Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-05-05
HE STAR-SPANGLEO BANNEE
Its Origin and History.


| To the Editor of The Eyrs1so STAR:
presume there are but few that understand
tne origin and history of our national flag,
the stars and stripes, immortalized in Keys
beautiful iines-"The Star-Spangled Banner "
From little publication put forth by the New
York Life Insurance company-that did me the
honor of sending me a copy of the same,
accompanied by very handsome chart, iustra-
| ting the subject-it appears that the idea of our
| national flag had it's origin In the coat arms
and crest of General Washingtons ancestors in
| England. Henry WILL. of England. in 1888. on
| his Selling and coniscating the property of the
Roman Catholic church, presented the manor of
Solgrave which belonged to the priory of ST.
Andrews in Northamptonshire, to Lawrence
Washington, from whom descended our
George Washington, who was the sixth
| In regular lneal succession from the said Law
renee. Lawrence Washington was prominent
lawyer of Gray's Inn, London. who retired to
northampton early In the sixteenth century;
and was elected mayor of that town in 1888, and
| again in 1916. Northampton was formerly a
place of some note. King John having once held
| parliament there. Robert Washington, his
son and heir. sold the manor OF Solgraye. by
arrangement with his son Lawrence, the prop
erty having been entailed. This Lawrence. the
second in descent, retired to Brington, the par
ish church Of Althorp House, the seat of the
| Spencers the family name Of the earldom of
! Althorp He and also a younger brother, Rob-
ert, lie buried in the parish church at Brington,
lets, recording their deaths. that Of Robert &C.
curing In 1922 In the western aisle of the parish
church at S0lgrave eighteen miles from Brington,
Is gravestone to the memory Of the first Law
renee. with brazen tablets attached, recording
| the death of his wife AIMEE in 1854: and vacant
spaces left to be filed up with the record of his
own death, when it should occur. but which
seems never to have been DONE
John Washington, son of the second Law
renee, and great grandfather of our George
Westmoreland county, Virginia. in 1857,
during the protectorate of Cromwell This
was probably owing to his adherence to the
Stuarts during the civil war. He had been
knlghted by James land his younger brother
William, married sister Of the Duke of Buck
ingham, the favorite of James |. The third
Lawrence Washington, the son of John, was the
father OF Augustin Washington who was the
father OF George Washington. So much for the
pedigree OF the Washington family. The heraldic
arms OF the washington family, as now to be
verified In Heralds College. London, was two
blood-red bars (gubs) across a silver-colored
ground (drgeno, above which werethree red star.
shaped. -pointed-fgures (mulets) represent
ing not stars of the armament, but the rOwels
OF spurs. The crest surmounting the arms is a
out OF ducal coronet On the monument. in
the chancel Ofthe parish church at Brington-
and also in the old tiilapidated manor-house at
Solgrave are still to be seen representations of
me washington arms and crest, ard also the
shieid I'D stone on the pavement OF the church
at the latter place. The shield would seem to
indicate that in earlier times the Washinpt0n's
were lighting men, accustomed to battle aid
blood; and from the rowes of the spurs. that
they served on horseback mark of distinction
liQn nd biv,olr
nave performed feats of arms lost to history
But the main point In this communication is.
there is scarcely a doubt but that the
taea OF our present flag was devised
The change was slight. Alternate stripes of
white were substituted for the parallel spaces
on the argent or silver-colored ground of the
Washington arms. And the blue ground be-
spangled with stars In the upper left hand cor
| ner was added, because in heradic lore blue liz
the correct companion or contrast to red. The
dve-pointed star-shaped naullets or spur-row els:
were first increased to FIVE, and by a resolution
OF Congress in 1873 to the number of states in
the Union. And it is a curious incident that
the few pennies coined during Washington's ad-
ministratiOn In 179l, now in the possession of
antiquarians, have tice stars, while those coined
in Adams administration has sir stars
The general impression is that the stars on
our flag represent stars in the sky; and, in fact
they now do signify actual stars; but az said
y
on the Washington arms. The crest surmount-
Ing the same viz q raven, was converted intD
the spread-eagle, which is the device on the
Great Seal of the United States government,
but Is not part of the flag. raven It GER
tainly was, for 1t is so described in Heralds Col
lege. By the way. the artist who originally
drew the design must have been not well in
formed In ORTHODOXY. The raven of the crest
has hooked beak, like that of birds of prey,
whereas the raven has a long, strong, horny
Wy lV YSNnr r
a crow. The ducal cOronet OF the Washington
crest seems to have found no place either on our
flag or our seal, which is natural enough. for our
revolutionary ancestors had no fancy for crowns
or cor0nets Of any kind.
At Cambridge Mass, in 1776, was first hoisted
the grand union flag with the cross of st.
George Of England, and the cross of st. An
drew, Of Scotland, with thirteen alternate red
and white stripes, symbolizing the thirteen COL
ontes then in instruction against the king of
England. This was done, doubtless, under the
auspices Of Washington, then present and In
command. This let 1t be borne In mind was
before the declaration Of Independence. when
the colonies were contending In arms for their
rights as British subjects. Hence the crosses of
st. George and st. Andrew In June. 1778.
Washington went to the Congress sitting in
Philadelphia to confer upon the condition of
affairs; and. no doubt the adoption of a CON
federation flag was one Of the objects of his visit
For, very shortly thereafter, Washington, &C.
SOuipoHtCu VI SuAhuitte1e, CacO OH q Mrs.
Ross, of Philadelphia, an upholstress. who was
known to be very skillful with the needle. She
made the first flag: from rough draft by WASH
ington himself The probability is it was en-
broidered, but it is not stated This tag was
adopted by a'resolutfon of the old Congress Of
the Confederation. on the l4th An
gust, 1777 There is reason to believe #
was done at the suggestion Of Washington
the design being taken from his own famIS coat
of arms. Whether the raven-eagle ever had a
place On the flag We; have no authority: bnt in
1918 it was declared by the United States Com
gress that the national flag should contain, in
addition to the stripes thirteen stars. one to- be
thereafter added for every new state that came
into the Union, and they have Continued 70 in
crease until they not number thirty-eight.
This is the history of our national fac. 80
dear to the American heart. which has for more
than a century "hfaved the battle and the
breeze" over SO nahy fields of carnage: and
which when assailed at Sumpter caused mil
lion and half Of men to rush to arms In its
defense with the impetuosity of the crusade
under the preaching of the Hermit,
Washington cultivated q strong attachment
and fondness for the -leraldic insignia of his
ancestors-as he did, in fact, for all the forms
and emblems OF the conservatism of the mast.
On the handsome chart sent to me by the New
York Fire Insurance Company are Representa-