Norwich bulletin., 1914-06-13
THE STORY OF THE STARS AND
 STRIPES.

The American flag Is growrh, rather than a creation. Its history can be traced back to the 18th cen- tury, or nearly 600 years prior to the first Flag Day., June IA. 1777.
 During the first crusade in 1895, Pope Urban II assigned 60 all of the Christian nations as standards cross . es varying in color and design, en- blematic of the warfare in which they were engaged. To the Scotch troops was assigned the white saltire, known as the white cross of St. Andrew, on a blue field. The British used a vel low cross. but a century and a quarter later they adopted a red cross on a white field, known as the red cross of St. George.
 The new flag was known as King 8 cended the throne of England as James I. he combined the two flags. and issued a proclamation requiring all ships to carry the new flag at their main masts. At the same time the vessels of sourth Britain were 10 carry at their foremasts the red cross of St George and the ships of north Britain to carry the white cross of St. Andrew.
 The new flag was known as King Colors," the Union Colors," or the Great Union" and later as the 'Un- ion Jack, and was the one under which the British made all their perm dncnI SeIllcfnenlS III AmeTCd- IL was the flag of Great Britain only by pro- ckamation, however; not until 1707 did Parliament pass an act definitely uniting the two countries and their flags. In the same year the Govern ment issued regulations requiring the Navy to use what was known as the white ensign; the Naval Reserve, the blue ensign: and the Merchant Ma rine. the red ensign. Owing to the fact that the British merchant vessels were everywhere, the colonistS in America came to look upon this red ensign as the flag of Great Britain.
 The people in the New England col onies were bitterly opposed to the cross in the flag In 1885 some of the troops in Massachusetts declined to march under this flag and the mii- tary commissioners were forced to design other flags for their troops with the cross left out The design they adopted has not been preserved In 1852 a mint was established m Boston. Money coined in this mint had the pine tree stamped on one side of it. The pine tree design was also used on New England flags, ce-- tainly by 1f04 and possibly as early as 1885.
 At the outbreak of the Revolution the American colonies had no flag com mon to all of them. In many cases the merchant marine flag of Engla nd was used with the pine trees sub stituted for the Union Jack Mas5a- chusetts adopted the green pine tree on white field with the motto: An Appeal to Heaven" Some of the Southern States had the rattlesnake flag with the motto Don't Tread on Me- on a white or yellow field Th1s flag had been used by South Carolina as early as 1764 Benjamin Franklin defended the rattlesnalxe device on the ground that the rattlesnake is found only in America and that serpent em- blems were considered by ancients to be symbols of wisdom.
 In September 1775 there was dis played in the South what is by many , believed to be the first distinctively American flag It was blue with . white crescent. and matched the dress of the troops, who wore caps inscribed iFIfberty or Death"
 | The colonists desired to adopt a common flag; but they had not yet declared independence and were not at first seeking independence. They | took the British flag as they knew 1t and made new colonial flag by di- viding the red field with white stripes Into 13 alternate red and white stHpss