Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1910-05-13
TRIBUTE TO THE FLAG,
Its Cost In Human Life-creat lnior Ar.
my Sustained by Greater Army of
Workers at Home.

workers at Home.
As our G. a. r. post has recently, had o.
present of a handsome flag from the
Nomans Relief corps it has brought to
my NINA q few stray thoughts about the
nag. a schooboy can tell us that Ceorpe
Washington designed the first flag Of our
country and called on Widow Ross at
NO Id9 Arch street, Philadelphia. and
asked her If she could make a dar Uor
reply was: Il don't know, but ! will try"
ana she cut seven red stripes and six
white and thirteen stars to represent thlr-
teen colonies and nimbly sewed them to-
gether. This flag was unfurled to the
breeze on Fort Schuyler Aug. 80, 1777. The
continental armies were the first to carry
the stars and stripes. There are now liv-
ing in Philadelphia descendants of Wild
oW Ross who heard the story of making
the first flag from her own lips The
progeny of the first flag may be counted
by the millions, and it is seen on every
sea and is known in every land. Our flag
is so identified with human liberty that
1t never fails to thrill the observer with
admiration who knows the story Of its
origin. Thus we learn how the flag was
established.
As l grow old my thoughts go back to
the early sixties. 1t was then in order to
have flag raisings. In my native town
were four small villages. The men would
go to the woods and get the best spruce
tree they could find, then dig a deep hole
in the ground and we were ready to raise
the pole and draw the stars and stripes
to the top of it. On the last occasion
there was no one to make a speech but a
young man who was present who had
spoken in a lyceum, and they invited him
He took the speakers stand which was
hay wagon, and spoke as follows: Eel
low citizens, (wave of right arm) Two
hundred years ago this town was a howl
ing wilderness, and, Cwave of right ARM,
and, l wish to God it was now" That
was the end of the speech and Old Glory
was waving in the breeze.
Those were days when young men were
putting down their names to go to war.
About seventy from that small town re-
sponded to the call of Father Abraham
for more soldiers. History tells us there
were two million, one hundred and thir-
teen thousand in the Union army. Sixty
seven thousand were killed in action, for
ty-three thousand died from wounds, and
from all causes three hundred and sixty
thousand; and in the Spanish war. which
lasted but a few months, two hundred
and eighteen were killed and four thou
sand died from all causes. These figures
show us what 1t cost i'm human life dur
| ing the war to sustain the flag that was
established one hundred and thirty-three
years ago. The great Union army was
sustained by a still greater army Of work
| ers at home, who were anXiously waiting
| for the day of peace.
There were no greater sufferers than
our mothers who bravely and cheerfully
| bid their boys goodbye to go to war. The
| boys were dear to their mothers then, the
same as the boys are dear to their moth
ers now. They are nearly all at rest
| where wars are unknown. The greatest
| tribute we have for the memory of our
mothers is they were akin to the Union
army. About three-fourths of the men
who wore the blue have now passed away
| 1t is gratifying to the old soldiers that
the flag will be left in the care Of patri-
! otto men and noble women.
trust that Memorial day viii be duly
| observed.
RECRUIT.