were placed to receive him; that he perfectly accorded in the
opinion that a representative Democracy was the best calculated to
secure the liberties of the people, and requested that the people
of Macon would receive his thanks for the manner in which they had
been pleased to treat him."
A procession then formed and he was conducted to his quarters at the
Macon Hotel. During the moving of the procession a national salute was
fired. Soon after his arrival he was waited upon by the ladies, who
were individually introduced to him; after which every citizen who
wished was introduced, to whom General Lafayette gave a cordial grasp
of the hand.
He was then waited on at his quarters by the brethren of Macon Lodge,
No. 34, and was addressed as follows by Worshipful Ambrose Baber,
Master of the Lodge:
"Brother and General Lafayette: In our humble capacity as brothers
of the mystic union, we welcome you to our infant village. No
triumphal arch, no tinsel show of earthly grandeur greeted your
entry. We offer you a triumph more lasting and noble--the triumph
of gratitude.
"Admonished by that resplendent luminary which rules and governs
the day, and imparts an equal lustre on all mankind twice in every
year, that we have all once been and must again be upon a level,
we have ventured to hail your arrival among us, and to offer you
a welcome in unalloyed gratitude, the spontaneous effusion of our
hearts.
"Illustrious benefactor of mankind. What a train of associations
does thy eventful life excite. Companion and associate of our
immortal Washington. Thine efficient arm hath prostrated oppressive
tyranny--succored, and relieved distressed and agonized humanity,
and established a nation in the full enjoyment of freedom. The
glittering offerings of princes could not dissuade, nor the
appalling frowns of royalty deter you from a life of benevolent
usefulness. The assassins of sanguinary demagogues nor the
loathsome cells of the dungeon mar or destroy your feelings of
philanthropy. Unaltered and unchanged didst thou remain amidst the
calamities and vicissitudes which harrassed thine own distracted
country.
"Behold thy compensation. The gratitude of ten millions of freemen,
the applause and admiration of every nation. Even the wilderness
smiles with joy and the savage is gladdened at thy presence.
"Amidst this jubilee of feeling, permit me to offer you again the
grateful rejoicings of my associates and brethren of the society of
Free Masons, in beholding you among us. Royal tyranny may condemn,
ignorance may reproach and blaspheme the holy mysteries of our
institution; yet with Lafayette for her support the science of
Masonry will continue to illumine and harmonize mankind to endless
ages. Gratitude must have fled from the breast of man, humanity
lose its refuge on earth, and memory lose its seat ere the virtuous
deeds of the generous, amiable, distinguished and exemplary
Lafayette shall be forgotten."
To which the General replied in an animated manner:
"The very grateful reception I have met among my brethren
demands of me an expression of my most sincere and affectionate
acknowledgements. Permit me to declare to you particularly, and
the brethren of your Lodge, an unfeigned obligation for the very
flattering regard you have been pleased to express for me.
"The science of Free Masonry, to which I have for many years been
an humble votary, is wonderfully calculated to alleviate the many
distresses and calamities to which mankind are exposed in their
variegated and manifold duties in society, and when I recur to
those scenes, to which you have been pleased so delicately to
allude, I am constrained to acknowledge how much I have been
cheered, sustained and animated in the various vicissitudes of my
life, by the holy precepts and examples of our institution.
"That you and your Lodge may be blessed with prosperity and
harmony, that the rising town of Macon may continue in its
advancement, that Masonry may flourish, and the citizens enjoy all
the social and intellectual blessings it so eminently inculcates,
I pray you, sir, with the rest of my brethren to accept as my most
sincere and ardent wish."
He remained in town but about two hours and a half, during which time,
he in company with a large number of our citizens, partook of an
excellent dinner prepared by Mr. Stovall. After dinner the following
toast was given by Edward D. Tracy, Esq.:
"Our illustrious guest--the friend of our country, of liberty, and
of man."
To which the General replied, and gave:
"The town of Macon--may its prosperity continue to be one of the
strongest arguments in favor of republican institutions."
Very soon after dinner he bade an affectionate adieu to the gentlemen
and ladies around him and resumed his carriage, at which time another
national salute was fired. He was accompanied by the Committee,
Commissioners of the town and a number of our citizens, on horseback,
several miles on his way. It is understood he intended to lodge at the
Agency; making the whole distance traveled during the day about sixty
miles.
SINGULAR COINCIDENCE OF CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE AND
BOLIVAR.
South Carolina was the first place in the United States in which they
both landed, and at no very distant spots the one near Georgetown, and
the other at Charlestown. Lafayette, a Frenchman, came by the way of
France. Both have most materially contributed to the independence of
the New World--the one in North, the other in South America; and what
is most singular, at the very period in which the one is receiving the
homage of national gratitude in the former--the other has succeeded in
his efforts for the cause of freedom in the latter place.
Among the persons who received Gen. Lafayette at Columbia, was Judge
Waites, who is the only survivor of the party that first received
him at landing on the soil of South Carolina, at Gen. Huger's in
Georgetown.
YES. TOMORROW'S FLAG DAY.
(Tomorrow, June 14, is Flag Day in the United States.)
When Freedom, from her mountain height,
Unfurled her standard to the air,
She tore the azure robe of night
And set the stars of glory there.
She mingled with the gorgeous dyes
The milky baldric of the skies,
And striped its pure celestial white
With streaklings of the morning light;
Then from his mansion in the sun
She called her eagle to bear down,
And gave into his mighty hand
The symbol of her chosen land.
Majestic monarch of the cloud,
Who rear'st aloft thy regal form
To hear the tempest trumpings loud
And see the lightning lances driven,
When strive the warriors of the storm
And rolls the thunder drum of heaven;
Child of the sun, to thee 'tis given
To guard the banner of the free,
To hover in the sulphur smoke,
To ward away the battle stroke,
And bid its blendings shine afar,
Like rainbows on the cloud of war,
The harbingers of Victory.
Flag of the brave, thy folds shall fly,
The sigh of hope and triumph high,
When speaks the signal trumpet tone,
And the long line comes gleaming on.
Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet,
Has dimmed the glistening bayonet,
Each soldier eye shall brightly turn
To where thy sky-born glories burn,
And as his springing steps advance,
Catch war and vengeance from the glance;
And when the cannon mouthings loud
Heave in wild wreaths the battle shroud,
And gory sabres rise and fall,
And cowering foes shall shrink beneath
Each gallant arm that strikes below
That lovely messenger of death.
Flag of the seas, on oceans wave
Thy stars shall glitter o'er the brave;
When death, careering in the gale,
Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail,
And frighted waves rush wildly back
Before the broadside's reeling rack,
Each dying wanderer of the sea
Shall look at once to heaven and thee,
And smile to see thy splendors fly
In triumph o'er his closing eye.
Flag of the free heart's hope and home,
By angel hands to valor given,
The stars have lit the welkin dome,
And all thy hues were born in heaven.
Forever float that standard sheet!
Where breathes a foe but falls before us,
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet,
And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us?
--_Drake._
[Illustration: It was here that Betsy Ross designed and made the first
American flag, the original Old Glory.]
FLAG DAY.
Hats off! This is The Flag's birthday. The banner of blue, crimson
and white, is one hundred and thirty-six years old, 1913. Honor the
colors today. The flag represents more than just stars and stripes. It
represents the history of the Great Republic from its cradle to this
very moment:
"Sea fights and land fights, grim and great,
Fought to make and save the State;
Weary marches and sinking ships,
Cheers of victory on dying lips.
Sign of a nation, great and strong,
To ward her people from foreign wrong.
Pride and glory and honor all
Live in the colors, to stand or fall."
Throughout the country the D. A. R.'s are celebrating this great
anniversary of our flag. Honor the flag. It belongs to every American
citizen, whether we live under Northern or Southern skies, whether
the American spirit is enthroned over civilization struggles with its
problems upon the shores of the Pacific, or turns to problems as grave
on this side.
And we are conquering the world under the emblem of Old Glory.
The world turns to us as the maker of Peace, the mightiest since
civilization's dawning, for genuine rule--those "common people," of
whom Lincoln said, "The Lord must love them, he made so many."
The first flag hoisted on American soil about which we have any
authentic record, was that seen by the earliest voyagers to our coasts.
They found that the North American Indians carried a pole covered with
wing feathers of the eagle as a standard.
Columbus, when he landed, October 12th, 1492, on the island of San
Salvador, unfurled upon the shores of the new world the first European
banners. The son of Columbus records that his father, dressed in
scarlet, came ashore with the royal standard of Isabella emblazoned
with the arms of Castile and Leon. He planted this standard together
with its companion, a white flag with a green cross, on this small
island. In the pictures of the ships of the time of Columbus these
flags may be seen streaming from the ship's mast.
In 1499, the Eastern coast of South America was explored by the
Florentine, Americus Vespucius. About the same time the Cabots planted
the banners of England and of St. Mark of Venice on the North American
shores.
The Red Cross of St. George was first raised on American shores at
Jamestown, Virginia, in May 1607 and when the Pilgrims landed on
Plymouth Rock in 1620 there floated from the mast of the Mayflower
also the red cross of St. George. Our Pacific coast had been visited
in the preceding century by Francis Drake, in his voyage around the
world. Into the New York Harbor sailed Hudson with the Dutch flag, a
tri-color, orange, white and blue. This banner, with the letters W. I.
C., floated over Manhattan Island, proclaiming the rights of the Dutch
West India Company. About the same time the Swedes floated their royal
banner in the sunlight on the banks of the Delaware. This colony from
the frozen north of Europe was so charmed with our country that to Cape
Horn they gave the name of Paradise Point, and called their little
settlement Christiana, after their far-away Queen.
During the period of our history known as Colonial and Provincial,
the English flag was used from Maine to Georgia, with various devices
and mottoes. Some flags were all red, with horizontal stripes, or red
and blue stripes. Others were red, blue, white or yellow. The flags
so frequently mentioned in the newspapers of 1774, were the ordinary
English ensigns, bearing the Union Jack. These almost always bore a
patriotic motto like "Liberty," "Liberty and Property," and "Liberty
and Union."
So I could go on and dwell on the different flags, but I must hurry to
our own, our native flag.
It is not generally known, and comes as a surprise to many, that the
stars and stripes is one of the oldest National flags in existence,
France being next; and England's present flag was not adopted until
1801.
The anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes by the
Continental Congress, June 14th, 1777, should be observed by every
American citizen.
In the year 1775, Congress appointed a Committee, of which Franklin was
chairman, to consider and devise a national flag. This resulted in the
adoption of the "King's colors," so called, as a union or corner stone,
while thirteen stripes of alternate red and white stood as at present.
This flag was publicly accepted, recognized and saluted at Washington's
headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., January 2, 1776, from which fact it
was often called the "Cambridge Flag," though sometimes the "Flag of
the Union."
After the Declaration of Independence this flag lost its point, as
nobody except the Tories wanted to see "King's colors." So in the
Spring of 1777, Congress appointed another committee to design another
suitable flag. George Washington and Robert Morris were members of the
committee. So Washington and Robert Morris called upon Mrs. Elizabeth
Ross, 239 Arch Street, Philadelphia, and from a pencil drawing of
General Washington's, Mrs. Ross made the first flag. She suggested six
pointed stars instead of five as Washington suggested and sketched. He
accepted her suggestion, and so the flag was made.
Most interesting is the fact that the making of the American flag is
largely woman's work. That the manufacture of flags has grown to be
a large industry is proven by the fact that every year enough flags,
great and small, are made to give one to every man, woman and child in
the United States. Betsy Ross made flags for the government for many
years; after her death, in 1836, her daughter, Mrs. Clarissa Wilson,
succeeded to the business. Miss Sarah Wilson, great granddaughter of
Betsy Ross, still makes duplicates of the original flag.
The great battle ships that are steaming around the world, flying
our flag under circumstances that have made the nation assume a new
importance in the eyes of millions who never before knew much about us,
have the proper flag. It would never do for the American Government
to fly an incorrect American Flag. It is a huge task to replace
all the banners used. These are the facts, that keep busy hands at
work, guiding the electrically driven sewing machines that take 3600
stitches a minute. Even though the machine that cuts the stars for the
silk and wool bunting flags can create three thousand an hour, its
operators have plenty to do. The stripes are cut from great rolls of
colored bunting or silk, sometimes by skilled operatives, and again
by machinery. The unions are cut in the same way. The stars are first
pinned on the unions, and then sewed by machinery. That is, so far as
the bunting flags are concerned. The silk flags are wholly hand work,
even to the cutting out of the stars. The latter are embroidered on the
blue field and then all the extra cloth is deftly scissored away.
The major number of small flags is printed. This is accomplished by
the aid of the engraver and presses something like those on which
newspapers are printed. Even in this mechanical work, women are found
to be more serviceable than men. It always has been their field,
and seems likely to so remain. There has been almost as much of an
evolutionary process in the manufacture, as in the arrangement of the
American flag.
On the same day that Congress adopted the stars and stripes, John Paul
Jones received command of the Ranger, in Portsmouth. He immediately
displayed the new flag at the main top, probably being the first person
to hoist these colors over a United States warship. Jones is said to
have remarked, pointing to the flag, "That flag and I are twins; we
cannot part in life or in death. So long as we will float, we will
float together; if we must sink, we shall go down as one."
The first recognition of our flag was by the flag of France. The first
display over military forces took place on August 2, 1777, at Fort
Stanwix, afterward Schuyler, New York. The fort was besieged by the
British; its garrison had no colors, so they manufactured a standard
of the approved pattern. They cut up their shirts as white material;
for stars and stripes, an officer's coat supplied the blue; and small
sections of red flannel undergarments furnished the third color. It
is said that the flag thus pieced together was greeted with great
enthusiasm and warmly defended.
The following September the stars and stripes were first displayed in
battle at Brandywine. They first waved over a captured port at Nassau
in the succeeding January. It was first borne around the world by Capt.
John Kendrick, of the Ship Columbia, sailing from Boston in 1787. It
had first been displayed in China, three years before, by Captain John
Green, of the Empress. When the first ship appeared flying the Stars
and Stripes, the new flag excited much interest and curiosity among
the people of Canton. A strange new ship had arrived in port, they
said, bearing a flag as beautiful as a flower, and everybody wanted
to see the flower-flag ship. By this name of Flower-Flag the Chinese
continued for many years to speak of our ensign, and its poetic beauty
has often appealed to our own people. The sobriquet which appeals most
strongly to the nation as a whole seems to be that of "Old Glory."
Captain Stephen Driver was the first man to christen our flag "Old
Glory." He was born at Salem, Mass., March 17, 1803. Just before he
sailed on the brig Charles Doggett, in the year 1831, he was presented
with a large American flag. As it was hoisted he called it "Old Glory"
and this was the name he evermore used for it. This flag was always
with the Captain on the sea and when he retired, he carried it home
with him to Nashville, Tenn. His fondness for his flag was widely
known, as also his being a Union man. During the late unpleasantness
his neighbors desired to get hold of this particular flag but they
searched his house and all in vain. The Captain had made a comforter
out of it, having quilted the Old Glory with his own hands. He made his
comforter his bed fellow. When peace was restored, he took the flag to
the Capitol Building in Nashville. As he saw it on top of the building
he exclaimed, "Now that Old Glory is up there, gentlemen, I am ready to
die." He died in Nashville in 1886.
The original flag made by Betsy Ross remained unchanged until 1795.
At this time, two new states had been added to the Union, Vermont and
Kentucky, and it became evident some recognition of these States should
appear upon the flag. Accordingly the number of stars was changed from
thirteen to fifteen, though much opposition was shown to this change.
For twenty-three years the flag of thirteen stripes was the national
standard. Under this banner, the United States fought and won three
wars to maintain her existence. They were the wars with France in 1799,
with the Barbary States in 1801, and with England in 1812. This was the
"Star Spangled Banner" in honor of which Francis Scott Key composed our
national song. A large national flag is kept floating over the grave
of Francis Scott Key and is never taken down except to be replaced by
a new one. This was the flag under which the good ship Constitution
sailed.
In the year 1818, the number of States had increased to twenty, and
five were in no way represented in the flag. Congress finally decided
to have thirteen stripes, and a provision that for every State added to
the Union a new star should appear in the galaxy upon the blue field,
and that this star should appear upon the Fourth of July next following
the admission of the new State. By this happy arrangement, the flag
typifies at once the country as it was when first it became independent
and as it is today. There is no law as to the method of arrangement for
the stars, but the Army and Navy regulated this to suit themselves.
We think of ourselves as a new country, yet oddly enough our flag is
one of the oldest in the world today. That of Denmark is the oldest
European standard, dating back to 1219. Next is the Swiss flag, which
was adopted in the seventeenth century.
In 1911, to the Army of the United States there were furnished 1207
storm and recruiting flags, 342 post flags, 31 garrison flags; the year
previous, 1076 storm and 355 post flags. These sewed together would
nearly, if not entirely, reach around the United States. Each battle
ship of the American Navy is entitled to 250 flags every three years,
though many are renewed oftener than this. The cost of the flags for
each battle ship is about twenty-five hundred dollars, nothing small in
this bill of Uncle Sam's for equipment, especially when you remember he
has twenty-seven first and second class battleships in commission, to
say nothing of the cruisers, torpedo boats, torpedo boat destroyers,
submarine monitors, gun boats, supply ships, training and receiving
ships, about seventy in all.
For the naval flags the United States uses up about forty-three
thousand dollars worth of material every year; pays seventeen thousand
dollars for wages, and produces an average of about sixty thousand
flags of four hundred and eight different patterns. The material of
which the flag is made must stand severe tests, for there are storms to
be weathered and a sixty mile gale can whip average cloth to tatters.
A strip of bunting two inches wide must have a strength of sixty-five
pounds when proved on the testing machine. Two inches of filling must
stand forty-five pounds. The bunting is American made and all wool and
nineteen inches wide. It is washed for twenty-four hours in soap and
fresh water and next day given a like treatment with salt water. Then
for ten days it is exposed to the weather, thirty hours of sunshine
being stipulated. The largest United States flag, 36 x 19, costs the
government only forty dollars.
There is a statute law which prohibits the use of our flag for
advertising purposes or decorating.
Where better can you realize the beauty of the American flag, and
that which it represents, than when you see it flying over school
houses or play grounds? The respect paid by the school children to
the flag by rising and standing and with right hand raised to a line
with their forehead while they pledge allegiance to their flag is most
appropriate, but the pledge that appeals to me most is that for the
children of the primary schools, which is, "I give my head and my heart
to God and my country, one language and one flag."
When you see the hands of ten, nay, twenty, nationalities raised, while
foreign tones mingle with those of our children expressing allegiance
to one flag, where better can you realize the beauty of "Old Glory?"
And though your word, your flag, your tiny nosegay may fall into the
hands of just a
"Little dirty fellow, in a dirty part of town,
Where the windy panes are sooty and the roofs are tumble down;
Where the snow falls back in winter, and the melting, sultry heat,
Comes like pestilence in the summer through the narrow dirty street,"
you are giving into his hands the flag you would have him love, and in
later years honor and defend.
The Sons of the Revolution print these regulations:
"The flag should not be hoisted before sunrise, nor allowed to
remain up after sunset.
"At sunset spectators should stand at attention and uncover during
the playing of 'Star Spangled Banner.' Military men are required to
do so by regulation.
"When the national colors are passing on parade, or in review, the
spectator should, if walking, halt; if sitting, arise and stand at
attention, and uncover.
"In placing the flag at half staff, it should first be hoisted to
the top of the staff and then lowered to position, and preliminary
to lowering from half staff it should be first raised to the top."
There is one general rule for the care of the flag which should always
be remembered. "Treat the flag of your country with respect--this is
the fundamental idea. Whatever is disrespectful is forbidden in dealing
with symbols of national existence. Do not let it be torn; if it should
become snagged or torn accidentally, mend it at once. Do not let the
flag be used in any way dishonorable."