Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-01-29
FLAGS OF ALL AGES.
The Eagle Has Always Been Favor
lite on Military Ensisns.

flags came up for consideration. Tn"
dean Of the members Of the cotere, a
veteran who proudly wears the bronze
button Of thc q. A. Il. upon the lapel
of his coat, did the greater part Of the
! talking.
Il have been" said ne, always inter-
estcd III standards and cmblems Of all
countries, and have made it a point to
read everything that l could get hold
! Of about flags Of all kinds, national and
| otherwise. Before the days of the flags
| that wave in the breeze the nations Of
| tire earth had their standards or en-
| blems They were principally banners.
| and date far back to the days Of the
! Old Testament, when there vas more
| fighting going on than at any time
| sine. that era. considering the com
parative small size of the world ant
| the nultitudcs of nations then on tni+
| l.trlc Garth.
| "Pnaraoh, the Egyptian monarch. az
| VIC find from the old books, was consid-
cradle Of a fighter in his day. had
| great many regiments in his armies,
| and every company had its own stand
| ard. If you please to go to work AMI
search the Scriptures, it will be seen
| taat the old Testament is replete with
illusions to banners and ensigns. The
| tribes Of Israel marched through thr
| wilderness, and each one Of the weary
| wandering armies carried their distinc-
| tive standards, and there We're some
very curious devices among the comhi-
| nations. Birds, beasts, REPTILES, anu
| fish were frequent among the emb!ems.
THE eagle was always 4 faVoritc,
| and is to the present day. We read
| that the standard Of a Roman legion
| was a silver eagle, with expanded
| wings, on the top OF q spear sometimes
| holding a thUnderbolt in its claws;
hence the word aquia was used 70
signify q legion. Yes. by all odds. the
| agile has always been among the lead
| ing military ensiGEs. Then there We're
bulls and lions, and bears, and wolves,
| ,vhis away back i'll the ages even in
medieval times the ugly dragon vas in
fashion on the standard OF many Of the
old English kings. 1t is an ugly beast,
and no wonder it frightened the souls
! Of fearful adversaries
There have been volumes written
| upon flags from which l have gIinei
what little 1 know" said the veteran.
land believe could talk on the sub
| iect a whole night long. In my opin-
ION, the most beautiful Hugs IN eXlS-
| tencc, save our own glorious Stars and
| Stripes are the ensignS of our mother
| country. Most of the banners Of the
| rival houses in England in the olden
| time were beautiful. The Cross of 81.
| George and the Blue Blanket of Scot
land are among the notable ones. An
able writer in an article on the subject
Of flags published about forty years
f1c +Io
of Scotland was first unfurled in 1888
and was displayed at the battle Of
Drumclng in 1879 ana at Bothwells
Bridge III the same year. This old en-
blem, which is cherished with peculiar
reverence by the Scotch people, is pre-
served by the Antiquarian Society Of
Edinburgh
In our country. up to the days OF the
revolution, most of the colonies in their
show of allegiance to the mother coun-
try retained the English standards
and. as rule, did not give much heed
to independent standards. Massachu-
sets sported a pine tree as her device
as she did on her coins of that period
South Carolina hung out her first indie
penGence flag just after the battle OF
Fort Jackson on james Island, Septem-
Der IS, ITS. 1t had a sort of Oriental
look about it, as it had a crescent in
one corner Of a blue field, but | cannot
believe it would be thought much Of
today. because the crescent is Il Turk
isil emblem all through. 1t is now used
Oh the flags of Egypt. Tripoli Arabia,
and whole lot of Oriental lands. and
l think is also in full favor in Japan.
Every one has heard of the rattle
snake fIDor that rtrpSnntaf n Com
gress in February. 1116, by Col Gads-
den. The snake was coiled on yellow
field and in a fighting position and I'M
derneath were the words Don't tread
on me 1t was never in very great
favor. but it is on record that in its
day many considered it as full OF
meaning.
Some OF the books tell different
tales about the flags that were used by
the patriot army at the battle Of
Bunker Hill. One account goes on to
state that that famous fight was fought
by the Americans under Il red flag
bearing the NOTICE, Come if you dare
Another says, The Americans displayed
a flag with the cross of St George, the
ground being blue and in the upper
corner nearest the staff pine tree
But summing them all up, Where Is
there a flag that waves on land or sea
like our old Glory with it's five
pointed stars Originally it was intend
ell me stars should be siX-pointedD,
that Betsy GriScoin made under the
personal direction Of Gen. Washington.
Griscom. as many know, was the maid
en- name of Mrs. Ross, and she per-
suadcd the committee who called to
see her about making the flag that the
stars would be more symmetrical and
more pleasant to the eye if made with
five points, and she showed them how
such star could be made by folding a
sheet Of paper and producing the pat
tern by a single cut.
Il tell you. gentlemen" said the talk
err. IF You want fascinating reading.
collect all the books and papers relat-
ing to flags and national standards. and
you will have t.'-Washington Post.