Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1852-10-20
Origin of our National Flag.

An enquiry made in "Notes and Quer-
ries," IA London periodical intended as
medium of intercommunication between mt
erary men, artists, antiquarians, and 9TH
ers,j as to the origin of our National flag
has been answered by Mr.. T. Waistcott, o.
Philadelphia. He says -
"Jarltzburg wishes to know the origin o.
the stars and stripes in the American flag.
His query might be answered briefly bty
stating that the American Congress, on the
18th Of June, l777, Resolved that the flag
of the thirteen United States be thirteen
stripes, alternately red and white; that the
Union be thirteen stars, white in blue
field, representing new constellation =
But your correspondent wishes to know the
origin of the combination, and who hrsi
suggested the idea. Some have supposed
that it might have been derived from the
arms of General Washington, which con-
tains three stars in the upper portion, and
three bars running across the escutcheon'
There is no means of knowing at this day,
whether the conjecture is correct, but the
coincidence is rather striking. There were
several flags used before the striped flag. by
the Americans. In March, ITO, "a union
FLAG with red field was hoisted at New
York upon the liberty pole, bearing the IN.
scription George Rex, and the Liberties OF
America, and upon the reverse mo po-
perry On the 18th of July, ITS, Gen.
Putnam raised, on Prospect Hill, flag
bearing OH one side, the Massachusetts, mot
to, 'Oui transiulu susiinet, on the other AN
appeal to Heaven In October the same
year the floating batteries at Boston had a
flag with the latter motto, the held white
with a pine tree upon it. This was the
Massachusetts emblem. Another flag, u.s.
ed during ITS in some of the colonies, had
upon it rattlesnake coiled as If about to
strike, with the motto. Don't tread on
me- The grand union flag of thirteen
stripes was raised on the heights near Bos-
ton, January 2, 1776. Letters from there
saw that the regulars in Boston did not un.
derstand it and as the kings speech had
lust been sent to the Americans, they
thought the new flag was token OF sub
mission. The British Annual Register OF
1776 says: They burnt the kings speech
and changed their colors from PLAIN red
ground, which they had hitherto used, to
flag with thirteen stripes, as symbol OF
the number and union of the colonies. "A
letter from Boston about the same time,
published IN the Pennsylvania Gazette tor
January, 1776, says: The grand union nag
was raised on the I'd, in compliment to the
united colonies The idea of making each
stripe for State, was adopted from the
first; and the fact goes far to negative the
superstition that the private arms OF Cen
eral Washington had anything to 40 with
the subject. The pinetree, rattle.snake.
and striped flag were used indiscriminately
until July, ,1777, when the blue union' with
the stars, was added to the stripes, and the
flag established by law. Formerly new
stripe was added for each new State admit
ted to the Union, until tine flag became too
large, when, by act of Congress the stripes
were reduced to the old thirteen and now
star is added to the Union at the success
of each new State"