Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-04

body known as the United Neither
lands. This was a departure, in that
previously flags had represented
kings or individuals.
Colonists came to the Middle Allan
tic States so years later under the
Dutch three-striped flag of orange.
white, and blue, or siX-striped flag of
red, white and blue. The Dutch
West India Co. practically monopo-
lized the sea trade of the world for
many years prior to the rise of the
British East India Co. American col
onists had before them the example
of, and many of them lived under,
the Dutch Republic.
AS Rotterdam was one of the places
of assembly of emiGrants prior to
sailing to America, its flag is taken
as an example of the many-striped
flags of the states and cities of the
Netherlands. The Rotterdam flag
has IL green and white stripes. 1t
was in use in the 18th 18th and 18th
centuries; and emigrants of today
will see the same colors, green and
white, used in the house colors of the
Holland-America line.
History records that William Penn
travelled in the Valley of the Rhine,
meeting and talking with members of
in their beliefs to his Quakers. 1t
is not strange, then, that so many of
these prosecuted German sects should
have come via. the Netherlands to peo-
pie PENIS colony and to prosper
under its tolerance. These people
| were familiar with the striped Neither
lands flags, under which they lived
| for a time and under which they
sailed to America.
The Dutch were finally succeeded
| in the sea trade of the world by the
English East India Co. This COM
pany carried a striped flag. In some
old prints it is shown sometimes as
a nine-striped flag. again as 10.striped,
and in a book dated 1904 the flag
Of this company had 10 red and white
stripes with small ST. George S
| cross in the upper corner, next the
| staff. This flag was well known to
Young America which lived chiefly
on the seacoast and whose trade was
| carried on in ships.
THE flag generally used in the col
onies was the English red ensign
with cross of st. George in the
upper corner next the staff. Some:
| times variations were made in this
! flag to distinguish colonial vessels
from English vessels by placing a
pine tree or a globe, representing the
new world, in the first quarter framed
by the cross. Another variation was
the omission of the cross and the re-
| tention of the white field Of the
canton, or the replacing of the cross
by pine tree.
| 1t was not until the days of the
Revolution that the Colonies began
to look for something radically diff.
| ferent from the British flag. This
period produced the pine tree and the
rattlesnake flags of various designs
and the flags of individual design car
ried by the various colonial troops
/ Alterations were made in the British
red ensign by placing words on the
| fly such as Liberty and Union.
! Sixteen Of the most interesting of the
Revolutionary War flags are repro.
duced in the exhibit, but these had
| little influence on the design of the
Stars and Stripes.
! However, in the Revolution the
Stars and Stripes were evolved. When
| Washington left Philadelphia in 1874
en- route to take command of the Army
| at Cambridge, he was escorted out of
| the city by the Philadelphia Troop of
Light Horse. known to have accom-,
panied him as far as Newark, N. j.
The beautiful yellow silk standard of
this troop carried In its upper cor.
ner, next the star, a small union OF