T HE N EW YO R K D U BLIC LI B RAR Y

A S T O L E N O X R , T I L D E N F O U N D A T I O N S - T HE C O LO R B E AR E R S .

hick am a u a . - l ania I nfan t r C g ) !B ron z e Mem oria l Sev en t y N in th Penn sy v y , T HE DR A MAT I C STO R Y O F O Lp GLO R Y

SAMU E L 13131301? I ME MB E R . AME R I C AN H IS TO R I C AL ASSO C ATI O N ;

FO R E WO R D B Y

M . B E C K

B O N I A N D L I VE R I G H T 1919 !

T O T HE ME MOR Y O F F A THER SAM U E L WA R R E N A B B O TT

HO GA V M E W H N A B O Y W E , E , A BLOOD- STAI NE D FR A GME N T O F A ST A R S A N D STR I PE S O F ’63

C O N T E N T S

R U N U P ABOVE T H E M ALL

T H E FOR E R UNNE R S O F T HE STAR S A N D STR I PE S

T H E GR AND UNI ON FLAG O F 1776

LAST DAYS O F T HE GR AND UNI ON FLAG

BE NJAM I N FR ANKLI N A N D T H E STAR S A N D STR I PE S

T HE BE TSY R OSS TR ADI TI ON

O L D GLO R Y FLOATS O VE R A FI E LDO F BATTLE

T H E FLAG A N D T HE SOLDI E R O F T H E R E VO LU TI ON A FE W FLAG PR OBLE M S

T HE STAR S A N D STR I PE S O N T HE SE A

T H E STAR S A N D STR I PE S A N D PAUL JONE S

T HE FLAG AN D T HE POE TS O F T HE R E VO LU TI ON FR ANCE SA LUTE S T HE STAR S AN D STR I PE S

T H E FLAG A T VALL E Y FOR GE

O LD GLOR Y C R OSSE S T H E ALLE GHA N I E S

T H E FLAG SI N KS I NTO T HE SE A U NCO N!U E R E D

S R S A N D S R I E S UN I JA C K AN D FL E R TA T P , ON U

DE - LI S

XVIII FLAG E PI SODE S O F 178 1—1783 CONTENTS PAGE

T H E STAR S A N D STR I PE S GOE S AR OUND T H E WOR LD

T H E FLAG SUPPLANTS T H E TR I CO LOR O VE R LOUI SI ANA

O LD GLOR Y GOE S O VE R LAND T O T H E PA CI PI C

XXII T H E FLAG FLOATS O VE R AN AFR I CAN FOR TR E SS

XXIII T H E STAR S A N D STR I PE S SE E KS T H E SOUR CE O F T H E MI SSI SSI PPI

DI SCOR D AM ONG T H E TH R E E TR I COLOR S

T H E STAR S A N D STR I PE S R AI SE D O VE R A LO G SCH OOLH OUSE

XXVI T H E FLAG O N T H E SE A I N T H E WA R O F 18 12

T H E FLAG FI NDS VI CTOR Y I N D E FE AT T H E FLAG O N LAND I N T H E WA R O F 18 12

T H E FLAG A SS UM E S PE R MANE NT FOR M “ O L D GLOR Y

T W O W M E T H E F A N D T H E B K O N, LAG OO

O LD GLOR Y SE E KS T H E E NDS O F T H E WOR LD

XXXI II T H E FLAG FLI E S O VE R T H E HALLS O F MONTE !UM A

XXXIV T H E FLAG GOE S DOWN T H E R I VE R JO H DA N T O T H E D E AD SE A

STAR S A N D STR I PE S AT FOR T SUMTE R

T H E FLAG GOE S T O T H E FR ONT CONTENTS 1X PAGE

’ O LD GLOR Y S D E VOTE D FOLLOWE R S

T H E IMM OR TAL C OLOR - B E AR E R S

‘ T HE FLA G C O M E S HOM E

T H E STAR S A N D STR I PE S GOE S T O T H E HE AR T O F AFR I CA

O LD GLOR Y AT SAM OA

T H E FLAG IN T H E WA R WI TH SPAI N

O L D GLOR Y AT T H E T O P O F T H E WOR LD

TE R R I TOR I AL AC!U I SI TI ONS UNDE R T H E FLAG

T H E STAR S A N D STR I PE S A N D T H E WOR LD

XLVI T H E FLAG AT T H E FR ONT I N FR ANCE

XLVII C ONCOR D AM ONG T H E TR I COLOR S

XLVIII PATR I OTI SM A N D TH E FLAG

XLIX O LD GLOR Y A N D T H E SCH OOLH OUSE

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

T he C olor- Bearers Frontispiece

The Grand U nion Flag at B oston

St ars and St ri es and F eur- e- Lis t Y orkt own 1781 p l d a ,

T he Peacock Flag in the A rctic R egions

T he Lynch E xpedition on the R iver Belus

Independence Day in Paris

T he St ars and St ripes reaches C oblenz and the R hine 274

A n O ld Glory M ade in Secret by the Frenchwomen of

M et z

FO R E W O R D

“ ” “ F good wine needs no bush and a good play needs ” s o book no epilogue, imilarly a g od needs no fore i refiect ion u s word . This restrain ng naturally s ggest itself to one who is as ked to write a foreword for ’ b k another man s oo . has d e in Mr . Abbot t on a real service bring ing together all available knowledge with reference to the American Flag. The events of the last four years ha v e demon st rat ed the vital necessity of reviving the spirit of Amer “ canism ou r i . Thoughtful Americans sadly realize that the im nation in last fifty years has, in the matter of migration, swallowed far more than it has been able to assimilate . It is suffering from‘racial indigestion . l ed o This Colonel Ro sevelt, in his forceful and original “ a way, to suggest that America had become polyglot - s O f boarding house, and in the earlier stage the world con conflict, it did seem to many that America was a eries h g of peoples and, as suc , apparently lacking in the n u s and spirit of national co scio snes patriotic unity , which generally characterizes more homogeneous na tions . The event proved that these misgivings were h u m o exaggerated and t at America, when s m oned t a

not . he o great duty, did lack unity of spirit T call t arms did much to weld the United States into an effi u and as h s one he cient nity, , t is result i of t greatest v iii FOR EWORD

a h has ' h adv ntages w ich America gained from t e war, it is eminently desirable that full advantage be taken

“ of the changed psychology of the American people to realize more fu lly that sense of national unity without which America could never completely realize its des “ ” one o f of tiny as the master states the world . i As the Cross is the symbol of the Chr stian religion, so the Flag is the most concrete evidence o f national fin d unity. Other nations may the outward manifesta of of tion their unity in the person a monarch ; but, in

this country, despite the immense power Of the Chief

Magistrate, his tenure is too fleeting to make him the symbol of national unity. Moreover, his function as the leader of the party of the day would make it im possible for him t o occupy the peculiar relation to the

State which a hereditary monarch, who is above party who o con politics and has little real power, enj ys in s i s t tutional monarchie . the ff The Flag, therefore, is most e ective emblem of

national unity. There is need for the inculcation of such spirit of respect ; for it has been frequently noted in the great b our pu lic parades Of the last four years in large cities, that young and Old have t oo often failed to respect the F o f i lag when it passes . An old veteran the Civ l War once told the writer with indignation how he had re buked a crowd of young men who had shown such lack o f respect when the Flag was borne aloft in the street s o f New York . We shou ld begin with teaching our children the his tory O f the Flag ; for it is not easy to arouse their in t erest and enthusiasm if they are only taught that the ” FOREWORD a

Flag stands for one hundred millions of people com

O f n . posed ma y races, classes , creeds and parties The o appeal must be addressed to the imaginati n of men, o especially of the youth f the land . This explains the undying popularity and also the special utility of our “ national song : The Star Spangled Banner . It is of the connected with a thrilling incident when, in one h of darkest ours the Republic, when its fortunes were V at their lowest ebb since the days of alley Forge, a little band of Americans held out against a superio r e the s power. The po t caught spirit of the occa ion and his th h the O f found inspirat ion in e fact t at, over smoke “

he . battle, t Flag was still there

. has h a c r Mr Abbott , t erefore, done publi se vice in narrating in an interesting way the history of the Amer a ican Fl g, and it is to be hoped, not merely because it is o a readable bo k, but because it should be a potent o for weap n a quickened patriotism, that the book will u n have a wide circ latio and that, through its interesting t w pages, housands of Americans may better kno their n country a d its Flag.

JAMES M . BECK . N e 1 w h 0 . Y ork, Marc 3 , 1 9 9

T H E DR A M A T IC ST O R Y O F O L D GLO R Y

R U N U P AB OV E TH E M A L L

HIS book is concerned wholly with the history of the Flag of the United States from the days of its existence as the national ensign of an infant State confined to a narrow fringe of sea-board backed of by a rampart hills , to the hours of a mighty People whose gates are on two oceans and whose Will for

Liberty has been impressed upon the world . The chronicle Of our Flag from 1 777 to 1 9 1 7 dealt with a record that exemplified a Nation content to Obey a of political maxim its first President, maintaining a proud remoteness from internatio nal troubles beyond o the field f its hemisphere . But the Stars and Stripes o f 1 1 t o 1 1 8 9 7 9 was , and is , a living thing thrilled through all its threads with nerv es of sympathy for peoples tyrannically oppressed . It could not droop on its staff when every wind from oversea came laden with the weeping Of women and children and the can - n an e non roar Of lines entrenched for e d g red Liberty . Over the very waters that ebb and flow above the L usitania 1 flaunt shattered sailed Paul Jones in 778 , ing before the eyes of Europe a Flag made by women 2 THE DR AMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY and girls of the young Republic of the United States . i in 1 1 8 in i i On a n ght 9 , a l ttle Scott sh hut, inspired women made an O ld Glory from a design tattooed on

' armo f T uscama the a sailor, that the men of the might go to their graves under their national symbol . In the darkn ess that shrou ded that hu t were ghostly mem ories of the same heroic Jones as he sailed the R anger

Dra ke O ff d an d to meet the a Scottish hea l , the Red , White and Blue of his ensign glimmering against a hostile coast . The Flag has followed an old sea- trail in its j ourney across the Atlantic to take a stand at the apex of the wedge of tricolors thrust into the heart of Kingship . no w on Am i i From we, as er cans awake to the mean ng O f our heritage, can never refuse to follow the Stars and Stripes into any field O f the globe?that demands the instant appearance O f an unquestioned sign of Lib

ert . so o y And , this bo k, to be complete , is to follow, step by step throu gh a trail of dramatic and romantic i i O f ou r inc dents , the thrill ng story Flag from the days of its birth in a quiet street of old Philadelphia down to the hou rs of its triumph in the cannon- roar of the i h ghway of the trenches in France .

The American Flag has called fo rth a number of ’ “ on i books its h story . Geo . Henry Preble s History ” the F i of of lag of the Un ted States America, which 1 8 2 first appeared in 7 , is still the authoritative work in the field , though many of its conclusions require i i rev sion in the l ght of recently acquired knowledge . ’ “ Peleg D . Harriso n s The Stars and Stripes and Other ” Arn erican 1 06 Flags , published in 9 , may be ranked “ ” R U N U P ABOVE THEM A LL 3

second as a carefully prepared history of Old Glory . The National Geographic Society issued in 1 9 1 7 an on h excellent handbook the Flag, giving muc of its his tory, and there are at least eight or ten other books that O f i cover the story Old Glory , all of them present ng deVi practically the same historical matter, with little o ation into paths f new and important research . i ou r is It is curious that, wh le the record of Flag i one of thrill ng, dramatic episodes , no writer has grasped the idea of a book that would give these epi sodes d in their true light, not exaggerate , and linked together in a running narrative . All predecessors in this important field hav e either written books contain of ing disconnected series salient related events , or pre o in pared b oklets j uvenile atmosphere . Yet there is a Story o f Old Glory that moves onward maj estically and through a chain of associated episodes . To move of in current with these episodes , has been the plan o the auth or f this history . The reader will find matter in The Dramatic Story of Old Glory” that has not hitherto been given in any ’ r histo y O f the Flag . The explanation of Trumbull s errors in his famous paintings ; the complete account the O f of and significance, the raising Old Glory over ’ Fort Stanwix ; the proof of the Flag s being unfurled over the camp of the Continental Army on the eve of the battle o f the Brandywine ; the interesting theory as to Benj amin Franklin’ s being the originator of the Stars and Stripes ; the grandly romantic drama of the Flag through the Civil War ; and the story of Old Glory at the front in France at the close of the late war ; all this is new and important material . 4 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

- o Every school house has , or sh uld have, a Stars and i i Stripes over it . Th s history has been written w th the

- u i i schoolhouse and the comm n ty in View . By mak ng

- use of the Table of Flag Topics at the end of the book, o a teacher, or a leader in community w rk, will be able to correlate certain great events in the history of the i i - in Nat on and of the Flag, w th school room work i American History or with patriotic and civic exerc ses . As in i i o a handbook Amer can zati n, The Dramatic ” O i Story of Old Glory has a field f d stinct service . one o The story of Old Glory is not wholly f war . Practically all other histories of the Flag err in an o o overemphasis f the Flag as an emblem f battle . u it s The splendid stories of h mane work under folds , and of the extension of knowledge O f the globe through i d scovery under its lead, are given in this volume in adequate detail . b O ld The sole aim has een to give Americans , and “ o r y ung, in The Dramatic Sto y of Old Glory, the i thrill ng, inspiring history of their Flag, in a manner that shou ld create a nation-wide reverence for it as ’ m o - a sy bol f patriotism . To day it fulfills Whitman s prophecy written fifty years ago :

0 hasten fla , g of man, 0 with su re and stead ste y p, Passin hi hest a s o f in s g g fl g k g , W a su reme t o t he hea ens mi ht s lk p v , g y ymbol ; R un u abov e them all p , F a of stars thic -s rin ed bunti l g , k p kl ng .

i i on i - If we are to ma nta n it h gh , a world sign Of o f Democracy , we must know intimately the story its o growth to power and d minion . T H E FO R E R U N N E R S O F T H E ST A R s A N D ST R IP E S

HE Stars and Stripes had many forerunners on n i America so l , banners that were local in their n ces one f sig ifican . If one were able to place point o o on the a gigantic pair of c mpasses Pennsylvania, true keystone Colony and State, lying with six of the orig the inal historic thirteen to the North and six to South ,

he would be in a position to diagram the real, drama

o f o . For of the inception Old Gl ry , by extending the other point until it touches the heart of Maine and then Philadel swinging it to the South , still pivoting on phia, until it rests on the Carolinas , he will reach the three historic fields of as many historic flags , each a “ ” fo r or . tribal a national symbol We say tribal , the Pine Tree Flag that undoubtedly went with Ar nold and Morgan into the snows of a Maine winter, 1 on that daring march to Quebec in 775 , was the sign of New England at war . And the Palmetto Flag of of Fort Moultrie and the heroism Sergeant Jasper, was an emblem of the Southern tier of Colonies in arms . The Stars and Stripes , in perfect form , sprang into being at Philadelphia, the medial city of the old n O f Atla tic line of cities and towns , the home the fl Declaration of Independence . There were other ags h s in t o e stirring days , called into life by the ardor of 5 6 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY zealous patriots seeking a sign under which to rally B u t it and to fight . we leave to other historians and other pages to record the stories of such banners as

u . the Bedford, Westmoreland, P laski and Eutaw flags We will now take up thestory of the flags that were actually displayed in the camp of the Continental o of Army ar und Boston, six months after the battle

is of u 1 1 6 . u . B nker Hill It the morning Jan ary , 77 i of o We are on Prospect H ll to the northwest B ston, i w th an army of almost muskets , beleaguering Howe and his British grenadiers in the old Puritan town . Lexington and Concord , with their skirmishes, u o in which the Bedford flag fig red , are already d wn

of . u in the type history Bunker Hill has been fo ght, to give heart to a raw militia and a sad lesson to certain o famous regiments f King George the Third . We are not su re if any American flag was carried on u u into action B nker Hill . John Tr mbull , in his “ of painting, The Death of Warren at the Battle ’ ” Bunker s Hill , shows two flags in his picturing of the of crucial moment the struggle ; a Pine Tree Flag, which may have been on the hill , but probably was

u na not there, and a regulation British ensign , which u do btedly was present . In a later page of this book, will appear an explanation of the reason for doubting ’ Trumbull s accuracy in regard to flags . t o- There is day, however, in Chester Cathedral , Eng a o f -fla land , fragment a blue battle g which , it is claimed , was captured from Americans at Bunker Hill . ou If y ever visit Chester Cathedral , the verger will point to a British flag hanging on the wall of the

- nave, and tell you that it was borne up the fire swept

8 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

u o m so th , and visit men fr m the fringe of Colonies fro C o New Hampshire to Virginia and beyond . These l onial forces have flags emblematic of colonial variety and modes o f life . We note the crimson silk flag of he C t Hanover Battalion from Lancaster ounty, Penn i i it s i rifleman sylvan a, w th figure Of a front er , gun “ ib ” in a . h nd , beneath the motto, L erty or Death C onnecticu t men are here with standards that distin ui i in o g sh each reg ment, made solid colors ; yell w, blue, i i b u i scarlet, cr mson , wh te, azure, l e aga n, and then “ i o ui t ranstulit su s orange . The r C ol ny motto is ! ” i i G od O f t net, mean ng that , who transferred men u t o i W ethersfield Massach setts Bay W ndsor, and d u o f C Hartfor , to become the fo nders a great ommon wealth , will uphold them . This motto appears on some of their flags . u We wander on thro gh the camp , and are greeted d i i F of by the pre om nant P ne Tree lag Massachusetts , “ ” i t o w th its words , An Appeal Heaven ; by the white i banner of New York, w th a black beaver stitched to its center ; by the Rhode Island white flag centered “ ” i u i o w th a bl e anchor w th the word , Hope, and m st i i u n s gn ficant in its bl e ca ton with thirteen white stars . u a If we look f rther, we may see the R ttlesnake Flag

i i i and - of V rg n a the Carolinas . As to day is the first u 1 6 in reor a of Jan ary, 77 , we have fresh mind the g niz at ion of the Continental Army commenced this morn ing . The Rifle Battalion has been made the First i 18 Reg ment of that Army, and its flag described by a “ soldier as follows : O u r standard is to be a deep green u gro nd , the device a tiger partly enclosed by toils , attempting the pass defended by a hunter armed wi th T H E FORERUNNERS 9 ‘ a spear !in white); on crimson field the motto Do mari nolo !I refuse to be subj ugated). Such is the array of flags under which the Conti nent al Army at the siege of Boston has been guarding run i lines that over h lls , valleys and streams , in a i u i semicircle of anx o s vig lance . There is great need of u i o f u of a more real n ty p rpose , a deeper sense of “ o his the obligation f the soldier to cause . Can we i in i have a standard , a flag that embod es tself the idea o f our coOperat ion as thirteen distinct political units i i ? is warring w th a s ngle purpose As yet, there little no o ou r or desire to break away fr m mother country ,

Great Britain . It is appropriate that this flag shou ld symbolize our adherence t o ou r common resolu tion to stand to the death for certain inalienable rights and u o ou privileges . It sho ld als represent r loyalty to the ’ nobler elements of England s Constitution . It must also express our own u nion in thirteen Colonies that o realize in themselves , in their aloofness fr m Europe t i o and in heir instinctive g ft of cohesi n , a seed of Em pire that is individu al . of And so, as a natural result a desire to achieve an is t o Army that be one under a single standard , the “ ” Grand Union Flag is about t o be raised over the on trenches Prospect Hill , this chill morning of the i 1 6 . first of January, 77 The men are falling into l ne, ffl o of mu ed in h mespun , some them wearing the warm riflemen of caps of the frontier , made the skins of

. A ccou animals Musket barrels have been polished .

terrnents e . have been mad neat The squat cannon , thrust through openings in the trenches , have been loaded . Suddenly the men look to the crest of the 1 0 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

ff hill where, accompanied by his Sta and mounted on

o - of his h rse, George Washington appears at the base

ff . a tall pole, a sta cut from a nearby forest Near i u of i him stands a l ttle gro p sold ers , one of them hold ing a flag whose stripes of red and white ripple from h is his arm s in t e strong wind . There a low word of o flut ter command . The new standard g es quivering,

in u i i t o the ff . g and t gg ng at its hall ards, to the p Of sta A wild cheer sweeps along the line of the Continental

Army of America . Cannon and muskets blaze and i i bellow . Caps go whirl ng nto the air . ! in C 01 Washington said , a letter to . Joseph Reed , “ 1 6 his military secretary, written January 4 , 77 , On the day which gave being to the new army— we ho isted in i the Union flag compl ment to the‘United Colonies . i 2 What is th s Grand Union Flag . How is it com ? n posed In the ca ton are the crosses of St . George i i an d . t h St Andrew, taken , w th heir blue field , stra g t “ ” o from the meteor flag f old England . But the greater part of this new flag is contained in the thir of teen alternate stripes red and white, symbolic of the thirteen leagued Colonies that stretch from New i t o Hampshire to Georg a . In years come after this ‘ 1 1 6 ori January , 77 , historians will quibble over the of or i gin , the nspiration that prompted, the thirteen stripes . Some of them will point t o the striped flag in of the East India Company, frequently seen Ameri can waters . Others will produce the flag of the Phila i its of delphia L ght Horse, with thirteen stripes blue o and silver in the cant n . What matters it who sug gested the design when Washington and his offi cers

NE W PU B LIC LIB RARY

A S T O L E N O X R , T I L D E N F O U N D A T I O N S THE FO R E R U N NERS 1 1 conferred at headquarters ? A flag with a meaning has been fashioned . o - B ost on ' as Fr m this snow swathed hill near , this n one flag comes rippling dow at sunset, can see the shadowy dusk of evening brooding over hills and val h i . t e leys and rivers Throughout coming night, w ll blaze the eternal stars that are to give superb beauty i to the stripes of red and white . The cr mson glow of sunset rests on the hill . It trembles on the white ridges

. t of the snow With its las faint flare , the evening o star appears . Nature gives prem nition of the great of world emblem Liberty yet to come forth . T H E GR A N D UNION FLA G O F 1 776

HE history of the Grand Union Flag from Janu 1 6 t o 1 one i ary, 77 , June, 777, is of no l ttle mys er i u t y. There are but four ep sodes of the Revol tion du ring these eighteen months that stand forth as pre o f senting this flag figuring in historic scenes . One is one on them on land , two are on the sea, and is a t o u lake . There appears have been some conf sion in the minds of historians and painters of this year and in ou r a half history, as to the use of the Grand Union “ F u i lag . John Trumb ll , whose pa nting, The Death ’ of of Warren at the Battle Bunker s Hill , we have i 1 - 6 at ment oned, was in the camp at Boston in 775 7 , ’ ached i ff u k t to Wash ngton s Sta . He sho ld have nown if the Grand Union Flag was carried into action du r in i u g the campa gn around New York and , later, thro gh those swift and dramatic struggles at Trenton and i . B u t t o Pr nceton Trumbull , as he confessed , sought perpetu ate the faces of the chief acto rs in the drama i i of the Revolut on , and had l ttle concern for absolute “ d i his u fi el ty in painting backgrounds . His B nker ” “ Hill and his Declaration of Independence are v al u able u only as gro pings of portraits . They are of little worth as presentations of the events as they must h ave occurred .

1 4 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY the Flag revealed behind the three satisfactory figures ’ in the fo reground is the Flag of 77 and not the Grand ’ o 6 i Union Flag f 7 ; yet the comb nation of boy, men F u i i and lag is pla s ble , as Amer cans regard their Flag, i of and properly, as the living symbol of the sp rit the Declaration of Independence and our definite march toward freedom . i Leutze, pa nting his picture on the banks of a Ger i of man r ver, where the cakes floating ice gave him his o i o o of base of comp s ti n, w rked in a mist faulty i conception . George Wash ngton was an athlete, but it is doubtful if he could have stood in the prow of a of ac small boat in the heart a howling storm that, o i c rd ng to the records , threatened to throw men and horses into the Delaware . The boat in this painting no of i is t the boat the t me and the occasion . The costumes are not those of the Continental Army of ’

1 6. 77 The faces of the men are German and , tis a o of horror to c nfess it, the countenance the soldier holding the Flag is said to be that of Frederick the on of Great . The Stars and Stripes , that wild night high adventure, was still to be designed in a room in i Ph ladelphia, thirty miles away .

It seems proper to make these corrections here, as they naturally precede our stories of the Grand Unio n i Flag tself. In a way, they serve to accentuate the lesson of a persistent error in putting down in the of of r black type and the colors the b ush , a number of curious misconceptions as to the true places of the n o i Gra d Uni n Flag and the Stars and Stripes in h story . our We are, at this stage in book, on the threshold of an era that puzzles and exasperates many a student THE GRAND UNION FLAG OF 1 776 1 5

of . t o the Flag It is a pleasure to be able state, with

full confidence, that we have come upon certain records of the Revolution, private j ournals , even sermons and to i addresses, that serve stra ghten out what has been of a rather crooked trail investigation . 1 6 In March , 77 , Howe and his grenadiers left Bos of ton, never to return . A detachment the Continental

Army marched through the streets of the city , follow a i ing Grand Union Flag borne by Ens gn Richards . i who An historian of the Un ted States , wrote nearly “ one : hundred years ago, said As the rearguard of e the enemy were leaving the city, Washington ntered i it on the other side , with colours , now striped w th thirteen lists , floating proudly over his army , drums ” beating and all the forms of Victory and triumph . of to - It is interest note here that as the well equipped , n splendidly u iformed regulars of stubborn George III, oflicered by men who openly confessed a weakness for i B the American cause , went sa ling down oston Har 1 1 bor, they passed the Castle where, in 79 , an English

' ship waS t o fire the first British salute in honor of the S o of i Stars and tripes . A m re detailed account th s salute will be found in a later page of this history . Among the men who marched into Boston under the riflemen who on Grand Union Flag were frontier , hear

ing of Lexingt on and Concord almost a year before, came through t o the camp of the Continental Army

- i - well n gh at a dog trot . With the Rhode Island troops k who i rode Greene , the blac smith had studied m litary i tactics at his forge . Later, he was to cross swords w th

Cornwallis , Rawdon and Tarleton in the Carolinas .

Near him was his friend Henry Knox, the big, burly B boo d i t h e t ma n oston kseller who, ur ng past Win er, dragged the captu red cannon Of Ticonderoga behind o u eighty y ke of oxen , all the way from the H dson to C u - u d the harles , thro gh the snow mo nde passes of the i hefli eld Berksh res at S , and over the last stretch of the “ ” t o Old Post Road , plant them on Dorchester Heights

i . and d scomfort Howe As he rode by , Tory Mather him one u and re Byles hurled at of his awf l puns, ce v ed i u u i a rap d verbal thrust in ret rn . Impet ous i Putnam was there , w th his fellow soldier from Con necticut n of , brave, faithful K owlton, beloved Wash in on o t t . g , who was fall at White Plains Behind the r d of e and white stripes the Grand Union Flag, on 1 1 6 that eventful March 7, 77 , were men who were to rally beneath that greater, more perfect Flag to i come, the Stars and Str pes , and go down with it into history as its creators and intrepid defenders . u Near the Old South Ch rch , a mother and her little o i son may have st od . Abigail , w fe of John Adams , could have come into town with the boy John Qu incy t ’ Adams , to witness the occupation by Washing on s

. 1 1 army On June 7, 775 , as she tells us in her letters , from a hill in their home village they had watched the i smoke roll ng up from Bunker Hill to the north . In to the decades come, this boy, then in his ninth year, was t o be linked in history with the son of a Virginia carpenter and mason, James Monroe, at that moment, in his eighteenth year, busied with his books at college V in irginia . They were to be the two Americans who would father the Monroe Doctrine and warn the I m perial States of Europe that the Stars and Stripes would not consent to the planting of any Old World T H E GRAND UNION FLAG O F 1 776 1 7

flag on American soil without the permission of the

United States .

After the evacuation of Boston , the Grand Union of o i t o Flag and its field acti n sh fted New York, New

Jersey and Pennsylvania . The Colonial fleet that sailed from Philadelphia early in 1 776 went to sea

u . i nder this flag A letter wr tten in Newburn, North

. 1 6 Carolina, Feb 9 , 77 , contained the following

“ a ent eman f rom Phi ade hia e hav e eceiv e the By g l l lp , w r d pleasing accou nt o f the act u al sailing f rom that pl ace o f the fi rst American fleet that ever swelled their sails on the W est

ern O cean . “ his fleet consists o f fiv e sai tted out f rom Phil adel T l , fi hia hich are t o be oined at the ca es o f Vir inia b tw o p , w j p g y mo re shi s f rom M ar and and is comm anded b dmira p yl , y A l

o ins a most e erienced and enerab e ca t ain . H pk , xp v l p “ They sailed f rom Philadelphia amidst the accl amations sem ed on the o f u occasion under the dis of thousands as bl j y l , a of a Un ion fl a with thirteen st ri es in the e d em pl y g, p fi l , ” bl ematical o f the thirt een Unit ed C olonies .

t o Esek Hopkins , of Rhode Island , sailed the fleet ad the West Indies and captured New Providence . In dit ional verification of the statement that the Grand

- Unio n Flag flew at his main truck, we quote from a on 1 1 6 letter from New Providence May 3 , 77 , by a “ resident : T he colors of the American fleet were he striped under t Union, with thirteen strokes called ” h the Union Colonies , or, in ot er words , to repeat our fla of h description, a g t irteen red and white stripes , with the Unio n in the canton— the upper corner next the staff when the flag is flying— showing the crosses and Scotland . N anc of W ilmin The dramatic story of the brig y, g i t on at i . , Delaware, enters th s po nt She was com manded r dau h by Captain Hugh Montgome y , whose g ter Elizabeth published in 1 85 1 a volume of reminis cences in which she claimed that the flag of the N ancy was the Stars and Stripes, although the brig, after cruis ' b o 2 ing in West Indian waters , was l wn up on June 9 , 1 6 77 , nearly a year before the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the national Flag . This error shows us again how inaccuracies have crept into the story of the O f flags used during the years the Revolution . Miss Montgomery amplified her claim with the ex

' dina t raor r . y statement that, while at St Thomas in o f 1 6 of of Decl ar the Spring 77 , news the signing the ation of Independence reached the officers of the N anc ao y, and was followed by an elaborate dinner companied by a daring display of the American flag at masthead . This second claim spoiled the whole of o her narrative as an hist rical document . There have w’ been fugitive beliefs , in isolated quarters , that Betsy l Ross made a few sample flags of the famous design of 1 777, months before the t ime of the first appearance of Old Glory, even ahead of the date of the Resolu h tion in Congress t at gave us ou r Flag . Miss Mont gomery probably was deceived by a tradition current in her family, and undoubtedly was sincere in her claim ’ of N anc s t that Thomas Mendenhall , the y crew, s itched together a real Stars and Stripes from a design on paper or from an oral description given by one who had seen h m of . e a pre ature edition Old Glory Of course, t er THE GRAND UNION FLAG OF 1 776 1 9

’ o fo is n basis in fact r Miss Montgomery s contention . What may have happened is t o be contained in the suggestion that news of the adoption of the Grand i Un on Flag, with a hint at independence from Great a a Britain, traveled overse to St . Thom s , and was magnified in the passage . It must have been a Grand

Union Flag that young Mendenhall made . Even the o i whole story is so cl udy that it mer ts oblivion , were no in d it t for its splendid finale recor ed history .

After a stirring escape from the West Indies , the N anc little y pointed North for home waters . All went well until the Delaware shores were reached . There, r sur ounded by a British fleet, she was run ashore in an ff u B u t e ort to save arms and amm nition . the English oo were t active . A swarm of boats bearing armed m o sea en sw oped down upon her . For almost twelve he h ff hours s f oug t them o . All her rigging and spars went by the board , shattered . Only the splintered o one shaft f mast remained . Her defenders decided to blow her up, that the cargo might not be taken . A f fuse was laid to the store o powder . The captain and h four ands were the last to drop into a boat . And then of one the four men , well named John Hancock, o chanced t glance up at the mast . He saw the Grand u Union Flag streaming defiantly in the wind . Witho t t o N anc a word , he leaped into the sea, swam the y, climbed the shivering mast, unfastened the flag,

o . plunged int the waves with it, and swam ashore ” “ o Why did you do it ? he was asked . T save the ” or e w as beloved banner p rish in the attempt, the fli terse yet su cient reply . The picture of this man Hancock emerging from the 2 0 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

u i i in his in s rf with the dr pp ng flag arms , stands out sharp relief against the early and hazy history of the

o f i . For i flags the Revolut on here , as w th Sergeant F i o 2 8 Jasper at ort Moultr e on the day bef re, June , 1 6 i i i i 77 , there was an nstant recogn t on of the mean ng of a flag as something much greater than merely being i a pretty th ng of colored cloth . Beloved banner o f u u were the words a plain man, ttered nearly a f ll century before the day when the Flag became overnight a thrilling Voice calling to men and women t o surren der themselves in a passionate devotion of defense . They call across the gulf of the years to the men of 1 86 1 1 1 8 r and 9 who, wrapped in the ete nal mantle of of the Stars and Stripes , entered the black silence

Death without fear .

2 2 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

when Washington assumed command . We refer to the habit of presenting an imposing array o f bayonets he at t muzzles of the rows of muskets . It is doubt fu l one in in if man a hundred , the Continental Army

- u fo r his flint . before Monmo th , had a bayonet lock It ’ was one of Steuben s chief du ties to inform the Ameri can soldier at Valley Forge that a bayonet had a pur pose more vital than the serving as a Spit in the broil ing of steak . In connection with the need of accuracy to i of F in in regard the h story the lag, this book, we shall strive to correct incidental mistakes such as this o f the bayonet . One finds a more satisfactory treasury of sketches i i o and pa nt ngs , even carto ns , that concern the story of our flags , in the contemporary records of the Amer o u ican navy in the Rev l tion . From the very opening of ou r u out the war, little armed fleet fl ng ensigns that were u nmistakably of the Colonies and up- to f s date . An English print o E ek Hopkins shows him i t wo in i t w th flags the background , one the L ber y and i “ Pine Tree Flag of New England , w th the words An ” H eav en ~ u on o Appeal to p it, and the ther the Rattle u snake Flag of the So th , with the snake twisting over b u t . the thirteen stripes , without the Union Before i i i s a go ng into act on , a ship always displayed t nation l i i i colors , and Engl shmen had many opportun t es to see and copy in sketches , very rarely to take by hand , the

flags of the bold little American fleet . The designs of these flags became current property in Europe . It is with no small satisfaction that we tu rn to an u illustration in which the Grand Union Flag fig res , a - R o al av mere water color hastily executed, of the y S LAST DAYS OF GRAND UNION FLAG 2 3

’ a e of re g , one the ships that took part in Arnold s

C 1 6 . markable fight on Lake hamplain in October, 77 The record of the Grand Union Flag in this battle gives us one of the most dramatic flag- stories in Amer ican history . 1 6 In the Fall of 77 , England planned to split the Colonies by a drive do wn the line of Lake Champlain o f and the Hu dson River . In anticipation the threat in ened invasion , Benedict Arnold was placed charge of col of the campaign defense . He improvised and lected of a flotilla fifteen small ships and boats, armed with eighty- eight guns and manned by seven hundred men , all under the Grand Union Flag. His two lead o o ing ships were the R yal Sav age and the C ngress . The menace of this flotilla compelled the British to

- fiv e prepare a fleet of twenty vessels , armed with

- eighty nine guns , and carrying a force of six hundred and seventy picked men . 1 1 his On October , Arnold assembled fleet behind V alcour Island , and was at once attacked by the Brit ish flotilla . The fight was sharp and deadly . The R o al Sav a e y g , flying the Grand Union Flag, became unmanageable under fire and was run aground on the

. the island During the night, she was burned by Brit “

. o on C on ress ish Arn ld , the g , pointed almost every un e g with his own hands and cheer d on his men . The flagship was struck seven times between wind and

- water, and twelve times below the water line . On the Washin t on g , Gen . Waterbury, who was in command , ffi N ew Y or c . / was the only o cer left alive The lost all ffi her o cers save Captain Lee . After nightfall one of the most daring escapes in 2 4 THE DRAMA TIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

one American history was effected . One by , with in shaded lanterns their sterns , the broken remnants o f the little Continental fleet sailed right throu gh the

i . British l nes, unmolested At dawn the astonished Englishmen saw the masts of the American ships at a the upper reaches of Lake Ch mplain and , aided by a i i favor ng w nd , came up with Arnold and resumed the i action . Aga n there was desperate fighting and a reck i i less defense, end ng with the runn ng of the wrecks o f the American fleet ashore and setting them afire with i ’ . i colors flying The fin sh was a sacrifice, w th Arnold s riflemen i i , posted beh nd rocks and trees , protect ng with “ their deadly fire the Grand Union Flag u ntil all was

u . o n i cons med These , men , bent keep ng the flag it from falling into the hands of the enemy, stood by

t o . the last minute What a shame that Arnold , who

sO ' abl had led them y and heroically, should later prove a traitor to his colors ! There are historians who assert that the fight at C i Valcour Island saved the olon es from destruction . It put an abrupt stop to British attempts at invasion

' until reenforcements cou ld arrive and a new plan be “ evolved . Gardner W . Allen, in his A Naval History ” u i of the American Revol tion, has this lluminating “ passage : By the time the British had taken Crown o i an d P int the season was far advanced . Th s fact the presence of a formidable American force deterred them ‘ u from at once attempting the capt re of Ticonderoga . i and i They withdrew to Canada for the w nter, the r purpose O f occupying the valley of the Hu dson and separating New England from the other states , was put off . They returned the next year under Gen . Bur LAST DAYS OF GRAND UNION FLAG 2 5 i goyne, but the opportun ty had passed . Howe had t o and gone Philadelphia, Burgoyne, unsupported from the south , was forced to surrender his army at Sara toga . The French alliance followed as a direct con sequence . The American naval supremacy on Lake Champlain in the summer o f 1 776 had compelled the British to spend precious time in building a fleet strong u t o i eno gh overcome it . The Amer can defeat which r followed was a victo y . The obstruction to the Brit ish advance and a year’ s delay saved the American cau se from almost certain ruin. It thus came about o f through a singular instance the irony of fate, not altogether pleasant to contemplate, that we owe the salvation of our country at a critical j uncture to one ” of the blackest traitors in history . With the ashes of a Grand Union Flag falling into i the waters of Lake Champla n , the curtain is rung down on the story of the immediate predecessor of the O Stars and Stripes . Three stray evidences f its active part I n the Revolution close ou r history of its career . - R o al Sav a e The water color sketch of the y g , found i . o t among the papers of Gen Schuyler, sh ws stream ing in the wind over the stern of the ship . Ambrose o f Searle, Confidential Secretary Admiral Lord Howe i 2 1 6 of the British Navy, in a letter wr tten July 5 , 77 , spoke of the Grand Union Flag at New York as fol lows : They hav e set up their standard in the fort upon the southern end of the town . Their colours are O f thirteen stripes red and white, alternately , with the ” English Union cantoned in the co rner . The third piece of evidence is a strip of Carolina paper currency he fla of t time of the Revolution, with this g printed ” 2 6 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

his upon it . Save for these three fragments and the toric episodes already described , we have scarcely a shred of evidence that supports any statement of the Grand Union Flag’ s appearance again as an emblem o was i one of rev lt . Its brief life a romant c . The men who fou ght and died under it gave warrant that the true Flag o f the united Colonies knit together in a defi nite bond of independent States would not lack heroic defenders . B E N JAMI N FR AN KLI N A N D T H E ST A R S A N D ST R IP E S

E are confronted with a most perplexing and alluring problem when we attempt to discover the sources of inspiration for the Stars and Stripes as - o we see it to day . Historians who appr ach the sub

ect t o t d ff . j with confidence, come conclusions hat i er m of Some of the , of the school Parson Weems , are em phatic in their belief that the coat-of- arms O f the h Washington family, with its stars and orizontal of fo the stripes , or bars , gave the idea the design r

. h Flag This is a pretty conceit, that meets with a s arp rebuff in the personality of the Father of his Country . The man who fled precipitately from the room in I n dependence Hall when John Adams proposed him as

-in - Commander Chief of the Continental Army, would have made impossible any effort to perpetuate his fam ’ ily crest in his country s emblem . Washington said, “ much to the point, We take the stars from Heaven ,

' the it red from our mother country, separating by white stripes , thus showing that we have separated o W os fr m her, and the hite stripes shall go down to p ” e i t r ty representing liberty . the It has been suggested , and suggestion is seconded one two by or investigators, that the Grand Union Flag may have been formed by placing six white 2 7 2 8 T HE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

strips of cloth across the red ensign of Great Britain . This hint at the possible method of fashioning this ’ 1 is i flag late in 775, strengthened by Wash ngton s o in his p etic analysis of Old Glory , especially words , “ ou r u i the red from mother co ntry, separat ng it by ” T wo in white stripes . logical steps procedu re read di il . i i y come to mind First, the sprea ng a red Br t sh i i on and ens gn , with its crosses in the Un on , a table i six of i lay ng strips wh te cloth across the red field, to

i . obtain the th rteen stripes , seven red and six white i The result gives us the Grand Un on Flag . N o w o i 1 g over the months to the Spr ng of 777, and imagine a Committee in Philadelphia determined on eliminating every trace of Great Britain and Ge orge O ld the Third from the Flag . As Endicott , in Massa chuset ts cu t i i days , the cross from the Engl sh ens gn, i deeming it an obnoxious eccles astical symbol , so, in a ochr hal — o a milder mood , that p yp Committee Hist ry has hidden them behind her curtain— took shears in hand and cut the Union from the Grand Union Flag,

o of . . n with its cr sses St George and St A drew . u i u Then, q te naturally, arose the q estion , What can we place in that significant corner of the Flag? What device will typify the new United States ? i in Some wr ters found the constellation Lyra, the i i t Harp , which s gnifies harmony, the inspirat on hat

C . of our led the ommittee to the stars One them , if i f or memory is not askew, g ves John Adams credit the suggestion . There is a measure of ingenuity in this for o guess , Lyra is near the zenith in June , the m nth of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes . H h on Peleg D . arrison contributes this paragrap

i id is i i ica, an Ind an ma en , seated beh nd him, hold ng i is 1 6 a shield on wh ch the date 77 . In front of the i i leopards are two Ind ans , one carrying a flag bear ng the Franklin device of the snake divided into thirteen and t i parts , the other a flag of h rteen stripes . Pass in i ing the opposite direct on , beyond the chariot and i to i i i i turn ng fall in beh nd it, is the Ph ladelph a F rst o i Tro p , at its head a flag of thirteen stripes alongs de

- - the French standard showing the fleur de lis . Above this group and completing the pattern is Franklin him of i self, with the Goddess L berty, following the thir teen stars on a shield borne by Mercury up to Fame , who is blowing two trumpets at the entrance to the temple .

e . 1 a n We go back ov r twenty years In 754, Benj mi ff Franklin, in his e ort to impress on the Colonies the of need of concerted action against the _ forays the u in i French and Indians , p blished the Pennsylvan a Gaz ette an engraving representing a rattlesnake curved and severed into eight parts . The head was marked “ fo six i i N . r New England and of the rema n ng “ “

o . P . secti ns bore the initials , N . N , “ ” “ ” o u V . and N . C . The tail st od for So th i i Carolina and Georgia . The versatile Ph ladelph an , “ u according to Pa l Leicester Ford , in his The Many ” “ ' i i and sketches t o il Sided Frankl n , made d agrams

’ lustrate and explain his writings . Long after his retirement from active printing, the Continental Con gress secured his aid in the designs of the currency . During the Stamp Act times he made a symbolie cal print which had considerable vogue . While serv FRA N KLIN AN D T H E FLAG 3 1 ing in the Continental Congress he was appointed a member of the commrt t ee t o prepare devices for a ” great Seal . ’ i own W i In Frankl n s ritings we find that, dur ng the of i early wars the e ghteenth century, the women of i i Philadelph a, by subscr ption among themselves , pro ‘ v ided silk colors which they presented to the compa i i ” n es , pa nted devices and mottoes , which I supplied . There is in existence to - day a picture of a flag which

Franklin designed in the years before the Revolution . not n There is a tradition , accepted by historia s as fl , s a ornteii authentic, that Congre s pp a committee in 1 775 to go to the camp at Boston and consult with Washington in an attempt to decide upon a flag that

u of . . 0 wo ld meet the demands the hour On Sept 3 , 1 775 , Congress did select Benj amin Franklin , Benj a re esen min Harrison and Thomas Lynch , as their pr tat iv es; and this committee reached Cambridge near i the m ddle of October . They remained for conference on t war matters for nearly a week, and then re urned t o ’ Philadelphia . In their report to Congress , no men for tion was made of a flag the army . he We hold that Franklin was the man , when t per sonnel of the Continental Congress of 1 776-77 is con sidered m , to be ost greatly interested in the movement toward having a flag that should represent the United

States and their purpose . The incontrovertible facts “ ” of his making a symbolical print du ring the S tamp

A ct l t roubles , his service as a member of the Congres “ siou al Committee appointed to prepare devices for a ” ” and great seal , his supplying devices and mottoes

“ -fla s in connection with the making of early battle g , apart as the man best equ ipped fo r the task of invent

ing a flag interstate in it s meaning . b i We elieve that the comm ttee, of which Franklin as i i w the head, that conferred w th Wash ngton in the 1 did di u camp near Boston in October, 775 , sc ss a new i flag, and did, at the time, dec de upon the Grand Union Flag as an opportune stan dard And we go beyond of fl a - im that statement g creed, to the much more o f i portant expression faith, that Benj amin Frankl n or of was the creator, one the creators , of the Stars a and Stripes . If one of group , he was undoubtedly

the dominating figure . Now see how beautifully this bit of Parisian chintz

our . o n fits into argument Franklin arrived in Paris ,

o 2 6. t . 2 1 his mission France, on Dec , 77 Sydney “ George Fisher reminds us that the French always be liev ed that Franklin was the originator of the Revo ion n l ut . We k ow he carried Paris by storm , that a perfect volume of elaborate prints was published re him on o f vealing as a being the slopes Olympus , j ust i a few feet below the immortal Gods . Anyth ng and ’ everything that had t o do with Franklin s life as phi 1050 was pher, scientist, writer and statesman , trans

- lated into the graphic formula of the copper plate . Franklin drawing lightning from Heaven ; Franklin rescuing America from destruction ; Franklin hobnob bing with Jo ve ; there was much illuminated apothe old osis of the shrewd Philadelphian .

Franklin invented the rattlesnake, cut into sections , as a device typifying the Colonies sadly needing co hesion h during the Frenc and Indian wars . The Rat FRANKLIN AN D T H E FLAG 3 3

On h h t lesnake Flag appears t is piece of c intz . Frank lin knew the composition of the flag of the Philadel phia Light Horse— it was from his home town— and

cou ld describe it to Frenchmen . He must have done so or , it never could have been included in this inter o be esting design we are studying . Did he g a step yond that ? Were the thirteen stripes and the thir teen stars associated in his mind as the proper elements for a flag yet t o be sewed together ? Did he write h m to Philadelphia, to friends in Congress , telling t e o f his inspiration ? We conclude that this extremely interesting bit of chintz with the date 1 776 was made soon after Frank 1 6 lin arrived in Paris , late in December, 77 , or in the hs opening mont of 1 777. It was intended to extol him “ the wh o as the originator of the Revolution , man

wrested the thirteen Colonies from Great Britain . As he surely gave its designer the scheme of the B attle snake Flag and that of the flag o f t he Philadelphia

Light Horse, he may have hinted at the thirteen stars a nd the thirteen stripes as appropriate parts to be com bined o in a flag soon t be a reality . ’ Harrison, following Preble s lead, tells us in his h istory of the Stars and Stripes that the Gran d Union

Flag went across the Atlantic with Franklin . We “ quote a paragraph : The C ontinental Union flag was R e rlsal first shown in European waters by the p , Cap

tain Lambert Wickes . She sailed from Philadelphia ,

1 6 . for France , in September, 77 , with Dr Benj amin who had Franklin, recently been appointed United o of as States minister at the c urt France, on board as p

senger . While on the trip across she took several 3 4 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

i prizes , which were d sposed of in France, being the first English captured Ships to be carried to France since the beginning of the war for American I ndepend ence . an on had one So Fr klin, this voyage , more than graphic pictu re of the Union Jack of Great Britain flu ttering against the sky near the Grand Union Flag i i of the Un ted States . His miss on to France was to impress Frenchmen with the fu ll force of the fact t hat the Colonies had severed all links that had bound them t o England . He must have recognized how utterly ou t of place were the British crosses of St . George and F St . Andrew in the recognized American lag that flew he i from t mast above him . He had des gned flags in e the years that had gone before . He may have se n in his mind ’ s eye a vision of Old Glory when the stars of evening came out above the swaying topmasts Of R e risal the p . T H E B E T SY Ross R A DI T I O N

E F ORE we emerge from the field of speculation-q t o as the origin of the Stars an tripes , we must get through the thicket of the Betsy Ross problem . ffi one f This last di culty is not an easy to ace, for the tradition of the making of our first complete national 15 al F g in old Arch Street, Philadelphia, has become a most fetish with good Americans . There are count less thousands of men and wo men in the United States who accept an historical narrative, especially if colored ’ a of e n with hue romanc , without a moment s i vestiga

ru . tion into its merits as t th The Betsy Ross story, 1 8 0 f first given to the public in g 7 , almost a century a ter o the event it is supposed to pr ve, has gone into book after book as solid truth . Like the legend of the boy e his Georg Washington and hatchet, it is neat but sus icio s p u . Recently a perfectly sane man came into our office of who and , with the air one had a real message to o his unfold , t ld us that near home in a city in West ern Massachusetts lived a niece of Betsy Ross . The r estimable woman , gifted with a keen memo y, had a of fund anecdotes of the life of the real Betsy, and was accepted by her neighbors as a bona fide link with 1 2 a wonderful Past . Betsy Ross was born in 75 , one 3 5 - d hundred and sixty seven years ago . We hande our on of visitor a scrap of paper, which was the result a i n H ow little example in subtract on i terms of years . old u i o f wo ld your n ece Betsy Ross have to be , to have i of memor es the living Betsy Ross we inquired . He

u of . never had tho ght that Like many Others , he had accepted as fact what a few minutes O f analytical u ou tho ght w ld have shown to be an impossibility . We are not on the verge of an effort to demolish the story of Betsy Ross and the making of the first e Stars and Stripes . The w ight n f the evidence appears to be in favor of this tradition of the making of the i o orig nal Old Glory . Were it not f r the inj udicious i claims of certain members of the Ross fam ly, claims utterly unnecessary and even dangerous to the life of i i an ep sode accepted as fact, though frag le, we should be inclined to set the whole matter down in this book the verbatim, in accord with evidence as presented e by counsel for th defense . o : at The story, in brief, is as f llows According to one least historian , Betsy Ross made State colors for - of ships before the Flag Resolution Congress , of June 1 1 4 , 777, determined the Stars and Stripes as the na io a fla - i for t n l standard . She was engaged in g mak ng the Government after that date, and her daughter, Mrs . i t o o owe Clar ssa Wilson , wh m we much of the accepted i i trad tion , succeeded her in business and suppl ed ar senals , navy yards and the mercantile marine with flags for years . The main elements of the story are in the fragments we now present . Betsy Ross was the widow of John Ross who died from the effects of injuries received

1 6 h and Stripes pattern as early as June, 77 , w en

Washington chanced to be in Philadelphia, and that they were in common use soon after the Declaration of

S . r Independence was igned Mr . Canby was eleven yea s 1 8 6 old when Betsy Ross died in 3 , yet he waited until 1 857 before crystallizing in writing her relations of reminiscences of events associated with the Flag . That gap of twenty-one years before the committal of his t orical data to the stern rigidity of printed words, in ’ o jures the value of Mr . Canby s interesting contributi n to the literature of the Flag . Another argument against the possibility of the 1 6 Stars and Stripes being in use as early as June, 77 , “ J fla is found in the words of ohn Paul Jones , The g t ” and I are wins , uttered when he was told that his appointment to the command of the R anger was of the as o 1 same date the Resoluti n in Congress , of June 4, 1 777, that adopted the Stars and Stripes as the na s t ional emblem . Paul Jone loathed the Rattlesnake on n Flag, frequently displayed ships of our little avy 1 6- and of 77 77, was precisely the man to seize upon and run to a masthead such a glorious emblem as Old 1 Glory, were it in existence prior to June, 777. You o the C on may scrutinize all the rec rds of Revolution , ressional c g files , daily papers , prints , do uments in Eu ropean museums an d libraries ; you will not find a scrap of evidence the size of a ten-cent piece in sup of the h port Canby t eory . This claim is a distinc t t e for drag on the progress of h Betsy Ross legend , it

stresses an argument based on hearsay, oral transmis r o sion , when the t uth we seek is that l dged in the writ the ten or printed memorials of period . T H E BETSY Ross TRADITION 3 9

1 1 On June 4 , 777, the Continental Congress passed the following Resolution :

R esolv ed hat the fl a of the thirteen United t a e o , T g S t s f merica he t hirt een st ri es a t ernate red and hite that A p , l w ; t he u nion be t hirt een stars hite in a b u e e d re resentin , w l fi l , p g e on e tio a N w C st lla n .

u With that date and that Resol tion , began the his tory of the Stars and Stripes as a living symbol of o Nationality . There will be a few events ass ciated h of F wit the early records , the lag, as we are to give u u them, that will req ire caref l attention , as they are i o f not presented clearly in other h stories the Flag, ou or have been neglected . But we are t of the period o f extreme unce rtainty that prevailed during the years h 1 and 1 of t e Continental standards of 775 776. O LD GLO R Y FLO AT S OVE R A FI E LD O F B AT T LE

HE affair at Fort Stanwix in the summer O f 1 u s u ro 777 gives a sing larly dramatic, even ou r i mantic, initial chapter in h story Of the real Stars d and Stripes . A vivi flame of patriotism sprang spon t aneously into glow in the midst of that garrison in o f e central New York, then the heart the Northw st

ern wilderness . It was fitting that the contribu ting O f u 6 1 elements in the brief story A gust , 777, should have been loyalty to country and heroic courage in the o i face f seemingly inev table disaster . The Stars and on Stripes literally blossomed forth suddenly that day, an unheralded sign of independence and a will t o fight

to the sternest extremity . Our main source of authority for the presence o f “ the Flag at Stanwix is A Narrative of the Military ” Actions of Colonel Marinus Willett, published in

1 8 1 . 3 Secondary sources are, a j ournal of the siege i i kept by a pr vate soldier, a letter wr tten by Captain a one Abrah m Swartwout, and at least passage from histories published during the first half of the nine een h in t t century . It is necessary, covering a short of 1 ground preface , to state that in March , 777, Wil lett led in a quick attack on the British at Peekskill , a bayonet charge that drove the red- coats to their ships 40 OLD GLORY OVER BATTLEFIELD 4 1

on the Hudson . In the booty captured were a few ” “ o : blankets and cloaks . Now note the f llowing A ‘ “ us blue cloak, taken here, as Willett tells , served afterwards to make the bl u e Stripes of the flag which we hoisted du ring the siege of Fort Stanwix . The “ ” is i o blue stripes a sl p of memory . We are t find the ’ n i correction i a later page of the C olonel s narrat ve . i i i u i There is reason to bel eve that, in d str b t ng the booty, this blue cloak was given to Captain Abraham

Swartwout . The narrative of the first appearance of our Flag in battle demands consideration of the whole chain of events connected with the investment and relief of ’ o i i F rt Stanw x . We shall use Colonel Willett s j ournal in freely . As he reminds us a sentence to follow , this of u fort controlled the entire valley the Mohawk . Sit of ated in a wilderness , described by British writers the period as a network o f ravines and dense forests and of thickets , it was the only barrier in the way invasion

- from Canada by way of Oswego and the river valley . Stanwix once in the hands of a hostile fo rce approach ing from the northwest t o effect a union with Bur goes goyne coming do wn from the direct north to Strike u o the upper reaches of the H ds n at Albany , the result meant the annihilation of the loyal militia of central i of of New York , the rally ng thousands Indians under of and the standard Great Britain , the probable over th row of the Continental Army guarding the river a pproach to New York City . Stanwix, held and main t ained fo r al as a base American operations , would ways be a thorn in the flank of major British opera tions . 4 2 T H E DRA MATIC STORY O F O LD GLO R Y g

i of 1 t In the spr ng 777, a few hundred men were sen

i u d o . to Fort Stanw x, n er Colonel Peter Gansevo rt When warnings o f a possible advance by the British from Canada by way of Oswego began to co me down

' it i e from New York, was dec ded to re nforce the little garrison and pu t the fort in condition to endu re a i i C ol i . s ege . No m stake was made in select ng Marinus Willett as the man to lead what appeared t o be almost ’ “ o hO e N o i ' a f rlorn p . w for W llett s j ournal Upon ’ ol i i C . un W llett s arr val , the fort was in a weak and

. of tenable state This fort, built where the village now Rome stands , was considered to be at that early period the principal key to the whole of the Mohawk i country . It had been bu lt by Gen . Stanwix, in the

1 8 . . year 75 It was a square fort , with four bastions — But since the conclusion of the French war the fort had i fallen into decay ; the d tch was filled up , the pick ” ets had rotted and fallen down . Willett at once dis i b in charged the eng neer who had een charge of repairs , and set to work to strengthen the fort . During Ju ly the first premonitions of the coming “ u o f storm began to appear . Sco ts Indians , belonging u v i to the enemy, had been freq ently discovered in the c ni o i i t f . u y the fort On J ly 3 , three l ttle girls were wo . T outside the gates , picking blackberries of them i ir who were killed by the Ind ans , and the th d , escaped , “ had been shot through the shoulder ; the wound i proved sl ght, and she soon recovered . “ of u w as On the last day J ly , advice received that a number of batteaux loaded with ammunition and provisions were on their way under a guard of two hun ’ - . M . dred men These boats arrived about 5 o clock P . , OLD GLORY OVER BATTLEFIELD 43

— on the second day Of August . The fort had never been supplied with a flag The necessity o f having one in had , upon the arrival of the enemy, taxed the v ention of the garrison a little ; an d a decent one was i soon contrived . The white str pes were cut ou t of ammunition shirts ; the blue ou t of the camlet clo ak taken from the enemy at Peekskill ; while the red stripes were made of different pieces o f stuff procured ” frOm of one and another the garrison . Pe rmit us to interpolate a motion-picture of what probably happened in the little sto ry of the making ne of that Flag . O account tells us that the two hun dred men who came up the Mohawk in boats brought with them a printed description of the Stars and Stripes as adopted by the Resol u tion of Congress of u 1 1 i o J ne 4 , 777 . Th s descripti n had appeared in a of Pennsylvania paper . If ever a body men needed u a banner nder which to fight to the death , it was that i small garrison m les removed from military aid, cut off S u i u , urro nded by Brit sh reg lars , Hessians and

Indians commanded by St . Leger and Sir John John u of o son . We find the audacio s courage Gansevo rt o and Willett , and their men, v iced in the simple words “ ” The fort had never been supplied with a flag, and n in their determination to have o e. One little acre of Americanism would show its colors and defy an enemy o present in superior force t do his worst . So they taxed their wits and scoured the fort for material from h an i whic to fashion mpromptu American Flag, the first ’

and . a Stars Stripes to face a foe Some wom n s fingers , or perhaps those of the little girl with the bullet-scar in her h h r h s oulder, stitched toget er that c ude Flag, wit 44 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

u i C i ffi o the sunb rned, l the ont nental o cers and men lo k b in u i i i . ing on , s nl ght or y the flare of fl cker ng candles And Abraham Swartwou t gave up his beau tifu l blu e i or British cloak to fu rn sh the field for the stars . F t unat el i ou r i i b y for us, to ver fy po nt ng at A raham as - his u u 2 1 8 the man , we have to day letter of A g st 9 , 77 , in which he reminds C ol . Gansevoort that he had been i d “ promised e ght yards of broa cloth , to make good my

u u u bl e cloak which was sed for colors at Fort Sch yler, ’ i for so Stanwix was called in 78 . Capta n Abraham Swartwout must have been as thrifty as he was pa io c t r ti .

’ To return t o the narrative from Willett s j ou rnal . i u u i By the morn ng of A g st 4 , the Ind ans had increased one u en to thousand in n mber, and had completely “ ” fle- fi e circled the fort . They commenced a brisk ri r i i i accompanied by terr ble yell ng, wh ch was continued i ” at intervals the greater part of the n ght . To meet and this force, greatly augmented by the British Hes o n h d in i sians an , there were Stanw x the five hundred i s i e' and fifty sold er of Gansevoort and W llett, re nforced ’

. wo u by Lieut Col . Mellon s t h ndred men of Colonel ’ Weston s Massachu setts regiment of the Continental

- line, who had brought in with them the word picture o f the Stars and Stripes . T o i the East of Stanw x, there was assembling a band o f - d i men under lion hearte Gen . Herk mer, determined on marching to the relief of the fort . A messenger from Herkimer got through the British lines du ring of u 6 the morning A gust , with a letter bearing the date “ August 5 . Willett says , Arrangements were imme diat ely made to effect a diversion in favour of Gen

With those cheering men beneath the Old Glory of i C om Stanwix, stood a boy, Robert W lson . When of wallis surrendered at Yorktown , Ensign Wilson, ’ i t o Wash ngton s army , was delegated collect the cap u ed i t r flags , e ghteen of them German Hessian, and

- six of them British . In the four event crowded years 1 1 1 from 777 to 78 , that boy witnessed the drama of the Stars and Stripes in the Revolution from that first o Act set in a little f rt in a wilderness , to the final Act

at Yorktown when the curtain came down on the Red , White and Blue aligned in triumph with the White

and Gold O f France . There was much prophecy in “ those five British flags hoisted on the flag staff under ” old the Continental flag at Fort Stanwix . All Americans of to- day who love their Flag should n never forget that picture seized from a va ished Past, the Stars and Stripes fluttering in defiance against a stormy sunset fringed with the dark deeps of a wild i i forest, with seven hundred men cheer ng and look ng ,

a . up at it from the par pets below Two other forts , ’ io v to figure in the Nat n s history to come, were to oice : M cH enr the same brave, indomitable spirit y and

Sumter .

We close this chapter with three quotations . Ban “ ” in of i croft, his History the Un ted States , says

I t was the fi rst time that a capt u red banner had floated ” under the St ars an d St ri es f the r p o epublic.

i i in A minor h storian, wr ting early the forties of the

last century, said

W i ett carried off man s oi s and raise ll y p l , d a t ro hy under ‘ p the A merican fla oatin o er the ood g fl g v w en f ort . OLD GLORY OVER BATTLEFIE LD 47

C olbraith l The diary kept by William , a so dier of ’ Gansevoort s regiment, lately found in an old chest , ’ o C olbraith defi corrob rates Willett s narrative . says , nit ely :

A u . . E ar this A . M . a C ontinent a fl a w as made g 3 ly , l g ’ b the officers of C ol . Ganse oort re iment was hoisted y v s g , ’ and a cannon e e ed at the enem s cam was red , l v ll y p, fi on 3 )— “ oc sio A u . 6. Four co ours ere a so ta en and this ca n . g l w l k , immediately hoisted on our flag st aff under the C ontinent al ”

fla as t ro hies of ictor . g, p v y

And so we have our first big dramatic picture in the

r . was Story of Old Glo y The setting admirable . The old of x Mohawk trail , which Stanwi was then the west one ern sentinel, was to become of the highways that led to the West and the Flag’ s vast Empire of con quest and settlement . All honor to the men who were , 1 o f in 777, the wardens the gate under a Stars and

‘ Stripes made by their h ands and defended with their lives . T H E FLA G A N D T H E SOLDI E R O F T H E RE VOLUTIO N

of E have seen , in the story of the defense Stan i of i of wix, that the American sold er the t me the Revolution had begun to comprehend the meaning “ the of the new Republic . He saw in the Flag over ” o mu corner f the fort nearest the enemy, something ch of s e greater than pieces red , white and blue cloth wed i t s F together . When Col . W llett, referring to hi lag, ” o of i i sp ke the necess ty of hav ng one, he gave us the keynote t o the cou rage and the Americanism of the i men with him . Those reg ments from New York and

Massachusetts , that defied St . Leger and his superior k force, new that they were stationed at Stanwix not as of representatives two Colonies recently become States , but as a loyal part of the Continental Army of the of United States America . There are definite points in the orderly progress of ’ a nation s growth that may be called nodes . At these ’ points it is well t o tie knots in the string of one s his ou r tory . In imaginary thread we fasten a tag t o the for A 6 1 knot ugust , 777, and there is an Old Glory

pictured on this tag. We hope to acquaint thousands of children with the story of Gansevo ort and Willett an h is d their seven undred men, for, if there a calendar 48 T H E FLAG AN D T H E SOLDIER 49

of F u o f great dates in the Story the lag, s rely that day in the summer of 1 777 must not be overlooked .

u t o i . of . We ret rn Stanw x On the afternoon Aug 7, 1 777, the day following the sally, the English sent a i u con wh te flag to the gate of the fort , and req ested a ’ ference . Once more we take up Willett s narrative . “ who e i i Col . Butler, command d the Ind ans , w th two

ffi u other o cers , were cond cted blindfolded into the fort

1 his i i - and received by C 0 . Gansevoort in d n ng room . of o The windows the r om were shut, and candles were i lighted ; a table also was spread , covered w th crackers , e one of che se and wine . Three chairs , placed at end 1 o C 0 . t w the table, were occupied by Butler and the O ffi ther O cers , who had come with him ; at the other end l C 01 C o . . Col . Gansevoort, Mellon and Willett were o or seated . Seats were also placed ar und the table f

ffi u i as many o cers as co ld be accommodated , wh le the rest of the room was nearly filled with the other offi i i cers of the garrison , nd scriminately ; it being desirable that the Officers in general should be witnesses to all that might take place or A ncrom i ff A Maj , w th a very grave , sti air and a ” of countenance full importance, rose and delivered o f in himself a pompous speech, the course of which he “ said , I am directed , to remind the commandant that

u the defeat of Gen . Herkimer m st deprive the garrison

Of all hopes of relief, especially as Gen . Burgoyne is so o or now in Albany ; that, so ner later, the fort must fall into our hands — Should the present terms be re ected of o j , it will be out of the power the C lonel to n who restrai the Indians , are very numerous and much a ex sperated , not only from plundering the property, b o oeS ro m t h e l . o f b l t h e ut t y g ives , pro a y, greater part

of the garrison . Maj or Ancrom lied when he said that Bu rgoyne was B u t i did n in Albany . Gansevoort and W llett not k ow that the British army of invasion was still many miles o f u d from the upper waters the H son . What they did n of i k ow was the temper the Ind ans , who had lost many warriors and not a few chiefs in the fighting at

Oriskany and around Stanwix . They realized that, of in all probability , the surrender the fort meant as many scalps carried off in fiendish triumph as there were men and women within the shelter of the para o f pets . The splendid phase their defense was their profound sense of the importance of the fort to the i United States , their revealed feel ng that it was Amer t ican soil under an American Flag, and hat they were

there to defend it to the last gasp of the last man . o Gansevoort nodded t Willett . The latter rose “ from his chair and , looking the important Maj or full ” “ ou in the face, replied, Y have made a long speech su erfluities t o i which, stript of all its p , amounts th s ,

that you come from a British Colonel , to the com not mandant of this garrison , to tell him that if he does of deliver up the garrison into the hands your Colonel , he will send his Indians to murder ou r women and c hildren . We are doing our duty and this garrison e of is committed to our charge, and we will take car

. out of ou it After you get it, y may turn round to o t o i lo k at its outside, but never expect come in aga n , ” unless you come a prisoner . The room rang with a

volley of applause . The history of the siege and the relief of Fort Stan T H E FLAG AN D T H E SOLDIER 5 1

wix finds place in few books . It is unknown in most ’ schoolrooms in the United States where the nation s

history is taught . We suspect that the reader will wish t o share with us the story of the result of this

heroic defense . The British , with their Hessian and

Indian allies , settled down to starve the garrison into di submission , and began to g trenches that zigzagged

o . i toward the fort, preparat ry to an assault Someth ng ’

t o . on had be done , and that quickly At ten o clock 1 0 and the night of August , Willett a Maj or Stock well slipped from the gate and crawled through the

British lines . When they reached the river, they o lo cr ssed on a g, and were then enveloped in black o darkness in a swampy w od . There is a quaint sim ’ “ plicity in Willett s narrative at t hl S point : Placing

themselves against a large tree , they stood perfectly

quiet several hours . At length , perceiving the morning ”

ou t . star, they again set They actually got through

the wilderness to General Schuyler, and had the satis

’ ‘ faction of witnessing Learned s Massachusetts Bri gade, with the First New York Regiment, under way fo r Stanwix . ’ England was no t slow to recognize Willett s exploit . The British Annual Register for 1 777 contained the “ following : Col . Willett afterwards !after the sally) o e ffi underto k, in company with anoth r o cer, a much more p erilous expedition . They passed by night ’ o thr ugh the besieger s works, and in contempt of the i danger and cruelty of the savages , made the r way for fifty miles through pathless woods and unexplored u and re morasses , in order to raise the co ntry bring u an i lief to the fort . S ch act on demands the praise even of an enemy . While Willett and Stockwell were in the deeps of i d i i i i the w l erness , the Br t sh sent nto Stanw x another

ffi i it s u . o cer under a wh te flag, to demand s rrender Gansevoort’ s reply was terse and intensely American “ is d i u i i u It my eterm ned resol t on, w th the force nder to d i my command , defen th s fort to the last extrem it in i y, behalf of the Un ted States , who have placed i i ” me here to defend it aga nst all the r enemies . 2 1 u On August 3 , 777, the vang ard of the little ’ C olbrai h s di army of relief appeared . t ary tells us ” i u one u that th s force n mbered near tho sand men, and that there was “ a discharge of all the cannon from ” i n e io u i i . the bast ns , amo nt ng the whole to th rt en i i V i Rather s gn ficant that olley from th rteen guns, in tru th a national sal u te to the unconqu ered Old Glory i B u that waved over the northeast bast on . t even the c o i i echoes rea hed no enemy . W rd of the com ng rel ef ’ d u one had filtere thro gh to St . Leger s force and, and m n i . all , they had deca ped haste Once more a pas sage from the British Annu al Register for 1 777 “ N othing cou ld have been more untoward in the pres i ff ent cond tion of a airs , than the unfortunate issue of i di io th s expe t n . nwi Sta x was a portent . Some chord of brotherhood as men partners in one Nation found it s dominant in “ ” that Flag over the corner nearest the enemy . Ganse ’ “ v oort s resolu tion to defend this fort to the last ex ” t remit in O f u s y, behalf the United States , gives all the text we requ ire when we seek to ascertain the spirit Am i i Of the er can sold er at Stanwix . He was American

A FE W FLAG PR O B L E M S

1 0 1 N May , 779 , Richard Peters wrote a letter to General Washington from the War Office I n i f Ph ladelphia . Here is the portion o this letter that interests us

A s to C o ours we ha e ref used them f or nother R eason l v A . T he B aron Steuben mentione d when he was here that he would sett e ith our E ce enc some a l w y x ll y Pl n as t o the C olours . I t was int ended that every R egiment should hav e two C olou rs — one the St andard of the United St ates which should be the same throu hout the rm and the other a e iment a g A y, R g l co d n c C olou rs which vary ac r i g t o the f a ings of the R egiments . B ut it is n ot yet settled what is the St andard of the United I f our E ce enc i therefore f a or us ith our St at es . y x ll y w ll v w y O inion on the Sub ect we i l re ort t o C on ress on the p j , w l p g Sub ect and re uest them t o est ab ish a Standard and so j q l , soon as this is done we will endeavor t o get M aterials and ” ffi i n r order a Number made su c e t f or the A my.

That letter was written in Philadelphia nearly two in 1 and years after the Flag was adopted June, 777, from a place within a few feet Of the Hall of the “ adoption . The sentence, But it is not yet settled ” o f i what is the Standard the Un ted States , has stag gered more than one stu dent o f the history of the Flag . o One man does not attempt t explain it . Another 5 4 A FE W FLAG PROBLEMS 55

a g sps and stares at it, and then stammers out something about the vast ignorance of Peters . ne There is much comfort in the words , o the Stand ard of the United States which should be the same ” throughout the Army . We do not accept the expla nation of men who are inclined to believe that the - e 1 1 Flag Resolution of Jun 4 , 777, since it was one with a group of four Resolutions all referring to the

American Navy , standing second in the five, aimed at supplying a national ensign for the little American no he fleet and t one for t Continental Army . That is a pure dodging the problem . The Stars and Stripes had been appropriated by the Continental Army as its peculiar Flag, but there were sections of the territory of war where the Colonial standards still waved un in 1 a challenged 779 ; witness the fl gs of Savannah , ’ f l o C o . Pulaski s Banner, and the Eutaw Flag William ’ Washington s Horse . Richard Peters was right . There was not 1 o f , in 779 , a general recognition the Stars and Stripes as the only battle -flag for Americans from e New Hampshire to G orgia . But his letter in no mea s sure disproves the tatement that the heart of the Cause, the little group of officers and men of the Continental o Army around George Washingt n , held allegiance to

one . but standard , the Stars and Stripes Sergeant William Jasper and his flags of Fort Sul livan, afterwards Fort Moultrie, and Savannah , come to mind as a good Opening for a discussion of the con fusion that clouds the records of the several Colonial

- and State battle flags of the Revolution . This man figured in two stirring scenes that had flags for their the motives . It was natural that in the first of two, on u 2 8 1 6 that of Fort Moultrie J ne , 77 , the Palmetto Flag of the C arolinas should go through an experience d in u that caused it to go own history as famo s . There is an interesting little side note to be brought o i in here . The American pe ple , will ng to be fooled o ub in a g od cause, recently accepted a calendar p lished u on i by a prominent Ins rance Company, wh ch Jasper appeared struggling up the redoubt at Mou l i trie with a Stars and Str pes in his arms . The artist knew the facts and , in his original sketch , showed the “ Palmetto Flag. We must have Old Glory, no mat ” u ffi ter what the tr th , said the o cials of the Company o thus following in the trail of J hn Trumbull . ’ of Even the printed accounts Jasper s heroism , given in histories , clash in their conclusions . In the manu “ ” oc script, Life of Brigadier General Peter Horry, curs this story of this man and his flag at Moultrie “ un Above my g , on the rampart, was a large American r o flag hung on a ve y high mast, f rmerly of a ship the -of- men war directing their fire thereat, it was , from their shot so wounded as to fall , with the colors , over o the fort . Sergeant Jasper f the Grenadiers leapt over rt the rampa , and deliberately walked the whole length of o the fort, until he came to the col rs on the extrem of m f ity the left, when he cut the sa e rom the mast, ff and called to me for a sponge sta , and with a thick cord tied on the colo rs and stuck the staff on the ram ” part in the sand . ff “ ’ Jasper was o ered a lieutenant s commission , but no r re as he could neither read write, he modestly ‘ ’ u t o ffi f sed to accept it, saying I am not fit keep o cers ’ company, being only a Sergeant . ‘ A FEW FLAG PROBLEM S 57

’ We now go on to Jasper s second and final act of on daring under a flag . In the assault Savannah , Oct .

1 i u 9, 779 , an attack as d sastro s to the Americans and he u i i t French as was B nker Hill to the Brit sh , two s lk one u of flags , red and the other bl e , made by the wife i Major Bernard Ell ot , and presented by her to Moul ’ trie s Regiment, were carried into action beside the i i m Lilies of France . William G lmore S m s tells us , “ i i ” in his The Life of Franc s Mar on , that one of them “ u u u n was borne by Lie tenant B sh , s pported by Sergea t i Jasper ; the other by L eutenant Gray, supported by c ona d i Sergeant M D l . Bush being sl ghtly wounded o i early in the acti n , del vered his standard to Jasper, now for . better security Jasper a second time , and B u t o . t fatally wounded , restored it the former at the f i i i o t u . moment tak ng , B sh rece ved a mortal wound i i his an d He fell into the d tch w th ensign under him , e ” it remained in possession of the nemy . bo i After reading the a ve, wr tten nearly eighty years a o g by a man who had the facts at first hand , how are we t o account for this circumstantial statement of a “ u i modern historian , Jasper, wo nded and dy ng as he i u was , se zed the colors, and s cceeded in saving them from falling into the hands of the British . He was

i . o carried to camp , and d ed soon after Just bef re he ‘ expired , he said to Maj or Elliot, Tell Mrs . Elliot I lost my life supporting the colors she gave to our regi ’ ment . ofli cer of of A Hessian , writing the surrender Bur ’ 1 goyne s army at Saratoga, in 777, said in his letter, o f in speaking the American Army drawn up in line, “ for There were regular regiments , also, which want not . of time and cloth, were yet equipped in uniform These had standards with various emblems and mot ” i ffi toes . The Hess an o cer was right . There were “ b ” standards with various em lems and mo ttoes . “ Horry says the flag of Fort Mou ltrie was a large i ” Amer can flag, although we know it was a Palmetto F u i i lag, bl e w th a wh te crescent moon in the corner u e au where the canton us ally app ars and, as some “ ” t horit ies i ib assert, hav ng the word L erty upon it in of an d large letters . What were the flags red blue o f the assault on Savannah ? Were certain of the thirteen States in the habit of designating t heir own special standards as “American” ? We believe that the Stars and Stripes was adopted 1 of i in 777, as the standard the Cont nental Army, and that there were many minor banners carried into ao tion by troops that fought in areas removed from the fields of campaign of that Continental Army under i C ol o Wash ngton . . William Washingt n followed a crimson damask flag made by the girl of his heart - and this flag, still in existence, flew over the fields of the C a n no owpens d Eu taw . It is w known as the Eutaw

Flag . Pulaski , who fell with Jasper on the slopes at fla a Pu Savannah , had for his particular g the f mous laski Banner, made for him by the Moravian nuns at ’ “ o Bethlehem , Pa . Longfellow s p em, Hymn of the ’ Moravian Nuns at the Consecration of Pulaski s ” i n Banner, was inspired by this flag, which is still tact . A flag taken by the Hessians at Long Island , o A u n . 2 1 6 was g 7, 77 , deep red in color, with the “ of word Liberty upon it . An English print the 6 . 2 8 1 action of Oct , 77 , shows the Americans bearing A FE W FLAG PROBLEMS 59

a flag with a white field, In which is a crossed sword ff o and sta , the latter surm unted by a liberty cap ; above ’ ‘ i or the design is Patrick Henry s motto, L berty ’ his - Sa~ Death . Jasper and fellow color bearers at i Vannah carried red and blue s lk flags . Truly it is a “ ” case of confu sion worse confounded . ’ There were two men in the group of Washington s u generals who knew what flags meant, who m st have been not a little perplexed at the multiplicity of Amer

ican banners . Steuben was one and Lafayette was the h s of 1 0 1 ot er. Richard Peter , in his letter May , 779, Steu quoted at the opening of this chapter, referred to ’ “ ben s purpose to settle with Washington some plan ” as to the Colours . Lafayette was on the field at r Brandywine, ve y much so in fact, as he was wounded He during the battle . must have been in the camp of th e Continental Army on the night before the ac

of . tion . And now we have a ray light At twilight of

. 1 0 1 Sept , 777, a few hours before the Brandywine , “ th e Rev . Joab Trout preached a sermon in the pres ence of the American soldiery, General Washington , o ffi General Wayne, and the ther o cers That sermon was found a few years ago, in manuscript form , and “

: . we quote from it It is a solemn moment , brethren Does not the solemn voice of nature seem to echo the sympathies of the hour ?T he flag of our co untry ff ” droops heavily from yonder sta . i h Here s proof, final , conclusive, t at an American Flag flew over the camp of the Continental Army on the evening before Brandywine . No man would say, “ ” T he of 1 flag our country, in September, 777, and ha e G or F v a rand Union Flag, a Pine Tree lag, or a 60 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

i in u . if Rattlesnake Flag, f ll s ght And the Flag was i on ff i i u d splayed a sta w th n a few ho rs of battle, we may rest ass u red that it was not absent when its Army i o o f C rece ved the sh ck the attack of ornwallis . The boy Lafayette wo u ld have been one to see that Old

Glory went u nder fire . n i Bra dyw ne was followed , in a few weeks , by the

u . overthrow of B rgoyne at Saratoga George Canby, “ his u i F in The Evol t on of the American lag, says , “ There seems no doubt that the flag was used at the of u o 1 1 u surrender B rgoyne, Oct ber 7, 777, as Tr m ’ bull s painting of the su rrender shows an American ” Flag with the stars in a circle . This tu rning to Trumbull for proo f of the presence of Old Glory at Princeton and Saratoga must be put u u u an end to, and s mmarily . John Tr mb ll went to u u i England in to st dy painting, and was a p p l u i u Of Benj amin West . He fell nder the nfl ence of the ’ “ ” i in . u i latter s method of work His B nker H ll , pa nted ’ ’ “ u West s st dio, was modeled closely on West s Death ” o N ow i i f Wolfe . we w ll see what English histor ans “ ” in of . think of the Death Wolfe Robert Wright, “ ” “ his i of r L fe Wolfe , info ms us that Monckton, é in Barr , and other persons portrayed the group around o o Wolfe were n t on the spot . Monckt n had been shot

u u . é i thro gh the l ng Barr had been bl nded , and Sur i geon Ada r, who is represented in attendance, was then

i . u t o at Crown Point . West w shed Gen M rray figure ‘ bu t ! in the picture , the honest Scot refused , saying, No ’ ’

o . N !I was not by . I was leading the left West s ” notio ns of artistic tru th did not go beyond dress . John Trumbu ll was completely u nder the spell of

62 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

i o presentat ons f the events portrayed . Their values i ru at are in their curious d sregard of the t th , their at i i tempts symbolism, and the r portraits of the lead ng men of the age . It is strange that almost all his t orians of the Flag go to Trumbull for their argument for the presence of the Stars and Stripes at Saratoga, and never consider his method of composition and his s statements of purpo e as given in his autobiography . T H E STAR S A N D ST R IP E S O N T H E SE A

E are now to come out of the fog which veils so much of the Story of Old Glory on land during the Revolution, into the clear sunlight of its li e_ on n the o f the ocea . The story of our Navy of Rev lu tion is precise in its references to the Stars and he Stripes . There were two events of t early months of 1 778 that bring the Flag out in bold relief : one the of and o capture New Providence , the ther the fight

’ “ R ana ol lz a mon lz between the p and the Y r t . American privateers and small ships of war frequently swooped down on the English possessions to the southeast of

Florida, and the Flag was not a stranger to the twist

o f . ing channels the network of Carib islands Here , at last, we find dramatic evidence of the appearance Of c Old Glory in the midst of a romantic s enery, pitted against the Union Jack of Great Britain . of on Under cover darkness , the night of January 2 1 hb e 8 . R at u rn 7, 77 , Captain John P crept up to the island of New Providence in his brig, quite appro riat el ov idence p y named the Pr . This little vessel car o - ried but twelve f ur pounders , but was already famous of u 1 6 as the first command Pa l Jones in 77 , the one in which he won a reputation for daring seamanship . R athburne o an When had come close t the island , he 63 64 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

his - fiv e chored, left half crew, twenty men , on board , n i a d then went ashore with the rest n boats . Events i d in u . i n i o followe a r sh Th rty Amer ca pr s ners , u d i and i aro se from the r sleep , were set free, the ent re force of bu t little over fifty men carried Fort Nassau by storm . i i At dawn the aston shed inhab tants of the island , all od i i go Engl shmen, were alarmed at the s ght of a F i u cli strange lag fly ng over Fort Nassa . To cap the i u i u i of i i max of th s a dac o s flaunt ng a host le ens gn , R athbu rn e and his men appropriated all the ammuni u i tion they co ld lay hands on , together w th three hun u in i dred m skets , and then , the broad dayl ght of the i 2 8th d of morn ng of the , captured an arme vessel i i . s xteen guns , w th five merchantmen, in the harbor The situ ation su ddenly became hot fo r the Stars i i s 2 h t . t and Str pes and bold followers On the 9 , at

M . . i three P , five hundred men w th artillery marched i s on into s ght . A me senger under a white flag called R athbu rne and ordered him to su rrender the fort or be ’ h R a hbu ne s b killed with all is men . t r reply was rief i i i and emphat c . He na led the Stars and Str pes to the flag- staff and told the messenger to report that he wou ld hold Fort Nassau until not one of his men was i left al ve . it i i e Of course was mposs ble to stay, beleagu red and c off i F u u t from all ass stance . The guns of ort Nassa i th e o i were sp ked , and wh le Amer can force embarked u t t o i i u u i i and p sea, carry ng w th them val able m n t ons i u e of . r war Two of the pr zes were b rned , and the maining fou r were brou ght home in triumph to the R athburne t o United States . , outnumbered ten one , STARS AN D STRIPES O N T H E SE A 65

’ t wo held an enemy s fort for days , and kept the Stars fo and Stripes flying over English soil r that period . ' ’ No chronology of the Flag s history can omit this brief accou n t of it s floating at the top of a staff where for years the red ensign of Great Britain had streamed unchallenged . ” 1 8 of i On March 7, 77 , Nick Biddle Ph ladelphia, “ o f who m it was said that Liberty never had a more ” i off ntrepid defender, was the Barbadoes in the thir t - - i R andol h y two gun fr gate p , accompanied by four

South Carolina cruisers . Late in the afternoon the English sixty- four- gun ship -of - the - line Y armouth came in s ight and bore down on the little fleet . Biddle, knowing that his cru isers wo uld be battered to pieces of i t o by the guns the Engl shman , signaled them make armon h all sail and escape . The Y t overhauled the

R andolph and came up on the weather quarter . i - i B ddle, with his thirty two guns , del berately accepted

o - u battle with a foeman f sixty fo r guns . Captain Nicholas Vincent was in command of the mo o his t Y ar nth. t We have to go repor , in the Brit

for our u . Y ar ish Records , acco nt of the fight The rnozcth hoisted her colors and bade the R a ndolph show i her ensign . B ddle at once ran up the Stars and Stripes mou o and poured a broadside into the Y ar th. F r nearly i i an hour the two ships sa led s de by side , exchanging

R a nd ol h u . volleys . Then , with a roar, the p blew p i “ i V ncent says , The two sh ps were so near each other at the time that many fragments of the wreck struck

Y armonth n the , and among other thi gs , an American

was o . s ensign , rolled up , blown upon her f recastle Thi ” fla sm e g was not even g d . run up to the masthead if the one already there was i shot away . Captain V ncent recognized the daring of i his adversary, and added th s noble note to his report The temerity of Captain Biddle in thus engaging a ship so much superior to his own deserved a better ” fate . R andol h The p went up in smoke and flame . It was symbolic of the American spirit of the Revolution, that her splendid Flag, Old Glory , should invade the deck of the British Y armonth as a warning that fire and an water c never destroy the soul of America . T H E STA R S A N D ST R IP E S A N D PAU L JO N E S

N 1 a clear, cold morning late in December, 775, o 1 6 r early in January , 77 , Commodore Esek i i ffi Hopk ns , w th his Staff o cers , was rowed in a barge m fro the foot of Walnut Street, Philadelphia, to the

fla - l A red . g ship f , lying in the Delaware After certain ceremonies , Lieut . John Paul Jones seized the end of the halliards and raised to the masthead a yellow i - silk flag w th a rattlesnake, and possibly a pine tree , “ ’ ” u i on o . pon it, and bear ng the w rds Don t tread me Paul Jones was also the first man to raise the Stars and Stripes to the masthead o f an American ship of war . His record from 1 777 to 1 779 is the most drama tic one in the long list of naval hero es that have made our Flag famous the world over ; and the Flag seems

t o - o f be the inspiration of every chapter, well nigh

every page, of his remarkable story of daring and

adventure .

on u 1 1 o You will remember that J ne 4 , 777, C ngress passed the following Resolution

R es olv ed hat the fl a of the thirt een Unit ed St ates of , T g

merica be thirteen st ri es a t ernate red and hite that the A p , l w ; union be thirteen st ars hite in a ue e d re resentin , w bl fi l , p g A N ew C onst e ation ll . W ith in a f ew minu tes af ter th at R esol ution was passed , the following also went on record

s o v ed hat C a t ain J ohn Pau J ones be a ointed to R e l , T p l pp and the shi n comm p R a ger .

s o re When Paul Jones read tho e Resoluti ns , he is “ i ” o d i . p rte to have sa d tersely, The Flag and I are tw ns d i u im He love it, he fought l ke a demon nder it, he parted t o his men a realization of its beauty and its meaning . That Paul Jones unfurled Old Glory on the R anger

H . or u 1 at Portsmouth , N . , in July A gust, 777, is cer hi i . s u tain We find the proof in own jo rnal , g ven in “ the third person : Jones was appointed to com

R an er mand the g , on board of which he hoisted the national flag fo r the first time it was displayed on a ” man of war . There has been some controversy over m of inor elements the event as recorded in tradition , and it is wise to be cautious in accepting the versions f u i R an er o a n mber of imaginative wr ters . The g was b eing finished and equipped at Portsmouth . A few of the young ladies of the town knew the design of the new Flag and decided to make one for Paul Jones and “ h is i . of sh p As legend has it, very prettily, Slices their best Silk gowns went into the making of this

. it i o Flag When was fin shed , J nes j ourneyed from i on Boston to Portsmouth , to receive and d splay it the R an er g . 1 That this significant event occurred on July 4 , 777, exactly one year after the signing of the Declaration of o Independence, as some writers assert, is d ubtful . ter of Weight . That voyage across the Atlantic that commenced on “ 1 1 i Nov . , 777, was terrific, accord ng to Lieutenant “ who Hall , said, more in detail , I had never seen a ship d R an er crow ed as Captain Jones drove the g . Imagine

- the situation of the crew, with a top heavy and crank i sh p under their feet, and a commander who day and night insisted on every rag she could stagger un i ” der w thout laying clear down . Jones was carry ing to France the news of Saratoga, and weather was o not t hinder his ship . Among the poems written during the Revolution “ is one that autho rities claim shows internal evidence that indicates it was composed by a member of the ’ ” R an e n r s . o g crew There was a boy, Charley Hill , the ship, who amused himself and his comrades by and n writing reciting poems o patriotic subj ects . One u of them , on the surrender of B rgoyne, was received with especial delight . Young Hill may have been “ of of the author The Yankee Man of War, which the following is the opening stanza :

T is of a a ant Y an ee shi that flew the st ri es and stars g ll k p p , A nd the whist lin g wind f rom the west -nor-west blew through the - pitch pine spars . W ith her st arboard t ac s aboard m bo s she un u on k , y y , h g p the gale ; O n an aut umn night we raised the light on the old head of ” Ki sa e n l .

That is a stirring picture of the R anger with her Flag of the girls of Portsmouth town snapping in the STARS AND STRIPES— PAUL JONES 7 1

s O ff wind , cro sing the very stretch of sea Kinsale where , L usitania years later, the was to go down , and , in the i o dy ng cries of her w men and children, call on Old

Glory for j u stice . Paul Jones carried the Stars and Stripes straight h across t e stormy Atlantic t o the shores of Europe . If we Americans ever build a Hall of Flags in Wash in ton g , as has been suggested , to commemorate great o f events in the history Old Glory, he must have a commanding niche in the shrine at the heart of that

Hall . T H E FLA G A N D T H E PO E T S O F T H E R E VOLUTIO N

HE poetry of the sea written by Americans du r u i u ing the Revolution, q te freq ently mentions in 1 in the Flag, and always a manner, after 777, that dicat es the Stars and Stripes as the ensign of the Navy . As Pau l Jones was the inspiration of more than one

i o f i u i on the l ne verse, we ntrod ce th s brief chapter F o f i ou r lag and the poets the per od , at this stage in is i book . There reason to bel eve that the phrase ” “ in stripes and stars , found the first line of The ” Yankee Man of War and qu oted in the preceding in i o f chapter, was the first use, an nverted form, the he u u i for t F . now famo s , pop lar t tle ‘ lag, in history One of the earliest poems in which Pau l Jones fig u ed i i r was wr tten by an unknown writer . We g ve a stanza in which much of the life of Jones is epit omized

I n the rst fleet that sai ed in def ence o f ou r and fi l l , ’ Pa ul J ones f orwa rd st ood t o def end f reedom s a rbor ; ’ H e l ed the bo d f red at o ins command l Al H pk , A nd drov e the erce f oeman f rom Prov id c fi en e harbor. ’ Twas his han d that raised T he rst fl a t hat b a ed fi g l z , ’ ‘ ’ A nd his deeds neath the Pine re T e all ocean amazed . T H E FLAG AN D T H E POETS 73

ou r o i u f It is c ntent on , altho gh others di fer with us , “ ” that the phrase The first flag that blazed refers t o the Stars and Stripes ; for it is a perfect figure for the

flaming red stripes of Old Glory . And it is correct i in i of in its h story, when we have mind the ra sing F R a n e the Portsmouth lag over the g r . hi one P lip Freneau , of the two really notable poets i i in of the period , ment ons the Stars and Str pes at least fou r of his poems written du ring or immediately

u after the war . We q ote from these poems , in the i “ i order of the r appearance . In On the New Amer can Alliance o in 1 8 Frigate , pr bably written 77 , are these two lines :

A s nearer sti the monarch drew ll , ” H er st arr fl a dis a ed t o View y g pl y .

The Alliance was closely identified with Paul Jones . S o f his in T H ol The tory escape her from the exel , in 1 i land , December, 779 , when he eluded the Brit sh

i . t o fleet, makes good read ng In a letter the French u i on 2 1 i man , D mas , wr tten Dec . 7, 779 , Jones sa d, “ i i I am here , my dear sir, w th a good w nd at east, ” under my best American colors . ’ the i Freneau s On Memorable V ctory, a poem ’ that commemorated Paul Jo nes victory o f the B on

H omme R ichard Sera is in i over the p , appeared pr nt

u u 8 1 8 1 bu t i . A g st , 7 , undoubtedly was written earl er It contains this stanza

G o on reat man t o scou r e the f oe , g , g , A nd bid the hau ghty B rit ons know They t o ou r Thirt een St ars shall bend ; 74 THE DRAMA TIC STORY O F O LD GLO RY

s that v ei ed in dar attire T he Star , l k , ith a f eeb e fire Long glimmered w l ,

B ut radiant now ascend .

Freneau’ s veiled in dark attire must mean the years of despair that shadowed the American Cause before the time o f the alliance with France . ’ “ i An Two l nes from Freneau s Ancient Prophecy, of i written after the surrender Cornwall s , run in this manner

0 Kin m dear Kin ou sha be er sore. g, y g, y ll v y o i er im re From the St ars an d the St ripes y u w ll m cy plo .

The second line appears in the fo llowing form in another edition of the poem

T he St ars an the i ha o o d L ly S ll run y u on sh re.

The Lily” is a tribute to the flag of France of i d i i i of the per o , wh ch was wh te, w th the golden lilies u i u i Lo s pon t . ’ ’ F o reneau s poem Barney s Invitati n, written in of i i honor Commodore Barney, g ves us these four l nes :

See on her st ern the wav in st ars g , nu red to b ood inu red t o r . I l , wa s C ome ent er uic m o t ars q k, y j lly , T o scour e these ar i e ritons g w l k B .

See on her stem the waving Stars is a word picture of the Stars and Stripes displayed on the en

i - ff - s gn ga of the mizzen mast, over the stern of Bar ’ i ney s sh p . T H E FLAG AN D T H E POETS 75

R an er Paul Jones , the g , and the Stars and Stripes , o for to gave the keyn te a poetry of vic ry . There may be some doubt as to exact dates and places connected with the display o f Old Glory on land during the N o one Revolutionary War . can question the rec o ord of the Flag at sea during the same peri d of time . Almost from the month of its adoption as the national t o emblem , it went the masthead and stayed there, o t be cheered by Americans , honored by Frenchmen ,

and respected by Englishmen . FR ANC E SA LU T E S T H E STA R S A N D ST R IP E S

an e E return to the sto ry o f the R g r . She ar a on 2 1 rived r Nantes December , 777, when i an Jones found , somewhat to his disappo ntment, that other New England ship had reached France with the ’ him of . news of Burgoyne s surrender, ahead For a i i u n . n mber of weeks , he rema ned French waters On F 1 1 8 off i o saw ebruary 3 , 77 , he was Qu ber n Bay, and n that a French fleet was anchored i the roadstead . ’ Jones early and brief account of the first salu te to i the Stars and Str pes by a foreign Power, is found in “ this passage from his journal : Reached the Bay !!u i ’ Feb 1 1 8 o f beron), y 3 , 77 , and sent to demand the i ’ Adm ral , if he would return his !Jones ) salute ; and this compliment was immediately agreed to by that ffi brave o cer, although neither he nor Jones knew at the period that a treaty of alliance had been signed F i between rance and America, seven days before . Th s was the first salu te received by the American flag from any power, and occasioned much debate in the English ” Parliament .

. R an er Dr Ezra Green, surgeon of the g , wrote in his “ di u 1 1 8 ary for Febr ary 4 , 77 , Saluted the French Ad m iral , and received nine guns in return . This is the very first salute ever paid the American flag . 76

78 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

ommand at resent is not ffi ers . I t is t rue m c by fl ag o c , y p t ant et as the senior merican officer at resent in impor , y , A p E u ro e it is m du t t o c aim an e ua ret u rn of res ect t o p , y y l q l p t he fl ag o f the Unit ed States that would be Shown t o any other fl ag whatev er. “ t a e the ibert of inc osin an a ointment I theref ore k l y l g pp , perhaps as respect able as any which the French admiral can a others i ossession produce ; besides which I h ve n my p . “ I f owev er he ersist s in ref u sin t o return an e ua , h , p g q l sa ute i l acce t of two uns ess as ha e not the ran l , I w l p g l , I v k adm ra of i l . “ I t is my opinion t hat he would ret urn f our less to a pri v ateer or a merchant shi therefore as hav e been honoured p ; , I oftener than once ith a chief command of shi s of ar w p w , I o e can n t in honour acc pt of the same t erms of respect . “ Y ou will singularly oblige me by waiting upon the ad miral ; and I ardent ly hope you will succeed in the applica tion e se sha be under a necessit of de artin ithout , l I ll y p g w comin into the a g b y. “

hav e the honou r to be et c. I , B - hou h thirteen uns is N . . T g g your great est salute in merica et if the French admira shou e ter A , y l ld pr fer a grea ” number he has his choice on condit ions.

Now that was a decidedly daring letter to send to

La Motte Piquet . There is reason to believe that awaitin a when Paul Jones thought it over, while g i o reply, he real zed that, after all , the real object t be gained was the salute, a positive recognition o f an i i m Amer can sh p under an A erican Flag, by a great

European Power . Therefore, when he was advised that La Motte Piquet could not alter a custom of his nation, Jones agreed to receive the nine guns in re s onse p to his thirteen . It was after sunset on the evening of the 14th of FRANC E SALUTES O LD GLORY 79

1 8 R an er and February, 77 , when the g got under way

came beating into Quiberon Bay through a smoky sea . The first stars were in sight when she was abreast of ’ u i R an er s the h ge French flagsh p . Jones backed the g

- six - u on i - main topsail , and the po nders the ma n deck ou u u Pi banged t a sal te of thirteen g ns . La Motte u q et at once returned with nine great guns . The Stars and Stripes had received its first salute from a o foreign P wer . him But Paul Jones was not satisfied . He had with i I nde endence i a br g, the p , and , always hav ng a fond

ness for spectacular events , he sent word to La Motte i o i th F u 1 8 P quet that on the m rrow, the 5 of ebr ary, 77 , he would sail the I ndependence throu gh the French

fleet in broad daylight, and repeat the salute . The mi Ad ral graciously consented to reply . So the saucy I nde endence little p , with a Stars and Stripes at the of in top each mast, rode triumph past the lines of

- towering three deckers , and gave and received salutes . The history of the United States had been given dates in the story of the Stars and Stripes that never will be

forgotten . T H E FLA G AT VA LL E Y FO R GE

FLAG smitten by the winter winds . A Flag in over headquarters a camp of starved , frozen

and i F . dy ng men . The lag at bay at Valley Forge As b of a Decem er sun sank into banks snow clouds, the ragged Continental Army tramped into this vale among i i the Pennsylvan a h lls . A recorder of the finish of their march tells u s that a number of half- naked men were u crowded around a fire at a bivouac . S ddenly Wash “ in on ffi i gt appeared . The o cer command ng the de t achment i o u , choos ng the most fav red gro nd , paraded his men to pay the General the honor of a passing b . i o u o salute As Wash ngton r de slowly p, he was served t o be eyeing very earnestly something that at his i on o tracted attent on the frozen surface f the road . ‘ ’ ‘ sir i u i How comes it , , he nq red , that I have tracked the march of you r troop by the blood - stains of their ?’ ‘ feet Washington received this reply : You r Ex cellenc u ff i y, when shoes were iss ed , the di erent reg in u ments were served t rn . It was our misfo rtune to be among the last to be served !’ At no time in ou r history as a nation has the Flag meant more than du ring the winter of 1 777- 1 778 at a F . it i i u V lley orge As r ppled aga nst the bl e sky, clear and i u beaut f l , or was seen proudly defiant through 80

8 2 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

d , men , Germans , Swe es , Danes and Poles were fused by the alchemy of nature and their own heroism , into o F an Army and a Nati n . The lag had become the sym

u i o f c . bol of n ty, a real Demo racy The presence of the Flag at Valley Forge is a matter of inference on the part of the historian . There is no reference to it in any history of the Con tinental u Army in the camp, and a search thro gh orderly books gives no clew . Yet it must have been there . The near est we can get to evidence that a flag was hoisted in

i . m . the ca p, is in a living testimonial M ss Frances B of Lovell , a descendant Betty Lewis , the only sister o f George Washington , loaned to the Valley Forge Museum of American History the flag which floated ’ over Washington s headquarters . ’ This headquarters flag is a j ack of light blue silk with thirteen stars . The blue is faded and the stars

- are yellow with age . The flag is thirty six inches long - i and twenty e ght inches wide . The stars are six i i of m po nted , double stitched , and the s lk back the has been cut out to Show the stars on both sides . These h t stars are not arranged in a circle, but on lines t a o follow the crosses f the British flag . It is a bit of poetic license to substitute Washing ’ ’ ton s headquarters flag for the Stars and Stripes . That S of u and flag, in its thirteen tars, was expressive nity a proo f in itself that the standard carried by the Con inen al - t t 1 1 8 . Army in 777 77 , was a real Old Glory

Its size, indicating that it was merely the j ack taken the from a much larger Flag, tells story . of The placing the stars in this j ack, in a form

copied from the crosses in the British ensign , suggests T H E FLAG AT VALLEY FORGE 83

a new line of research . Possibly the statement quoted i 1 in chapter n ne , that there was not in 779 a standard of i i form for the Flag the Un ted States , was insp red by a confusion as t o the grouping of the stars in the o Revoluti nary Old Glory . Trumbull , although he i went astray in some part culars, knew what he was do ing when he gave us a Stars an d St ripes in at least three of his paintings . He always showed the stars r n of i a ra ged in a circle . This mode plac ng them is especially prominent in the splendid American Flag “ ” shown in his Surrender of Cornwallis . What was the rule as to the stars in the days of the Continental ? Army Was there su ch a rule ? i B u t . 6 1 8 we have d gressed On May , 77 , the Con t inent al Army was drawn up by brigades at Valley Forge t o receive official anno uncement of the treaty of i i L all ance with France . To the stripl ng afayette, comm anding a division as the regiments fell into line and presented arms beneath the Stars and Stripes , that i morn ng must have been an hour of triumph . There i was a roar of muskets and th rteen cannon , followed by “ ”

cr o i o f . the y, L ng live the K ng France Then came “ of i another roar guns and the cry , Long live the fr end ” l n ! i y Europea Powers And then , lastly, a crash, w th “ u a tremendo s shout that ran along the lines , The ” Ama ican States ! The stripes of red and white were of the blood and of u of the snow Valley Forge beneath the bl e Heaven , where heroic men were to establish the stars of George ’ Washington s headquarters forever. O L D GLO R Y CR O SSE S T H E A L L E GH A N I E S

’ ORGAN S riflemen were on the march from the

d in 1 . Shenan oah Valley to Boston , 775 They were men of the frontier each wearing a hu nting shirt “ with Liberty or Death on the breast in white let i i i d ters . Wh le on the r way , Wash ngton came ri ing i i ’ along the l nes , met them , and rece ved Morgan s ’ u a o i sal te . There was l ok of query in Wash ngton s “ and i i F o i h eyes , Morgan sa d, s mply, r m the r g t bank i t dis of the Potomac , General Wash ng on at once u d and i his e i i i d mo nte , w th ey s br mm ng w th tears , walke

i i in u . along the ranks , shak ng hands w th the men t rn d o f i in It was a bo y of men th s type, many ways o of it s i the finest tro p s ze then on the globe, that car ried O ld Glory across the A lleghan ies o n it s pioneer u r u i o jo rney of weste n conq est, w th Ge rge Rogers C in 1 lu 8 . u ou r i R ev o lark, 77 So m ch of h story of the tion is concerned with the condu ct of the war in the thirteen C olonies that the magnitu de and significance ’ of C i is idd lark s great enterpr se almost h en from sight . George Rogers C lark was only twenty- fiv e years old o i effer when he came bef re Patr ck Henry, Thomas J son, George Mason and George Wythe with his au d acious plan of striking at the British in their huge territory that stretched from the A lleghanies on the 84

86 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

The Flag was not to fly unchallenged over the forts so easily taken . Down from Detroit came Henry i his Hamilton , w th troops at heels , and Vincennes was h a again in British hands . Clark eard that with the p

of i i proach w nter, Ham lton had dismissed his Indian allies and held Sackville with eighty men . He also learned that Hamilto n expected heavy reénforcements in the spring an d intended to drive the Stars and o Stripes beyond the m untains , forever . A great issu e in the history of No rth Americ a was n at stake . Clark k ew it, realized that England, with i that magnificent h nterland in her grip , would be a s o f menace to the United States, even after the clo e the war . He struck at once . With barely one hun on 1 dred men , he set out February 4 , 779, to cross d i . 1 a lan half quagmire On February 5, the hero c

“ o little band came to the forks f the Little Wabash . r From that day on, for ten days , they st uggled toward

ou Vincennes, thr gh ice , water and mud , at times so submerged that they were forced t o hold their guns

- and powder horns above their heads to keep them dry .

S i o To make this chapter hort, Fort Sackv lle, r Vin cennes , surrendered to those iron men . The British marched out and gave up their arms . The Americans i marched in and ho sted Old Glory . A salu te o f thir teen guns was then fired from the captured British cannon . The country won for the Flag by George Rogers i Clark became in time the imper al States of Ohio, i , i i Ind ana Ill nois , M chigan and Wisconsin . Into that

Empire, after the Revolution was over, trailed the OLD GLORY CROSSES ALLE GH AN I E S

n r first emigra ts from Northeaste n States , following the tides of rivers and skirting the southern shores of the a Great Lakes . The Stars and Stripes h d begun its j ourney toward the Pacific . T H E FLAG SI N KS I N TO T H E SE A UNCO N !U E R E D

E retu rn to the reco rds of Paul Jones and his Y ou i in Flag . w ll remember that February, 1 e d i 778 , France honor the Stars and Str pes, displayed R an er I nde endence on the g and the p , with national

u i . T wo on salutes in Q beron Bay months later, April 2 1 8 u n i 4 , 77 , Pa l Jones , then in the Irish Cha nel w th R an er Drake the g , learned from fishermen that the ,

i - i C u u the Br tish guard sh p at arrickferg s , was abo t to h m ou t of i . run in search Late in the afternoon, near Drake w sunset, the dre near and flung out the English

o . R an er i c lors The g hoisted the Stars and Str pes, “ ” S ? i When hailed with What hip is that Jones repl ed, “ r ! The American Continental ship R ange . Come on ” o We are waiting for y u .

That fight in sight of three Kingdoms was dramatic . It was the first challenge of a new Flag to an old one ’ u nder the hills of the latter s home . Paul Jones won

u u - fire of his thro gh the s perior gun crew , who caught ’ the period o f the Drake s roll and fired as the muzzles ’ of the R anger s cannon fell and those of the Drake rose . The British ship would have been sunk then and there if Jones had not commanded his gunners to i change tactics , fire on a r sing sea, and disable the

’ e th Drake . t rigging of He desired , above all hings , 88

90 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

up the Irish sea, out through its north channel , and i b F . u round Ireland by the west, ack to rance D r ng o his u the latter part f historic cr ise, he had the battered

Drake in convoy . a We go on over nearly year and a half, to the month of the appearance o f Paul Jones and his Flag in one of the most widely known events in the history ac o f the United States . It is proper to precede the count o f the sea- fight o ff Flamborou gh Head with a 1 reference to a letter written by Jones late in 775 , which reveals the unconquerable spirit of the man . i i t o i C C on Th s letter, wr tten the Mar ne ommittee of t o o f gress , sets forth his views as the personnel the i i “ navy . It has been called by an Engl sh wr ter, The ” i moral and intellectu al charter of Annapolis . In t “ we find this glowing passage : A commander may challenge the devotion o f his followers to sink with him i o alongs de the m re powerful foe , and all go down together with the u nstricken flag of their cou ntry still i wav ng defiantly over them in their ocean sepu lcher . i i b 1 off On a moonl t n ght in Septem er, 779 , the east of d coast England , Paul Jones himself answere the i o o i clar on call to her ism f that sentence . Engl shmen have vied with Americans in describing that terrific of i fight between Jones , in a rotten hulk a sh p , the B on H orn rne R ichard Sera is , and Pearson , in the p , “ termed by Disraeli one of the finest frigates of his ’ ” Majesty s Navy . u in i O ff - i For ho rs , a l ght shore wind , the two fr gates d exchanged broadsi es . The superior weight of metal o f the Serapis smashed through the decayed hull o f the R ichard u i , wrecked g ns , k lled and wounded a great T H E FLAG SINKS UNCONQUERED 9 1

u part of the crew . Jones feared that his ship wo ld ou t i be blown of the water and , hav ng the windward i position , del berately closed , grappled , and lashed the er R ichard to the S apis with his own hands .

Then came the moment when Pearson , thinking he

saw the Stars and Stripes coming down , called across “ ” t o o u u ? im Jones , Have y struck yo r colors This “ ! mortal reply was hurled back, No I have but this ” instant commenced to fight . Over the rail and the hammoc k netting went a boarding party led by the

i u Virgin an, Richard Dale, the H guenot Carolinian , i bo John Mayrant, and the Nantucket Ind an y, Jerry won Evans . The fight was . Pearson grasped the hal o liards and struck his colors t Old Glory .

- Paul Jones fou ght his great fight with a crew of

' o ne- fifth were w which less than Americans , a cre held together and dominated by his unbending determina tion t o conquer or sink to the bottom of the sea u ncon u q ered . Mackenzie, one of the early biographers of “ n Jones , wrote, Had Pearson bee ~ equally indomita R ichard bo ble, the , if not arded from below, would at last have gone down with all her colors flying in ” proud defiance . Paul Jones took the Serapis and lost the B on H ornrne R icha d r . For a day and a half, with her dead o f R ichard aboard her, the splintered remnant the on of rolled the surface the sea . Jones watched her era is on mom S . from the deck of the p At length , the of 2 bo 1 w . ing September 5 , 779, she sank, first Her tattered Stars and Stripes floated for a brief moment on i a sweep ng wave, and then trailed down beneath o the blue that mingled with its field f stars . 9 2 T H E DRAMATIC STORY O F O LD GLORY The Stars and Stripes that the girls of Portsmouth R an er t e made, that crossed the ocean on the g , that ’ eiv e i u u c d La Motte P q et s sal te , that compelled the

o f Drake o colors the to c me down , was and is the only flag in history t o go beneath the waves on a v ic t orious ship sinking beside the enemy she had captu red . “ ” u had i and i ! Pa l Jones sa d , The flag I are tw ns “ u in What tho ghts were his mind as he wrote, The very last vestige mortal eyes ever saw of the B on H ornrne R ichard was the defiant waving of her un i n d u . A conq ered and unstr cken flag as she went down , as I had given them the go od old ship for their sepul u l cher, I now beq eathed to my immorta dead the flag for i they had so desperately defended, their wind ng sheet . ’ - Quarter gunner John Kilby s picture is superb . In “ ” “ his Narrative, he wrote, She went down head fore — i d s i t 0 - most with all sa ls set stud ing a ls , p gallant - i sails , royals , sky scrapers , and every sa l that cou ld be — on i i u e put a sh p , j ack, pennant, and that beaut f l n sign that she so gallantly wore in action and when we ” conquered . A most glorious sight .

94 T H E DRAMATIC STORY O F O LD GLORY

on i it i i consider the date wh ch is wr tten , both a log cal step forward in the advance of ou r history and a leap

' i el ement s o f old to the present t me . For there are i i and contemporary h story here concerned , that fasc and d us nate hol , that appear to have eluded our edi - i d . tors and recor ers of to day We tell , br efly, the S o or i tory of Yorktown , and thr w one two flashl ghts o f reminiscence o n the French coast at Qu iberon Bay i i i and Brest, local t es that have been t nged with the of F i colors of the flags rance, Great Br tain and the

United States . 1 8 1 In October, 7 , Cornwallis surrendered at York i in o town , after be ng hemmed by sea and sh re , by the F i d American and rench forces . The all e flags had met on shipboard when Washington conferred with de and id i i Grasse, , side by s e, they had stormed the Br t sh i i l nes , led on by Lafayette, Alexander Ham lton, Baron i u de Viomen l and John Lau rens . The ho r had come fin u u i i for the al pict re, the act al culm nat on of the i u i u u Amer can Revol t on , altho gh two f ll years were to elapse ere the English troops left New York and the i Un ted States . of Down the lane between the two lines , Americans the C ontinental Army on the one hand and the French d i i not on the other, trampe the Br t sh and Hessians , an d i h c altogether happy, w t olors cased , a penalty exacted for similar treatment accorded General Lin

- coln at Charleston . When the twenty fou r standards o i were collected , they were found t be e ghteen Hes ’ i . i i sian and six Engl sh John Trumbull s pa nt ng, in this case, is most satisfactory . He shows on one side the white banner of France with its golden Fleur-de

T HE N E W PU B LIC LI B RA RY

A S T O R , T I L D E N F O U N B A T I O N S

96 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

i W i the saw them w ther, watered though they ere w th ” best bloo d of France .

for u . Quiberon Bay has another interest s There, in 1 to 759 , the year when Quebec fell Wolfe, the red ensigned ships of Brit ish Admiral Howe smashed the - d C onflans i in lily bannere ships of , after n ghtfall , a howling storm and on a lee shore one o f the most treacherou s and dangerous in the world . And there, in i r 1 8 Qu beron Bay, in Februa y, 77 , another French i i adv en admiral , La Motte P quet, saluted two l ttle n i u i turo s sh ps from a weak Rep bl c across the Atlantic , commanded by one Paul Jones who displayed a defiant i i i Flag of Stars and Str pes , under wh ch he was to g ve Englishmen lessons in fighting that Frenchmen never f d i i . o could adm n ster How the three flags Englan , and i i i France the Un ted States, shift in h stor c combi nations !

The French flag at Yorktown, fluttering in triumph, was the same flag that was trailed in the dust at Qui in beron, its last stand . The flag that opposed it was the Tricolor, suggested by the Stars and Stripes and i i in then but a year old . Th s Tr color, later that very 1 u offi year, 795 , found a yo ng cer of artillery in Paris , who by name Napoleon Bonaparte, took it and car i it i in r ed over all Europe, and l terally wrote upon it ” “ ” letters of blood the words Marengo, Austerlitz, “ ” Waterloo . o t o We go up the French c ast Brest, through whose 8 1 8 i narrow portal on May , 77 , sailed Paul Jones n

R a n er Drake the g , bringing in the , the first British — ship -of war ever trailed into a French port as the result

- , the am of a single ship action to azement and delight , THREE GREAT FLAGS 97

- P of d of Frenchmen . To day, a resident the Unite

States enters the harbor of Brest, with guns roaring

i f . and flags stream ng from roofs , windows and sta fs 1 8 u o u In 77 , Pa l J nes bro ght in with him , at Brest, i i ed r the Un on Jack d splac by the Stars and St ipes , and received the sal u te of cannon that blazed beneath the

- - s Fleu r de li . Woodrow Wilson comes to the road o f stead Brest, to find it aglow with the Red , White u of S and Bl e the three mighty Tricolors , the tars and i o f . Str pes , the Union Jack and the Tricolor France o While we are speaking of Tric lors , we will settle ’ one i - or two l ttle points of flag history . Bradley s “ 1 1 now strange device, the Stars and Stripes of 78 , i i F a marches w th the flags of Great Br tain and r nce, of and , strangely enough , is in reality the oldest flag

. 1 80 1 fl of the three Down to the year , the ag Great

of . Britain had but two crosses in the Union , those St

eo A . . o G rge and St ndrew In that year the cross f St . a r i P t ick was added , giving us the present Engl sh i standard . The Lil es of Lou is disappeared forever in Of the F the flame rench Revolution , to be replaced he by t Tricolor in 1 794 . In View of the present alliance of three great na tions that at times have been hostile in Varying politi Of i cal conditions war, it is well to relate br efly two minor bu t significant incidents in t he histories o f their three flags ; the first sal u te granted to Old Glory by r our b the Union Jack, and the fi st greeting to Flag y the Tricolor on French soil . 2 1 1 Alli ator On May , 79 , the English ship g , Cap ffi tain Isaac Co n , while entering Boston from Halifax, s the aluted the Stars and Stripes floating on Castle, 98 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

and the fort at once retu rned with her guns . This was undoubtedly the first sal u te to Old Glory by any rep i i resent ativ e of Great Br ta n . D u ring the deliberations of the National C onv en i i u u 1 1 e M in t on , Par s , A g st 5 , 794 , James Monro , the i i i o f d and ster Plen potent ary the Unite States , arrived u di of i it was introd ced . After the rea ng credent als , “ i the was decreed , on the mot on of Mons . Bayle, that colors of bo th nations shou ld be suspended at the vault f S o u i . of the hall , as a ign perpet al all ance and union

In delivering the Stars and Stripes , Captain Joshua “ n Bar ey said , in closing a short address , Henceforth , u on of F u s spended the side of that the rench Rep blic, it will become the symbol of the union which subsists between the two nations , and last , I hope , as long as the freedom which they have so bravely acquired and i ” id . so w sely consol ated Prophetic words , that found ’ “ ” o h e ! a brave ech in Pers ing s Lafayett , we are here

1 00 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

some tension between the two countries . London was about as ready t o salu te Geo rge Washington walking down the Strand as to view with pleasure an American ship flying the Stars and Stripes on the Thames . ol itical M a az ine If we open the pages of the P g , d 1 8 Lon on , for the year 7 3 , we find articles that tell very plainly how astonished the old city was on seeing “ i i be a Yankee sh p, show ng Old Glory, lying a little ” low the tower where more than one American had langu ished du ring the years of the Revolution . We u on olitical M a a q ote, for we cannot improve the P g ’ zine s account

She is merican bui t manned ho b merican sea A l , w lly y A men ears the rebe co ors and be on s t o the is and of N an , w l l , l g l t e s s his is the rs e i s uck t in M a sachu et ts . T fi t vess l wh ch ha displayed the thirteen rebellious st ripes of America in any ” o British p rt .

Political M a az ine The g , in a summary of debates : in Parliament, said

T he hirt ee t r m e be ed e r. a m t T n S ip s in the R iver. M H gg leave t o inf orm the Hou se of a very recent and ext raordinary ev ent . here was he said at the t ime he was s ea in an T , , p k g , A merican ship in the Thames with the thirteen st ripes flying

on board . his Shi e e e o house T p had offer d to ent r at th cust m , but the officers ere a o o t o beha w t a l ss h w ve.

“ ln Mr . Hammet continued in an appeal for free ” e cou se E v i t r r between this country and America . dentl B ed ord i o y, the f had brought in w th her a carg of political and merchant-marine problems not so eas il - olitical M a y made fluid as whale oil , for, as the P g FLAG- EPISODES OF 1 78 1 - 1 783 1 0 1

z i i a ne . tells us , The Ministers remained s lent It wou ld seem that the members of the British Ministry of 1 783 were stupefied at the apparition of the thir teen stripes of Old Glory flu ttering boldly on the royal

to . Thames, and peace yet be signed C hronicl e in One paper, the London , its issue for 1 8 February 7, 7 3 , waxed ponderously humorous

here is a esse in the ar o t T v l h b r wi h a very st range flag. hi ee m T rt n is a nu ber peculiar t o the rebel s. A party of nav al prisoners lately ret urned f rom J ersey say that the rat ions amon the rebe s a re thirteen dried cl ai ms a d a Sachem g l y. Schuyler has a t opknot of thirt een stiff hairs which erect t hem se v es o t rown of his ead he he et s a I t t a es l n he c h w n g m d . k o u thirteen C ongress paper d ll ars t o eq al one shillin g sterling . Polly W ayne was j ust thirteen hours in subdu ing Stony

- Point and thirt een seconds in eav in it . E v er e o r an , l g y w ll g ised rebe househo d has thirt een child ren all of hom e ect l l , w xp t o be maj or generals o r members of the high and mighty C ongress o f the thirteen United St at es when they att ain the

r . W ashin t on has thirtee teet age o f thirt een yea rs . M g n h in each aw and thirteen toes on each f oot the e t ra ones j , ‘ , x hav ing grown since that wonderf ul decla ration of independ W ashin ton has a t omcat ith thirteen e ow ence and M rs . , g w y ll O t is fl auntin it su ested t o the C on rings ar und his ail . H g gg gress the same number of st ripes f or the rebel fl ag.

It is safe t o surmise that many Londoners wen t t o “ 1 8 s ee i s the Thames in February, 7 3 , to the rebell ou ”

of . stripes America John Wilkes , that thorn in the of o f side Tory England , had a sister, then the widow “ a George Hayley who did much business with New n B ed ord England . It is o record that she visited the f and saw the Stars and Stripes displayed . The B edford was for England the herald of the 1 0 2 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY splendid fleet of American merchantmen and whalers that were soon to make Old Glory the rival of any i flag afloat upon the h gh seas . We come back to the soil of the United States for our last t wo little stories o f the Stars and Stripes of i u . rd the days of the Revol t on On the 3 of September, 1 8 of i i and 7 3 , the Treaty Peace between Great Br ta n R ev olu the United States was signed at Paris . The

. G u or tion was over In October, Sir y Carleton was o f dered to evacuate New York, the only city the

United States then held by British troops . After some for i 2 th N o delay, caused by waiting sh ps , the 5 of v ember was agreed upon as the date for the evacu a tion . u It chanced that on M rray Street, near the Hudson

i di - b River, there was at that t me a boar ng house kept y u u a Mr . Day, whose wife was a large , m sc lar woman , i of u and a zealously loyal Amer can . In front the ho se u was a pole , and she, tr e to her colors , ran up the Stars and Stripes at dawn of that eventfu l 2 5th o f Novem S u of i ber, in t rdy defiance the Brit sh claim that New ’ i York was to be in England s hands unt l noon . We i t o can imagine her running to a w ndow at intervals , “ ” see if her beloved flag was still there . ’ o i i S a Acr ss the street, s tt ng on his father s toop , ! a ! u u yo ng boy, Alexander Anderson , later to be famo s as ’ i io - d F Amer ca s p neer wood engraver, wat‘che the lag nd u i e o a i . P n t rippling t gg ng at its hall ards res tly, i w’ i W il the l ttle fello s d smay, down the street came

This was the Alexander Anderson referred to in C hapter IX a s t he engrav er who pu t the St ars and St ripes in his cut of t he bat t e o u n il l f B ker H l .

1 04 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

removed the halliards , smeared the pole with grease

and knocked off the cleats . Down Broadway came General Knox and a body of o f troops from West Point, to take possession Fort

George . After they had entered, they looked up at i o the British flag fluttering deris vely ver them . There was but o ne move t o make ; get it down as quickly

as possible . In the group of Americans gathered in eo h and around Fort G rge , was Jo n Van Arsdale, an - -old bo agile sixteen year y. He searched the neigh borhood i e for cleats , returned w th a numb r of them t o f which he nailed the sta f as he climbed , and so o reached the Union Jack . Then he ripped it fr m the ’ pole and tossed it to Knox s men below . . Tradition d o says that it was seized an torn t fragments . Young Van Arsdale completed his work by nailing the Stars t o and Stripes to the p of the staff . T he writ er of this history watched columns ‘of Boy i o u 1 1 1 . Scouts march d wn F fth Aven e on April 9, 9 7 It would be a chivalrous tribute to a nobly patriotic of body young Americans , to turn over the privilege of raising Old Glory t o the top of the staff at the Bat t er on o 2 i s y, each N vember 5, to reg ments of Boy Scout r of New York City, in memo y of the boy John Van

Arsdale . T H E STA R S A N D ST R IP E S GO E S AR OU N D T H E WO R LD

N the years of the eighteenth century that im o mediately followed the Rev lution , our Flag began to appear on the sea on an ever increasing num o ber of ships . The dawn f the American _ merchant ma rine was at hand . Typical of the buoyant youth u of the young Rep blic , many a commander was a mere bo B en amin y. Nathaniel Silsbee was master of the j , of Salem , Mass . , at the age of twenty . His first mate,

Charles Derby, was nineteen , and his second mate, his o . . t r Richard J Cleveland , was but eighteen One “ ian o of the peri d says beautifully, The picture of one of those boyish sea-captains flinging out the Stars and Stripes to the breeze on the far side of the earth pOr or trays , better than anything ever said, written done, the spirit of America . 1 8 of in In 7 7, a little company Boston merchants , one o f spired by the ardor of their number, Joseph a ! to B rrel , determined send ships around the Horn to f u o reach the r territories f the great Northwest . New d York merchants aide them , and the valuable service of or John Darby, Derby, a Salem shipmaster, was secured in fitting out the expedition . The little syn ‘ dicat e the C ol umbia t purchased , a stout, seawor hy - i three master w th a Revolutionary record , and also the 1 05 1 06 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

ashin t on in i sloop Lady W g , to aid carry ng the furs i to be bo ught of the Ind ans . A medal stru ck in the year 1 787 shows the two

d u i d ships u n er f ll sail , with the Stars and Str pes sprea o b a e to the wind over the stern of the C l um i . The r

o l i . . Verse f this meda g ves the names of J Barrell , S

C . . h . B ulfinc . Brown , C . , J Darby, Hatch and J M Pint ard u , as the members of the gro p of backers of

B u lfinch u in the plan . later became famo s another

i u . way, as the arch tect of the Boston State Ho se o 1 1 8 C ol umbia On Monday, Oct ber , 7 7, the and Lad Washin t on i the y g , commanded by John Kendr ck and i of Wareham , Mass . , Robert Gray of T verton , d I . R . , saile from Nantasket Roads , near Boston Har bor i i b , loaded w th kn ves , iron ars , copper pans , blankets and other material for barter with the Indians o i f the Pacific coast . All went well w th the two ves sels o n their voyage u ntil they were in the Sou th A t lantic when a Violent hu rricane separated them . The L ady W ashingt on was ahead when they were well on i u i o f u A i the r way p the Pac fic coast So th mer ca, and

u on 1 6 1 88 . she reached Nootka So nd September , 7 The C ol umbia joined her there on September 2 2 nd o r 2 3 rd .

u i an All thro gh the w nter, the two vessels lay at

u . 0 1 8 C i chor in the So nd On July 3 , 7 9 , apta n Gray, in C ol umbia i t o the i i now the , set sa l cross Pac fic , w th i 6 Old Glory flu tter ng in the wind . On December he

C C i . i reached anton , h na Then , w th the bow of the C ol umbia i u i i po nting so th , he sk rted the East Afr can d C o f is an . H coast rounded the ape Good Hope track, da to from that y on , was north Boston , where he

1 08 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

his w hidden by a barrier of shoals . In j ournal he rote that “the surf has been constantly seen from the mast ” o V u head to break on the sh res . anco ver mistook the breakers on the bars at the mouth of the Columbia for coastal s u rf. did Meares , Vancouver and Gray not know that an Empire thirty- two times the size of Massachusetts i of was at stake, that it was but a quest on a few days when the Yankee was to give the Stars and Stripes the right of way to the vast Oregon country . Van ’ his lo - u conver s entry in g book or jo rnal , in which he speaks of the “surf constantly seen from the mast ” 2 1 2 head, bears the date April 9, 79 . On the after

of u noon that day, Gray and Vanco ver met and com i pared notes . Then they parted, the Engl shman and i i his Union Jack sa l ng north, and the American and i his Old Glory sa ling south . 1 1 1 2 off o On May , 79 , Gray was the mouth f the

. u mysterious river With splendid co rage, he ran in

u i i under full sail between the ch rn ng, surg ng breakers, the Red , White and Blue of his pennant snapping over

- the white green waters . Ten miles up the river he o anch red . A few days later he went fifteen miles fur

n i . o ther inla d with his sh p At the end f nine days , out he sailed into the Pacific, leaving the name of his C ol umbia ship, , forever associated with the great river of his discovery . Captain Robert Gray opened a new and glorious chapter in the history of his country and the Stars and Stripes , when he gave the United States a basis for claim to the Oregon country . Lewis and Clark, T H E WORLD 1 9 9

1 805 completed the ar r great adventure will episode in the Story of T H E FLAG SUPPLANT S T H E TR ICOLO R OV E R LOUI SIANA

HE years from 1 792 to 1 803 are almost barren

of events that give prominence to ou r Flag . In 1 u i 795, Vermont and Kent cky were adm tted to the F fif Union as States , and Old Glory became a lag of o u u i teen stripes and fifteen stars . Thr gho t the v tally i i 1 1 8 1 8 crit cal per od that ranged from 795 to , the fift een- striped Flag flashed through the storms o f three on i o f d wars, appeared the hor zons remote seas , crosse prairies and braved the winds o f mou ntain crests on i w as the first march of the pioneer to the Pac fic . It of of i C o f the Flag New Orleans , Lew s and lark, ’ ” of i C hesa Eaton s Army Northern Afr ca, of the ’ eake i on i Fo p , of Perry s v ctory Lake Er e , of rt Mc E ss x C o s it ut o e n t i n . Henry, and of the and the The scene now Shifts from the surf-smitten coast u i where the Col mb a enters the Pacific, to New Orleans where the Mississippi glides by to the Gulf of Mexico . Yet the t wo localities are linked inseparably in the d Story of O l Glory . The appearance of the Flag on tide-waters of the C olumbia was followed in history b it s i in in d y unfurl ng New Orleans , evi ence that the United States had assumed control of the huge terri

I I O

1 1 2 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

And the price was fifteen million do llars ; fifteen round i O f i silver coins for each squ are m le . The fact th s i n u u i amaz ng sale was not k own , or anno nced , nt l late in the year ; bu t Lau ssat knew that the ceremony of

November 3 0 was empty of all real meaning . He had bi o ui i n g plans for L s a a, and the news that General i i i n i i i i W lk nson and Governor Cla bor e, of M ss ss pp , were on their way to take from him the keys to an i i u i . Emp re, m st have been a sad p ece of informat on i i 0 1 80 On that h stor c December 3 , 3 , the open space “ ” fo r in New Orleans, then a parade ground an army , it s i i ff i had at center a tall , mpos ng flagsta . Dur ng the i d i morn ng, the Tricolor fluttere from the top of th s ff F i i ffi i sta . The rench m l tary o cers and sold ers were u u u io gro ped abo t it, and around them was a c r usly “ i i i u a var egated crowd, as one wr ter descr bes it, h m n o i u in i sun faces , eagerly lo k ng p the br ght December , i i red a motley of color and express on , wh te, yellow, , i i u i Frenchman , Span ard , Afr can , m latto, Ind an, and , most visible of all by his height and boisterous triumph on W est em er o the occasion, the tall , lanky , in c on ” i u i sk n cap and leathern h nt ng shirt .

i i be When the comm ss oners appeared , the Tricolor gan to flutter gently down , and the great new Flag, i ff the Stars and Str pes , to mount the sta . As the two u flags passed each other, they pa sed for a moment . A d in cannon was fire , and all the guns New Orleans , on i in fort, battery and sh ps, answered salute . As the i i last fa nt echo d ed away, Old Glory was streaming to of ff from the p the sta . An O ld record tells u s that “ u i a gro p of Amer cans , who stood at the corner of the i square, waved the r hats in token of respect for their FLAG SUPPLANTS TRIC OLOR 1 1 3

’ country s flag, and a few of them greeted it with their ” voices . We have given this raising of the Stars and Stripes 1 80 i at New Orleans in December, 3 , cons derable

. i space , and for two reasons It marked a defin te, tre n S in ou r o mendo s tep hist ry as a People, and it was i in o most r ch the color f romance . So we present a

ibu ou r of - last final scene , in tr te to great friend to day, i of France . When the Tr color was sent to the tip the ff 0 1 0 i sta at New Orleans , on November 3 , 9 3 , a l ttle group o f French veterans formed themselves into a of - for guard honor, to act as a sort of death watch their beloved standard . On December 3 0 they stood at the o f ff i in base the sta , and took the Tr color their arms as it came down to them . Then they marched away

i i . in silence , led by the r sergeant bear ng the flag Every one it uncovered as went past, and the United States o tr ops presented arms . O L D GLO R Y GO E S OVE R LA N D T o T H E PAC IFIC

as 1 80 HERE w at Washington , in 3 , in the Pres ’ his redeces ident s chair, a man who, like great p

i . sor, George Wash ngton, had an eye to the West Both - i men were far vis oned , and saw that the roads of the

Fu tu re for their country lay toward the setting sun . ’ ff u Lou But Thomas Je erson s vision , stim lated by the isiana u o f P rchase, swept to the ranges the Rockies , o d i n M is questioning, w n er ng what lay betwee the sissi i i pp and that m ghty barrier, and even what was on t o to be found the slopes beyond , that fell the i i Pac fic . He was nstant in his purpose . He decided to equip and send ou t an exploring expedition to cross “ ” he ou i t Stony M nta ns , as the Rockies were then “ ” t o called , and to go down the nearest river the west i i i of ern sea . W th all his mag native reach thought, Jefferson little dreamed what a conquest he had in store for the Stars and Stripes . When Congress appropriated the money required ’ ff his to finance Je erson s project, he at once chose i i private secretary, Mer wether Lew s , to lead the party i i of explorers . Lewis asked Capta n W lliam Clark of the United States Army to go with him as second in — command . When all was ready, the expedition was of t wo - made up the leaders and twenty six men . Nine 1 1 4

1 1 6 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

u u i or strike directly west, thro gh a mo nta n pass over i u C u i a crest, they m ght reach the so rces of the ol mb a u and follo w the river down to the coast . They co ld r u d o f i in carry O ld Glo y tho san s m les , always the territory of the United States ; and they cou ld bring if u d o f t e home, they ever ret rne , some few pages liable information from a big book of American Natu re b d never efore u nfolde . ff d i C Je erson feare that Lew s and lark , and their i d o n i or party, m ght be maroone the Pac fic coast so shattered by exposu re and struggles with the Indians that they cou ld not hope t o retrace their steps . He “ i i i ru i : O u r C u gave these s gn ficant nst ct ons ons ls , i in i i u Thomas Hewes at Batav a Java , W ll am B chanan F u b i in the Isles of rance and Bo r on , and John Emsl e of o i be b t o u u at the Cape G od Hope, w ll a le s pply yo r ” i i d s h f u . I n o t er i necess t es by rafts on words , a tat t ered Old Glory and a camp of ragged United States i i explorers on a str p of the shores of the Pac fic , were sighted by men u nder the Union Jack or some other u i i flag, they co ld be transferred by sea to some As at c or African port where they could find aid from Eng lishmen or F renchmen . 2 1 1 80 ou On Monday, May , 4 , the party set t from i a po nt opposite St . Louis to go up the Missou ri to it s u source . We m st neglect any account o f the many instances of heroism shown and the really dramatic situations met by Lewis and C lark and their com rades . We are interested wholly with the part the i F d in i u Amer can lag playe the r jo rney . They had a keen sense of their duty in leaving the impress of the F on lag all the land crossed . It was appropriate th at OLD GLORY GOES OVERLAND 1 1 7 on 1 80 u July 4 , 4 , the Misso ri River heard for the first time the firing of guns celebrating an anniversary o f i i iv the Declarat on of Independence, and ncidentally g u t o ff who ing trib te Thomas Je erson , wrote the great document and was the originator of the plan of their i exped tion . The j ou rnal of Lewis and Clark is punctuated with r i fla - i u 0 i o f . 1 8 b ef g ep sodes On A gust 3 , 4 , ch efs the O tt oes i u i t o a for , M sso r s and Pawnees came in c mp “ conference : The great chief of the nation not being of him the party, we sent a flag, says the record of i i i i the exped tion . Th s g ft of a Stars and Str pes to an Indian chief occu rred at the place where Council Bluffs

- stands t o day . to h If we go on up the Missouri Yankton, Sout

Dakota, we are at the spot where the Sioux and the i u i oak wh te men met for a grand co nc l under an tree, o i from the top f wh ch streamed an Old Glory . Sep tember 2 5th found the expedition at the j unction of u i i the Teton and the Misso r R vers where, as the jour “

a f . nal s ys , we raised a flagsta f After this we went o o f n i e through the cerem ny ack owledg ng the chi fs , by giving to the grand chief a medal , a flag of the United

States , a laced uniform coat , a cocked hat and feather . 1 0 On October , when Lewis and Clark were in what is now the famou s - Deadwood mining district of the ’ Black Hills , South Dakota, and three days j ourney south from Spring River, they held another meeting : with the Indians . Again we quote from the j ournal “ h o one We t en ackn wledged three chiefs , for each of i a the three villages ; g ving to each a flag, a medal , red hat t ha no coat, a cocked and feather. I is a pity t t 1 1 8 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY modern motion -pictu re man could have been with - di o in an d . s u t Lewis C lark Tho e In ans , togged their

u i u . new finery, wo ld have made a rare p ct re Winter was coming down on the little band as they were in the region of modern North Dakota . Befo re i i u C select ng the place for w nter q arters , Lewis and lark summoned to cou ncil/the chiefs of the neighboring i n A nnahaw a s i tr bes , the Ma dans , the y and the M nne d “ tarces . Once more the Flag figure . One chief of ” i u u ackn owl each town , says the fa thf l jo rnal , was a o f i of edged by gift a flag, a medal with a l keness i i o t the President of the Un ted States , a un form c a , a i hat and feather . The c mp of the exped tion for 1 80 in M cLean the winter of 4 5 was modern County, t u i i u North Dakota, six een h ndred m les up the M sso ri i C i “ from St . Lou s . On hr stmas day, the American flag was hoisted on the fort and saluted with a volley ” of musketry . The winter was a breathing-spell for a plunge into o the unkn wn . The country previou sly covered by not i Lewis and Clark was wholly a terra incogn ta, as trappers and hunters had come down stream with re

of u ports that gave some idea its nature . B t the land to be explored was to see in the Stars and Stripes the first bit of bunting of any nation ever u nfurled in its

. u ou r deeps We h rry on in story, though tempted to o f i i i i give more th s h stor c , epochal tra lmaking the full i i t . 2 recount ng deserves We come to the date May 6,

1 80 . C i i i 5 On that day, apta n Lewis cl mbed a h gh on i i i hill the north s de of the M ssour , and saw the sunlight gleaming on the snowy summits of the Rocky ou n M tains fully fifty miles away . The sight fired

1 2 0 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

o on might g to New Orleans , where the Stars and u i and Stripes s pplanted the Tr color, the other half i u o f i to the rag ng s rf the Pac fic , where the Stars and Stripes dared destru ction to find a river that was to b on e forever e of its great waterways . Eventu ally Lewis and C lark got t o the upper u i in i reaches of the Col mb a, and canoes went down t

. 8 1 80 to the Pacific Under the date, November , 5 , “ we have this triumphant bit o f record : Great joy

. of i in camp We are in View the Ocean , th s great

Pacific Ocean which we have been so anxious to see, and the roaring or noise made by the waves breaking ” on the rocky shores may be heard distinctly . 1 80 C On December 3 , 5 , lark carved on the trunk o f a great pine tree this inscription

W M CLA R K D E C E M B E R 3 D 1 805 T B Y LAN D F R O M H E U . STAT E S

I N 1 804 5 .

The Stars and Stripes had gone overland to the Pa cific u , thro gh country that was to be carved into the u N e magnificent States of Misso ri , Iowa, Kansas , r u b aska, So th Dakota , North Dakota, Montana, h Idaho, Oregon and Was ington . XXII

T H E F LAG FLOATS OV E R AN AF R ICAN FO R T R E SS

T is a long flight from the Pacific shore at the mouth of the Columbia River to the M edit er anean i i r coast of Northern Afr ca . At the very t me Lewis and Clark were carrying the Flag through ou r

u i u b of western co ntry, Old Glory was settl ng a n m er sce res with i o f i i o the p rates Tr pol , and the st ry of this squaring of accou nts is spiced with spectacu lar id u i i f i inc ents . D r ng the clos ng years o the e ghteenth i d ou u r . century, the Alger ans preye pon commerce We i i u were pract cally w tho t a navy, and the only way to obtain immu nity was to pay good gold t o the rob

. 1 8 i u to i bers In 79 , as a part of the tr b te Alg ers and in way of penalty for delay in making the pay i ment, the Un ted States sent as a present to the Dey the frigate C rescent and gifts to the value of three u d u h ndre tho sand dollars . This concession to the Algerians awoke j ealousy in of i i i i the small minds the r ne ghbors , the Tr pol tans , “ who complained becau se the Sahib - Tuppa at Tunis had received more than forty thousand do llars ” from the United States in cash besides presents . As i i the reply from Wash ngton was slow in reach ng him , the Bashaw of Tripoli deposed the American consul i and cut down the consulate flag . If ever the Un ted

1 2 1 1 2 2 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF O LD GLORY States needed a man on the ground when the Stars a b of i u it was and Stripes w s an o ject ns lt , then and i i i there, at some spot w th n the borders of the p rate

States . u 1 i i a In J ly, 797, General W ll am Eaton was p “ ” pointed consu l to the city and kingdom of Tu nis . He was instru cted to alter the existent United States ’ u treaty with Tunis . We q ote from Eaton s auto biography : Obj ection was also made by the Senate to some o ther parts of the treaty ; especially the pro vision that a barrel of gunpowder should be paid the Tunisian government for the firing of every gun of a Tunisian fort saluting American armed vessels enter ing their harbors ; the number of guns for a salute be ” ing left to the pleasu re of those salu ting . This pro i i i v s on meant that, every t me an armed ship of the United States entered a harbor o f Tunis with the i maint ruck Stars and Stripes d splayed at the , those crafty rascals cou ld fire j u st as many guns in way of i m salute as they saw fit, and cla m fro Uncle Sam a fine big barrel of gunpowder in return for each gun i d scharged . of that business the gunpowder, together with _ Now of i ac sundry other acts pure plunder, was h ghly in cord with the character and the condu ct of the men of i Northern Afr ca . It was not in harmony with i o f i i i the deas W ll am Eaton , Connect cut Yankee , gradu ate of Dartmou th College and soldier of for in him tune . Eaton had qualities that make a suc cessfu l i - u i - his l ne pl ng ng half back, and story, told in his is u own words , f ll of what we modern Americans call There was much trouble for Northern

1 2 4 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

us . ot passed between He g into a passion , arose and ‘ bu t u d i ou t i C u left the hall , t rne , go ng , and sa d, ons lt i six i you r government . I g ve them months to g ve me an answer, and to send the presents . If they come in i u that t me, well ; if not, take down yo r flag and go home !’ ’ Eaton s temper came right up to the top . Old i i u i Glory had been sneered at, r d c led by a cheap l ttle i i beggar on a str p of Afr can sand . He wrote to Wash n on hi i i t . s g at once In letter he sa d , among other “ i S i pla nly poken words , Too many concess ons have b i een made . There is but one language wh ch can be ”

i is . held to these people , and th s terror The letter i “ i closes w th , The Un ted States have no messenger whom I wou ld greet with so mu ch cordiality with an ” i i answer as Commodore Barry . W ll am Eaton de sired greatly to see the Stars and Stripes waving over the black mu zzles of a row of cannon on an American i i i ’ i u . fr gate , w th those g ns po nted at the p rate s palace Picture this C onnecticu t Yankee counting on his fingers the names o f the American ships that carried

“ Old Glory past Gibraltar in the spring of 1 799 . Eighty o f them !And every one of them was in dan ger of being taken and having it s Old Glory destroyed or thrown into the sea . He looks down from the wall i i u i and where he is s tt ng, pon the Med terranean , sees i i So hia b u the harmless l ttle sh p , the p , that had ro ght i him from the United States,rid ng at anchor . He “ in his o speaks of her that day j urnal , as the little ’ ” o i in S h a i u i . p d sg sed men s clothes He wants a fight, and lacks weapons with which to fight . At last there came a day when Eaton set down in OVER A N AFRIC AN FORTRESS 1 2 5 a letter to Washington some plain facts as to condi tions in the Mediterranean as they concerned the Stars and Stripes

France has n o commerce e ose i xp d . Spa n can def end her se f b assist an ce of au i ia ries ra o s l y x l d wn f r m her mine . ’ Port u a t ho a ad s ea s ith a m an t one t o these g l , l y, p k w ly irates she dict at es t o t hem u nder t heir own batt e ie en p r s . D m ark an d Sweden hav e f rigat es in these seas ; Holland has no comm erce here . unis is robbed o f her re an is a s T p y, d

rest ess a s a bea r . P un der s d W e l l mu t be ha . h re is it t o be f ou n d ? merica resen t s it B ut u n is i A p . T s at peace with

m erica . N ecessit has no re e t A y l aw . A p t x is f oun d f or a d ecl a rat ion o f w a r in ou r delinquency ; o r del ay in sending ou t t he s t i u at e re a i e e o e he p l d g l a !pr s nt f j wels ). T commerce in ” this sea i l f a l the v ct im t o these s ar in o w l l i t v g r bbers .

B f E a u t Jef erson and Congress did not move then .

i - so ton , s ngle handed , acted with much boldness and tact that he secu red for his cou ntry the freedom of its ” commerce from attacks by the Tunisian cruisers , as i i . 1 80 an h stor an tells us In 3 , he returned to the United States and was appointed n aval agent for the r Barba y States . He accompanied the American fleet t o i in 1 80 e sent the Med terranean 4 , with D catur, Hu ll and other young officers soon t o become house i ho ld names in the Un ted States . All schoolboys who have read the history of this country know the records i of Phil of ou r little fleet at Tripol . The burning the adelphia has furnished a classic incident for ou r text all i ’ books . Yet, for the hero sm shown , three years experience proved that a blockade merely protected

n o o i i part ur commerce . Blackmail was still a c nd 1 2 6 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

ou tion of peace . And y cannot besmirch the American

Flag with blackmail . Now steps on the stage a new commander in the i in Un ted States fleet the Mediterranean , Samuel Bar ’ ron i ou r i ia . , w th friend W ll m Eaton The latter s

u u 1 80 u s preme advent re of 5, as Henry Adams ass res “ i u i i us , was so dar ng, so romantic and even Q xot c , that for at least half a century every boy in America listened to the story with the same delight with which ” o n o he read the Arabian Nights . This st ry gives s ne ’ r i of Old Glo y s greatest explo ts . i t o au Will am Eaton , tell the truth, had no real thority to act in a military capacity when he arrived in i n the Med terra ean ; so, when he abruptly left Bar i i on ron and sa led to Malta, where he arr ved September 1 80 O ff on his own 5 , 4 , he was a vagabond crusade on h a bi i d hook . But he d a g idea . He nten ed to play of Hamet Caramelli , the exiled rightful Bey Tripoli , u against Yus f the usurper . He planned to raise an army under the Stars and Stripes and march with H a i m of . met to besiege De a , the eastern capital Tripol A plan for j oint operations was made with Commander

Barron , and the hour to strike had come . ’ 1 80 On March 3 , 5, at a place called the Arab s u a i Tower, abo t forty miles southwest of Alex ndr a,

Egypt, the Stars and Stripes fluttered over the most “ strangely asso rted force that ever marched and fought ” u s nder it shadow . General William Eaton must have “ ” i his sm led as he reviewed Army of Northern Africa . The cream of this army was a little group of seven ’ i d i n anno . Un te States marines, led by L eutenant O B T he i rema nder were Greeks, Tripolitans and Arab

1 2 8 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

Preparations for an assault were at once made . Three i d H ornet N a util us Un te States vessels , the , the and

Ar us i n off the g , each fly ng Old Glory , a chored the

i i i - i town , the first w th n p stol shot of the Tr politan bat e e d t ri s . All three opene fire . in o d i Late the afternoon , Eaton r ered his mar nes ’ u d i u O B annon b n er L e tenant , now reenforced y ma

i i i i . r nes from the three sh ps, to storm the fort ficat ons in one d o f his i on He, person, led bo y l ttle army one Si of i i in de Derna, wh le the mar nes came from the b u d u o shore . They were met y a m r ero s fire . Eat n d u d B u t was ba ly wo n ed . the man who had sworn to i u his F d i avenge the ns lts to lag, and had marche w th d it u i d d u . across five h ndred m les of esert, was not a nte He placed himself at the very front and charged across

- e a plain swept by musket fir . ’ i i ru O B annon his i Dur ng th s st ggle, and mar nes i i of had stormed the fort and , in a perfect wh rlw nd u u d on i i and b llets , had t rne the cannon the Tr pol tans hoisted the Stars and Stripes over a bastio n whe re the i o i h p rate banner had streamed . F r the first t me in is i tory, the Stars and Stripes had been ra sed over a fortress of the Old World .

And so, during the month when two American ex pl orers were carrying Old Glory to the base of the eastern wall of a western mou ntain range in North i i e u u i d i Amer ca , an mp t o s l ttle bo y of Un ted States i - o mar nes , with a self made Yankee c mmander, were i i i in i storm ng the front of a fort ficat on North Afr ca , to plant the Stars and Stripes upon it as a warning that no man or nation can attempt with impunity t o impose upon the United States and her Flag . XXIII

T H E STA R S A N D ST R IP E S S E E KS T H E SOU R C E O F T H E MI SSI SSIPPI

1 80 N August 9 , 5, a little over a year after the

day when Lewis and Clark set out from St . u o u ou ffi Lo is to g up the Misso ri , a y ng o cer in the u i United States Army, Lie t . Zebulon M . P ke, started i i u from the same c ty , then a straggl ng town , to go p u the Mississippi and seek its source . Pike was abo t twenty- fiv e years old when he captained this adv en u his t re of the Stars and Stripes, and , to j udge from

u u i jo rnal , was in many ways better eq pped mentally for an exploring expedition into wild and unknown

u H is u re co ntry than was Lewis or Clark . jo rnal veals some ability t o write interesting and grammati u of n cal prose . A q aint touch color appears i the leaves of his record as he tells us of hou rs passed in study i “ and in reading . Here are a few entr es : Refreshed my memory as to French grammar “Read and la “ ’ ” ’ bored at ou r works Read Pope s Essays . One day s ”

u i . entry is compressed into a single word , St dy ng While in the dead of winter near the source of the i i b M ssissippi , P ke read , a part of it probably y candle i ’ “ l ght, Volney s Egypt The fields of ice and snow around him mu st have thrown a strange background against the tropic splendor of the Nile that took shape in his imagination . 1 3 0 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

2 0 1 80 -one On August , 5 , the little party of twenty “ men in their seventy- foot boat arrived at the rapids ” i “ ” o . o f De M yen !Des Mo nes) We had passed, “ i an d iffi n says P ke , the first most d cult shoals , whe i in we were met by Mr . Wm . Ew ng with a French e ret er t rp , four chiefs and fifteen men of the Sac nation, i ” n i of . i the r canoes , bearing the flag the Un ted States u 2 1 1 80 ad On the following day, A gust , 5 , Pike W e i dressed the Sac nation . give a part of his l ttle of speech, the portion in which he defines one phase ’ Jefferson s purpose in sending ou t Lewis and Clark and i “ himself . He told the Ind ans that their great father, of i i to the president the United States, w sh ng be more

i i u i . ntimately acquainted with the s t at on , wants , etc , of the different nations of the red people in our newly i u i the t o acquired terr tory of Lo siana, ordered general send a number o f his young warriors in diff erent di ”

. i rections , to take them by the hand P ke made con stant use of the Stars and Stripes in his dealings with i . i it the Ind ans With him, as with Lew s and Clark, s i carried a mes age of brotherly friendsh p, and they had little cau se to fear inj u ry at the hands of the i As Ind ans during all the days of their explorations . ’ i of i o Henry Whit ng, one P ke s bi graphers , says, The flag is an emblem that carries with it some moral au thorit i t e y, even among Indians . He !P ke) made it s ect ed it u i i p , and made excl s ve , wh le he was in the ” “ ” u i i Indian country . By excl s ve Whit ng means the shutting ou t of all other national flags from the coun try gained for the Stars and Stripes through the Louisi ana Purchase . When Pike and his men were a few miles below the

1 3 2 T H E DRAMATIC ST O R Y O F O LD GLORY

i i u u for me cons dered th s an nfort nate accident , I was exceedingly happy at it s effect ; for it was the occasion ” of preventing mu ch bloodshed among the savages . “ A chief called the O u t ard Blanche had his lip O ff had i C d him cut , and come to Pet t orbeau and tol ‘ his his i it i that face was look ng glass , that was spo led , ’ i that he was determined on revenge . The part es were

i i u i io charg ng the r g ns and prepar ng for act n, when lo, i o f the flag appeared , l ke a messenger peace sent to

i d u prevent the r bloo y p rposes . They were all aston shed i ff i i to see t : the sta was broke . Then the Pet t ‘ C orbeau arose and spoke to this effect : That a thing so sacred had not been taken from my boat withou t violence ; that it wou ld be proper fo r them to hu sh all private animosities until they had revenged the cau se o f their eldest brother ; that he wou ld immediately go h up to St . Peters to know what dogs ad done that i in k t o i i th ng, order to ta e steps get sat sfact on of those ’ had o i who done the mischief . They all listened t th s reasoning and he immediately had the flag pu t ou t to ” and dry embarked for my camp . i d of Third scene , l ttle rama of the lost Old Glory ’

1 80 . in i u 2 th September, 5 Entry P ke s jo rnal for the 7 of the month : Two young Indians brou ght my flag

s b i u acro s y land , who arr ved yesterday, j st as we came i in s ght of the falls . I made them a present for their u i and di io punct al ty expe t n , and the danger they were ” exposed to from the jou rney . is i o That a perfectly splend d scene , the moment f i O f F i i i i i the arr val the lag float ng on the M ss ss pp . We invite some painter to give u s the angry Indians abou t fi i i u O f to open re w th the r m skets , and one them catch FLAG AT SOURCE OF MISSISSIPPI 1 3 3

“ of the ing sight O f the messenger peace, Stars and i i on Str pes r ppling by the surface of the current, and o swimming u t into the river t o rescue it .

In the middle of October, Pike was well up m the o heart Of modern Minnesota, and began the constru

i his - was and t on Of block house . He two hundred

- thirty three miles above the falls O f St . Anthony . i of From there as a base, he made tr ps exploration over ’ - on an d . the snow , sledges snow shoes On New Year s “ 1 806 in C hi ewa s Day , , he was the land Of the p y My u u interpreter came to me in a great h rry, conj ring me t o u i not go so far ahead , and ass red me that the Ch pe i i i ways , encounter ng me, w thout an nterpreter, party or o i flag, w uld certa nly kill me . Pike ’ s entry for the next day reveals a friendly and not a hostile spirit on the side o f the Indians : Fine

i O f i . warm day . Discovered fresh s gns Ind ans Just incam in i as we were p g at night, my sentinel nformed me that so me Indians were coming at fu ll Speed upon ou o o r trail r track . I ordered my men to stand t their u i guns caref lly . They were immed ately at my camp , and salu ted the flag by a discharge Of three pieces u C hi e a s one i when fo r p w y , Engl shman and a French O f man the North West Company, presented them ” selves . They had heard O f us and revered our flag .

It is a pleasure to give, in this book, permanent rec ord in a history of our Flag o f a kindly reception of it one and its bearers by a British subject, over hundred “

. n 1 806 years ago On Ja uary 3 , , Pike wrote , My i party marched early, but I returned w th Mr . Grant ‘ i on to his establ shment the Red Cedar Lake, having one corporal with me . When we came in sight of the 1 3 4 T H E DR A M AT I C STORY O F O LD GLORY

of i . house, I Observed the flag Great Brita n flying I felt indignant and cannot say what my feelings would i had no t have exc ted me to, he informed me that it belonged to the Indians . This was not much more agreeable to me . Now open the journal t o the page with the entry for “ i i o f February 1 . P ke had reached an establ shment the North West Company” and “was received with ’ i u M Gil marked attention and hospital ty by Mr. H gh ff lis . Had a good dish of co ee, biscuit, butter and ” cheese fo r supper . ’ i l ou of Th s man M Gi lis warms r hearts . He was i the same breed that gave North Amer ca the intrepid , i O f of honest Mackenz e, forerunner the true men the - i British Northwest of to day . The Stars and Str pes has nothing t o fear from such neighbors u nder the “ “

. i Union Jack On Feb . adds P ke, my men ar ’ ’ a illis rived t the fort about four o clock . Mr . M G asked if I had any O bj ection t o his hoisting their flag i u in compl ment to O rs . I made none, as I had not yet ” ’ “ ”

. of expressed to him my ideas Pike s ideas were , u course , that Old Glory m st fly supreme over that region . F 1 806 t o On ebruary 9 , , Pike traveled over the snow i o f . . the stat on a Mr Dickson, on Leech Lake Here is the succinct account o f the event that happened : “ i o Ho sted the American flag in the f rt . The English i i t o ff yacht !j ack) st ll fly ng at the p of the flagsta , I di di riflemen rected the In ans and my to shoot at it, who soon broke the iron pin to which it was fastened ” and u u bro ght it to the gro nd . ’ u 1 2 1 806 Febr ary , , reveals Pike s assurance that he

1 3 6 THE DR AMATIC STORY O F OLD GLOR Y

i . one sergeant , two corporals and sixteen pr vates There is bu t one event of this jou rney that fits into b d it in i this book . Before we em o y th s chapter , we ’ give a pictu re of Pike s mode O f approach to a village . “ He says that the party advanced with Lieutenant i i W lk nson and myself in front ; my sergeant, on a

i i . wh te horse , next w th the colors This passage tells us very definitely that the Stars and Stripes was to be ‘ displayed continu ally . The fact that the Flag that floated down the Mississippi in 1 805 was on a broken ff it u sta , proves that m st have been planted either in

O f - the bow or the stern the seventy foot boat . u C In Rep blican ounty, modern Kansas , on Septem “ 2 1 806 i his our ber 9 , , P ke and followers held grand u i i i not co nc l w th the Pawnees , at wh ch were present less u i i u than four h ndred warr ors , the c rc mstances Of which i were extremely nteresting . The Spaniards had e i in i i one of left s veral of the r flags the r v llage, which was unfurled at the chief’ s door the day Of the grand council . Amongst various demands and charges I gave u them , was that the said flag sho ld be delivered to me and one O f the United States flags be received and i d in ho ste its place . This probably was carrying the id o f i pr e nat ons a little too far, as there had so lately i been a large force Of Spanish cavalry at the v llage, which had made a great impression on the minds of

o u . the y ung men , as to their power, conseq ence , etc , which my appearance with the 2 oth infantry was by no means calcu lated t o remove . “ The j ou rnal continues as follows : After the chiefs i of had repl ed to various parts my discourse , but were S ilent as to the flag, I again reiterated the demand for FLAG AT SOURC E O F MISSISSIPPI 1 3 7

i it i i the flag, add ng that was mposs ble for the nation to have two fathers ; that they mu st either be the chil ‘ dren of the Spaniards or acknowledge their American ’ i father . After a silence of some t me, an Old man rose, t o i went the door and took down the Span sh flag, and u i bro ght it and laid it at my feet, and then rece ved the American flag and elevated it on the staff which had e lat ly borne the standard Of his Catholic maj esty .

i u i Perce ving that every face was clo ded w th sorrow , as if some great national calamity was abou t to befal o them , I to k up the contested colors and told them that it was the wish Of the Americans that their red brethren should remain peacefully around their own ” ’ fires . It is to Pike s credit that he succeeded in n ffi u i handli g a di c lt problem w th rare tact . This event undoubtedly marked the first raising of Old Glory within the borders of what is now the State

O f - . 1 0 1 Kansas On July 4 , 9 , the corner stone Of a a - i shaft Of gr nite, twenty seven feet h gh , was laid at a the site of the Pawnee vill ge . The shaft bears this inscription

R E E D T H E A E O F A N SA S E CT BY ST T K ,

1 0 1 9 , T o MA R K T H E SIT E O F T H E PAWN E E RE PUBLIC

VVH E R E

E . E KE LI UT Z BU LON M . PI CAU SE D T H E SPANI SH FLAG T O B E LOW E R E D

“ A N D T H E O F T H E E D E S T O B E A SE D FLAG UNIT STAT R I ,

E E E R 2 1 06 . S PT M B 9 , 8 1 3 8 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

i his on Zebulon M . P ke left name the map of his “ 1 1 806 O f country . On November 5 , , he wrote a moun i ou i i ta n on r r ght, wh ch appeared like a small blue cloud . Their appearance can easily be imagined by those who have crossed the Alleghany, but their sides ” were whiter as if covered with snow . That mountain on i now n the hor zon, a small blue cloud , is know as “ ’ ” Pike s Peak .

1 4 0 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

it s as a symbol of nationality, came to own in the

u . early years of the last cent ry, and on the sea All ships o f all Powers display their colors ; for these col o rs are the only means of po sitive identification dis t inct ly visible over distances where waters intervene . The contest between Napoleon and Great Britain

ou t i cu t - S ru spread to the h gh seas , became a throat t g ~ I i gle in commercial blockades . t developed nto a prob i lem of shu tting out even neutrals . The Un ted States

u F was a sadly perplexed ne tral , and her lag was to su ffer excl usion and ignominy in the angry give - and i i ’ O f i . F or F take the t mes the lag, be ng the nat on s u i u i s preme nd b table symbol on the ocean , was the

- I m watched for mark of the United States at trade . ‘ i 1 80 and St ri es med ately , even as early as 7, the Stars p became a figure O f Speech frequ ent in impassioned ad d he resses and in t daily press . The affair Of the C hesapeake and the L eopard O ff in 1 80 i i the Virginia coast 7, was l ke a sudden sw ng O f u i ing a vane t rned by a breeze from the sea, ndi cating to those inl and that there was trouble brewing o seaward . English sailors had been deserting t Amer e i ican ships . Admiral George C . Berk ley, of his Br tan ’ o i i in nic Maj esty s fleet in the N rth Atlant c , sa d orders “ in 1 80 u o f i to that fleet, 7, S bj ects his Britann c Maj r in i e — esty, and se ving his sh ps , des rted and openly paraded in the streets of Norfolk under the American ” n flag . This m arching of erstwhile English seamen u der Old Glory was considered a rank insult to the

. 2 1 80 Union Jack On July 9 , 7, Captain Douglas , of ’ O f his Majesty s Service , wrote a letter to the Mayor “ in Norfolk, which he said , You must be perfectly DISCORD AMONG TRIC OLORS 1 4 1

has no r aware that the British flag never been, will be, ” insu lted with impunity . The guns o f the L eopard Opening fire on the C hes a eake i p wh le practically defenseless , awoke the United States t o the realization that England meant a bu si i of on ness o f a sinister nature . The r ght search the i in i h gh seas , even neutral waters , follow ng a com i i t o t o w as i i O f . mand stand , a v olat on nternat onal law ff o his o f Je erson , and Madis n , Secretary State, wrote t o in u u 1 6 1 80 u i Monroe E rope on J ly , 7, As a sec r ty u i i i for the fut re, an ent re abol t on of impressments from i if not al vessels under the flag of the Un ted States ,

’ arran ed is i i b a ready g , also to make an nd spensa le p rt ” o f C hesa eake ff i the satisfaction . They had the p a a r in mind . England saw in 1 80 7 that trouble between her and the United States might arise from the double incite

o f C hesa eake ment the search of the p for deserters , an d i i i d after a broadside, the st fl ng of Amer can tra e with European countries throu gh decrees closing ports . Yet the general feeling Of the day in England was

' M ornzn Post in expressed in the London g , a reference “ O f 2 1 80 t o in October 3 , 7, the United States as an of i significant Power and , in the same paper a prev ous i 2 1 80 i ssue , January 7, 7, when , w th a glance to the it i sea, uttered the scornful words, It w ll never be permitted to be said that the R oyal Sov ereign has ” o struck her flag t a Yankee cockboat . If England was baiting the United States with d words and actions , France, un er Napoleon , was also playing a p art O f tantalizing mystery and deeds equiv l ent a . o to slaps of the American face J siah Quincy, 1 42 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

“ in 1 808 of Massachusetts , said , that Nature gave the ” his n . ocea to New England See how Napoleon, in d the ederalist s of o utterances , catere to F the n rthern

O f i . 1 8 1 80 States the Un ted States On May , 9 , he “ dictated the following : The seas belong to all nations . th e Every vessel under flag of any nation whatever, i on recogn sed and avowed by it, ought to be the ocean i i i as f it were in t s own ports . The flag fly ng from the mast of a merchantman ought to be re spected as o in though it were on the top of a village steeple . T sult a merchant- vessel carrying the flag of any Power is to make an incursion into a village or a colony be i ” long ng to that Power . Napoleon may have had France in mind as he dic t at ed o for t o O u t those w rds , he knew well how fling the Tricolor and make it the very living symbol of

France, but he had New England in the background Of his thought ; for he was preparing a letter to General i e O f i in Armstrong, the representat v the Un ted States “ ” i Paris , and his village steeple was a shrewd cast ng of a fly for the New England fish . He had blocked ’ S i England s cheme, if she ever had one, for an Emp re V i in the Mississippi alley, when he closed the Lou siana was Purchase, and he maneuvering, in the years that i i 1 1 2 et O ld mmed ately preceded the War Of 8 , to g r o Glo y again into a tussle with the Uni n Jack . On “ 1 1 8 1 1 w December 3 , , he wrote, You ill give the as surance that if the American government is decided to its maintain the independence of flag, it will find eve ry ” i of aid e k nd and privil ge in this country . Napoleon ’ Often made a flag the symbol o f a nation s individual

. O f ity In his address to deputies the Hanseatic League,

1 44 THE DRAMATIC ST ORY O F OLD GLORY

d an d u not . lan was at stake , she wo ld move toward war Yet New England cou ld meet the cards played by i u i u . the So th , w th her own tr mps War w th Great

i d on u 1 8 1 8 1 2 . Brita n was eclared J ne , On the very “ next day came news of still more American vessels b i ” bu rned y French fr gates . A French commodore de “ cl ared that he had orders t o bu rn all American v es ’ ” in o sels sail g to or from an enemy s p rt . As a matter i i u of s mple fact, the Un ted States had fully as m ch cause to fight France in 1 8 1 2 as she had to go to war i i i u w th Great Br ta n . She had even more ca se for i id i defy ng Napoleon, for England was rap ly com ng to a ground of fair and Open dealing with this country in that year. in 1 8 1 2 o ou t . So, , the three Tricol rs fell Napoleon chuckled in his Sleeve when he heard that one more i i Power was arrayed aga nst England . Great Br tain “ i of felt that Mad son had been a tool Bonaparte, had stabbed her in the back . T o get a view of the Amer i i u it r can att t de, as conce ned the Stars and Stripes , we u : t rn once more to Henry Adams Clay, Calhoun , and i C “ the r associates in ongress , bent on war with Eng i i land , were w ll ng to face debt and probable bank ru tc on of u p y the chance creating a nation, Of conq er in C d an d i g ana a , carry ng the American flag to Mobile ” and Key West, then in foreign hands . XXV

T H E STA R S A N D ST R IP E S RAI SE D OV E R A LO G SC H OOL H OU SE

1 8 1 2 ARLY in May, , Massachusetts chose a legis l at u re i o r more strongly Federal st, supposedly

ro- O ld p British , than any one dared to predict . The i F I n Bay State , a m litary backbone of the rench and o dian wars and the Revoluti n , was in the distressing i position of a province at odds w th the nation . Were

’ it not i for her splendid record on the Canad an frontier, i shown in the heroism of her enl sted men , and her connection with the frigates C onstit ution and E ssex and i e o many pr vat ers , she would have st od shamed when O f 1 1 2 the War 8 came to its close . 1 8 1 2 Yet Massachusetts gave the United States , in ,

one . in remarkable, spontaneous proof of fealty The eident we are about t o relate was one of those u nher alded but natural evidences of fine patriotism that Often come from the hearts of a people acting inde e pendently, without the counsel of their rulers and wis f . 1 8 1 2 o men In May, , Old Glory went to the top “ ” a pine staff over a log schoolhouse on C atamount i

of u . Hill , Colrain , in the heart Massach setts It is generally believed that this home - made Flag was the first Stars and Stripes to flo at over a schoolhouse in

the United States . 1 46 T H E DR A Ix TORY O F O LD GLORY

of The women Colrain , forerunners of the women of the North who, in countless cities, towns and vil of lages , sewed stripes and squares and stars, red , 1 86 1 white and blue into Flags in , were the inspiring o figures at the center of this event . Mrs . Rh da Shippee gave the cloth for the stars and the white st ripesf Mrs .

Lois Shippee contributed the blue cloth for the Union .

But tradition hesitates between Mrs . Alden Willis and of for Mrs . Stephen Hale, as the donor the cloth the th e red stripes . And those loyal women wove fabric for the Old Glory of Colrain on their looms in thei r homes . A man comes into the story in the person of Amasa “ Shippee who marked O u t the stars with compass and ” “ ” square, and went down to the Pine Swamp to cut ff a sta from good old New England growth . Within t o of fiv e a few months, he was be one the men from C atamount Hill who marched away to fight for the who u Stars and Stripes , were tr e blue when so much of Massachusetts was tinged with British red .

The whole Story is American in its atmosphere . The final picture o f that Flag of the hearthfires going to the t op of its pine staff Over a rough log school house, with the waving pines in the background , and of with a little group men , their wives , and their boys

and girls barefooted and in homespun , is one that de serves perpetuation in a painting by an Americanart

l St .

1 0 n On June 3 , 9 3 , the Catamount Hill Associatio of O f erected a monument in honor the event May, 1 8 1 2 on , the spot where the little log schoolhouse stood one h undred years ago.

1 48 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

i i Guerriere i he took to be the Br t sh , on wh ch was sup posed t o be an American seaman recently impressed i in u u i u i . by the Engl sh He made sa l p rs t, and , j st

u ou i . after d sk, came near en gh to ha l At the

- i President rounded to within pistol shot . Each sh p ” ran out every gun in the broadside . d ’ i “ i ?” Ro gers ha l , What sh p is that was answered by a flash and a ball that hit the mainmast of the s d is Pre i ent . What happened then best told in a statement made by Rodgers after the action— note how “ he makes the Flag the keynote— Equ ally determined not to be the aggressor or su ffer the flag o f my country d i i u i o to be insulte w th mp n ty, I gave a general rder ”

i i . to fire . A shatter ng volley smote the Engl shman ’ and resident s The action was brief, the P opponent o in i so n lay helpless, d stress . She was the English L i l e corvette the tt e B l t . There was much controversy between the United i i i ff i States and Great Br ta n over th s a a r, and we find Old Glory figuring in the report Of C aptain Bingham “ of Littl e B el t di the , when he says, At fin ng he gained so considerably on u s as not to be able to elu de him u i i i i i - d r ng the n ght , be ng w th n gun shot, and clear l i i in his i i y d scern ng the stars broad pennant, I mag ned the most prudent method was to bring to and hoist i i i ” the colors, that no m stake m ght ar se . We have given this little account o f a very minor incident in way of prelude to the real story O f the Flag u i 1 1 2 n on the sea d r ng the War of 8 , as revealed i a few dramatic scenes . That Great Britain made light Littl e B el t i of the defeat of the , and regarded th s “ f 1 8 1 2 i i i country, in the summer o , as an ns gn ficant FLAG ON THE SEA IN 1 8 1 2 1 49 Power is clearly shown in a sentence that appeared in the London E v ening Star in Ju ly of that year . “ That paper sneered at a piece of striped bu nting fly ing at the mastheads of a few fir-built frigates manned ” by ou tlaws . B u t England was to receive a shock that shook the o whole structu re f her naval traditions . Bear in mind that no European country had ever beaten her in a

- in 1 8 1 2 single ship action ; that Trafalgar was , , a memory Of a tremendous victory less than seven years i . h past Dur ng t at month of July, when that refer ence to “ striped bunting flying at the mastheads of a ” fir- u i few b ilt frigates came to pr nt in London , the

C onstit ution i u , Capta n Isaac H ll , made her remarkable

u O f i u escape from under the g ns a Brit sh fleet , thro gh

i o i i i . t super or seamansh p With n a month , be prec se, on u u 1 1 8 1 2 C onstit ution A g st 9 , , the same smashed

G uerriere i i is flinders the , a pr de Of the Br t h navy, to

O ff the New England coast . Hu ll sailed up Boston old his i i harbor to the Federalist town , and , sh p be ng of u m no di Massach setts ake, there was hol ng back the true American sou l from uttering itself in wild cries o befla ed of j y and in streets gg with Old Glory . A song m e s i of the times , one of the any po m Of j ub lation , gives us a stanza that introdu ces the London E v ening ’ “ ” Star s striped bunting with real effect

“ T oo long our t ars hav e borne in peace W ith B rit ish domineerin g ; ’ B u t now they v e sw orn the t rade should cease ee n For v engeance they are st ri g . THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

First a ant u he was the l ad g ll H ll , W ho sai ed a t rant -hu ntin l y g, A nd swa erin acres soon w as ad gg g‘D gl i e t o s tri ed u ti ” T O st r k p b n ng .

There was a neat little incident on the smashed deck

i u . C . u . o f the Guerriere . H ll sent L e t Geo Read in

a boat to receive the surrender of the British frigate . i i When Read stepped up to Dacres , the Br t sh captain, “ ’ he said , Commodore Hull s compliments, and wishes ” to know if you have struck your flag . Dacres looked t e up and down his ship , and then coolly and dryly ’ - o . plied , Well , I d n t know . Our mizzen mast is gone

u r . O mainmast is gone Upon the whole, you may say av we h e struck ou r flag . a s e But behind unfortunate Dacres, cro s the wid

Atlantic, stood the English nation awaiting word of ou victory . Imagine, if y can, the dismay when tid ings came of the Stars and Stripes waving above a

. T imes beaten Union Jack The London , then as now “ a O f i O f the gre t paper the city, lamented the str king an English flag on the high seas t o anything like an i e equal force . Never before in the h story of th ” world did an English frigate strike t o an American . Some one Should have stood right up in meeting and

called up the shades Of the Serapis and Paul Jones . It Guerrie e one was most sad , as the r was of the select “ frigates picked t o drive the insolent striped bunting

from the seas . 1 8 1 8 1 2 the Frolic October , , witnessed the defeat of Was . SO s by the p The Britisher was shattered , and lo t a so many men, that an Americ n had to board her d an . haul down her flag She fought magnificently,

1 52 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

R E e CA D N W now meet as friends . God grant we i b may never meet as enem es . B u t we are su j ect t o the ”

ou r u . orders of governments , and m st Obey them “ R : i o i D E CATU I heartily rec pr cate the sent ment . “ C R DE : B u t sir u be u A N what, , wo ld the conseq ence to u ou if u yo rself and the force y command , we sho ld meet as enemies E R : if D CATU Why, sir, we meet with forces that i u i m ght be fairly called eq al , the confl ct would be se bu t u on i vere, the flag of my co ntry the sh p I command shall never leave the staff on which it waves as long as ” there is a hu ll t o support it .

i u : 2 1 8 1 2 Ep log e On October 5 , , Carden stepped on board the U nit ed Sta tes to hand over his sword to De “ O si d d ffi his u . N r i cat r , , sa the latter, o ng cocked “ i o f hat, I cannot rece ve the sword a man who has so

i bu t i i o u bravely defended his sh p , I w ll rece ve y r o his bi hand . Then Decatu r c ndu cted C arden to ca n “ u u s where, as an old acco nt tells , refreshments were set ou t and partaken of in a friendly spirit by the two ” commanders .

Guerriere M a cedonian The defeats of the , the and

J av a i u i S u the , in rap d s ccess on , t nned England . There were no more references to the C onstit ution as a bu n ” dle i - . C i i of p ne boards George ann ng, speak ng in Open i F r 1 8 1 s Parl ament in ebrua y, 3 , asserted that the lo s o f the Guerriere and the M a ced onia n produ ced a sen sation in the country scarcely to be equ aled by the “ s i u i O f u . d mo t v olent conv ls on nat re He adde , It cannot be t oo deeply felt that the sacred spell Of the invincibility Of the British fleet was broken by those FLAG O N T H E SE A I N 1 8 1 2 1 53

imes un fortunate captures . The London T confessed “ that a very short time before the captu re o f the Guer

riere A m i of i , an erican fr gate was an Obj ect rid cule

t o . Pil ot our honest tars And the , the chief naval O f i a authority England , see ng Old Glory like an p a i ion r t i . p in the west , fa rly wailed The following must have made good reading for the men who stood “ on decks u nder the Stars and Stripes : Any one who had predicted such a resu lt Of an American war this time last year wou ld have been treated as a madman

or a traitor . He would have been told,if his opponents u him had condescended to arg e with , that long ere seven months had elapsed the Am erican flag would i be swept from the seas, the contempt ble navy Of the i i i i i i Un ted States ann h lated , and the r mar t me arse nals o rendered a heap f ruins . Yet down to this mo ment no t a single American frigate has struck her

flag . To the United States these victories were clarion i o calls to Old Glory, summon ng it to appear on ro f u and steeple and in banquet hall . After Decat r had M aced onian i i taken the , he sent Midsh pman Ham lton , who t o i had served under him in the action, Wash ng i O f ton w th the captured flag the British frigate, to u i of deliver it to Pa l Ham lton , the Secretary the Navy

o f u i and the father the yo ng midsh pman . Hamilton a i of 8 1 8 1 2 rrived on the even ng December , , and at once went to a ball that was in progress with his father o in attendance . Into the groups f dancers came the ’ young fellow with the M a ced onian s flag draped a u his u ol i ro nd sho lders . We open an d letter wr tten i on 1 of in in Wash ngton December 4, for the rest the 1 54 T H E DRAMATIC STORY O F O LD GLORY “ ffi cident : He was borne into the room by many o cers . i Good little Mrs . Ham lton , his mother, stood by me, and was so much agitated at the sight O f her son that she must have fallen had I not stepped forward and offered her my arm . The young man sprang into her arms , his sisters threw their arms around him . The colors were then held up by several gentlemen over ‘ the o f u heads H ll , Morris and Stewart, and Hail ’ Columbia played ; and there were huzzas until my ” head swayed . u of -fi ht ers The pict re those sea g , Hull and Stewart, i i under the captured British ens gn , w th the flags of the Guerriere and another English ship of war on a i i wall near them , and with flashes of Old Glory g v ng i one d ou colors of v ctory, is to be a ded to r gallery of of scenes in the story the Stars and Stripes .

1 56 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

of while I live . When the news the defeat and cap u ture of his frigate traveled thro gh the United States , it was received with incredulity and great anxiety . “ u Richard R sh wrote, years afterward, I remember the public gloom ; funeral orations and badges of ‘ ’ ’

. i mourning bespoke it Don t give up the sh p , the

o f on r . dying words Lawrence , were eve y tongue S bu t O f i u One episode, light full mean ng, occ rred

. J . u 1 8 1 . near Newark, N , on J ly 4 , 3 On that day a group of men rode on horses from Newark to a pl ace

- then called Orange Fou r Corners . They entered a of O f tavern and drank a number toasts, two which were as follows :

u Hull , Jones , Decatur and Bainbridge , their co rage and su ccess have encircled them with laurels unfading

i . as time, mperishable as immortality “ u James Lawrence , the brave, the tr e, the good . May his last words be the signal of victory to the United ‘ v Do States commanders , not give up the ship

for Those were indeed dark days Old Glory, bright ened in part by the thou ght O f the heroism of Law O f rence, and by certain memories his chivalry at sea and generous appreciation by his foemen . Broke was severely injured in the head du ring the fight of the C hesa eake Shannon u p and the , yet for ho rs , between “ O f an d moments delirium , he spoke of the gallant ” masterly style Shown by Lawrence in bringing the C hesa eake t o i u Sa p out meet his sh p , under f ll il , and with four great flags flying ; Stars and Stripes on the

- mizzen royal masthead , on the peak, in the starboard FLAG FINDS VICTORY IN DEFEAT 1 57 i i h main r gg ng, and , at the fore, a broad white flag wit “ ’ the words Free Trade and Sailors Rights . Shannon C hesa eake i The took the p to Hal fax, with in his i the dead Lawrence, wrapped Stars and Str pes ,

u - of on the q arter deck . The good people Halifax, o i l yal to the core to their Un on Jack, knew what man ner of man lay within the folds o f Old Glory on the O f his i deck lost fr gate . Less than three months had i H ornet elapsed s nce Lawrence, in the , had defeated in ea co f he i P ck. T wo o Peake , the acts t Amer can must have thrilled tru e Englishmen with a feeling that

James Lawrence was a man throu gh and through . He had taken into his own family the son O f one O f the ea cock slain hands of the P , and he had paid a glo io s i u o r u t . tr b te the Union Jack His opponent, Cap i i i i ta n W ll am Peake , was killed by the last broads de o e from the H r n t . Lawrence had his body carried to hi i s it i . cab n, and tenderly covered with the Un on Jack C i So aptain W lliam Peake went down in his ship , “ o f in five and a half fathoms water, honored with a ” shroud and a sepulcher worthy so brave a sailor . ’ i of u foe Hal fax knew Lawrence s trib te to his dead . SO C hesa eake i , when the p slowly came nto the harbor, with her captain lying still and cold on the deck, and in i his wrapped Old Glory , she determ ned to honor memory as a fellow man and a chivalrous enemy . We o a must not overl ok this event in the story of our Fl g, for it shows us clearly that the souls beneath the standards O f the English -speaking peoples are one in noble impulses . Halifax chose the Oldest resident naval officer as

- chief pall bearer at the funeral , and she buried Law 1 58 T H E DRAMATIC STORY O F O LD GLORY

i of rence in his Old Glory . One beaut ful line the “ o d : u d day c mes to min Victory, rel ctant, ropt a star ” u o i upon the grave . We q ote from a p em wr tten in the Nova Scotian city during the week Of the funeral :

“ A t dawn of day was seen af ar he fl a that bore the st ri e and St ar T g p , ’ A nd high O ld E ngland s en sign flew ’ c e h no s rd re T O he r t e Shan n ha y c w .

’ H is midnight wat ch the seaman keeps W here ra t in death the hero s ee s w p l p , ’ W here in his count r s co ou rs b eeds , y l , l ” B rave Lawrence.

After the body of Lawrence was returned to the i 1 1 i n 8 . Un ted States , September, 3 , the Hon Joseph i Story del vered an address at Salem . We select from “ i one i th s address fine sentence : The stars and str pes , i i i O u r not ou r own wh ch d stingu sh flag, are more than that profuse and generou s gallantry which sees a n enemy no longer than a hostile banner waves for his ” o i protection . That was a salute t Hal fax. We also copy two extremely interestin g fragments from the mass of printed matter on the loss Of the C hesa eake . t o ffi of p One, in reference the slain O cers ’ in of the frigate, said , way reply to Napoleon s utter “ 1 1 8 1 1 u ance of March 7, , Lawrence, L dlow , Ballard , ‘ e o Broom , White, you died in the defense f the religion ’ O f . all adium 1 your flag The Boston P for June 5, 1 8 1 h 3 , glorified both Lawrence and is Stars and “ “ : H is ff Stripes , in these words flag he could not su er of o be should wave under a shadow suspicion, r ex posed to the least breath of reproac

1 60 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

N ia a a Lake Erie was the hour when Perry , on the g r , broke through the British line an d saw the L awrence

i F u . w th her lag lowered , about to s rrender Through the murk came the N iagara pou ring bro adsides into L aw ence . N ow r the English ships for the , and her “ men who could stand amid her dead and dying . When of the smoke cleared , with a feeble shout the remnant ” SO the crew flung out their flag at masthead . wrote i u an historian years ago, and , with that stirr ng pict re O f victory snatched from defeat for Old Glory, through the inspiration of the call O f Lawrence that s still thrills American fighters at sea, we clo e the rec ord 1 1 2 of Old Glory on the water in the War of 8 . XXVIII

T H E FLAG O N LA N D I N T H E W A R O F 1 8 1 2

FTER discouraging campaigns during the early O f 1 8 1 2 it months of the War , the Flag found self with defenders gathering close around it in v ic O f on tory . There are but three events the whole war land that give us stirring scenes with Old Glory a ’ u do minant actor . They occ rred at Lundy s Lane,

C . M cH enr anada ; Stonington , Conn , and Fort y, Mary land . a o Str ngely en ugh , the Stars and Stripes owed its glory at Lundy’ s Lane mainly to regiments from New

England , although New England had been a back slider in supporting the central government at Wash in on gt in active prosecution of the war . The men u who of Vermont, Massachusetts and Connectic t, fought with Sco tt and Ripley under Old Glory at ’ of o Lundy s Lane, were the stock that sto d at Bunker Hill and swarmed over the Berkshires and the Green

Mountains to fall upon and overwhelm Bu rgoyne . N O amount of Federalist talk could argue them out of their conviction O f the demands o f loyalty to their ’ country s Flag . ’ O f on 2 1 8 1 The battle Lundy s Lane, July 5, 4 , was u u mostly fo ght after sunset , d ring a close, sultry dark ness, with a pale moon shining, and with the roar

1 6 1 1 62 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY o f Niagara Falls thundering through the volleys o f A S m ic cannon an d muskets . the A er an force marched i o to the field , a ra nb w arched the head of their column, i i u the colors of its curve enclos ng the red , wh te and bl e i of u i it . the flags that fl ttered with n Th s column , we give the make -up O f the little American army as a t whole, was composed of two regimen s from Massa chusett s one one i one , from Vermont, from Connect cut, from New York, one from Pennsylvania, and a mixed of i body militia ma nly from Pennsylvania . The reg ul ars had been trained to a fine fin ish by Scott an d he Ripley, and formed one of the best fighting bodies t

United States ever sent to a battlefield . ’ The British force at Lundy s Lane inclu ded the fa mou s Royal Scots and other regiments whose standards on n ue had been seen ma y fields . The fight that ens d i one when the two l ttle armies met, was long series of i u of bayonet charges, w th interl des musketry fire in volleys so close that the flashes from the mu zzles of the muskets frequently crossed in sheets of flame vivid in the night . 2 th at Maj or Jesup, with the 5 Regiment ’ ou i o i tacked the left , wh le Scott s ther three reg ments in his brigade fell upon the front of the English line . u is Jesup broke thro gh the Royal Scots . H Stars and “ Stripes was riddled with balls, and as a sergeant of u ff waved it amid a storm b llets , the sta was sev n u o com ered in three places i his hand . T rning t his mander the sergeant exclaimed as he took up the frag !’ ments, Look , Colonel , how they have cut us The i u his next m nute a ball passed thro gh body, but he i n St ll kept his feet , and still waved his mutilated sta d

1 64 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

t o been following . They give the lie the statement that New England had little part in the War O f 1 8 1 2

“ Around the tattered colors of the Eleventh Regi O f r ment !Vermont), that shattered fragment the fi st i d ” br ga e was rallied . “ w -fifth C The T enty !onnecticut), under Jesup , with their regimental banner pierced With scores O f bu llet-holes received at C hippewa and in this engage

- r the i o f ment, reposed after victo y on river s de the ” u Q eenstown Road . Add t o those pictures that of the Old Glory O f “ the Ninth Regiment !Mas sachu setts) that still waved ” in dim i the moonl ght over its men engulfed in fire, and you have material for bronze tablets in State

Capitols of three New England states .

’ During the month after Lundy s Lane, in August, 1 1 i o 8 o . 4, the British bombarded Ston ngton , C nn , fr m “ his i of the sea . Lossing, in F eld Book of the War “ tells this story : A timid citizen in the battery — ‘ ’ o o N o ! ! v en prop sed lowering the c lors . No shouted ‘ erabl e i i Capta n Jerem ah Holmes . That flag shall never come down while I am alive When the wind i out on d ed away, he held it the point of a bayonet, i it s and several shots went through t . To prevent being struck by some coward, Holmes held a com

. on i panion , J Dean Gallup, his shoulders wh le he i o ff na led it t the sta . It was completely riddled by i i . i Brit sh shot Loss ng saw th s flag in Stonington , in 1 860 u - , and counted the b llet holes . The history of the Stars and Stripes on land dur THE FLAG ON LAND IN 1 8 1 2 1 65 ing the War of 1 8 1 2 very properly closes with the “ ” - e Star Spangled Banner of Fort M cH nry. Francis who m Scott Key, wrote the poem that so soon beca e o famous when sung to the music f an English song, “ Anacreon in Heaven, was a temporary prisoner on a British ship during the bombardment of Fort Mc o Henry at Baltimore . He had gone t this ship to i o a r. bt in the release Of his friend , D W lliam Beanes , and was held by the British until after the attack was over . f the Key had taken with him , in his e fort to secure

of . k release Dr . Beanes , another friend , John S S in n ner, and the two men were tra sferred from Admiral ’ C R o al O ak t o Sur ochrane s ship , the y , the frigate rise own a p , and from the latter to their little bo t, where they were held under guard . This boat was so placed that it gave Key a clear view of Old Glory M cH en r . streaming Over Fort y The poem , which was s of h on of hastily cribbled , part it w ile the deck his boat while watching the rockets ’ red glare” and the ” bombs bursting in air, and the rest in lines j otted down on the b ack O f a letter as he was returning to

Baltimore, is a record in verse of what Key actually

1 1 8 1 . saw on September 3 , 4 2 1 1 1 o a On September , 8 4, the poem , r song, p “ peared in the Baltimore American under the title De “ fense O f M cH enr Fort y, set to the music of Anac ” en reon in Heaven . It was at once received with “ ” hu sia m - - t s . To day, as The Star Spangled Banner, it holds premier place among the patriotic songs O f ou the United States . It was fitting that r Flag should have been the inspiration of our most popular national 1 66 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

“ ” for T he - hymn , Star Spangled Banner was a per fectly natural ou tbu rst of feeling in a period when Old Glory was making a dramatic fight for recognition among the great standards of the world . The Flag that inspired Key was made by order O f i Brig. Gen . John Stricker, who commanded the Th rd i i o . Br gade, made up mainly of men from Balt m re It was sewed together by Mrs . Mary Young Pickersgill ,

i ol . C . O f w fe of Henry S . Pickersgill Baltimore It a i i o was m de in sections , was or g nally forty feet l ng, i i with fifteen stripes , each nearly two feet w de, and w th

fifteen stars , each two feet from point to point . The in stars are arranged five parallel lines , three stars “ ” - to a line . The Star Spangled Banner now rests in the National Museum at Washington .

1 68 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY was a possibility o f arriving at an Old Glory of twenty i t i i str pes , wi h a strong probab l ty of indefinite addi one i re tion of stripes . As Congressman facet ously ’ k u in i mar ed, the Flag wo ld time require a sh p s mast or a tree to hold it aloft . It was a gracious act to give Reid the task of design fo ing a form r Old Glory that would endure, as his fight at Fayal was practically the last sea- fight of a war waged in defense of the integrity and the reputa tion of the Stars and Stripes . Congressman Peter H . C Wendover, of New York ity, a leader in the move r for ment toward securing a permanent fo m Old Glory, i t o was a close friend of Re d , and it is reasonable as sume that the two men had talked over the fu tu re Of F in o f the lag, that they saw the vast expanse the Lou isiana Territory the areas o f many new States to ’ come, each demanding representation in the nation s

Flag. T o a 1 1 go back a few ye rs , on July 3 , 794 , George Washington gave his name to the first bill that re ceiv ed his signature as President at that session of

Congress . The bill read

A n A ct making alterations in the fl ag of t he United St ates :

B e it enacted etc. hat f rom and af ter the , , T fi rst of M ay, 1 the fl a o f the Unit ed St ates be ft een st ri es er 795 , g fi p , alt nate red and white and that the union be fteen st r te , fi a s, whi ” in a ue bl field .

Vermont and Kentucky had come in to the sister hood Of States , to make the fifteen represented in the

of 1 . 1 e i Old Glory 794 But, since 795 , Tenness e, Oh o, FLAG ASSUMES PERMANENT FORM 1 69

u i a i had Lo is an , Indiana and Mississipp , been added, and it was realized that it would be ridiculous t o con t inue i i F add ng str pes to the lag, to keep pace with the i ncoming States . Captain Reid found a reasonable “ i of solut on the problem . He recommended that the stripes be redu ced to the original number of thirteen and of States , to form the number stars representing the whole number of States into one great star in the fo r t Union, adding one star every new State, hus giv i ing the sign ficant meaning to the flag, symbolically ‘ ’ expressed , Of E Pluribus Unum . Congressman Wendover wrote a number of letters t o Captain Reid while the latter was in New York . 2 1 8 1 8 In that Of March 5 , , he included this sentence “ If the bill passes the Senate soon , it is probable I shall request the captain of the late General Armstrong to have a flag made for Congress Hall under his di ” to rection . The bill referred was the one of April

1 8 1 8 . 4 , , which we shall quote later in this chapter of 6 1 8 1 8 Another letter, that April , , also from Wash in t on t o u g New York, opens with a clever all sion to ’ “ a Engl nd s slurring phrase, striped bunting flying at ” fir- s the mastheads of a few built frigates , and doe ’ not overlook Reid s heroic defense o f his Ship at Fayal . “ We give the first two sentences : Yo ur favor of the

d . 3 instant is this moment received . I learn with ‘ ’ pleasure that the Star- Spangled Banner has fallen in u to good hands , and do bt not Captain Lloyd of the Pl antagenet once thou ght it was in good hands as the ‘ ’ u i nature of the case wo ld adm t , and hope the striped ‘ ’ o r ragged bunting will ever find equal support as o f u at Fayal . Lloyd was the commander the h ge 1 70 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

- — - Planta enet - s one of ship of the line g , seventy four gun , ’ the three that cornered Reid s privateer at Fayal , to their sorrow . aid of i Captain S . C . Reid , with the his good w fe, C in Old herry Street, New York, made the Old Glory

Of the new design , and sent it by mail to Washington,

i on 1 1 8 1 8 . where it arr ved April 3 , James Schouler, i i ” in his History of the Un ted States of Amer ca, comes close to the true significance o f this Flag of “ of 1 1 . 1 1 8 1 8 : 8 8 He says, April 3 , The new flag the for United States , hoisted the first time over the cham o i ber f assembled representat ves at Washington , with its twenty stars so disposed as to form one great star of in the center the azure field , while the long red u and white stripes danced in the breeze, s pplied a S parable . That pangled host, soon to be increased in o f a i number, spoke Union to be progress ve and per et ual i p , while the thirteen str pes recalled founders

whose memory must ever be cherished . The Act of C ongress signed by President Monroe on 1 8 1 8 : April 4 , , read

“ A n A ct t o E st ablish the Fl ag of the United St ates io Sect 1 . n B e it enacted et c. hat f rom and af ter the , , T f ourth da o f J u ne t the fl a of the Uni e t es be hir y ly x , g t d S at t t een hori ont a st ri es a t ernat e red an i e union z l p , l d wh te ; that th hav e twent st ars hite in a u y , w bl e field . “ Section 2 . B e it ur ther enacted hat on th admission f , T e o f ev er new St at e int o the Union one st ar be ad ed to the y , d union of the fl ag ; and that such addition shall t ake effect on ” the f ourth of J u ne t succeedin such ad si ly x g mis on .

Old Glory, even in that rather precise Act, had not d reache a definite design . N O one seemed to know

XXX

O L D GLO R Y

C harl es D o ett C a t ain W illiam HE brig gg , p Driver

o i . 1 8 1 . was about t sa l from Salem , Mass , in 3

u i C ar t ain came ' on A yo ng man , a fr end of Driver, deck at the head of a party from the town , and pre “ sented the Captain with a large and beau tifully made ”

. o u American flag It was d ne p in stops and , when ou t i d C a sent to the masthead and broken to the w n , p “ ” is tain Driver christened it Old Glory . This Flag now preserved in the Essex Institute at Salem . The original Old Glory very appropriafely had a

i i u - im o f romant c h story . It came p over the sea r the i his b i i South Pacific, when Dr ver and r g sa led to the ‘ o rescue of the mutineers of the English ship B unty. S i f Then its tory shifts back to the Un ted States , a ter o f i a gap th rty years . C i i i i in i apta n W ll am Driver was l ving Nashv lle,

. u of C i i F i Tenn , at the o tbreak the v l War . ear ng that C onfederate sympathizers wou ld seize and destroy his F his it lag, he sewed it into the coverlet of bed , that i i d a i m ght be h dden by y and be near h m at night . F 1 862 i i F In ebruary, , Nashv lle fell nto ederal hands . A correspondent o f the Philadelphia Press gave this “ ’ paragraph as a portion of his story : A corporal s

’ was ’ guard sent to the old man s house, where they

1 72 “ ” OLD GLORY 1 73 ripped from the coverlet of his bed an immense flag and O f containing a hundred ten yards bunting, and he brou ght it himself to the Capitol and unfurled it f from the flagsta f. Then, with tears in his eyes , he ‘ : said There, those Texas Rangers have been hunting for u i that these six months , witho t find ng it, and they it u knew I had . I have always said if I co ld see it

float over that Capitol , I should have lived long ‘ ’ enough . Now Old Glory is up there, gentlemen, and ” I am ready to die . o Curi usly, Captain William Driver, in naming the “ n America Flag Old Glory, unwittingly echoed n h a uarteré unner a other sailor, Jo n Kilby, q g under the B on omme R ichard who Paul Jones on H , , in his “ ”

a. memoirs, spoke of the Flag as the glory of Americ XXXI

wo E N T H E A A N D T H E T WOM , FL G BOOK

N the early years of the nineteenth century two nations traveled in nearly parallel lines from the o i of h Atlantic to the Pacific, acr ss the m ddle belt Nort

America . England, with the Hudson Bay Company o as a type of her advance guard under the Uni n Jack, of n went with the steel trap the hunter, seeki g only for the gain that would accrue from hunting and trad for ing in the skins of wild animals . She cared little any enterprise that aimed to establish fixed colonies u i i i or tended to pl ft the nat ve Ind an tribes . The story of the travel of the men o f the United O f States to the shores the West, along their lines of in occidental progress , is best typified the history w of t o a . . men and two women, Marcus Whitm n , M D , is the Rev . H . H . Spalding, and their wives . There a background to their episode in our story o f Old

. i on Glory General Will am Clark, he of our chapter ’ i the Flag s tr p overland to the Pacific, was living in

. u in 1 8 2 i o St Lo is 3 , as Ind an Superintendent ; T him i of who came two Ind ans the Flat Heads, had traveled of i u hundreds m les in an un sual quest . They wanted ’ the white man s Book and his religion fo r their people in the fastnesses of the remote mountains and on the slope of the land beyond i1 76 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY ‘ i i and also div de honors to add , Mesdames Wh tman i i of i and Spald ng, A Un ted States corps eng neers discovering a pass in the Rocky Mountains six ” years after t wo women had gone through !

i o f Fo u t 1 6 . On the morn ng the r h of July, 83 , Mrs “ i was ou Spald ng ill , fainted , and th ght she was near ”

end i . the Of her life . By n ghtfall she was stronger “ u it i it u As Barrows p ts , poet cally , Was beca se they i O f i i gave her to dr nk the brook tr ckl ng by, whose waters were to run through her great parish t o the ” i ? on u on Pac fic They were, that Fourth of J ly, the i of u h gh plateau where the head springs the So th Platte,

an d C o u i i sil the Yellowstone the l mb a , gleam in the r

. i o ver threads They l ttle knew , th se four men and u i women , that, beca se the r wagon carried Old Glory i i and the Book, together w th wheat seed and farm ng i t o i u i u i utens ls , they were g ve , thro gh r ghteo s colon za

io u i i i t n , the one ind b table cla m of the Un ted States to n the Oregon cou ntry i years to come . When once on the Pacific slope; twenty- fiv e hun

i d . dred m les from their homes , the little party halte i i i Then , spreading the r blankets and l ft ng the Amer i ican flag, they all kneeled around the Book, and , w th i i i prayer and pra se, took possess on of the western s de ” of the continent for Christ and the Chu rch . They had traversed the weary road to give the land a Christian i i i i i . civ l zat on under the Stars and Str pes W th them , n é o as they k elt, were two Nez Perc boys , who st od by i i w th eyes on Old Glory and the B ble . his on William Barrows , in work Oregon , gave us one of the most adequ ate and fascinating of all the h of o - biograp ies ur forty eight Commonwealths . In wo F AN D 1 T WOMEN , LAG BOOK 77

i u t o him i in tr b te as an h storian , and memory Of the “ heroism of the two women who were ready t o die on ” the Rocky Mou ntains in the service to which they

d i his - u O f of were calle , we g ve word pict re one , the most significant scenes in the whole histo ry of the Stars and Stripes : In compass of backgrou nd and foreground ; the two halves O f the continent ; the parting rivers for t wo oceans ; the moral exigency suggested by the two Indian figu res ; the rou nding ou t O f the Republic on

u e u the s nset sid , as it came in the conseq ences ; the

u i kneeling men and women aro nd the Book, w th the i — Amer can flag floating over them , the scene is worthy ” any panel in the Rotunda at Washington . XXXII

O L D GLOR Y S E E KS T H E EN DS O F T H E WO R LD

' of C on ress of 1 8 1 8 6 ex e Y an Act g May , 3 , an p u i dition t o the Antarctic regions was a thor zed, o he s o f n f r t purpo e aiding, through a better k owledge “ O u ou r f the fishing gro nds , commerce embarked in i ” ’ the whale fisher es , and increasing the nation s fund i of information of the world . Charles W lkes , of the his United States Navy, was placed in command , and little fleet included the sloops -of- war Pea cock and

Vincennes Por oise R elie , the brig p , the storeship f, and - ul l n i the tenders Sea G l and F yi g F sh. Wilkes and his ships left Chesapeake Bay on A u 1 8 1 8 8 gust , 3 , sailed across the Atlantic to Funchal , and then turned south and skirted the east coast O f

h . Sout America After rounding the Horn , they car he ried their Flags over t South Pacific to Australia, h and t en headed straight for the Antarctic ice . It was a bold feat O f seamanship to front the ice - pack not one of in those small sailing ships , them equipped of o o with the engines m tor power f a later day. Yet Wilkes ran along the edge of the gigantic barrier,

proved that there was an Antarctic continent, and “ 1 8 0 wrote, in 4 , I feel it due to the honor of our flag t o make a proper assertion of the priority of the claim the of American Expedition , and of the greater extent 1 78

1 80 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

i i of i ner, g ves a ver fication the sal ent episodes in each . in of his Wilkes , a part long voyage, went over o i the track f Robert Gray . He carr ed the Stars and i C d Str pes to the bars of the olumbia, and then inlan ,

s him u a Gray had done before . Then he met Marc s i m i Wh tman , of who we have just wr tten, and con him versed with . When the two men clasped hands

i u i o f i at Wallawalla, Oregon , a great c rc t Amer can heroic endeavo r was in current : for Wilkes had car i d n i u r ed Old Glory aroun the Hor , along the myster o s

i d ice and u i Antarct c headlan s of , then p the Pac fic , to meet another Old Glory that had gone from the A t

i u i b lantic to the M sso r , and then y wagon over the Rockies and down t o the Pacific at the Columbia

River . i o f 1 8 1 But the really beautiful ep sode that July, 4 , i comes in here t o make the trilogy complete . We g ve ’ “ i Wilkes own words : Mr . Drayton !who was w th i i i W aiil a t u W lkes) met w th an Old Ind an at p , who was pointed ou t as the man who took the first flag that was ever seen in this cou ntry to the Grande Ronde i !a meeting place) as the emblem O f peace . Lew s

C in i u d and lark, when th s co ntry, presente an Amer

to C u ib i it of ican flag the ay se tr e, call ng a flag peace ;

i i in i i had u th s tr be, all ance w th the Wallawallas , p to that time been always at war with the Shoshones i b and the Snakes . After t ecame known to the Snakes

u i C that s ch a flag ex sted , a party of ayuse and Walla wallas took the flag and planted it at the Grande

of . Ronde, the Old man above spoken being the bearer The result has been that these two tribes have ever OLD GLORY AT ENDS OF WORLD 1 8 1

since been at peace with the Snakes , and all three have ” met annually in that place to trade . 1 i Wilkes wrote in 844 , in clos ng his narrative, I have reason to rej oice that I have been enabled t o carry the mo ral influence o f Ou r cou ntry to eve ry ” quarter of the globe where ou r flag has waved . Did “ ” he also hold in memory the moral influ ence of the Stars and Stripes and the Bible in that then remote land of Oregon ? ’ one There was a sequel to Wilkes narrative, that

u in 1 . 1 he co ld not have foretold 844 On July 8 , 1 8 1 Pea cock u one of t wo 4 , the , Captain H dson, the

- of - his sloops war in fleet, was wrecked in the surging billows while trying to sail through the break in the bar at the mou th o f the Columbia . The sea rolled i over her, plundering her Of her rigg ng and her frame

O f . work . In boats , a part the crew reached shore i u i i Capta n H dson , when he saw that the sea was r s ng “ o i n t o i d rapidly, rdered the ens g be ho ste on the stump of i - u the m zzen mast , as a signal for the boats to ret rn t o w i the land hich was obeyed by them , although w th the feeling that they were abandoning their commander ” and those with him to their fate . u t But Hudson , and his pl cky crew hat stood by him , u i were saved , and they bro ght ashore w th them the “ Old Glory that had flu ttered on the stump of the

- mizzen mast . This Flag went with Wilkes across the i i Pac fic , through the Ind an Ocean , around the Cape O f Good Hope, over the Atlantic , back to the United had n States . It mu st have i it s threads something o f S i i of o f the restless p r t daring the American people , O f the men who in the middle years of the last cen 1 82 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

tury were striking north , south , east and west, carry ing Old Glory on their mastheads into all corners o f o or i i ea oc the w rld . F th s ens gn of the P c k known ea cock did re now as the P Flag, not rest after its 2 i turn t o the United States in 1 84 . Its romant c story i i was then but beg nn ng . 1 8 0 In 5 , President Taylor recommended to Con gress an appropriation to defray the expense o f an ex edition fo r h i p to seek Sir Jo n Franklin , lost, w th his c i men under the Union Jack, in the Arcti reg ons . DeH av en who i Lieut . Edwin J . , had been with W lkes , o received the c mmand of this expedition , and he car “ ” o e ried the Peac ck Flag with him on the Adv anc .

i u co The search proved in va n, although cond cted in operation with an expedition from England . Now it chanced that Henry Grinnell had come into “ ” s o f ea cock F u pos ession the P lag, probably thro gh DeH av en i , and had been largely nstrumental in back eH a en re ing the Franklin expedition . When D v r of tu ned with no word Franklin, Grinnell at once planned a second expedition to assail the white North ,

i m . and he gave Dr . El sha Kent Kane the co mand o DeH av en Adv ance Kane had g ne with in the , and had developed original plans for attacking the northern barriers o f ice . With him again went the Old Glory

of eacock 0 1 8 . the P , as the party sailed on May 3 , 53 Kane reached the farthest point North ever at i hi i i t ained by man up to the t me of s exped tion . Th s - o f word picture, taken from the j ournal William ’ “ ” of u Morton , one Kane s gallant and tr stworthy men , “ an d i n own - transcr bed by Ka e, tells its story ; Morton o tried t pass round the cape . It was in vain ; there

THE NE W YO R K PU B LIC LI B RA RY

T O A S O R , L E N X T I L D E N F O U N B A T I O N S O LD GLORY AT ENDS O F WORLD 1 83

- o was no ice fo t, and , after trying his best to ascend

u u f ew . the cliffs , he co ld get p but a hundred feet Here he fastened to his walking- pole the Grinnell flag of - i i ic the Antarctic , a well cher shed l ttle relic, wh h had o now followed me n two Polar voyages . This flag had been saved from the wreck o f the United States -o f - Pea cock off the sloop war , when she stranded Columbia River ; it had accompanied C ommodore Wilkes in his far- southern discovery of an Antarctic now t o continent . It was its strange destiny float a no over the highest northern l nd , t only of America ” of but the globe . Still the Stars and Stripes of the Peacock could not 6 . 1 8 0 rest It went with Hayes to the North in , and was again spread to the wind by Captain Charles h on t e Pol aris 1 8 0 . Francis Hall , in 7 Hall had it with him , and unfurled it, when he took possession ° ' “ of land at 82 60 north latitude in the name of G od ” no and the United States . There is question that this famous Stars and Stripes traveled farther north an o f and south than y other flag in the world , any

. i i 1 8 8 nation It was in good cond t on in 7 , and was de “ scribed then - as being of ordinary bunting about eight - of h by three feet, and with twenty four stars w ite ” muslin sewed in the Union . So we have for ou r Story of Old Glory the dra matic record of a Stars and Stripes that rippled in thewind against the Silver- white ice of the Antarctic ; that came through the gates of destruction on the bars of the Columbia ; that time and time again dared of flu the desolate Mystery the frozen North ; that, t of tl olaris ad tering from the topmast P , h the proud 1 84 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

h honor of being, at the time, at the highest point nort ever attained by any flag on any vessel . We leave it it s on i , with Red , White and Blue vivid the marg n o f the Polar Sea .

1 86 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

ing . When the boats struck the sand , there was a rush d i - i of sol iers and mar nes to the sand h lls , and Old Glory was planted on a high crest without the firing of a gun . 6th On the of March , Vera Cruz fell and the Flag of the American Repu blic floated from the top of ’ San Juan D Ulloa . The first great blow to the Mex ” is i i ican power had fallen . It nterest ng to note that ’ “ in i i ffi V Scott s l ttle cab net of o cers at era Cruz, i i . was an eng neer, Capta n Robert E . Lee The roll ’ call of the commissioned officers of Scott s army o f i i i nvas on was r ch in the names of other men who, in

- two decades, were to win world fame under the Stars and Stripes an d the Confederate flag . V C d era ruz was followed by Cerro Gordo, a weir o of s ff h battle fought in a regi n gorge and cli s , t at ended with every height crowned with the Stars and i of Str pes . The battle Contreras grants us a brief glimpse of Old Glory flaming from the ridges O f for ified i h C herubu sco t he g ts . yields a florid passage ’ “ ” H eadle s i i i from y L fe of W nfield Scott, wh ch we “ ’ give ; The sun s rising beams flashed on the crimson summit of C ontreras ; his noonday splendor failed to pierce the war clou d that shrouded the tens of thou sands struggling in mortal combat arou nd C herubusco ; now his i and depart ng rays , as they stooped behind i u u . the Cord lleras , fell on a mo rnf l field of slaughter B ut they kissed in their farewell the American stand i i o ard flutter ng from every summ t and t wer, where ” in the morning the Mexican cross greeted his coming . 1 8 o In September, 47, Scott sto d at the base of i on Chapultepec , w th seven thousand men , determined FLAG OVER HALLS OF MONTEZUMA 1 87

carrying it by storm and then falling upon Mexico of city . Chapultepec was carried , and , as the waves “ th e i Amer can army swept over the crest, flag after ” u o o flag was fl ng out from the upper walls . Sc tt lo ked up and saw, as Headley tells us in graphic prose , “walls and ramparts which a few hours before bristled ’ now with the enemy s cannon , black with men , and ” t o f flut ering with the colors his own regiments . m When Mexico city ca e into American hands, Gen ’ the eral Quitman s division first approached square , “ and his troops , rushing with shouts upon it, hoisted ” their flag on the walls o f the National Palace A n little company of forty United States marines , u der

. . . won Lieut A S Nicholson , the honor of carrying Old Glory into the heart of Mexico and standing beneath

ou . it as it went above the Palace . If y recall Lieut ’ O B annon on , who planted the Stars and Stripes the o f walls of Derna, Tripoli , at the time General Wil ’ 1 0 ou liam Eaton s assault in 8 5 , y will understand the “ ’ meaning of the opening words of The Marines Hymn :

From the Halls of Montezuma T o the sho res o f T ripoli ’ W e fight ou r coun t ry s bat tles O n the and as on the sea l .

e of v 1c The feature of this s ries sharp , decisive i for O ld u s is tor es Glory that interests the most, the o appearance of certain names , then ass ciated with now i the Stars and Stripes , but prom nent in our coun ’ try s history as representing men who served under h C ha ulte anot er flag. Lieut . George D . Pickett, at p '1 88 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

of 8th pec, took charge the colors of the Infantry, o f had them borne to the top the palace, lowered the ’ d of enemy s stan ard, and replaced it with that the ” h and i h 8t Infantry the nat onal flag . Almost at is

i u . o s de, Lie t James L ngstreet was disabled by a se ”

u . i 6 h . t t vere wo nd Lieut Lewis Arm stead , Infan ry, was “the first to leap into the ditch under the artillery ” - and musketry fire and hand grenades of the enemy . “ i of Not far away, Lieut . T . J . Jackson had e ght his ” artillery horses killed at one shot .

o t o 1 86 . Let us g on over the years July 3 , 3 On “ ” u that day Stonewall Jackson was no more . A b llet i him “ ” ’ at Chancellorsv lle had dropped , Bobby Lee s “ ” o i g od r ght arm, lifeless . In the afternoon of that

u u . J ly 3 , at Gettysb rg, Major General George D Pickett led the pride of Virginia’ s regiments against u the Union center . At the head of the col mn went i . t o Br gadier General Lewis A Armistead , fall dying among the Union guns . The Mexican war was not one of endu ring glory h for t e Stars and Stripes . Its chief interest for us is the schooling it gave to young West Pointers who were to step over the threshold of the sixties and find themselves arrayed in hostile camps on the soil of the O United States . Some f them were true to Old Glory ; bu t there were others in their number who were for “ ” a time as strangers in a strange land .

1 90 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

i ily . He also saw to it that he was well supplied w th i m arms , ammun tion, tents , A erican Flags , etc . 2 6 f i . 1 8 o On , Fr day, Nov , 47, in command the i Su l i United States storesh p pp y, Lynch we ghed, anchor at and stood down New York bay . Students of the curious in literature find the log of this young

Naval ofli cer interesting reading . He was admirably ’ f re posted in the world s history , and his entries quently reflect the reactions of histo ric spots on the n hi i of his . o e s na ve mood thought We give , as Old

Glory gleamed in the sun off Cape Trafalgar on Dec .

1 . 9 Made Cape Trafalgar, and sailed over the scene of the great conflict between the fleet o f England and the combined fleets of France and Spain . Here, the great Collingwood broke the opposing line . There the O f e noble Nelson, the terror his fo s and the pride of bu t u his country, nobly, prematurely fell , his last p lsa i tion an exultant throb , as the shout of V ctory rang in

. u h his ears Had he lived, his noble nature wo ld ave ” freed itself from the thraldom o f a syren .

On went Lynch , with his Stars and Stripes thread t o ing a way through the Mediterranean , the Bos

horus , t o i p , Constantinople, and then down S don and

. 2 8 1 8 8 Tyre On March , 4 , he anchored under Mount

C of i . O n armel , before the walled village Ha fa “ 1 t o for s hoisted ' out March 3 , he sent Acre hor es , and the two Fannies and loaded them with our own ef« ” “ fec s S ff i t . Then he set up a ta and for the first t me, was without the consular precincts , the American flag ” raised in Palestine . 1 Su l d On April , the pp y weighed anchor and stoo io o close inshore t o land provis ns . The t w small metal FLAG GOES DOWN THE JORDAN 1 9 1 boats also arrived and were hauled up to a green ”

i . spot beside Belus, and a short d stance from the sea i i i An illustrat on of the camp at th s spot, g ven in Lynch ’ s “Narrative of the United States ’ Expedition ” i to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, from wh ch

we derive our story for this chapter, shows Old Glory ff at the top of a sta near two tents , the little boats , u l hauled up , near by, and the S pp y distant on the

horizon . 1 On April 3 , 848, after much vexatious haggling ffi t wo annies m with native o cials , the F were ounted on o fl trucks drawn by camels , and , with Old Gl ry y in for of g over them , the little party set out the Sea

O f . Galilee . On April 4 , they crossed the plain Acre The next day found them passing through “the nar rowest tract on the coast of Syria which was never n subdued by the Israelites , and through the arrowest part of the land of the tribe of Ashur into that of ” - Zebulon . Lynch gives us a word sketch of his little

expedition at this point . It is worth repeating here “ on The metal boats, with the flags flying, mounted b carriages drawn y huge camels , Ourselves , the mounted ! the sailors in single file , loaded camels , the sherif and

the sheik with their tufted spears and followers , pre ” o sented a glori us sight . Then came trouble for the two Fannies and their “ Flags . Lynch had reached a broken and rocky coun try” where he “encountered much difficulty with the ” boats . The road was rugged , had never been crossed b W - i i y heel carr ages before , and was cut by r dges and hollows . In t wo days the little boats had been dragged

up fifteen hundred feet from the plain of Acre . From 1 92 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

his that elevation , Lynch had first view Of the Sea of i u i Galilee and , wh le profo ndly moved by the s ght, “ i in wrote in a practical Yankee ve n, How the world are the boats ever to be got down this rocky and pre ci it ous i p path , when we are compelled to al ght and ” ou ? F o is S lead r horses r m hence a heer descent . i of i 1 8 8 Fa nnies N ghtfall Apr l 7, 4 , saw the on the brink o f the high and steep range which overlooked ” u n the lake to the west . Old Glory was unf rled i i i s ght of Gal lee . The following day, Lynch proudly u u i i wrote, Took all hands p the mo nta n to br ng the i u o u boats down . Many t mes we tho ght that they w ld r did his rush into the sea . Eve y one best , and at length ff i i i u o d ou r . s ccess cr wne e orts W th the r flags fly ng, we carried them triumphantly beyond the walls unin d i j ure , and, am d a crowd of spectators , launched them u he u he u pon t bl e waters of t Sea of Galilee . B oyantly Fannies i floated the two , bearing the Stars and Str pes , the noblest flag o f freedom now waving in the world . i i u S nce the t me of Joseph s and the Romans , no vessel of Si i i any ze has sa led upon th s sea, and for many, m any years , but a solitary vessel has furrowed its ” surface . So it 1 8 8 happened that on a bright day in April , 4 , Fann M ason d the y led the way, followe by the Fann Skinner i i y , steer ng d rectly for the outlet of the “ i J i i u fl r ver ordan, w th awn ngs spread and colo rs y ” n u i i u in i g. After a n mber Of exc t ng advent res shoot in i i F g the rapids of the r ver, the two boats , w th lags

M . at their sterns , entered the Dead Sea at P . , i 1 8 1 8 8 . Apr l , 4 i Lynch c rcumnavigated the Dead Sea, and finished

N E W PU B ‘ LI B RA R Y

A S T O L E N O X R , T I L D E N F O U N D A T I O N S FLAG GOES DOW N T H E JORDAN 1 93

th his work early in May . On the morning of the 8 “ o f ff the month , he constructed a float with a flagsta ”

. ou t fitted to it The next morning, he rowed in the

ann Skinner i F y and moored th s float, with Old Glory u of fl ttering above it, in eighty fathoms water . In the afternoon the boats were taken apart and were started

on the road overland to the Mediterranean , where n Ly ch joined them later . One incident of this adventurous expedition is well

. 2 8 1 8 8 worth preservation in this book On April , 4 , Lynch received word of the death of ex - President John ou t o Quincy Adams . The next day, he went up n the u Fa nn M ason s rface of the Dead Sea, in the y , with the Stars and Stripes displayed and with a heavy gun

- mounted in the bow of the boat . Twenty one minu te o guns were fired , the reports reverberating l udly and strangely amid the cavernous recesses of the lofty and ” barren mountains . XXXV

STA R S A N D ST R IP E S AT FOR T SU MT E R

HE first page of the greatest chapter in our coun ’ try s history of Old Glory was written when Confederate batteries opened fire on the Stars and i 1 1 86 . Stripes that flew over Fort Sumter in Apr l , The

Civil War was a struggle for the salvation o f the Flag . The North saw in its thirty- fou r stars a family of States ’ “ that must not be broken . Horace Greeley s erring ” sisters were not to go ou t over the national threshold

and take their stars with them . The South strove to destroy the integrity of the Constellation that had been so many years in coming from misty nebula t o gleam i ing real ty . She would split North America with a line i u ou t from the Atlantic to the Pac fic, sh t the lower M issi ssr i d pp from northern tra e, unless controlled as

she dictated , and force the North to reshape the Stars t i u u o of and S r pes , mo rnf lly rem ving a group stars that S had been plendid in history . At that time no man on earth knew that the unity of the United States of America 15 figured in the H eav ’ in S u i ens an eternal ign . As Beauregard s g ns fired the r i i first shells at Sumter, a m ghty constellat on, Cygnus , was i i the Swan , approach ng the zen th . Near it trav ‘ el e u O f st ars as d Lyra, the gro p that, some men hold , gave ou r fathers the thought of the constellation in ou r 1 94

1 96 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

S ff it splintered ta with in his arms , nailed it in place i in u aga n . This act, performed sight of Mo ltrie where, in 1 6 77 , Sergeant Jasper had rescued and planted the F on Palmetto lag the parapet, gave the keynote to the

North at the opening o f the great War . From the States of the North Atlantic seaboard to the States of the trans-Alleghany and northern Mississippi River i “ sect ons, ran the cry, The Old Flag has been fired ” an s upon !with echoing refrain . We mu t set it up ” i and i ! i aga n , hold it on h gh The Stars and Str pes i of for became instantly a flam ng torch war the North , and its hold on the devo tion of its people grew in strength and in its power of calling forth expressions i t . of pass onate loyalty, as the struggle con inued We open the pages of books and newspapers of the 1 86 1 of year , and read columns matter literally aglow

o u with Old Glory . Well nigh every ration and f lly

- of i u of three fourths the mult t de poems written , con i F . ta n references to the lag Many a speaker and writer,

and o who commenced their speeches, articles p ems in a subdued mood, found themselves swept away by the

of t o n tides heir feelings , when they came t the poi t of i ntroducing Old Glory . We give a few passages from of i 1 86 1 : brief newspaper reports Apr l , i i 1 . Y . . On Apr l 9 , at K ngston, N , John B Steele, who i i presided at a meeting, said on tak ng the cha r

I t must never be supposed that the fl ag could be desecrat ed ithout t ou chin t he sou of ev er enu in w g l y g e American . N o mat t er what it mu st cost the St ars and St ri es u st B ut , p m wav e . one heart beat s here and that is the t rue me i A r can hea rt . STARS AND STRIPES AT SUMTER 1 97 ,

When the scholars of the Newburyport !Mass) High School raised Old Glory near their building on 2 : April 4 , Caleb Cushing said

Long may this gloriou s flag wave above our heads the ban ” o ct n he s m o o o ner f vi ory a d t y b l f ur national honor.

I nde endent N ew The p , York City, in its issue for 2 1 86 1 u o f April 5 , , gives us a composite pict re the second Sunday that followed the firing on Sumter

’ ‘ D eth sermon a s f om the t e t I n the n ame of r. B une s w r x ’ ’ our Go d w e wi set u ou r an ne s . I e lows church ll p b r n Dr. B l ‘ ’ t e choir san T he St ar - S an ed anner hich w as Vi h g p gl B , w g

c Dr . a o e an b orousl a au ded . A t Grace C hur h r b y ‘ppl , T yl g y - he t ar an e anner has ee i su . saying T S Sp gl d B b n n lted Dr. ’ ‘

O s ood s t e t was ift u a st andard to the eo e. g x , L p p pl

Down from Massachusetts , to appear in the Press of S i i New York, came t rr ng sentences from Wendell

Phillips and Edward Everett . The former stated the

o f u position the entire North , as pict red in the attitude of the new President, Abraham Lincoln

W h en Abraham Lincoln swore to support the C onstitution and the a s o f the Unit ed St at es he w as bound t o die under l w , ”

the fl a o f Fort Sumter if necessar . g , y

on i 2 Everett, in his address at Boston Apr l 7, gave a remarkably accurate statement of the sudden trans figuration of Old Glory through the smoke and fire of Sumter

W h is it that the fla of the count r a a s honored y g y, lw y , a a s be ov ed is now all at once worshi ed m a sa lw y l , , , pp , I y y, with the passion at e homage of this whole people ? W hy does it float as nev er bef ore not mere f rom a sena and ast , , ly r l m head but f rom t ower and stee e f rom the ub ic edi ce t e , pl , p l fi , h 198 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY t emple of Science and the priv ate dwelling ? Let Fort Sumter ” give the answer.

As we examine the files of Northern papers for that

u omino s month of April , we come upon frequent edi t orial all usions to the Stars and Stripes . They always o u i present it as the symb l of a n ted people , as an em blem that has been fou lly insu lted and that must be defended with the full limit of all resources . Here are three excerpts

H enceforth each man hi h and l ow must t a e his osition , g , k p as a at riot or a t rait or as a f oe or a f riend of his count r p , y, as a supporter of the fl ag of the St ars and St ripes o r of the ” a n r rebel b n e .

Philadelphia Press .

T he cannon hich bombarded Sumter a o e st ran e echoes w w k g , eri and touched f orgot ten chords in the American heart . Am can o a t ea ed into inst ant ife and stood radiant and l y l y l p l , rea f e e coun er From one end o f the and t o dy or the fi rce n t . l the other in the crowded st reet s of cities and in the so itude , l of the count r here er the s endor of the St ars and St ri es y, w v pl p , ’ the it terin emb em of ou r count r s or meet s the e e gl g l y gl y, y , ” come forth shouts o de ot on e f v i and pl dges of aid .

N ew Y ork T imes .

W e no no cause sa e t o i e an insu t f rom our fla k w v w p l g, and t o def end and maint ain an assailed Gov ernment and a

io at ed C onstit ution . W e care not who is President or hat v l , w political party is in power ; SO lon g a s they support the honor and the fl a o f our count r we a re with them . hose who a re g y, T not a re a ainst u s a ainst ou r fl a and a ainst our Gov ern , g , g g, g ‘ ’ a e o a s m m ent . T k y ur pl ce I n line ! T he A erican flag t rails in the dust . P hiladelphia E nquirer.

A o of voice fr m Kentucky, from the borderland the i i i seced ng States , is well worth br ng ng back, if only

i . i for its r nging tones . The Hon Arch e Dixon said , at

2 00 THE DRAMATIC STO RY OF OLD GLORY

u Washington . Fort nately, we have complete records of all the addresses delivered in Union Squ are on that id day . We glance over them rap ly and select a few bu rning paragraphs that were fired by the presence of ’ ” - Sumter s smoke stained banner . i . . his Rev Dr Spring, of the Br ck Church, before i : open ng prayer, spoke briefly

W hen I t hink of the little band of men who t ook Such a n ob e a rt in the st ru e at Fo rt Sumter m aint ainin the “ l p ggl , g fl ag o f t heir coun t ry while bu rning fi res were about them t u rnin t o M a o r nderson an d the other officers resent ! g j A p ), I f ee cheere . T h ea i f th a er i l d e d d l ps o e F th of h‘s C ount ry speak t o ou an o nd hat e y d t me. A w do th y say ? United we st and ’ iv e d id d we f all .

he . t Then stepped forward General John A Dix, i i be cha rman of the meet ng, who, only three months O f u r fore, when Secretary the Treas y , had written his famous letter to New Orleans that closed with the “ u i b gl ng words , If any one attempts to haul down the ” a on ! im Americ n flag, shoot him the spot You can i i i ag ne the w ld cheering when he said , point ng to Maj or Anderson and t o the Old Glory in the arms o f i Wash ngton,

There hangs the fl ag under which they upheld the honor o f our count ry ; an d it s t attered condition shows t he desperate ” e def nce they made .

Soon after General Dix had finished speaking, Sen die i ator E . D . Baker of Oregon , who was to w thin ’ i his u ff six months wh le leading men at Ball s Bl , gave one of his spirited speeches so characteristic of his

h , i . brave, imaginat ve thoug t It was punctuated with STARS AND STRIPES AT SUMTER 2 0 1

u i tremendo s cheering, from the moment he began w th o he the first sentence t t words at the close . We copy a few outstanding sentences

18 a I t ma ret u rn but not T he hou r f or conciliat ion p st . y ;

- to mo rrow no r ne t ee . I t i ret u rn when that t at t ered , x w k w ll o um — he fl ag !point in g t o the fl ag o f F rt S t er ) is av en ged . T hou r o f conciliat ion will come back when a gain the en sign of t he R epublic will St ream over every rebellious f o rt O f ev ery o e a e - m o o e C n f ed rat e St t . I a n t here t sp ak t imorou s wo rds o f in i eace but t o d e the s rit o f m an det ermined war . p , k l p ly, I s ea in the midst o f t he E m ire St at e amid scenes o f ast p k p , p suff ering and pa st glory ; the def ences of t he H u dson abov e me t he bat t e e d O f on s an d bef ore me an d the st at ue of ; l fi l L g I l , W ashin t on in m v er f ace the b at t ered and u n con uered g y y , q

fl of Sumt er av in in his hands . T o hav e st a r a f t er ag w g ‘ s t a r b ot ted ou t ! C ries o f N ev er — t o hav e st ri e l ! ‘, p a f t er st ripe obscu red— !C ries of N O ! — t o h ave glory ” af ter glo ry dimmed ; these a re in finit ely worse than blood ! o s heers !T remend u c ).

Senator Baker was followed by Robert J . Walker i in u of : who sa d , the co rse his address

his is the uestion now t o be decided : ha e we a Union T q v , hav e we a fl a a re the St ars and St ri es a rea it or a ct ion ? g, p l y fi I f w e a re def eated the ast e erim ent o f se f - ov ernment , l xp l g h W i a o a e e no i l av e f ai ed . e h v e n fl w i l ha w l l w ll g, w l v o ernment n o count r an d no Union g v , y, . Note how Walker placed the Flag first in his four u i i o f i H is d prereq s tes nat onality . wor s were followed

i u i by a letter from Archb shop H ghes , wh ch was read i o from the platform . It closed w th these w rds on Old Glory :

“ I t is n ow fif ty years since I t ook the oath of allegiance to thl s co unt r u n der it s t it e of the Unit e St a e f y l d t s o America . T e ov ernme o f t e h G nt he Unit d St ates was then , as it is now , 2 02 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY ‘ s m o i e b a n ationa fl a o u ar ca ed T he Stars and y b l z d y l g, p p l ly ll ’

a au se . his has been m fl a and shaI t i es . oud S r p !L ppl ) T y g, l

C heers . t ru st it is sti l destined t o dis a be to the end . ! ) I l pl y in the a es that swee e er ocean and amid the en t e g l p v y , g l bree es of man a dist ant shore as hav e seen it in forei n z y , I g

ands its own ecu iar av in ines of beaut . M a it iv e l , p l w g l y y l and cont inue t o displ ay those same wavin g lines of beau ty hether at home o r abroad f or a thousand ears and a f t er w , y ”

ards as on as ea en errriit s ithout imit of durat ion . w l g H v p , w l

i an Wh le that meeting was in tumultuous progress , other one was being conducted on a stand on the north i west corner of the Square . There , David S . Codd ng t on said , during his speech

Do you wonder to-day t o see that flag flying over all ou r rea a ened n ationa if e no on er mono o i ed b masthead w k l l , l g p l z y , st ee e or ibert o e bu t st reamin f orth a cam si nal pl l y p l , g p g ” f rom e er ri ate hearthst one v y p v .

Among the Speakers on the stand at the southwest i his of . side the Square, was C . H . Sm th He reached i o f h gh notes patriotism in these words ,

W e hav e assemb ed in one common brotherhood t o t a e l , k measu res f or the rot ect ion of that oriou s ol d fl a which had p gl g, ’ been borne throu h the R ev o ution of 6 ba t i ed in the g l 7 , p z b oo d o f ou r f oref athers and is sacred t o the memo r o f ibert l , y l y ’ - and o u ar inst it ution . o t s mi T o da t he p p l s W e w n ub t . y common sent iment t hat thrills the common heart of the Nort h ‘ ’ ” is O ur count r and ou r coun , y t ry s fl ag.

On a stand before the Old Everett House, at the i d north side of Un on Square, a slen er, graceful figure stood . Professor O . M . Mitchell , the astronomer, later

in i i . a Major General the Un on Army, was speak ng d i i “ As he spoke, in wor s that were frank, nspir ng, fired ” i u u i s w th nervo s eloq ence and patr oti m, the crowd

2 04 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

We have printed I n italics the little flag- scene at i u i o f the center of th s q otat on . Who u s can imagine ’ the resu lt of General Mitchell s wo rds in the minds and his on the feelings of hearers , that day nearly Sixty years ago ? A footnote to a newspaper report his s of addres , says, The scene that followed the close ’ of Professor Mitchell s eloqu ent and patriotic remarks i ” baff es description . We have tried to reprodu ce the feeling of the North ’ after the news of the firing on Sumter s Flag had trav

el ed o i i . N O thr ugh all its cit es , towns and v llages pages that we could write would give any conception of the incarnation of nationality of that momentou s 1 86 1 to April , , when the North stood face face with a

- so death struggle for the Stars and Stripes , dramatic ally vivid as the passionate words of men who then bu t for lived and suffered, are now the vastly greater part, gone, forever. They loved Old Glory . XXXVI

T H E FLA G GO E S T O T H E FR O N T

’ N reply to Lincoln s call , Northern regiments began ‘ their j ourney to the front that was to be for four heavy years a line of fire dividing the Nation into t wo

C i i - o f peoples . New York ty was the meet ng place converging channels along which traveled the men of ’ New England and of the Empire State s cities and towns . A Massachusetts man had received the call to arms while plowing in the field where his great d great grandfather, also at the plow , had hear the cry that sent him on the run to his mu sket and to Lexing

- - ton . A nineteen year old boy of a regiment of the in of i same State, dying the streets Balt more, had “ on one i raised himself arm and cried , All ha l to the ” r i ! i Sta s and Str pes Men saw , as in a vis on, the past ’ sweep of their country s history culminating in on e

o f bu one moment terrific import . They knew t symbol o f i it i that h story, the Flag, and they displayed w th a fervor of devotion that was both glorious and pa i thet c . ’ The day came for the departure O f New York s i Seventh Reg ment . A newspaper reporter strolled over R o w o C o rt l andt i from Old Newspaper t street, and th s “ is what he saw : The Stars and Stripes was every 2 05 2 06 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

i i where, from the costl est s lk, twenty, thirty, forty feet i u i in length , to the homel er b nt ng, down to the few ’ inches o f painted calico that a baby s hand might l and . C ort t i wave street showed a gather ng of flags, a om of . c perfect army them They were not, in that parat iv ely brief space from Bro adway t o the Jersey

C u or . ity ferry, to be n mbered by dozens by scores ‘ ‘ ’ Every building seemed like Captains of Fifties . It was flag, flag, from every window from the first floor in it to the roof, from every doorway ; short, was flag, t l ll u o f u flag, the wearied eye ref sed the task co nting i u of the them . Such was the d splay along the ro te is i Seventh . Such and w ll be the route for all noble troops entering our City from the New England

States . o on C ortl andt Behind that screen of Old Gl ries street, there is a scene that must not fail reproduction here . ’ “ of 6 1 un rece We are told , by a paper , that the p dented demand for flags rendered it impossible for the m anufacturers to get one up in less than ten or twelve ” i l days . As there were at that t me very few p ants in i for i the country equ pped mak ng flags , and, as the for demand them was immediate and insistent , loyal women and girls volunteered t o furnish all the Stars i of and Str pes that were needed . In one little group o i in w men and g rls at work on an Old Glory, New i i O f 1 6 1 York City dur ng that th rd week April , 8 , four generations were represented . The oldest woman, sev ent of i y years of age, had memories George Wash ng “ i on i ton . As she pl ed her needle, tears fell the bunt ng while she recounted vivid recollections of the war O f ’ 1 8 1 2 3

2 08 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY son and the color-sergeant then returned to the foot

o f i of . the steps, both grasp ng the banner liberty The Colonel seemed deeply affected and his utterance was H is i choked for some time . w fe stood on the stoop , ” o regarding him with tearful em tion .

The Second Wisconsin Infantry, coming down from i ini the Northwest, reached Martinsburg, then in V rg a, ’ 1 6 1 o f i u Ju . in y, It was significant the att t de of the o f t o i O f people the section, later be cit zens the loyal i t he n State of West Virg nia, that the women of tow made and gave to this regiment “a beautiful national ” ensign . One O f those loyal women made the presenta “ i - : i of th e t on speech , which we give in full Sold ers i i i i W sconsin Reg ment, we have met th s br ght and beautiful morning t o present to you this emblem of ou r national glory as a token of ou r high regard for you and your cause ; we welcome you into our midst of u in bearing this flag our glorio s country, trusting

God . This flag has protected the oppressed of all i lands , who have sought its shelter, and so long as th s s i flag shall wave the oppre sed shall be free . Bel eving o fr m what you have already accomplished, it will t never be disgraced in your hands, you will accept his of token from the ladies Martinsburg, Berkeley i i i . County, V rg n a 1 86 1 Out in Michigan , on June 4 , , a delegation of - u u of thirty fo r yo ng girls , representing all the States and in the United States , dressed red , white and blue, n ' came to the cantonment at Gra d Rapids . With them was a Flag that they had made for the Third Regi ment, Michigan Infantry, then quartered at Grand

Rapids . THE FLAG TO THE FRONT 2 09

of The annals the Fifth Massachusetts Infantry, i fla C ol . u Lawrence, f rn sh us with an interesting g episode . Early in the war, this regiment then in i o o Wash ngton , received orders to march ver the L ng i i i ou t of t he Br dge nto Virg nia , and filed Treasury i ” h i . i Bu ld ng Then t ey d scovered , to their dismay , “ no i re that they had only their State color, t hav ng ” ce v e i i d the national ensign . Immed ately a search was made for a Stars and Stripes . It chanced that cer “ tain wo men of the city had made a beau tiful new ” cashmere flag, of the finest quality, for a local hotel . s fo r Massachusetts men in Wa hington begged this Flag, obtained it, mounted horses and rode after the march

” ing regiment . When they came up with Lawrence and his men, the regiment was halted and Old Glory was handed over with an impromptu but impressive ceremony . ou t Baltimore, determined on wiping the stain of 1 t o April 9 , gave Flags , made by its patriotic women , a number o f Northern regiments as they passed through on the road to Washington and t o Abraham Lincoln . Both the Sixth and the Eighth Massachusetts Regi ments received Old Glories in that city . In the case of e i the Sixth, the presentation had a de p s gnificance , as that r egiment was the one that suffered in the un A S fortunate riot . its Flag was given in July, it is probable that a detachment from the regiment was detailed from Washington to go over t o Baltimo re to he M assachu receive t Stars and Stripes . The Second setts Infantry received its Old Glory from the women ’ f on 1 1 o 86 . Harper s Ferry July 3 , These gifts of Flags to Northern Regiments soon 2 1 0 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

came to be a rule of the day . We find a number of u instances , ill strative of the deep sympathy between o the Uni n States , where Stars and Stripes were sent ne across country from o State to another . No more dramatic instance of this expression of kinship be tween States during the Civil War can be found for F this chapter, than that of the lag given by Massa h se h c u t ts to t w . i the Nin Io a Infantry This reg ment, of 1 862 u at the battle Pea Ridge, Arkansas , , fo ght for

o - t wo i ten solid hours after a f rced march of forty m les , i i w thout a Flag under wh ch to rally . Word of their valor reached Massachusetts and , five months after the o f battle, an Old Glory, made by women Boston, came i in to them n camp . We find the following their rec “ : Sun ords Camp Ninth Iowa, near Helena, Arkansas , i 1 862 . day , August 3 , The reg ment was formed at i o M . 2 . P , to receive the stand of beaut ful c lors sent

C . by a ommittee of ladies of Boston , Mass , as a testi monial of their appreciation of ou r conduct at Pea

Ridge . Colonel Vandever delivered a short speech at ff the presentation and seemed much a ected , as did u many others present, at the respect and honor th s o i manifested by the noble w men of a d stant State , and ” at the associations connected with the occasion . won for This Flag had a magnificent history, it by

Iowa men who fought under its folds . At last, shot “ for on t o pieces , no longer fit service, it was placed the retired list and retu rned t o the original donors in ” Massachusetts . Within a month , another Flag ar t rived from Boston , to take the place of the attered Old of s Glory . The great story that first Stars and Stripe

2 1 2 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

of in it s u u . heat it as boys, came to us all s bd ed beauty ’ “ You will find it in General Morris Schaff s The Battle o f the Wilderness . Let us present it in a little panel by itself : “ Two days o f awful suspense for the North have in C i t o i gone by , and City is call g to ity, v llage v llage , ‘ i b o i ne gh orho d to ne ghborhood , What news from ’ ? u Grant Hour after ho r draws on , and not a word i and his i from him . The v llage grocer has closed , hab t i i i di i in ual even ng V s tors have spersed . The l ghts the

r - o o fa m h uses have all gone u t . Here and there a lamp

i on - bl nks the deserted , elm shaded street, and in the doo ryard of a little home on the back road O ff among the fields— the boy who went from there is a color ’ — i ” bearer lying in Hancock s front a dog bays lonel ly . XXXVII

’ O L D G L O R Y s D E VOT E D Fo L L O W E R s

’ ‘ 1 86 t o att ack N August, 3 , Dahlgren s fleet moved up

Fort Sumter, on whose walls the Stars and Stripes

1 1 86 1 . had been shot away on April 3 , In the fleet

C a tskill . was the monitor , commanded by George W o of of Rodgers, son of Commodore R dgers the War 1 1 2 ask ll fi ht 8 . After the C t i had gone in toward her g o m ing position , Commander R dgers withdrew her fro range and , stepping into a small boat, was rowed over to the flagship to get a Stars and Stripes which he lov ” n l i g y called my own flag . It was the one under i u C atskill u wh ch he had fo ght, on the , d ring the April , ’ 6 a u t o 3 , att ck on S mter . He wished have it over him and his ironclad through the coming fight . When Rodgers returned with his Old Glo ry in his of i him arms , the father the writer of th s book met ’ on C atskill the deck of the . Rodgers Old Glory was i t wo u i ho sted , and then the men went p into the ron pilot- hou se to watch the effect of the shot on the walls ’ o f u u o S mter . A shell struck the ho se and R dgers d m e ead body fell into the ar s of his loved comrad . A contemporary account says that his body was wrapped in the same flag an d was conveyed on board the flag- ship which but a few minutes befo re he had left . 2 1 4 T H E DRAMATIC STORY O F O LD GLORY

That is the story of the Old Glory referred to in - S i the Dedication of this book . A blood ta ned fragment o f that F lag is before the writer as he begins this chap C u bu C i - in - C i o f ter . H . lay Tr m ll , a hapla n h ef the

- in - C i i C ommandery h ef of the Loyal Leg on , tells us that

George W . Rodgers was a naval Havelock or Hedley ” i n . V cars , one of the fi est men in the Northern service

H is Flag was to him a part of his religion . i i u u C . i harles G Halp ne , wr t ng nder the pse donym “ ’ ” o f i O R eill in 1 86 o i u M les y 3 , c ntr b ted a stanza in i o f : a rich brogue, mourn ng the death Rodgers

’ W o e s me !George R odgers lies

W ith dim an d d reamless eyes. H e has airly w on t he prize s ri an st O f the th ped d arry shroud .

“ i u The dolatro s love for the Stars and Stripes , as a Sou therner rather contemptuou sly referred to the d i passionate evot on of the North to Old Glory , was o d i and i i u i mirr re , t me t me aga n d r ng the great War, o f i idu in the lives ind v al men . Even women were caught up in the sweep o f ardent patriotism at the and one i front, gave more than proof, wh le under fire, o f their willingness to su ffer all things for their Flag . u i u in m u A gro p of events, each m n te the tre endo s pan ’ u u i i in orama of the war s t m lt, yet glow ng w th the of bu d tense flame a loyalty that ever rne fiercely, will s uffice to reveal the love of the soldier for his Stars and i u of his u Str pes , the s preme symbol co ntry . i 1 1 6 8 . F . i On Apr l 4 , 4 , Major L Booth fell wh le i a i dd di i . fight ng ga nst heavy o s , defen ng Fort P llow One of the few su rvivors of his command saved the

2 1 6 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

e m o f i R gi ent, one the prisoners in the group , cont nues “ this Story for us : A man was found who wore a red shirt ; another had a bl u e one ; white shirts were F i i d plenty . rom a comb nat on of these at last emerge

- the emblem of liberty with all its thirty four stars . I never saw men gaze so long and earnestly at a flag ” before or since . Libby Prison had witnessed a similar scene on the i u - fiv e O f preced ng Fo rth of July, when twenty men i u i u di i the N nth Massach setts Infantry, ncl ng T mothy i J . Regan of Company E , who had been impr soned i i ir after be ng captured at Malvern H ll , made up the minds that they wou ld have a real Old Glory . Accord “ in B ost on Gl obe ff d his u fl an g to the , Regan o ere bl e i i u nel sh rt as a field for the stars . Other pr soners bo ght through the guards about fou r yards each of unbleached i and u i of red d wh te cotton a very poor q al ty worste , which was torn lengthwise into strips to form the i i o i S . f i fo r str pes P eces wh te sh rts were used the tars , which Regan cu t out ; and the men set to work t o fashion their flag with the needles and thread that they had been permitted to retain . The flag was not i d u i F fin she ntil the morn ng of the ourth , when Regan i u cl mbed into the rafters , and there unf rled the ban d i ” ner to the el ght of the little band of patriots . u i i i im There is a pretty seq el to th s nc dent . This

rov ised O ld o - wo i p Glory was torn int twenty t p eces, to prevent its falling into the hands of the Confed c rates . A piece was given to each man who had helped

‘ to make it . These pieces were concealed in the cloth in o f d an i i . g the men , later, carr ed away from L bby O n i After the War was ver, Rega dec ded to get together ’ O LD GLORY S FOLLOWERS 2 1 7

' these f ragmen ts and recreate their Stars and Stripes .

i 1 8 i - fiv e It was not unt l 97, th rty years after the mak in u - d g of the Flag, that he sec red the twenty secon i and o p ece saw his Old Gl ry complete once more . This F i six lag, eleven feet n ne inches by feet seven inches , i is now in the possess on of the Thomas G . Stevenson

2 6 . R . of u Post , G A . , Roxb ry , Mass . B u t i i there were many men , penned w th n the walls of i u a i Southern pr sons , who never ca ght gl mpse of the i Flag they loved so deeply . O u t from Andersonv lle 1 86 to came , in 5 , men who seemed have emerged from “ m u i dim so e strange o ter world , some horr ble land of ” ’

. o f u ness and groans One day a company them , sh f “ i did ou i u fl ng by, was asked , Boys , how y l ve thro gh ” ? O ld i it A grim Tennesseean repl ed , instantly, ’ i i u h stra ghten ng p as if to salute , Twas the flag t at ” kept us up . s Old Glory nerved its follower to face Death , and there are many reco rded instances of men and boys

' dying with the Flag as the last ment al pictu re absolu te ’ i on f i . of e o in their thought W lliam Starr, Oh o s regi

i 1 86 . ments, was dying in a hospital in Apr l , 5 Word

u t o . that Richmond had fallen was bro ght him Now, i “ t o . sa d he, I am ready go When I am gone, cover ” i e i . his m w th the Flag In last moments , a l ttle boy

t o bid - i his i came him good bye, carry ng in hands a t ny ’ i Flag . Starr s failing s ght cau ght the gleam of the i ’ ch ld s Stars and Stripes . He reached out, took it ,

u O him waved it feebly down and p, nce, and then , for , “ no i of more the s ght Old Glory . That night a splen ” fla i his did silk g was brought in and la d over body . r M cGurk Private And ew , of the Eleventh Illinois In 2 1 8 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

f ant r i . y, lay near a w ndow of a hospital in Nashville H is regiment had been terribly cut to pieces at Fort i of Donelson and Sh loh , and memories those bitter “ h s i d F u u d u i . fights s rge thro gh mind He wh spere , o ght ” — — — — — till almost the last man fell . There came a i i final luc d nterval . A glance through the window gave him Old Glory floating from the dome o f the “ — old— fla !— it— Nashville C apitol . Ah !the g waves — ” i A nd i d M cG u rk o . st ll . Pr vate An rew was g ne

C i C u u i hapla n H . lay Tr mb ll g ves two dramatic evi dences of devotion t o Old Glory . The first follows “ on e ou r C i After of battles in South arol na , while i preparat ons were making for another fight, I saw a newly appointed color- sergeant lying in line with the an d d i di i men, ten erly sh el ng the colors w th his body i i i from a dr v ng ra nstorm . ‘ ‘ ’ i Sergeant, I sa d , I hear that the colonel has given ’

u ou . you the colors to carry . I congrat late ‘ y i ’ i d i Yes , Chapla n, he repl e , look ng down on his ‘ ’ charge with affectionate pride ; and I don t know of i b ’ ’ anyth ng etter than this that I m fighting for . “ is the d i i en Here secon nc dent . In the first severe a ement o f i i ou r - g g wh ch I was a w tness, color sergeant and o f - u one the color corporals were badly wo nded , an d were borne to the rear and laid on the ground side i s i by s de at the field ho p tal . As I knelt by the corporal his first words were : ‘ did u I what I co ld to guard the colors , Chaplain . ’ b ’ I d stand them to the last . ‘ y o ou u C o I kn w y wo ld , orporal . Y u were always faithful !’ ‘ ’ ?’ Where s the regiment now he asked .

2 2 0 THE DRA MATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

cE wen who u M , had fo ght under Andrew Jackson, fastened a pole into one of the chimneys of their house ’ h i to and nailed is w fe s Old Glory it . We are glad to be able to qu ote a C ivil War record at this point : The hostility now became fiercer than a u m ever . The Colonel was told th t the flag m st co e down from that roof if the hou se had to be fired to b i i d d his i r ng t own . He aske w fe what they had better do b u i i in a o t the flag, add ng that he would susta n her ‘ any cou rse she thought best to adopt . Load me the ’ - C M cE wen i i shot gun , olonel , sa d the hero c Old wom i u in an . And he loaded it for her w th sixteen b ckshot ‘ ’ ‘ d i es on . r each barrel Now, ad ed she, I w ll take the p b si ility of guarding that flag . Whoever attempts to pass my door on his way to the roof for the star- Span ’ gled banner u nder which my four u ncles fell at King s ’

u u b . Mo ntain, m st go over my dead ody Old Glory ’ M cE wen s stayed over Hetty house, unmolested .

i ou i t . . When the C v l War broke , the Hon . J . F H C laiborne was living on a cotton plantation in the far

- sou th western corner o f Mississippi. His only son was C r his i in the onfede ate service, and own sent ments were e him one w ll known . To came day Captain Rockwell ,

- firs u i of the Thirty t Massach setts Infantry, demand ng that he give up a flag which was said to be in his home l a and was undoubtedly a Confederate standard . C i i fl a o borne den ed that he had any g f that type . A rigid N O fla search was made . g appeared . Then Claiborne i N ow sa d , , sir, you have failed to find a flag, but I con

one . ou fess I have I will never part with it . If y take me ou S it it y hall take ; and if you take , you shall take me . OLD GLORY ’ S FO LLO W E R S 2 2 1

He then ordered a servant to bring a certain trunk . i was and It was old and dilap dated . It opened , there, ’ i before Rockwell s aston shed eyes, were a bundle of

i - a an d comm ssions and a moth eaten Fl g, a real Stars “ C l ai i . i C Str pes laiborne smiled and sa d , General b orne , my father, had been ensign , lieutenant, captain and adj utant of the First Regiment of the United ’ in t States , An hony Wayne s army ; and this was the ” old fl ag of that regiment . ’ So , after all s been said , there were Southern hearts ’ in 6 1 that beat in tune to the music O f the whispering ffi folds of Old Glory . A captured Confederate o cer r told the t uth when he remarked , Oh , well , as to that, the Stars and Stripes are j ust the sauciest rag to fight ’ u u on -field nder that ever was sw ng a battle . I don t wonder they like that flag . XXXVIII

T H E I M M O R TAL C OLO R - B E AR E R S

B ut hav e seen thee bu ntin I , g , T t at t ers t o rn u on t he s int ered st aff o p pl , ’ O r cl ut ched t o some young color-bearer s breast W ith des erat e hands p , Sa a e st r e or v g ly uggl d f .

W alt W hitman.

1 1 i N July, 9 3 , the wr ter went to Gettysburg and found himself one in a host of men with a million

i . i memor es After sunset, from the crest of L ttle Round d i i i i i Top , he watche the myr ad firefl es weav ng the r del A S cate mantle of fire over a consecrated grou nd . a far ” u u i of b gle so nded taps , he wrote on a sl p paper these wo rds

Y ou men in the Gre and the ue y Bl , here re o s in the u s ere i o T a b y d k h w th y u . he ather in ran s T y g k , O n o ur f ront on o r flan s y , y u k , I n the fi re-fl ma e an t e e y z d h d w.

in 1 1 Again, December, 9 7, alone on the field , he i u d i stood at n ghtfall on Little Ro n Top . On the ch ll ’ wind came the ghostly voices o f the boys of Sedgwick s i C of o f i i S xth orps the Army the Potomac , s ng ng afar in the night as they swung along in their great march t o

Gettysburg . He saw them come in near Little Round 2 2 2

2 2 4 T H E DRAMATIC STORY O F O LD GLORY

’ o is C on Sickles exposed line . The Uni n front broken . i i i i i t o federate reg ments are dr ft ng through , a m ng ’ m d i i u d cru ple up Mea e s left w ng, take L ttle Ro n Top , i C i and repeat the r victory at hancellorsville . The br g

d O f ru n u i a es Barksdale and Kershaw , on the , are po r ng d across the field . In the Peach Orchard and aroun ’ i u B gelow s Battery at the Trostle ho se, a demoniac

i . u on confl ct is raging Hancock comes p the gallop , i in rides straight nto a vortex of flame, sees a regiment “ i his S u l ne, reins in horse and ho ts , What regiment is ?” C i Fi that olonel Colv lle answers , The rst Minne “ i ?” i i . DO ou sota y see those l nes cr es Hancock, po nt “ ” o on ollin i in ! ing t the r g t de gray . Charge them On go the color- guard of those men from the North i and e of west . Beh nd them at th ir sides are points i i i b loyal gl tter ng bayonets . They reach a l ttle rook,

u its bed dry from the s mmer heat . There they stand , faced and gripped on the flanks by three thousand rifles pouring lead into them in streams . Down goes

- i b . u t Color Sergeant Ellett P Perk ns , the Stars and i Stripes does not touch the ground . A corporal se zes h it is . u from hand He, too, str ck by a bullet, staggers F and hands the lag to another corporal , who also pitches o C is his f rward . But orporal Dehn at side, and Old

r i u i in Glo y st ll q vers the tempest of lead . i i i i The l ttle brook beg ns to tr ckle into l fe again, but i i now w th M nnesota blood . Thank God , reenforce “ ”

i i i . ments arr ve, and the F rst Minnesota is rel eved

C - u orporal Dehn alone of the color g ard is left, and he carries ou t a rent and tattered Old Glory at the head of forty - seven men of the two hundred and sixty- two IMMORTAL COLOR- BEARE RS 2 2 5 who fifteen minutes ago sprang into their bayonet

charge . ’

H . u 6 . MIC IGAN Gettysb rg, July, 3 A gray billow o of men sweeps toward them . Above the rattle f mus “ e iu - k t r u . y so nds the tr mphant rebel yell Stand firm , ” F u i ! ! ff . o rth Mich gan Stand firm shouts Col . Je ords u i h i S a Red flags , streaked with bl e and w t host le tars , p in pear the drifting smoke, flapping as they come near

. on er, nearer The billow breaks the men of Michigan ,

ce - field for s them back into the deadly wheat . A swarm l in gray eaps for the Stars and Stripes . Down sinks

- o or . the color guard , every man bay neted shot An arm o in gray sh ots forward , wrenches the Flag from the ff off in grasp of a fallen corporal . Je ords , hat , sword

hand, rushes to save his loved Old Glory . A flash of

bayonets , and he is pinned to the ground . Lieut .

Colonel Lumbard springs toward the Flag, crying, “ Stand firm ! Stand firm ! This is the time for men ” e to die . Old Glory becomes the center of desperat

- - e hand to hand fighting . North rn bayonets and butts

of rifles do deadly work . The Flag of the Fourth

Michigan and the body of its Colo nel are saved . ’

E S A A . u u 6 . P NN YLV NI Gettysb rg, J ly, 3 Twelve Old Glories face nearly double their number of C on federate standards advancing upon them in Pickett ’ s

o u . charge . It is high tide f r the Sout h at Gettysb rg A rrn ist ead u u With leading, the red banners b rst thro gh the Union line at the low stone wall and smo ther ’ ’ Cushing s Battery. Meade s army is severed at its - Penns l center . Sixty yards away, the Seventy second y

i t o . vania is in leash, wait ng the word charge An

ffi u . n o cer rides up on a badly wo nded horse Sergea t, 2 2 6 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

b ) “ forward with your colors . he cries . Let the Rebels ” see it close to their eyes before they die . The color i u o sergeant, grasp ng the st mp of his br ken lance in both his and hands , waves the Stars and Stripes above head

u now i r shes , alone, toward the wall crested w th men fl a n n in gray and their u t i g crimson flags .

- Men of the Seventy second Pennsylvania, this is the u own ! u soil of yo r State . Up and at them Yo r color

S i . sergeant is half way to the wall . A bullet tr kes him i d He spins round , totters and falls, dead . W th a wil o yell , you rush by him , taking up your Old Gl ry as

o i . you go . N w it is Pennsylvania aga nst Virginia At “ ” i a O f the Bloody Angle, where a sw rling m ss men afl ame wi struggles , around Old Glories and flags th red , i o of toss ng and whirling above them , the flo d the gray i i of u . nvasion str kes a wall bl e, and stops Armistead

i - falls , dy ng, at the feet of a color bearer of the Seventy second Pennsylvania . ’

E . u 6 1 . 2 0 MAIN B ll Run , July, Yesterday, July , the Seventh Maine Infantry was presented with a u i i glorio s s lk Stars and Stripes , with sl de, rings and - u i ff o Si battle axe s rmount ng the sta , of s lid lver, sent all the way from California to meet the regiment on its

i . way to Bu ll Run . The regiment s now in action Twice its men have charged almost to the mu zzles O f a

- i i . Confederate battery . Color Sergeant W ll am J Deane

- d C . has fallen , mortally woun ed, and olor Corporal A ’

. o o V Mo re , who to k the Flag from Deane s hands , is ’ f it i . o lying dead beside , near the enemy s l nes A body

C onfederates dashes ou t to take Old Glory . The men “ !” from Maine shout, We must have that flag Led o by Col nel Charles D . Jameson , they charge on the

2 2 8 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

i A storm of lead smites them and twenty fall . L eu tenant C harles B . Tanner steps forward from the ranks and calls for men to aid him in another effort to rescue i o his t . the Flag . Twenty men spr ng side They run i toward the Stars and Str pes . One after another they i in W i u . B u t reel and fall the h rlw nd of b llets Tanner, his i i i - on r ght arm shattered by a m n e ball , plunges , on his F i drops knees by the lag, se zes it in his left d his u i . han , leaps to feet and ret rns w th Old Glory ’ DE S D i a . 2 RHO I LAN Ant et m , September, 6 . The Fourth Rhode Island Infantry is on the extreme left

' ‘ o a ollin of the Army f the Potomac . It sweeps across r g country, under a heavy artillery fire, and comes into i c brisk act on with the Confederates in a ornfield . The i regiments in gray are almost h dden in the thick, tall of i i growth corn , and the r posit ons are determined fle-fi e mainly by the challenge of their ri r . The Fourth low on of Rhode Island reaches a , round hill , the crest of which , partly concealed, is a portion a Confederate brigade . i s Un on force , coming to this hill from another

i . angle, suddenly d vert the volleys from its summit an d They thrust up a Stars Stripes , its Red , White and - si nal Blue plain above the yellow corn stalks , as a g “ t o on the Fourth Rhode Island . We are firing our ” ffi own men , cries a Rhode Island o cer . Then he gives the command to charge, and the Fourth Rhode Island dashes up the slope, its Old Glory in the lead . Out of the screen of co rn on the crest crashes a sweeping

- his fire . Color bearer Thomas B . Tanner is killed , and

Flag is wrenched from his hands by a soldier in gray . The latter falls into the clutches of Lieutenant George IMMORTAL COLOR- BEARERS 2 2 9

‘ St ars and E . Curtis , and yields the Stripes after a sharp

b u u n i struggle . A ove the t m lt of A t etam ring the cheers of the boys of Rhode Island . i ’ 2 D . 6 . IN IANA Stone R ver, December, The Sixth

Indiana Infantry is at the apex of a right angle . Twice i on t hl S i da the reg ment has been attacked cr tical y, and u now, a third assa lt, in a gray sea, sweeps upon it on i n o . and envelops it front, on r ght and left The i u of u S xth runs a ga ntlet flame, with its colors pl ng

- on in . i ing advance C olor Sergeant John E . T llman

u i i u drops , wo nded for the third t me , w th a ball thro gh i o a kn ee . He hands the Stars and Str pes over to C r

u his poral Carson, who instantly falls with a wo nd in i o . u th gh Three boys , Corporals Y ng, Meades and

in u Harold , now bear Old Glory q ick succession ; and all three are shot . o o f Har ld , a mere lad , beloved the regiment, dies i H is in saving the Stars and Str pes . hands are the last r to carry it through the gates of the sto m of battle , O f and he falls on the threshold of safety . A recorder i h i i the part the S xt Ind ana takes at Stone R ver, will “ i in i wr te , months to come , B tter tears were shed when o Har ld died , under the banner he had saved with his blood . ’

H S S . ede sb SSA E r rick u r 62 . MA C U TT F g, December,

o he - fi s Noon f a raw winter day . T Twenty r t Massa chu set t s a Infantry is drawn up in the town , re dy to cross the R appahannock and assault the formidable

Confederate works . They cross on the upper pontoon

i . bridge , and at once rush toward the entrenched l nes The air abou t them becomes an inferno o f proj ectiles d b i s h and . S e ce the which his , s riek burst i e y s d ra 2 3 0 THE DR AMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

Stars and Stripes and the State color, borne by Color

- Sergeant Joseph H . C ollins and Color Corporal Barr . Sixty rods from that wall fringed with flame and

- . Plun smoke , both color bearers fall Sergeant Thomas kett springs to lift Old Glory as it trails to ward the ground with its mortally wou nded bearer ; and C olor C orporal Wheeler Stoops and loosens the grasp of the dying Barr from the staff of the white Massachu setts d i color . At the point nearest the Confe erate nfantry in u on i ib reached by boys bl e th s terr le day, a shell i bursts on Plunkett and his Stars and Str pes . Both arms are torn from his body and his Flag is drenched

- . is in his blood B u t Color Corporal Brady H . Olney at his side, and Old Glory again streams defiant in the gusts of shot and shell .

Twenty years from now, Sergeant Plunkett, and your eyes will be closed forever from the sight of the u i o Stars and Stripes . But Massach setts will br ng fr m W o r her Capitol , to your body lying near her heart at cest er o f u i , the remnant yo r Old Glory reddened w th

u it ou . yo r blood , and lay gently above y Nor Death no r Time can separate you from the moment of your supreme sacrifice . ’

62 . N E W M P SH R E . HA I Fredericksburg, December, The Fifth New Hampshire Infantry has reached the d d- i i it ea l ne, beyond wh ch can advance no farther, a

- rail fence within range o f the C onfederate rifle pits . o f On that last stretch open ground , before the protect

’ in is lie and all its . g fence reached , the color bearers

C i . o n run apta n James B Perry starts the to save it , i in u . is struck the breast and mortally wo nded Dy ng, “ i s not he wh sper , I know I shall recover from this

2 3 2 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

Ninth Iowa , torn as badly as its Old Glory, retires in safety . But other color- bearers of the Ninth Iowa will carry i I n their Old Glory through days glorious with v ctory . their hands it will travel two thousand miles over Con

i u u u federate so l , toil p the rocky steep of Looko t Mo n O f i tain, stream on the brow Missionary Ridge on a ch ll

t S C u in night after a errific truggle at hickama ga, the o f i i midst shivering, t red , hungry sold ers ; and at last, a mere shred , a ghost of its early beauty, it will pass ou o an d t f service into immortality . ’

S . 6 ILLINOI Chickamauga, September, 3 . The Fed eral right at Chickamau ga has been ripped to pieces by i i i terr fic Confederate assaults . Hosts of fug tives w th artillery, limbers and caissons , are pouring to the rear . on Thomas and his Corps , the left, stand like a rock, steadfast in the torrent . They have taken the form of a u h ge horseshoe, a band of steel that cannot be bent A ff or . M c ee C broken Distant, at hurch , is General

i - un Steedman with a d vision of infantry, three four g batteries and t wosqu adrons of cavalry . He has been ’ bu t u ordered to stay there , , the roar of Thomas st b i him on i born defense com ng to the air, he dec des to s to of i . disregard order , and go the field Ch ckamauga

Thomas, on his horse under a clump Of dead trees , sees a thick cloud of dust rising from the Lafayette

o . road . A column f marching men comes into sight They and their Flags are so covered with dust that i i Thomas cannot dist ngu sh them as friend or foe . A

- c his F i his . olor bearer waves lag, h gh over head A s prinkle of gray dust floats from it . The Stars and IMMORTAL C OLOR- BEARERS 2 3 3

Stripes signals t o the tight- gripped men of the blue e hors shoe that help is at hand . On the extreme right o f the curved line there is of imminent danger a collapse under stern pressure . on o f u t There, a front seven h ndred yards , twelve hou

- rifles m sand exchange volleys . The ground slopes fro h e i o d re t blue reg ments up t those in gray . Stee man ceiv es orders from Thomas to charge up that slope i t o and break the Confederate grip . He r des the head o i f the One Hundred and F fteenth Illinois Infantry, seizes a Stars and Stripes from its bearer, and shouts , “ ’ ’ ’ l ou . Boys , I ll command y I ll bear your flag if you l ’ ! — u — i defend it . Tention Forward do ble qu ck ” march ! A stream of bullets tears Old Glory into

d n On . shreds , as Stee ma , galloping , holds it above him

H is u u i u horse, str ck and pl ng ng forward , h rls rider lie and Flag ov er his head . Man and color tangled on

. i the ground The One Hundred and F fteenth Illinois , i i charging by with a yell , l ft Old Glory nto its home i amidst the hurr cane of shot, and break, bayonet clash in g against bayonet, into the heart of the Confederate i l ne . ’ H i i o 6 O IO . M ssionary R dge, N vember, 3 . An eagle on M is soars above C hattanooga Valley . Below him sion ar i u riflemen y Ridge , are e ght tho sand gray and ‘ c nn fifty a on . The gothic rim of the crest is a lip of flame ; rifles and heavy guns all blazing down a slope that rises to them five hu ndred feet on an angle of forty

fiv e . o degrees Up this steep , on a fr nt well over a i of u m le wide, moves a line bl e, infantry of the Army i is d of the Cumberland . At intervals the l ne pushe

’ ' d wav in win s forwar into inverted V s . There are g g at 2 3 4 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F O LD GLORY

i i u fifteen of these po nts , Stars and Str pes moving p i i ib m i - d . ward rres st ly, bo e by the r color guar s These Flags have gone through hu rricanes of shot at Pea id i i R ge , Sh loh and Stone River, and have been r ddled C i u at h ckama ga . ’ u i o Near the center of Sheridan s psweep ng fr nt, Old

i i i - Glor es r pple over men from Ohio . The N nety sev enth i fire- i Oh o Infantry approaches the r mmed crest . A - For o i color bearer falls . a m ment the Stars and Str pes

t i o f it s i i . wavers at the p V, a broken w ng falter ng It i d swings up again into its r ght of lea ership . Now the great broom of blu e grazes the fringe of the summit and scatters the ranks in gray who so t enaciou sly ~ hav e su n is bu own clung to their guns . In the west the t its d d i . brea th from the wall of the h lls The gol en rays , id i C o i br g ng the valley from hattano ga to the R dge, fall u i u i i in u i pon and ll m ne the reg ments bl e, the gl tter

i iu ing bayonets and the wav ng, tr mphant Stars and i u disa Str pes . The eagle t rns , soars to the west and p pears in the sunset . C ’ E . i 6 . C ON N CT ICUT The W lderness , May, 4 haos

i d u d u in the W l erness . Thro gh tangle br sh and twist in s i ou r i . F g branches , a desperate battle rag ng The t een th C i u on F onnect c t Infantry , the left of the ederal d i b ’ i d in i u . l ne, is engage r v ng ack the enemy s o tposts SO is din great the that orders cannot be heard . The d u i o f i a j tant, seek ng for a means rally ng the men ,

u - u i to ches a color bearer on the sho lder, po nts to a u him it i fallen tree, and sho ts to to kneel by , hold ng wo . u t i the Flag over him Aro nd the , Stars and Str pes

ffi o f u and boy, gather O cers and men the Fo rteenth i i i i i o i and other reg ments . W th th s v v d p nt of loyalty

2 3 6 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY i d figure, outlined with his Flag aga nst the rifting

O u t O f i ru in smoke . th s smoke shes a knot of men if o C . gray . They leap up n rosier Take my Flag, ” ff i you can ! he yells . The sta is grasped . He r ps it s u u his u Old Glory from lance , t cks it nder blo se i di u over his heart . Then , w th a ve, he breaks thro gh the gray circle arou nd him and runs to ward his regi

u him bu t . i ment . A b llet strikes he goes on Sta ned i is with blood , he emerges from the th cket, and con “ fronted by his Colonel , who demands , Where is that ” ? u his u u ou t O ld Flag Crosier unb ttons blo se , p lls “ ” Glory, says faintly , Here it is , Colonel , and sinks to the ground .

i o - General H . A . Barnum w ll rec mmend Color Ser geant Crosier for the Congressional Medal O f Honor . i “C i ’ In the letter which he w ll write he will say, ros er s act was one of superb bravery in action and Of devotion i i to the flag, in wh ch he held l fe as nothing to the sav ” ing of the Starry banner . ’ E R C 6 V MONT . edar Creek, October, 4 . Break of i i u day . With the speed of a wh rlw nd, J bal Early i of r o f str kes a section the A my the Potomac , deter mined O n breaking its grip on the Army o f Northern

i . r V rginia The Eighth Ve mont Infantry, a part of ’ u General Stephen Thomas Brigade , a mere handf l of ’ is men , thrown in to stem the torrent . General Crook s C orps , to the left , has been surprised , smashed and swept away . Under Maj or Meade, the Green Moun i tain Boys hold a terribly exposed posit on , for the o enemy, with deafening yells , m ves swiftly in from front and flank . Regiment after regiment of the i and E ghth Corps crumbles goes by to the rear . Two IMMORTAL COLOR- BEARERS 2 3 7

companion regiments , the Twelfth Connecticut and the u One H ndred and Sixtieth New York, frightfully t o i u broken , cling the r gro nd , but with ever widening rifts between as the Confederate swarm breaks upon them in fury . Su ddenly a mass of men in gray confronts the twin i V i su r Flags of the E ghth ermont, demand ng their “ ” ! ! of render . Never Never is the reply the men in

u o of u bl e , forming a c mpact ring defense aro nd their ’ colors . Instantly begins one of the Civil War s most

- - desperate and ugly hand t o hand struggles for flags . u Men become demons , fight with fists , cl bbed muskets

- h i . t e and bayonets Color Corporal Petre, shot in th gh , i “ ! p tches forward to the ground . Boys , leave me Take ” care of you rselves and the flag ! he cries . As he to die crawls away , Corporal Perham seizes Old Glory i i in i and ra ses it aloft . A sold er gray reaches to gr p

ff - the sta , but Color Sergeant Shores places the muzzle i his i him of his musket aga nst breast and fires , k lling instantly . A flash from another musket, and Perham i falls , dragg ng the Stars and Stripes to the earth with din of him . Again , in a yells , the Flag goes up, held

- stoutly by Color Corporal Blanchard .

- now Color Sergeants Shores and Simpson, standing -t o by the colors , become the center of a terrific man man fight . Three Confederates attack them at once and attempt to take Old Glory . Simpson fires at one, i e and Shores bayonets another . Down the l n bursts

' i d chee forth w l ring. Sheridan has come from Win has chester, miles away, and the tide of battle, that b fo r a een ebbing so swiftly the Army of the Potom c , ‘ t h urns into a flood of victory . At the eart of the Eighth 2 3 8 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

Vermont stands a little group of stunned and bleeding

- i i . u boys , the fa thful , hero c color guard Sal te Ser eants C g Moran , Shores and Holt, and orporal Worden, to die i and who are willing , but not to y eld the Stars

Stripes . ’ 6 N E W E R SE . . J Y Fort Mahone, April , 5 A New ’ v i i - i Jersey boy, James Jar s, of the State s Th rty n nth

i u u i d Infantry, g ves a s perb pict re of hero sm un er Old i ’ is 2 6 . i Glory . It the early dawn of Apr l , 5 The reg i d u i i ment is mov ng forwar , nder a p t less fire , to the

Fo . u assault on rt Mahone Jarvis r ns ahead , scales o i the earthw rk and , mount ng the parapet, plants the di Flag squ arely in the face of the enemy . Imme ately

is i o bu o - he the target for a ha l f llets . F rty three balls his i his i B u t pierce Old Glory, and one sl ces r ght arm . u i t o i i i i t o his he stands , ref s ng y eld an nch , cl ng ng i his i b u m Flag, unt l he sees reg ment beaten ack by the d i mus yiel ing fire . W th one last defiant glance at the him of kets leveled at , he leaps from the crest the i parapet and brings off the Stars and Str pes , tattered but glorious . ’

6 . R D . MA YLAN Five Forks , April , 5 The war is i i d . F at the eve of Appomattox ght ng dogge ly, the wo rn and battered Army of Northern Virginia is re i in it s u i of veal ng, final ho rs , the splend d temper its u m steel . P shed back, struck repeatedly by an ar y of its own b it is i i it s tough fi er, stand ng w th back to the wall , i o u i . i dangero s in its extrem ty Sher dan , m v ng with i i i is i his i i dazzl ng rap d ty, open ng br ll ant battle at i F . u it F ve orks In the Fo rth Maryland Infantry, as i - goes into act on, is a boy color bearer, Corporal Jacob “ . T u rner and i R i , the day is his twent eth birthday . Over

XXXIX

T H E FLA G COM E S HOM E

Imagine what it w as like t o see a bu llet -shredded old bat tle fl ag rev erently unf olded t o the gaze o f a thou sand middle ’ a ed so diers most of hom hadn t seen it since the saw it g l , w y o o e adv ancing over v ict ri us fi lds when they were in their prime . A nd imagine what it was like when Grant st epped into v iew hi e the ere st i oin mad o er the fl a and then ri ht w l y w ll g g v g ‘; g in t he midst o f it all somebody st ruck up W hen we were ’ ou eor i W e ou shou a e heard marchin thr h G a . d h g g g ll , y l v the thousand v oices lift that chorus and seen the t ears st ream ’ down . I f iv e a hund red ears shan t ev er f o r et these I l y , I g ”— thin s nor be ab e t o t a about them. Mar wain in l et g , l lk k T , t er to o e s Nov ember 1 8 . H w ll , , 79

HE men who came North from Appomattox in 1 86 u i o of um 5 , bro ght w th them the mem ry an i n i i . i usually dramat c scene We have been str ct, th s i in ou r t h story, adherence to the story of the S ars and

i d u Str pes . We have closed the oor on s ch flags as i i i of i have come nto l fe on the so l the Un ted States , hostile t o our Flag and its meaning as the perfect sym o n i u i bol f federated States bound i an ind ssol ble Un on . But there was an hour at the very close O f the C ivil i n i War, so pathetic , so interpretat ve of the sple d d i for arm es that fought the Confederacy, that we Open the door and give a swift View of the last moments at

Appomattox . - h Brigadier General Joshua L . C amberlain was del 2 40 T H E FLAG COMES HOME 2 4 1

’ e e gat d by Grant to receive the surrender o f Lee s Army . of - A detachment that Army, led by Lieutenant Gen s eral John B . Gordon , came marching with their arm

to the place designated for the formal act of surrender .

Chamberlain, a soldier and a man , thrilled with a noble s pity, gave a sharp command, and the Union musket of h s came to an attitude salute . Gordon reined i

horse, turned in his saddle, drew his sword , and , with a n s it s magnifice t sweep , acknowledged the alute and n n A s o of sig ifica ce . the t rn and ghostly banners the com South went by, the Stars and Stripes dipped in a radeship of heroism not wholly without reverence ; not

for the flag that had gone down in defeat, but for the Am who men , ericans , had fought under it .

u u a Then, with a painf l rel ctance, the fl gs of the Lost Cause were leaned against the stacks of muskets o r laid gently on the ground . The hour of parting had

come, and, regardless of discipline, the gray ranks h broke and the men rushed to their flags , folded t em t o w in their arms , pressed them their lips and ept over them . rom of a F the front four bitter years , Old Glory c me s home . There i a literature in itself on the return of - fla i en s . wr t t the Northern battle g One paragraph , t at an the time , presents a picture more graphic than y we “ — S can give The multitude raised a hout and cheered , for but the impulse was but momentary, at the sight of the array of tattered rags the noise of the tumult

- died away, and a half suppressed sound was heard as through the hearts of the people there flashed a thrill saw of mingled pride and pain . Those who it will n h ever forget t e scene . In the center the tattered silk 2 42 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY o f on the colors, and the fringe and in the background

- u a wonder stricken crowd , as past ncovered heads, past i O ld dimmed eyes and quivering l ps, the flags were car ” ried . ’ We turn to a page of C onnecticu t s history for our i o f C i i final V ew of the Old Glory the v l War . The ceremo ny Of returning the battle - flags of the State was i t o held at Hartford . It was dec ded gather the regi mental standards, repair those that could be repaired, and deposit them in the State Capitol fo r preservation and as a memorial of a great period in the history Of the Nation and O f the State . Other Northern States ’ S were carrying out imilar ceremonies , and Connecticut s battle- flag day did not differ in essentials from the i o rout ne followed throughout the N rth . But there were t wo or three incidents in the Hartford episode of a peculiarly tender significance . A committee O f women and girls was appointed to take the Flags into their h ands for the delicate work of repairing them in su ch a way that they should re tain their to rn an d bullet- pierced appearance and yet be fortified for the decades to come . One girl was for given, her handiwork, the Flag under which her “ i brother had died in act on . A young woman took the S w the last titches in a Stars and Stripes hich , during u h fo e war, had more than once been ret rned to er r r as an pair, from the regiment in which her husband w ffi o cer .

the of - n On day the Flag ceremony, vetera s came to u Hartford from all q arters of the State . Burnside was on he him there t platform , and with was General ’

h H own . Josep R . awley, Connecticut s soldier During

i n. T H E STA R S A N D !TR IP E S GO E S T o T H E H E A R T O F AFR ICA

i u Y a curious freak of c rc mstances , Africa, that i u i i ar had been an ind rect ca se of the C v l W , called t o America in 1 869 for aid in finding the lost o i i David Livingstone, the great Sc tch m ss onary who had gone with the C ross from one end of the dark i o it s cont nent to the ther . The call found answer in

- in an ex Confederate soldier, Henry M . Stanley, then n Spain as a newspaper corresponde t . James Gordon d r. Bennett, J , who finance the search , gave his orders “ to Stanley in one brief bu t adequ ate sentence ° Find Livingstone an d bring news of his discoveries or proofs ” o f his d death , regar less of expense . u 1 0 1 8 1 On Jan ary , 7 , Stanley, under the Stars and i d ib i i Str pes , lan ed at Zanz ar to plunge nto a w ld and practically unknown cou ntry in search of a missionary lo i u i i st wh le serving nder the Un on Jack . He enl sted

- i one d . fift twenty seven native sold ers , hundre and y i i i u i d seven carr ers , and , w th two wh te men , str ck nlan on 2 1 1 i he i 1 8 . t March , 7 For nearly e ght months l ttle i on u caravan to led , through thorns and j ngles , across rivers and swamps many miles in length . Men de t o ft - i se ted, and the recurr ng fever delayed and les ’ hun sened by death, Stanley s train of followers . For 2 44 STARS AND STRIPES IN AFRICA 2 45 dreds of leagues once traveling fiwe hu ndred and twenty miles t o cross an air- distance of one hundred and twenty miles the search - party literally hewed

i . a road into Afr ca At length came rumors , picked up i i from the nat ves , that a wh te man had recently arrived e at Uj ij i from M anyu ma . This golden piece of information spurred Stanley

on S . 1 8 1 with greater peed On November 9 , 7 , he lo oked down on the splendid expanse of Lake Tan

an ika u on o g y . What occ rred the f llowing day is best “ told by Stanley himself : At this grand moment we i u o f i do not th nk of the h ndreds m les we have marched , of the hundreds of hills we have ascended and de of scended , the many forests we have traversed , of the

u s j ngles and thicket that annoyed us , Of the fervid

ou r . O u r ou r salt plains that blistered feet dreams ,

i . hopes , our anticipat ons are about to be realized ‘ ’ Unfurl the flags and load the guns ! ‘ ’ A a y, Wallah , y, Wallah , bana, responded the men eagerly . “A volley from nearly fifty guns roars like a salute from a battery of artillery . ‘ ’ Kiran azi Now, g , hold the white man s flag up i high , and let the Zanz bar flag bring up the rear . And you men keep close together, and keep firing until we ’ - or a halt in the market place , before the white m n s ’ house . “ Before we had gone one hundred yards our re peat ed vo lleys had the desired effect . The mere sight of the flags informed every one that we were a caravan , m but the A erican flag, borne aloft by the gigantic wa o e h Asmani , whose face s n broad smile on t is day, 2 46 T H E DRAMATIC STORY O F oLD GLORY h . t e rather staggered them at first However, many of people who now approached us remembered the flag . Am They had seen it float above the erican consulate, and from the mastheads of many a ship in the harbor o f ! anzibar, and they were soon heard welcoming the ‘ ’ beautiful flag with cries of B indera Kisungu ! ’ ‘ ’ B indera M ericani ! a white man s flag . ” American flag . t Through an avenue of Africans went Stanley, wi h

Old Glory at his side . At the end of the avenue stood

i- a white man with a gray beard , before a sem circle

. him off of Arabs Stanley walked up to , took his hat and said , very simply, .

Dr . Livingstone, I presume . i Yes , repl ed Livingstone with a gentle smile, lift ing his hat slightly . so the And , in Central Africa, Stars and Stripes , piloted by an ex- Confederate soldier and carried by a n black African, found the Union Jack and its Christia representative, David Livingstone .

2 48 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

no collision could t be averted . The iron prow of the British ship rose high in the air and fell with a crash u a dalia n on the port q arter of the V n . Every man o the American ship near the point of collision was hurled from his feet . c Then came an heroi moment . Captain Kane , of C allio e i i the p , swung her round nto the w nd and gave orders to work the engines to the limit . It was the one last desperate chance for life . One break in the machinery , and Death was at hand for three hundred

u men . Slowly the British ship str ggled on , inch by o of be inch , through a weltering ri t waters , passing ’ e o T en o tween the T r nt n and the reef. The r t n s fire ou t had gone , and she lay, tossing and rolling, almost l o e in the path of the C a l i p . At close quarters with

Eternity, the American seamen , as the straining Brit isher toiled by them, sent over the white spume a ring in i g cheer, the Stars and Stripes greeting the Un on “ ” C allio e ! C Jack, Three cheers for the p aptain Kane “ ” God . said, later, bless America and her noble sailors M a dali P. . V n a By three , the , a complete wreck, was o se a t giving up men t the hungry . The sailors hat were left were clinging in , or were lashed to, the rig ffi o oo i . T rent n t g ng The O cers of the , believing they, , ou t were doomed , flung the Stars and Stripes, the first S i flag to appear in the torm on any sh p , determined to go down with Old Glory streaming above them . u th e an d Ca ght by tide the wind , they were slowly i i on and l a dr ft ng down the V a i . It was then after ’ i i . seven o clock, and dayl ght was beg nning to fade

an on . Soon the last light paled away, d night came Vandalia To the men on the , with arms and legs cut O LD GLO RY AT SAMOA 2 49

S by ropes , came through heets of blinding spray the apparition o f the towering T rent on moving down upon n them through the dark ess . Across the surges , trav

i on u el ng the wind , rang a great sho t, American call T rent on Vandalia ing to American , the cheering the , “ ” Three cheers for the Va ndalia ! From the shivering masts of the stricken Vandalia i i breathed a response l ke a wh sper . Then , from the “ T rent on deck of the , in the mood of the Roman , We ” who u t o u ou are abo t die, sal te y , rolled forth from ’ “ - the ship s band The Star Spangled Banner . The crashing chords conqu ered the tempest . Before each man rose the vision of Old Glory defiant in the face o f - Death, the ever young, immortal Flag of the great

Republic . W ho knows ? Some power beyond mortal divina tion intervened as the last trumpet- notes died away

o lia . T rent n Vanda in the gale The reached the , but i i there was no shock . The two, s de by s de under the

Stars and Stripes , formed a barrier against the sea . A correspondent of the Associated Press who wit esse Va ndalia T rent on n d the wreck of the and the , “ wrote these words near the close of his report : Above the whole scene of destruction the Stars and Stripes and the flag of Rear- Admiral Kimberly flo ated from

T rent on if t o the shattered masts of the , as indicate ” that America was triumphant even above the storm . XLII

T H E FLAG IN T H E W A R W ITH SPAI N

HE Spanish War of 1 898 was almost barren of scenes in which the Stars and Stripes had an indi i M aine b w H a v dual part . When the was lo n up at u F vana , in Febr ary of that year, the lag was hoisted - for over the wreck, and was kept there at half mast S i ou of no . t days Our h ps, in and action , furnished moments when Old Glo ry was an outstanding feature . The long run o f the O regon from the Pacific to the Atlantic ; the battles of Manila and Santiago ; the sinking of the M errimac ; not one of these stirring events revealed the Flag in a dramatic prominence . The records of ou r land forces in the Spanish War i of surrender, under search , two stor es that are a na

i to i . ture that adm ts them th s book One , that of the of i is Stars and Stripes the Rough R ders , a genuine, first - i class Flag story, possess ng the desired elements i of i i . inception, development and st rr ng fin sh The h i ot er, that of the National ens gn of the Sixteenth

h- i i i in ' flas . Regulars , is but a l ght nc dent prose i the The Rough R ders, composed of men from

- o o Southwest, cow boys and c llege men fr m the East, i assembled in Arizona . The command was an nter i i est ng one , having in its personnel men with fam ly traditions of other wars under the Flag— Bucky 2 50

2 52 T H E DRAMATIC STORY O F O LD GLORY

o and o e i out t greet t cheer us . W were travel ng through a region where practically all the O ld men C and had served in the onfederate Army, where the ‘ you nger men had all their lives long d runk in the end less tales told by their elders , at home , and at the

- - u u cross roads taverns , and in the court ho se sq ares , about the cavalry Of Forrest and Morgan and the in n fa t ry of Jackson and Hood . Everywhere we saw the Stars and Stripes and everywhere we were told ,

- - half laughing, by grizzled ex Confederates , that they in o O f t o had never dreamed the byg ne days bitterness, O ld fla W i it greet the g as they now ere greet ng , and to now t o send their sons , as they were sending them , ” fight and die under it . The Rough Riders were the first volunteer regi i ment organ zed, armed and equipped , in the Spanish

i u . War . They were the first volunteer sold ers in C ba They raised the first Stars and Stripes hoisted by the military forces Of the United States over foreign soil i o f since the Mexican War . The rais ng their Old Glory on the crest of Lorilt ires is an incident not t o

u o - be overlooked . S rgeon La M tte, Color Sergeant

Wright, Trumpeter Platt, and Edward Marshall , i i i F cl mbed the h ll w th the lag, found a deserted block

u ou t I t . ho se, and prepared to fling Old Glory above B u t - o i the block h use had a sl ppery tin roof, and the little party was on the verge of despair when an Amer i i u d can sa lor opport nely appeared . He scramble u p t in i the slope, carrying the Stars and Str pes of the girls of i him own ff Arizona w th , and lashed it, by its sta , t o i i u the l ttle t mber that st ck from the peak . n on Dow the bay lay the United States transports . THE WAR WITH SPAIN 2 53

Their sailors looked like t oy men t o the group on the hill . Suddenly some one on one of the ships caught i of i r C . s ght Old Glo y flutter ng over uba And then , i as we are told and can read ly imagine, there was bed

- . u lam Steam whistles tooted , twenty tho sand men yelled and cheered , twelve bands began to play with all their strength , and guns of warships banged away in fervid patriotism . This Flag of the Ro ugh Riders was carried gallantly through all the engagements in Cuba . At Las Guasi

- on mas , Color Sergeant Wright was grazed three times k i the nec by bullets, wh le carrying it , and four holes of were shot through the silk its folds . i i At San Juan H ll , the Stars and Str pes of the Six t eenth d Regulars , Infantry, was the first Unite States

Flag t o reach the crest and the Spanish lines . Stephen “ Bonsal wrote of this color as follows : The leader o f o the thin and scattered line, the forlorn h pe that i persisted in advanc ng, was Lieut . Ord . There raced i w th him, running neck and neck the gauntlet of death , - of his a color bearer the Sixteenth Infantry, carrying great flag unfurled to the breeze ; a private of the Sixth

i - of i bo Infantry ; and a l ttle flute player the S xth , a y i i of . sixteen The young pr vate of the S xth , from Ohio,

- the first in the rush line, fell twenty yards short of the ’ crest fi XLIII

O LD GLO R Y AT T H E T O P O F T H E WOR LD

h o for s ad a HE Nort P le, that year h defied the t of tacks men , especially of Englishmen and i of m Amer cans, yielded to the assault Co mander Robert i suc E . Peary of the Un ted States Navy , in By cessiv e 1 00 1 02 1 06 stages , in 9 , 9 and 9 , Peary had ’ ° ’ of 8 2 pushed beyond Greely s farthest 3 4 north, by i e of 1 0 i 2 6 . d stanc s 3 m les , 3 miles and 9 miles There of 1 i t o remained a strip 74 m les to cover, in order span the whole line of 3 96 miles that had resisted the ’ o Pea s u foot f any other conqueror . Of ry tremendo s

struggle with the barrier of the North, we have no o o ro m t tell in this history . We are greatly interested i in the Stars and Str pes which he carried with him . i r This part cular Old Glo y, which had been made his in 1 8 for Peary by wife 94 , was of silk and went h 6 im . with in all his voyages to the North On April , 1 0 i i the 9 9 , w th five compan ons , four Esquimaux and

negro Henson , Peary stood on the top of the world .

The great quest was ended . The North was no longer

a mystery and a defiance . The Old Glory that had h covered so many weary miles in high latitudes , t at Peary had carried wrapped about his body on every one of his expeditions northward, was unfurled and o r planted t stream in the cold Arctic ai . Peary had 2 54

XLIV

T E R R ITO R IAL AC!UI SITION S U N DE R T H E FLAG

E FORE entering upo n the part taken by the and i in the I n u e it Stars Str pes late war E rop , will be well to list the territorial additions t o the i i i United States dur ng the years s nce the C vil War . i d i u Th s recor appl es only to s ch lands as were, pre v ious i u i i i to the r dates of acq s t on , under other na onal t i flags . Alaska was pu rchased from Russia through a Treaty i n 0 1 6 u i relin 8 . which was s g ed on March 3 , 7 R ss a u ished b i i i q , y th s Treaty, all cla m to the cont nent of d i Alaska and the a j acent slands . The transfer took

i 1 8 1 86 . F u place at S tka, October , 7 The lag sed at i t o i the t me was forwarded Wash ngton , where it is now preserved .

2 1 1 8 8 u i C harl est on On June , 9 , the cr ser , Captain ’ of u i d A ra Henry Glass , entered the harbor San L s p , i i Island of Guam , and took possess on . The Span sh an d i flag was lowered, the Stars and Stripes was ra sed ’ u at abo t two o clock that afternoon . A fleet o f United States vessels sailed from Gu an i u 2 1 1 8 8 and tanamo, Porto R co, on J ly , 9 , reached h on 2 t . i i Guanica, Porto Rico, the 5 The Span sh w th i u o drew w tho t resistance . At the eastern end f the of beach was a worn and faded Spanish flag, typical 2 56 ACQUISITIONS UNDER FLAG 2 57

the waning control of Spain . This flag was lowered , d i o 1 O l . 8 and Glory was ra sed At noon of Oct ber , i i the Stars and Str pes was ho sted at San Juan , and Porto R ico came completely into the hands of the

United States . u i - D r ng the Spanish American War, the Hawaiian d Islands were gathered u nder the fol s o f Old Glory . The formal annexation occu rred at Honol u lu on A u u 1 2 i 1 8 8 . 1 u g st , 9 At of that day, at the Exec t ve i ii o u Bu lding, the Hawa an flag sl wly fl ttered down ff on of u i i from the flagsta the central tower the b ld ng, and Old Glory went up to take its place . u 1 1 8 8 i On Aug st 3 , 9 , the city of Man la surrendered to Rear-Admiral George Dewey and Major- General i i Wesley Merr tt . The Span sh flag was hauled down i and the Stars and Str pes was hoisted . This act was a Sign o f the taking over of the Philippines by the

‘ United States . u 1 8 8 of ffi o f On J ly 4 , 9 , a group o cers the second i i i i Phil pp ne exped t on landed on Wake Island and , a b of d a very proper cele ration the y, raised the Stars and Stripes over land many miles from any other Pacific

. u r 1 1 8 . . shore On Jan a y 7, 99 , Commander E D Taus i i B ennin t on sig, Un ted States Navy, in the sh p g , took o formal possession f Wake Island . i Spa n , in signing the Treaty of Peace on December i u 1 0 1 8 8 . , 9 , rel nq ished all claims to Cuba At Havana,

u 1 1 8 of o . on J ly , 99 , the act transfer ccurred At

u noon , the day was a S nday, the Spanish standard u that had for cent ries flown above the Island , was S to t o lowered , and the Stars and Stripes was ent the p ff of the sta . The fleet present, and the fortress , fired ‘ 2 58 T H E DR A M AT I C STORY O F O LD GLORY

of salutes before and after the change flags . The cere i i i mony of transfer was free of ostentat on, cons st ng merely of brief speeches by C aptain - General Castel

o - lan s and Major General John R . Brooke . On May

i u 2 0 1 0 2 i . , 9 , Cuba became an ndependent Rep bl c u i Tut ila, Manua , and three lesser slands of the Samoan group came u nder the shadow o f Old Glory 1 1 8 through a Treaty signed November 4 , 99 , between i i an in i Great Br ta n d Germany, the terms of wh ch the u i o United States acq esced . Formal p ssession was

1 2 1 00 . taken at Pago Pago, on April , 9

T wo C a u an- u u i u u islands , g y S l and S but , of the S lu i u i u i Archipelago, wh ch caused m ch d sc ss on between Spain and the United States in the settling of the questions brought forward by the resu lts of the Span - o f i ish American War, became the property the Un ted 1 00 of 1 00 States , on November 7, 9 , by a payment $ , 000 to Spain . 1 1 In March, 9 7, by purchase from Denmark , the

Virgin Islands , St . Thomas , St . John and St . Croix, became the eastern wardens of the United States for f ee . 2 o S the Caribbean Sea On March 7 that year, ret ary of the Navy Daniels radioed Captain Pollock o o of the transport H anc ck to go t St . Thomas and take over the Islands in the name of the President of the United States . Pollock dropped anchor in the of harbor of St . Thomas at on the afternoon that day . O l m ia o f At dawn of the next day the old y p , Dew ’

h i O ff . ey s w ite fleet, appeared , l ke a ghost, the harbor t o H ancock on She transferred her band the , took board ’ - i sixty of Captain Pollock s seventy e ght marines , and

T H E STAR S A N D ST R IP E S A N D T H E WO R LD W A R

i o in 1 1 T Hal fax, N va Scotia, December, 9 7, there was a display of the American Flag that was in itself a sign of the part the United States was in n ff i to take the War i Europe . Halifax was su er ng from the devastation caused by an explosion on a ship i in her harbor . Boston , the nearest of the large c ties of i i the Un ted States , Immed ately equipped a Red Cross unit and dispatched it by train to the stricken i city . The res dent American consul donated a large

it . Old Glory, and was raised over the entrance to St ’ Mary s Hospital . A newspaper correspondent wrote, “ of 1 2 under the date December , The Greater Boston Red Cross unit paused in it s work of mercy to-day to ‘ stand knee - deep in Canadian snows and sing The ’ - i in Star Spangled Banner, as for the first t me history

Old Glory was flung, with formal ceremonies , to the i i Canad an sk es . There was an unusual coincidence in this display

i u be at Hal fax ; for there, one h ndred and four years i fore, the Stars and Str pes came slowly into the har bor draped over the dead Lawrence lying on the deck o f C e a ea e i e h s k . r the p Hal fax, as we remember, ceiv ed r its the Sta s and Stripes and heroic defender, 1 8 1 d of in 3 , with ceremonial honor . She sent the bo y 2 60

N E W YO R K PU B ‘ LIB RA RY

A S T O R , T I L D E N P O U N E A T I O N S

2 62 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

of N e methods of display . In June that year the w Y ork T imes paid its respects to Flag- Day with two u i articles , from which we q ote . Under the capt on , “ ” i O f i u 1 2 Top cs the T mes , J ne , appeared these words , “ u There are days when flags mean , or sho ld mean a b d i i r i . good deal to eve y o y, to civ l ans as well as sold ers It is not for nothing that always there has been in most hearts a capacity t o thrill at the sight of Specially ” d d bi o u or ere ts f cloth . That was a decoro s and de u o f o u m re statement loyalty t Old Glory . It so nds thin when compared with the passionate u tterances of “ - 1 86 1 . u 1 F u di a On J ne 4 , lag Day, nder the hea ng N ” F - in tion to Honor the lag To day, we were told that ’ i u New York City Secretary Frankl n K . Lane s e logy of the Stars and Stripes wou ld be read in all the public ’

. o schools Secretary Lane s w rds deserved to be read . We give these selections from his eloqu ent personifica “ i F is i t on of Old Glory ; the lag speak ng, I am song an d i b i and fear, struggle pan c , and enno l ng hope . I am the mystery of the men who do withou t knowing why . I am the clu tch of an idea and the reaso ned ” u of u i p rpose resol t on .

u 1 1 It remained in that s mmer of 9 5, for an ex C d i S onfe erate sold er, Will Henry Thompson, peaking i on in a c ty the Pacific coast , to renew the old blaze o f fiery patriotism that leaped into flame du ring the i of C i i G eor Open ng weeks the v l War . Thompson , a i i o di in g an , was at s xteen years of age a s l er the Army of Northern Virginia . After Appomattox he set out n i on i to tramp home with other boys i gray . Wh le the r “ i u in u desolate march , the l ttle gro p sat down d st and ashes and divided a small square of bunting which T H E WORLD W AR 2 63

one of them had hidden I n his bosom . That torn ’ “ fragment was a piece of a Stars and Bars o f Lee s N O T imes re Army . wonder the spoke editorially, in ’ “ i Of ferring to Thompson s address , of the mean ng a

for . flag, the unaccountable love men have it The love of a flag is as little t o be analyzed as the love for

a mother . ’ Thompson s main theme was The Shado w of a ” his u Flag, and he had set down a part of tho ghts in

s . ver e . We give his story in prose During the strug gle at the “Bloody Angle” a Stars and Stripes was planted on the frail log breast- work that Thompson and his comrades were defending . It was riddled by ff on shot and its sta was splintered , but it kept float ing above boys in Blue and in Gray whose bayo nets

were interlocked in savage strife . Suddenly, caught ou t in the wind , it streamed , defiant in all its tattered bo beauty . Its shadow fell upon the face of the y from

Georgia beneath it . His heart gave a quick leap , for “ ” S on the star of Georgia was till the old banner . He “ C ha saw Ticonderoga and Yorktown , Monterey and pul t epec fluttering in its folds as the radiant thing stood ” i of in the shrivel ng mouth hell and waved and waved . Germany had cause to fear when the sons and the ’ grandsons O f the North and the South of 6 1 tugged 1 1 t o on at their leashes in 9 7, eager meet her sons the

fields of France . For the records of the Civil War reveal an American courage in battle that defies the of on o standards any other nation the gl be . The hour was at hand . The sinkings of the L usitania and the Arabic , the continued disregard of the rights of the e U nited Stat s as a neutral nation , the brutality of 2 64 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

German warfare, and , above all , the sinister menace u i i u i of the Pr ss an sword to all civil zed H man ty, swept u s as a Nation over the fine dividing line of parley o to the field of determined action . Old Glory was t i i i of i . be defended , v nd cated , made a s gn v ctory On

i 6 1 1 i i u Apr l , 9 7, Pres dent W lson and the two Ho ses

C . of ongress moved finally The war was on for us , on S ff and the Stars and Stripes blossomed forth ta , of i io steeple and roof, and in the windows a m ll n F Al American homes . England and rance, and their

i u . l es , ca ght the glow across the Atlantic The follow b ing stanza from a poem y Bertrand Shadwell , which T L ondon C hronicl e appeared in he , voices Great Britain ’ s welcome to Old Glory after it appeared in force in Europe

’ Here s to the St arry Banner ! Let it Shine on ou r mast s and our towers ! ’ A nd here s t o the great R epublic That ha s welded her st rength with ours ! ’ H er fl ag s in the s t reet s o f London ; ’ H er fleet s on the N o rthern Sea ;

A nd her son s st and fi rm in the t renches, ” T o ht t i the fig ll world is f ree .

To those of us who find in Abraham Lincoln a liv - i d S ing text book of Amer canism , a few wor s poken by him at the close of his first Inaugural Address , came i 1 1 to m nd in April , 9 7, with a new and more potent “ : d O f i meaning The mystic chor s memory, stretch ng from every battlefield and patriot grave to every heart and i o hearthstone all over th s br ad land , will yet swell the chorus of the Union when againtouched .

2 66 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

‘ !’ kissed my flag . Old Glory he said . And I told him ‘ Yes , Old Glory, and new glory, too . d u d i Clancy was ba ly wo nde at V my R idge . His record in France tells u s that he too k part with the d u C on Cana ians at Ne ve hapelle, in the assault the

d u in . Hohenzollern Re o bt, and the battle of the Somme He is for u s the sole member of ou r long line of im mortal color-bearers t o perpetu ate the glorious t radi hi i in . o s t on the late war Acr ss the years , hand reaches t o the shadowy hands o f the boys who carried Old ’ d C u Glory at Yorktown , Lun y s Lane , hap ltepec , Get

b i i . tys u rg and San Ju an Hill . A tablet for W ll am H in of C lancy our Hall Flags . Before we take up the story of our Army in France as crusaders carrying a Flag with a new meaning for O ld the World , we pause to record two events in which the Flag had a singularly beautiful part ; the bu rial o f i of of Paul J . Osborne, New Jersey, and the mak ng ’ the Old Glory that waved over the T uscania s dead . i on u 2 1 1 ff Osborne d ed J ne 2 , 9 7, from the e ects of i i wounds received wh le dr ving an ambulance . He was the first boy from the United States to die in the Great War under ou r Flag after our country entered as a

i . e bell gerent At the burial service, General Barati r of the French Army delivered a brief but poetically i ou t sympathet c address . One of his sentences stands imbu ed with the sensitive pity and chivalry of France “ e i in Sl ep , sold er Osborne , wrapped the Stars and i o Str pes within the shadow o f the banners f France . ru 1 1 8 T uscania On Feb ary 7, 9 , the British transport , d off i carrying American troops , was torpedoe the Ir sh coast and one hundred and seventy men were lost . A THE FLAG IN FRANCE 2 67 number of the bodies drifted to the shore of Scotland and were tenderly taken into the care of the villagers id o of Islay . It was dec ed to bury th ese boys fr m

m i i i i u O f A er ca w th m l tary honors . At d sk the night A rnerican before the ceremony , some one asked if an

Flag was at hand for u nfu rling over the graves . A i ' Stars and Str pes cou ld not be fou nd . A Scotch mother had noticed the design of the Flag tattooed o n he the arm of one of t dead . She called in three e u i oth r mothers , and the fo r worked w th their needles

u thro gh the night . As the gray dawn grew over the i sea, they completed a Stars and Str pes . And so, in a ’ i i o f i driving ra n , with the sk rl the pipers funeral d rge o f and a volley of musketry, and with the whispering u i t o the sea aro nd the rocks , American boys were la d rest in Scotland under the Old Glory of their hearts . M cLell an Jessie , Mary Cunningham , Catherine Mc

Gregor and Mary Armour, the Stars and Stripes that you made during that February night of storm and now in i sorrow, is with us Amer ca , to be cherished as a memorial of motherhood that sees in a homemade

flag a symbol of love and of sacrifice . These Flag- incidents we have related were mere i f bits of flotsam in the w de tide o war . They were sig n ificant o f , as they were evidences English and French realization of the true import o f the arrival of the

Stars and Stripes on the battleground . The United i i t o u ff i own States was w ll ng s er, to g ve of her blood , t hat the principles typified in her Flag should not be a mockery at Berlin . Once with her face set t o the i i n e East, she moved w th splend d precisio and d termi : 1 1 1 nation On July 3 , 9 7, six hundred and eighty 2 68 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

u o seven tho sand men were called to the col rs . On 2 1 1 he October 7, 9 7, t first American shot ever fired on o f u in war the soil E rope , sped from a battery to

i . u fi the German l ne D ring the rst week of November, 1 1 o f i in ac 9 7, the first men the Un ted States to fall f i i . o i i t on , Pr vate James B Gresham , Evansv lle , Ind f d i . o i ana, Pr vate Merle D Hay, Gl den , Iowa , and Pri

Pa . vate Thomas F . Enright, of Pittsburgh , , were bu i in r ed the soil of France . The historian knows that there will be readers O f his book who will say that he gives undu e emphasis o to the sad elements f the Story of Old Glory . He holds that death under and for the Stars and Stripes o i is ever the Light f its h gh Adventure . We cannot extol too highly the courage Of those who have gone out to fight and to die for the American ism that shines blazoned on the Flag . It is our constant du ty to give to ou r children the history of the Stars and Stripes as o ou r a book f intense patriotism . They must see in F lag not mere bunting and stitches , but the heroism o f thousands whose lives have been given freely that no blot could stain a stripe and no hand remove a Star . u 1 1 That ho r in November, 9 7, when those three boys - in were lowered into French ground, was a mile post ’ the march of the Nation s history . n Be eath a gray sky, and with the rain falling stead il y, three companies of infantry from the battalion i to which the three had belonged, American art llery detachments , and a number of French infantry, formed a hollow square round the graves which had been dug in ground already sown thick with the dead of Great of flu Britain and France . At the head each grave t

2 70 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F - OLD GLORY

of ou r i ground are lines troops , and at the r ght stands

- u i the Color G ard w th the Stars and Stripes . It is not

u - i d a rent and b llet p erce Old Glory . It hangs from

ff in air r u its sta a breathless , unto n , resplendent . M ch as we regret the passing of the day when the Flag i i i u o f went w th its defenders r ght nto the f rnace battle, ‘ t o u ff i ac s er and even to be destroyed w th them , we cept the presence of Old Glory behind the lines of it s in i i t o u supporters act on , call ng them and rging them l onward . They fee it with them , in their hearts and i ’ in the r minds vision , the soul of America inspiriting to victory. 1 1 1 8 of On Bastille Day, July 4 , 9 , a detachment s i e i i F United State sold ers parad d w th the r rench ,

i i i in i . is Br t sh and Belg an comrades , Par s Here what an American newspaper correspondent wro te as they “

ou r i . went by, Next came Amer cans They marched i i i of who l ke men who have had the r bapt sm fire, men have been tried and were not fou nd wanting . I felt ‘ ’ in i d - the Star Spangled Banner my r ght shoul er blade, ‘ ’ ‘ ’ i Dix e in my left, and America all up and down my backbone . “ - Such stern set faces . Not a man was smiling, not a man looked to right or left . The mouths were level u as the edge of a r ler . If ever I saw the autograph o f i io it t an nflexible determinat n , was written in hese firm and resolute cou ntenances of men with a charge

u i i . to keep , a tr st to wh ch they w ll be true “ They showed their training . These were not amateurs . They were men of a seasoned hardihood . They were men who had gone over the top and seen h i o t e r pals fall beside them, and made go d against T H E FLAG I N FRANCE 2 7 1

the boche . They did not carry bayonets . But they i looked preeminently businessl ke , undecorative and solidly irresistible . “ i of Not a h nt the screaming eagle was here, not a ‘ ’ ’ of - - S trace the we ll show you attitude, not a ign of of i anything but cool and clear decision , preem nent of physical fitness , of the health men who took care o f e th mselves in cities , if they did not come from the windward side Of the continent . “ Oregon shouldered the Dakotas , New Mexico and

Idaho marched cheek by j owl , and man after man surely pinches himself now and then t o see if he will not suddenly wake in Maine or Pennsylvania or South ” ern California .

Philip Gibbs , the prince of correspondents , found i i in Old Glo ry the s gnal of defeat for Germany . Th s is what he saw early in 1 9 1 8 throu gh his British eyes “ There are now men on the road of a new race who War it bu t of were not in the when began , are now ou r side men who came in their hundreds of thou sands . H ow finely he introduces Old Glory as we read on I saw outside a French cottage the answer to the great i challenge wh ch the enemy has now flung down . A flag was hanging up o utside the garden gate and a o sentry guarded it . It was the flag f the Stars and

Stripes outside an American headquarters . If we hold n h the enemy for the ext few mont s , the American armies in France will so tip the wheel of fortune that never again will the enemy have the initiative on the o western front . With this great aid t French and of British arms, the strength and spirit the Ger 2 72 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

i man war mach ne will be sapped and shattered . “ The little flag ou tside the cottage which I passed yesterday was a symbol of the great power that is i u o n i i i beh nd us , and f rther there were l v ng w tnesses of the American army that is growing and spreading

i . i t o w th a giant stride They are splend d see, these ” men . F i on u 1 1 1 8 rom Par s, J ly 7, 9 , flashed a message b o that rought the United States t it s feet cheering . An American general in command of American forces south o f the Marne received word from the French ff his commander to the e ect that, although he and troops had been forced back by German assaults, there was no need of a counter- attack and it might be ad ’ i o i u v sable t g ve the Americans an ho r s rest . This “ was the response : We regret being unable on this u ou r occasion to follow the co nsels of masters , the i re French , but the Amer can flag had been forced to i i i t re . Th s is unendurable, and none of our sold ers wou ld understand their not being asked t o do whatever is necessary to reestablish a situ ation which is humili ’ i o ou r at ng t us and unacceptable to country s honor . ” - We are going to counter attack . i M a tin i sat isfac A Par s paper, , made th s terse but “ tory comment : The Americans launched their coun - u ter attack and the lost gro nd was soon recovered , with an additional half mile taken from the Germans ” o o f r g od measure . i i i We have ant c pated h story a little, for the rea son that we wished to isolate the episode of the Flag u i i u that wo ld not ret re , before enter ng pon the story of the dramatic last days of the war . In the Opening

2 74 THE DR AMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

The play proceeded until the baby came ou t and started ‘ i of ’ to l sp the words The Star Spangled Banner . “ There was instant chaos . There was wild cheering

and roars o f applause . There were tears and smiles i and yells . Hats went into the a r and old women

cried and wrung their hands . It was a sight worth

while . France had seen the American soldier kill the ” o hungry wolf at the d orstep , and she was thankful . ou Gunner Clancy, you were right in what y said at “ ” V now imy Ridge . There is new glory for Old

‘ sister t ria Glory, the glory of a noble sacrifice that a color may float free from the black shadow of the

Prussian ensign .

The end of the war came dimly into sight when , on 1 2 1 1 8 r September , 9 , the American First A my with o u shot and steel ironed t flat the St . Mihiel salient in

- twenty seven hours , taking fifteen thousand prisoners and reducing the line of battle by twenty miles . The end w as vividly within range of vision when Old Glory sent forward its eager thousands t o rip open the Hin denbu r on - 2 on a i on g line September 9 , and then ga n , to October 3 , into the mazes of the Argonne Forest the

u t o . Me se, and up the Kriemhilde line On November i of i 7, Sedan fell into the gr p the regiments in khak , h and Germany t rew up her hands in dismay . On r F November 8, Ge man envoys entered the rench lines F and conferred with Marshal och , requesting an armis i ha t ce . The Kaiser d learned that the United States has a long arm and a glove o f steel on her good right hand . o It is impossible in this bo k, to give credit to any one of the valiant divisions that fought for Old Glory

PU B LIC LIB RA R Y

A S T O R , T I L D E N O U N E A T I O N S

2 76 T H E DRAMATIC STORY O F O LD GLORY

i only so much bunting . The reg mental colors were our i of h ghest conception a flag because, whether unfurled or wrapped , we had always to give them the same I n salute as that accorded to his Maj esty himself. other words , the flag represented a personality instead ” of i be ng an emblem of noble ideals . di to After rea ng that clear statement, it is easy comprehend the joy with which Old Glory was greeted in i iu and the l berated towns of France, Belg m , even

u i u i u i i of A str a and B lgar a . When B lgar a w thdrew from the war, a letter was sent from a man with the u i n i B lgar an army to friends i this cou ntry . Here s a “ part of it : Thou sands of Bulgarian soldiers laid d i i i n of own the r arms w th del ght . I k ow forty them who had been stu dents in the American Presbyterian o i i Agricu ltural C llege outs de Salon ca . Always from the flagstaff of the school floated the Stars and Stripes . Under that flag they learned to read and write both i and the Bu lgar an the English languages . Not one ” of those boys cou ld have fired on the American flag . N o o i b w f r the advance to the Rh ne . On Novem er ld 1 1 1 1 8 i own . o , 9 , Verdun came nto its The town in in was a frenzy . On that day, for the first time

i i . many months , no shells fell w th n the walls The “ i Prussian guns were silenced . A large Amer can flag b d i i i was carried y the men of the New Englan D v s on , ” i u i of wh le the French b glers bore the Tr color France , was the Associated Press story in a nu tshell i O u r searchlight now swings t o Arras . The B shop in i d u i u of Arras , the Un te States d r ng that wonderf l “ i to i i November, sa d Card nal G bbons , Arras is no i in longer hab table, and three hundred villages my T HE FLAG IN FRANCE 2 77

diocese have been razed to the ground until all the u of land resembles a desert . But the n ns the Carmelite order are staying at their post to make the flag that ” i o i Will be g ven t the reg ment from Philadelphia, the “ 1 th Philadel 3 5 , because, as the nuns said, it was in ” phia that freedom was reborn . The following rather lengthy but interpretative ao u of is v er co nt Old Glory in the wasted lands, taken “ : o 1 batim from an American newspaper N vember 9 , Am i 1 9 1 8 . The er can soldiers have seen their flag waving in equal love with that of brave France and of doughty Belgium . Ask any doughboy , from New o York r San Francisco, what thing he has seen sticks o as in his mind . He will tell y u it w the homemade a Americ n flags . “ Two months and a little more ago came word to those held under the Prussian bayonet that Americans i were fighting the r way toward them . _ They began to make American flags against the great day . These

flags were made secretly, where prying Hun eyes could n o ot see . From school books they g t the design which

on . r a they worked When the g eat day c me, by the side of the French flags in French towns and the Bel gian flag in Belgian towns , flew the homemade Stars and Stripes . Flown from the housetops and churches in towns an d villages in Northern France and Southern Bel i g um , they seemed most lovely emblems , for they told of i w o t . the story Amer ca, why she ent war They told that our boys had won that for which they came to

France to fight . They told that those boys had won respect and admiration ; aye, more, had won love . 2 78 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

“ To me those homemade flags meant mo re than em pires gained or billions paid . They mean t that the people who made them cou ld not celebrate their day of u rejoicing witho t the Stars and Stripes . “ Who can explain the phenomenon o f those home made flags ? What spirit could have prompted the women of half a hundred towns to do the same thing in the same way ? These women had no means of communicating . The display cou ld not have been

- planned . But to day in many towns in Belgium and

France behind ou r lines those little flags are flying . I o i saw them in M ntmedy and in V rton . I saw them in Longuyon and in Etain . And I saw them in Con flans of m . What could they represent but love A er ica?” on Constantine, while a campaign in the Rhine in of . country, had a vision a cross the heavens Then i t o and there, accord ng the Old legend , he determined o S it t fight under the new ign and for , since it revealed o u o t him the conq est of light ver darkness . The United States came to the Rhine in the twen ie h Si t t century under its glorious gn, the Stars and i Stripes , a symbol set aga nst the blue sky for people seeking the flame of true leadership under j ustice and a divine compassion .

XLVII

C O N C O R D AM O N G T H E TR I C O LO R S

on N Westminster Abbey, London , Sunday, Feb ru ar 1 1 y 9, 9 9, Englishmen and Americans met in m o u a em rial service, an impressive trib te to Theodore

Roosevelt . At the close of the service the choir sang “ ” “ How Firm a Fou ndation and The Battle Hymn of ” the the Republic . Then, as the archdeacon and clergy left the Abbey in solemn procession , the western sun light poured through the western windows and the h e ” organ burst fort with The Star Spangled Bann r . There was a mystical benediction in that flood of ’ western light entering Great Britain s Ho ly of Holies as the strains of our national anthem filled the great nave . England and the United States have sealed their brotherhood, with France as the third hand clasped , in of h the deaths their sons in a common cause . In t eir ’ of h keeping is the security the world s appiness . The three great Tricolors are in harmony . 1 2 1 1 8 h On May , 9 , an Englishman, Jo n Truscott, who - lives twenty eight miles from London , went up to t d the ci y and was granted a vision . He stoo beneath “ ” ” of Big Ben, the tall clock tower the Houses of the h Vic Parliament, near Abbey, wit the still taller ff ff toria Tower and its flagsta near by . From the sta i two great flags were fly ng side by side . “ ” “ he e No need to say what they were, wrot . As 2 79 2 80 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLO RY

I watched , the Union Jack momentarily drooped and

. i clung around the mast Then the Stars and Str pes , i ou t s like a l ving thing, flew bravely its utmo t . The o u other, as one ar sed , flew out also its very fullest . t wo ou t in i The together then streamed the ris ng breeze , suggestive of the times and circumstances and emblem ” at icall y defying the reactionary forces of the world .

In the last sentences of his letter, Mr . Truscott “ O f - - reaches the heart the Anglo American union . Let no one ou r o o i measure j y by the volume of the sh ut ng, the number of the flags or the frequ ency of the grasp of i bu ing hands brotherly greet ng . These are t ripples

- of s upon a wide, deep , rapid stream international broth ” e ho d r o .

We cross the channel . Georges Clemenceau, Pre u six - mier of the French Rep blic, and a little year old u for girl , fatherless thro gh the fate of war, speak

France . on 1 1 Clemenceau said , February 9 , 9 9 , The friend ship between ou r peoples which has subsisted for a century and a half is a very beautiful thing . The like of it has never existed for the same length of i i time between any other two peoples . This cord al ty, o cemented by u r contact during the war, must endure T o i in closer measure hereafter . this end our m nds ” must meet . The little girl whose father lies beneath the sward i near the Marne , was given a tiny Stars and Str pes in is 1 1 . July, 9 7 Greater she than the Premier of France “ i t o when she says , I begged my l ttle mother put the little flag in a locket and to hang I t around my neck. ” And now I have the flag always with me .

2 82 THE DRAMATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY ful company of intrepid souls kept constant watch by i s u i i n ght on the e nerr ng fr ends, when sleet and snow,

‘ i i did o u i i t . m st and ra n , not blot the r m ghty chart Tu rn to the Second Act o f Othello and read these magnificent lines in the First Scene

T he wind- Sha ed su r e with hi h a nd monst rous mane k g , g , Seem s t o cast at er o n the bu rnin bear w g , ' A nd uen ch t he uards of the e er-fix o q g v ed p le.

To the Englishmen of the seventeenth centu ry the Northern heavens at night were a clock o f the hou rs

ui id - di su and a g de for the w e sea roads . They rea ly g — i gested far adventure and Amer ca . We have spoken , in of i another chapter, the constellat on Cygnus , the C M a ow e Northern ross . When the yfl r dropped c u in 1 62 0 of an hor at Plymo th December, , the Cross C alvary stood upright before the Pilgrims on the bleak i e h lls . They could not see what the telescope has r e u of i v aled to us , the neb la the Un ted States in North

d i i O f . America , hel guarded w th n the arms that Cross i Yet the Un ted States , even the stars of its glorious i - Flag, were before them , h dden in the blue black deeps of the the great Mystery of the years , awaiting proper u i ho r of revelat on .

Forty years before the Pilgrims crossed the ocean, — ’ i i , in of his we F i Volta re sa d one essays , give lor o s “ translation— Our world hath o f late discovered an

u - i i other, no less large, f lly peopled, all th ngs yield ng i in and m ghty strength , than ours ; nevertheless so new and infantine that he is, yet to learn his A B C . This late wo rld shall bu t come to light when ours shall fall ” “ u did into darkness . E rope fall into darkness in PATRIOTISM AND THE FLAG 2 83

1 1 t o August, 9 4 . The United States did come light,

a cou ntry accepting the cross of supreme sacrifice . Sir

Thomas Browne, had he come as a shadow into his old 1 1 o study at Norwich , in April , 9 7, c uld have writ “

m u are u . ten once ore, The h ntsmen p in America u In a vague way, the Old World t rned to the New t o many years ago, in the hope that here was be found

the lost Atlantis, the country where Utopia could be i M made a real ty . erica was to be the land of the ’ “ ”

V t o . perfect patriotism , oltaire s world come light T o be direct, do we as a People know what patriotism ? i of is Have three centur es and more colonizing,

- i a town bu lding and developing, produced a n tion that is one under its Flag? We cannot fulfil the hopes o f the poets and the prophets o f old Europe until we one are Unit, a People that reflects in itself the com l ete S p harmony of its one recognized ymbol , the Stars

- . t o and Stripes And it is our duty, more so day than

ever before in our history, to come together in States S - t o- u houlder shoulder in a definite, common P rpose for of o S the good the W rld . In the tars resides the em m ble of ou r nationality . Each constellation in the firmament is a union of distinctly individu al members ; b u t the great group defies Time in its fixed cohesion . ” o f The morning stars sang together, said the writer o f J ob in u t o the Book , and that s perb phrase is be o u of t f und the very so l the grea er America to come , u of i that we believe is j st ahead us , with n the span

o f the living generation of men and women . i i a To achieve th s splend d unity, we must realize p io ism O t r t in ur national life . What is patriotism ? Ask of - t o ou an American to day tell y what patriotism is . 2 84 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

He is apt to give you a verbose explanation of a devo tio n t oo frequ ently colored by waving flags and punc ” “ d u bi uat e . t with cheers His co ntry is g, the first ” “ u of in the world, the ref ge the oppressed races ” “ ff u i i - of of e ete E rope, the m ghty melt ng pot nation ” “ ” i o f u . alit es , the saviour E rope Would that we had i o i a more devout interpretat on f Amer ca . F We find in a poem in rench , by Emile Cammaerts , i u a Belgian poet, a singularly beaut f l presentation of o i the passi n of true patr otism . The following is a fairly accurate translation :

I t is the accent of a oice v , T he sound o f a distant be ll , eam in the woods A gl ,

A ray of sunlight on the plain. I t is a cert ain home beneath a cert ain sk y, easu re t rea o h - A nd t he m d d f one on t e riv er bank . I t is a woman on her knees befo re a chapel

By the road where many t apers bu rn . I t is the f ra rance of the rass arou nd the oo s g g p l ,

A nd t he scent of the dust in the road .

I t is the flash of a ance gl , v o A isi n o f the Past that swiftly f ades. I t is all that one cannot t e ll , A nd all that one feels ;

A ll that he can express only in song .

H ow closely that fine, sensitive creed of love of na

- tive land is echoed in the following, taken from a “ ” “ Pat ric Do ou French textbook, La , y know what the motherland is ? It is the house where you r mother on i has carried you in her arms . It is the lawn wh ch o y u play your j oyou s games . It is the school where o y u receive your first instruction . It is the town hall

where floats the flag of France . It is the cemetery

2 86 THE DRAMATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

“ ? in his gent patriotism Robert Herrick, The World ”

i i - i i det ermin Dec s on , seems to mply th s condition as a “ in o i i of g f rce when he says , Th s pr mal love the earth that has borne you and your ancestors seems to me in o i finitely str nger, more pass onate with the European i n o i than w th the America . We roam ; ur front ers are i i ” st ll hor zons . Yes , and New Orleans and San Fran cisco and Seattle are almost like cities under skies that b he i t . do not end over us on Atlant c coast Yes , and we have to face and solve the eternal problem of an ever flowing tide of immigrants pouring in and around of old i the towers our establ shment, with faces that o see no shapes of u r Past . They must be made to real iz e i i u s t o America, or the r mingling w th create a new i i People w ll g ve us no Fu tu re grounded in our Past . e in n i We ne d a patriotism based a defi ite, sympathet c , d o i i general knowle ge of u r H story . That the Un ted u for i u States is a P rpose Good ; that , despite fa l res bafliin s u i and g , she is at so l a Democracy w th a far flung Vision ; we and those whom we accept to share ou r i i i i c t zensh p , must real ze and , realizing, build ever b with better eams and bricks . While reading Professor Ferguson’ s Greek Impe ” a i rialism , we came upon a p ssage that threw l ght not ‘ the hist or o f bu t ou r only on y Greece on own as well , Greek history teems with the rivalries and the wars i u i of . Athens , Sparta and Thebes Nat onal n ty was “

u . u ever balked by state j ealo sies Ferg son says , Mem ories of great actions done in olden times were pre re served by monuments of bronze and marble, and v iv ed annually by appropriate ceremonies . Legend

- and fact, blended in an edifying tradition , the repos PATRIOTISM AND THE FLAG 2 87

o o f it ry the yearnings and ideals of dead generations , inspired the living to bear themselves worthily in all ‘ i i nat onal cr ses . Love thou thy land with love far ’ brought from out the storied past, was an admonition of which Greek cities of the classic epoch stood in

little need . The mischief was that the land which they loved was not all Greece, but merely the territory ” o f a single state . That last sentence has in it the explanation of the no t rea l weakness of our sense of patriotism . We do i of th nk in terms the nation , but in terms of the state, o f i even the c ty . Years ago Ralph Waldo Emerson u confessed another tr th, that Americans worship for

ei n i not . He g trad tions and their own said , Where

the heart is , there the muses , there the gods soj ourn ,

o f . and not in any geography fame Massachusetts ,

Connecticut River, Boston Bay you think paltry places , and the ear loves the names of foreign and classical

. if topography But here we are ; and , we will tarry ” a little, we may come to learn that here is best . “ ” Here is best . When a man can wander through

his native village and read, in its landmarks , its early and - o ro houses its graves , the chapter headings f a of i u 15 mance devotion and fort t de , he in accord with ’ of his the first pages country s history . There are Westminster Abbeys in every century - O ld town in the u h United States . It is our d ty as patriots w o have h e t keys to these shrines, to Open t doors to hose who i come to us seek ng citizenship . Give these men who are t o be our brothers a share in our heritages of na t ional inspiration . From the hill of vision over a small o f t area his ory, that of the city or the town, lead them 2 88 THE DR A M AT I C S T O R Y OF OLD GLORY to heights where broaden on the view the reaches of the State and the vistas of the Nation .

We are not going to have a united Nation, passion its i i - ately devoted to deals , unt l we have a nation wide i of u real zation the meaning of the str ggles , the tears , i o f the prayers, the sacrifices , the devot on the men and who women have made the United States . of 1 1 1 on On the night July , 9 3 , we stood a hill at o Gettysburg overlooking the encampment f veterans . A faint star hung in the west and we heard the clear of i ou t tones a bugle d stant across the fields , poured

- like an echo of long ago . Then came darkness and with it the misty columns of regiments of boys with i of the tattered Old Glor es . They were the shapes immortal lads who gave all that the things for which u i i the Flag was a symbol might end re . H la re Belloc , one i i in of his br ef essays , voices his feel ng of awe when i he endeavo rs to real ze the Past in the Present . At the close of this essay is a paragraph that condenses the h u whole of his t o ght into a few sentences . We change but two words that refer to localities famous in the i i story of the confl ct at Waterloo, and , by substitut ng Of i i u the names two h lls that were cruc al at Gettysb rg, have the following — Nearly “all those boys who held the line of the low ridge or rather swell of land from ’ C u lp s Hill to Little Round Top hav e utterly gone . i More than dust goes , more than wind goes ; they w ll never be seen again . Their voices will never be heard of they are not . But what is the mere soil the field without them ? What meaning has it save for their presence ? T o - h of h c day we ask again, with the t ought our eroi

2 90 THE DRAM ATIC STORY O F OLD GLORY

of They repeat what the lives great men have told us, i si n what they have often to led for, not knowing the g if icance of — their tasks , the presence among men of the Perfect State won only thro ugh human endeavor and

. i human sacrifice In time we, as a People, will perce ve the beauty o f the reality of ou r forty- eight stars achiev u ing, merging into, concord thro gh a passionate devo t o tion an Ideal not for self but for the Commonwealth . of o o At the side the r ad stands a country sch olhouse . i . o Over it floats Old Glory In the l ttle ro m within, a woman is giving her boys and girls the story of an ad n e is i ou r . i venture History Ther , in that pla n room , the sou rce of our real patriotism . She is aware of the of is o privilege her calling . She lifting that lesson f a page up to a region of romance . She tells her chil “ bo dren a story and we listen at the door . A French y lay dying on the field of the Marne . Another boy, at ‘ his u side , heard him whisper, T rn me over, that my ’ ‘ heart may beat against . that of my mother . Your ’ ‘ mother !said his kneeling comrade in surprise . Yes . ’ F . rance, answered the dying poilu ‘ She brings that lit tl e story of a lonely death on a i o u remote battlefield home nt her q iet schoolroom, with the shadow o f the flu ttering Stars and Stripes ou tside on on the snow . The page Valley Forge , open before

i w . her on her desk, beg ns to glo She transmits the i glow to her boys and girls . They see the dy ng men

u s i in i in the h t . They real ze that here the Un ted and i States , men boys have d ed that the heart of the u o f Nation might beat on in Life . The fut re the Flag, b as a faithfu l sym ol of the United States , is at home m in s uch schoolrooms of the Republic , the true co mun PATRIOTISM AN D T H E FLAG 2 9 1 i of ty centers , the altars where the flame Nationality must never flicker or fade . If we are to lower Old Glory from its poles above it o of public buildings , and remove fr m the windows our homes , let us at least keep it flying over every schoolhouse in the land . Its Story is our Story . With us it has grown from forrnl ess weakness to definite

i i - f ou r . u o strength It has been , literally, the g d ng star and pioneers, explorers , humanitarians soldiers . It has interwoven its threads into the textu re of every chapter of our N O or com national Romance . man child can prehend the maj esty of the Histo ry of the United

i no an o of . States , who is g r t f the Story Old Glory XLIX

O L D GLOR Y A N D T H E SCHOO LHO U SE

E have given a picture of Old Glory flying over a u co ntry schoolhouse . We have suggested a way ’ in i i which an ep sode in the Flag s history, the w nter at t o i Valley Forge, may be used llustrate a lesson given over t o the period of the American Revolution of 1 777 1 i 8 . 77 Th s method of connecting the Flag, in the i i i e o m nds of scholars , w th mportant ev nts in ur nation al the 1 story, can be employed all along route from 775 t o i C the present t me . Even the olonial flags of the early months of the Revolution have an evident mean in i i of o g, the des re for express on a freed m greater than i i i i i i i the un on w th Great Br ta n perm tted . Th s feel ng i in i was typ fied the P ne Tree, Rattlesnake, Palmetto, and C o i Beaver, Anchor, other ol n al ensigns . They i i i i of i were pos t ve ndices of a dr ft op nion . The chap ter on The Forerunners of the Stars and Stripes may be read in classrooms in connection with the stu dy of the periods of unrest and of actu al outbreak in armed i i o resistance . Th s chapter also ampl fies the story f the siege of Boston as given in school histories of the

United States . The chapters on the Grand Union Flag and the and i o i 1 8 Stars Str pes , that f llow, ending w th chapter , 2 9 2

2 94 T H E DRAMATIC STORY O F O LD GLORY

o H . Compare the mode f acqu isition of the old Northwest Territo ry by George Rogers C lark with methods revealed in later additions t o the area O f the it i n Un ed States , and expla n the part the Flag had i

. 1 2 0 2 1 2 . each See chapters 5, , , 3 and 44 i I . Wr te a brief paper showing in what way the three Tricolors were involved in the causes Of the War o f 1 1 2 8 . 2 Consult chapter 4 .

i e- J . G ve a fiv minu te talk on the Stars and Stripes

i C u in explorat on and humane work . ons lt chapters 1 2 1 2 1 2 0 9, , 3 , 3 , 3 , 3 4, 4 and 44

- . u 1 K On Flag Day, J ne 4 , emphasize the story of lo u 2 . Old Glory over a g schoolho se . See chapter 5 For i 1 1 supplementary read ng, chapters 8 and 4 are “ u 6 2 . 8 s ggested Of course, chapters , , for the Star ” 2 and 0 e Spangled Banner, 9 3 cannot be ov rlooked on this day . Every Northern State represented in the dramatic o f - 8 its episodes the color bearers , chapter 3 , can have individual story read in its schools on the day that is the anniversary of the battle in which the incident oc

- on or on i . curred , Flag Day Memor al Day The significance of the Stars and Stripes in Europe

during the late war, is covered in the closing pages , of i i . i in 6 th s h story Teachers w ll find chapters 45, 4 and i i n 47, a conc se presentation of th s most importa t o f phase the Story of Old Glory . The chapter on Patriotism and the Flag was written i i it i i w th the commun ty in view, although g ves mater al of o that should be decided value in the schoolro m , in “ u teaching loyalty to the country . We s ggest that the quotations from French and English authors be read on O LD GLORY AN D SCHOOLHOUSE 2 95

- to of Flag Day, give scholars a conception certain Eu o an d r pe standar s of pu re patriotism . The poem by C amm aerts is perhaps t oo su btle fo r immediate com prehension by the average boy or girl ; but it is so deli

o f - u cate a revelation love of home land , that it sho ld be read thoughtfully and commented upon . It might i b be well to nvite, not require , the mem ers of a class i u i on i to contr b te orig nal papers patriot sm , as a part

- o f Flag Day exercises . The chapter on the opening o f t he C i i i i for v l War, 3 5 , will furn sh mater al a score of essays . ’ By applying one s power of invention , many of the pages of The Dramatic Story of Old Glory can be adapted to community wo rk . We leave it t o the teach

u i - for er and the comm n ty leader, to devise programs u se F - in making lag Day, and other commemorative ff i on and days , e ect ve as dates which men , women children will come into the presence of ou r great Past i ou r i i made v sible in Old Glory, h stor c and enduring symbol . t o do o There is much , and little has been d ne , along the road of creating a patriotism that is conscious of the dignity of the Republic and enlisted in the service

f . o the C ommonwealth If this book has blazed a way , with the Stars and Stripes leading as a torch of fire, then it has served a lordly purpose . The twelve tribes of Israel followed a clo ud of smoke by day and a pillar o of S . f fire by night . They had need a ign and a guide of We , a people a hundred tribes , require a flame going

on . before us We shall have, in Old Glory, the perfect leader when we comprehend it s rich meaning as an of our interpreter, a symbol beginnings , our develop ’ 2 96 THE DR A MATIC STORY OF OLD GLORY

ment and our present state as a Nation . Display the di Flag over schoolhou ses and civic buil ngs . In you r own it s i home, hang it over the hearth , that memor es , i of of its dreams , its v sion the Future, may be guests your own thought .