The Hickman courier., 1872-11-16

Ahe lOIlo"lnB history OF the fac
of our Union we have prepared ~
the request of "Peter Hercules" and
it viii doubtless interest many Of
our readers:
The Stars and Stripes became the
national flag of the United States of
America by virtue of resolution Of
Congress, passed June IA. 1777.
Resolved, That the flag OF the thir-
teen United States be thirteen
stripes, alternate red and white; that
TIE Union be thirteen stars, in blue
field, representing a new constella-
ton.
This resolution appears IN the
Journal of Congress, volume 2, page
l65. Although passed on the date
given above, it was not made public
until September Sd, in the same
year, when it appeared in the P,ostc-..
Gazette and Country Jol0ncA THs
flag seems to have been tho, res,,it ~
the work commenced by Waab;no-
ton, DR.. Franklin, Mr. Lynch. Mr.
Harrison, and Colonel .Josenb Reed
On the I'd of Januf nv, l777, Wash.
ington was in the American camn ,,t
Cambridge, orga' aizino the new army
which was thf4t day created. The
committee OF conference, consisting
of Frankllr. Lynch, and Harrison,
sent by Congress TO arrange with
Washington the details of the army,
wore with him. Colonel Reed, one
o. the aides-de-camp, was also secre-
[ tary of the Committee of Confer
had Tong copied the thoughts of
Reed and his associates. The flag
in use by the army was plain red
field, with the British union of the
crosses of st. George, ST. Andrew,
and st. Patrick on the upper left
corner. Several gentlemen of Bos-
ton sent to the American camp cop
les of the Kings speech. It was re-
( ceived at the date mentioned above,
and the effect is described in the
British Annual Register, l776, page
I47, thus:
"The arrival of the copy Of the
Kings speech, with an account of
the fate of the petition from the
Continental Congress. is said to have
excited the greatest degree Of rage
and indignation among them; as
proof OF which, the former was pub-
licly burnt in the camp, and they
are said, on this occasion, to have
changed their colors from plain
red ground, which they had hitherto
used, TO a flag of thirteen stripes, as
symbol Of the number and union
of the colonies"
The use of the stripes to make the
number of the States on the flag can
not be clearly traced; but may be
accounted for by the custom of the
camp at Cambridge. The army of
citizen volunteers comprised all
grades Of men. Very few were uni
formed. 1t was almost impossible
for the sentinels to distinguish gen
eral officers and privates Frequent
ly officers were stopped at the out
posts and held for Identification un-
til the arrival of the officer of the
day. Orders were issued that the
different grades of officers should be
di istinguished by a stripe OF colored
41bbon worn across the breast.
Washington, as commander-in-c chief,
wore ribbon of light blue. The
stars on the blue feld--"a new con-
stellation suggested by the
constellation Lyra, time honored as
an emblem of union. The thirteen
stars of the new constellation were
placed as the circumference of cir
Gle, and on blue field, in accord
apce With the, resolntion alreadT
given. That was the flag used Al
Burgoyne's surrender, October, II,
1777. BY resolution Of Congress,
passed January Is, 1894, to take ef-
feet May l, 1895, the flag was chan
ged to ffteen stars and hfLeen
stripes. That was the flag of 1872.
By a resolution, passed April 4,
1918, to take effect on the following
July 4th, the flag was again changed
to one of thirteen stripes and twenty
stars; and new star to represent
new State ordered to be placed on
the blue field on the 4th of July fol-
lowing the admission of such State.