The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-08-02
LoNa NAY aHn WAVE.
Interesting history of the American
Flag.
rvUr,ttan for the Npws-DEMooRAT by Prof. J. {.

4lhgN1olaAR AAoeS@
Flag.
written for the NEws-DEMooRATb by Prof. j. O.
Wise.1
The history of our Flag, the prettiest
banner on land and sea, should interest
each one of us, as it brings to mind the
difficulties which our forefathers have
overcome to free this land of ours from
oppression, to make it the 'land of the
free and the home of the brave" As
the history of the American flag is in
timately connected with that OF the
English we shall notice that first.
The flag of England, or the Union
Jack, as it is sometimes called, is a
combination of the. banners OF st.
George and St. Andrew. The banner
of st. Andrew was blue with a white
cross in the form of the letter K, that of
st. George was white with a red cross
BY a royal proclamation April IL, 100,
these two crosses were joined together
upon the same banner, forming the an
cient national banner of England, and
it was this banner that constituted the
basis of our American flag. Various
other flags have been raised at other
times by our colonial ancestors. That
banner carried by the first war vessels
commissioned by Washington was
called the pine tree flag, and originated
with the Massachusetts colony, 1t had
a white ground with a tree in the mid
die, and the motto, appeal to
Heaven" But this flag was not partlc-
ularly associated with, or at least was
not made a part of the destined "Stars
and Stripes"
After Washington had taken com
mand of the first army of the Revolu-
ton. he unfurled before it the new flag
of thirteen stripes of alternate red and
white, having upon n of its coEners
the British cross on a field OF blue.
This was the standard which was borne
into the city of Boston, when 1t was
evacuated by the British troops and
entered nv the American army; unit
ing as it did the flags of England and
Alnollca, IL showed that inc u
were not vet ready to sever the tie that
bound them to the mother country
Yet these thirteen stripes represented
the mon of the thirteen colonies; the
st ipes of white declaring the purify
and innocence of their cause, ana the
stripes of red showing their eha 10
tyranny and oppression.
After the Declaration of independence,
the emhlems of British union became
inappropriate, and on the 14th day OF
June, 1777, it was resolved by Congress
chat the flag of the thirteen united
States be thirteen stripes, alternate req
and white, aud the Union be thlrteen
white stars ina blue field" The hrst
flag was made at the house OF a MIS-
Ross in Arch. street Philadelphia; The
Hon. George Ross, a relative OF ners.
| called upon her with the design for a
flag and requested her to make 1T. Sht
consented, and the flag was finished the
T. next day. This flag was first unfurled
at Saratoga. on the occasion OF the sur
render Of Burgoyne. In 1874, there
! having been two new States admitted
to the Union, it was voted, "that the
alternate stripes as well as circllng
stars be fifteen n number" and the
flag. thus altered and enlarged, was
1 borne through the war of 1872. 1t was
thought if a new stripe be added for
| every newly admitted state, the flag
would, after a time, become too large;l 1t
was. therefore, enacted in 1918, that a
permanent return should be made to
the original number of thirteen stripes
and the number of stars should, here.
after, correspond to the number OF
States.
No order is now observed in the ar
rangement of the stars. Each star is to
signify the glory of the State it may
represent, and the whole to be a symbol
of a Union that forever shall be one
and inseparable. It's the same old flag
which. inscribed with the dying words
or Lawrence, Don't give up the ship"
was hoisted on Lake Erie by Commo-
dore Perry, Just on the v OF his great
naval victory; the same flag that was
carried by Gen. Scott to the city OF the
Mexicans, and planted upon their ma
tional palace: the same banner that
ioated over the Union armies during
the late war and whose folds have COW
cred such heroes as Sheridan, Sherman
and Grant. Brave hands have raised
it above the vast regions of ice and
snow in the Arctic seas and planted 1t
upon the remnants Of some of the
mountains of the far West. Where
ever the flag has gone 1t has been the
herald of a better day; it has been the
pledge of order, freedom, civilization
and Christianity.