The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1859-06-15
HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG.

HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG
The Philadelphia Press has an interesting
article, giving carefully prepared history of
the origin and progress of the flag of the Uni
ted States 1t was suggested by the passage
by Congress at its last session of joint resolu-
ton, proposing to -give3s't thanks of Congress
to SAMUEL c. REID, late scommandaf of the
private armed brig, sGeneral Armstrong, for
having designed and formed the present flag of
the United States" We copy the following
portion of the. .eticle
The first flag displayed in the cause of Amer
lean liberty appears, by historical dates, to be,
that hoisted by the hands ofPaul Jones, as first
lieutenant of the Alfred, ON board thatevessel,
before Philadelphia, in Deeember,1775- Hu-
ring the Revolutionary war, both before and
for some time after. the Declaration of indie
pendence, a variety of flags were used, typify-.
ing the especial colony that espoused the cause,
and the particular arm of service. The flag
known as the Great Union was first displayed
by Washington upon the heights'before Boston,
upon assuming command-in-eh of the com
bined army of the Colonies, on the I'd of JAM
uary, 1776. This flag consisted of the crosses
of St. George and ST. Andrew, with thirteen
stripes alternate red and white, through the
field. This continued in use probably until the
Sd of September, 1777, when resolution of
Congress, adopted on the 14th of June, of the
same year, was promulgated as follows:
In CoNGREss, June 14th III.
"Reso7re1, That the flag of the thirteen Uni
ted States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and
white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white
in blue field, representing new constella-
ton
Fronting this new constellation, Rurgoyne
surrendered at Saratoga, 18th October, III,
and with it Jones arrived in France, (prepara-
tory to his famous cruise, as above alluded TOD
on December I'd, of the same year.
The flag having been Instituted on the rep
resentative principle to designate the States of
the United Republic, was altered, on motion of
january, 1874, on the occasion of the admis
of Vermont and Kentucky into the Union. 1t
was enacted:
"That from and after the first of May, Ammo
Domini one thousand seven hundred and nine
ty-four, the flag of the United States be fifteen
stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union
be fifteen stars, white in blue field
The first English frigafe (the Guerriere) that
ever struck it's colors to an American ship
Constitution sunk to the bottom of the ocean
before this flag. 1t was the flag that waved
over Hull in that gallant fight over Rodgers,
when he captured the British packet Swallow
with $4,000 aboard over Decatur, when he
made sloop of the Macedonian; over Law
renee, when he would not give up the ship; over
Perry, in his marvellous battle on Lake Erie !;
over Reid in his terrible defence at Fayal, and
over the scotton-b bales and glory of New Or
leans.
The flag of June, 1777, vas altered ostensi-
bly, to accommodate the progress of the Repub
lie by the in coming of newiStates Yet the
act of January, 1874, while it changed it to
suit the present, made no provision for the fu-
turc; thus up to 181S-athough Tennessee
came in June, 1896; Ohio, February, 1903 !;
Louisiana, April, 1872; Indiana, December,
1916; and Mississippi, December, 1S17-the
flag remained with fifteen stars and stripes on
i7o4. I INC '''i'SS A'-'i''Su SINCE
On the admission of Indiana the first move
was made, which resulted in the happy design
of our present flag, which at once chronicles the
number of States by which liberties were
won, and the extent of prosperity to which
those liberties have led u.s.
On the 9th December, 1916, the Hon Peter
III. Vendover. of New York, moved for a COM
mittee ''to inquire into the expedieney of alter
ing the iag;" but a. bare majority assrooino
the mover did not press it then.
t---@9n OF s5Iife monrh tue House
proceeded to consider the motion, and a COM
mittee of inquiry was appointed. Mr. Vendo-
yer had not any definite idea then as to what
alteration would be made. He wanted an in
quiry with the view of correcting what seemed
an incongruity-a flag of the United States not
representing all the United States The addi-
ton of new States, it generally conceded
rendered some change necessary. The policy
and purpose of Bradley's act of 1854 seemed to
be the addition of star and stripe for each
accession to the Confederacy; but did not def
nitely assert it as law. Even if it had, it
would not have had an historical uniqueness.
We would be forever ignoring the past while
parading the present. 1t was suggested in Con-
gress that we go back to the act of 1777; but
that again would be ignoring the present and
recognizing the past, which was directly op-
posed to our principle of progress.
1t remained for Captain Samuel G. Reid to
| fix the happy medium to combine the glory
of the past with the progress of the present, and
to givea design for the national flag at once
unique, beautiful and satisfactory. He sug-
gested that on the field there should be thirteen
stripes (alternate red and white) in eommemo-
ration of the thirteen Colonies that took the
field for freedom, and in the Union as many
stars (white blue feld) as tb ere were States,
with the provision that new star should be
added for every new State, such star to
appear on the 4th of July ucceeding such ad-
mission
On the 9th the bill was read a second time
| in the Senate, and referred to the Committee