The Lambertville press. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1858-1???, 1861-07-03
History of Our Flag.

Rev. DR.. Putnam, of Roxbnry,
Mass. in a late sermon, gave the SUBJ
joined sketch Of our flag.
The history of our glorious old flag
is of exceeding interest, and brings
back to us a .throng of sacred and
thrilling associations The banner Of
St. Andrews was blue, charged with
a white saltier or cross, in the form of
the letter x, and was used in Scotland
as early as the first part of the elev-
enth century. By royal proclama-
ton dated April 18th, l709, these
two crosses were joined together upon
the same banner, forming the ancient
national flag of England. It was not
until Ireland, in 1901, was made part
of Great Britain, that the present ma
tional flag of England, SO well known
as the Union Jack, was completed
But it was the ancient flag of England
that Constituted the basis of our
own American banner. Various 9TH
er flags had indeed been raised at diff
ferent times by our colonial ancestors.
But they were not particularly asso-
ciated with, or at least, were not in
corporated into, and made part of the
destined "Stars and Stripes" Tt was
after Washington had taken command
of the fresh army of the revolution, at
Cambridge, that JAM 2, 17T6, be I'M
furled before them the new flag of
thirteen stripes of alternate red and
white, having one of its corners the
red and white eros ses of st. And rev
and st. George, on a field of blue.
And this was the standard which was
carried into the city Of Boston when
it was evacuated by the British troops
and was entered by the American ar
my Uniting, as it did, the flags of
England and America, it showed then
the colonists were not prepared to
sever the tie that bound them to the
mother country. By that union ofAags
claimed to be vital and substantial
part of the empire Of Great Britain,
and demanded the rights and privile-'
ges which souch a relation implied.
Yet it was by those thirteen stripes
they made known the union of thirteen
colonies, the stripes of white decla.
ring the purity and innocence of their
cause, and the stripes of red giving
forth defiance to cruelty and oppres-
sion.
On the fourteenth day Of June, TIT
it was resolved by Congress, "That
the flag of the thirteen United States
be thirteen stripes alternate red and
white, and that the union be thirteen
white stars in blue field" The res
olution was made public ,Sept.3, TIT,
and the flag, that was made and used
in pursuance of it was that which led
the Americans to victory at Sa. atoga.
Here the stars were arranged in a cir
Gle, as we sometimes see them now in
order better to express the Union of
the States. In 1894, there having
been two more new States added to
the Union, it was voted that the al
ternate stripes, as well as the circling
stars be fifteen in number, and the
flag, thus altered and enlarged, was
the one which was borne through all
the contests of the war 1912 But
it was thought that the flag would at
length become too large if o new
stripe should be added with every
freshly admitted State. 1t was there
fore enacted, in 1918 that a perma-
nent return should be riade to the
original number of thirteen stripes,
and that the number of stars should
hencesGrth correspond to the growing
number of States Thus the flag
would symbolize the Union as it might
be at any given period of its history,
and also as it was at the hour of its
birth. It was at the Same time sug-
gested, that these stars, instead of be-
ing arranged in circle, be formed
into q single star--a suggestion which
we occasionally see adopted. In fine
no particular order seems now to be
observed with respect to the arrange
ment of the constellation. It is enough
if only the whole number, be there up
on the azure fold-the blue to be en-
blematical of perseverance, vigilance
and justice. each star to gloFify the