The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-03

two hostile armies were confronting each
other on the plains Of Fairfax with pros
pect of a renewal of the bloody fight at any
moment Gen Johnston's pattern was there
upon sent to Richmond and Is ladies from
each of the four or five churches were set
to work making the flags. Their fair fingers
wrought the silk and bunting into the pre-
scribed shape and arrangement of cclors, but
despite the injunction of inviolate confidence,
the device was known the subsequent day
all over the capital How could Gen. john
ston expect four or five hundred female
tongues to be silent on the subject? No harm
was done by the disclosures, however, and
when next the brave troops of the Confed-
eracy went into the fight, those flags were
seen dancing in the breeze"
"A member of the Confederate army wrote:
I was originally in favor Of retaining the
old flag, the star spangled banner. at whose
very name our hearts were wont to thrill.
Then the stars and bars became our flag, and
waved over the heads of our regiments when
we first marchedeto guard the borders of Vir-
features of the old flag, but was thought to
differ from 1t sufficiently, but the first field
Of Manassas proved that it was a mistake.
The union was the same, the colors were all
the same. and when the flags dropped around
the staff on that sultry day 1T was impos-
sible to distinguish them. There was no diff
ficulty however when the flags were spread
to the breeze, and ! see no reason why the
stars and bars should not still float over all
forts, ships and arsenals of the Confederacy.
But we needed another battle flag. Glorious
Old Joe willed it, and the Southern cross
rose brightly in the bloody field among the
consultations of the war
"a general sentiment had by this time
arisen in favor of the battle flag, the only OBJ
lection made to it being that it could not be
reversed as signal of distress. Gen. Beau
regard wrote in April, 1868: Why change
our battle flag, consecrated with the best
blood of our country on many battle
fields. A good design for the national flag
would be the present flag US Union Jack and
the rest all white or all blue.
was thp ion 1y NV
the Confederate congress in May, 1863, and
was thus described:
&C The field to be white the length to be dou-
bic the width of the flag, with the union now
used in the battle flag to be a square Of
two-thirds of the width of the flag, having the
ground red, thereon a saltier of blue, Dor
dered with white, and emblazoned with mullets
or fve-pointed stars, corresponding in num-
br to that of tn confederate states
'tStill the red, white and blue and the
stars. But this flag cid not prove salts
factory. and probably because it had too
much white. So in the spring of 1862 a
month before the surrender of Gen. Robert
E. Lee another design was adopted, differing
however, only from the former by red stripe
running perpendicularly along the outer edge
of the flag.
Cali is now cleared away except the re-
membrance of the past events. With one
flag and with one destiny, the South and
the North is marching along to a great and
glorious future, inspired by the brave deeds
and noble heroism displayed under the South
ern cross and the stars and stripes.
What an inspiration it to call our
flag old Glory and how beautiful the old
flag looks to him who loves it,
t Flag of the free hearts hope and home,
By angel hands to valor given
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome,
And all thy hues were born in heaven