The Portland daily press., 1899-06-15
THE STARS AND STRIPES.
How the National Emblem Assumed sts
Present Form-An interesting
story.

Present Eorm-An Interesting
story.
70 the Editor Of the Press;
Tradition tells us that between the years
CSC ami 1870 Northmen and the Danes
landed at several points at the extreme
north east Of the continent, and that In
iS4z an expedition landed at Newport, r.
l., at which time the Round Tower"
thers was built. These expeditions no
doubt planted some ensign, as they took
possession, but no record Is left MS.
In l4s2 Columbus planted the Spanish
flag on the island OF San Salvador /, and
again in 149s at the mouth Of the orinoco,
s. A.
According to Humboldt, Sebastian
Cabot landed ut Labrador In 14e7 and
planted the red cross Of st. George, the
royal ensign of Henry the Seventh. II 90,
the English flag then for the first time
fioated over American soil, and for 157
years from the wintry day when the May
flower landed at Plymouth Rock to the
June day In 1777 when the stars and
stripes were adopted, for more than u
century and a half the flag OF England
was our flag.
We naturally ask what was the flag of
our mother country In those years. About
the year i192 Richard Cosur de Lion had
asked the aid Of st. George, Bishop Of
Cappoiocia. He gave the king as ban :
ner what is now called the Red Cross OF
ST. George. Under this flag Sir Humph-
rey Gilbert, Bartholomew Gosnold and
others sailed with grants OF land from
Queen Elizabeth to found colonies In the
new world, l57s-15s7. This Red Cross
of st. George was England's flag until
the year 1906.
In that year Scotland was added to
England. and in honor the union
placed the white cross Of st. Andrew on
the national flag, changing the field Of
white to blue. This diagonal white cross
had been the badge OF the Scots since the
| Crusades.
The union of tire two CROSSES was called
the kings colors,' or union colors, and
it was the flag of the MayAower in 1890
ana the first permanent settlements in
this country were made under its proteo-
tion. Massachusetts, records speak of It as
in use in that colony In 1884
| In 1643 the three colonies of Plymouth,
Massachusetts, and Connecticut united
under tbs name Of New England, but no
flag was adopted. Under Cromwell and
Charles II. various minor changes were
made in the flag Of the mother country,
but in 1907 the color was changed to
crimson and the two crosses which had
covered the entire flag were placed in the
upper corner. This was called the Crom-
well flag, but in that form 1t was ot ac-
| cepted by our colonies. We continued to
use the kings colors until 1907, when
we adopted the red flag, but added to 1t
some device of our own, In the place OF
| the crosses.
Trumbull, in his celebrated picture. of
the "Battle Of Bunker Hill' in the ro-
tunda of the Capitol at Washington, rep
resents the red flag with white corner
| and green pine tree. The men at Lexing-
ton had neither uniform nor flag, but ct
Bunker Hill two months later the
Colonial troops had much the appearance
| of an army.
Among the colonial flags described, the
pine tree is most frequently mentioned,
also serpent coiled ready to spring, with
the motto, - 'Beware-Don't tread on me-
Ouluc IL yOu uaFb. l16 snake nag was
used by the southern states from 1776 TO
l777, also a chain of thirteen links,
ring, a tiger, and field of wheat. 4he
first striped fiaR WAS flung to the breeze
and kissed the free al of heaven at Cam
bridge, Mass, Washingbon's headquar-
| ters, January, I'd, 1776. Washington says
"We hoisted the Union Flag in compli-
ment to the United Colonies and saluted
1t with thirteen guns" 1t had thirteen
stripes, alternate red and white, and the
united crosses of st. George and st. An
drew, on blue field.
We now come to the time when the
crosses of st. George and st, Andrew
were taken from the stripsd union fla g
| and blue flag with white stars was sub
stituted for the symbol of English author
| ity.
Thirteen states had bound themselves
| together as the United States of Amer
ica One hundred and twenty-five years
ago this June l4th, 1899, the American.
Congress in session at Philadelphia re-
| solved that the flag Of the thirteen United
| States be thirteen stripes. red and white,
the union to bs thirteen stars white on q
| blue field representing o new constella-
| tion-the stars to be arranged in a circle.
| Here the question may be asked
what suggested the stars and stripesp"
| 1t has been said that the words ''repre-
| senting new constellation" refer to the
| constellation of Lyra, symbol OF har.
mony, that this suggested the stars. As
to the stripes. some writers refer as to
the stripes which in the absence of uni
| form marked the rank OF continental sol
| diers. Another writer says, "The flag Of
| the Netherlands. 1t had become familiar
to the Pilgrim fathers during their So
journ IN Holland, and it's triple stripe,
red, white and blue, suggested the stripes
and the threa colors. But there seems
from careful study OF the subject to be no
one thing but the blending CT several, es-
pecially of flags, that we are indebted for
| the design of our own.
1t is said that few days hefore the