Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-07-06
Our Flag.

ENoIy hutiOu HIS us nag. Every
ship I'm foreign waters IL known by
the colors she shows at her peak.
The French frigate hoists her bum
ting Of three vertical stripes, red,
white and blue; the English man-of-
war shows a red flag, with the cross
OF st. Andrew and st. George on a
blue union in the upper left-hand
corner; and the Austrian, double
headed black eagle, on a yellow
ground, every nation with a name
and place, having Its own appro-
pirate symbol.
When we were colonies of Eng
land, we sailed and fought under her
flag. Twenty years before the Rev.
olution, when we were at war with
the French and their allies the Ind
ians, many brave man in some hot
skirmish with Indians would have
welcomed the sight Of the red flag of
England-it would mean aid and
comfort when sorely pressed.
But the time was coming when he
was to hate II as much as no had
hated the French colors. The time
was coming when tho sight OF Ii
was to mean oppression and tyranny
to him, and every feeling of his ma
ture would BIO reused against 1t.
Every child knows how we finally
rebelled, II was nothing less, and to
England, our George Washington
was merely leading rebel. 1t was
a bold proceeding. We were thir-
teen little States, fringed along ON
the Atlantic coast, with unbroken
forest behind us, and among the
great family Of nations we had
Mother place nor name. We were
like the last new boy at public
sohool-7we had to fight to obtain
due respect from all the great old
nations who were looking on.
Ofcourse we had no flag; wo had
to earn that to. For year or 80 our
privateers carried the tho Massachu-
sets State flag. It was better they
thought, than the English flag, at
any rate. The field was Of white
bunting; In tho middle, green pine
tree and on the opposite side the
motto, "appeal to heaven"
Washington, In his character Of
General-in-C Chief, commissioned sew
eral privateer schooners, and they
all carried this flag.
The Alfred was one OF the few
large ships we had, and she carried
the pine tree flag, and besides that,
one with thirteen stripes, in red and
white, but with no stares; while
on the stripes was coiled rattle
snake, with the motto Don't tread
on me-" The rattle-snake being
found only In America, there was,
of course, q peculiar meaning In this
emblem.
In the early part OF the Revolu-
ton some Of the South Carolina reg
lments carried the palmetteo tree on
their flag. That WAS a very good
symbol, and the State yet keeps II on
hor coat of arms, though IL grows
everywhere in the South. The
palmetto logs at Fort Moultrie were
! good thing to receive cannon balls
when that fort was besieged by the
British In June of 1916.
There was 4 multiplicity Of flags,
because we did not clearly know
v hat we were. No nation had ac-
knowledged us as belonging to their
great family yet; in fact, we had not
1uite cut loose from England, yet
we were fighting her with all our
might, aud II seemed absurd to be
under her c0Iors. In the fight at
Bunker Hill, the flag planted in the
cosner OF that famous redoubt was
81 blue bunting, with the cross Of
Sc. George In red in the corner, and
/ pIne-tree, In the upper right-hand
unartcr OF the cross.
Our army Mt Cambridge celebrated
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