The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1931-02-06
HISTOR RY'S
MYST ERIES
uaselksd Riddles Inst 3tih ruzzls
AathoEitiss Here and Abroad -
The Origin of the Stars and
Stripes

n r THE outbreak of the American
Revolution most of the states
adopted flags Of their own. The Con-
necticut troops who participated in
the battle of Bunker Hill had ban
ner bearing the coat Of arms of their
state with the motto, "Qui Trantulit
Sustinet." The Massachusetts troops
fought under the words, "An Appeal
to Heaven" while early New York rec
ords allude to other different stand
ards. The men at Lexington had
neither uniforms nor flags, but at
Bunker Hill, two months later, the
Colonial troops presented much more
the appearance Of an organized army.
Later came the @'Beware" and
Don't Tread On Me-" flags and the
snake flag was used by the southern
states from 1776 to June, 1T77. A
chain Of thirteen links, ring, tiger
and field of wheat were also used
as fighting devices.
In October, 1875, Washington wrote
to two officers who were about to
take command Of cruisers: please fix
on some flag by which our vessels may
know each other" The first striped
flag" Is said to have been flung to the
breeze at Washington's headquarters
at Cambridge, Mass in January, 1776.
This flag had thirteen stripes, alter
mating red and white. But was this
the first American flag?
John Paul Jones has left 1t on rec
ord that the flag Of America" was
hoisted by his own hand on his YES
sci, the Alfred, this being the first
time that this emblem was ever dis
played on a man of war, but no exact
date for the display Of the Jones flag
Is given. 1t may have been before the
Washington flag at Cambridge or aft
er, but it was undoubtedly before the
adoption of flag by congress on
June ID, 1777. In fact, although June
IA Is celebrated as Flag Day." there
seems to be considerable reason to
doubt that that is the correct day
for the anniversary.
According to the available records,
congress adopted resolution on June
ii, 1777 which read as follows: "Re-
solved, That the flag of the thirteen
United States be thirteen stripes,
alternate red and white; that the I'm
ion be thirteen stars, white in a blue
field, representing a new constella-
tion." But there is not the slightest
evidence to show who introduced this
resolution or whether one word Of dis
cussion was evoked concerning it. The
resolution was adopted;& according
to the records Therefore 1t must have
name is lost to history and, while
the resolution was adopted" by con-
gress on June IA, 1t was not officially
promulgated by the secretary until
September 3 of the same year.
1t is claimed that the first use of
the stars and stripes in actual mill
tary service was at Fort Stanwix in
1777. On August of that year the
fort was beseiged by the British and
Indians and the garrison being with
out a flag, one was made in the fort.
The red was from strips of petit
a
was from skirts torn up for the pur-
pose and the blue was piece of Col.
Peter Gansevoort's military coat
There are several available answers
to the question: 'What suggested the
Stars and StripesY' Some authorities
maintain that Washington found in
the coat of arms of his own family a
hint from which he designed the flag,
this device being two red bars on a
white ground with three gold stripes
above the top bars. This is not men.
toned by Washington himself, how
ever, in spite of the fact that his
carefully kept diaries furnish ample
evidences Of all other prominent
events in his career
1t cannot be questioned, though,
that the United States is largely In
debted to the first President for the
present flag, but none of the ques-
tions in doubt with respect to the
Stars and Stripes will ever be settled
to the satisfaction Of every one, for
the three chief points of discussion
remain: When was the first American
flag as we now understand 1t un-
furled? Who suggested 1t? Who
made the first one that was used?
Until these are accurately and com
pletely answered the origin of the
Stars and Stripes must be listed
among the unsolved mysteries of
American history.