The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1877-07-19
OUR FLAG.
History Of the Star. SpHngIr Banner
How II Game 10 he Adopted nv the
National Emblem.

How IL Game /" he Adopted u, ia.
National Emblem.
At the breaking out of the rcyou.
tionnry war each colony cIune to its own
color; Massachusetts 10 her green pine
ON white ground, with the motto, dAr
AppIcal TO Heaven" which motto was ON
putnau.'s red nap, dispIaycd ON Prospect
Hill in ,uly. with tine Connecticut state
motto beside il South Carolina TO her
blue banner with a white crescent in the
uupcr corner near the staff which the
heroic Jaspcr recovered and planted ON
the bnttIemcnts of the fort on SuIIiyan'-
island duriup the furjnus b,,nhordmeni
by the British fleet of Sir Peter Parker.
There was probably no FLAG al ALI carried
by the PATRIOTS at LEXINGTON. and il il
doubtful if thew djsplaycd anv al Bunker
IlI Accounts then published are silent
on the subject, and no flags are shown in
contemporary prints, though II poet
SDrnk7 OF waving Htrcamcrs' ana 1t Is
saId some OF the volunteers carried red
banner inscribed Come If you dare"
When late IN no congress prepared to
create navy nothing seems to have
been done about flag, and commanders
OF vessels followed / heir own devices. A
lavorte one was tho rat, lcsnake, with
the motto: Don't touch mt" other
Ilag1 carrying mailed hand cIa'ping
thirteen arrows Indeed, the ratllc9nako
came near OF an election TO the Amcrl-
can c'cutchcon IN place OF the immortal
CT lcken thlcI, the eagle, one wTlcr-pcr-
Iaps Ben FranklIn-supporting the
choice because the snake was purely
American ana an emblem OF wisdom and
vigilance, because it never attacked first
nor surrendered, beng attacked, and be
cause, while its rnttIes we're distinct,
they were SlIIl hrmIy united and steadily
increased III humbrr Let Us consider
what fourth OF July would have been
with orators condemned to apostrophiHn
tn" attIc8nakc amid the whiHhing OF
Catherine wheels.
Late in IT'S Franklin and two other
gentlemen appointed to create national
Ilag met at tho camp at Cambridge and
adopted the kings coIors (the red cross
OF st. George on white field and white
cross OF 81. Andrew ona blue field), with
thirteen stripes alternate red and white,
being the flag already adopted by the
East India company. No record is found
OF congress having taken any part in this,
nor is it known when the new flag was
adopted by law. The origin of the
stripes is not satisfactorily explained. II |
has been held that the new flag may have |
been suggested to Washington by the |
banner Of the Philadelphia Light Horse,
which escorted him hlthcr on his way to |
Cambridge. That banner bore canton
Of thirteen stripes, blue and silver; also
that Washington took the idea from his
own c"at.oi-arms, as shown in brighton
church, or from the East India company's .
flag aforementioned, or from the tri.color
OF the Netherlands. The grand union "
Ilag was hoisted at the camp at cambridge
Jan. ., l176; it also waved above the Nir-
Ei"'a convention whlrh declared the colo.
mes ''co anu 'h''ePchu'h' states
Paul Jones claims to have hecn the
llrSt to hoist the flag ct America over a
regular man ot-war, the Alfred though
John Adams, OF course, disputed this,
claiming the honor for a Massachusetts
man. Mr.. Noodman thinks that proba-
bly, tins i'ag OF Paul Jones waa the new
striped i'ag, though Cooper leans to the
belief that 1t was the plne.trcc flag with
II raItIesnake and motto. The first naval
victory under the stripes was certainly
won ny Barney, IN the 'Xlngton, April
10 l''n, Whch h'ter Il severe night he
captured brltish vessel OIL the Virginia
shore. In july the brig Andreas Doria
obtained The first salute for the flag ut
IT. Eustatia. The Dutch governor was
afterward removed for returning her
compliment. In the autumn the Repri-
sal, carrying Franklin to France, first
showed the flag in Europe. A record OF
the time speaks of the capture of an
American privatecr soon after the loss of
New York which only carried twelve
stripes.
After the declaration Of indeporderco
when tho Lin,'. ,rms wero ,aton J"m,,