The Ordway new era., 1915-07-02
REAL HISTORY OF
AMERICAN FLAG
Emblem, II L Declared by Stu
dents, May Sc Traced Back
as Far as the Twelfth
Century.

sFsHE American flag Is growth.
rather than creation. Its his
tory can ~ traced back to the
18th century. OF, nearly 600 years prior
to the first "E1Ag Day." June IA. 1777.
During the 1fst crusade in 1875.
Pope Urban n assigned to all of the
Christian nations ms standards crosses
varying in coios, and design. emblem
attic Of the warfare in which they
were engaged. To the Scotch troops
was assigned TIE white satire. known
as the white cross of st. Andrew. on a
blue field. The British used yellow
cross, but . clctury and quarter
later they adoIted a red cross on
white field. knopn as the red CROSS of
st. George.
When James FI of Scotland ascend
ed the throne = England as James l.
he combined The two flags. and issued
proclamation requiring all ships to
carry the new flag at their main
masts. At the tame time the vessels
of south BriAfE were TO carry at
their foremas(a the red cross of st.
George and III ships Of north Britain
to carry the yhite cross Of st. An
drew.
The new 11G.was known az "Kings
Colors," the AUnion Colors." or the
Great Union, and later ~ the Union
Jack" and vag the one under which
the British made all their permanent
settlements inxAmerica- 1t was the
nag Of Great H{1tain only by proclama-
tion, howevssstnot until 1907 did par
lament pass ~ act definitely uniting
the two countles and their iags. In
the same yeaf$the government issued
regulations rq1lfring the navy to use
what was kn(I5p - the white ensign;
the naval ~ I'VE. he blue ensign;
and u msso INT masins. the red en-
st9a. sDWsnG 6s not that the Brit
ish merchant vessels we're everywhere.
the colonists In America came to look
upon this red ensign ~ the flag Of
Great Britain.
The people In the New England col
onies were bitterly opposed to the
cross in the nag. In 1885 some Of the
troops in Massachusetts declined to
march under this nag and the military
commissioners were forced to design
other flags for their troops with the
cross left out. The design they adopt
ed has not been preserved. In 1852 .
mint was established in Boston.
Money coined In this mint had the
pine tree stamped ON one side of 1t.
The pine tree design was also used
on New England nass. certainly BY
1904 and possibly - early as 1886.
At the outbreak Of the Revolution
the American colonies had no flag
common to all Of them. In many cases
the merchant marine flag Of England
was used with the pine tree substi-
tuted for the Union Jack. Massa-
chusetts adopted the green pine tree
on q white field, with the motto: "'An
Appeal to Heaven" Some of the south
ern states had the rattlesnake flag
with the motto Don't Tread on Me"
on white or yellow field. This flag
had been used BY. South Carolina as
early as 1884 BENJAMIN Franklin de-
Tended the rattlesnake device on the
ground that the rattlesnake is found
only in America, and that serpent en-
blems were considered by ancients
to be symbols Of wisdom.
In September, 1776. there was dis
played in the South what was by
many believed to be the first distinct
lively American nag. 1t was blue with
a white crescent, and matched the
dress of the troops, who wore caps In
scribed. Liberty 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 nag as they knew 1t.
and made a new colonial flag by divid-
ing the red field with white stripes
into thirteen alternate red and white
stripes. This is known as the Cam
bridge flag. because It was first un-
furled over Washington's headquar-
ters at Cambridge. Mass. on January
1. 1910. 1t complied with the law Of
1707 by having the Union Jack on It;
It also represented the thirteen colon
les by the thirteen stripes.
Az the colonists gradually became
converted to the idea that independ-
sncs from the mother country was
necessary. they began to modify the
nag. nrst By leaving OF the Union
Jack and using only the thirteen hori-
xontal stripes. The modified dass
were not always red and white. but
regularly copsisted Of combinations Of
two colors selected from red, white.
blue and yellow. The dnA1 modinca-
ton was the Ssplacement Of the Union
Jack BY the white stars on . blue
6eld.
The stars are the only distinctive