New-York daily tribune., 1861-05-15

| the rank Of the wearPr-
The Coiau'Ider9 hef being dsignsied by isbbla;
The naors ara bIesde By pins ribbon, woru IL lie
serseans 6y eFuulett stripe Of red cloth e~ed upon the
| rig1i shoulder .he corporsls by o5e Il gresst'
lOrders, Headquarters Cembridge July II and23 l7'S
Some imma slal questions have been raised respect
ing the dimensions OF the standard flag, toe shale,
Whether five or sx pointed Of the stars and their order
subject ard the stars may accord with Eng al leald-
ry, being sxponed, or according 10 that OF Holland,
| France and Germany, be five pointed They Da.y be
arranged in single several STAR, or, more IL con
tOrmity % hcraldic customs SCnee, or n straight
lines. Symmetry would indicate that the Amen-
can h8g should properly o0ntit Of thirteen sInpes,
seven red and siX white, one lOr each oi the ollS-
nal States. The flag should be one-laif longer than
wide, matter what should be IFS size. The blue or
Unicn should cover seven stripes-staging with aud
ending with red striPe; shodd he onc-;hlrd longer
than vide and contain star To- each state An The
Union thirty y-four). In number Of bags recently
msde, the dag only covers five and six stripes Now
hsg OF thirteen stripes, and the Cnlon covering TX
stripes would he entirely wrong as would not be
red, white, and blue but white, rcd, and blue, OF blue
red and white For disquistions upon this point see
| the Historical Magazine, 1857.
In this form the 80 slars and stripes, now for the
first lime complete, went through tie Revolution, was
baptized in the bet blood Of America, and became the
| hallowed emblem of Liberty and Law, 20 wave over
thirty illiOrs OF FRI emen, cherished at home ana
respected abroad. floating aioft on every sea. .
! Ii remains to note tue slight m2dihcalions
ing number of Sates. BY subsequent action on Con
gress il was resolved that " after May j, lI'o, tie
! United States fiag should be composed 9I hlteen
stripes alternate red ard white, that the Union be
! fifteen starr in a blue field IBIS was tbe nag uSeu
! during the war Of 1el2-lf
Iy subseouent resolution it was determined that
from and after the 4ih day of July, 1918, the ing
should coDs Of thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate
red and white, and that the union be twenty stars
white in a blue field. And that on tie ailnirio OF a
new State into the Union one star be added to the
union of the ting.
had thirty stars and the present ag contains thirty
three stars but after July 4, the admission Of kansas
takes effect and there will be hen as il now supposed
tbirty-iOur. -, -,
Having thus traced the formation and growth Of the
Stars and Sirpee," will now return 10 ihe nag
waving over tbs city. Al the commencement oi the
Revolution as in New England, the people, although
feeling aggrieyed were loyal and upon the same day,
the 18th OF June, l775 cIrously enough, Aew-fork
witnessed the double entry of George Washington
inst elected by the Provincial Congress Generalin-
Chief Of the American forces, and Oh bis way TO take
command at Cambridge, and Iryon, the Englsh Gov
ernor who had arrived the day before II wac about
this tine that read OF the irst ralnng OF any but
the English flag in New-York Previous 10 this, ln-
deed liberty POLES Lad been raised and cut down again,
but now, March, l77j, Union nag with a red held
was hoisied in NeyYoIk upon the liberty role on the
common which was that portion OF the city now
bounded by Broadway, Nassau and Chambers streets
bearing the inscription, George Rex ana the liberties
of America" and upon The oLe. side, mo iopefy'
The British, under Gov. Tryon, however, vacated
New-York in No. but there Is 10 record that can
discover which gives any positive data as 10 the raising
of the American flag. But, as the lint Important even,
occurring aiierward Ia this city was the reading OF The
Declaration of Independence, IN the presence OF wash
ngton, by OF his aids the 9Th July E'6, in the
center of hollow square Of troops drawn MP on the
spot where the Park Fountain exists. This may
have been it's first unfurling in New-iOrk.
The city was held by American troops after thi-
event TIL the 18th of september Of the sane year,
1 II. I,,,t fraataI IA Iuflg
ward from the island and the city Was possessed by
Sir Henry Clinton landing at the foot of Tlty-iourth
street OIL the l5tl and from that period held by the
British till the close of the war; when they evacuated
Miss Booth in her very clever and eruete History
of the City Of NewYork," gives US some particulars
respecting the in which the Br III employed
the last moments Of their lFossnoe - 1h' ci'y' Uh-
reeying tic haliards Of Ire flagstaff at Fort George,
they knocked OF tho cleais and geacd Le Poisl "
preyent the hosting Of the American eolorri then
evacuated the fort, sure tbs, the stars hnd S,nP.
would not be hoisted unll tIey "eIo i'' "d' VI Sc"
The discovery Of this act excited general indgna-
ton vet it did delay the ceTomony, as lts pere-
traitors bad wished. ealor boy Htehpled ~ once
to club the bare ,ole but it was too slippery ana ne
iaiiea in ,ue attempt Upon this the bystanders ran
precipitaiey to Gorlets hardware store in Hanover
square and procured hammers, nss, and other
sary toos, set to work-some TO saw, TO split,
aud others 70 bore cleats for the flagstaff. Fill
lizards around his waist and mailing the ceats above
him on tho ght and left ascended reeved the bal
lizards and hoisted the flag 10 Its place and as the Sar
and Stripes reached the top OF the mast, salnte oil
thirteen guns rang s echoes in the ears OF the disoom
fitted troops not yet out Of hearing Of the sound Of
triumph.
Another incident from the authority is interest
ING in this connection BY the conditions agreed upon
the city was TO be surrendered at noon but an impa-
tiept shopkeeper in the neighborhood OF Chambers
street anticipated the arrangement, and hosted the
American flag during the course OF the morning Pro,
vost- MAJ shal Cunningham fastened TO The SPOT ana
confronted the proprietor. " Pull down that flag y
exclaimed be with OATH the city belongs to the
British TIL noon" The man objected, hcsaied and
was on the point Of yielding when the good woman
NJ the house came to the The flag shall not
come down" said she. Cunningham stormed and
swore and finally attempted TO tear down the colors
with lis own hands; but the woman assailed him 80
vigorously with her brQousack, striking a cloud OF
powder fiom his wig at each blow that he forced
AT last TO abandon the field, and leave the Stars and
Stripes in quiet possession.
This statement is coroborated by n letter from
New.York, taken from The PeHhsyiraHta Packet,
Oct 2S I733 and which am enabled, by the polite
nees of Mr. 1hos. +. Deyoe, 20 copy from his forth
coming work, to be called Z" The Market Book"
{" I.as Monday 9Oth iusl.) evening, Capt. Stewart's
vessel lying harbor with the colors OF the United
States Of America flying, was boarded by the cdndte,
who In rotous manner tore them down, and carried
them through the streets in triumph attended by
chosen bandit of negroes sailors, and loyal leather
apron statesmen. The inudiciousness Of this shabby
outrage and the consequences that are kely 10 result
from II are too obvious TO need any comment.
From the same paper In another letter dated Nov
&C. l7o3 we find 1t thus sated
q Yesterday gave city. To the honor OF
Britain let it be published III every newspaper, that
70 add 10 their name (which has already been branded
with every kind of infamy) they cut away the hal
wards from the flagstaff i'll the fort formerly Fort
Georpe and likewise creased the post, 30 that we