*
FLAG!
OF'
THE
WORLD
CORNELL
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
Cornell University Library
CR107
.M12Flags of the world by Byron McCandless
3
1924 029
797
341
^
Cornell University
Library
The
original of this
book
is in
the
Cornell University
Library.
There
are
no
known
copyright
restrictions
in
the
United
States
on
the
use
of
the
text.
Flags
of
the
World
BYRON
McCANDLESS
Lieutenant-CommanderU.S.Navy
AND
GILBERT
GROSVENOR
Editor NationalGeographic Magazine
With
1197
Flags
in
Full
Colors
300
Additional
Illustrations
in
Black
and
White
PUBLISHED
BY
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY
WASHINGTON.
D. C.U.S.A.
Copyright
by
the
National
Geographic
Society
1917
<
Washington
Press of Judd
&
Detweiler, Inc.THE
WHITE
HOUSE
WASHINGTON
14
December,
1917
My
dear
Mr.
Grosvenor:
The
Flag Number
of the
National
Geographic Magazine
is
indeed most
interest-ing
and most valuable.
I
sincerely
congratu-late you
on
the
thoroughness
and intelligence
with
which
the
work has
"been
done.
It
consti-tutes
a
very
valuable document indeed.
Cordially and sincerely yours,
Mr.
Gilbert
H.
Grosvenor,
Director,
THE SECRETARY OF THE
NAVY...W
ASHINGTON
.
December 3, 1917
Wy
dear .Mr. Grosvenor:I wish to congratulate and thank
you
for the magnificentFlag Number of the National Geographic Magazine. It
had
for me aper-sonal as well as a national interest, because during the weeks that
Lieutenant Commander Byron McCandless was busy in the preparation of the
artioles and the flags whioh
adorn
the magazine I caught something ofthe spirit of enthusiasm and patriotism whioh marked the delightful
la-bor which he brought to the study and preparation of what is truly an
historic number^ To have given to the people a beautiful Flag Number
at any time would have been in keeping with the eduoational service
which
the National Geographio Magazine has long rendered to the
American
pub-lic. To have given this service at this time, when the Flag means more
to us than ever before in our history, and
when
millions of youngmen
areresponding cheerfully to its call because of the principles it symbolizes,
your Flag Number may be truly said to be a contribution to the victory
which will be
won
under the inspiration of the ideals which the Flagem-bodies.
Sincerely yours
,
Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor, Editor,
The National Geographio Magazine,
Washington, D. C
THE SECRETARYOF WAR.
WASHINGTON.
December 12, 1917
My
dear Mr. Grosvenor;I am very glad to have the second copy of the Flag Issue of
the National Geographic Magazine which you:were good enough to send
me, the first having already reached me at my home, and I wish to
thank
you
on behalf of my associates in the War department for the Society'sgenerous offer to present a special edition of 5000 copies of the
mag-azine for the use of the men in the Army.
This issue is not only of general interest, as all the issues
of the magazine are, but of permanent value for reference, and of
par-ticular usefulness to the men in the military service of the United
States at this time.
With best wishes and renewed thanks, I am
Cordially yours,
Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor, Editor,
The National Geographic Magazine,
"CW
THE
FLAG
BOOK
FLAGS
symbolize the noble aspira-tionsand
gloriousachievements
ofthe
human
race;they epitomize theromance
of history; they incarnate thechivalry of the ages.
Their
originisdivinity itself; forwhen,
at the
beginning
ofrecorded
time,Jeho-vah
made
acovenant
with man,
prom-isingthat
never again
would
He
send
thewaters
tocover
the face of the earthand
destroy all flesh,
He
unfurled
the firstflag
—
themultihued
banner
of therain-bow
—
which
He
set in the clouds as asymbol
of securityand
an
assurance toall future generations of
His watchful
care.
And
since thatday
man
has, in hisfinite
way,
employed
his earthlybanners
as
emblems
of
faith, of hope,and
ofhigh
resolve.
Around
the bits of varicoloredbunt-ing
which
the people ofeach
landnom-inate as a national flag, there cluster
thoughts
ofloyalty,ofpatriotism,and
ofpersonal sacrifice
which
have
enabled theworld
tomove
forward,
from
thedays
when
each
individual struggled forhim-self alone, like other wild
animals
ofplainand mountain
side, until,through
com-munity
of interestsand
unit)' of effort,mankind
has
been
enabled to rear, thesplendid structure of twentieth century
civilization.
When
thesavage
began
toemerge
from
his isolation
and
took
the first stepsto-ward becoming
a social creature,profit-ing
by
associationand
cooperationwith
fellow
human
beings,one
of his firstneeds
was
a sign or asymbol
whereby
he
could distinguish
during
primitivebattles,between
creatures of hisown
tribe orfamily
and
those ofenemy
tribes.A
peculiartype ofclub, a splotch of colored
clay
on
thebody
of the warrior,and
latersome
rude
deviceon
hisclumsy
shieldserved for'atime the
purpose
of insignia.Eventually
these bits ofwood,
bodilyornamentation,
and
shield signswere
re-placed
by
the skins of animals attachedto poles sothat the)'
might
be heldhigh
in the air
and
recognized
at a distance..Prom such
crude beginnings
itis easy totrace the evolution of the flags of
civil-ized
man.
Today,
while it is true thatwe
arethinking of the flags of
our
own
and
ofother nations in relation to
sanguinary
strife, .-these
emblems
ofarmies
and
navieshave
adeep
and
noble significance farremoved from
their use in leadingmen
to battle. In reality flags are the
bul-warks
of idealism.AN
INSPIRATION TO PERSONA!, SACRIFICE
The
flag epitomizes foran
army
thehigh
principles forwhich
it strives inbattle.
Were
it not for the idealswhich
itkeeps
everbefore
the soldierhe
would
be bestializcd
by
slaughter. Itkeeps
men's motives
loftyeven
inmortal
com-bat,
making them
forgetful of personalgain
and
of personal revenge,but
eager
for personal sacrifice in the cause of the
country
they serve.With
fullrealizationofwhat
thestoriesof the flags of the
world
mean, each
toits
own
people,and
with
the belief thatAmericans
will be inspiredby
under-NoTE
:The
pages of the FlagBook
arenumbered
as they appeared inthe NaTionai,Photograph by PaulThompson
THE
PRESIDENT
OI?THE
UNITED
STATES
ON
BOARD A
BARGE
WHICH
FLIESHIS
FLAG
AT
THE BOW
WHILE)
TAKING
HIM FROM THE "MAYFLOWER"
TO
THE
FLAGSHIP
(SEEALSO
PAGE
324)The
President's flag (No. 2, page310) is one of the mostdifficult flags to make,requir-ingthe labor of a skilled seamstress for an entire month. Every detail of the eagle, each
featherand eachscale,mustbecarefullyembroidered.
On
two days of the year theshipsofthe American
Navy
are "full dressed," as are the battleshipsshown
here.Those
occasionsare theFourthofJuly, the birthday ofthenation itself,and theTwenty-second of February,
the birthday of him
who
will ever remain first in the hearts o"f his countrymen.To
"full-dress ship" is also permissible as a matter ofinternational courtesy,
when
in foreign ports,upon the occasion of the visited country's national holidays or in honor of the presence of
their men-of-war.
standing
and
appreciating the motives, thetraditions,
and
the sentimentswhich
have
given
birth to these varioussymbols
ofsovereignty, the
National
Geographic
Society
presents thiswork,
devoted
tothe flags of all countries.
In
thepresentworld
struggle, inwhich
the
United
States ofAmerica
isnow
en-gaged,
we
of this land hold to the idealsrepresentedinthehistory
and
thepromise
of the Stars
and
Stripes—
the ideals oflife, liberty,
and
the pursuit ofhappiness
safeguarded
for allmankind.
And
though
many
must
fall in theachievement
of those ideals, a nobleand
imperishable
good
willendure
as amonu-ment
to their sacrifice.History can
be-stow
upon
such
soldiersno higher
en-comium
than
that ofDefenders
of theFlag.
In presenting 1,197 flags in accurate
colors
and
design, the plates ofwhich
were
utilized forthisvolume,
theSociety
issued the
most
expensive, instructive,and
beautifulnumber
of itsmagazine
inthe history of periodical literature.
the
bigtask
of
making the
flag
NUMBER
111
assembling
theflagsof the world, inchoosing
the correctfrom
the spuriousdesigns,
and
in mobilizing, so to speak, the flaglore ofour
own
America,
asvvellasin the research
which
hasmade
itpos-sibleto presenthere
many
flagspregnant
with
historic associations, theNational
2
84
THE
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
Geographic
Society has been
fortunatein
having
the enthusiastic cooperationand
active professional services of the
fore-most
flag expert of theUnited
StatesGovernment and
probably
theleadingau-thority in the
world on
flagusages
among
maritime
nations—
Lieut.Commander
Byron
McCandless,
of theUnited
StatesNavy.
Lieut.
Commander
McCandless was
theflag officer of the
American
fleet atVera
Cruz
in 1913,and
in theperformance
ofhis duties there
he
found
that the signalofficers
and
enlistedmen
were
handi-capped
in theirwork
by
the non-existenceof a flagbook.
Being
farremoved from
a printing establishment, the ingenious
officer
met
the conditionby
chiseling flag platesfrom
leaden sheetsand
printing incolor a
book
offlagswith
ahand-press
in-stalled
on
the flagship.This
unique
pub-lication attracted
wide
attentionamong
naval officers,
and
thedemand
for copiesof the
work
became
so great that theim-provised
flag plates,made
of soft metal,soon
wore
away.
Lieut.
Commander
McCandless was
in-duced by
theNational
Geographic
So-ciety
to undertake,with
the consent ofthe Secretary of the
Navy,
theassembling
of the flags of the
world
for thisvolume.
In
view
of the value of this flag materialto the
government,
theSociety has
do-nated
5,000 copies of theFlag
Book
tothe
United
StatesNavy
and
5,000 copiesto the
Army.
In
addition to the expert services ofLieut.
Commander
McCandless,
theEd-itor
has
had
the assistance ofJohn
OliverLa
Gorce, the AssociateEditor
; ofWil-liam Joseph Showalter,
Ralph
A.
Graves,Franklin
L. Fisher,and
othermembers
of the editorial staff in the
months
ofresearch
work
necessary
to secure thehistorically accurate data descriptive of
the
more
than
1,200 flags in colorsand
in black
and
white.Thus, through such
concerted
effort, it is possible to presentin this issue the
most
complete
and
au-thoritative
work
on
flags ever published.The
engraving
of thecoats-of-arms
and
devices
appearing on
many
of theban-ners
and
the preparation of all the colorplates in their accurate proportions, as
well as the notable
achievement
in richcolor printing,
have
been
accomplished
through
themechanical
efficiencyand
ar-tistic cooperation of the
Beck Engraving
Company
of Philadelphia. In theproc-esses of color printing it
was
necessary
to operate the presses in daylight only,
in
order
that the tintsand
shades might
be kept true for
each
of the 23,000,000pages (32 pages
of color ineach
ofmore
than
700,000
copies of theNational
Geographic Magazine).
The
Flag
Number
and
theFlag
Book,
like all the other issues since the
found-ing of the
magazine
twenty-nine
years ago,owe
their attractive typographicalappearance
to Messrs.Judd
&
Detweiler.Inc., of
Washington,
D. C.the
work
of
printing
So
vasthas
grown
themembership
ofthe
National
Geographic
Society
thatone
finds ithard
to realizehow
wide-spread
is thegeographic
interest ithas
engendered
orhow
many
magazines
must
be printed
before
each
member
can
re-ceive his or
her
copy.Two
strikingillustrations of the
Society's numerical
strength
have
come
home
to theEditor
inthe issuance of the
Flag
Number.
With
one
of the largest color printing plantsin
America
engaged
inproducing
the 32pages
of flags in colors, ittook
75work-ing
days
—
threemonths
—
-to print thesealone.
The
attention of the reader is directedto the little
vacant
spaces after flags640
and
666
respectively(pages
350-351).
These
blank
intervalsdo
not
seem
tobe
more
than
negligible;and
yet,running
through
the entire edition of theNa-tional
Geographic Magazine,
they
oc-cupy
more
than 700,000 square
inches ofspace, or 1,728 pages.
Put
sideby
sidethey
would
form
a ribbon ofpaper twenty
miles long.
Gilbert
Grosvexor,
Editor
and
Director,INDEX
TO
FLAGS
AND
INSIGNIA
„ ,. , Illustration
Subject page
African flags 354, 355, 358,367
Army
flags of United States 314Asian flags 354, 355, 358,367 British Empire flags 359-366
Australia 363
Dominion of Canada 362
Correct dimensions of United States flag 312
Correct display of United States flag
European flags ."04,358,367
Flags famous in American history 388,339,342 Geography of middle ages told by flags -''.70
Insignia of uniformed forces of United States 414-419
Makers of the Flag
Marine Corps flags of United States ulo
National Geographic Society flag 335 Naval flags of the world ,-... 347,350,351
Navy flags of United States 315, 318,319 Pan-American flags 343,346
Stars and Stripes, History of 310
State flags of United States 323-334
Text Page 372 308,309 372 378 383 381 404 404 372,388 341 3SS 413 304 313,316 340 369 313,316 381 286
Photograph byBrownBrothers
SALUTING
THE
FLAG
IN SCHOOL.The
salute to the flag fosters a spiritof unity and loyaltyamong
the future citizens of the land, regardlessof themany
racial stocks from which these childrenmay
have sprung. Happily, educators are rapidly appreciating the importance of such outward symbols andceremonies, and it is hoped that the time is at hand
when
such patriotic customs will beuniversally adopted in our public and private schools.
THE
STORY OF
THE
AMERICAN'
FLAG
The
textand
illustrations of thisFlag
X
umber,
in its entirety, arc protectedby
copyright,
and
allrights arc reservedK
5
IF
inaugun-
of that perpetualpeace
forwhich
allmankind
hopes
as the
outcome
of theworld
war,
immediately
following
theentrance
of theUnited
States ofAmerica
into thegreat struggle to secure
democracy
forallpeoples
and freedom from
themenace
of
militarism for all nations, the Starsand
Stripeswere
received gratefullyand
reverently intothat historic shrine of the
English-speaking
race—
St. Paul'sCa-thedral,
London
—
there tobe preserved
among
thehallowed banners
of the hosts of liberty (seepage
302).
This
epochal
event
marked
thealli-ance, in
a sacred
cause, of thetwo
greatself-governing
Anglo-Saxon
nations just140
years
after the birthof
that StarSpangled
Banner
in the travail of theconflict
which
severed
theAmerican
Re-public
from
the
BritishEmpire.
From
theembattled
pinnacleof high
resolve
and
lofty idealismwhere
theAmerican
flaghas
always
floated, thecourse of
its risemay
be
surveyed
—
an
inspiration to the patriot,
an
enduring
emblem
of
hope
for the oppressed.The
story of the Stars
and
Stripesisthe storyof
thenation
itself: the evolutionof
theflag is
svmbolic
of the evolution ofour
free institutions; its
development
epito-mizes
theamazing
expansion
ofour
boundaries
and
thedevelopment
ofour
natural resources: its glorious history is
the history of the
people
whose
sover-eigntyit signifies.
"in the
embryonic days of
the republic,when
theThirteen
Original Stateswere
'
still feeble British colonies
bordering
thewestern
shores of the Atlantic,therewere
almost
asmany
varietiesofbanners
borne
bv
theRevolutionary
forces as there aretoday
racesfused
intoone
liberty-lovingAmerican
people.The
local flagsand
colonial devices(Xos.
361-366,377-422)
displayed inbat-tle
on
landand
seaduring
thefirstmonths
of the
American
Revolution proclaimed
the attitude of the people of the several
colonies in their grievances against the
Mother
Country.
When
Bunker
Hilland
Lexington
were
fought,
some
of the staunchest patriotswere
stillhopeful
thatan
adjustment
of the difficultieswith
thehome
government
could
be effected,and
although
on June
15. 1775.
General
Washington had
been
appointed
commander
-in-chief of theContinental forces raised, or to
be
raised,'"for the
defense
ofAmerican
liberty."'the Continental
Congress
nearlya
month
later (July 8>
addressed
an
appeal toKing
George
inwhich
the petitionersstyled
themselves '"Your Majesty's
faith-ful subjects."
DISINCLINED TO SEVER
ALL
TIESDisinclined to sever all ties
with
Eng-land, yet bitterly resentful of the
treat-ment
accorded
them and
unyielding
in theirdetermination
to resist furtherop-pression,
when
itbecame
necessary
toadopt
an ensign
for theirnewly
creatednavy,
in theautumn
of 1775. therevolt-ing
colonieschose
a flag that reflectedtheir feeling
of
unitywith
theMother
Country,
but
at thesame
time expressed
their firm joint
purpose
todemand
and
obtain justice
and
liberty.The
eventswhich
resultedintheestab-lishment of the Continental
navy,
and
therebv the birth of the first flag
repre-sentative of the thirteen
united
colonies,constitute
one
of themost
picturesquechapters in
American
history.At
thebe-ginning of October
the ContinentalCon-gress, sitting in Philadelphia,learned that
two
unarmed
Xorth
Country-built brigswere
sailingfrom
England
loaded with
arms, powder,
and
other stores destined forQuebec.
As
the colonieswere
in soreneed
ofpowder
and
possessed neitherfactories for its
manufacture
nor
ships forbringing
itfrom
abroad,Congress
THE BANNER UNDER
WHICH
THEY
MARTIAL
FOUGHT
AND
SHROUD
FEEE
ISNOW
THEIR
They
went forth to battle and gave their lives to liberty. Theirs the hardships, theirsthe sacrifice, theirsthehonor, "nor shall theirglory be forgot while
Fame
her record keeps."instructed
General
Washington
to applyto the Council of
Massachusetts
Bay
forthe
two armed
vessels in its service, toman
them and
to dispatchthem
with
allspeed
in thehope
of intercepting themu-nitions-ladenbrigs.
The
aid of thearmed
vessels of
Rhode
Islandand
Connecticutwas
alsopromised
thecommander-in-chief in this
important
enterprise.General
Washington,
ofhisown
initia-tive,had
alreadypurchased
two
vessels,which
hehad
fitted out, officeredwith
army
captains,and
manned
with
soldiers.These
shipswere
theLynch
and
theFranklin.
By November
I fouraddi-tional cruisers
had
been
added
to thefleet
—
the Lee, theHarrison,
theWarren,
and
theLady
Washington.
.Of
this little fleet only the Lee,under
command
ofJohn
Manley,
met
with
sig-nal success in the bold undertaking.
On
November
29
itcaptured
the brigNancy,
with
a preciouscargo
of 4,000muskets,
31 tons of
musket
shot, 3,000round
shot,several barrels of
powder,
and
a 13-inchbrass mortar, subsequently called
"Con-gress,"
which was
to playan important
partin forcing the evacuation of Boston.
One
of the colonial ships, theLady
Washington,
was
captured
on December
7
by
H.
M.
S.Forney,and
her
colors, stillin the
Admiralty
Office inLondon,
aredescribed as
bearing
a pale-green pinetree
on
a field ofwhite
bunting,with
themotto,
"An
Appeal
toHeaven"
(391).This
flagwas
flown
by
all the shipsunder
Washington's
command
at this time, thedesign
having
been
suggested
by
thecommander-in-chief's
military secretary,Colonel
Joseph Reed,
who
wrote,on
Oc-tober 20, 1775, that he
wished
to "fixupon
some
particular color fora flagand
a signal
by
which
our
vesselsmay know
one
another."THE
EARLY
AMERICAN NAVY
Prior to the receipt of the
news
of thecapture of the
Nancy
the ContinentalCongress
had
appointed
Esek
Hopkins
commander-in-chief
of thenavy
builtby
l*}*^i?Jl^t>l>p•1*1 .-.»»
\i?^r
s~;fE±-
Dos
.L«;i
ByArtttopn
oKon2x^
v
J3§8j
-H.
?'/»
Mlta-?**
-. - ..^i:-.?»- ,---. ..!——the
earliest perfect
repre5extatiox of
the graxd uxiox
ex5igx
''see xo.
364)
The
flagis apart of the decorations appearing on North Carolina currency of the issue of April 2, 1776Congress
as distinguishedfrom
thesol-dier-manned
fleetunder
General
Wash-ington.
Immediately following
hisap-pointment
Commodore
Hopkins
(the firstand
onlycommander-in-chief
thenavy
ever
had)
set sailfrom
Rhode
Island inthat colony's
armed
vesselKaiy
and
ar-rivedinthe
Delaware
River
on
December
3- I77:-
The
same day
thecommodore
assumed
theformal
command
of thelittlesquadron
which
theCongress
had
placedunder
him.
PAUL
JOXE5
RAISES
THE
FLAG
The manner
inwhich
thatcommand
was
assumed
is of signalimportance,
inthat the
ceremony marked
the hoisting of the first trulyAmerican
flag.And
thedistinction
of
having
released thebanner
to the
breeze belongs
tothatdaring
spirit.John
Paul
Tones,one of
the chiefamong
heroes
in the heartsof
American
naval
officers
and
seamen.
Jones, at thattime
senior lieutenant ("corresponding to
exec-utive officer in the
navy
today
) ofHop-kins' flagship, the Alfred, in a letter to
"the
United
State;Minister
ofMarine.
Hon.
Robert
Morris." preserved
in theLibrary of
Congress., thus describes thehistoric event:
"It
was
my
fortune, as the senior of the first Lieutenants, to hoistmyself
theFlag
ofAmerica
(Ichose
todo
itwith
my
own
hands
) thefirsttime
itwas
dis-played.
Though
thiswas
but
a
slightCircumstance,
yet I feel for itsHonor,
more
than
I think Ishould
have
done, ifit
had
not happened."
A
line isdrawTi
through
thewords
inparentheses
and
the
word
"myself"
hasbeen
inserted.This
wa*s the flag 1364
<which
after-ward
figured so extensively inthelitera-ture of the
day
as theCongress
Colors,from
the factthatitfirst floatedover
thenavy
controlledby
Congress.
Also
known
as the
Grand Union
Flag
and
the FirstXavy
Ensign,
itwas
the Colonialstand-ard
from
thatday
untilitwas
superseded
by
the
Starsand
Stripes, in 1777. Itconsisted
of
thirteen stripes, alternatelyred
and
white,typifying the thirteencolo-nies,
with a union hearing the
crossesof
St.George
and
St.Andrew
combined
(the national flagof
Great
Britain,361)
and
signifying theMother
Country.
There
has been
much
confusion about
THE
STORY
OF
THE
AMERICAN FLAG
289
the flags
which
were
displayedon
theAlfred
on
that historicDecember
day.The
statement is oftenmade,
and
cor-rectly, that
Commodore
Hopkins
hoisted theGadsden
flag(398)
—
a factwhich
impresses
some
historians as acontradic-tion of
John
Paul
Jones' assertion.Ref-erence to
naval
usage,both
of thatday
and
of this,however,
clarifies thesup-posed
discrepancy. Flagships displaythree flags
—
the ensign,flown
at thestern;the flagof the
commanding
officer,displayed at the
mainmast
;and
the jack,which
fliesfrom
the jackstaff atthebow.
The
Gadsden
flag (ofyellow
silkand
bearing
a coiled rattlesnakewith
themotto "Don't
Tread
on
Me"),
used
on
the
Alfred
as the flag of thecommodore
commanding
thefleet,was
presentedFeb-ruary
8, 1776, to theCongress by
Col.Christopher
Gadsden,
a delegatefrom
South
Carolina to the Continentalbody
and
one
of thecommittee
of threeap-pointed
on
October
15, 1775,toreporton
the fitting out of
two
armed
vessels.When
that reportwas
made,
two weeks
later, Colonel
Gadsden
was
one
ofacom-mittee of
seven appointed
to fit out fourarmed
vessels.The
jack displayedon
theAlfred
on
this occasion
was
a small, nearlysquare
flag of thirteen alternate red
and
white
stripes, bearing a crawling rattlesnakewith
the legend"Don't
Tread
on
Me"
beneath
it (365).CENSORSHIP
IN
REVOLUTIONARY TIMES
No
mention
of theceremony
ofCom-modore
Hopkins'
assumption
ofcom-mand
of the little Continental fleet is tobe
found
in the Philadelphianewspapers
of that period. Indeed, the silence ofthe
colonial press
about
the eight vesselsfitted out, officered,
manned, and
sent to seawas
ascomplete
aswas
that of theAmerican
press of 1917,when
General
Pershing's expeditionary force
embarked
forthefields of France.
The
intelligence reports to the BritishAdmiralty
were
very
explicitconcerning
the event,
however.
Inminutest
detailthese reports described the ships of the
fleet,
how
theywere
painted, thenumber
of guns, officers,
and
men
—
all accuratelysupplied
by
theenemy's
secret-serviceagents in the colonies.
For
example,
thefollowing report,
under
date ofJanuary
4, 1776,
was
sentfrom
Philadelphia:"This
day,about one
o'clock, sailedthe shipAlfred
and
the shipColumbus
withtwo
brigs.Alfred
carries36
guns,9 and
12
pounders
;60 marines
and
about 200
sailors.
Columbus
about
thesame
num-ber of
men
and
32
guns.The
two
brigscarry 16 guns.
They
sailedwith
five orsix
merchant
shipsloaded
with
flourfrom
the Congress.
Hopkins
commands
theAlfred.
She
has yellow
sides,her
head
the figure of a
man,
English
colours, butmore
striped.The
Columbus
isall black,except
white
bottom, withno
head.Com-manded
by one Whipple."
HOISTING
THE GRAND UNION
FLAG AT
CAMBRIDGE
One month
after itsbaptism
in thebreezes,
from
the stern of the Alfred, theGrand Union
Flag
(364)
was
raised atCambridge,
Mass.,on
thevery
day
thatthe Continental
Army
began
its officialexistence
—
January
2, 177(3—
and
General
Washington
is authority for theexplana-tion that it
was
displayed "out ofcompli-ment
to theUnited
Colonies." Itwas
two
days
after this event thatWashing-ton
wrote
to his militarysecretary,Joseph
Reed,
through
whom
he
kept intouch
with
affairs at Philadelphia:"We
are at lengthfavored
with
thesight of
His
Majesty'smost
graciousspeech, breathing sentiments of
tender-ness
and
compassion
for hisdeluded
American
subjects; thespeech
Isend
you
(a
volume
ofthem
was
sent outby
theBoston
gentry), and, farcicalenough,
we
gave
great joy tothem
without
knowing
or intendingit, for
on
thatday
(January
2)
which
gave being
toour
new
army,
but
before theproclamation
came
tohand,
we
hoisted theunion
flag incom-pliment
to theUnited
Colonies.But
be-hold
! itwas
received atBoston
asatoken
of the
deep
impression
thespeech
had
made
upon
usand
as a signal ofsubmis-sion.
By
thistime
Ipresume
theybegin
tothink itstrange that
we
have
notmade
formal surrender
ofour
lines."Although
displayedon
the ContinentalArmy's
first birthday, neither theGrand
Union
Flag
(364)
nor
the Starsand
ft
: -w
- o bo : - =—
O-
^<s St-1-a ; j:>I—I t- o o p c.y «
Si
O&«
g *•" b»a) aT3SP c!^
^.5 •-+* u aj > C^'C
<»£C/3 <u: w • .2 >,« OTa
cc
-5.s^"
. .5 ^,"2 -a^
qj r Ui ajCOm
o w—
-c -u'S oo g 5>vz
™ O fc uid J3 - S'c 9" -*"'g
.£1c'too
<! c " cc
x
c-S2 C bofJ o^! J3 •" C < E n « >.i= '5^
-c i- o ,±:7: >li^lc
£
a ns 5 jj o o wj= jS.So fe £ « « 3 6 > r- *+*^C -5 -5°~
5i « £ |A; bp-CJ3 -c Jj"
" " «j„
m<e c-° boi-.S--
c«
&U-S-3
R
g c UM
^
<U en tfl O U^
~
v£? "£ £ *>3 o S 291>Harris& Ewing
THE FREMOXT
FLAG
When
General John Charles Fremont,surnamed
"the Pathfinder,"made
hisway
acrossthe continent in the '40's, hismission
was
one ofpeace, but the arrowsin hisarmy
flag sug-gestedwar
totheIndians of theplain. Therefore heinserted thecalumet, or pipe of peace,crossed withthearrowsinthe talons of the eagle. Itisinteresting to notethatthe
army
did not carry the Stars and Stripesuntil the period of theMexican
War
(seepages307-308andflag22).
Stripes (6),
adopted
by Congress
a year
and
a
half later,was
carried in the fieldby
theland
forcesduring
theRevolu-tionary
War.
The army
carried onlythecolors
of
the States towhich
thetroops
belonged
(see flags 394, 396, 403, 409, 41Q, etc.)and
not
the nationalflag.THE
FIRSTVICTORY OF
THE AMERICAN
FLAG
It fell to the lot
of
thenewly
createdCommodore
Manley
(theofficerwho
had
commanded
theLee
and
captured
theordnance
shipXancy)
tocarry
theGrand
Union
Flag
to its first victor}-.Com-manding
theHancock,
Manley
captured
two enemy
transports,placed
prizecrews
aboard,
and
then,with
only 16men
lefton
hisown
ship,he
engaged
an
armed
vessel in sight of the
enemy
fleet atBos-ton
and
succeeded
inbringing
his prizessafely into
Plymouth.
Following
thisdaring
exploitManley
receiveda
letterwritten at
Cambridge,
on
January
28,1776,
by
General
Washington,
who
de-clared that the
commodore's
achievement
merited
"qiineand
thecountry's thanks,"'and
promised
him
a"stronger
vesselof
war."
On
Major
Samuel
Selden'spowder-horn
of thatperiod
is acarving
showing
Boston
and
vicinity.The
British fleet isdepicted
on
one
sideof
Boston
Xeck,
while
Manley
's symbolical shipAmaraca,
flying at the stern the Continental
Union
flag as its ensign,
and
at themainmast
the pine-tree flag as the
commodore's
flag, is
shown
on
theother
side.The
mortar
carved
on
thehorn
isthefamous
"Congress"
gun
captured
by
Manley on
the
Xancy.
The
first occasionupon
which
any
American
flag floatedover
foreignterri-tory
was on
March
3. 1776.Commodore
Hopkins,
of theCongress
fleet,organized
an
expedition againstXew
Providence,
in the
Bahama
Islands, for thepurpose
of
seizing a quantity ofpowder known
tobe
stored thereand
of
which
both
Gen-eral
Washington and
the fleetwere
inPhotographfromCentralNewsPliotoService,officialnavalphotograph
VICE-ADMIRAL
SIMS
WITH
BRITISH
AND AMERICAN
STAFF OFFICERS
AT
THE
HOISTING
OF
THE AMERICAN
VICE-ADMIRALS FLAG
(65)AT
ADMIRALTY
HOUSE
WHEN
HE
TOOK
TEMPORARY CQMMAND'
OF
QUEENSTOWN AND
DISTRICTVice-Admiral Bayley's flag (606) is being hauled
down
U. S. S.
"SYLPH" FLYING
THE
FOUR-STAR FLAG
OF
ADMIRAL
BENSON, CHIEF
OF
NAVAL
OPERATIONS
(64),ON THE MAINMAST, AND THE
FLAG
OF
VICE-ADMIRAL BROWNING,
OF
THE
BRITISH
NAVY
(606),ON THE
FOREMAST
Our
naval jack (4) is flying at the jackstaff, but the motion of the steamer has given the stars a stripedeffectgreat need.
Two
hundred
marines
were
landed,
under
thecommand
ofCaptain
Nichols,
supported
by
fifty sailors,under
Lieutenant
Weaver,
of the Cabot.The
Providence
and
theJVasp
covered
thelanding
party.Fort
Nassau
was
taken
and
a great quantity of military storesfell into the
hands
of the expedition.A
correspondent
of theLondon
"La-dies'
Magazine,"
who
was
inNew
Provi-dence
at thetime
of the capture of thefort
by
theAmerican
forces,under
dateof
May
13, 1776, described the colorsdis-played
by
themarines
and
sailors as"striped
under
theunion
(the Britishunion
of the crosses of St.George and
St.
Andrew)
with
thirteenstripes" (364),while "the
standard
(thecommodore's
flag)
bore
a rattlesnakeand
themotto
"Don't
Tread
on
Me"
(398).THE
FIRSTFOREIGN
SALUTE
TO
AN
AMERI-CAN
flag
The
first salute ever fired inhonor
ofan American
flag (theGrand
Union
en-sign)
was
an eleven-gun
volleygiven
by
the
Fort of Orange, on
the island of St.Eustatius,
Dutch
West
Indies,on
No-vember
16, 1776.The
salutewas
inac-knowledgment
of a similarnumber
ofguns
firedby
theAndrew
Doria
(s,ee alsopage 401), one
of the original vessels ofCommodore
Hopkins'
fleet,which
had
been
sent totheWest
Indies,under
com-mand
ofCaptain
IsaiahRobinson,
for acargo
of military supplies.The
commander
of thenear-by
Britishisland of St. Christopher,
hearing
of thesalute, protested to the
Dutch
governor
of St. Eustatius,
Johannes de
Graef,who
promptly
replied that "inregard
to thereception
given
by
the fortsofthisisland,,under
my
commandment,
to the vesselAndrew
Deria, I'flatter.myself
that ifmy
masters
exact it I shallbe
able to givesuch an account
as willbe
satisfactory."Whereupon
the Britishcommander
re-sponded
that "the impartialworld
willjudge
between
uswhether
thesehonor
shots, ansxyered
on purpose by
aDutch
fort toa rebellious brigantine,
with
aflagknown
to thecommander
of that fort asthe flag of
His Majesty's
rebellioussub-jects, is
or
is not a partiality infavor
of those rebels."The
Britishgovernor then
forwarded
Photograph byBrownBrothers
LAUNCHING THE
U. S. S."MICHIGAN"
In times of peace the launching of a battleship is a gala event, attended by elaborate ceremonies and witnessedby enthusiasticthrongs proud of the privilege of seeing the
"mar-riage to the sea" ofanother man-of-war destinedto uphold the honor of America. In times of war, however, no such crowds as attended the Michigan's launching are admitted to the
shipyards, foran
enemy
might, with abomb, undo the laborof yearsand destroya formidableunitof ourgrowingseapower.
to
London
a report of the affair,accom-panied
by
affidavits that the brigantine"during
thetime
of the saluteand
theanswer
to it,had
the flag of theCon-tinental
Congress
flying."The
BritishGovernment
protested sharply to theStates
General
of theRepublic
of theNetherlands.
The
Dutch
demurred
atthe asperity
with
which
England
de-manded
an
explanation, butimmediately
recalled
Commander
deGraef
from
St.Eustatius.
Thus
the first salute to thenew
ensignwas
disavowed, although
theHolland
Republic
recognized
American
independence
shortlythereafter.In the literature of the
Revolution
fre-quent
reference isfound
to a "plainstriped flag" (404). Official
correspond-ence
shows
thatwhenever
this flagwas
used
afloat itwas
as thebadge
ofmer-chant
shippingand
privateersand
not asthe ensign of the regular
commissioned
vesselsof thenavy.
How
long
theGrand
Union
Flag
was
in usehas
never been
definitely established; but official records
of the
navy
fail toshow
thatany
otherensign
was
used
until after the StarSpangled Banner's adoption by
Congress.birthday
of
the
stars
and
stripesIt
was
nearlyone
year after therepre-sentatives of the
United
States ofAmer-ica, in
General Congress
assembled,had
pledged
their lives, their fortunes,and
their sacred
honor
for thesupport
of theDeclaration of
Independence
that thecrosses of St.
George and
St.Andrew,
emblematic
of theMother
Country,
whictihad formed
theunion
of the Continental"Union
flag (364),were
discardedand
re-,
placed
by
aunion
composed
ofwhite
'
stars in a blue field, "representing a
new
constellation" (see flag
No.
6,"page
310).The
date of the birth of the Starsand
Stripes
was June
14, 1777,and
itscrea-tion
was
proclaimed
in a resolutionof theTHE
STORY OF
THE AMERICAN
FLAG
29
1;
Continental
Congress.
While
theresolu-tion
appears
in the recordswithout
any
account
of preliminary discussionand
without
any
designation of specificrec-ommendation,
theorder
inwhich
it isin-corporated
in the business of theday
leads to the
assumption
that itwas
re-ported
by
theMarine
Committee,
for itissandwiched
inamong
several naval mat-ters.This
portion of the official journalfor the
day
reads:"Resolved,
That
theMarine
Commit-tee
be
empowered
togivesuch
directionsrespecting the Continental ships of
war
inthe river
Delaware
as they thinkproper
in case the
enemy
succeed
in theirat-tempts
on
said river."Resolved,
That
theflag of thethirteenUnited
States be thirteen stripes,alter-nate red
and
white
; that theunion
bethirteen stars,
white
in a blue field,rep-resenting a
new
constellation."The
Council
of the State ofMassa-chusetts
Bay
having
representedby
letterto the president of
Congress
thatCaptain
John
Roach,,some
time
sinceappointed
to
command
the Continental ship ofwar
Ranger,
is a doubtful characterand
ought
not to be entrustedwith
such acommand
; therefore"Resolved,
That
Captain
John Roach
be suspended
until theNavy
Board
forthe eastern
department
shallhave
en-quired
fully into his characterand
reportthereon
to theMarine
Committee.
"Resolved,
That
Captain
John
Paul
Jones
beappointed
tocommand
the saidship
Ranger."
Thus
itwould seem
that not onlywas
the first flag of the Continental
Congress
(364)
displayed for the first timefrom
anaval
vessel, theAlfred
(seepage
288),but that
from
thenavy
(in theperson
ofthe
Marine Committee
of theCongress
of
1777)
the nation also received theStars
and
Stripes.MANY
THEORIES AS TO
THE
ORIGIN
OE
THE
STARS
AND
STRIPESThere
have been
advanced
almost
asmany
theories as to the genesis of theStars
and
Stripes as therewere
stars inthe original ensign.
Many
hold to theview
that thenew
flagborrowed
thestripes
from
theensign
(364)
raisedby
John
Paul Jones on
theAlfred on
De-cember
3, 1775,and
the starsfrom
thecolonial
banner
ofRhode
Island(396)
;others
maintain
that the idea for the flagcame from
Netherlands, offering insup-port of this claim the statements of
Ben-jamin
Franklin
and John
Adams,
who
went
toHolland
toborrow
money
for thestruggling colonies
and
who
told theDutch
thatAmerica had borrowed
much
from
them,
including the ideasrepre-sented in the flag.
Whatever
their origin, there isno
per-suasive evidence in the official records of
the time
which
would
lead to thecon-clusion that the Stars
and
Stripeswere
in use before the resolution of
June
14,1777. It istrue,
however,
that the paint-ings ofTrumbull and
Peale
do
point toits earlier use. But, as to the flags
ap-pearing in their paintings, it
should
be
recalled that
an
anachronism
could
be
readily
excused
in the case ofTrumbull,
because
hehad
left the colonieswhile
Washington was
before
Boston
and
was
abroad
forseven
years.Peak's
picture ofWashington
crossing theDelaware,
with
respect to the colors carried, isbe-lieved tobe a case of "artist's license."
The
wellknown
story ofBetsy Ross,
so-called
maker
of the Starsand
Stripes,is
one
of the picturesque legendswhich
has
grown
up around
the origin of theflag, but it is
one
towhich
few
unsenti-mental
historians subscribe.There
was,
however,
aMrs.
Ross,who
was
aflag-maker by
trade, living in Philadelphia atthe
time
of the flag's adoption.BIUS
RENDERED BY A EEAG DESIGNER
A
more
authentic individualconnection
with
the designing of the flag is tobe
found
in the official recordsconcerning
Francis
Hopkinson, one
of the delegatesto
Congress
from
New
Jersey, a signerof the Declaration of
Independence
and
a
member
of theMarine
Committee.
In
November,
1776,Hopkinson
was
ap-pointed
one
of acommittee
of three to"execute
the business of thenavy under
the direction of the
Marine
Committee."
He
resigned as amember
of theNavy
Board
inAugust,
1778,but
continued
toTHE
GUIDON,
TROOP
F,NEW
YORK
Photograph by PaulThompson
NATIONAL GUARD
Each
troop of cavalryintheAmerican
forcescarries aguidon—
a smallflagcut"swallow-tail" (23). It consists of
two
stripes of equal width, the upperbeing red, the cavalry colors,with the regimental designation in figures.
The
letter of the troop, in red, appears on the white stripe.Two
guidons are supplied to each troop—
a silken banner carried into battle,on campaigns, and upon occasions of ceremony, and a service flag of bunting to be used at
allothertimes.
in the following letter to the
Board
ofAdmiralty
more
than a year
later:
"Gentlemen
: Itiswith
great pleasureI
understand
my
lastdeviceof
a seal for theBoard
ofAdmiralty
has
met
with
your
Honours'
approbation. Ihave with
great readiness
upon
several occasionsexerted
my
small abilities in thisway
forthe public service, as I flatter myself, to
the
satisfaction of those Iwish
to please,viz..,
The
flag of the United States of America4 Devices for the Continental currency
A
Seal for theBoard
of TreasuryOrnaments, Devices and Checks, for the
new
bills of exchange on Spain and Holland.
A
Seal for Ship Papers of the United StatesA
Seal for theBoard
of AdmiraltyThe
Borders,Ornaments
&
Checks for thenew
Continental currencynow
in the press,a
work
of considerable length.A
Great Seal for the United States ofAmer-ica, witha. Reverse.
"For
these services Ihave
as yetmade
THE
STORY
OF
THE
AMERICAN FLAG
299
no
charge,nor
receivedany recompense.
I
now
submit
it toyour Honours'
con-sideration
whether
a quarter cask of thepublic
wine
will not be aproper
and
areasonable
reward
for these labours offancy
and
a suitableencouragement
tofutureexertions of the like nature. . . ."
Subsequently
Hopkinson
rendered
an-other
account
to thegovernment
for thevarious designs
mentioned
above, togetherwith
numerous
others, the first itemon
the list
being
"the greatnaval
flag of theUnited
States."On
this occasionhe
asked
for$2,700 compensation.
Later
herendered
a third account, itemizing thecharge
foreach
design,and
followed
thiswith
an explanatory
notewhich
throws
an
interesting lighton
the financial statusof the nation at that time, for
he
says:
"The
charges aremade
inhard
money,
tobe
computed
at 50 forone
inConti-nental."
This
claimwas
never
paid, aboard
which
passed
on
accounts reporting thatit
appeared
thatFlopkinson
"was
not theonly
person
consultedon
thoseexhibi-tions of
Fancy,
and
thereforecannot
claim the full merit of
them and
is notentitled in this respect to the full
sum
charged."
Also
theboard
was
of theopinion that "the public is entitled to
thoselittle assistances given
by gentlemen
who
enjoy
avery
considerable salaryunder
Congress
without
fee or furtherreward."
admiral
Chester's
account
oe
acolonial
flag-bee
Rear Admiral
Colby
M.
Chester,U.
S.Xavy,
has
suggestedthatJohn
Paul Jones
may
have
had
a share in the design.He
says
:
"This
young
officer of the ContinentalXavy
had
just returnedfrom
a successfulcruise at sea in
command
ofwar
ships,during
which
hehad
captured
anumber
of the
enemy's
vessels,and
was
inPhila-delphia at the time
Congress
was
con-sidering the question of a national flag,
as a
member
of aBoard
ofAdvisers
tothe
Naval Committee
of the Plouse ofDelegates
upon
matters relating to thecountry's sea forces, of
which
theques-tion of a suitable distinguishing
mark
tobe
worn
by
war
vesselswas
one
of themost
important."Possessing
amost
attractiveperson-ality,
Paul
Jones
was
lionizedby
theladies of the city
and
patronizedby
some
of the leading delegates to the
Conven-tion,
who
calledupon him
to advise thelegislators
regarding
the design for theflag; he thus
had
much
todo with
secur-ing thepassage
of the act ofCongress
fixing its characteristics.
"Soon
afterthis eventtook
place,Cap-tain
Jones
received hisappointment
tocommand
theRanger, one
of theConti-nental frigates
about
toproceed
abroad,and
with the act ofCongress
containinghis
commission
in hishands he proceeded
withallhasteto
Portsmouth,
New
Hamp-shire, in
which
port theRanger was
fittedout.
Here
he
was
receivedwith
more
distinction, even,
than
atPhiladelphia, forPortsmouth
being
one
of the principalseaports of the country, its inhabitants
were
more
interested inshipswhich
were
to fly the flag
and
themen who
were
toman
them
than
were
those living in thecapital of the colonies.
"At Portsmouth
Paul Jones
attractedabout
him
abevy
of girlswho
formed
aso-called "flag-bee,"
who
with
much
pa-triotic
enthusiasm
and
many
heart thrillswrought
out of theirown
and
theirmothers'
gowns
abeautiful StarSpangled
Banner,
which
was thrown
to the breezein
Portsmouth
Plarboron
July4th, 1777,less than three
weeks
afterCongress
had
so authorized."
XEW
ENSIGN'S
FIRSTACTION
AT SEA
The
story of the first time in historythat the Stars
and
Stripeswent
intoac-tion at sea is told in the picturesque
lan-guage
of theAmerican
officerwho
com-manded
the shipwhich
displayed thenew
ensign
—
Captain
Thomas
Thompson.
Incommand
of theRaleigh
and
the Alfred,Captain
Thompson
sailed forFrance
from
Portsmouth,
and
on
September
2,1777,
captured
theslow
Xancy
of theWindward
Island fleet,which
had
out-sailed her.
Having
possessed himself ofthe
A
Tancy's signal
book,
Thompson,
on
sighting the fleet
two
days
later,a
_ Ifl *r "K - -' rwood
THE FREXCH ARM\
JS FIRSTSALUTE
TO
THE
STARS
AXD
STRIPESOX
FREXCII
SOILSection V-14 of the
American
Ambulance
Corps, a team of Leland Stanford Jr.Ui
-versify students, had the honor of bearing the first
American
flag officially sent from theUnited States totheFrench front
this vessel
was
apoor
sailerand
thewind
had
changed,
theRaleigh
went
in alone,passing
many
merchant
ships of theconvoy.
AYhen
within
pistol-shot of thecommodore's
ship,recognized
by
means
of the signal
book,
Thompson
records:
"We
up
sails,out
guns, hoistedCon-tinentalcolours
and
bidthem
striketotheThirteen
United
States.Sudden
surprisethrew
them
intoconfusion
and
their sailsflew all aback,
upon which
we
compli-mented them
with
agun
foreach
State,a
whole
broadside
into their hull.Uur
second broadside
was
aimed
at theirrig-ging,
which had
its desired efrect.In
about
a quarter ofan
hour
allhands
quitted quarters
on
board
the Britishman-of-war:
we
cleared thedecks
totally.Had
not thewind
favored
him
and
we
drifted leeward,he could
nothave
fetched us
and
Ishould
certainlyhave
sunk
the ship.""Thus
occurred
thebaptism
of fire atsea of the
new
flag,at thehour
of sunseton
September
4, 1777.THE
IMPROVISED OLD
GLORY
OF
FORT
STAXWIX
Just