANY FLAGS 21
her giddy girlhood she had irreverently ripped
otT the silver fringe to make trimming for her
ball dress.
The Revolution was fairly on, and two months
later, the battle of Bunker Hill was fought.
Possibly the colonists thought of spades rather
than standards when they were throwing up the
fortifications, and yet I fancy that to these flag-
loving fighters a battle without a banner would
have seemed like an undignified riot. Some
writers say positively that no flag was to be seen
— rather a difficult statement to prove. The
daughter of one of the soldiers declared that
her father helped hoist the standard known as
the "New England Flag." ''He called it a ' noble
flag,' " she said. "It was blue with the red cross
of St. George in a white corner, and in one sec-
tion was a pine tree." The artist Trumbull, who
painted the picture of this battle now in the
Capitol at Washington, made the flag red instead
of blue, but both were familiar colonial flags, and
there is no reason why both should not have
waved over the famous hill. Tradition says
that one flag bore the motto, "Come if you
dare." General Gage is said to have had diffi-
culty in reading it, but maybe that was because
of its audacity. Some verses written soon after
the battle say that
22 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
"Columbia's troops are seen in dread array,
And waving streamers in the air display" ; —
but, unluckily, the poet forgot to mention the
color of those ''waving streamers." In Savan-
nah, after the battle, but before any news of it
could have arrived, the independent Georgians
hoisted a Union flag and suggestively placed two
pieces of artillery directly under it. New York
chose a white flag with a black beaver thereon.
Rhode Island had also a white flag, but with a
blue anchor instead of a beaver, and a blue can-
ton with thirteen white stars. Her motto was
**Hope.** Connecticut meant that there should
be no mistake in the whereabouts of her regi-
ments, for she gave them flags of solid color: to
the first, yellow; the second, blue; the third,
scarlet; and so on with crimson, white, azure,
another shade of blue, and orange. For a motto
Connecticut chose "Qui transtulit sustinet";
that is, "He who brought us here sustains us."
Massachusetts chose for her motto "An Appeal
to Heaven." Charleston had a blue flag with a
white crescent in the upper corner next to the
staff and inscribed upon her banner the daring
words, "Liberty or Death." Later she adopted
a rattlesnake flag. Her troops wore blue and had
silver crescents on the front of their caps, in-
scribed with the same motto. It is small wonder
THE LAND OF MANY FLAGS 23
that timid folk were alarmed and whispered to
one another, "That is going too far; it looks Hke
a declaration of war." This blue and silver flag
was planned by Colonel Moultrie. When Fort
Moultrie — which received this name because of
his brave defense — was shelled the following
year, the anxious folk in the town watched with
troubled faces, for it was doubtful whether the
little fort with its scant supply of ammunition
could sustain the attack. Suddenly the crescent
flag fell from its staff. A groan ran through the
crowd — Colonel Moultrie had struck his flag!
** Forward!" cried one among them, and they
marched to the water's edge to fight for their
homes. Within the little fort one William Jasper,
a sergeant, saw that a ball had cut down the flag
and it had fallen over the rampart. "Colonel,"
he said to his commander, "don't let us fight
without a flag." "What can you do?" demanded
Colonel Moutrie, "the staff is broken." Ser-
geant Jasper was a man of few words and many
deeds. He leaped through an embrasure, walked
the whole length of the fort in a heavy fire from
the ships, caught up the flag, brought it safely
back, and fastened it to a sponge-staff. Then,
in the midst of cheers, — in which I fancy the
British also joined, — he fastened the rescued
banner upon the bastion. The following day the
24 ^ THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
Governor came to the fort, asked for Sergeant
Jasper, presented him with his own sword, and
gave him hearty thanks in behalf of his country.
Then he said, "I will gladly give you a lieu-
tenant's commission," but the honest man re-
fused. " I am only a sergeant," he said. " I don't
know how to read or write, and I am not fit to
keep company with ofhcers." Colonel Moultrie
then gave him a roving commission, and he often
made some little trip with half a dozen men and
returned with a band of prisoners before any
one realized that he had gone. The wife of Major
Elliot presented the regiment with a pair of
beautiful silken colors, which were afterwards
carried in the assault upon Savannah. The
standard-bearers were shot down; another man
seized them, but he was also shot; then Sergeant
Jasper caught them and fastened them on the
parapet, when he too was fatally wounded by
a ball. "Tell Mrs. Elliot," he said, "that I lost
my life supporting the colors she gave to our
regiment." A tablet in honor of the brave ser-
geant was long ago placed in Savannah.
The rattlesnake as an emblem seems to have
been somewhat of a favorite among the colonists.
Besides Franklin's snake of the many initials —
which, indeed, might have stood, or coiled, for
any sort of serpent — there was the one borne by
THE LAND OF MANY FLAGS 25
Patrick Henry's men when they forced the
Governor of Virginia to pay for the powder which
he had carried away from the colonial magazine.
Then, too, there was a third variety of snake,
the one that stretched itself across a colonial
naval flag and proclaimed — from the top of the
mast — "Don't tread on me." On another flag
the rattlesnake appeared coiled in the roots of
a pine tree and ready to strike. The Culpeper
Minute Men of Virginia had a coiled snake on
their flag. In the winter of 1 775 there appeared in
the Pennsylvania Journal an article setting forth
the propriety of choosing the rattlesnake to
represent America. The style of the article and
its keenness are like Franklin, but there is no
proof that he was its author. Whoever did write
it notes that the "rattler" is peculiar to Amer-
ica; that the brightness of its eyes and their lack
of lids fit it to be an emblem of vigilance. It never
begins an attack and never surrenders, never
wounds till it has given warning. The writer had
counted the rattles on the naval flag, and found
them to be exactly thirteen, the number of the
colonies. He had also noted that the rattles were
independent of one another, and yet most firmly
united ; and that while one rattle alone is incap-
able of producing any sound, the ringing of
the thirteen together is sufficient to alarm the
26 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
boldest man living. Whether Franklin wrote this
or not, let us at least be thankful that these argu-
ments did not prevail, and that on the flag of the
United States there are stars and not serpents.
CHAPTER V
WHEN WASHINGTON WENT TO CAMBRIDGE
Washington, chosen commander-in-chief, set
out on June 21, 1775, on his eleven-days' ride
to Boston. From Philadelphia to New York he
was escorted by the Philadelphia Light Horse
Troop. It was an escort worth having. Their
uniform was "a dark brown short coat, faced and
lined with white ; high- topped boots ; round black
hat, bound with silver cord ; a buck's tail, saddle-
cloths brown edged with white, and the letters
^L.H.' worked on them. Their arms were a car-
bine, a pair of pistols and holsters; a horseman's
sword; white belts for the sword and carbine."
Officers of the militia, the Massachusetts mem-
bers of the Continental Congress, and many
others wore also of the company. The horses
pranced, the music played, and the cavalcade
started from the Quaker City for the war that
was to make the country free. The flag that was
borne before them is now carefully preserved
between two heavy plates of glass, and is kept
in the Troop's armory, in a fireproof safe made
expressly for that purpose. The banner is only
forty inches long, but its richness makes up for
28 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
its lack of size. It is of yellow silk with heavy
silver fringe. Around the flag is a graceful run-
ning vine. The crest is a horse's head. In the
center are figures representing Fame and Lib-
erty. Under them is the motto, "For these we
strive.'* Some verses written many years ago
say of this flag: —
"For these we strive; what brighter name
Can man achieve or beauty see,
Than worth to share his country's FAME,
Or perish for her LIBERTY?"
It is a precious relic for its associations, and still
more precious because the canton is made of
thirteen stripes, blue and silver alternating.
Apparently these stand for the thirteen colo-
nies, and so far as is known, this was the first
time that the colonies were represented, as on
our flag of to-day, by thirteen stripes.
Before Washington and his escort reached
New York, couriers reported the battle of Bunker
Hill. Washington pushed on, and July 2, he had
his first glimpse of his forces. It must have been
a discouraging glimpse. A few wore uniforms,
but most of the men had come in "what they
had." The men of a few companies were pro-
vided with tents, others slept in the halls of Har-
vard College, in the pews of the Episcopal Church,
or in private houses. Still others had built their
UNDER THE WASHINGTON ELM 29
own huts, of boards, turf, sailcloth, stones, or
brush. Powder and artillery were scanty, and
the commander-in-chief had been furnished with
no money. Perhaps this was not so remarkable,
however, for the members of the Continental
Congress had no power to collect taxes, and in
reality had no control over any money except
what was in their own pockets. Officers and men
chatted together as freely as if in their own
homes ; and if an order did not impress a man as
being wise, he sometimes stopped and patiently
explained to the officer why he thought another
course was better.
Twelve of the most independent companies,
and yet the most vigilant and best disciplined of
all, were composed of backwoodsmen who had
come on foot from four to eight hundred miles.
A little later, five Indians came to Cambridge
to help fight for liberty. They were welcomed
cordially and entered the service. It is prob-
able that every little company marched to Cam-
bridge under its own colors, but of course there
was no flag representing the colonies as a whole.
Immediately after the battle of Bunker Hill,
Major-General Israel Putnam took up his stand
on Prospect Hill. One month later he called to-
gether all the troops under his command, and
read them the statement issued by the Conti-
30 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
nental Congress which declared just why the
colonies had had recourse to arms. The chaplain
made an address and a prayer, at the end of
which the troops responded, ''Amen." Then
there was unfurled a scarlet standard, which
it is said John Hancock had just presented to
General Putnam and his men in recognition of
their bravery at Bunker Hill. Tradition says this
standard bore on one side the motto of Connecti-
cut, "Qui transtulit sustinet," and on the other
a pine tree and the motto of Massachusetts,
**An Appeal to Heaven."
It is a little strange that the Massachusetts
colonists did not put the likeness of an elm on
any of their banners, for so much of their his-
tory was associated with the ''Liberty Elm." A
few flags on both land and sea were inscribed
"Liberty Tree," but no exercise of the imagina-
tion can make the pictured tree look in the least
like an elm. Under the Liberty Elm of Boston
the meetings of the Sons of Liberty were held,
as has been said, and here it was that the reso-
lutions were adopted which resulted in dropping
three hundred and forty chests of tea into Boston
Harbor. The Liberty Tree of Charleston, South
Carolina, was a beautiful live-oak. It is said
that under this tree Christopher Gadsden, even
before the Stamp Act, ventured to speak of the
UNDER THE WASHINGTON ELM 31
possible independence of the colonies. Here, as in
Boston, the patriots came together to discuss the
way to hberty, and with hand clasped in hand
solemnly promised that when the hour for re-
sistence should come, they would not be found
unready. There is something refreshing in the
thought of all the free, open-air discussion that
went on under the Liberty Trees. There was no
stifling of thought in closed rooms with bolted
doors. Every new idea, daring as it might be,
was blown upon by the free winds of heaven.
Naturally, the British commanders hated these
trees and thoroughly enjoyed destroying them
whenever they had opportunity. The Boston
tree was cut down even before the battle of Lex-
ington. In 1780 Sir Henry Clinton cut down the
live-oak in Charleston, piled its severed branches
over the stump, and set fire to them. Even the
iron-girt Liberty Pole of New York was cut
down by the red coats in 1776. It is little wonder
that Thomas Paine's poem on the "Liberty
Tree " was so roundly applauded. This closes : —
" But hear, O ye swains, — 't is a tale most profane,
How all the tyrannical powers.
Kings, Commons, and Lords, are uniting amain,
To cut down this guardian of ours.
From the East to the West, blow the trumpet to arms,
Through the land let the. sound of it flee,
Let the far and the near all unite with a cheer,
In defense of our Liberty Tree."
CHAPTER VI
THE ''grand union FLAG*'
During the summer following the battle of
Bunker Hill, the colonies had a congress with-
out authority, a commander-in-chief without
money, and an army without discipline, equip-
ments, or flag — or rather, with so many flags
that they must have had little significance ex-
cept to the respective groups of men who had
marched under each. Before Christmas a flag
was designed and made, but how, where, and
by whom is not known. Neither Washington nor
Franklin gives any information, and the Journal
of Congress says nothing about its designer or
maker. It is true that a committee of three, —
all signers of the Declaration of Independence
a few months later, — Benjamin Franklin, of
Pennsylvania, Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia,
whose son Benjamin was afterwards to become
President of the United States, and Thomas
Lynch, of South Carolina, were sent by Con-
gress to Cambridge, to discuss with Washington
and others many necessary questions, but there
is no proof that the design of a flag was among
THE GRAND UNION FLAG 33
them. The flag, however, was made. This was
what is known as the "Grand Union Flag."
The British flag, red with a blue union, marked
by the upright cross of St. George and the di-
agonal cross of St. Andrew, was known as the
''Union Flag," because it typified, as has been
said before, the union of England and Scotland.
The new flag retained the blue union with its
two crosses, but instead of a red field it had red
and white stripes. These thirteen stripes repre-
sented the thirteen colonies; the blue union sug-
gested that the colonies still clung to the mother
country.
Where the idea of using stripes came from is a
question that has never been solved. The Phila-
delphia Troop had thirteen stripes on their ban-
ner, but they were blue and white. Washing-
ton's coat of arms contained red and white
stripes; but Washington was too modest a man
to suggest using his own family arms, and as to
any one's suggesting it for him, it must be re-
membered that he was not yet the revered
''Father of his Country," but simply a Virginia
planter of forty-three years who had been suc-
cessful in fighting the Indians, and who, because
of his good judgment and uprightness of char-
acter, had been made a member of the Virginia
Legislature and then of the Continental Congress.
34 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
The flag of the Netherlands — but chosen thirty
years after the Pilgrims left that country for
America — was red, white, and blue, in three
horizontal stripes. The ensign of the English
East India Company was a flag of thirteen hori-
zontal red and white stripes with a white canton
containing a red St. George's Cross; but there is
no reason to suppose that this inspired the flag
of the colonies. Bunting was scarce and Franklin
was always a thrifty soul. If that committee of
three did design the flag, it is not at all unlikely
that Franklin suggested utilizing the standards
they already had, and changing their character
by stitching on white stripes. To deface the flag
of Britain was a serious ofl^ense, and maybe it
was thought just as well that the name of the
originator of this "Grand Union" should not be
on record. The flag was first raised on the ist
of January, 1776, in what is now Somerville,
on Prospect Hill, and was saluted with thirteen
guns and thirteen rousing cheers. It was seen by
the British troops in Boston, and for some rea-
son they took it as a sign of submission brought
about by the King's hostile proclamation, which
they supposed had been read in Cambridge.
Washington wrote : —
Before the proclamation came to hand, we had
hoisted the Union Flag in compliment to the United
THE GRAND UNION FLAG 35
Colonies. But, behold, it was received in Boston as a
token of the deep impression the speech had made
upon us, and as a signal of submission. By this time,
I presume, they begin to think it strange that we have
not made a formal surrender of our lines.
The colonists had adopted a flag, but all sorts
of colors continued to be borne on both sea and
land. On the sea the favorite seems to have
been a white flag displaying a green pine tree.
One year after the battle of Lexington, Massa-
chusetts formally decreed that this flag should
be used on her vessels, and that their officers
should wear a green and white uniform. Even
two years later than this, the Pine-Tree Flag
was borne by floating batteries on the Delaware
River. Sometimes the British ran up an Ameri-
can flag to deceive the colonial vessels, and
sometimes the colonists ran up a flag made of
horizontal red and white stripes to persuade the
British that it was one of their own signal flags.
Sometimes rattlesnake flags were used.
Congress ordered the building of war vessels
as promptly as possible, five cruisers first of all.
The Alfred, on which John Paul Jones was lieu-
tenant, became the flagship of Commander-in-
Chief Esek Hopkins. This vessel was of English
build and had been employed in commerce for
nine or ten years, making two voyages to the In-
36 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
dian Ocean during that time. She had space for
two hundred and twenty men, and had sixteen
guns, carried for the benefit of pirates. She had
been put in full repair and had now become a
frigate of twenty-eight guns. Such was the first
vessel of the Continental Navy. An old account
of the embarkation of Commodore Hopkins at
Philadelphia says : —
The Alfred was anchored at the foot of Walnut
Street. On a brilliant morning early in February,
1776, gay streamers were seen floating from every
masthead and spar on the river. At nine o'clock a full-
manned barge threaded its way among the floating
ice to the Alfred, bearing the commodore, who had
chosen that vessel for his flagship. He was greeted
with thunders of artillery and the shouts of the mul-
titude.
When he stepped on board the deck of the
Alfred, Captain Saltonstall gave a signal, and
Lieutenant Jones hoisted a new flag prepared for
the occasion. It is believed to have displayed a
union with thirteen stripes crossed by a rattle-
snake in some position, with the ominous motto,
''Don't tread on me." When the flag reached
the mast-head, the crowds cheered and the guns
fired a salute, — as well they might, for this was
the first ensign ever flung to the breeze on an
American man-of-war. Paul Jones appreciated
THE GRAND UKION FLAG 37
the honor of raising it, but he was no admirer of
the rattlesnake flag. In his journal he wrote: —
I was always at loss to know by what queer fancy
or by whose notion that device was first adopted. For
my own part, I never could see how or why a venom-
ous serpent could be the combatant emblem of a
brave and honest folk fighting to be free. Of course I
had no choice but to break the pennant as it was given
to me. But I always abhorred the device.
Three weeks after the Alfred was put in com-
mission, the little fleet sailed away from Phila-
delphia amid the cheers of thousands of people.
One of the eye-witnesses said that the ships wore
the Union Flag with thirteen stripes in the field.
Of the admiral's flag an English writer said, "We
learn that the vessels bearing this flag have a
sort of commission from a society of people at
Philadelphia, calling themselves the continental
congress." Scornfully as he spoke of Congress,
there is at least one record of which it may
be proud. Franklin, under its authority, issued
letters of marque with a lavish hand, but, hard-
pressed as the colonists were, he bade John Paul
Jones "not to burn defenseless towns on the
British coast except in case of military necessity ;
and in such cases he was to give notice, so that
the women and children with the sick and aged
inhabitants might be removed betimes." More-
38 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
over, he bade all American cruisers if they
chanced to meet Captain Cook, the great English
explorer of that day, to ''forget the temporary
quarrel in which they were fighting and not
merely suffer him to pass unmolested, but offer
him every aid and service in their power."
CHAPTER VII
THE FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG
The ''society of people at Philadelphia calling
themselves the continental congress" had had,
so far as records go, nothing to do with choos-
ing any flag. The ''Grand Union "unfurled at
Cambridge was regarded as symbolizing the
union of colonies, but no one knows who designed
it or chose it. To alter the design of our flag
to-day would be a very serious matter, but the
colonies were so accustomed to the making of
flags according to the whim of some militia
company or some sea captain that the appear-
ance of a new design, especially one so slightly
changed from the familiar flag of the mother
country, cannot have created any great sensa-
tion. Moreover, flags were not for sale at depart-
ment stores; they had to be ordered, and in this
time of war, bunting was not easy to procure.
Flag-makers were few, and many a captain
sailed away with a flag manufactured by his
wife's own unaccustomed hands.
July 4, 1776, less than fifteen months after the
battle of Lexington, it was declared in Congress
40 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
^'That these united colonies are, and of right
ought to be, free and independent states." June
14,1 ^']'], the following resolution was adopted : —
Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States
be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the
union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, repre-
senting a new constellation.
So much for the share that Congress had in the
flag. The story of the making of the first flag with
stars and stripes is as follows. Betsy Ross, or, to
speak more respectfully, Mrs. Elizabeth Griscom
Ross, lived on Arch Street, Philadelphia, in a
tiny house of two stories and an attic. She was
called the most skillful needlewoman in the city,
and there is a tradition that before Washington
became commander-in-chief, she embroidered
ruffles for his shirts — quite an important branch
of fine sewing in those days. Whether she ever
embroidered the great man's ruffles or not, it is
said that, whenever folk wanted any especially
fine work done, they always went to "Betsy
Ross." She could do more than sew, for she could
draw freehand the complicated patterns that
were used in quilting, the supreme proof of artistic
ability in the household. One day three gentle-
men entered her house through its humble door-
way. One was her uncle by marriage. Colonel
Ross; one is thought to have been Robert Morris ;
THE FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG 41
one was General Washington. The commander-
in-chief told her that they had come from Con-
gress to ask her if she could make a flag. ''I
don't know," she replied, ''but I can try." Then
they showed her a rough sketch of a flag and
asked what she thought of it. She replied that
she thought it ought to be longer, that a flag
looked better if the length was one third greater
than the width. She ventured to make two more
suggestions. One was that the stars which they
had scattered irregularly over the blue canton
would look better if they were arranged in some
regular form, such as a circle or a star or in par-
allel rows. The second suggestion was that a
star with five points was prettier than one with
six. Some one seems to have remarked that it
would be more difficult to make; and thereupon
the skillful little lady folded a bit of paper and
with one clip of her scissors produced a star with
five points. The three gentlemen saw that her
suggestions were good, and General Washington
drew up his chair to a table and made another
sketch according to her ideas.
Mrs. Ross could make wise suggestions about
flags, but how to sew them she did not know;
so it was arranged that she should call on a
shipping merchant and borrow a flag from him.
This she soon did. He opened a chest and took
42 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
out a ship's flag to show her how the sewing was
done. She carried it home to use as a guide, and
when she reached the Httle house on Arch Street,
she set to work to make the first flag bearing the
stars and stripes. To try the effect, it was run
up to the peak of one of the vessels in the Dela-
ware, and the result was so pleasing that it
was carried into Congress on the day that it was
completed. Congress approved of the work of
the little lady. Colonel Ross told her to buy all
the material she could and make as many flags
as possible. And for more than fifty years she
continued to make flags for the Government.
This is the account that has come down to us,
not by tradition merely, but by written state-
ments of Mrs. Ross's daughters, grandchil-
dren, and others, to whom she often told the
story. Mrs. Ross says that this sample flag was
made just before the Declaration of Independ-
ence, although the Resolution endorsing it was
not passed until June 14, 1777. This, however,
would not argue to the incorrectness of the ac-
count, for Congress had a fashion of writing with
the utmost brevity the results of its delibera-
tions, and not putting in a word about the dis-
cussions that must have taken place before the
passing of a resolution. Affairs of the utmost im-
portance were on hand, and after all it was the
THE FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG 43
usefulness and convenience of the flag, rather
than its sentiment or the fact of its having
congressional authority, that was most in the
minds of men, and it is not impossible that this
design was in use long before the date of its offi-
cial recognition by Congress. The one real
weakness in the story is its lack of contempo-
rary evidence.
The significance of the new flag no one has
expressed better than Washington. ''We take
the star from Heaven," he said, ''red from our
mother country, separating it by white stripes,
thus showing that we have separated from her,
and the white stripes shall go down to posterity
representing liberty."
On the day of the passing of the resolution
about the Stars and Stripes, another one was
passed, which read as follows: —
Resolved, That Captain John Paul Jones be ap-
pointed to command the ship Ranger.
"The flag and I are twins, born the same
hour," said Captain Jones. The Ranger was
launched in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and
there her captain went to take command. She
had no flag, but the captain was a favorite where-
ever he went, and a group of Portsmouth girfs
soon held a "quilting party," biit made a flag
44 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
instead of a quilt. Moreover, as silk enough of
the proper colors could not be found in the stores
of Portsmouth, they made it from breadths of
their best silken gowns, red, white, and blue, the
story declares. Then Jones sailed away to see
how his little Ranger would behave when she
met a British man-of-war. He soon found out,
for the Ranger and the Drake met in combat, and
for the first time a British man-of-war struck her
colors to the new flag. This same little silken flag
was the first to receive a genuine foreign salute.
Early in 1778 the Ranger spoke the French fleet,
off Brest Roads. Captain Jones was willing to
take chances in a sea fight, but not in the mat-
ter of a salute, and he sent a courteous note to
the French commander, informing him that the
flag worn by the Ranger was the new American
standard, which had never yet received a salute
from any foreign power. " If I offer a salute, will
it be returned gun for gun?" he queried. The
reply was that the same salute would be given
as to an admiral of Holland, or any other re-
public; that is, four guns less than the salute
given. Captain Jones anchored in the entrance
of the bay and sought for further information.
He found that the reply of the admiral was
correct and according to custom. Therefore, on
the following day, he sailed through the French
THE FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG 45
fleet, saluting with thirteen guns, and receiving
nine. This was an acknowledgment of American
independence, and the first salute ever paid by
a foreign naval power to the Stars and Stripes.
It is true that a salute had been given to the
American brig, the Andrea Doria, before this,
by the Governor of one of the West Indian Is-
lands; but a salute which his Government im-
mediately disowned and for which he was called
home is rather an individual than a national
salute. Then, too, there is no proof that the
flag flown by the Andrea Doria was the Stars
and Stripes.
After a while Jones was put in command of
the Bon Homme Richard, a larger vessel than
the Ranger, but she flew the same little silken
flag. Off Flamborough Head he came up with
the British Serapis. After two hours of fighting.
Captain Pearson of the Serapis shouted, in a
moment's lull, ''Have you struck your colors
yet?" **I haven't yet begun to fight," was
Jones's reply. The two ships were lashed to-
gether, guns burst, cartridges exploded, wide
gaps were torn out of the sides of both vessels.
"Have you struck?" cried the British captain.
"No!" thundered Paul Jones. At last the Ser-
apis yielded; but the Bon Homme Richard was
fast sinking. Captain Jones left her and took
46 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
possession of the Serapis. The American vessel
rolled and lurched and pitched and plunged.
The little silken flag that had never been con-
quered waved in the morning breeze for the last
time, and then went down, ''flying on the ship
that conquered and captured the ship that sank
her.''
When Paul Jones returned to America he met
one of the young girls who had given him the
flag. He told her how eagerly he had longed to
give it back into the hands of those who had
given it to him four years earlier. "But, Miss
Mary," he said, "I couldn't bear to strip it
from the poor old ship in her last agony, nor
could I deny to my dead on her decks, who had
given their lives to keep it flying, the glory of
taking it with them." In his journal he wrote
eloquently and almost as simply: —
No one was now left aboard the Richard but her
dead. To them I gave the good old ship for their
coffin, and in her they found a sublime sepulcher.
She rolled heavily in the long swell, her gun-deck
awash to the port-sills, settled slowly by the head,
and sank peacefully in about forty fathoms. The
ensign-gaff, shot away in action, had been fished and
put in place, soon after firing ceased, and our torn
and tattered flag was left flying when we abandoned
her. As she plunged down by the head at the last, her
taffrail momentarily rose in the air; so the very
THE FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG 47
last vestige mortal eyes ever saw of the Bon Homme
Richard was the defiant waving of her unconquered
and unstricken flag as she went down. And as I had
given them the good old ship for their sepulcher, I
now bequeathed to my immortal dead the flag they
had so desperately defended, for their winding sheet!
This is the story of the Portsmouth flag. At
first its truth was accepted without a doubt;
then it was seriously questioned. Within the last
few years, new evidence in the shape of family
tradition has strengthened its position.
CHAPTER VIII
FLAGS ONE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SEE
Probably the flag made by the skillful fingers
of Mrs. Elizabeth Griscom Ross was sewed with
the tiniest of stitches imaginable; but it is ab-
solutely certain that the flag which made its
appearance August 3, 1777, at Fort Schuyler,
afterwards Fort Stanwix, was not put together
with any such daintiness of workmanship. For
twenty days the little fort in the New York
wilderness, where Rome now stands, was be-
sieged by British and Indians. Reinforcements
brought the news of the adoption of the new
flag. The troops within the fort had no flag, and
therefore, in true American fashion, they set to
work to make one. There was not even a coun-
try store to draw upon for materials, so they
made the best of what they had. As the story
has been handed down, a white shirt provided the
white stripes and the stars, and the petticoat of
a soldier's wife the red stripes. As for the blue
ground for the stars, it was cut from the cloak of
Captain Abram Swartwout. The result was not
very elegant, but it was a flag, and it was the
FLAGS WORTH SEEING 49
flag, and the besieged men were as proud of it
and stood for it as bravely as if it had been made
of damask with the daintiest of needlework.
August 22, 1777, the fort was relieved, and after
a few days Captain Swartwout began to be anx-
ious about his blue cloak. Colonel Peter Ganse-
voort, who commanded the fort, had promised
him a new one to take the place of the one which
he had sacrificed for the flag, but it had not
arrived. Seven days he waited. At the end of
the seventh day he sent a note from Poughkeep-
sie, where he then was, back to the fort, say-
ing: "You may Remember Agreeable to Your
promise, I was to have an Order for Eight Yards
of Broad-Cloath, on the Commissary for Cloath-
ing of this State In Lieu of my Blue Cloak, which
we Used for Coulours at Fort Schuyler. An op-
portunity Now presenting itself, I beg You to
send me an Order.'* Broadcloth was broadcloth
in those days, and a ''Blue Cloak'* was not so
easily obtained. It is no wonder he wrote it with
capitals. It is to be hoped that the good captain
received his order ; but it must have been a very
large cloak to require eight yards of "Broad-
Cloath."
Another interesting banner was that borne by
Count Pulaski, a gallant Pole, who came to help
in the struggle for freedom. He visited Lafayette
50 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
when the Frenchman was wounded and in the
care of the Moravian Sisterhood in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania. The embroidery of these Sisters
was very beautiful, and Pulaski engaged them to
make him a banner, which they did. On one side
were the letters ''U.S.," and on the other the
thirteen stars in a circle, surrounding an eye
which is rather uncomfortably set in a triangle.
They made a mistake in spelling their Latin
motto, but the crimson banner, with its silver
fringe and its exquisite embroidery, was very
handsome. Longfellow's poem about this ban-
ner, "Hymn of the Moravian Nuns of Beth-
lehem," is excellent poetry, but hardly accu-
rate history. It is quite probable that the good
women sent the banner forth with their blessing,
but it is rather doubtful whether they said any-
thing like the following : —
"Take thy banner, and if e'er
Thou shouldst press the soldier's bier,
And the muffled drums should beat
To the tread of mournful feet,
Then this crimson flag shall be
Martial cloak and shroud for thee"; —
for the beautiful little banner was only twenty
inches square! When Lafayette visited this
country in 1824, this little flag was borne in the
procession which welcomed him to Baltimore.
FLAGS WORTH SEEING 51
In the midst of the grief and horrors of war,
there was one day when all the armed ships in
the Delaware River were ablaze with the colors
of the United States in token of rejoicing. It
was July 4, 1777, the first anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence. Thirteen cannon
were fired, a great dinner was served to the mem-
bers of Congress and the officials of the army and
of the State. The Hessian band, which had been
captured at Trenton six months previously, per-
formed some of their merriest music. Toasts
followed the dinner, each one honored by a dis-
charge of artillery and small arms and a piece
of music by the Hessians. At night the city was
illuminated and the streets resounded with hur-
rahs and the ringing of bells. Then came fire-
works, which began and ended with thirteen
rockets in honor of the thirteen United States.
''Thirteen" appeared not only as the number
of stars on the flag, but everywhere else, and at
Valley Forge, in the rejoicing over the new alli-
ance with France, the officers marched up to
the place of entertainment thirteen abreast and
with arm linked in arm. A disrespectful Eng-
lish paper declared that the "rebels " ate thirteen
dried clams a day, that it took thirteen '' Con-
gress paper dollars " to equal one English shilling,
that "every well-organized rebel household has
52 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
thirteen children, all of whom expect to be ma-
jor-generals or members of the high and mighty
congress of the thirteen United States when they
attain the age of thirteen years."
When the war had come to an end, the artist
Copley was in London working on the portrait
of an American, Elkanah Watson. In the back-
ground of the portrait was a ship supposed to be
bearing to America the news of the acknowledg-
ment of Independence. The rising sun was shin-
ing upon the place where the flag should have
been, but no flag was there. Copley's studio was
often visited by the royal family, so he waited.
But a day came when the artist heard the speech
of the King acknowledging the Independence of
America. He went straightway to his studio and
painted in the flag floating in the rays of the
rising sun.
Soon after the close of the war, a wide-
awake skipper of Nantucket, who had some
whale oil to sell, appeared at London. Nantucket
was so helpless for both offense and defense that
it had remained neutral, and the captain had
received from Admiral Digby a license to go to
London. A London magazine of the time said,
**This is the first vessel which has displayed the
thirteen rebellious stripes of America in any
British port." Nobody knew exactly what to
FLAGS WORTH SEEING 53
do, but apparently the whale oil was soon sold,
for the enterprising whaler returned directly to
Nantucket.
In October, 1783, most of the British troops
had sailed away from the United States, but Sir
Guy Carleton was delayed in New York waiting
for vessels. When the day came for him to leave
the city, a strong, determined woman who kept
a boarding-house brought out a United States
flag and ran it up on a pole in front of her house.
Down the street came a British officer with head-
long speed. "We do not evacuate this city until
noon. Haul down that flag! " he shouted angrily.
''That flag went up to stay, and it will not be
hauled down!" declared the indignant house-
keeper, and went on sweeping in front of her
door. "Then I will pull it down myself," thun-
dered the irate officer, and set to work. But the
halyards were entangled, and all the officer's
swearing and scolding did not help matters. The
militant lady of the broom then applied her
weapon to the officer. The powder flew from his
wig in a cloud, and at last he himself had to fly,
leaving the flag to float serenely on the morning
breeze. This encounter has been called the last
battle of the Revolution.
Before leaving Fort George, at the foot of
Broadway, in New York, the British soldiers mis-
54 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
chievously nailed their flag to the top of the pole,
took down the halyards, greased the pole from
top to bottom, and knocked off the cleats. They
did not know how well the American boys could
climb; in a very short time new cleats were nailed
on, the English flag was pulled down, and the Stars
and Stripes floated from the top of the pole.-
News of King George's proclamation did not
reach the United States till the middle of April,
and then there was rejoicing, indeed. It is no
wonder that the joy of the country at the closing
of the war burst out in celebrations and silken
flags. The diary of President Stiles, of Yale,
tells what took place in New Haven. It reads
as follows : —
April 24, 1783. Public rejoicing for the Peace in
New Haven. At sunrise thirteen cannon discharged
in the Green, and the continental flag displayed, being
a grand silk flag presented by the ladies, cost 120 dol-
lars. The stripes red and white, with an azure field
in the upper part charged with thirteen stars. On the
same field and among the stars was the arms of the
United States, the field of which contained a ship, a
plough, and three sheaves of wheat; the crest an eagle
volant; the supporters two white horses. The arms
were put on with paint and gilding. It took yards.
When displayed it appeared well.
The patriotic ladies who presented the flag
had taken the arms and motto, *' Virtue, Liberty,
FLAGS WORTH SEEING 55
Independence," from the title-page of a family
Bible; but unluckily, this Bible, having been
published in Philadelphia, displayed the arms
and motto, not of the United States, but of
Pennsylvania. The moral is, learn the arms of
your country.
CHAPTER IX
THE FLAG OF FIFTEEN STRIPES AND
FIFTEEN STARS
The worthy fathers of our country were long-
sighted men. In many respects they peered far
into the future and they laid well the foundations
for a great republic. One thing, however, they
forgot ; when they chose a design for a flag with
thirteen stripes and a circle of thirteen stars,
they did not realize that the number of States
would probably increase, and that these States
would wish to be represented on the flag. In
1 79 1 Vermont was admitted as a State, and in
1792 Kentucky also came into the Union. In
1 794 the Senate passed a bill increasing to fi f teen
the number of both stripes and stars. This bill
was sent to the House, and then came exciting
times. Some members thought it of great im-
portance not to offend new States by giving them
no recognition on the flag. Others called it dis-
honorable to waste time over what one man
called "a consummate piece of frivolity," when
matters *'of infinitely greater consequence"
ought to be discussed. Another declared that
FIFTEEN STRIPES AND STARS 57
the Senate sent the bill for the want of something
better to do. Yet another honorable member did
not think it worth while either to adopt or reject
the proposed law, but supposed "the shortest
way to get rid of it was to agree to it." Whether
to **get rid of it" or not, the bill was passed, and
went into effect May i, 1795.
This flag of fifteen stripes and fifteen stars was
the one worn by the frigate Constitution, "Old
Ironsides." When, in 1830, it was reported that
this vessel, with its magnificent record, was to be
broken up. Holmes wrote his stirring poem, "Old
Ironsides," which ends: —
"Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!"
It was this flag under which we went forth to
three wars, each one fought to uphold the rights
of American citizens. The first was with France,
the second with Tripoli, and the third with Great
Britain. It had long been the custom for nations
using the Mediterranean Sea to pay tribute to
the pirates of Tripoli. In 1800 Captain Bain-
bridge carried the annual tribute to Algiers. It
58 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
seemed that the Dey wished to send an ambas-
sador to Constantinople, and under threat of
capture Captain Bainbridge was ordered to
carry him there. The captain obeyed, but very
unwilHngly. When the new flag appeared at
Constantinople, it was reported to the Sultan
that a ship from the United States of America
was in the harbor. "What's that?" he de-
manded. " I never heard of that nation." "They
live in the New World which Columbus dis-
covered," was the reply. The Sultan had heard
of Columbus, and he sent to the frigate a bou-
quet of flowers in welcome, and a lamp in token
of friendship.
The Dey of Algiers became dissatisfied with
the tribute paid by America, and declared
haughtily that if he did not receive from our
country a handsome present within six months,
he should declare war. This he did, but to his
great surprise a small American fleet, under the
fifteen stars and stripes, sailed up to his city and
began to bombard it. It was not long before he
became the very picture of meekness. He freed
all his American captives, paid well for all the
property that he had destroyed, and the Medi-
terranean Sea became safe for commerce.
In 1803 the United States purchased from
France the immense Louisiana Territory. The
FIFTEEN STRIPES AND STARS 59
French flag was hauled down and the flag of the
United States was raised in token of the change
of ownership. This country had first been in
the hands of Spain, and the Spaniards had pre-
sented flags to various Indians. When Lieuten-
ant Z. M. Pike made a journey of exploration in
the new territory, he came to an Indian village
where there was quite a display of Spanish ban-
ners. The Lieutenant made a little speech to the
Indians, and said among other things that the
Spanish flag at the chief's door ought to be given
up to him and the flag of the United States put
in its place. The Indians listened, but made
no reply. Lieutenant Pike spoke again to the
same effect. "Your nation cannot have two fa-
thers," he said. **You must be the children of
the Spaniards or else of the Americans." The red
men sat in silence awhile, then an old man arose,
walked slowly to the door, took the Spanish flag
down, and put the American in its place. Then
he gave the flag of Spain to his followers, bidding
them, "Never hoist this again — while the Amer-
icans are here." Surely, the old chief must have
been akin to Dr. John Cotton of Colonial fame.
This scene occurred in what is now Kansas, and
is thought to have been the first raising of the
United States flag in that State.
The banner of fifteen stripes and fifteen stars
6o THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
has a proud record, for this was the flag that in-
spired Francis Scott Key to write ''The Star-
Spangled Banner." Every one knows the story
of the poem, how the author and an agent for
the exchange of prisoners went on board a Brit-
ish vessel in 1 8 14 to try to secure the release of a
physician who had been captured. The English
admiral granted their request, but as he was
about to attack Fort McHenry, he told them
that they would not be permitted to return at
once, but must remain on their own vessel, with
a British guard, until the fort was reduced. If
this order had been carried out, they would have
been on board to-day, for the fort never was re-
duced. All day the Americans could see the
Stars and Stripes flying over its ramparts, in
spiteof attacks by sea and by land. Night came,
and it was only by "the rockets' red glare, the
bombs bursting in air," that they knew whether
the fort yet stood. At length the firing ceased,
and all was darkness. They could do nothing but
wait for the first rays of morning in the hope that
"by the dawn's early light" they could catch a
glimpse of the flag and know that the fort had
not yielded, that "our flag was still there," and
that the British were retreating. Then it was that
Key wrote, on the back of an old envelope, "The
Star-Spangled Banner," and put into it such a
FIFTEEN STRIPES AND STARS 6i
thrill of sincerity that it is just as throbbing with
life and patriotism as it was on that September
dawn a century ago. The banner that inspired
the poem is in the National Museum in Wash-
ington.
Francis Scott Key died in Baltimore in 1843,
and is buried in Frederick, Maryland. Over his
grave a large national flag flies day and night,
never removed save when wear and tear make
a new flag necessary. In Baltimore a noble
monument has been reared in his honor. It is
surmounted by the figure of the poet, who waves
his hat with one hand and with the other points
joyfully toward the fort. The figure is so life-like
that one almost expects it to cry, —
" And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
A few months after ''The Star-Spangled Ban-
ner" was written, a plan was formed to rear
in the city of Baltimore a monument in honor
of George Washington. It was fitting that the
place of his birth should also be marked, and a
few days before the laying of the corner-stone
of the monument, a little company sailed from
Alexandria, Virginia, to Pope's Creek, West-
moreland County, where Washington was born.
With them they carried a simple freestone slab
62 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
on which was chiseled his name and the date of
his birth. Wrapped in the banner of fifteen stars,
it was borne reverently to its resting-place by
the hands of the descendants of four Revolu-
tionary patriots.
CHAPTER X
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
"Time makes ancient good uncouth," said
Lowell, and so it was with the flag. The flag of
fifteen stars and fifteen stripes that was decreed
in 1795 then represented each State; but in less
than one year it was out of date. Tennessee had
come into the Union. Then followed Ohio, Louis-
iana, and Indiana. Here were four States with no
representation in the colors of the country. Then,
too, people began to realize that in giving up the
thirteen stripes they had lost their old significant
"Thirteen," and dropped a valuable historical
association. At length the matter came before
Congress, and for nearly sixteen months it re-
mained there. Occasionally there was some little
discussion about it. One member proposed that
the matter be postponed indefinitely. " Are you
willing to neglect the banner of freedom?" de-
manded another. Yet another thought it un-
necessary to insist upon thirteen stripes, and
thought they might as well fix upon nine or
eleven or any other arbitrary number as thirteen.
64 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
The committee pleaded for the significant thir-
teen, and so it went on. At length Peter H.
Wendover, of New York, through whose efforts
Congress was held to its duty, called the atten-
tion of the House to the fact that the Govern-
ment itself was paying no respect to its own laws
in regard to the flag; that the law demanded
fifteen stripes, but that Congress was at that
moment displaying a banner of thirteen stripes ;
that the navy yard and the marine barracks
were flying flags of eighteen stripes ; and that dur-
ing the first session of the preceding Congress
the flag floating over their deliberations had had,
from some unknown cause or other, only nine
stripes.
It is small wonder that after such an arraign-
ment as this the lawmakers aroused themselves.
The following bill was passed, and was signed by
President Monroe, April 4, 1818: —
Section i. Beit enacted, etc., That from and 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
in a blue field.
Section 2. 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 fourth of July next
succeeding such admission.
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER 65
So it was that the flag of the United States
was finally decided upon. Captain S. C. Reid
designed it, and his wife made a specimen flag,
which was hoisted on the flagstaff of the House
of Representatives a few days after the law
legalizing it was passed. Forty-one years later,
in 1859, Congress formally thanked Captain
Reid. The one weak point in this law was that
the arrangement of the stars on the blue field
was left to the taste of the owner of the flag.
Captain Reid arranged them in one large star;
but it was evident that if this plan was continued,
as new States were admitted, the stars would
become too small to be seen distinctly. The
Navy Commissioners issued the order that in
naval flags the stars should be arranged in five
rows, four stars in a row; but for many years
merchant vessels paid small attention to this
decree. Indeed, in 1837 the Dutch Government
inquired, with all respect, "What is the American
flag?'* Twenty years later an observant man
in Jersey City amused himself on the Fourth of
July by noting the numerous fashions in which
the stars were arranged. He said that all flags
had the thirteen stripes — though not always
in the proper order — but that he had counted
nine different fashions in which the stars were
arranged. They appeared in one large star, in a
66 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
lozenge, a diamond, or a circle, and one vessel
in the river flaunted an anchor formed of stars.
It was suggested that Congress ought to order
some regular arrangement, but Congress did not
take the hint. The Secretary of War and the
Secretary of the Navy gave orders in 1912, after
the admission of New Mexico and Arizona, that
the stars, now forty-eight, should be arranged in
six rows of eight stars each. This was approved
by the President, but no decree has been passed
by Congress.
Until 1866 our country's flag was manufac-
tured in a foreign land. Bunting in a flag has
a hard life. It must meet sun, wind, and storm;
it must be light enough to float at every breeze
and strong enough to endure severe wear. At-
tempts had been made many years earlier to
make bunting in the United States, and flags
of home manufacture had been tried again and
again, but they had never stood the tests. In
1865, however, Congress put a duty of forty per
cent on imported bunting, and also made it
lawful for the Government to purchase its flags
in the United States. With this duty manufac-
turers could compete with the lower wages paid
in England, and now it became worth while to
set to work in earnest. Within a year the thing
had been done. A company in Lowell, Massachu-
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER 67
setts, presented to the Senate a flag manufac-
tured in the United States. It was hoisted over
the Capitol, and for the first time this country,
then ninety years old, floated over its Congress a
banner of bunting woven and made "at home.'*
This banner stood all the tests, and soon the
price of the material was greatly reduced. Since
the manufacture of this flag all bunting used in
flags for the navy has come from Lowell. It must
be of a fixed weight and strength and must be
absolutely fast color in sun and rain. These
flags are made in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and
they must be accurate in every detail. Even the
number of stitches to the inch is a matter of rule.
After the stripes have been sewed together and
the stars stitched upon the canton, the hoist, or
end of the flag which is to be next to the staff, is
firmly bound with canvas, and the lines, etc.,
attached. Then the flag is stamped with the
date. Many silken flags are used in the navy, but
these are made entirely by hand.
A warship must have not only her own flags,
but those of foreign countries, sometimes two
hundred and fifty or more. Some of these flags
are of very complicated design, and the flag-
makers tried the experiment of painting the de-
signs on the bunting. This was not a success,
because the flags stuck together, and now the
68 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
whole design is worked out in bunting. The
navy makes its own flags, but the War Depart-
ment buys what are needed. Manufacturers
make large numbers for general sale; between
nine and ten million a year even in times of
peace.
The pet name, "Old Glory," is believed to
have been given to the flag by Captain William
Driver. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts,
became a shipmaster, and at length made his
home in Nashville, Tennessee. When the Civil
War broke out, he stood boldly by the Union,
even though his own family were against him.
More than thirty years before this date, just as
he was starting on a voyage, some of his friends
made him a present of a handsome American
flag. When the breeze first caught it and spread
out its folds. Captain Driver exclaimed, **01d
Glory!" and ''Old Glory" it was to him all the
years of his life. The flag went to Tennessee with
him, and was hung out on every day of public
rejoicing. When the war broke out, his Confed-
erate neighbors tried their best to get possession
of that flag; but they did not realize the resources
of the old captain. Sailors know how to sew, and
he had carefully quilted his beloved banner into
his comforter. No wonder that he had not the
least objection to having his house searched for
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER 69
it. When the Union troops entered the city,
Captain Driver asked permission to run up his
flag over the State Capitol. This was granted,
and with an escort he marched to the building
and ran up the flag. As he stood gazing at it with
tears in his eyes, he said, "I have always said
that if I could see it float over that Capitol, I
should have lived long enough; now Old Glory
is up there, gentlemen, and I am ready to die."
The captain's own particular "Old Glory" was
full of years and weakened by service, and on the
following day he reverently took it down and ran
up a flag that was new and strong. For a quarter
of a century he saw the Union flag float over the
Capitol of his chosen State. Then, at his death
in 1886, his own ''Old Glory" was sent to the
Essex Institute at his birthplace.
CHAPTER XI
THE FLAG IN WAR
"Old Glory" has flown over the battle-fields
of three wars; the Mexican, the Civil War, and
the war with Spain. In the war with Mexico
victory depended upon taking the City of Mexico,
and the path to that lay in the capture of the
strong castle of Chapultepec. Long before sun-
rise one bright September morning, the Ameri-
can guns began to roar. All day long the Ameri-
cans fired from below and the Mexicans from
above. Fortunately for the attackers, the aim
of the Mexicans was anything but accurate,
and in twenty-four hours the American troops
were pushing forward up the hillside, through a
grove full of sharpshooters, over rocks and gul-
lies, even over mines, which the Mexicans had no
chance to set ofT . Cannon roared and volleys of
musketry were fired at the assailants, but they
dashed over the redoubt, up, still up, to the
escarpment, and over it they tumbled. Mean-
while the Mexicans were standing on the city
walls and peering out from the spires of the
cathedral. They saw, as the Americans pushed
THE FLAG IN WAR 71
on and up, the Stars and Stripes appear, now to
the right, now to the left, as point after point
was taken. Now the Americans had reached the
main works. The scaHng-ladders were planted
and the men scrambled over the wall. Even
then the Mexicans were not without a faint hope,
for their banner still floated over the high-
est pinnacle. Suddenly it disappeared, and the
Stars and Stripes took its place. The victory had
been won. On the second day after the first gun
was fired at Chapultepec, the American troops
were following their flag into the City of Mexico.
The Civil War began with the firing upon Fort
Sumter. Shot came in a whirlwind, half a score
of balls at a time. The woodwork blazed, the
brick and stone flew in all directions. Red-hot
balls from the furnace in Moultrie dashed down
like a pitiless haijstorm. The barracks were
ablaze, streams of fire burst out of the quarters.
Ninety barrels of powder were rolled into the
water lest it should explode in the awful heat.
The men were stifled with fumes from the burn-
ing buildings. Over the horrors of this attack
the Stars and Stripes floated serenely from the
staff, flashing out, as each gust of wind tossed
the clouds of smoke aside for a moment, the
glories of the red, white, and blue, clear and calm
and unscathed.
72 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
Beams fell with a crash, ammunition in one
magazine exploded, black clouds of smoke filled
the fort, and for hours the men covered their
faces with wet cloths to keep from suffocating.
Nine times the flagstaff was struck by a shot,
and at the ninth the flag fell. Lieutenant Hall
dashed into the storm of balls, caught up the
flag, and brought it away. The halyards were
cut and tangled. The flag could not be raised,
but it was nailed to the staff, and in the midst of
the incessant fire. Sergeant Peter Hart fastened
it up on the ramparts. The fort surrendered, but
not the flag; for as Major Anderson and his men
left the burning ruins, they saluted ''Old Glory"
with fifty guns, then lowered it, and, as the
Major stated to the Government, "marched
out of the fort with colors flying and drums
beating."
This was on April 14, 1861. On April 14, 1865,
when the war was virtually over. Major Ander-
son, now General Anderson, was, by order of
President Lincoln, called to Fort Sumter to
raise again the flag which he had so unwillingly
lowered. A special steamer carried from New
York to the fort a number of prominent citi-
zens. Hundreds came from elsewhere by land to
Charleston and were taken to the fort by vessel.
Two hundred officers of the navy were present
THE FLAG IN WAR 73
and many army officers. After the opening ex-
ercises, Sergeant Hart opened a big carpetbag
and drew forth the identical flag that had been
hauled down four years earUer. The banner was
unfurled, the assemblage cheered to the echo, and
slowly the beloved banner rose to its old position,
every one trying his best to catch hold of the
rope and help raise it. Hats were waved and the
old fort rang with cheers. The band struck up
"The Star-Spangled Banner." A salute was
fired by the guns on Fort Sumter, and this was
responded to by every fort and battery that had
fired upon Sumter in April, 1861. Henry Ward
Beecher, orator of the day, made a thrilling
address. Of the flag he said : —
There flies the same flag that was insulted. In the
storm of that assault this glorious ensign was often
struck; but, memorable fact, not one of its stars was
torn out, by shot or shell. It was a prophecy. . . .
Lifted to the air, to-day it proclaims, after four years
of war, "Not a State is blotted out!"
Hail to the flag of our fathers, and our flag! Glory
to the banner that has gone through four years black
with tempests of war, to pilot the nation back to
peace without dismemberment! And glory be to
God, who, above all hosts and banners, hath ordained
victory, and shall ordain peace! ... In the name of
God, we lift up our banner, and dedicate it to Peace,
Union and Liberty, now and forevermore.
74 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
A few years later General Anderson died. He
was buried at West Point and was carried to his
grave wrapped in the flag that he had defended
so bravely. On the death of his wife the flag
passed by her gift into the hands of the War
Department.
One of the most interesting flags of the recent
war with Spain was borne by the First Regi-
ment of the United States Volunteer Cavalry.
A squadron of men for this regiment left Phoenix,
Arizona, on their way to the field of war. It was
noticed that they had no flag. The women of
the Relief Corps attached to the Grand Army of
the Republic took the matter in hand, for if this
was not a case where relief was needed, where
should one be found?
Night and day were the same to these ener-
getic women. They bought silk and they sewed,
all day and all night. The stores of Phoenix did
not provide just the right sort of cord, so the
staff of the battle-flag was daintily adorned with
a knot of satin ribbon, red, white, and blue.
Then the flag was carried to camp, and presented
with all courtesy and dignity to the two hundred
men who were to form a part of the First Regi-
ment of the United States Volunteer Cavalry,
better known as the "Rough Riders."
The little silken flag came to glories that it had
THE FLAG IN WAR 75
not dreamed of, for the regular bunting flags
were scarce, and therefore it held the most prom-
inent place in parades and was even set up as
guest of honor before the tent of Colonel Leon-
ard Wood. In the attack on Santiago, the little
party that first landed at Daiquiri, a small town
on the coast a few miles from the city, car-
ried the flag with them. On a transport in the
harbor an officer from Arizona, observing the
troops climb the hill, had seen the raising of
the flag and discovered with a glass what it was.
As the story is told : —
He threw his hat to the deck, jumped to the top of
the bulwark, and yelled: "Howl, you Arizona men,
— it's our flag up there!"
And the men howled as only Arizona cowboys
could. Some one on the hurricane deck grabbed the
whistle cord and tied it down, the band of the Sec-
ond Infantry whisked up instruments and played
"A Hot Time" on the inspiration of the moment,
and every man who had a revolver emptied it over the
side. Almost in an instant every whistle of the fifty
transports and supply vessels in the harbor took up
the note of rejoicing. Twenty thousand men were
cheering. A dozen bands increased the din. Then
guns of the warships on the flanks joined in a mighty
salute to the flag of the Nation. And the flag was the
flag of the Arizona squadron.
The Arizona flag led the regiment in the fight
of Las Guasimas, where three thousand Intrenched
Spaniards were driven back by nine hundred un-
76 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
mounted cavalry; it was at the front all through
the heat of the battles of Kettle Hill and San Juan
Hill ; it waved over the trenches before Santiago, and
was later borne through the captured city to the
transport.
CHAPTER XII
THE FLAG IN PEACE
One of the greatest achievements of our flag
in peace was the opening of Japan. In 1852
Commodore M. C. Perry was sent with a letter
from President Fillmore to prepare the way for
a treaty of peace and friendship and commerce
with Japan. Its delivery was a matter of much
ceremony. After a long delay a day was set for
its reception. When the time had come, the
officers in full uniform, the marines in blue and
white, the sailors in navy blue and tarpaulins,
and last of all the Commodore entered the boats.
As the Commodore stepped into his barge, a
salute of thirteen guns was given. Then the
two bands struck up lively tunes and the boats
made for the shore.
Along the beach were ranged nine tall crim-
son standards, surrounded by flags of all sorts
and colors. Five or six thousand soldiers were
drawn up in line, and the hills behind them
were crowded with people. When the Ameri-
cans came to land, a procession was formed.
First, the marines and sailors, then the one flag of
78 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
the procession, the Stars and Stripes, its brilliant
colors flashing in the bright sunshine. It was
borne by the two tallest, broadest-shouldered
men among the sailors of the squadron. After
the flag came two of the younger men, carrying a
rosewood box mounted with gold and carefully
wrapped in a scarlet cloth. In this were the cre-
dentials of the Commodore and the letter of the
President. These were written on vellum, and
the seals were attached by cords of silk and
gold, ending in tassels of gold. Then came the
Commodore, and on either side of him was a tall
negro of fine proportions and armed to the teeth.
After the Commodore walked the officers of the
squadron. Commodore and officers were escorted
into the handsomely decorated hall of recep-
tion. The court interpreter asked if the letter
was ready. The two pages, guarded by the two
stalwart negroes, were summoned and placed
the letter upon a handsome box of red lacquer,
which was ready to receive them. The Commo-
dore made a formal bow. The bands played our
national airs, and all returned to the vessels as
ceremoniously as they had come.
This was the beginning of intercourse between
the United States and Japan. Two years later
a treaty was signed, and in i860 an embassy
from Japan visited this country.
THE FLAG IN PEACE 79
So it was that Japan was opened to the world.
In 1901 the Japanese Minister of Justice said:
''Commodore Perry's visit was, in a word, the
turn of the key which opened the doors of the
Japanese Empire. Japan has not forgotten —
nor will she ever forget — that, next to her
reigning and most beloved sovereign, whose
rare virtue and great wisdom is above all praise,
she owes her present state of prosperity to the
United States of America." "Are you coming
over here to fight us?" a young Japanese in this
country was playfully asked. 'Tight the United
States?" he exclaimed. "The United States is
our friend." And drawing himself up to his full
height, he said proudly, "The Japanese do not
forget. We know what your Commodore Perry
and your country have done for us."
The American flag was first seen in China in
1784. The Chinese said it was "as beautiful as
a flower," and for many years they always spoke
of it as the "flower flag."
A custom of great significance and value, that
of raising the home flag over legations and con-
sulates in foreign lands whenever a home holiday
comes around, is due to the tact and ready wit
of one of our Ministers to Sweden, William W.
Thomas, Jr. The following is his own account
of the event: —
8o THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
On taking possession of the archives and property
of the United States at Stockholm, I was surprised to
find there was no American flag there. Talking with
my colleagues, the Ministers of other countries, I was
informed that no foreign Minister at Stockholm ever
hoisted his country's flag, and that to do so would be
considered a breach of diplomatic etiquette.
What was I to do? I did not wish to offend my
good friends, the Swedes; that was the last thing a
Minister should be guilty of. And I certainly did not
want to see an American holiday go by without
hoisting the American flag from the American Lega-
tion. The question troubled me a great deal.
All at once a thought seized me, like an inspiration.
I sent to America for a flag. I procured flagstaff and
halyards, and from my own drawings I had carved
an American eagle, which was gilded and perched on
top of the flag pole. Flag, eagle, and staff I concealed
in the Legation, and bided my time.
Undoubtedly the greatest character Sweden has
ever produced is Gustavus Adolphus. His life and
deeds belong not to Sweden along, but to the world.
Well, when the anniversary of the death and victory
of this great captain of the Swedish host came round,
— the 6th of November, 1883, — and when the great
choral societies of Stockholm, bearing banners and
followed by vast multitudes of the Swedish populace,
marched through the streets of Sweden's capital,
and gathered about the mausoleum on the Island
of Knights, where lies the mighty dead, sang paeans
in his praise, then it happened, somehow, that, re-
gardless of precedent or custom, the flag of the free
republic — aye! flag, flagstaff, golden eagle, and all
— was run out from the American Legation ; and the
starry banner of America waved in unison with the
THE FLAG IN PEACE 8i
yellow cross of Sweden, in honor of the mightiest
warrior for the freedom of our faith.
This act was everywhere approved in Sweden. It
was praised by both the people and the press. After
this, it may well be believed, the flag of America
floated unchallenged in the capital of the Northland.
It waved on high on the birthday of Washington, on
that Memorial Day when we decorate the graves of
our brave boys in blue who saved the Union, and on
the Fourth of July, that gave the Republic birth.
But I hoisted our flag impartially, on Swedish holi-
days as well as our own; and the Stars and Stripes
floated out as proudly on the birthday of King Oscar
as on that of Washington.
** If any man attempts to haul down the Amer-
ican flag, shoot him on the spot," commanded
General Dix; but the United States may well
be proud of having herself hauled down her
flag on one occasion not many years ago. After
the Spanish-American War had been fought,
the treaty of peace with Spain put Cuba into
the hands of the United States, and the star-
spangled banner was raised and saluted. This
was in 1899. The three years following this act
were busy ones with the War Department, for
in its control was left the management of all
Cuban affairs. Cuba was cleaned up, the yel-
low fever stamped out, schools were established,
peace restored, a constitution adopted by the
people, and a president elected. May 20, 1902,
82 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
was the date set for the sovereignty of Cuba to
pass into the hands of the Cubans. The island
had been made free, and now she was coming to
her own. Havana was in her best. Flags floated
from every house. Ships displayed both the
American and the Cuban flags. When the mo-
ment arrived, General Leonard Wood read the
transfer, and the President-elect signed it in the
name of the new Republic. To free Cuba from
oppression the United States had entered into
war. Our country sought nothing for itself, and
now the freedom of the island was attained, and
the American forces were to be withdrawn.
After the signing of the transfer Governor-
General Wood loosened the halyards and the
star-spangled banner was lowered, having ac-
complished nobly that for which it had been
raised. As it sank slowly down the Union salute
of forty-five guns was fired. Then, by the hands
of General Wood, the Cuban flag was hoisted
to its position and floated proudly over a free
country. A national salute of twenty-one guns
was fired in its honor, and the history of the
Cuban Republic had begun. As the New York
Sun said, "No country ever before conquered a
territory at great sacrifice to set up a govern-
ment other than its own."
In the hands of Admiral Robert E. Peary our
THE FLAG IN PEACE 83
flag has won the honors of the Northland. Many
others had gone far north ; for Peary it was re-
served to go farthest north, to the Pole itself.
This was no chance success, brought about by
fine equipment and favorable weather; it was
the fair result of careful preparation and hard
work. The Admiral wrote in his journal: —
The Pole at last ! The prize of three centuries, my
dream and goal for twenty years, mine at last ! I can-
not bring myself to realize it.
It all seems so simple and commonplace. As Bart-
lett said when turning back, when speaking of his
being in these exclusive regions, which no mortal had
ever penetrated before, "It is just like everyday!"
A little later, in acknowledging with gratitude
the generous aid which he had received, the
Admiral wrote: —
Their assistance has enabled me to tell the last of
the great earth stories, the story the world has been
waiting to hear for three hundred years — the story
of the discovery of the North Pole.
Such is the history of the flag of the United
States of America from the time when a little
group of colonies dared to raise their own stand-
ard and oppose their feeble strength and their
slender resources to the trained armies and the
ample wealth of England.
This was a century and a half ago. The Re-
84 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
public has come of age and has accepted her
rightful share of the responsibilities of the world.
The mother country rejoiced to do her honor,
and on one brilliant April morning in 191 7 the
cities of England flung out her banner beside
their own. In London the Stars and Stripes were
everywhere — in the hands of the people in the
streets, on private houses, on public buildings,
even on the "Victory Tower" of Westminster
Palace, where before that day no other flag save
the Union Jack or the royal standard had ever
been raised. In the historic cathedral of St. Paul
four thousand people had come together to
thank God for the alliance between the mother
country and her eldest child, that in this war of
the world "they should go forth and try the mat-
ter in fight by the help of God " — to quote the
text of the Bishop of London. The two flags,
of Great Britain and of the United States of
America, hung side by side over the chancel rail.
The thousands of people rose with reverence and
sang, first, "The Star-Spangled Banner," and
then, "God Save the King." And so it was that
Great Britain and the United States took their
stand shoulder to shoulder in the world-wide
struggle to make sure "that government of the
people, by the people, for the people, shall not
perish from the earth."
CHAPTER XIII
HOW TO BEHAVE TOWARD THE FLAG
Except the cross there is nothing that the
American should hold more sacred than the flag
of the United States, because of its record in
peace and in war, and because it stands for the
rights and the freedom of one hundred million
citizens.
** Sign of a nation great and strong,
To ward her people from foreign wrong."
There are definite rules in regard to the use
of the flag. The following are the most necessary
to know : —
The flag should be raised at sunrise and low-
ered at sunset. It should not be left out at night
unless under fire. It should not be allowed to
touch the ground. If possible, a pole rather than
a staff should be used.
In raising a flag to half-mast or half-staff,
it should be run to the top of the pole, and then
lowered the width of the flag. Before being
retired, it should be run to the top again. On
Memorial Day the flag should be at half-mast
86 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
until noon, and at the peak from noon until
sunset.
When the flag goes by, rise if you are sitting ;
halt if you are walking, and take off your hat.
In decorating, never drape the flag; always
hang it flat. If the stripes are horizontal, the
Union should be in the left upper corner: if they
are perpendicular, in the right upper corner. If
our flag is crossed with the flags of other coun-
tries, or carried in a parade beside them, it
should always be at the right.
In unveiling a monument, the flag should
never be allowed to drop to the ground, but so
arranged that it can be drawn up and will then
float over the monument.
If draped over a casket, the blue field should
be at the head. If used as the covering of an
altar, nothing except the Bible should be placed
upon it, and the union should be at the right.
Distress at sea is indicated by hanging the
flag union down.
Always stand when ''The Star-Spangled Ban-
ner" is played.
For those people who, whether maliciously
or ignorantly, show any disrespect to the flag,
strenuous laws have been passed in most of the
States. In Massachusetts, a post of the Grand
FLAG ETIQUETTE 87
Army or a camp of Spanish War veterans may
put the name of the organization upon the
flag, but no other lettering is permitted. Any
one who mutilates the flag or in any way treats
it with contempt is likely to fare worse than did
John Endicott in colonial days. The same re-
spect is required to be shown to the flags of all
countries with which the United States is at
peace.
The representation of the flag must not be
used to advertise merchandise, but it may be
used on any publication designed to give in-
formation about the flag, or to promote patri-
otism, or to encourage the study of American
history.
June 14, the anniversary of the day in 1777
on which the flag was adopted, has been chosen
as "Flag Day."
The length of a flag should be very nearly
twice its height, or, to be exact, in the propor-
tion of 1 .9 to I . The length of the union should
be three fourths the height of the whole flag;
the height of the union should be that of seven
stripes.
Perhaps a little fancifully, a star has been
assigned to each State in the order of its rati-
fication of the Constitution and admission to
the Union. Beginning at the left upper corner
88 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
and reading each row from left to right, the
stars of the separate States are as follows : —
First row
Delaware December 7, 1787
Pennsylvania December 12, 1787
New Jersey December 18, 1787
Georgia January 2, 1788
Connecticut January 9, 1788
Massachusetts February 6, 1788
Maryland April 28, 1788
South Carolina May 23, 1788
Second row
New Hampshire June 21, 1788
Virginia June 25, 1788
New York July 26, 1788
North CaroHna November 21, 1789
Rhode Island May 29, 1790
Vermont March 4, 1791
Kentucky June i, 1792
Tennessee June i, 1796
Third row
Ohio February 19, 1803
Louisiana April 30, 1812
Indiana December 11, 1816
Mississippi December 10, 18 17
Illinois December 3, 1818
Alabama December 14, 1819
Maine March 15, 1820
Missouri August 10, 1821
FLAG ETIQUETTE 89
Fourth row
Arkansas June 15, 1836
Michigan January 26, 1837
Florida March 3, 1845
Texas December 29, 1845
Iowa December 28, 1846
Wisconsin May 29, 1848
Cahfornia September 9, 1850
Minnesota May 11, 1858
Fifth row
Oregon February 14, 1859
Kansas January 29, 1861
West Virginia June 19, 1863
Nevada October 31, 1864
Nebraska March i , 1867
Colorado August i, 1876
North Dakota November 2, 1889
South Dakota November 2, 1889
Sixth row
Montana November 8, 1889
Washington November 11, 1889
Idaho July 3, 1890
Wyoming July 10, 1890
Utah January 4, 1896
Oklahoma November 16, 1907
New Mexico January 6, 1912
Arizona February 14, 1912
FLAG ANNIVERSARIES
January 1-2, 1776: Grand Union Flag (British Union
and thirteen stripes) hoisted over Washing-
ton's headquarters at Cambridge, Massachu-
setts. This was the first real flag of the colonies.
January 13, 1794: American flag changed by act of
Congress, owing to two new States (Kentucky
and Vermont) being admitted to the Union. The
flag now had two stars and two stripes added to
it, making fifteen stripes and stars. This was
the "Star-Spangled Banner," and under this
flag our country fought and won three wars —
the so-called naval war with France, in 1798-
1800; that with the Barbary States in 1 801-1805;
and that with England in 1812-1815.
February 3, 1783; First appearance of the American
flag in a British port by the ship Bedford,
of Massachusetts, which arrived in the river
Thames on this date.
February 8, 1776: Colonial Congressional Committee
accepted a naval flag, consisting of thirteen
stripes, alternate red and white, with a rattle-
snake diagonally across it.
February 14, 1778: First foreign salute to the Stars
and Stripes. John Paul Jones entered Quiberon
Bay, near Brest, France, and received a salute
of nine guns from the French fleet, under
Admiral La Motte Piquet. Jones had previously
saluted the French fleet with thirteen guns.
FLAG ANNIVERSARIES 91
March 17, 1776: The first display of the Grand
Union Flag in Boston was on the day that town
was evacuated by the British.
April 4, 1818 : Congress by act decreed a return to the
original thirteen stripes and a star for every
State in the Union, to be added to the flag on
the July 4 following a State's admission to the
Union. This is the present law in relation to the
flag.
April 24, 1778: John Paul Jones achieved the honor
of being the first officer of the American Navy
to compel a regular British man-of-war to strike
her colors to the new flag.
June 14, 1777: First strictly American flag decreed
by Congress, This flag displaced the British
Union by thirteen stars, and the making of the
first flag of this design is accredited to Betsy
Ross of Philadelphia. It contained thirteen
stripes, alternate red and white, and thirteen
white stars upon a blue field.
June 14, 1777: Captain John Paul Jones appointed to
the command of the Ranger. It was Jones who
first displayed the Stars and Stripes on a naval
vessel. It was also he who had previously first
hoisted "the flag of America " on board the naval
vessel Alfred in 1775.
June 28, 1778: First appearance on a foreign strong-
hold at Nassau, Bahama Islands. The Ameri-
cans captured Fort Nassau from the British, and
promptly raised the Stars and Stripes.
August 3, 1777 : First display of the Stars and Stripes
on land was over Fort Stanwix, New York .
August 10, 1831: The name "Old Glory" given to
our national flag by Captain William Driver,
92 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
of the brig Charles Doggert. The flag was pre-
sented to the captain and contained one hundred
and ten yards of bunting. It is said to be now in
the Essex Institute, at Salem, Massachusetts.
September ii, 1777: The American flag first carried
in battle at the Brand3rwine. This was the first
great battle fought after its adoption by the
Continental Congress.
September 13, 1784: The Stars and Stripes first dis-
played in China by Captain John Green, of the
ship Empress, in Canton River. The natives
said it was as beautiful as a flower, and the
Chinese continued to call it the "flower flag"
for many years.
September 30, 1787, -August 10, 1790: The American
flag completed its first trip around the world,
borne by the ship Columbia, sailing from Bos-
ton.
October 18, 1867: First official display of the Ameri-
can flag in Alaska. On this day, at Sitka, the
capital, the Russian flag was hauled down and
the American flag run up before the barracks
and in the presence of both Russian and Ameri-
can troops.
SELECTIONS
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY
Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming.
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the
perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly
streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still
there.
Oh ! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the
deep.
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence
reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering
steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam.
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream, —
'T is the star-spangled banner; Oh! long may it
wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave.
94 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's con-
fusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's
pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth
wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave.
Oh! thus be it ever, wh.n freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's deso-
lation ;
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-
rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved
us a nation !
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 !
THE FLAG IN THE DARKNESS
BENJAMIN HARRISON
I WAS never so profoundly touched with the beauty
of our flag as at night time in one of our immense
political demonstrations. One of the features of the
occasion was the sending upward of a mighty stream
of electric light which, piercing the darkness of the
night, reached a large flag which had been carried on
cords a thousand feet from the earth. The scene was
too impressive for me to describe. I can only say that
it did seem as though the flag of our country was
waving from the very battlements of heaven. . . .
God pity the American citizen who does not love the
flag; who does not see in it the story of our great, free
institutions, and the hope of the home as well as
the Nation.
A SONG FOR FLAG DAY
WILBUR D. NESBIT
Your Flag and my Flag !
And how it flies to-day
In your land and my land
And half a world away !
Rose-red and blood-red
The stripes forever gleam ;
Snow-white and soul-white —
The good forefathers' dream;
Sky-blue and true blue, with stars to gleam aright —
The gloried guidon of the day; a shelter through the
night.
Your Flag and my Flag !
And, oh, how much it holds —
Your land and my land —
Secure within its folds !
Your heart and my heart
Beat quicker at the sight ;
Sun-kissed and wind- tossed,
Red and blue and white.
The one Flag, — the great Flag — the Flag for me
and you —
Glorified all else beside — the red and white and blue !
Your Flag and my Flag !
To every star and stripe
The drums beat as hearts beat
And fifers shrilly pipe !
A SONG FOR FLAG DAY 97
Your Flag and my Flag —
A blessing in the sky;
Your hope and my hope —
It never hid a lie !
Home land and far land and half the world around,
Old Glory hears our glad salute and ripples to the
sound.
THE FLAG GOES BY
HENRY HOLCOMB BENNETT
Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
A flash of color beneath the sky:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by !
Blue and crimson and white it shines.
Over the steel- tipped, ordered lines.
Hats off!
The colors before us fly;
But more than the flag is passing by.
Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great.
Fought to make and to save the State:
Weary marches and sinking ships ;
Cheers of victory on dying lips;
Days of plenty and years of peace;
March of a strong land's swift increase;
Equal justice, right and law,
Stately honor and reverent awe;
Sign of a nation, great and strong
To ward her people from foreign wrong:
Pride and glory and honor, — all
Live in the colors to stand or fall.
THE FLAG GOES BY 99
Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;
And loyal hearts are beating high :
Hats off!
The flag is passing by !
83644;^
WHAT THE FLAG STANDS FOR
HENRY CABOT LODGE
The flag stands for all that we hold dear — freedom,
democracy, government of the people, by the people,
and for the people. These are the great principles for
which the flag stands, and when that democracy and
that freedom and that government of the people are
in danger, then it is our duty to defend the flag which
stands for them all, and in order to defend the flag
and keep it soaring as it soars here to-day, undimmed,
unsullied, victorious over the years, we must be ready
to defend it, and like the men of '76 and '61, pledge
to it our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
UNION AND LIBERTY
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES
Flag of the heroes who left us their glory,
Borne through their battle-fields' thunder and
flame,
Blazoned in song and illumined in story,
Wave o'er us all who inherit their fame!
Up with our banner bright,
Sprinkled with starry light.
Spread its fair emblems from mountain to shore,
While through the sounding sky
Loud rings the Nation's cry, —
UNION AND LIBERTY! ONE EVERMORE!
Light of our firmament, guide of our Nation,
Pride of her children, and honored afar.
Let the wide beams of thy full constellation
Scatter each cloud that would darken a star !
Up with our banner bright, etc.
Empire unsceptred ! What foe shall assail thee,
Bearing the standard of Liberty's van?
Think not the God of thy fathers shall fail thee.
Striving with men for the birthright of man.
Up with our banner bright, etc.
Yet if, by madness and treachery blighted,
Dawns the dark hour when the sword thou must
draw,
102 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
Then with the arms of thy millions united,
Smite the bold traitors to Freedom and Law !
Up with our banner bright, etc.
Lord of the Universe : shield us and guide us.
Trusting thee always, through shadow and sun!
Thou hast united us, who shall divide us?
Keep us, oh keep us the MANY IN ONE!
Up with our banner bright.
Sprinkled with starry light.
Spread its fair emblems from mountain to shore,
While through the sounding sky
Loud rings the nation's cry, —
UNION AND LIBERTY! ONE EVERMORE!
YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR FLAG
EDWARD EVERETT HALE
"If you are ever tempted to say a word or to do
a thing that shall put a bar between you and your
country, pray God in His mercy to take you that
instant home to His own heaven. Stick by your fam-
ily, boy; forget you have a self, while you do every-
thing for them. Think of your home, boy; write and
send, and talk about it. Let it be nearer and nearer
to your thoughts, the farther you have to travel from
it; and rush back to it when you are free. And for
your country, boy," — and the words rattled in his
throat, — "and for that flag," — and he pointed to
the ship, — "never dream a dream but of serving her
as she bids you, though the service carry you through
a thousand hells. No matter what happens to you,
no matter who flatters you or who abuses you, never
look to another flag, never let a night pass but you
pray God to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that
behind all these men you have to do with, behind
officers, and government, and people even, there is
the Country Herself, your Country, and that you
belong to Her as you belong to your own mother.
Stand by Her, boy, as you would stand by your
mother."
THE HOME FLAG
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
And at the masthead,
White, blue, and red,
A flag unrolls the stripes and stars.
Ah ! when the wanderer, lonely, friendless,
In foreign harbors shall behold
That flag unrolled,
'T will be as a friendly hand
Stretched out from his native land.
Filling his heart with memories sweet and endless I
OLD FLAG
HUBBARD PARKER
What shall I say to you, Old Flag?
You are so grand in every fold,
So linked with mighty deeds of old,
So steeped in blood where heroes fell.
So torn and pierced by shot and shell,
So calm, so still, so firm, so true,
My throat swells at the sight of you,
Old Flag.
What of the men who lifted you, Old Flag,
Upon the top of Bunker's Hill,
Who crushed the Briton's cruel will,
'Mid shock and roar and crash and scream,
Who crossed the Delaware's frozen stream,
Who starved, who fought, who bled, who died.
That you might float in glorious pride,
Old Flag?
Who of the women brave and true, Old Flag,
Who, while the cannon thundered wild,
Sent forth a husband, lover, child,
Who labored in the field by day,
Who, all the night long, knelt to pray,
And thought that God great mercy gave,
If only freely you might wave,
Old Flag?
io6 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
What is your mission now, Old Flag?
What but to set all people free,
To rid the world of misery,
To guard the right, avenge the wrong,
And gather in one joyful throng
Beneath your folds in close embrace
All burdened ones of every race.
Old Flag?
Right nobly do you lead the way. Old Flag,
Your stars shine out for liberty.
Your white stripes stand for purity,
Your crimson claims that courage high
For Honor's sake to fight and die.
Lead on against the alien shore !
We'll follow you e'en to Death's door.
Old Flag!
BRITANNIA TO COLUMBIA .
ALFRED AUSTIN
What is the voice I hear
On the winds of the western sea?
Sentinel, listen from out Cape Clear
And say what the voice may be.
'T is a proud free people calling loud to a people
proud and free.
And it says to them: "Kinsmen, hail;
We severed have been too long.
Now let us have done with a worn-out tale —
The tale of an ancient wrong —
And our friendship last long as love doth last and
be stronger than death is strong."
Answer them, sons of the self-same race,
And blood of the self-same clan;
Let us speak with each other face to face
And answer as man to man,
And loyally love and trust each other as none but
free men can.
Now fling them out to the breeze,
Shamrock, Thistle, and Rose,
And the Star-Spangled Banner unfurl with these —
A message of friends and foes
Wherever the sails of peace are seen and wher-
ever the war wind blows —
io8 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
A message to bond and thrall to wake,
For wherever we come, we twain,
The throne of the tyrant shall rock and quake,
And his menace be void and vain,
For you are lords of a strong young land and we
are lords of the main.
Yes, this is the voice on the bluff March gale;
We severed have been too long,
But now we are done with a worn-out tale —
The tale of an ancient wrong —
And our friendship shall last long as love doth
last and be stronger than death is strong.
MAKERS OF THE FLAG
FRANKLIN K. LANE
[A portion of an address delivered by the Secretary of the
Interior to the employees of the Department of the Interior,
on Flag Day, 1914.]
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 beg 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
hopeful inventor in New York, or pushed the open-
ing of that new ditch in Colorado, or made that mine
in Illinois more safe, or brought relief to the old sol-
dier in Wyoming. No matter ; whichever one of these
beneficient individuals you may happen to be, I give
you 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 million peons in Mexico; but
no THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
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 sunrise until far into the night, to give
her boy an education. She, too, is making the flag.
"Yesterday we made a new law to prevent finan-
cial panics, and yesterday, maybe, 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 flag."
" But," I said impatiently, " these people were only
working!"
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 nothing more
than its shadow.
_"I am whatever you make me, nothing more.
" I am your belief in yourself, your 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 workmen
do an honest piece of 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.
MAKERS OF THE FLAG in
** I am song and fear, struggle and panic, and en-
nobling 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, dray-
man and street sweep, cook, counselor, and clerk.
"I am the battle of yesterday, and the mistake of
to-morrow.
"I am the mystery of the men who do without
knowing why.
'* I am the clutch of an idea, and the reasoned pur-
pose of resolution.
'*I am no more than what you believe me to be,
and I am all that you believe I can be.
" I 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. My stars and my
stripes are your dream and your labors. They are
bright with cheer, brilliant with courage, firm with
faith, because you have made them so out of your
hearts. For you are the makers of the flag and it is
well that you glory in the making.'*
OUR FLAG
MARGARET SANGSTER
Flag of the fearless-hearted,
Flag of the broken chain,
Flag in a day-dawn started,
Never to pale or wane.
Dearly we prize its colors,
With the heaven light breaking through,
The clustered stars and the steadfast bars,
The red, the white, and the blue.
Flag of the sturdy fathers,
Flag of the royal sons,
Beneath its folds it gathers
Earth's best and noblest ones.
Boldly we wave its colors.
Our veins are thrilled anew
By the steadfast bars, the clustered stars,
The red, the white, and the blue.
OUR HISTORY AND OUR FLAG^
WILLIAM BACKUS GUITTEAU
Love of country is a sentiment common to all peo-
ples and ages ; but no land has ever been dearer to its
people than our own America. No nation has a his-
tory more inspiring, no country has institutions more
deserving of patriotic love. Turning the pages of our
nation's history, the young citizen sees Columbus,
serene in the faith of his dream ; the Mayflower, bear-
ing the lofty soul of the Puritan; Washington girding
on his holy sword; Lincoln, striking the shackles from
the helpless slave; the constitution, organizing the
farthest west with north and south and east into one
great Republic; the tremendous energy of free life
trained in free schools, utilizing our immense natural
resources, increasing the nation's wealth with the
aid of advancing science, multiplying fertile fields
and noble workshops, and busy schools and happy
homes.
This is the history for which our flag stands; and
when the young citizen salutes the flag, he should
think of the great ideals which it represents. The
flag stands for democracy, for liberty under the law ;
it stands for heroic courage and self-reliance, for
equality of opportunity, for self-sacrifice and the
cause of humanity; it stands for free public education,
^ From Preparing for Citizenship. Houghton Mifflin Com-
pany, 1913, 1915-
114 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG .
and for peace among all nations. When you salute
the flag, you should resolve that your own life will be
dedicated to these ideals. You should remember that
he is the truest American patriot who understands
the meaning of our nation's ideals, and who pledges
his own life to their realization.
THE AMERICAN FLAG
JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE
Flag of the free heart's hope and home!
By angel hands to valor given ;
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome,
And all thy hues were born in heaven.
Forever float that standard sheet!
Where breathes the foe but falls before us,
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet,
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us?
THE FLAG OF OUR COUNTRY
ROBERT C. WINTHROP
There is the national flag. He must be cold indeed
who can look upon its folds, rippling in the breeze,
without pride of country. If he be in a foreign land,
the flag is companionship and country itself, with all
its endearments. Its highest beauty is in what it
symbolizes. It is because it represents all, that all
gaze at it with delight and reverence.
It is a piece of bunting lifted in the air; but it
speaks sublimely, and every part has a voice. Its
stripes of alternate red and white proclaim the orig-
inal union of thirteen States to maintain the Decla-
ration of Independence. Its stars of white on a field
of blue proclaim that union of States constituting out
national constellation, which receives a new star with
every new State. The two together signify union past
and present.
The very colors have a language which was offi-'
cially recognized by our fathers. White is for purity,
red for valor, blue for justice; and altogether, bunt-
ing, stripes, stars, and colors blazing in the sky, make
the flag of our country to be cherished by all our
hearts, to be upheld by all our hands.
AMERICA
SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH
My country, *t is of thee,
Sweet land of liberty.
Of thee I sing ;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountain-side
Let freedom ring.
My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free, —
Thy name I love ;
I love thy rocks and rills.
Thy woods and templed hills ;
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet Freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake,
Let all that breathe partake.
Let rocks their silence break, -
The sound prolong.
ii8 THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG
Our fathers' God, to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing ;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by thy might,
Great God our King.
INDEX
Albany, reached by the Dutch, 2.
"Albany Plan," 18-19.
Alexandria, 61.
Alfred, the, the first American man-of-
war, 35-38.
Algiers, the Dey of, yields to America, 58.
America, 3, 18, 25, 34, 46, 52; overpowers
the Dey of Algiers, 58.
" Ancient flag," the, 3.
Anderson, General , carries the flag from
Fort Sumter, raises it again in 1865,
72-73; burial of, 74.
Andrea, Doria, saluted at one of the West
Indian Islands, 45.
Arch Street, home of Betsy Ross, 40, 42.
Arizona, admitted to the Union, 66; men
from, at Santiago, 75.
Asia, sought by Henry Hudson, 1-2.
Atlantic Ocean, crossed by Henry Hud-
son, I.
Bainbridge, Captain, carries Algerian
ambassador to Constantinople, 57-58.
Baltimore, 50, 61.
Bedford, the flag of, 20-21.
Beecher, Henry Ward, speech of, at Fort
Sumter, 73.
Bethlehem, 50.
Bon Homme Richard, sinking of the, 45-
47-
Boston, arrival of stamps at, 15-16; flag
seen in, 34; 35.
Boston Harbor, 5; tea dropped into, 30.
Brest Roads, 44.
Britain, 34.
British, besiege Fort Stanwix, 48.
Broadway, 53.
Brooklyn Navy Yard, flags for the navy
made in the, 67.
Bunker Hill, flags at battle of, 21; 28, 29,
30, 32.
Bunting, not made in America until
1866, 66-67.
Cambridge, Indian volunteers come to,
29; 34- 39-
Carleton, Sir Guy, delayed in New York,
53-
Castle Island, ship made to strike her
colors at, 5-6.
Chapuitepec, taken by Americans, 70-
71.
Charles II, and the New England coin-
age, II.
Charleston, the flag of, 11-12; stamped
paper in, 15; liberty flag in, 16; flag of,
after Bunker Hill, 22; Liberty Tree of,
30, cut down by Sir Henry Clinton,
31; 72.
China, the American flag in, 79.
Christina, becomes queen of Sweden, 2.
Civil War, the beginning of the, 71.
Clinton, Sir Henry, cuts down the Lib-
erty Tree in Charleston, 31.
Columbus, 58.
Concord, 20.
Congress, 19, sends a committee to Cam-
bridge, 32; orders building of cruisers,
35; orders a flag, 41; 42; 43; celebrates
the anniversary of the Declaration of
Independence, 51; decrees the star-
spangled banner, 63-64. See also
Continental Congress.
Connecticut, regimental colors of, 22;
mocto of, 30.
Constantinople, Algerian ambassador
carried to, 58.
Constitution, frigate, 57.
Continental Congress, 27; weakness of
the statement issued by the, 29; Wash-
ington a member of the, 33; 37; de-
clares the colonies to be independent
and decrees a flag, 39-40-
Cook, Captain, to be aided by all Ameri-
can cruisers, 38.
Copley, paints in the flag, 52.
Cotton, Dr. John, advises concerning the
King's Flag, 6-7; Indian chief resem-
bles, 59.
Cuba, given up to the Cubans, 81-82.
Culpeper Minute Men, 25.
Daiquiri, landing place of the Rough
Riders, 75-
Declaration of Independence, 32, 40;
flag made before the, 42; first anniver-
sary celebrated on the Delaware
River, 51.
Delaware River, Swedes settle on the, 2;
pine-tree flag on the, 35; stars and
stripes on the, 42; celebration on the,
51-
Digby, Admiral, licenses a Nantucket
skipper to go to London, 52.
Dix, General, 81.
Driver, Captain Wil'iam, originates the
name "Old Glory," 68.
Dutch, establish trading posts on the
Hudson River, 2; overpowered by the
English, 2; opposed by New Eng-
landers, g-io; government of, inquires
concerning the American flag, 65.
I20
INDEX
Dutch East India Company, Hudson
sails in the employ of the, 1-2.
Elliot, Major, wife of, presents silken
colors, 24.
Endicott, John, cuts the cross from the
English flag, 4-5; 87.
England, flag of, brought to Jamestown,
2-3; 6; 18; 33; flag of, pulled down in
New York, 54; 66; honors the Stars
and Stripes, 84.
English East India Company, flag of the,
34.
Essex (county), q.
Essex Institute, " Old Glory " sent to the,
69.
" Father of his Country," 33.
Fifteen stripes and fifteen stars, the
flag of, 56-62.
Fillmore, President, sends letter to Japan,
77-
First Regiment of the United States Vol-
unteer Cavalry, 74. See Rough Riders.
Flag anniversaries, 90-92.
"Flag Day," 87.
Flag etiquette, 85-89.
"Flower flag," the, 79.
Flamborough Head, 45.
Fort George, 53.
Fort McHenry, attacked by the British,
60.
Fort Moultrie, 23.
Fort Schuyler. See Fort Stanwix.
Fort Stanwix, flag made at, 48-49.
Fort Sumter, firing upon, begins the Civil
War, 71-72; flag raised upon, 73.
Fourth of July, Declaration of Indepen-
dence on the, 39-40; first anniversary
of the, SI ; new stars to be added to the
flag on the, 64; honored in Sweden, 81.
France, war with, 57; sells the Louisiana
Territory to the United States, 58.
Franklin, Benjamin, proposes the "Al-
bany Plan," 18-19; 24, 25, 26; sent to
Cambridge by Congress, 32; 34; issues
letters of marque, 37.
Frederick, burial place of Francis Scott
Key, 61.
French, opposed by the New Englanders,
9-10; meet the New Englanders at
Louisburg, 12-13.
Gadsden, Christopher, speaks of possible
independence, 30.
Gage, General, 21.
Gansevoort, Colonel Peter, commands
Fort Stanwix, 49.
George III, proclamation of, 54.
*' God Save the King," sung in St. Paul's
Cathedral, 84.
Grand Army of the Republic, 74, 86.
Grand Council, part of the " Albany
Plan," 18-19.
" Grand Union Flag," made in Cam-
bridge, 33; designer not known, 34; 39.
Great Britain, second war with, 57, 84.
Gustavus Adolphus, plans a settlement in
America, 2; 80.
Hall, Lieutenant, rescues the flag at Fort
Sumter, 72.
Hancock, John, presents a flag to General
Putnam, 30.
Harrison, Benjamin, sent to Cambridge
by Congress, 32.
Hart, Sergeant Peter, fastens the flag up
on the ramparts at Fort Sumter, 72;
presents it to be raised, 73.
Harvard College, used by troops, 28.
Havana, 82.
Hawthorne, tells the story of Endicott
and the flag, 4-5; of "The Pme-Tree
Shillings," 1.1.
Hemispheie, on a flag, 11.
Henry, Patrick, 25.
Hessians, 51.
Holland, Hudson's vessel sailed from, the
flag of, i; 44.
Holmes, "Old Ironsides," poem of, 56.
House of Representatives, hoists the
Star-Spangled Banner, 65.
Hudson, carries the Dutch flag into the
Hudson River, 1-2.
Indian, enters embrasure at Louisburg,
13-
Indiana, 63.
Indians, Hudson welcomed by the, i;
method of warfare,_8; given flags, 12;
volunteer at Cambridge, 29; fought by
Washington, 33; besiege Fort Schuyler,
48; raise the American flag, SQ.
Island of Knights, 80.
James I, changes the flag of England, 3.
James II, sends a flag to New England,
leaves England, 10.
Jamestown, founded, 2.
Japan, opened by Perry, 77-7Q; embassy
from visits the United States, 78; the
friend of the United States, 79-
Jasper, William, rescues the flag at Fort
Moultrie, 23-24.
Jersey City, 65.
Jones, John Paul, hoists a flag on the Al-
fred, 35-37; forbidden to bum defense-
less towns, 37; put in command of the
Ranger, 43; receives a flag in Ports-
mouth and a salute in France, 43-45;
in command of the Bon Homme Rich-
ard, 45-47-
Journal, of Congress, 32.
Kansas, first raising of the United States
flag in, 59. , ^
Kentucky, admitted as a State, 56.
Kettle Hill, battle of, 76.
INDEX
121
Key, Francis Scott, writes the "Star-
Spangled Banner," 60-61.
King Philip's War, flag used in, g.
" King's Flag," 3; displayed at Castle
Island, 6-7.
Lafayette visited by Pulaski, welcomed
to Baltimore, 49, 50.
Las Guasimas, 75.
" Last battle of the Revolution," 53.
Lexington, 31; battle of, 35; 39.
Liberty, the demand for, 14.
"Liberty Elm," Massachusetts history
associated with the, 30.
" Liberty Hall," 16.
Liberty Pole, cut down in New York, 31.
"Liberty Tree," in Boston, 16, 17; of
South Carolina, 30; Paine's poem on
.the, 31.
Lincoln, President, 72.
" Lion of the North," 2.
London, 52; honors the Stars and Stripes,
84.
Longfellow, poem of , " Hymn of the Mo-
ravian Nuns of Bethlehem," 50.
Louisburg, the New Englanders at, 12-13.
Louisiana, admitted to the Union, 63.
Louisiana Territory, purchased by the
United States, 58.
Lowell, quotation from, 63.
Lowell (city), bunting made in, 66.
Lynch, Thomas, sent to Cambridge by
Congress, 32.
Maryland, 61.
Massachusetts, troubles concerning the
cross in the flag, 4-7; 8, 9; flag of the
"Three County Troop" in, 9; use of
" pine tree" in, 10, 11, 15; flag of, after
Bunker Hill, 22; 27; motto of, 30; de-
crees the use of the pine-tree flag, 35;
66; 68; 86.
Mediterranean Sea, freed from Pirates, 58.
Memorial Day, 8x.
Mexico, war with, 70.
Mexico, the City of, captured by Ameri-
cans, 70-71.
Middlesex (county), 9, 20.
Monroe, President, signs a bill decreeing
the use of the Star-Spangled Banner,
64.
Moravian Sisters, make banner for Pul-
aski, 50.
Morris, Robert, 40.
Mottoes on flags, 12,15, 17, 18, 21, 22,
25. 28, 30, 36, 54-
Moultrie, 71.
Moultrie, Colonel, defends Fort Moul-
trie, 23-24.
Nantucket, 52, 53.
Nashville, 68.
National Museum, " Star-Spangled Ban-
ner" ot Francis Scott Key in, 61.
Netherlands, flag of the, 34.
New Amsterdam, 2.
Newbury, flag of the militia b, 8-9.
Newburyport, patrol, of, 15.
New England, alliance of the folk of, 9-
10; 18.
New Englanders, 10; set off to capture
Louisburg, 12.
" New England Flag," the, 21.
New Hampshire, 15, 43.
New Haven, peace rejoicing in, 54.
New Mexico, admitted to the Union, 66.
New World, 2, 58.
New York, founded by the Dutch, 2; flag
of, is; arrival of stamps at, 16; liberty
pole in, 17-18; hoists flag with beaver
device, 22; 27; 31; State of, 48; Sir Guy
Carleton delayed in, 53; 64; 72.
New York Sun, 82.
North Pole, discovered by Admiral
Peary, 83.
Ohio, admitted to the Union, 63.
"Old Glory," origin of the name and
story of, 68-69; in three wars, 70.
"Old Ironsides," frigate, poem by
Holmes, 57.
" Old Thirteen," 2.
Oliver, hanged in effigy in Boston, 15-16.
Oscar, king of Sweden, 81.
Page family, as color bearers, 20.
Paine, Thomas, poem of on the " Liberty
Tree," 31.
Pearson, Captain, yields to John Paul
Jones. 45.
Peary, Admiral Robert E., carries the
flag to the North Pole, 82-83.
Pennsylvania, 32, 50, 55.
Pennsylvania Gazette, 19.
Pennsylvania Journal, 25.
Perry, Commodore M. C, carries the
letter of President Fillmore to Japan,
77-79-
Philadelphia, 18, 37, 39. 4°. 55-
Philadelphia Light Horse Troop, escorts
Washington to New York, 27; flag of
the, 27-28, 33.
Phcenix, 74.
Pike, Lieut. Z. M., and the Indians, 59.
Pilgrims, 34.
Pine tree, on flag, 10, 11, 21, 35; used on
the Delaware River, 35.
" Pine-Tree Shillings, The," Hawthorne's
story of, II.
Pope's Creek, birthplace of Washington,
61.
Portsmouth, banner in, 15; the " quilting
party" flag, 43-47-
Poughkeepsie, 49.
Prospect Hill, 29; flag raised on, 34.
Pulaski, Count, the banner of, 497S0.
Puritans, troubled by the cross in the
flag, 4-7-
122
INDEX
Putnam, Major-General Israel, 29; Oag
presented to, by John Hancock, 30.
Quaker City, the, 27.
Ranger, command of, given to Jones, 43;
the flag of, and its salute, 43-45-
Rattlesnake, on flag of Charleston, 22; a
favorite emblem, 24-26; 35) 00 flag
of the Alfred, 37-
Reid, Captain, S. C, designs the flag with
stars arranged in one star, 65.
Revere, Paul, 20.
Revolutionary War, 21.
Rhode Island, hoists a flag with the an-
chor device, 22.
Roman Catholic Church, the cross re-
garded as the badge of the, 4.
Rome, 48.
Ross, Betsy, makes the first flag with
stars and stripes, 40-42.
Ross, Mrs. Elizabeth Griscom, 40, 48.
See Betsy Ross.
Ross, Colonel, 40, 42.
" Rough Riders," 74.
St. Andrew, the cross of, 3, 18, 33.
St. George's Cross, united with the cross
of St. Andrew, 3; cut out of the flag by
Endicott, 4-5; in the flag sent by
James II to New England, in the pine-
tree flag, 10; 18; 21; 32; 34-
St. Paul, Cathedral of, 84.
Salem, cross cut from the flag in, 4-5, 8,
68.
San Juan Hill, the battle of, 76.
Santiago, attacked by the Rough Riders,
75-
Savannah, flag hoisted at, 22, 24.
Scotland, the flag of, 3; 33-
Serapis, taken by Jones, 4S~47.
Six Nations, 18.
Somerville, flag raised in, 34.
Sons of Liberty, 15; put up a liberty pole,
17-18; meetings of the, 30.
South Carolina, 1 1 ; treatment of stamped
paper in, 14; 30; 32. _
Spain, owner of the Louisiana Territory,
59; war with, 74, 81.
Spaniards, repulsed at Las Guasimas, 75-
Spanish-American War, 81, 87.
Stamp Act, 14; repeal of the, 17; 30.
Stars and Stripes, iirst salute to, 45; re-
place the English flag in New York, 54;
at Fort McHenry, 60; at Chapultepec,
71; fired upon at Fort Sumter, 71-72;
raised again at Fort Sumter, 72-73; in
Japan, 78; in China, 79; in Sweden, 81;
honored in England, 84; behavior to-
wards the, 85-87.
" Star-Spangled Banner, The," written
by Francis Scott Key, 60-61; played
at Fort Sumter, 73; sung in St. Paul's
Cathedral, 84.
Stiles, President, describes the New
Haven rejoicing for peace, 54.
Stockholm, 80.
Suffolk (county), 9.
Swartwout, Captain Abram, cloak of,
used for flag at Fort Stanwix, 48-49-
Sweden, American flag raised in, 79781.
Swedes, settle on the Delaware River,
are overpowered by the Dutch, 2; op-
posed by the New Englanders, 9-10.
Tennessee, admitted to the Union, 63;
68.
Thames, the royal seal tossed into the,
10.
" Thirteen," 51. 63.
Thirteen stripes, first used, 28.
Thomas, William W., raises American
flag in Sweden, 79-81.
Trenton, 51.
Tripoli, war with, 57.
Trumbull, battle of Bunker Hill painted
by, 21.
"Union Flag," 18, 22; made at Cam-
bridge, 33; worn by the Alfred, 37.
Union Jack, 3; given to the Indians, 12;
18; 84.
United Colonies, 34.
" Unite or die," motto of the " Albany
Plan," 18.
United States, 26, 51, 52; left by British
troops, 53; 54, 55, 58; buys the Louisi-
ana Territory, 58-59; flag of, decided
upon, 63-65; flag manufactured in, 67;
opens intercourse with Japan, 78; 80;
flag of, hauled down in Cuba, 81-82; 83,
84. 87.
Vermont, admitted as a State, 56.
" Victory Tower," Star-Spangled Banner
floats from, 84.
Virginia, 2, 3, 25, 33, 61.
Washington, 21; goes to Boston, 27729;
32; coat-of-arms of, 33; 34; 4°; visits
Betsy Ross, 41; significance of the
flag expressed by, 43; 61; monument
reared to in Baltimore, birthplace of
marked, 61-62; 81.
Watson, Elkanah, flag painted m por-
trait of, by Copley, 52.
Wendover, Peter H., induces Congress
to decree the Star-Spangled Banner,
64.
Westminster Palace, 84.
Westmoreland County, 61.
West Point, burial place of General An-
derson, 74.
Wood, General Leonard, 75; delivers
Cuba to the Cubans, 82.
Yale, S4. .
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