The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1912-10-18
RELICS OF
The REVOLUTION
Flag Which General Ganse-
WORT HoiSted.
National Museum Receives valu-
able Addition To Revolutionary
Treasures.

The national museum has received
most interesting addition to it's treasures
in the uniforms. swords and other mill
tary relics of General Peter GpnsevOort y
the revolution. But If II could have re-
ceived the flag which he hosted over
Fort Schuyler previously Fort Stanwi~.
on August 2. l717 the value of the rel
ic would have been incomparatly create
than that of all the personal belonging
of the old patriot which his descendants
have now given to the naIion.
That flag was the first stars and
Stripes to be associated with a mill
tary event. 1t was the first Stars and
Stripes to be associated with mill
an authentic record. II may reason
ably be said to have been the first
Stars and Stripes to experience ba?-
tsm by fire. The people of Delaware
will not admit this; they are con-
fident that the first stars and stripes
to b. under fire was "a flag displayed
at Cooch's bridge September 3. 1s,..
But there is no contemporary evidence
that any flag was displayed there. TIL
American force at Cooch's bridge
would not have been likely to have Il
flag, for AIaxwelrs command did not
|. IL
consisted of drafts of 100 or 100 men
from each brigade, and presumably
much smaller fractions of each regi-
ment The twenty or fifty men de-
tail from regiment for this de-
tached and temporary service would
not have been likely to take the regi-
mental colors with them. and without
v'ry definite affirmative evidence it Is
hard to believe that Maxweirs com.
I. of Morgan's riflemen. who had been
dispatched to the help of Gates, had
any national color.
But IL full confidence be given to the
Delaware tradition. the fact remains
that flag raised over a fort when
besieged must be regarded as having
b en- under fire quite as much as one
carried into the field.
The siege of Fort Schuyler by Lien
tenant Bird and Chief Brant. with a
force of English and Indians. was :,
part of Burgoyn s campaign. 1t was
an effort to get in the flank and reai
4 of Gates. and the fort was defended
with full consciousness OF it's enormous
Importance in the campaign. The
, siege gan on August 2. and it was
that day that the garrison. having
learned that congress had in TIME
adopted the design of a flag. made
one out of such materials as they had
and mounted it upon the parapet.
Colonel Marinus Will It,; who was
there with regiment and who was
second in command, has recorded that
1.-The white stripes were cut out II
ammunition shirts furnished by til.
soldiers, the blue out of the camiet
skill. while the red strip were made
of different pieces of stuff procured
from one and another of the garri-
son. Losing says that the blue came
from a cloth cloak belonging TO Cap
tain Abraham Swartwout of Ouch So
County. but he does not give an au-
thority for il. 1t Is pleasant to think
that the first American flag used IN
!, battle or siege contained a piece Of
an enemy's uniform. and Colonel VII.
!, 1T certainly ought to have known
what that flag WAS made of.
The day on which this flag was
made was the day or very near it. on
which DIR. Thatcher, surgeon in the
Continental army. learned and record.
ed in his journal that congr, IS had
agreed upon design for the flag
1t is true that this was seven weeks
after the action Of congress. but il
was a month before the flag was Off.
cially promulgated.
The Gansevoort uniform is said Ia
be the only revolutionary uniform ex.
cept Washington's in the national mu.
scum. II is a valuable addition to tho
revolutionary souvenirs accessible to
tn, public. But we wish that Petel
GansevoOrt had saved the flag under
which he defended Fort Schuyler. and
chat It was that flag which his de-
scendants had present ID TO the Ma.
| tiOn Record