Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-07-25
FLAGS ONA MAN-OF-WAR
FIGHTING GOES ON UNTIL A MA.
TlONAL EMBLEM COMES DOWN.

A story is told of cabin boy on
board man -of-war who, by his action
in pulling down the enemy's flag dur
Ing battle, gained victory for his
commander. The story illustrates the
value of the national flag in naval
action, and how much depends upon
the sailors seeing it flying from the
masthead above them. 1t was just at
the beginning of battle between two
ships that the cabin boy, who had
never been in a fight, asked one of
the sailors how long it would take the
enemy to surrender, and what his own
ship would have to do to beat the
other.
'Do YOU see that?" asked the sail
or, pointing to the flag which was fly
ing from the masthead of the other
ship. "As long as that is flying the
other fellows will fight, but when it
comes down they will stop and their
ship will surrender"
The cabin boy was too small to fight.
but he made up his mind to get the
flag for his Captain. During the bat
tie, when the ships were lashed to-
gether, he crawled on board the enc
my's vessel, and while the sailors were
busy fighting climbed the rope ladder
which ran up the mast, and, pulling
the flag from its place, wrapped it
around his body and carried it back to
his own ship. The sailors were fight
ing bravely, until one, looking up and
seeing that the flag was gone, cried
out to his companions that the Captain
had pulled down the flag, and there
was no use fighting longer. The men
threw down their arms, and the mis-
take was not discovered until it was
too late, for the cabin boys comrades
had seized the ship.
The flag of his country is what
every sailor and soldier throughout
the world fights for during battle !;
when the flag is gone they lose heart
and give up easily. Some of the
bravest deeds have been in defence of
the flag, and to get it back again when
the enemy have captured it. When a
ship goes into battle the national flag
is run up to the masthead, the highest
point on the vessel, where it flies un-
til the engagement is over. Some
times, when the other ship is the
stronger, or its sailors fight better,
and the Captain sees that he is beaten,
he pulls down his flag to show the
enemy that he has, had enough and
wants to surrender. This actis called
Striking the colors." 1t is usual
thing to run up white flag in the
place of the one which has been hauled
down, but often the simple act OF
striking the colors is enough to end
a battle. So long as the Captain OF
a ship sees any flag except white one
flying from the enemy's vessel he will
continue to fire upon it, for it is O
sign that the sailors have not given
up and are ready to fight longer.
Sometimes, during a naval battle,
the ropes which hold the flag are shot
away, but in such cases there are al.
ways some brave sailors who will
climb the mast and put another in its
place. During the Revolutionary
War, when the ship commanded by
Paul Jones was fighting an English
vessel, the American flag was shot
away and fell overheard into the
water. One of the sailors, who saw ii
tall, jumped after it, and although he
vas wounded swan with it back to
the ship, when it WAS fastened to the
Top of the mast again. When the flag
went overheard the Englishmen began
to cheer, for they thought that Paul
Jones had surrendered, but when they
saw it flying from the masthead once
more they changed their minds and
finally surrendered themselves. The
action of the wounded sailor in jump.
ing into the water to rescue the faa
made his companions fight all the
harder.
Every one who has read American
history knows about the battle of Lake
Erie, and of how Commodore Perry
carried the flag from his sinking shir
and hoisted it upon another. When
the English Captain saw Perry going
in rowboat from the sinking shin
with the flag thrown over his shoulder,
he ordered his sailors to sink the boat
so that the flag couldn't be hoisted al
the masthead of another American
vessel. He knew that if the American
sailors saw that their flag was lost they
would lose heart and surrender, and as
he expected, when they saw the flag
flying again they worked the harder
and finally beat all his ships.
A ship going into action carries
several flags; the national colors,
which are hoisted in the most promin-
ent place; the union jack, the pen.
nant, which is long, narrow streamel
flying from the masthead, aud set OF
signal flags, which are used to send
messages from one ship to another.
When squadron of vessels under an
Admiral goes into fight the flagship
flies, besides the other flags men
toned, one which denotes the rank OF
that officer. In the old days, when
war vessels were made of wood and
had three masts, most of the flags
were hoisted to the top of these masts.
Nowadays, however, many of oul
fighting ships have only one mast, and