The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-08-15


.~,nernatural powers. Indeed, our first
recorded references to the. standard
md the banner, of which our present
600 &c but a modified form, are from
sacred rather thar secular sources.
We are told that it was around the
hammer that the prophets Of old raj
,;ad their armies, and under which the
hosts of Israel We're led to war, be-
,;aying that it carried with it divines
favor and protection.
since that time all nations and
countries have had their flags and
emblems. though the ancient supersti..
tion regarding their divine merits. and
s~upernatural powers has disappeared
from among civilized peoples. The
flag now. the world over, possesses the
same meaning and a a uniform sig
niticance to all nations wherever
found. 1t stands as the symbol of
strength independence and unity, rep
resenting the national spirit and pa
triotism of the people over whom it
floats. In both lord and subject, the
ruler and the ruled, it commands re-
spect. inspires patriotism, n instills
loyalty, both in a and war.
In this country we have a national
lldS W'if1C1I 90 IAAS
strength and unity as a nation-a liv-
ing representative of u national
spirit and honor. In addition to u
national flag, each of the different
States in the Union has a State flag
symbolic Of it's own individuality n
domestic ideals. Every State in the
American Union has a flag of some
kind-each expressive Of some pecu-
liar trait, or commemorative Of some
-. @V1or
whom it floats The flags of most Of
the States. however. consist of h
coat of arms of that State upon some
suitably colored field. It is said that
the first State flag OF North Caro-
lima wa. built on this model, but so
far as we can learn from the Records,
the first legislation on this subject
establishing and recognizing a state
flag" was in the yea 1861.
The Constitutional Convention OF
1861, which declared for secession
from the Union, adopted what it
termed d State flag. This existed I'M
til 1885. On May 20 1861. the Con-
vention adopted the Resolutions Of
Secession, which declared the State
dissolved from the Union. On that
same day Col. John D. Whitford, a
member of the Convention from era
ven county, introduced the following
VI uiIidlCe, nc was pdSScu III
referred to a select committee Of
seven:
BE it ordained, That the flag of
this State shall be a blue field with a
white V thereon, and a star, incircling
Which shall be the words 'Surgit as
trum, May goth, 1775.'"
Colonel Whitford was made chair
man of the committee TO which this
ordinance was referred. The commit
foo c0a,rol = "a - 7-;a 80 WI
nam Jarl Brown, an artist, of Raleigh,
who prepared and submitted a model
TO this committee. This model was
adopted by the Convention on the 22d
OF June OF that year. 1t will be OBJ
served that the Brown model, adopted
py the Convention, was different from
the one originally proposed by Colonel
Nhitford.
On the Journals of the Convention
was entered the following:
MI. Whitford. from the Committee
Or a State Flag, reported an ordi-
nance relating thereto. which passed
lts several readings under a suspension
OF the rules, n was ordered to be
eDrolled.'
Here is the ordinance as it appears
on the Journal (page 1889:
An Ordinance in Relation to a State
Flag.
b it ordained by this Convention.
and it is ordained by the authority Of
the same, That the flag of North Caro-
ma shall onsis of a red field with
IL Whlte star in centre. and with the
INSCRIPTION, above the star. in semi
circular form, of May 2Oth, 1775,'
and below the star, in a semi-circula1
form, of May goth, 1861 That there
shall be two oars of equal width, and
me length Of the field shall be equal
10 the bar. the width of the field being
equal to beth bars; the first bar shall
pe bue, and the second shall be white,
ana the length of the flag shall be
one-third more than it's width" (Rat-
med the 22d day of June, 1867
rms State flag is said to have been
issued to the first ten regiments OF
state troops during the summer OF
mat year. and borne by them through
Out the war. being the only flag, ex-
cept the National and Confederate