The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-03-09
Display is Being Made in New York
and Shows How Banners Of the
Various Countries are
Evolved.
UNION JACK EVOLUTION
1t Was Under This Flag That May
flower Passengers and Early
English Colonists
Lived.

An elaborate display OF flags, show
! ing the evolution of the American en-.
sign, is now on exhibition in the Con
course of the Grand Central station
Where it will remain for two weeks.
The flags, placed there by the Ameri-
can Legion, are the property Of Tel
Hair M. Minton, and are arranged in
chronological order.
First there is the banner Of Scotland
dating back to the year 945 A. D., a
tblue field with the white cross or sal.
tire of st. Andrews. 1t is this blue
field that is in our flag today, and up
on which is placed the union of forty
eight stars. Next comes the Banner
of England of 1874, white field with
the red cross of st. George. 1t was
under this flag that John Cabot, in
1897, established England's claim to
North America The third flag is
Jacques Union" of 1905, the union of
the crosses, formed by placing the
Banner of England on that of Scot
land. This flag and the flag Of Eng
land were carried by the Susan Con-
slant, which brought the settlers to
Jamestown. Va, May IS, 1907. and by
the Mayflower with the Pilgrims to
New Plymouth Mass, on Dec. %, 1920.
The English Colonial flag of 1928,
which was carried by the American
Colonial troops in King Williams war,
16891697, against the French and In
dams, comes next. 1t is red field,
with the banner of England in the
canton. 1t was from this red field that
the seven red stripes Of our flag were
derived.
Then comes the British Colonial
flag of 1907, red field with the union
of the crosses, Jacques Union in the
canton in place of the Banner of Eng
land. This flag was carried by the
American Colonial troops in the at
tack on Acadia in ITO during Queen
Anne's war; in the taking of Louis
burg by the New England troops in
1745 during King Georges war. and
in the attack on Fort Duquesne in
1855 when Colonel George Washing
ton saved the army after Braddock's
defeat by the French and Indians In
the fourth and last Of the interco'o-
NAL wars.
The flag of the United Colonies Of
America, 1916, the first of striped flags
is next 1t is a flag of thirteen alter
nate red and white stripes with the
union of the crosses. Jacques I'm
lOu Ill lAG CctIllOAl IL 10 uSAA'SSA W
laying across the red field of the Co
lonial flag Of the mother country six
white stripes, the resulting combina-
ton of thirteen red and white stripes
representing the thirteen colonies In
rebellion, the crosses in the canton to
stand for allegiance to the king and
mother country. This was the flag
which was raised at the stern Of the
7 1nhn plnI
Jones said 1.-The flag of America floats
for the first time over an American
3
The first Of the United States flags
is that of 1777, commonly called the
BETSY Ross Flag" a flag Of thirteen
alternate red and white stripes, with
thirteen white stars arranged in al cir
Gle on a blue field in the canton. This
flag was used during the revolutionary
war, and was our flag from June IA,
TIT, to May 1, 1895.
The second flag of the United
States, 1875, was made UP Of fifteen
alternate red and white stripes and
fifteen stars This was our flag dur
ing the war of 1912. and it was to this
flag that Francis Scott Key, on Sept.
ID. 1914 dedi -ated the words of '"The
star Spangled Banner" This flag was
in use from May /, 1895, to July 4
1918.
Our third flag, 1918. was the one
which showed the return to the thir-
.een stripes, which we have ever since
retained, and which also called for the
addition Of star to the union Of stars
in the canton on the Fourth Of July
next following the admission of state
pfo Tho I'm inn Of states.
Then follow in succession the flag
Is used in our country's later wars
he war with Mexico, 1s46-4S, twenty
nine stars; at the beginning of the
civil war in 1861, thirtyfour stars;
during the Spanish-American war in
1898 forty-five stars, and in the late
world war, forty-eight stars.