The herald., 1894-01-14
THE FORTY-FOUR STARRED FLAG
And Some Ancient and Modern
Standards.
An Interesting History of the Origin
and Development of Banners.
Ancient military standards-The Flags
Of Modern Europe-Old Glory
aud Its Interesting
History.
[By FRANKLIN Jc RDAN.

BY FRANKLIN u RDAN.
Before relating any of the chronicles
Of our national emblem. let us briefly
consider some of the flags and banners
of remote ages and in foreign lands.
History in general has been somewhat
silent in regard to the value of these
symbols which have caused parties to
ascend and have led armies on to vic
tory.
Under the general name of flag is in
cluded standards. ensigns, banners. col
ore, streamers, pennons, gonfanons,
guidons and coronels-hence the name
of colonel, title so much misused in
this country as to have lost all signiti-
canoe outside military circles.
ANCIENT MILITARY STANDARDS
consisted Of a symbol carried on staff.
In more modern times they were the
largest and most important flags. Fixed
on the top of towers or elevated places,
and always the rallying point in battle,
they obtained the name of standards
from being stationary. Although now
the two words are used by custom with
out distinction, it is nevertheless true
there might be 1000 banners in the
field, but there could be but one stand
ard of the king.
The invention of standards is at
tributed to the Egyptians, as
they had the earliest organized
military forces of which we
have any knowledge. The wandering
tribes OF shepherds who conquered
Egypt set one of their chiefs on the
throne. This warlike shepherd intro
duced into Egypt the annual oblation of
an unblein;shed lamb or kid, sacred to
their conductor, the angel Gabriel, and
bore lamb as his standard.
Tee Greeks set up piece OF armor at
the eud of spear as a railying signal,
and Homer makes Agamemno use a
purple veil with which to rally his
men.
A white horse was the standard OF
Cecropia, founded by Cecrops, the
chieftain of an Egyptian colony. This
badge recalled that the finest white
horse bad been brought by sea from
Egypt into Greece. Tradition tells US
that this beautiful animal was given to
Mars, the god of war, for the defense of
the country and the standard OF Attica.
The people of Attica styled themselves
the children of the earth, and boasted
to be sprung from the soil. Therefore
they distinguished themselves from
aliens by wearing in their hair grass
hopper of gold or silver, to signify that,
like that insect, they were produced
from the ground.
The golden grasshopper was granted
to any Athenian who had rendered the
country eminent service, and wac later
assumed by the mobiles of Athens, and
it became a badge of Greek nobility.
The Athenians also bore an owl, the
emblem OF Minerva, and the olive on
their standards. The Thessalonians
adored the immortal eorrel horse Kan
thus who spoke to his master Achilles.
The Corinthians bore winged horee or
Pegasus on their standard; the Messin-
ians the letter IN, )" and the Lacedemo-
mans, who advanced to battle by the
warbling of the flute. the letter L in
Greek A. *s
Alexander the Great, when he began
to claim for himself divine origin,
caused standard to be prepared, in
scribed with the title: Son of Ammon !;
and planted it near the image of Her
cules, which was the ensign of the
Grecian host.
In the time of Moses the Hebrews
had their emblemB. The four leading
divisions in the wilderness-Reube
Ephriam, Judah and Dan-were desig-
mated by the component parts of the
cherubim and seraphim-a man, an OK,
q lion and an eagle.
Allusions to the standards, banners
and ensigns are frequent in the sacred
writings. The post of standard bearer
was at all times of the greatest import
nd hrf Of
valor were ever chosen for such service
hence Jehovah, describing the ruin and
discontinue which he was about to
briag upon the naughty king of Assyris
says: And they shall be as when q
standard bearer fainteth," and again ::
II will lift up an ensign unto this
people," "Who is she that looketh
forth as the morning, fair and as the
moon, clear as the sun. and terrible as
an army with banners?"
Romulus, in founding Rome, adopted
the image of the che wolf, his reputed
forter-mother. The senate of Romulus
assumed the eagle of Jupiter, which be-
came the Roman standard with the
wolf.
In the following ages the Romans in
creased their standards to as many as 10
different badges. Each legion of the
Roman army was divided into 10
cohorts, each cohort into three man
iples, each maniple into two centurions,
which would give go centurions to a
legion, the strength of which was 5000.
Each maniple had also its standard
bearer. The standard OF a manipulus
in the time of Romulus was bundle of
hay tied to pole. Afterwards spear
with cross piece OF wood on the top,
and below, small round or oval shield,
on which were represented warlike
detities. as Mars or Minerva, and in
later times of the emperors or their
fsvorites.
ION Roman soldiers first entry into
the service, an oath was administered
to him with every circumstance OF
solemnity. He promised never to de-
sert his standard, to submit his own
will to the commands Of his leaders,
and to sacrifice his lie for the safety oi
the emperor and the empire. The at
tachment OF the Roman troops to their
tandards vas inspired by the united
influence OF religion and honor. The
golden eagle, which glittered in front of
the legion, was the object of their
fondest devotion nor was it esteemed
less impious than it was ignominious to
abandon that sacred ensign in the hour
OF danger.'s
To lose the standard was always dis
graceful, particularly to the standard