Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1876-01-14

Il L l. III
was shot away and fell outside the fort.
Sergt. Jasper sprang over the parapet,
| walked the whole length of the fort in the
midst of terrible storm of shot and shell,
recovered the flag, and, in sight of the
whole fleet, planted it again ON the ram
| parts. At the battle of Lexington the
| Americans probably carried no flag, and it
is doubtful if they had any at Bunker HILL
/ Some poetry of that time speaks of the
waving steamers" and it is also said
| that our troops carried red flag bearing
/ the words "Come if you dare" But
the accounts of the battle, published at the
| time, do not mention any American flag,
and old pictures of the conflict do not
| show any.
In the fall of 1775 Congress appointed a
committee to create navy, but nothing
seems to have been done about furnishing
the new-made navy with asuitable ensign
! The Captains accordingly followed their
own devices, sailing, probably, under
their State flags. One favorite device was
a rattlesnake lifting its head and shaking
| its rattles, with the motto, "Don't tread
on mer' Some flags added mailed hand
| clenehing thirteen arrows. The rattle
snake came very near being our national
emblem instead of the eagle. 1t had often
before been used on flags, and its appear
ance at this time on the ensign of the
| Commander-in-C Chief of our navy caused
| much discussion of its claims. One
writer, thought by some to be Benjamin
Franklin, gave weIghty reasons for adopt
ing the rattlesnake. i 1t is found only in
America; was considered by the ancients
as an emblem of wisdom; its eye is ex
ceeding bright and without eyelids, SO 1t
! signifies vigilance; it never begins an at
tack nor surrenders when assailed; its
deadly weapons are concealed in its
mouth, so that it appears defenseless, and
its wounds, though small, are fatal, while
| it never attacks without first giving warn
| ing. In addition to all this its rattles are
| distinct from each other, yet so firmly
| united that they cannot be separated,
while they also increase in number. But
| the fact that the rattlesnake is serpent,
and under the curse of God, probably
caused its rejection.
Late in TITS Benjamin Franklin and
two other gentlemen, appointed to create
national flag, met at the camp in Cam
crosses of st. George and st. Andrew,
and reunited with them thirteen stripes,
alternate red and white, showing that, al
though the Colonies united for defense
against England's tyranny, they still &C
knowledged her sovereignty. 1t is impos-
sible to say why Congress so long delayed
| this important matter of choosing flag.
| No record can be found of Congress hav-
| ing taken any part in this affair at Cam
| bridge, nor is it known when the new flag
was adopted By lao.
It was natural in the colonists to want
| to retain the Kings cOlors as long as pos
sible, but the origin of the stripes is harder
| to explain When Washington left Phil
adelphia to take command of the army at
| Cambridge, he was escorted to New York
| by the Philadelphia Light Horse. This
company carried a magnificent banner,
one feature of which was a canton of
| thirteen stripes, blue and silver. This
may have suggested to Washington the
stripes for the new flag; or he may have
| taken them from his own coat of arms,
which Is not likely; or, as some think, he
| may have copied the East India Com
pany's flag, which is still less probable.
Still others suppose they were copied from
the flag of the Netherlands. However it
may be, this "Grand Union Flag" was
raised on the camp at Cambridge on the
I'd of January, 1776. The Kings speech
on the trouble with the Colonies had just
been sent to the camp, so the British In
Boston thought the new flag was raised as
a token of submission. Nothing, how
ever, was further from the truth. The
Kings speech was Indignantly burned,
and thousands of sturdy hearts beat vio-
lently to new patriotism, as the wind
lifted the folds of the new banner, which
a few hours had made so full of meaning
to them. The striped flag also foated
over the Virginia Convention which three
weeks before the Declaration, declared
the united Colonies Z" free and independ-
ent States.''
Meanwhile the cruisers at sea were still
carrying their Colonial or State flags.
John Paul Jones claims that he hOisted
1.-the Flag of America by his own hand
on board the Alfred, this being the first
time it was ever displayed by regular
man-o'-war. Probably this Flag of
America" was the new striped flag, though
Cooper thinks it was pine-tree flag, with
rattlesnake and motto. Old John Adams
afterward disputed the story Of Paul
Jones, and claimed the honor for a Massa-
chusetts man. 1t is probable, however,
that the honor belongs to Jones. The
Admiral's flag at this time was OF thirteen
stripes, with rattlesnake undulating over
them, and the usual motto: g Don't tread
on mer' Commodore Barney, of the
Hornet, hoisted the first Continental flag
ever seen in Maryland, He was in need
of crew for his vessel, and just at that
time the new striped flag arrived from
| Philadelphia. The Commodore, at SUM-
rise the next morning, hoisted it to the
music of drums and flies in front of his
recruiting office, and before night his
crew were shipped.
The first naval victory under the stripes
was won by Capt. Barney, in the Lexing-.
| ton, who, on the 18th OF April, l776,
captured a British vessel, after severe
| fight, off the Virginia shores. In the
autumn of '76 the armed brig Reprisal,
carving Franklin to the French court,
| first displayed the Continental colors TO
the curious eyes of the European world;
while in July of the same year the brig
Andrea Doria had been the first to draw
salute from foreign power for the new
flag. The Dutch Governor in the harbor
of St. Eustatia returned the Doria's salute,
and was removed from office for his in
discretion. 1t is said that, after the
capture of New York by the British, an
American privateer was taken whose flag
had only twelve Stripes, because we had
| lost province.
When the Declaration of Independence
was proclaimed from the State House at
Philadelphia the Kings arms were taken
down and burned. So the last semblance
of allegiance TO England was destroy ed,
and of course the Kings colors could not
long remain in the American flag. En-
signs of various devices are described as
in use during the land-battles of this
period, while the Grand Union Flag" was
the official banner.
On the 18th of June, TIT, Congress
voted that the American flag should be
thirteen stripes, alternate red and white,
that the union be thirteen stars, white in