The Tupelo journal., 1913-06-06
Our Flag.
BY FRANCIS SCOTT KEY, 3rd.

OAN~oS = 8
France comes next. England's Royal
Standard was moi adopted till 1901.
In 1906, in honor of the union of Eng
land and Scotland, the English flag,
which for years had been white With
the red cross of St. George extending
to it's edges, was changed to a field of
blue across which was placed the up
| right red cross of st. George and the
diagonal white cross of st Andrew.
This was the flag that floated over
''Susan Constant at jamestown and
"Mayflower'' at Plymouth. Although
the colonists frequently used devices of
their own, the English flag was the
flag of this country for more than one
hundred and fifty years.
So different were the symbols of the
colonies, regiments and ships that Wash
ton, in IT'S, wrote, please fix on
some flag by which our vessels may
nnow each other"
In 1777 Congress appointed a COM
mittee consisting of General Washing
ton, Robert Morris and Colonel Ross ''to
designate a suitable flag for the ma
ton" This committee, as all the
world knows, conferred with Mistress
Betsy R and afterwards recom-
mended a Tag in which the stripes re-
Gently introduced were retained, but in
which the crosses, the symbolof British
authority, gave place to the stars which
ere henceforth to shine for liberty.
This committee having reported, on
June IA, 1777, in old independence Hall,
Philadelphia, Congress adopted the fol-
lowing resolution: Resolved. that the
flag of the thirteen United States be
thirteen stripes, alternate red and
white; that the union be thirteen stars,
white in a blue field, representing a
new constellation. The stars to be ar
ranged in a circle" Enter here the
Star Spangled Banner, with thirty-sev-
ell yCdIS W wall III IlO oOuk Il0J WdS
to immortalize the name.
The Flag was not changed until 1895,
when two stripes and two stars were
added for Vermont and Kentucky. BY
1916 four more States, Tennessee,
OHIO and Louisiana were in the family.
and a committee was appointed to give
them a place on the Flag. Realizing
that there must be a limit to the
stripes. the committee made a recon-
mendation which was adopted April 4,
1918, that the Flag be permanently
thirteen stripes, representing the origi-
nal States and that a new Star be ad-
ded for each State as admitted.
The plan of arranging the stars to
form one large star was abandoned at
that time and the method of placing
them in rows was adopted. Since then
a star has been added to the Flag on
the Fourth of July following the ad-
mission of a State to the Union.
The flag of the United States at the
time of the Revolution had thirteen
stars; in the War of 1912, fifteen; in
/ the Mexican War, twenty-nine; in the
Civil War, thirty-fve, and in the Span
ish- American War, forty-five-the mum.
Der to-day, f%orty-eight.
The first striped flag was raised at
Washington's headquarters, Cambridge
Mass, January 2, 1776, aud saluted
with thirteen guns. About the same
time John Paul Jones, as Senior First
Lieutenant, hoisted it with his own
hands over Commodore Hopkins flag
ship the alfred" then lying in the
Delaware at Philadelphia.
On February IA, 1778, Captain John
Paul Jones had the great satisfaction
of seeing the Stars and Stripes ''recog-
nized for the first time and in the full
est manner by the flag of France" by
saiutes first to the Ranger" and later
to the Independence" of Jones' fleet.
This was probably the first recognition
by any foreign power of the colors of
the United States of America. Jones
received his appointment to the COM
mand of the Ranger" on the very day
that our national flag was adopted by
Congress. He said, ''the flag and /
are twins. We cannot be parted in
life or in death. So long as we can
float, we shall float together; if we
must sink, we shall go down as one."
Morning and Evening Colors'' are
observed on board all our naval ves-
sells, naval stations and army posts.
The ceremony attending the raising
and lowering of the Flag is very inn
pressive. The "Star Spangled Ban
ner'' has long been played at the rails
ing, but in 1904. at the request of Ad.
miral Dewey, President Roosevelt or
dered that it be played at the evening
ceremony also. instead Of Hail Colum
bia, . which had previously been used