THE STARS AND STRIPES A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FLAG "7 gtu^.i^e J^*t#. Gift of President Hadley 19L5 THE STARS AND STRIPES ^^M m^% i,'/ ^:-:: 1 1 ,... ^ ij ¦ km ¦, - ^ ' .' . :/^ A 4 i pl*"^ ^^ A ^te I . Hk^'ac "^tjk. ^^^^^^^^^K^SBEhH >'\^|^'^H '4 ^ ¦ ¦'¦¦¦ •• / \ ;. r ¦I^^^SHhb ^ ^.y ^Tjra^ ¦¦¦¦¦'¦& "¦'¦'¦, ¦ ^f , r "The Spirit of '76' THE STARS AND STRIPES A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FLAG Our National and State Laws are based on ttie ConslUvtion and the Flag is Us Symbol. BY CHARLES w. §t;;ewart SUPERINTENDENT LIBRARY AND NAVAL WAR RECORDS BOSTON, MASS. BOYLSTON PUBLISHING CO. 1915 COPYRIGHT, 1914, By CHARLES W. STEWART COPYBIGH-f, 1915, By CHARLES W. STEWART THE R0CKW:ELL & CHURCHILL PRESS BOSTON, MASS. CONTENTS Preface 7 The Stars and Stripes 16 The Birth of the Stars and Stripes , 22 Betsy Boss and the Stars and Stripes 29 First Use in Battle of the Stars and Stripes 31 The Flag of Fifteen Stars 32 The Flags of Twenty Stars and Forty-eight Stars 41 Dates of Admission of the States to the Union 44 Observances 47 The Display of the Flag 50 Dimensions of the ISTational Flag 63 Standard Proportions of National Ensign 66 How to Cut a Five-pointed Star 68 Noble Thoughts about the Flag 70 Flag Stories 78 Songs and Bugle Calls America 83 The Star-Spangled Banner 84 The American Flag 86 0 Columbia ! the Gem of the Ocean 87 Keveille 88 Morning Colors 88 Taps 88 Evening Colors 89 (3) ILLUSTRATIONS "The Spirit of '76" Frontispiece Flag of 1777-1795, Colored plate 12 Flag of 1795-1818, Colored plate 12 Flag of 1818, Colored plate 13 Flag of 1912, Colored plate 13 The Grand Union Flag, 1776 18 George Washington 19 Fac-simile of Resolution authorizing the Stars aud Stripes ... 23 John Paul Jones 25 American Flag of Revolutionary Period 27 Maryland Flag carried in the Battle of the Cowpens 28 Approximate Arrangement of Stars in Enterprise Flag .... 33 The Star-Spangled Banner of Fort McHenry 34 The Star-Spangled Banner Buoy in Chesapeake Bay 36 The Human Star-Spangled Banner 39 Flag of 1912 42 Admiral George Dewey, U. S. N 55 Diagram showing Dimensions of U. S. Ensign 64 Diagrams of Boat Flag 67 (5) PREFACE There is no known contemporaneous written account of the construction of our first national flag in 1776 or 1777, and the Stars and Stripes was probably not -widely known or generally used on land until after the Revolu tionary War. Governments and nations are slo^w of growth. Our Flag was not the beloved ensign of a great nation when it was first used, and it is not strange that the State flags were then more important than the national flag. The Congress from 1775 to 1789 was composed of a succes sion of delegates. Its duties and powers were indicated in the Articles of Association adopted in 1774, and were more fully set forth in the Articles of Confederation agreed upon in 1777 and adopted July 9, 1778. The government was without power to prevent or punish offenses against its own laws. There was no President nor other executive power except committees of the Con gress. After the Treaty of Peace in 1783, which ended the War of the Revolution, England refused to carry out that treaty or to send a minister to the United States. The Federal government was despised abroad, disobeyed at home. Algiers declared war against the United States in 1785. (7) PREFACE In defense against intolerable conditions, at home and abroad, a Constitutional Convention, whose presiding officer was George Washington, adopted, in 1787, the Constitution (ratified by the States in 1788), which begins as follows : PREAMBLE. We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the' common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Under this Constitution, from 1789 to 1915, our coun try has grown great — from 3,000,000 to 100,000,000 of population ; from a puny confederacy to one of the greatest nations in the world. The tests of foreign and civil war, bitter political and personal contests, financial disaster and unparalleled prosperity, and vast increase in terri tory, have tried and approved it. The Constitution provides for control of the Legisla tive, Executive, and Judicial functions, both Federal and State. The stability of our own government, compared with the radical changes in those of every other nation, is the highest memorial of the wisdom and patriotism of the men who framed the Constitution and of their succes sors who have supported, defended, and obeyed it. The boys and girls of the present will be the voters of the future ; they may amend the Constitution. It will PREFACE 9 be well for them to know that under its wise provisions our government is "by the people, /or the people." It will be well for them to feel the significance of the Stars and Stripes as the emblem of Liberty and Union as set forth in the preamble of the Constitution. It will be well for them to realize that our Flag stands for struggle and self-sacrifice in the past ; that our Constitution stands for peace and safety in the present ; and that under our Constitution and our Flag, the Stars and Stripes, the future is bright with promise of national righteousness and the " benign influence of good Laws under a Free Government," — the ever favorite object of the heart of George Washington. The flags in outline are from the Navy Department plan referred to in Executive Order 1637, and show the proportions of the standard ensign and the navy boat flag, and the position, size, and arrangement of the stars in the ensign and in the boat flag. The colored plates of the Stars and Stripes show the flag of 1777 with stars in a circle. It is probable that army flags were at first thus arranged, and that navy flags bore the stars in some staggered or quincunx group ing, that is, arranged by fives in a square. The known navy flags of the period 1795-1818 had the stars in horizontal rows, staggered ; the Navy Commissioners, May 18, 1818, required the new flag to bear twenty stars in four horizontal rows staggered. This form was changed to a rectangular grouping of the four horizontal rows by direction of the President four months later. 1 0 ¦ PREFA CE The rectangular arrangement has been closely followed since that date. The writer has followed the Flag through many written and printed records, and has found a growing reverence for the national ensign and an increasing desire for fixed proportions and sizes of the flag, a desire that resulted in the Executive Order 1637, October 29, 1912. The frontispiece is from the original negative of a picture taken from the painting which is owned by the Town of Marblehead, Massachusetts. This negative is owned and copyrighted by the Horace K. Turner Com pany, and the frontispiece is used with their permission. The portrait of Washington is from the painting, in the War Department, by Huntington after Trumbull and others. The picture of the " Human Star-Spangled Banner " is from a photograph taken by Mrs. Catherine Dubas, of Baltimore, Maryland. CHARLES W. STEWART, Superintendent Library and Naval War Records. 1795-1818 Fifteen Stripes, Fifteen Stars 1818 Thirteen Stripes, Twenty Stars ? ???*??? ? ? ? ? ? A- ? ? ? ??????? ? ??????? ? ??????? July 4, 1912 Thirteen Stripes, Forty-eight Stars THE STARS AND STRIPES A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FLAG It is not a painted rag. It is a whole national history. It is the Consiituiion. It is the Government. It is the free people that stand in the Government on the Constitution. — Henry Ward Beecher. The Staes and Stripes is one of the very old national flags of the world. It was ordained and estab lished June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Congress of the United States of North America, and officially pub lished September 2 and 3, 1777, by the Secretary of the Congress. Among national ensigns the flag of Denmark is prob ably the oldest ; and that of Russia second in age. The present national flag of Spain dates from 1785 ; that of France, from 1789 ; of England, from 1801 ; of Italy, from 1848 ; of Japan, from 1859 ; of Austria-Hungary, from 1867; of Germany, from 1871; of Portugal, from 1911; of China, from 1912. During the life of the Stars and Stripes one-half of the nations of the earth have become republics, and every government has given increased liberty and representa- (15) 16 THE STARS AND STRIPES tion to its people. The world has advanced, particularly during the past fifty years, in the sciences, in the arts, in material prosperity and personal comfort, as never before. The sun never sets on the Stars and Stripes, for the flag flies from our embassies, legations, and consulates the world over ; and the sun is above the eastern horizon of Porto Rico, just rising, as it sets at the Philippines. In the one hundred thirty-eight years of its existence the flag of the United States has come to be recognized and respected by all nations as representative of a great and free people. It has stood throughout its life for liberty and justice. Though it has led armies and navies to victory, yet its message is one of civilization and peace. And to-day more than ever it is carrying a message of hope and international righteousness to the world. For seventy years prior to- the Revolutionary War the British-American Colonies flew the red ensign of the mother country, with the union of the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. New England used also a blue flag, with the red cross of St. George on a white canton. In a flag the canton (Latin canton, " corner") is a rec tangle in the upper corner next the hoist. The hoist is the vertical part, dimension, or height of the portion next the staff, pole, or halliards. The union is the device placed in the canton to indicate political union ; the term "union" sometimes indicates both the device and the canton, and is generally called ih&jacTc, or union jack. The name "Jack" was first applied to the flag of England — the union of the cross of St. George repre- THE STARS AND STRIPES 17 senting England, and of St. Andrew representing Scot land, ordered in 1606, for English and Scotch ships, by James I., whose name in French is Jacques. The flag was then called " Jacques' Flag,'' and later simply " the Jack." This Jack was adopted by Parliament in 1707, modified in 1801, by the addition of the cross of St. Patrick representing Ireland, and the Jack of the United Kingdom became the flag of the British Empire, as it is to-day. Some of the Colonies had special devices added to their red and blue banners. The early American flags of the Revolutionary War were of various colors and many designs, including pine trees, rattle-snakes, thirteen red and white stripes, crescents, and mottoes. Some of these flags were used throughout the war. A flag of thirteen horizontal red and white stripes, with the red cross of St. George on a white canton, was the distinguishing mark of flagships in the British navy in the eighteenth century. A similar fla»g was flown on ves sels of the East India Company. The Light Horse Troop, of Philadelphia, carried, in 1775, the Markoe Banner, with a canton of thirteen stripes alternate blue and silver. Washington's family coat of arms bore red five-pointed stars, one point upward, and red and white horizontal stripes. 18 THE STARS AND STRIPES THE GRAND UNION FLAG, 1776 The Grand Union Flag was the Continental standard from January, 1776, until superseded by the Stars and Stripes in 1777. The Journals of the Continental Congress tell us that Benjamin Harrison of Virginia, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and Thomas Lynch of South Carolina were appointed, in September, 1775, a com mittee to confer with Washington and others on regulating a Continental army. The committee was in Washington's camp at Cambridge, Massachusetts, late in October, 1775. On January 1, 1776, Washington hoisted at the army headquarters, in Cambridge, a flag of "thirteen stripes, red and white alternately, with the English Union can toned in the corner." GEORGE WASHINGTON ' First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." THE STARS AND STRIPES 21 It is probable that this Grand Union Flag had been approved by the visiting committee of Congress, and was the national ensign under which the fleet of Commodore Esek Hopkins sailed from Philadephia in February, 1776, under which Arnold fought the Battle of Lake Cham- plain in October, 1776, and Washington crossed the Dela ware and won the battles of Trenton, December 26, 1776, and Princeton, January 3, 1777. The flag under which the first struggles of the Colonists took place was not, then, a distinctively American standard. Its thirteen stripes stood for the Colonies, but the '' English Union cantoned in the corner" indicated that the mother country's authority was still recognized to some extent. We must remember that the Colonists were not as yet ready to break entirely the ties binding them to England. They were at first asking not for complete independence, but simply for fair treatment from tbe central English government. They were asking for a voice in their own government, and the preservation of their rights as English freemen. But at that time the men holding the power in Eng land were so unwise and short-sighted that they were unwilling to give in to the just demands of the Colonists. The result was that these sturdy liberty-loving English men determined to form a new nation, since they could hope for no reforms from the rulers of England. 22 THE STARS AND STRIPES THE BIRTH OF THE STARS AND STRIPES The Declaration of Independence marked the beginning of the new American nation, and demanded a flag that should be truly representative of the United States. The origin of the new flag, the Stars and Stripes, with thirteen stripes and thirteen stars, is set forth in family traditions, and in the rough Journal of the Continental Congress for June 14, 1777, page 243, as follows : Eesolved, That the Elag of the United States be 13 stripes alter nate red and vf^hite, that the Union be 13 stars vrhite in a blue field representing a new constellation. The fac-simile shows that there was first written, " Resolved, That the Flag of the United States consist of . . . ," etc.; then "consist" was struck out; "be distinguished" was inserted, and "by" was written over " of ; " and finally, " distinguished by " was struck out, leaving the resolution as quoted. The Journal shows that the changes were probably made by reason of discussion in the Congress and were not merely the work of a committee. These official records do not show much sentiment in the creation of the flag. There was no Congressional Record in those days. We can read only of the results in the Congress, and imagine the discussions. The resolution provides for the number of stars, but not for their arrangement or the number of points in a star. There is a tradition that the stars of the flag were yikiiu/ut^ QmiuA%-^>*' t^^t.e.iy/i'i^ AS^ Cf^.c'i^c-t.Ja/ ^-S^^^i? "^^y^Ti^ ^/^ ^^*--'^ -'^^^ "¦^'^ y^i^f^i FAC-SIMILE OF PAGE OF JOURNAL OFTHE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, SHOWING RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE STARS AND STRIPES 24 THE STARS AND STRIPES the stars of Washington's family coat of arms, adopted at the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin, and first placed thus : The stars took the place of the saltire cross ( x ) of St. Andrew and the rectangular cross (-f) of St. George of the Grand Union Flag. This arrangement of stars has been used in the navy boat flag for many years. The five-pointed star, with one point upward, is an ancient symbol of authority and dominion of India, Persia, and Egypt. It is a sacred symbol in Christian churches, symbolizing dominion. John Paul Jones, our first great sailor, used on the Bonhomme Richard a flag later deposited in the museum of the Alexandria-Washington Lodge of Masons, whose Master was George Washington. This flag was destroyed in 1871, when the Temple and City Hall of Alexandria burned down. Preserved in the rooms of the Masonic Grand Lodge at Raleigh, N. C, is a curious old flag, the " Stars and Stripes," carried by North Carolina troops at the Battle of Guilford Court House in 1781. This historic flag has thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate blue and red, the JOHN PAUL JONES " He hath made the Flagg of America respectable among the Flaggs of other Nations." THE STARS AND STRIPES 27 bottom stripe nearly all torn off. The canton is white, eight stripes high, and the thirteen stars are eight-pointed and blue in color. AMERICAN FLAG OF REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD, ACCORDING TO PEALE AND TRUMBULL The artists Peale and Trumbull have painted the flag of the Revolutionary War period with thirteen five-pointed stars in a circle. The flag of the Third Maryland Regi ment, preserved in the State House, Annapolis, Maryland, has in the union twelve white five-pointed stars in a circle, with one star in the center. This standard is 32 X 60 inches. It was carried in the Battle of the Cowpens, January 17, 1781. 28 THE STARS AND STRIPES MARYLAND FLAG CARRIED IN THE BATTLE OF THE COWPENS This flag is said to have been made by Betsy Ross in 1780. THE STARS AND STRIPES 29 BETSY ROSS AND THE STARS AND STRIPES Tradition tells us that Mrs. Elizabeth Ross (known as "Betsy Ross"), of Philadelphia, constructed the first "Stars and Stripes" flag. She was born in 1752, mar ried in 1773 John Ross, a Continental soldier, who died of wounds and was buried in Philadelphia in 1776. She married later a sea captain, John Ashburne, who died in Mill Prison, England, in 1782. The following year she married Ashburne' s prison mate, John Claypoole, who died in 1817- Betsy Ross died at her daughter's home in Philadel phia, January 30, 1836. She was buried in the cemetery of the Society of Free Quakers on South Fifth Street, from which place her remains were transferred in 1857 to Mount Moriah Cemetery. Four of her daughters grew up and married. Betsy Ross's first husband was an upholsterer. She continued his business, and for fifty years was an expert needle- woman, lace-maker, and flag- maker, and supplied the government with flags. The Society of Patriotic Decorations and Civic Improve ment, of Washington, D.C., states, in its circulars, that a committee composed of General Washington, Robert Morris, and Colonel George Ross, an uncle of Betsy Ross's first husband, called upon Mrs. Betsy Ross in June, 1776, and asked her to make a new flag from a rough drawing. According to her suggestions General Washington revised this drawing in her back parlor. The circulars further state that the house where this first United States flag 30 THE STARS AND STRIPES was made is still standing, — a two-story and attic build ing. No. 239 Arch Street, below Third Street, Philadel phia, Pennsylvania. A large sign across the front reads — " Birthplace of Old Glory." The sworn statements of Rachel Fletcher, a daughter of Betsy Ross, and of Margaret Boggs, a niece, give the same account of the making of this flag. They state that Mrs. Ross also suggested the use of the five-pointed in place of the six-pointed star, and showed the com mittee how to fold a piece of paper so that a proper five- pointed star could be made by one snip of the shears (see pages 68, 69). They add that she made the flag, as redrawn by Washington according to her suggestions, and that the committee carried it to the Congress, where it was approved and adopted. Though we have no official record of the making of this first United States flag, the accounts given by Betsy Ross's relatives are generally accepted. Betsy Ross left to her descendants and to her country the glorious tradition of the patient, skillful, cheerful, energetic, patriotic woman of the American Revolution, who fashioned and placed in the hands of our first great soldier the Flag of Freedom, — the most beautiful flag in the world. THE STARS AND STRIPES 31 FIRST USE IN BATTLE OF THE STARS AND STRIPES In Lossing's " Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," Vol. I., page 242, we find the following account of the first use in battle of the Stars and Stripes : " The British and Indian forces began the siege of Fort Schuyler, formerly Fort Stanwix, New York, August 2, 1777. The garrison, under Colonel Peter Gansevoort, consisted of seven hundred and fifty men ; had sufficient provisions for six weeks and a plentiful supply of ammuni tion for small arms. " The garrison was without a, flag when the enemy appeared, but their pride and ingenuity soon supplied one in conformity to the pattern adopted by the Continental Congress. Shirts were cut up to form the white stripes, bits of scarlet cloth were joined for the red, and the blue ground for the stars was composed of a cloth cloak belonging to Captain Abraham Swartwout, of Dutchess County, who was then in the fort. " Before sunset, the curious mosaic-work standard, as precious to the beleaguered garrison as the most beauti fully wrought flag of silk and needlework, was floating over one of the bastions." 32 THE STARS AND STRIPES THE FLAG OF FIFTEEN STARS In an act approved January 13, 1794, the Congress provided that the flag should have fifteen stripes and fifteen stars, as there were at that time fifteen States in the Union. Under this fifteen-starred, fifteen-striped flag, the nation's destinies advanced for twenty-three years. During this important period the Navy Department was established in 1798; the Louisiana Purchase was completed in 1803 ; Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe served as chief magistrates of the nation ; and five States were admitted to the Union. Under this flag the successful Naval War with France was fought, as were also the War against the Barbary Powers, the War of 1812, the Northwest Indian War, and the Creek Indian War. The commission of Washington as lieutenant-general, in 1798, contains engravings of the flag and of the jack with fourteen six-pointed stars in the circumference of a circle and a fifteenth star in the center. The flag of the U. S. S. Chesapeake, which was captured in 1813, is now preserved in the Museum of the Royal United Service Institution, London, and shows the stars as arranged in The Star-Spangled Banner of Fort McHenry. Another navy flag, that of the U. S. S. Enterprise, carried in that ship when she captured H.B.M. Ship Boxer, in 1813, shows the stars arranged in three hori- THE STARS AND STRIPES 33 zontal rows of five stars each. The fly of the union in this flag is one-half the fly of the flag and the hoist of the union is eight stripes. The flag is about llj x 5^ feet. APPROXIMATE ARRANGEMENT OF FIFTEEN STARS IN THE FLAG OF THE U.S.S. ENTERPRISE SEPTEMBER S, 1813 In the fifteen-starred flag the union rested upon the ninth stripe, a red one. Their arrangement is five hori zontal rows of three stars each, as shown in the original Star-Spangled Banner which floated over Fort McHenry and is now preserved in the National Museum in Wash ington. This flag was made in Baltimore by Mrs. Mary Pickersgill and her daughter, Mrs. Caroline T. Purdy. There is a story that the missing white star in this flag was cut out and given to President Lincoln. This national treasure was repaired and restored by Mrs. Amelia Fowler, of Boston, in 1914. The shot wounds, and even the faded portions, are preserved by threads which match the colors in the flag and tie its bomb- shattered material to a strong linen backing. It was this Fort McHenry flag that Francis Scott Key found " was still there " with its " broad stripes and bright stars " still " gallantly streaming," as he watched so 34 THE STARS AND STRIPES THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER OF FORT McHENRY 29 ft. high, 32 h. fly. Preserved in the National Museum, Washington, D.C. eagerly for it on that morning of September 14, 1814, and was inspired by its glorious message to write the immortal words of our national song, " The Star- Spangled Banner." THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER BUOY IN CHESAPEAKE BAY THE STARS AND STRIPES 37 Francis Scott Key was on a ship in Baltimore Harbor during the bombardment of Fort McHenry. For a whole day heavy cannon fire was directed against the fort, but the flag was not lowered in token of surrender. As dark ness fell, however, it was impossible for him to see if the flag was still flying in indication that the fort was holding out. But at the first rays of the dawn his eye was again greeted by the proudly waving flag of his country. So overjoyed was he, and so stirred by patriotic fervor that he immediately wrote down on the back of a letter the words that made him famous. The Star-Spangled Banner Buoy, shown in the illus tration, marks the spot in Baltimore Harbor where the Ship Minden lay at anchor during the bombardment of Fort McHenry. The position of this vessel was deter mined by the Office of Library and Naval War Records, Navy Department, with the kind aid of Mr. William G. Perrin, Secretary of the British Navy Records Society. It' was on the Minden that Key wrote " The Star-Spangled Banner.'' The centennial of the writing of the anthem was celebrated at Baltimore in 1914. The Teachers' Literary Club of Baltimore copied the original Fort McHenry flag and the beautiful replica figured prominently in the centennial. Another, interesting feature of the celebra tion was the Human Flag composed of 6,400 Baltimore school children, who were so placed as to form a living 38 THE STARS AND STRIPES Stars and Stripes, while their voices joined in a grand chorus to sing " The Star-Spangled Banner." It is an interesting fact that the " Human Star-Spangled Banner," as shown in the picture is not historically correct, for it is made to contain fifteen stars and thirteen stripes, while the flag of the period it represents had fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. The combination of fifteen stars and thirteen stripes has never existed. Gifted poets have written songs filled with noble sentiments toward the flag. Many of these songs recount deeds of valor in its defense, for heroism always calls forth lofty expressions of patriotism. But the flag is just as beautiful when it waves over a country at peace with all the world. To-day our Flag is a sign of the peace and prosperity of a hundred million people. And thousands of patriotic men and women are striving to bring about the time when the flags of all nations shall stand for peace and good-will among the peoples of the earth. Their flags will mean no less to the nations when they signify peace, and wars shall have ceased to exist. If our flag could speak, it well migh^t say : " To-day I float in peace and in glory over every capital in this broad land, and I stand for liberty, for the noblest ambi tions of humanity, and for peace throughout the world and for the dignity and honor- and protection of all who love liberty and equality, and who claim the sheltering protection which I have always given." 'WONDERFUL HUMAN STAR-SPANGLED BANNER' BaltimorCj Maryland, September 14, 1914. THE STARS AND STRIPES 41 THE FLAGS OF TWENTY STARS AND FORTY-EIGHT STARS As the number of States increased, it was recognized that the addition of a stripe for each new State would soon make the flag altogether too unwieldy. The final arrangement represented the thirteen original States by the thirteen red and white stripes, while each star on the blue field of the union represented a State. The Congress, in an Act approved April 4, 1818, re-established the flag of thirteen stripes and provided that the union be twenty stars, as there were twenty States in the Union at that time. The stars were arranged in four horizontal rows of five stars each, form ing a rectangular block. This Act provided further that on the admission of every new State into the Union, one star should be added to the union of the flag. This is the existing statute under which the union of the flag has increased to forty-eight stars, as the Union has increased to forty-eight States. Representative P. H. Wendover, of New York, at the suggestion of Captain Samuel Chester Reid, the famous commander of the privateer General Ai'mstrong, proposed the bill. In recent years, the Joint Army and Navy Board has proposed the arrangement of the stars in the union, and the Secretaries of War and of the Navy have issued the necessary orders. In 1912 a board, whose presiding offi cer was Captain W. F. Halsey, U. S. Navy, and whose members represented all the Executive Departments, met in the Library of the Navy Department and proposed 42 THE STARS AND STRIPES FLAG OF 1912 standard sizes and proportions for the national ensign. There were at that time some sixty-six different sizes of the national flag, and of varying proportions, in use by the Executive Departments. The result of these deliberations was the Executive Order No. 1637, printed on pages 63, 65. This order defines the size and proportions of the flag substantially as proposed by the inter-departmental board. The Stars and Stripes from 1777 to 1795 bore thirteen stars and thirteen stripes; from 1795 to 1818 fifteen stars and fifteen stripes; from 1818 to 1915 a star for every State and thirteen stripes. There were thirteen THE STARS AND STRIPES 43 stars in the flag at the time of the Revolutionary War and the adoption of the Constitution ; fifteen stars in the War of 1812 and in the War with the Barbary Powers ; twenty-nine in the Mexican War; thirty-five in the Civil War ; forty-five in the Spanish-American War. To-day there are forty-eight. 44 THE STARS AND STRIPES DATES OF ADMISSION OF THE STATES TO THE UNION A new star is added to the flag on the Fourth of July following the admission of a State. The thirteen original States (represented by the red and white stripes on the flag) were : New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The dates of ratification of the Constitution by the thirteen original States, and the dates of admission into the Union of the other thirty-five States, are as follows : 1. Delaware Dec. 7,1787 25. 2. Pennsylvania Dec. 12, 1787 26. 3. New Jersey Dec. 18, 1787 27. i. Georgia Jan. 2, 1788 28. 5. Connecticut Jan. 9,1788 29. 6. Massachusetts Peb. 6,1788 30. 7. Maryland April 28, 1788 31. 8. South Carolina May 23, 1788 32. 9. New Hampshire. ..June 21, 1788 33. 10. Virginia June 26, 1788 34. 11. NewYork July 26, 1788 35. 12. North Carolina Nov. 21, 1789 36. 13. Rhode Island May 29, 1790 37. 14. Vermont Mar. 4,1791 38. 15. Kentucky June 1,1792 39. 16. Tennessee June 1,1796 40. 17. Ohio Nov. 29, 1802 41. 18. Louisiana April 30, 1812 42. 19. Indiana Dec. 11, 1816 43. 20. Mississippi Dec. 10, 1817 44. 21. Illinois Dec. 3,1818 45. 22. Alabama Dec. 14, 1819 46. 23. Maine Mar. 15, 1820 47. 24. Missouri Aug. 10, 1821 48. Arkansas June 15, 1836 Michigan Jan. 26, 1837 Florida Mar. 3,1845 Texas Dec. 29, 1845 Iowa Dec. 28, 1846 Wisconsin May 29, 1848 California Sept. 9, 1850 Minnesota May 11, 1858 Oregon Feb. 14, 1859 Kansas Jan. 29, 1861 West Virginia June 19, 1863 Nevada. . : Oct. 31, 1864 Nebraska Mar. 1, 1867 Colorado Aug. 1, 1876 North Dakota Nov. 2, 1889 South Dakota Nov. 2, 1889 Montana Nov. 8, 1889 Washington Nov. 11, 1889 Idaho July 3,1890 Wyoming. July 10, 1890 Utah Jan. 4, 1896 Oklahoma Nov. 16, 1907 New Mexico Jan. 6, 1912 Arizona Feb. 14, 1912 THE STARS AND STRIPES 45 The Stars and Stripes can be positively identified at a greater distance than any other national flag. At long distances, with the sun behind the observer, the stripes have a reddish tinge and the union is dark gray. If the flag is between the sun and the observer, the stripes have a light gray tinge and the union is almost black. Our Flag has always flown for the freedom of men and the freedom of the sea. It also flies for peace and the brotherhood of man. Since it was first saluted by a foreign power, February 14, 1778, in Quiberon Bay, France, borne by our first great sailor, John Paul Jones, of the U. S. S. Ranger, it has carried a message of hope to all humanity. Its red denotes courage ; its white, purity ; its blue, justice, loyalty, and devotion ; its stars, high aspiration and federal union. The Stars and Stripes is the sign of national sovereignty and unity. It is the symbol of the Constitution, as the cross is the symbol of Christianity. We have enjoyed so many blessings and privileges that some may have forgotten that these blessings are derived from the provisions of the Constitution, which give us political and religious liberty and freedom of speech and press. The Constitution is the plan of government of the United States, and every citizen is bound to support it against all enemies. The great English statesman, Gladstone, said : " The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man." 46 THE STARS AND STRIPES This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Nowhere else in the world is found a government of so much liberty and equality. An immigrant may attain any Federal office in the United States, legislative, executive, or judicial, excepting only two, — those of President and Vice-President. Our laws. National and State, are based on the Con stitution, and the flag is the symbol, not only of the National Constitution, but of every State Constitution. The flag is the Constitution. George Washington was the chief officer engaged in the creation of the Stars and Stripes, the chief and presiding ofl&cer in the creation of the Constitution. Hewas "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." That the United States government offici ally recognizes the high respect due to Washington is indicated by the following extract from the Naval Regu lations : "When naval vessels are passing Washington's tomb, Mt. Vernon, Va., between sunrise and sunset, the following ceremonies shall be observed as far as practicable : guard and band paraded ; bell tolled, and colors half-masted at the beginning of the tolling of the bell. When opposite Washington's tomb, taps shall be sounded on the bugle, guard present arms, and officers and men on deck stand at attention and salute. The colors shall be mast-headed at the last note of taps." If there be a band on a vessel passing the tomb of Washington, the band, by agreement of the Band Mas ters' Association, plays " Nearer My God To Thee." THE STARS AND STRIPES 47 OBSERVANCES The romantic story of our flag is told at Flag Day exercises held on its anniversary, June 14, in public schools and institutions throughout the United States and its territories and insular possessions. The American Flag Association, organized in 1898, for the purpose of encouraging public sentiment in favor of honoring our flag and preventing its desecration, proposed the following pledge to be given daily in public schools, with a salute to the flag : " I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Country for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The salute to the flag may be given somewhat as follows : As the pupils say the words — "I pledge allegiance," they lift high their heads, and with the eyes on the flag, bring the right hand to the forehead. Then as they say, " To my Flag and the Country for which it stands, one nation indivisible," the right hand is carried away from the forehead with an outward and upward motion. At the words "With liberty and justice for all" — both hands are waved outwards with a wide gesture, and then are dropped to the sides. Flag Day was first observed in 1861, at Hartford, Connecticut, by hanging out flags and by having a patriotic program, with music, addresses, and prayer. 48 THE STARS AND STRIPES The celebration of Flag Day in the public schools began at Philadelphia in 1893. A bill in the Congress provid ing that June 14 should be a legal holiday was voted down in 1861. Other bills with similar purpose have since failed to become laws. There is a United States statute forbidding the use of the national ensign as a trade-mark, and many States have passed laws forbidding its desecration. An appropriation is made for displaying the flag on the east and west fronts of the National Capitol. The flag is hoisted over the Senate or House of Representatives when in session. The Stars and Stripes floats at the flagstaff on the White House during the hours from 8 a.m. to sun set, while the President is in Washington. Its absence from the White House indicates the absence of the Presi dent from the Capital City. The flag is displayed over the United States Depart ment buildings and offices from 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. At all military posts and stations the flag is hoisted at sun rise and lowered at sunset, with appropriate ceremony. On United States warships in port and at naval stations the colors are hoisted at 8 a.m. and lowered at sunset. The army and navy regulations direct that " The Star- Spangled Banner " be played by the band at morning and evening " colors," or, if there be no band, that " colors " be sounded by the field music, — the bugle. The Navy Regulations, issued with the approval of the President, also requires that the " national air " be played at " colors " on ships and at stations where there is a THE STARS AND STRIPES 49 band. In substance and effect this makes " The Star- Spangled Banner " the national air. February 22 is observed most ceremoniously in the army and navy, by decorations and by firing a national salute of twenty-one guns. On July 4, at noon, a " salute to the Union," one gun for each State, commemorating the Declaration of Independence, is fired at all army posts, but in the navy the national salute is fired on that day. Other holidays. New Year's Day (January 1), Inaugura tion Day (March 4), Memorial Day (May 30), Labor Day (first Monday in September), Thanksgiving Day (last Thursday in November), and Christmas Day (December 25), are observed, but with less official cere mony than July 4 and February 22. 50 THE STARS AND STRIPES THE DISPLAY OF THE FLAG The Revenue-Cutter Service and the Life-Saving Ser vice were combined by virtue of Act of Congress approved January 28, 1915, as the United States Coast Guard. The national ensign is displayed at the peak or staff, and the Coast Guard Flag, formerly the revenue ensign, is worn at the foretruck or pennant staff as a distinguishing flag. The proper arrangement of flags on merchant ships follows : On the staff at the bow — the jack of the nation to which the vessel belongs. On the foremast — the flag of the foreign nation to which the vessel is going. If going to her own national port, the vessel carries the flag of the country she is leaving, if that country happens to be foreign. On the mainmast — the house flag. On the aftermain — a flag showing the vessel's name. On the staff at the stern — the national flag of the country to which the vessel belongs. Flag Circular No. 4, issued by the Society of Patriotic Decorations and Civic Improvement of Washington, D.C, gives the following information regarding the display of the Stars and Stripes : The Flag should not be hoisted before sunrise nor be allowed to remain up after sunset. At " Morning and Evening Colors," civilian spectators THE STARS AND STRIPES 51 should stand at " attention " and uncover during the playing of the " Star-Spangled Banner." Military spec tators are required by regulations to stand at " atten tion " and give the military salute. The Flag should never be allowed to touch the ground and should never be raised or lowered by any mechanical appliance. When the National and State or other flags fly together, the National Flag should be on the right. When the Flag is used as a banner, the union should fly to the north in streets running east and west and to the east in streets running north and south. Whenever possible the Flag should be flown from a staff or mast, but should not be fastened to the side of a building, platform, or scaffolding. The Flag should not be used as a cover over a table, desk, or box, or where anything can be set or placed upon it. When flags are used in unveiling a statue or monu ment, they should not be allowed to fall to the ground, but should be carried aloft to wave out, forming a dis tinctive feature during the rest of the ceremony. When the Flag is flown at half staff as a sign of mourning, it should be hoisted to full staff at the conclu sion of the funeral. (To fly a flag at half staff it should first be raised to full staff, and then be lowered. Half- staff means half-way down the length of the flag-pole.) On Memorial day. May 30, the Flag should fly at half staff from sunrise to noon and full staff from noon to sunset. 62 THE STARS AND STRIPES Days ivhen the Flag should he displayed. Lincoln's Birthday February 12 Washington's Birthday February 22 Inauguration Day March 4 Battle of Lexington April 19 Battle of Manila Bay May 1 Mother's Day 2d Sunday in May Memorial Day (half staff until noon) May 30 Flag Day June 14 Battle of Bunker Hill June 17 Independence Day July 4 Labor Day First Monday in September Lake Erie Day September 10 Lake Champlain Day September 11 Columbus Day October 12 Battle of Saratoga October 17 Surrender at Yorktown October 19 President Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809, and fitting tribute is paid to his memory by the display of the Flag on the anniversary of his birth. The anniversary of the birth of George Washington on February 22, 1732, is celebrated widely not only by dis play of the Flag, but also by exercises in schools and special observances by the National Government. Tribute is paid to our great soldier and statesman, the " Father of His Country," by the whole world, and his memory is honored wherever men know of his life. Gladstone said of him : "When I first read in detail the life of Washington I was profoundly impressed with the moral elevation and greatness of his character, and I found myself at a loss to name among the statesmen of any age or country many, or possibly any, who could be his rival. ... If among all the pedestals supplied by history for public characters THE STARS AND STRIPES 63 of extraordinary nobility and purity, I saw one higher than the rest, and if I were required at a moment's notice to name the fittest occupant for it, I think my choice during the last forty-five years would have lighted, as it would now light, upon Washington." Every four years, on the 4th of March, a President of the United States is inaugurated, taking up his duties as head of this great nation. It is fitting that we should recognize this event by flying our Flag, the symbol of our free government. April 19th is a memorable day in United States history, for on that date, in 1775, occurred the first battle in the War which was to mean the separation of the Colonies from England. At Lexington a handful of " minute- men" were fired on by British soldiers. The War of the American Revolution had begun. On the same day at Concord bridge the struggle occurred that inspired the "Concord Hymn," written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and sung April 19, 1836, at the completion of the monument to the minutemen at Concord. By the rude bridge that arched the flood. Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world. The foe long since in silence slept ; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps ; And Time the ruined bridge has swept Down the dark stream which seaward creeps. 64 THE STARS AND STRIPES On this green bank, by this soft stream, ¦We set to-day a votive stone ; That memory may their deed redeem, ¦When, like our sires, our sons are gone. Spirit, that made those heroes dare To die, and leave their children free, Bid Time and Nature gently spare The shaft we raise to them and thee. The flying of the Flag on May 1 celebrates the anni versary of the morning in 1898 when Admiral Dewey sailed into Manila Bay and won a decisive victory over the Spaniards, in which not an American sailor nor ship was lost. The following official record and proclamation show clearly the reason why we fly the Flag each year on the second Sunday in May. Too much honor cannot be given to the American mother. MOTHER'S DAY The Joint Resolution of the Sixty-third Congress designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day, and for other purposes, is as follows : Whereas, The service rendered the United States by the Ameri can mother is the greatest source of the country's strength and inspiration, and Whereas, We honor ourselves and the mothers of America when we do anything to give emphasis to the home as the fountain head of the State ; and ADMIRAL GEORGE DE^WEY, U.S.N. THE STARS AND STRIPES 57 Whereas, The American mother is doing so much for the home, the moral uplift and religion, hence so much for good government and humanity ; therefore be it Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assemhled, That the Presi dent of the United States is hereby authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the Government officials to display the United States flag on all Government buildings,' and the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May, as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country. Sec. 2. That the second Sunday in May shall hereafter be designated and known as Mother's Day, and it shall be the duty of the President to request its observance as provided for in this resolution. Approved May 8, 1914. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION Whereas, By a Joint Resolution approved May 8, 1914, " desig nating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day, and for other purposes," the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the government ofScials to display the United States flag on all government buildings, and the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suit able places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country ; And Whereas, By the said Joint Resolution it is made the duty of the President to request the observance of the second Sun day in May as provided for in the said Joint Resolution ; Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 58 THE STARS AND STRIPES said Joint Resolution, do hereby direct the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings and do invite the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country. In Witness Whereof, I have set my hand and have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed. Done at the City of Washington this ninth day of May, [seat..] in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fourteen, and of the Independence of the United States one hundred and thirty-eight. WOODROW WILSON By the President : William Jennings Bryan Secretary of State. Memorial Day, May 30, is set apart by law, in forty States of the Union, for solemn observance in memory of the soldiers and sailors who fell in the Civil War. The idea of adopting a permanent memorial day is said to have been originated by Miss Lizzie Rutherford, of Columbus, Georgia, and there observed in 1866. In some of the States a date other than the 30th of May is observed, the date selected being one when the flowers of these States are blooming at their best. The sailor dead receive a special tribute on Memorial Day in communities adjacent to large bodies of water by the strewing of flowers upon the surface of the water, sometimes arranged to represent boats, anchors, wreaths, and other nautical figures. This ceremony is said to have THE STARS AND STRIPES 59 been originated by Mrs. Forbes, of Los Angeles, Cal., May 30, 1900, and since that date the custom of placing flowers on the waters for deceased sailors has extended throughout the United States. The Woman's Relief Corps has a special ritual, which was adopted in the year 1904 and consists mainly of reading and responses after the manner of church service. The services may take place at any bridge, wharf, or boat, or at the shore of any body of water connected with the sea. The flag is always at the front on such occasions. On May 30, 1903, there was inaugurated this new fashion of remembrance in Philadelphia. At Race Street pier many thousands of people watched four flower ships set oiit on a wondrous voyage. There was a Cumberland for the ships that sank in Hampton Roads ; a Tecumselt for those in Mobile Bay ; a Monitor for those who fought the Merrimac, and a Maine for those who slept in Havana Harbor. It is particularly fitting that this impressive naval commemoration should have occurred at Philadelphia, at the same spot where John Paul Jones, with his own hands, hoisted on board the Alfred the flag of America for the first time it was shown on any ship. To such an extent has this ceremony developed in Philadelphia that it has become an elaborate function, participated in by the Navy, the infantry and artillery of the Pennsylvania National Guard ; and as the flower ships pass down the Delaware they receive a salute from the military forces and all naval vessels in the harbor. 60 THE STARS AND STRIPES This custom of casting flowers on the sea on Memorial Day has taken firm root in the minds of the sailors. On one of our naval vessels at sea not long ago the sailors had no flowers such as grow on land or even on the sea, but sailors are clever with their fingers, and out of such poor things as chips and shavings they made and colored delicate artificial flowers — roses, lilies, tulips, and chrysan themums — and cast them on the water in the far-off ocean in memory of their fellow craftsmen who had gone before. By association, this day. May 30th, has become a time for decorating the graves of all the dead, and for casting flowers upon the waters in loving remembrance of all who have gone down to the sea in ships and returned no morel June 14 is the birthday of the Flag, the Flag Day that is celebrated in public schools and institutions of the nation ; for the Congress on this date, in 1777, adopted the resolution creating our Flag with thirteen stars and thir teen red and white stripes. John Paul Jones called the Flag " The American Stars." The Flag is flown on June 17 in honor of the brave American soldiers who resisted the British so bravely at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Though driven from their position, they won a moral victory, as they proved they could stand against regular soldiers and could fight courageously. On Independence Day the Flag of our country floats proudly in recognition of the fact that on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence received the official approval of the Continental Congress. THE STARS AND STRIPES 61 The first Monday in September is observed by labor unions all over the country as a time when the dignity and strength of labor shall be refcognized. "On this day it is only just that the Flag shall be displayed, since it is under the protection of this emblem that the freedom and equality of men are preserved, and the right to labor and to enjoy the benefit of our labor is upheld. The flying of the Flag on September 10 commemorates the great victory which was won by the American, Com modore Perry, in 1813. Commodore Perry was at that time but twenty-seven years old, yet he fought success fully against a veteran commander who had seen service with Nelson, the English naval hero. September 11 is the date of a similarly successful naval battle on Lake Champlain, in 1814, when the American fleet, under Commodore Macdonough, defeated a superior force in a desperate battle and prevented an .invasion of New York State by the British. On the morning of October 12, 1492, Columbus flrst sighted land, and on the same day he landed on the island named by him San Salvador. The flying of the Flag on this date each year is the country's recognition of the discovery of the New World, and the tribute paid to the great discoverer. The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. It has been called one of the deci sive battles of the world. Burgoyne was completely defeated, and largely as a result of this defeat France was influenced to send money and men to the aid of the 62 THE STARS AND STRIPES struggling new nation. The victory at Saratoga was won on October 17, 1777, and on its anniversary we recall its meaning by flying the Flag. On October 19 we fly the Flag in honor of that day in 1781 on which the British forces at Yorktown surrendered to the combined American and French forces. This sur render meant that the struggle for independence was virtually ended and that the new nation had earned the right to exist. Many of the days on which the " Stars and Stripes " is flown celebrate victories of this country in warfare; but we must remember that great peaceful events are also commemorated. The victories of peace are no less important than those of war. Our Flag should and does stand for something besides the clash of arms. The growth and prosperity of the nation which the United States flag symbolizes have not alone been brought about by the shedding of man's blood. Out of the necessary struggles has come a peace which we hope may be for the whole world. We must not forget that "It is noble to serve one's country on the battlefield, but it is just as noble to serve it at home and show love to country in deeds of peace." And our Flag should be dear to us, and honored by us, not only when it is leading men into battle for the cause of freedom, but also when it is waving forth as a sign of peace and friendship. THE STARS AND STRIPES 63 DIMENSIONS OF THE NATIONAL FLAG The following Executive Order defines the dimensions of the National Flag : Executive Order, 1637, October 29, 1912. The Executive Order of June 24, 1912, is hereby revoked, and for it is substituted the following : Whereas, "An Act to Establish the Flag of the United States," approved on the 4th of April, 1818, reading as follows : " Section 1. Be it enacted, etc.. That from and after the fourth day of July next, the flag of the United States be thirteen horizon tal stripes, alternate red and white ; that the union have twenty stars, white in a blue fleld. " Section 2. Be it further enacted. That on the admission of every new State to the Union, one star be added to the union of the flag ; and that such addition shall take effect on the fourth of July next succeeding such admission," fails to establish proportions; and Whereas, investigation shows some sixty-six different sizes of National flags, and of varying proportions, in use in the Executive Departments ; It is hereby ordered that National Flags and Union Jacks for all Departments of the Government, with the exceptions noted under (a), shall conform to the follow proportions : Fly (length) of Flag 1.9 Hoist (width) of Flag. . . 1 Hoist (width) of Union %3 Fly (length) of Union 76 Width of each stripe %3 l-.*i'^^ TJSI& fisW-tf? tUk, 039}^IQ SB Si-ffj— ^ .. 1 wW? 37^^ JCTg; ^ ->/-»—>/-¦ i (0o ^ ra in G)If] ¦5 § 0} 01 1 s - 8(B o 0 0 I 0 10 n 4 0)0) s 0 0G) 3 o L 1 Q C S -* a^ 8 U NQ" 5 J 0 ID t9 in in w C4 0 O 0 S 0 (DIP CD ID 8 i s ^ S rf i 5 » < 1 5f 4 zw z (40 7 rf) ^ tS N a If) o ? o ¦3 0 0 I - i 0)q s ^ I 0 10 4ifl w i 0) « 0 ! 5 1 \ 1 m ! o ^ < sN 0 ^ (0S ^ '« y. u <-> N d Z ff) ^ xP ^ y-h- I -• ~ « - M"Hl ^Sfli J ^\lU \ °??ll "Iiii' oils? ., .t ^ N < ? 8 t ; 3 01 o - « ; 68 THE STARS AND STRIPES TO CUT A FIVE-POINTED STAR WITH ONE STRAIGHT CUT To cut a five-pointed star with one straight snip of the shears, take a piece of paper about 8 inches wide and 10 inches long. Fold at center on horizontal line, laying the lower edge of sheet at top of sheet. From the cfenter 0 draw lines OB, DC, OD, and OE, form ing five sectors of 36° each (Figure 1). J) \ \ \ / / s. o mg.i rig. 2 Fold at line OD, lay edge OF on line OB and press smooth the fold OD. The result is Figure 2. Fold Figure 2 at line OB, lay edge OA on line OG. The result is Figure 3. Fig. 3 I'ig.4 Kg. 5 THE STARS AND STRIPES 69 Fold Figure 3 at line 00, lay edge OD on edge OB, and smooth the fold 00. The result is Figure 4. Cut vertically XY, choosing point X so that OX is equal to OA. 0 Y will bft about one-third of OX. Open thife portion XYO, and there appears the half star (Figure 6). Open! this folded half star, and the five-pointed star appears (Figure 7'j. This star is of the dimensions of a star inscribed in a circle of I'adius OA. Fig. T It is a curious fact that the side of the star is very nearly 1.9 times the radius of the circle; and 1.9 is the proportion of the length to the height of the national ensign required by Executive Order 1637. The lines in Figure 1 may at first be laid off by a protractor. Practice will soon enable one to fold the paper properly without drawing any lines. 70 THB STARS AND STRIPES NOBLE THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FLAG sung the praises of fl. ^ °"' ^""^ Poets too have & ^'^^ses ot their national ensi"o-n« tu W a fetripes has called fn^f k ensigns. The btars and and statesmen and no^tc^ ' V!J-^""°°"^® °* '^"'^ orators has symbolized z^ .J-r-"""'^ — TEese illustrate what the flag loves ^ ¦ "^^-^md does symbolize to the true citizen who ^j ^iiis country and respects its institutions. They are more than the mere glorification of a piece of bunting ; they are the outward expression of some of the aspira tions and ideals of a people who live in a land bright with the hope of national righteousness. THE NATIONAL BANNER. BT EDWAKD EVEKETT. All hail to our glorious ensign ! Courage to the heart, and strength to the hand, to which, in all time, it shall be entrusted ! May it ever wave in honor, in unsullied glory, and patriotic hope, on the dome of the capitol, on the country's stronghold, on the entented plain, on the wave-rocked topmast ! Wherever, on the earth's surface, the eye of the American shall behold it, may it have reason to bless it ! On whatsoever spot it is planted, there may freedom have a foothold, humanity a brave champion, and religion an altar ! Though stained with blood in a righteous cause, may it never in any cause be stained with shame ! THE STARS AND STRIPES 71 Alike, when its gorgeous folds shall wanton in holiday-triumphs on the summer breeze, and its tattered fragments be dimly seen through the clouds of war, may it be the joy and pride of the American- heart ! First raised in the cause of right and liberty, in that cause alone may it forever spread out its streaming blazonry to the battle and the storm. Having been borne victoriously across the continent and on every sea, may virtue and freedom and peace forever follow where it leads the way. THE STANDARD OF THE UNION. BY DANIEL WEBSTER. When the standard of the Union is raised and waves over my head, the standard which Washington planted on the ramparts of the Constitution, God forbid that I should inquire whom the people have commissioned to unfurl and bear it up. I only ask in what manner, as an humble individual, I can best discharge my duties defending it. THE AMERICAN FLAG. BY A. P. PUTNAM. Wherever that flag has gone it has been the herald of a better day — it has been the pledge of freedom, of justice, of order, of civilization, and of Christianity. Tyrants only have hated it. All who sigh for the triumphs of righteousness and truth salute and love it. THE NATIONAL ENSIGN. BY BOBEKT C. WINTHROP. It is the national ensign, pure and simple, dearer to our hearts at this moment as we lift it to the gale and see no other sign of hope upon the storm-cloud which rolls and settles above it, save thai which is reflected upon its own radiant hue. Dearer, a thou- 72 THE STARS AND STRIPES sand-fold to us than ever it was before, while gilded by the sunshine of our prosperity, and playing with the zephyrs of peace. . . . Let it recall . . . the strange, eventful history of its rise and progress. Let it rehearse . . . the wonderful tale of its trials and its triumphs in peace as well as in war. THE FLAG. BY BISHOP HENRY C. POTTER. 0 banner blazoned in the sky. Fling out your royal red ; Each deeper hue to crimson dye Won by our sainted dead. Ye bands of snowy whiteness clean That bar the waning day Stand as the prophecy of things unseen Toward which we hew our way. Pair field of blue, a symbol true Of Eight, of Faith, of God, O'erreach us as we seek anew The paths our Fathers trod. Ye clustered stars that wave above Our darkness turn to light ; Eeveal to men Heaven's law of love — Then ends the world's long night. THE STARS AND STRIPES 73 THE AMERICAN FLAG. BY HENRY WARD BEECHER. As at early dawn the stars shine forth even while it grows light, and then, as the sun advances, that light breaks into banks of streaming lines of color, the glowing red and intense white, striving together and ribbing the horizon with bars effulgent, so, on the American flag, stars and beams of many-colored light shine out together. And wherever the Flag comes, and men behold it, they see in its sacred emblazonry no rampant lion and no fierce eagle ; they see the symbols of light. It is the banner of Dawn ; it means Liberty. THE FLAG BEAUTIFUL. BT SENATOR GEORGE F. HOAR, 1888. I have seen the glories of art and architecture, and of mountain and river. I have seen the sun set on Jungfrau, and the full moon rise over Mount Blanc, but the fairest vision on which these eyes ever looked was the Flag of my own country in a foreign land. Beautiful as a flower to those who love it, terrible as a meteor to those who hate it, it is the symbol of the power and the glory and the honor of seventy millions of Americans. THE FLOWER OF LIBERTY. BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. What flower is this that greets the morn Its hues from Heaven so freshly born ? With burning star and flaming band It kindles all the sunset land ; O tell us what its name may be — Is this the flower of liberty ? It is the banner of the free The starry flower of liberty ! 74 THE STARS AND STRIPES The following address was delivered on Flag Day, 1914, before the employees of the Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. It is printed here with the permission of Secretary Lane. MAKERS OF THE FLAG. BY FRANKLIN K. LANE, SECRETARY OP THE INTERIOR. This morning, as I passed into the Land Office, The Flag dropped me a most cordial salutation, and from its rippling folds I heard it say : " Good morning, Mr. Flag Maker." " I beg your pardon. Old Glory," I said, " aren't you mistaken ? I am not the President of the United States, nor a member of Congress, nor even a general in the army. I am only a Government clerk." " I greet you again, Mr. Flag Maker," replied the gay voice, " I know you well. You are the man who worked in the swelter of yesterday straightening out the tangle of that farmer's homestead in Idaho, or perhaps you found the mistake in that Indian contract in Oklahoma, or helped to clear that patent for the hopeful inventor in "N"ew York, or pushed the opening of that new ditch in Colorado, or made that mine in Illinois more safe, or brought relief to the old soldier in Wyoming. No matter ; whichever one of these beneficent individuals you may happen to be, I give you greeting, Mr. Flag Maker." I was about to pass on, when The Flag stopped me with these words : " Yesterday the President spoke a word that made happier the future of ten million peons in Mexico ; but that act looms no larger on the flag than the struggle which the boy in Georgia is making to win the Corn Club prize this summer. " Yesterday the Congress spoke a word which will open the door of Alaska ; but a mother in Michigan worked from sunrise until THE STARS AND STRIPES 75 far into the night to give her boy an education. She, too, is making the flag. " Yesterday we made a new law to prevent financial panics, and yesterday, maybe, a school teacher in Ohio taught his first letters to a boy who will one day write a song that will give cheer to the millions of our race. We are all making the flag." " But," I said impatiently, " these people were only working ! " Then came a great shout from The Flag : " The work that we do is the making of the flag. "I am not the fiag ; not at all. I am but its shadow. " I am whatever you make me, nothing more. " I am your belief in yourself, your dream of what a People may become. " I live a changing life, a life of moods and passions, of heart breaks and tired muscles. " Sometimes I am strong with pride, when men do an honest work, fitting the rails together truly. " Sometimes I droop, for then purpose has gone from me, and cynically I play the coward. " Sometimes I am loud, garish, and full of that ego that blasts judgment. " But always, I am all that you hope to be, and have the courage to try for. " I am song and fear, struggle and panic, and ennobling hope. « I am the day's work of the weakest man, and the largest dream of the most daring. " I am the Constitution and the courts, statutes and the statute makers, soldier and dreadnaught, drayman and street sweep, cook, counselor, and clerk. « I am the battle of yesterday, and the mistake of to-morrow. " I am the mystery of the men who do without knowing why. " I am the clutch of an idea, and the reasoned purpose of resolu tion. 76 THE STARS AND STRIPES " 1 am no more than what you believe me to be and I am all that you believe I can be. " I am what you make me, nothing more. " I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself, the pictured suggestion of that big thing which makes this nation. My stars and my stripes are your dream and your labors. They are bright with cheer, brilliant with courage, firm with faith, because you have made them so out of your hearts. For you are the makers of the flag and it is well that you glory in the making." The following poem is reproduced from an autograph copy by the author, and with his permission. The poem has been frequently recited on, the floor of Congress. Mr. Nesbit has stated that the verses were written for the Baltimore American to help fill up his column on Flag Day. YOUR FLAG AND MY FLAG. BY WILBUR D. NESBIT. Your flag and my flag. And how it flies to-day In your land and my land And half a world away ! Rose-red and blood-red The stripes forever gleam ; Snow-white and soul-white — The good forefathers' dream. Sky-blue and true-blue, with stars to gleam aright — The glorified guidon of the day, a shelter through the night. THE STARS AND STRIPES 11 Your fiag and my flag ! And, oh, how much it holds — Your land and my land — Secure within its folds. Your heart and my heart Beat quicker at the sight ; Sun-kissed and wind-tossed — Eed and blue and white. The one fiag — the great flag — the flag for me and you — Glorified all else beside — the red and white and blue ! Your fiag and my flag ! To every star and stripe The drums beat as hearts beat And flfers shrilly pipe ! Your flag and my flag — A blessing in the sky. Your hope and my hope — It never hid a lie ! Home land, and far land and half the world around, Old Glory hears our glad salute and ripples to the sound ! THB EMBLEM OF FREEDOM IN THE WORLD. BY GENERAL JOHN E. GORDON, OF GEORGIA. By the memories of the Fathers who bequeathed us this priceless heritage ; by the names and deeds of Northern heroes, living and dead ; by the sacrifice and measureless woes endured by Southern womanhood ; by the heroic devotion and dauntless courage of the sons of the South : by all these we unite in solemn compact that this American people shall know intestine war no more, but shall remain an unbroken brotherhood from sea to sea. By all these. 78 THE STARS AND STRIPES and by the resistless fiat of an inexorable sentiment, we proclaim that the American flag shall protect every American citizen on all oceans and in all lands. . . . . . . Whatever be the geographical limits over which destiny decrees it to float as the symbol of our national sovereignty, there shall be at least no boundaries to its moral sway ; but as long as political truth triumphs or liberty survives, this flag of our fathers shall remain the proudest and most potential emblem of human freedom in the world. A PRAYER. God of our fathers, bless this, our fiag of freedom and of peace; and these, Thy sons, born under its guardian folds, who love it, and who have defended it, and who shall defend it, now and f orevermoie. Amen". FLAG STORIES The country's history is rich not only in oratory and songs about its Flag, but also in anecdotes. Many of these anecdotes, recounting thrilling stories of heroic incidents, are well known to all. Some such stories are authentic, while others have come down to us as tradi tions, and may or may not be true. The following anecdotes about the Flag have at least the merit of being true, as they have been gathered from the writer's personal experiences: The Love of Flag — by a Boy op Japan. In Washington, the capital of the nation, the pupils of the pub lic schools frequently hold exercises in honor of the Flag. A little THE STARS AND STRIPES 79 Japanese boy in the third grade, when asked by his teacher if he did not think the Stars and Stripes the most beautiful fiag in the world, politely bowed and replied : " Yes, Madam. It is the most beautiful flag in this country ; but in my country the flag of Japan is the most beautiful flag." The Flag and the Work-house. The Society of Patriotic Decorations and Civic Improvement issues a circular with printed instructions regarding the use of the national ensign, and with a handsome print of the Flag on the outer fold. While in a restaurant of Washington the writer, in removing his coat, dropped one of these circulars on the floor, and the colored waiter, picking it up, asked if he might have it. As he looked steadily at the printed flag one of the guests asked : " Does the Flag remind you of anything ? " " Yes, suh." " What does it remind you of ? " " Well, suh, that Flag makes me think of the wuk-house, suh." " Work-house ? Why on earth does it make you think of the work-house ? " " Well, suh, you see, once when I was at the wuk-house, suh, I had to h'ist the Flag in the mornin', and take hit down at night. But I do love that flag, suh, I suttinly do." An Indian Chief and the Flag on the Buffalo Robe. Peter Lasharo, chief of the Pawnee Indians in Nebraska, was an ardent admirer of the Stars and Stripes, and painted it on buffalo robes as a mark and sign of personal ownership. A youth of the tribe stole one of the skins. When found out, he was, with the stolen treasure, dragged before Peter, and stood waiting for the verdict, with his eyes fixed on the robe, which bore a fine sample of Peter's fiag work. 80 THE STARS AND STRIPES "Why takum?" sternly asked Peter. The youth pointed to the painting on the robe, then, standing erect, folded his arms and looked his chief squarely in the eye. Grim old Peter returned the stare, and then, his face suddenly relaxing into a grin, he picked up the robe, threw it into the arms of the astonished boy, and said : " You takum. You heap good man." The Flag at Monterey. Commodore Sloat was down the coast at Mazatlan, on his flag ship, the Savannah, and close beside him lay the British flagship Collingwood, both waiting to hear that war had been declared. Fleet Surgeon Wood, on his way east, heard of the battles of Palo Alto and Eesaca de la Palma and sent a dispatch to Commodore Sloat who immediately got underway, and upon arriving at Mon terey, raised the flag on the old Custom House. When seeing the British ship Collingwood coming two weeks afterward he cleared ship for action and with the crew at their guns awaited her coming. Her commander soon appeared on the Savannah and said : " Com modore, I see you have been exercising your men." " Yes, sir," replied Sloat, " I thought it might require a little exercise to keep that flag there." " But what would you have done," inquired the Briton, " if a ship of another power had disputed the possession ? " " I should have fired a broadside, if it had been my last act on earth, and left the rest to the United States Government, sir," said the Commodore. SONGS AND BUGLE CALLS (81) SONGS AND BUGLE CALLS i i^= AMERICA Dr. S. F. Smith, 1832. m l£A=m. * — 3- — *¦ 1 My coun 2 My na 3 Let rau 4. Oiu- fa m try I 'tis tive coun of thee, Sweet land try, thee — Land of of the lib er ty, no ble free^— sic swell the breeze, Aud ring from thers' God I to Thee, Au thor of dS ^^ all lib tbe trees -er - ty, SE i^ sLJ_J_ii^_^ ^ — ^— ^- Of thee I sing ; LUod where my fa thers died ] Land of the Thy name I love ; I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and^ Sweet free - dom's song ; Let mor - tal tongues a - wake ; Let all ' that To Thee Tve sing : I^ng may our .land:., ba, bright With free - dom'S ^± ^ z^=^=^ =F^^ 1=1=1 Pil - grims' pride ! From ev 'ry raoun - tain, side Let free - dom' tern - pled hills : My heart with rap - ture Ihrais Like., that a- - breathe par - take ; Let rooks then: si - lence break,— The sound pro - ho - ly light r Pro - 'eot ua by Thy might, Great (Jod, our lingt bove., long. Kingj - - •> -^O S^ J. C83) THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER rHANCIS SOOTT KbT, 1814. 1. Oh,~6ay, can you see, by the dawn's ear - ly liglit, Whatso proud -ly W9 2. On that shore dim -ly' seen thro' the mists of the deep, Where the foe's hangh-ty 3. And where is that band, who so vaunt - ing - ly swore. That the hav - oc ol ^ J iN^MM=F= iUi£=^ ]=t: 5=^ 4 1 1 1 W ^=5^ ^^ ::ii!=l= r^^=^^- r ^ \ hailed at the twi -light's last gleam-ing? Wlrose broad stripes and bright stars host in dread si • lence re - pos - es. What is that which the breeze, war and the bat - tie's ct>n - fu - sion A home and. a coun - m -s=z=^ -¦t-- t=:f±f: i^i I ^ -"i***^." -• — •-=-•• t— ¦> ! ^ 1 * H •-!— f I J — -le-i-P- ,1 — I I I i -^L.^- ¦^i:^ S^ ¦0 ' 0 0 i-0- ¦:\ P" 1 -•"=-#- # -^ i i> i— I — I — H ¦^ S- y , y pi P- [ i— !— t-f -^ t: f=S' p p p •- P^ -# — 1-«^ I* r p-f I -(^- :S=i^ 9 S^E -• P- -^ •- =i^g^ ^^ -• — #- I (89) 0812