Omaha daily bee., 1916-06-14
American Flags

| izng the form and size OF alLour national flags
| The flags, and union jacks, of all departments
with certain exceptions in the army and navy
must now conform to specifications. Taking the
] hoist or width, as l. the fly or length is 10; the
hoist of the union, 7-l3; the fly Of the union .76
and the width OF each stripe l-l3. There ARD
| twelve prescribed sizes, from Isl feet to 20
feet hoists, but the l9-foot flag is to be the
| standard.
The American flag collections OF the United
States National museum include some examples
| of our flag indicative Of its development in sew
eral historical periods its many changes and its
| gradual Standardization.
1t is interesting to note that during the revo.
| luton the flag had thirteen stars; In the war OF
/ 1872, fifteen; in the Mexican war, twenty-nine;
in the civil war, thirty-hye; in the Spanish Ameri-
can war, forty-fve, and today forty-eight. The
| American flag is among the Oldest Of national
flags, being older than the present British Union
| Jack, the French Tricolor and the flag of Spain,
and many years Older than the flags Of Germany
and Italy some of which, like those Of other coun-
| tries, are personal flags, or those of reigning
| families.
| There are no early colonial flags such as were
used by the individual colonies, and militia regi-
ments before the flag Of the United States was
| established by congress on June "A, l777, now
celebrated as Flag day; This act required that
alternate red and white; that the union Of thr-
| teen stars white in blue field, representing
new constellation" but did not define how many
points the stars should have, how they should
be arranged nor make provision for additional
ones.
The navy Immediately adopted this flag, but
the army was much slower to act Representa-
tive OF early stars.and-stripes type there is a
twelve-star flag said to have been used by John
Paul Jones during the war of the revolution. It
measures 10Y feet by 81 feet and was presented
to Lieutenant James Bayard Stafford, u. S. NJ,
on December IS, 1884, BY the marine committee
OF the continental congress as reward for meri-
torious services during the Revolution, coming
later to the Smithsonian Institute as gift from
Mrs. Harriet R. Perry Stafford.
Another flag OF the very highest historic value
is the original star spangled banner" which flew
over Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the
bombardment on September 1914, 1874, and was
as hn,praSSn oI Keys ANTHEM l. hangs
ing where the models in competition for the
Key memorial are now on display This Fort
McHenry flag is Of the fifteen stars-and-stripes
type, adopted BY an act approved BY President
May /, 17os, after the admission Of Vermont and
Kentucky II measures about thirty feet square,
is much battered and torn, with one star missing,
but this great historic souvenir has lately been
preserved by quilting it on heavy linen cloth, and
remains one Of the countrys most precious relics.
From 1875 this form continued as the standard
flag until President Monroes administration,
when congress enacted that it should thereafter
be Of thirteen stripes, with the addition Of star
tor each new state, commencing July 4. 1918.
1t seems that the army never carried the ma
tional flag in battle, though we have record Of its
use as a garrison flag from about 1887 or 1898, to
1884, until 1916. Bodies of troops carried during
this period, and before it, what was known as
national colors or standards Of blue with the
arms Of the United States emblasoned thereon,
comprising an eagle surmounted by number of
stars and with the designation of the body of
troops, as infantry, artillery, etc. inscribed on
scroll In 1884 the artillery were given the right
OF carrying the Stars and stripes, as recorded by
the War department regulations, the infantry and
cavalry still using the national arms with an
added scroll in the eagles beak bearing the words.
e pluribus unum." These fages remained the
until as late as 1887, when they were ordered to
employ the Stars and Stripes.
So many styles and forms of the Stars and
Stripes flag were in existence in 1887 that certain
foreign governments found it necessary to make
inquiry OF this government just what the official
flag was, resulting in the publication in 1852 of
careful study of the subject by him who later
became General Schuyler Hamilton.
However, it was not until 1912 that very def
mite specifications were drawn up Under Pres-
dent TafSs administration representatives OF the
various government departments conferred on
proportions and other details Of the national flag
resulting in an executive order dated October 90,
1912, which tended to standardze the Stars and
otripeS, and YET lurtner SpecncationS were found
necessary only recently.
The history OF our flag indicates that the
Stars and Stripes" was not carried by troops
in battle until the period Of the Mexican war
lS46-H. Several flags of this period are in the
museum collections. Among them is flag of
thirteen stripes and stars carried throughout the
war by the battalion Of volunteers which enlisted
from Maryland and the District of Columbia,
and the flag of Company J. Fourth regiment of
Indiana infantry OF thirteen stripes, with an eagle
in the field.
Ten flags of the collection pertain to the civil
war. The garrison flag of Fort Moultrie S. c.,
lowered when the command evacuated that fort
to assemble at Fort Sumter December rs, 1860; a
boat flag flown by Commander Charles S.
Boggs, Y. S. N, when he left the Gunboat Va
runa sunk in an engagement between confed.
crate Aotilla and the union feet under Admiral
Farragut below New Orleans April "a, 1862; a
signal flag Of white cloth with painted stars and
stripes: headquarters flag OF Major General Ben
jamin F. Butler, United States volunteers, flown
at Fortress Munroe, Virginia, in 1861 the flag
raised at New Orleans by its citizens upon the
Major General Butler May I, 1862; the remains
Of the flag carried in the three days fight at
Salem Heights, Virginia, May is, 1865 when
three color sergeants were killed. though the
banner never faltered or fell to the ground: Gem
eral Hazen's garrison flag hoisted at Fort Nc
Allister, Ga, after the surrender of the fort to
the union army, December Is, 1864; the flag flown
on the United States ship Kearsarge when it sank
the Alabama deposited in the National museum
BY Lieutenant Herbert Winslow son OF Rear
Admiral Herbert Winslow, commander of the
kearsarge during this action; headquarters har
OF Major General E. O. c, Ord, u. S. A.. flown
in Richmond, Va. in 1865, and the flag Of the
First Pennsylvania volunteers, found in the CAPT.
toll at Richmond in 1865 BY Major General Ord
% I'M Ind fro, a.