The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1853-07-21
History of the smcfican Flag.


The Albany Express gives tie follow'i,.
interesting abstfscs of tie ist6lg of our
American co'ors, from an exec edinylv in
work by Capt Schuyler Ham
ilton, I. S. A., recently Wished i'm
Philadelphia, ana enti led s.Historv o. II g
American Flag
Inc hrst eolors spoken Of in coEl.ec ION
WIN 'he American Revolution, were sip-
nlhcaniy enough called Union Flars.'-
No account is given of the devices uron
them. They are frequ,n;l srole On Of in
the newspapers of 1874.
The Connecticut troopsfxed upon tn, ir
standards and theiradrnms, in 1878 he
motto, 'Qui TRANSLATE Sustinit,' in letters
of sol1-literAlly, Col, who tranypk.nted
us hltl:er, will support u.s. This was tie
motto. Each regiment was distinguished
by its color--blue, orange, &c, dc.
July l3, l775, General Pu nam-.,lo-
rlous odd ut'-unfurlcd at Can bridge.
Massachusetts, on the joyful occasion of
,hc reception in that town of the Declare
ton OF independence standard bcarin,
tLis motto on ore side, 'An Appeal to
Heaven and on tie o.Eer. eQui Tr2nsla-
tit sus;inl:.' This flag was flung to tie
breeze amid tie roar of cannop snl ua
shouts of the people. l. was sail ct that
time that the Ihaistiaes on Bunker's II;l
heard the cheers of tie h,oez:tes. Esrua
Putnam,) and being fearful, paradtd
themselves in battle array TEis fac
was RED one, the signal of defiance or
battle since the days of the Romans.
In September, 1775, Col. Moul.rie un-
furl blue flag; with a cont in ore
corEcr. This was tie first American faar
displayed in South Carolina, and was used.
at the taking of Fort johnson, gn James,,
Island. The crescent is tie emblem of
Sovereignty
a Standard with willie ground, & pine
tree in the middle, and the motto, APP.
peal to Heaven was adopted in l775, as
the Flag Of the Floating Batteries.
On January 81, 1776-the dav tEat
gave birth to the New American Army
the Flag designated as The Great Union
Standard, was hoisted This was the ba-
sis of the National Flag of the present
day.
In l77G was adopted tic Standard to
be u@ed by the commander in chief of tie
American Navy, 'being yellow field,
with lively representation of a rattle
snake in TIE middle, in the attitude Of
stricking.' Underneath these words
:. Don't tread on me-
The same year the Cruisers of the Col
ony of Massachusetts, hoisted white flag
with green pine tree, and the motto
Appeal to Heaven
! June 14.h, 1777, Congress passed tie
following resolution:
Resolred, That the Flag of the Thir-
teen United States be thirteen stripes, al
ternate red and white; that the Union be.
thirteen stars, white, in blue field, rep--
resenting a new Constitution.
This was tie origin of the National
Flag of the United States-the glorious
Stars and Stripes has proudly
waved, since that day, over mary of the
greatest victories of modern times; that
stirs the blood of every true-Eearted citi-
zen whenever and wherever Ee beholds it
floating in the breeze; that waves in eve
ry part of the world, and is everywhere
respected, ON sea and shore.
4 The above resolution was made public
; September 8, 1777. According to Col.
Trumbull, the Flag made in pursuance of
it was first used at the surrender of Bur-
goyne, October II, of the same year.
This was glorious beginning, truly, for
that was one of the most important VIC
tories of the American arms during the
Revolution.
TIE first change in the national colors
was directed in the following enactment OF
: Congress, adopted January 15, 1894:
''Be it enacted, DC, That from and af-
ter the first day of May, 1895, the Flag
5 of the United States be fifteen stripes, al
ternatc red and white; that the Union be
, fifteen stars, white, in blue field
This was the Flag of the United States
during the war of 1924.
In 1918, the Flag of the United States
was again altered. On the suggestion OF
: the Hon. Mr. Wendoyer, of the State OF
New York, return was made to thirteen
: stripes, as it was anticipated the the Flag
: :. would become unwieldv if stripe was
added on the admission of each State;
and, moreover, by tie plan proposed, Il G
, Union of the old thirteen States, as wcll
as the number of States comprising tie
:. existing Union, would be presented by TIE
Flag of the United States. Mr.. w. also
proposed the arrangement of the stars in
!. the Union into tie form of a single star