Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-11


| the Cumberland, when she was sunk by
the rebel iron-clad Merrimac. In graphic
| language Longfellow describes how the
| lron-clad. silent and sullen, floating fort,
| came down upon the Cumberland in Hamp
ton Roads, when close enough its broad
| sides rending the ribs of oak while the
| Cumberland's guns were powerless against
| the iron scales of the monster.
| ''Strikc your flag" the rebel cries
| In his arrogant old plantation strain;
! IT is better to sink than to yield!'
| And the whole air pealed
| with the cheers Of our men.
Then like Kraken huge and black,
nS She crushed our ribs in her iron grasp!
| With sudden shudder Of death,
| AND the lannon's breath
| For her dying gasp.
NsSf mS an;e as the e sun rose over the bay
| Lord. how beautiful Thy day!
| Every watt of the air
| Was a whisper of prayer,
| Or dirge for the dead.
Almost like a prophecy out of the bitter
past now seems the last verse of THE
| Cumberland
H To- brave hearts that went down in the seas,
| lie are at peace in the troubled stream.
Ho: brave land! with hearts like these,
Thy flag that is rent in twain
| shall be one again,
| And without
| The raval flag salute is made by lower
| ing the flag slightly when it flies at the
| masthead and raising 1T to place again
| quickly. 1t is also called dipping the col
ors When marching troops wish to do
honor with the flag it is dipped with side
| ways motion and brought to upright with
a quick movement, which throws its folds
| out in graceful convolutions. To be the
| color bearer has been at all times con-
post of danger, for where the colors 60
we follow, was the fierce battle cry in
| many a desperate struggle. and following
| the colors led most often into the Jaws of
a In fha H. I>Iz
| guard supports the color bearer. The
| color bearer is proud indeed who can say
| that his flag never touched the ground
throughout fight and so jealous are they
OF their precious colorS that to protect the
| folds of Old Glory from contact with the
| earth when vicious shot has cut the staff
| color bearers have often endangered their
| lives unnecessarily.
| jackson ana the Flag.
| Stonewall Jackson. though he was fight
| Ing under another banner. resented Hereby
| the action Of one of his officers who traiIed
a captured stars and stripes in the dust,
| and was assailed by one of his own men,
The officer appealed to Gen. Jackson, who
| said in reply: THE soldier who resented
| your suit to the stars and stripes was
born under its folds, and his father before
| him. he still retains respect and affec-
| ton for it, and an officer of the confederate
army who has. no higher appreciation of
| the sentiment of our people tfap you ap
| pear to have by trailing the stripes and
stars in the dust is not fit 10 he on my
| staff. and he Immediately degraded the
| officer to the ranks.
A flag of truce is Il white flag dis
| played to an enemy to indicate a desire for
| parley and consultation. In civilized var
| fare flags of truce are always honored. and
| neither side ever takes advantage Of the
| other. the flag of truce holding good TIL
both parties are back in their own lines,
| under the protection CT their own gins.
| One of the most dastardly acts of which
| commanding officer can be guilty is ac-
| cept the convoy of a flag of truce and while
| under it's folds fire upon the enemy
| A white flag is also a sign of pee &c. After
a battle, parties from both sizes often go
| upon the field to rescue the wounded and
| to bury the dead under the protection of a
| white flag. The red flag is sign of de-
| fance, but is not often used in civilized
| warfare, except at sea, where it is hoisted
as mark of danger, showing that a YES
| sci is receiving or discharging her powder
| The black flag is the sign of piracy. The
yellow flag shows vessel to be in quaran-
| tine, and is also sign that some contag-
| touS disease is aboard.
| The American flag is now made of Amer
| lean bunting, thanks to Gen.~B Ben. Butler.
| Up to 1866 English bunting was exclusively
used in the manufacture Of the American
| flags for the government. Gen. Butler call
| ed the attention of the Senate 10 a strug-
Cling bunting firm in his nome town, where
he believed that better bunting was made
| than was procured in England and from
that day to this the American flag has
| been all American. The national flags
| hoisted at camps or forts are Of three sizes.
The storm and recruiting lag measures
| eight feet in length by four feet two inches
| in width. The post flag measures twenty
feet in length by four feet two inches In
width The garrison flag, measuring thirty
| six feet in length by twenty feet i'll width,
is hoisted only on great occasions. The
union of the flag is always exactly one
| third of the length of the flag, and extends
to the lower edge Of the fourth red stripe
| from the top.
The national colors carried by regiments
| Of infantry and artillery and the battalion
OF engineers. on parade or in battle, are
| made of silk, and are five feet six inches
long and four feet four inches wide The
field of the colors is twenty Eight in length,
| and extends to the lower edge of the fourth
red stripe from the top The sizes Of the
| nags used In the army and navy are not
| fixed by law, but are prescribed by army
| and navy regulations.
Oldest In the World
The American flag is the Oldest In the
world. Sincs its adoption in 1777 the flag
| of every nation in the worll has been
changed, some Of them many times. The
American Congress, on June IA, 1777, de-
| clared for the thirteen stripes and thirteen
stars. and a few years later decided to
| add a stripe and star for each new
state. When Vermont and Kentucky came
| in, two stripes and two stars were added.
A few years later four new states had
been admitted and were clamoring for rec
ognition on the flag. Some change was i'm
perative, as the flag was getting all out of
proportion. 1t is Of record that many men,
bers of Congress objected most seriously to
taking up the time with discussion of any
thing SO unimportant a national flag.
Some discussion was INDUCED in, however
for there is an official document showing
that Capt Reid Of the privateer General
Armstrong" was directed to design a flag.
He promptly decided going back to the
thirteen stripes and star for every state.
This report lay around for exactly year
before Congress took action, but at last, on
April 4, 1918, the act in conformity with
| the Reid report was approved. Then the
flag had twenty stars; now it has forty
five. The colonies had no easy time select
Ing national flag, it would seem, from the
various designs that each Of the thirteen
colonies sported before decision was actu-
ally reached. By actual count sixty-four
| different flags had been in use before Old
Glory was born, and of these thirteen of
| the designs showed rattlesnake in vari-
GUS attitudes Of coiling and striking.