CHAPTER I_The Little Book of the Flag

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THE LITTLE BOOK

OF THE FLAG

EVA MARCH TAPPAN

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO DALLAS

SAN FRANCISCO

The Riverside Press Cambridge

The Riverside Press

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

PRINTED IN THE U. S. A.

CONTENTS

I. THE FLAGS THAT BROUGHT THE COLONISTS 1

Flags under which the early colonists sailed--The English

"ancient flag"--The "meteor flag," "Union Jack," or "King's

Flag"--Endicott cuts the cross from the English flag--The

militia object to the cross on the flag--A flagless fort--Dr.

Cotton's decision.

II. THE PINE-TREE FLAG AND OTHERS 8

Flags common among the colonists--The New England

Alliance--The pine-tree flag and coins--Flags of the

militia--The red coat flag.

III. LIBERTY AND LIBERTY POLES 14

The demand for liberty--Opposition to the Stamp Act--Oliver

hanged in effigy--The Liberty Tree in Boston--The liberty

pole in New York--The Albany plan--The snake design.

IV. THE LAND OF MANY FLAGS 20

The Bedford flag--Flags at the beginning of the

Revolution--Sergeant Jasper saves the flag--The

rattlesnake on the flag.

V. WHEN WASHINGTON WENT TO CAMBRIDGE 27

The Philadelphia Light Horse Troop--The army at

Cambridge--The backwoodsmen--Indians offer their

services--General Putnam unfurls a scarlet flag--The

Liberty Tree.

VI. THE "GRAND UNION FLAG" 32

The "Grand Union Flag"--Possible sources of the design--First

raised in Somerville--Flags on sea and land--Flag hoisted over

the Alfred by John Paul Jones--Franklin's letters of marque.

VII. THE FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG 39

The flag of the United States as decreed by Congress--The

Betsy Ross flag--Significance of the Colors--Captain Jones

put in command of the Ranger--The "quilting party"--The

Drake strikes her colors to the Ranger--The United States

flag is saluted by the French--The flag goes down with the

Bon Homme Richard.

VIII. FLAGS ONE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SEE 48

The Fort Stanwix flag--Pulaski's banner--The first Fourth

of July celebration--General use of "thirteen"--Copley's

delay to paint in the flag--A Nantucket skipper carries the

flag to London--The last battle of the Revolution--The New

Haven peace rejoicing.

IX. THE FLAG OF FIFTEEN STRIPES AND FIFTEEN STARS 56

The flag of fifteen stripes and fifteen stars decreed by

Congress--Worn by "Old Ironsides"--Leads against

Tripoli--Seen at Constantinople--Among the Indians of the

Louisiana Territory--"The Star-Spangled Banner"--Marking

the birthplace of Washington.

X. THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER 63

Congress decrees the present flag--No law for the

arrangement of the stars--The manufacture of bunting--Flags

for the navy--Flags for the War Department--"Old Glory."

XI. THE FLAG IN WAR 70

The flag at Chapultepec--The surrender of Fort Sumter--The

flag raised again at Fort Sumter--The Arizona flag of the

Rough Riders.

XII. THE FLAG IN PEACE 77

Perry opens Japan to the world--Raising the flag over the

legation in Sweden--Hauling down the flag in Cuba--The flag

at the North Pole--The flag on Westminster Palace.

XIII. HOW TO BEHAVE TOWARD THE FLAG 85

FLAG ANNIVERSARIES 90

SELECTIONS

The Star-Spangled Banner _Francis Scott Key_ 93

The Flag in the Darkness _Benjamin Harrison_ 95

A Song for Flag Day _Wilbur D. Nesbit_ 96

The Flag goes by _Henry Holcomb Bennett_ 98

What the Flag stands for _Henry Cabot Lodge_ 100

Union and Liberty _Oliver Wendell Holmes_ 101

Your Country and your Flag _Edward Everett Hale_ 103

The Home Flag _Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_ 104

Old Flag _Hubbard Parker_ 105

Britannia to Columbia _Alfred Austin_ 107

Makers of the Flag _Franklin K. Lane_ 109

Our Flag _Margaret Sangster_ 112

Our History and our Flag _William Backus Guitteau_ 113

The American Flag _Joseph Rodman Drake_ 115

The Flag of our Country _Robert C. Winthrop_ 116

America _Samuel Francis Smith_ 117

INDEX 119

THE LITTLE BOOK OF THE FLAG

[Illustration]

CHAPTER I

THE FLAGS THAT BROUGHT THE COLONISTS

More than three hundred years ago a little sailing vessel set out from

Holland, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and followed down our coast from

Greenland. Its captain, Henry Hudson, was in search of a quick and easy

route to Asia, and when he entered the mouth of the river that is named

for him, he hoped that he had found a strait leading to the Asiatic

coast. He was disappointed in this, but the Indians welcomed him, the

mountains were rich in forests, and the ground was fertile. "It is the

most beautiful land in all the world," declared the enthusiastic navigator.

Henry Hudson was an Englishman, but he sailed in the employ of the Dutch

East India Company, and soon the flag of this Company was well known

along the Hudson River. It was the old flag of Holland, three horizontal

stripes, of orange, white, and blue, with the initials of the Company on

the white stripe. Hudson had not found a new route to Asia, but he had

opened the way for the fur-trade. In a few years the Dutch had

established trading-posts as far north as Albany. They had also founded

a city which we call "New York," but which they named "New Amsterdam."

So it was that in 1609 the Dutch flag first came to the New World.

Nearly thirty years after the voyage of Henry Hudson, a company of

Swedes made a settlement on the Delaware River. This had been planned

by the great Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden. "That colony will be

the jewel of my kingdom," he said; but the "Lion of the North" was

slain in battle, and his twelve-year-old daughter Christina had become

queen. That is why the loyal Swedes named their little fortification

Fort Christiana, and over it they raised the flag of their country, a

blue banner with a yellow cross.

In course of time the Swedes were overpowered by the Dutch, and then

the Dutch by the English; so that before many years had passed, the

only flag that floated over the "Old Thirteen" colonies was that of

England. This was brought across the sea by the settlers of our first

English colony, Jamestown, in Virginia. Moreover, they had the honor

of sailing away from England in all the glories of a brand-new flag

made in a brand-new design. The flag of England had been white with a

red upright cross known as "St. George's Cross"; but a new king, James

I, had come to the throne, and the flag as well as many other things

had met with a change. James was King of Scotland by birth, and the

Scotch flag was blue with the white diagonal cross of St. Andrew. When

James became King of England, he united the two flags by placing on a

blue background the upright cross of St. George over the diagonal

cross of St. Andrew; and he was so well pleased with the result that

he commanded every English vessel to bear in its maintop this flag,

"joined together according to the form made by our own heralds," the

King declared with satisfaction. It was the custom at that time to

call "ancient" whatever was not perfectly new, and therefore the flag

used before James became king was spoken of as the "ancient flag,"

while the new one became the "King's Flag" or the "Union Jack." This

change was made in the very year when the grant for Virginia was

obtained, and therefore the little company of settlers probably sailed

for America with the "King's Flag" in the maintop and the "ancient

flag" in the foretop.

On land, among the colonists, sometimes one flag was floated and

sometimes the other. In Massachusetts the red cross of St. George seems

to have been much in use; but before long that red cross began to hurt

the consciences of the Puritans most grievously. To them the cross was

the badge of the Roman Catholic Church. Still, it was on the flag of

their mother country, the flag that floated over their forts and their

ships. The Puritan conscience was a stern master, however, and when one

day John Endicott led the little company of Salem militia out for a drill,

and saw that cross hanging over the governor's gate, the sight was more

than he could bear, and he--but Hawthorne has already told the story:--

Endicott gazed around at the excited countenances of the people,

now full of his own spirit, and then turned suddenly to the

standard-bearer, who stood close behind him.

"Officer, lower your banner!" said he.

The officer obeyed; and brandishing his sword, Endicott thrust it

through the cloth, and, with his left hand, rent the red cross

completely out of the banner. He then waved the tattered ensign

above his head.

"Sacrilegious wretch!" cried the High Churchman in the pillory,

unable longer to restrain himself, "thou hast rejected the symbol

of our holy religion!"

"Treason, treason!" roared the Royalist in the stocks. "He hath

defaced the King's banner!"

"Before God and man, I will avouch the deed," answered Endicott.

"Beat a flourish, drummer!--shout, soldiers and people!--in honor

of the ensign of New England. Neither Pope nor Tyrant hath part in

it now!"

With a cry of triumph the people gave their sanction to one of the

boldest exploits which our history records.

Endicott was one of the court assistants, but he was now removed from

his position and forbidden to hold any public office for one year. He

was fortunate in being permitted to retain his head.

Endicott had been punished, but the Puritan conscience was not yet at

rest, and now many of the militia declared that they did not think it

right to march under the cross. The whole militia could not well be

punished, and the commissioners for military affairs were as doubtful

as the honest militia men about what should be done. "We will leave it

to the next General Court to decide," they said, "and in the meantime

no flags shall be used anywhere."

This seemed a comfortable way to settle the question, but unluckily

there was a fort on Castle Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor,

and when an English vessel came sailing in, its captain refused to pay

any attention to a fort without a flag. Then the officer in command

rose to his dignity and made the ship--maybe with the aid of a ball

across her bows--strike her colors. The captain complained to the

authorities that the commandant of this flagless fort had insulted his

flag and his country. The authorities were just a bit alarmed. To

insult a flag and a country was a serious matter. "What shall we do to

make amends?" they queried. "Let the officer who proffered the insult

come on board of my vessel and say in the presence of the ship's

company that he was in fault," replied the captain. This was done, and

the sky cleared.

But the troubles of the colonists were by no means over. The mate of

another vessel declared with considerable emphasis that these people

were all rebels and traitors to the King. Surely the thought of such a

report as this going back to England from a tiny colony clinging to

the edge of the continent was enough to alarm the boldest. Discussions

were held, and Dr. John Cotton was appealed to.

A canny man was this Dr. John Cotton, and he decided that inasmuch as

the fort belonged to the King, it was proper that it should display

the King's Flag, whatever it might be,--"while vessels are passing,"

he added shrewdly; but that, as for the militia, each company might

have its own colors, and not one of them need bear a cross. So the

great tempest passed by.