*

FLAG!
OF'

THE WORLD

M CANBLESS

*n4

GMQSVEN OK.

CORNELL
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Cornell University Library

CR107 .M12
Flags of the world

3
olin

by Byron McCandless

1924 029 797 341

Overs

The

Cornell University
Library

original of this

book

is in

the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright

restrictions in

the United States on the use of the

text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029797341

World

Flags of the

BYRON McCANDLESS
Lieutenant-Commander U.

S.

Navy

AND

GILBERT GROSVENOR
Editor National Geographic Magazine

With

1197 Flags in Full Colors

300 Additional Illustrations in Black

and White

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

WASHINGTON.
U.

S.

D. C.

A.

rc

Copyright by the

National Geographic Society

1917

<

Washington
Press of Judd

&

Detweiler, Inc.

1917

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON
14 December, 1917

My dear Mr. Grosvenor:

The Flag Number of the National

Geographic Magazine is indeed most interesting and most valuable.

sincerely congratu-

late you on the thoroughness and intelligence

with which the work has

"been done.

It consti-

tutes a very valuable document indeed.

Cordially and sincerely yours,

Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor, Director,

National Geographic Society.

THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY...

W AS H INGTON
December 3, 1917

Wy dear

.Mr.

Grosvenor:

wish to congratulate and thank you for the magnificent

It had for me a per-

Flag Number of the National Geographic Magazine.

sonal as well as a national interest, because during the weeks that

Lieutenant Commander Byron McCandless was busy in the preparation of the

artioles and the flags whioh adorn the magazine

caught something of

the spirit of enthusiasm and patriotism whioh marked the delightful la-

bor which he brought to the study and preparation of what is truly an

historic number^

To have given to the people a beautiful Flag Number

at any time would have been in keeping with the eduoational service which
the National Geographio Magazine has long rendered to the American pub-

lic.

To have given this service at this time, when the Flag means more

to us than ever before in our history, and when millions of young men are

responding cheerfully to its call because of the principles it symbolizes,

your Flag Number may be truly said to be a contribution to the victory

which will be won under the inspiration of the ideals which the Flag embodies.

Sincerely yours

Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor, Editor,

The National Geographio Magazine,
Washington, D. C
THE SECRETARY OF WAR.
WASHINGTON.

December 12, 1917

My dear Mr. Grosvenor;

I

am very glad to have the second copy of the Flag Issue of

the National Geographic Magazine which you: were good enough to send

me, the first having already reached me at my home, and I wish to thank

you on behalf of my associates in the War department for the Society's

generous offer to present a special edition of 5000 copies of the mag-

azine for the use of the men in the Army.

This issue is not only of general interest, as all the issues
of the magazine are, but of permanent value for reference, and
of par-

ticular usefulness to the men in the military service of the

United
States at this time.

With best wishes and renewed thanks,

am

Cordially yours,
Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor, Editor,
The National Geographic Magazine,
Washington. D. C.

"CW

THE FLAG BOOK

noble
FLAGSandsymbolize
glorious achievements

aspiraof

the

tions

the

human

race

they epitomize the

romance of history; they incarnate the

chivalry of the ages.
Their origin is divinity itself for when,
at the beginning of recorded time, Jehovah made a covenant with man, promising that never again would He send the
waters to cover the face of the earth and
destroy all flesh, He unfurled the first
the multihued banner of the rainflag
bow which He set in the clouds as a
symbol of security and an assurance to
;

all

future generations of His watchful

care.

And

since that day

man

has,

in

his

way, employed his earthly banners

emblems of faith, of hope, and of high

finite

as

resolve.

Around the bits of varicolored bunting which the people of each land nominate as a national flag, there cluster
thoughts of loyalty, of patriotism, and of
personal sacrifice which have enabled the
world to move forward, from the days
when each individual struggled for himself alone, like other wild animals of plain
and mountain side, until, through community of interests and unit)' of effort,
mankind has been enabled to rear, the
splendid structure of twentieth century
civilization.

When the
his isolation

savage began to emerge from

and took the first steps to-

ward becoming a

social creature, profit-

ing by association and cooperation with

fellow human beings, one of his first
needs was a sign or a symbol whereby he

NoTE

The pages

of the Flag Book are

4, Vol. 32).

graphic Magazine (No.

could distinguish during primitive battles,

between creatures of his own tribe or
family and those of enemy tribes.
peculiar type of club, a splotch of colored
clay on the body of the warrior, and later
some rude device on his clumsy shield
served for 'a time the purpose of insignia.
Eventually these bits of wood, bodily
ornamentation, and shield signs were replaced by the skins of animals attached
to poles so that the)' might be held high
in the air and recognized at a distance.
.Prom such crude beginnings it is easy to
trace the evolution of the flags of civil-

man.
Today, while

ized

it is true that we are

thinking of the flags of our own and of
other nations in relation to sanguinary
strife, .-these emblems of armies and navies
have a deep and noble significance far
removed from their use in leading men
In reality flags are the bulto battle.
warks of idealism.

AN INSPIRATION TO
The

PERSONA!, SACRIFICE

an army the
high principles for which it strives in
battle.
Were it not for the ideals which
it keeps ever before the soldier he would
It keeps
be bestializcd by slaughter.
men's motives lofty even in mortal combat, making them forgetful of personal
gain and of personal revenge, but eager
for personal sacrifice in the cause of the
country they serve.
With full realization of what the stories
of the flags of the world mean, each to
its own people, and with the belief that
Americans will be inspired by under-

numbered

flag epitomizes for

as they appeared in the NaTionai, Geo-

282

Photograph by Paul Thompson

THE PRESIDENT OI? THE UNITED STATES ON BOARD A BARGE WHICH FLIES HIS FLAG
AT THE BOW WHILE) TAKING HIM FROM THE "MAYFLOWER" TO
THE FLAGSHIP (SEE ALSO PAGE 324)
The President's flag (No. 2, page 310) is one of the most difficult flags to make, requiring the labor of a skilled seamstress for an entire month. Every detail of the eagle, each
feather and each scale, must be carefully embroidered. On two days of the year the ships of
the American Navy are "full dressed," as are the battleships shown here. Those occasions
are the Fourth of July, the birthday of the nation itself, and the Twenty-second of February,
the birthday of him who will ever remain first in the hearts o"f his countrymen. To "fulldress ship" is also permissible as a matter of international courtesy, when in foreign ports,
upon the occasion of the visited country's national holidays or in honor of the presence of
their

men-of-war.

standing and appreciating the motives, the

traditions, and the sentiments which have
given birth to these various symbols of

comium than

sovereignty, the National Geographic

Society presents this work, devoted to
the flags of all countries.
In the present world struggle, in which
the United States of America is now engaged, we of this land hold to the ideals
represented in the history and the promise
of the Stars and Stripes the ideals of
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
safeguarded for all mankind.
And though many must fall in the
achievement of those ideals, a noble and
imperishable good will endure as a monument to their sacrifice. History can bestow upon such soldiers no higher en-

colors

that of Defenders of the

Flag.

In presenting 1,197 flags in accurate

were

and design, the

utilized for this

plates

of which

volume, the Society

issued the most expensive, instructive,

and beautiful number of its magazine in
the history of periodical literature.

the

big

task of making the flag

NUMBER
111 assembling the flags of the world, in
choosing the correct from the spurious

designs, and in mobilizing, so to speak,

the flag lore of our own America, as vvell
as in the research which has made it possible to present here many flags pregnant
with historic associations, the National

283

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

2 84

Geographic Society has been fortunate

having the enthusiastic cooperation and

in

active professional services of the foremost flag expert of the United States
Government and probably the leading authority in the world on flag usages among

maritime nations
Lieut. Commander
Byron McCandless, of the United States
Navy.
Lieut.

Commander McCandless was the

flag officer of the

Cruz

in 191 3,

and

American
in the

fleet at

Vera

performance of

he found that the signal

enlisted men were handicapped in their work by the non-existence
of a flag book. Being far removed from
his duties there
officers

and

a printing establishment, the ingenious

officer met the condition by chiseling flag
plates from leaden sheets and printing in
color a book of flags with a hand-press installed on the flagship. This unique publication attracted wide attention among
naval officers, and the demand for copies
of the work became so great that the improvised flag plates, made of soft metal,

ners and the preparation of all the color

plates in their accurate proportions, as
well as the notable achievement in rich
color printing, have been accomplished
through the mechanical efficiency and artistic cooperation of the Beck Engraving
Company of Philadelphia. In the processes of color printing it was necessary
to operate the presses in daylight only,
in order that the tints and shades might
be kept true for each of the 23,000,000
pages (32 pages of color in each of more
than 700,000 copies of the National

Geographic Magazine).
The Flag Number and the Flag Book,
other issues since the founding of the magazine twenty-nine years
ago, owe their attractive typographical
appearance to Messrs. Judd & Detweiler.
Inc., of Washington, D. C.
like all the

the work of printing

So vast has grown the membership of
National Geographic Society that
one finds it hard to realize how wide-

the

soon wore away.

spread

Commander McCandless was induced by the National Geographic So-

engendered or

Lieut.

ciety to undertake, with the consent of

the Secretary of the Navy, the assembling
of the flags of the world for this volume.
In view of the value of this flag material
to the government, the Society has donated 5,000 copies of the Flag Book to
the United States
to the

Navy and

5,000 copies

Army.

In addition to the expert services of

Lieut.

Commander McCandless,

the

Ed-

has had the assistance of John Oliver

La Gorce, the Associate Editor of William Joseph Showalter, Ralph A. Graves,
Franklin L. Fisher, and other members
itor

of the editorial staff in the months of

research work necessary to secure the
historically accurate data descriptive of
the more than 1,200 flags in colors and
Thus, through such
in black and white.
concerted effort, it is possible to present
in this issue the most complete and authoritative work on flags ever published.
The engraving of the coats-of-arms and
devices appearing on many of the ban-

is

the geographic interest

it

has

how many magazines must

before each member can re-

be printed
ceive his or her copy.
Two striking
illustrations of the Society's numerical
strength have come home to the Editor in
the issuance of the Flag Number. With
one of the largest color printing plants
in America engaged in producing the 32
pages of flags in colors, it took 75 working days three months -to print these

alone.

The

attention of the reader

is

directed

to the little vacant spaces after flags

640
and 666 respectively (pages 350-351).
These blank intervals do not seem to be
more than negligible and yet, running
through the entire edition of the National Geographic Magazine, they occupy more than 700,000 square inches of
space, or 1,728 pages.
Put side by side
they would form a ribbon of paper twenty
;

miles long.

Gilbert Grosvexor,
Editor and Director,

National Geographic Societx.

INDEX TO FLAGS AND INSIGNIA

Illustration

Subject

page

African flags

Army
Asian

flags of
flags

United States

Dominion

of

354, 355, 358, 367

372

314

308, 309

354, 355, 358, 367

372
378
383
381
404
404

359-366
363
362
312

British Empire flags

Australia

Canada

Correct dimensions of United States flag

Correct display of United States flag

358, 367
388, 339, 342

European flags
Flags famous in American history
Geography of middle ages told by flags
Insignia of uniformed forces of United States
Makers of the Flag
Marine Corps flags of United States

."04,
-''.70

414-419

ulo
335

National Geographic Society flag

Naval flags of the world

Navy flags of United States
Pan-American flags
Stars and Stripes, History of
State flags of United States

Text

Page

347, 350, 351

315, 318, 319
343, 346

310
323-334

372, 388

341
3SS
413
304
313, 316

340
369
313, 316

381
286

Photograph by Brown Brothers

SALUTING THE FLAG IN SCHOOL.

The salute to the flag fosters a spirit of unity and loyalty among the future citizens of
the land, regardless of the many racial stocks from which these children may have sprung.
Happily, educators are rapidly appreciating the importance of such outward symbols and
ceremonies, and it is hoped that the time is at hand when such patriotic customs will be
universally adopted in our public and private schools.

28s

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN' FLAG

The

text

and

Flag
umber, in its entirety, arc protected by
and all rights arc reserved

illustrations of this

copyright,

5 IF in augun- of that perpetual

peace for which all mankind hopes
as the outcome of the world war,
immediately following the entrance of
the United States of America into the
great struggle to secure democracy for
all peoples and freedom from the menace
of militarism for all nations, the Stars

of the American Revolution proclaimed

the attitude of the people of the several
colonies in their grievances against the

Mother Country.
When Bunker Hill and Lexington were
fought, some of the staunchest patriots
were still hopeful that an adjustment of
the difficulties with the home government
could be effected, and although on June
15. 1775. General Washington had been

and Stripes were received gratefully and

reverently into that historic shrine of the
English-speaking race St. Paul's Cathedral, London
there to be preserved
among the hallowed banners of the hosts
of liberty (see page 302).
This epochal event marked the alliance, in a sacred cause, of the two great
self-governing Anglo-Saxon nations just
140 years after the birth of that Star
Spangled Banner in the travail of the
conflict which severed the American Republic from the British Empire.
From the embattled pinnacle of high
resolve and lofty idealism where the
American flag has always floated, the

may

appointed commander - in - chief of the

Continental forces raised, or to be raised,
'"for the defense of American liberty."'
the Continental Congress nearly a month
later (July 8> addressed an appeal to

King George

in which the petitioners

styled themselves '"Your Majesty's faithful subjects."

DISINCLINED TO SEVER ALL TIES

Disinclined to sever all ties with England, yet bitterly resentful of the treatment accorded them and unyielding in
their determination to resist further oppression, when it became necessary to
adopt an ensign for their newly created
navy, in the autumn of 1775. the revolting colonies chose a flag that reflected

be surveyed an
inspiration to the patriot, an enduring
emblem of hope for the oppressed. The
story of the Stars and Stripes is the story
of the nation itself the evolution of the
flag is svmbolic of the evolution of our
course of

its

rise

their feeling of unity with the

free institutions; its development epitomizes the amazing expansion of our

boundaries and the development of our

natural resources its glorious history is

the history of the people whose sovereignty it signifies.
"in the embryonic days of the republic,
when the Thirteen Original States were
still feeble British colonies bordering the
western shores of the Atlantic, there were
almost as many varieties of banners borne
bv the Revolutionary forces as there are
today races fused into one liberty-loving
:

'

American

The

people.
flags

local

Mother

Country, but at the same time expressed

their firm joint purpose to demand and

and colonial devices

(Xos. 361-366, 377-422) displayed in battle on land and sea during the first months

obtain justice and liberty.

The events which resulted in the establishment of the Continental navy, and
therebv the birth of the first flag representative of the thirteen united colonies,
constitute one of the most picturesque
chapters in American history. At the beginning of October the Continental Congress, sitting in Philadelphia, learned that
two unarmed Xorth Country-built brigs

were sailing from England loaded with

arms, powder, and other stores destined
for Quebec. As the colonies were in sore
need of powder and possessed neither
factories for its manufacture nor ships
for bringing it from abroad, Congress

286

THE BANNER UNDER WHICH THEY FOUGHT AND FEEE

MARTIAL SHROUD

IS

NOW THEIR

They went forth to battle and gave their lives to liberty. Theirs the hardships, theirs
the sacrifice, theirs the honor, "nor shall their glory be forgot while Fame her record keeps."
instructed General Washington to apply
to the Council of Massachusetts Bay for
the two armed vessels in its service, to
man them and to dispatch them with all
speed in the hope of intercepting the munitions-laden brigs. The aid of the armed
vessels of Rhode Island and Connecticut
was also promised the commander-inchief in this important enterprise.
General Washington, of his own initia-

had already purchased two vessels,

which he had fitted out, officered with
army captains, and manned with soldiers.
These ships were the Lynch and the
tive,

Franklin.
tional
fleet

By November

cruisers

four addi-

had been added

to

the

the Lee, the Harrison, the Warren,

and the Lady Washington.

Of this
command

brass mortar, subsequently called "Congress," which was to play an important

part in forcing the evacuation of Boston.
One of the colonial ships, the Lady

Washington, was captured on December

7 by H. M. S. Forney, and her colors, still
in the Admiralty Office in London, are
described as bearing a pale-green pine
tree on a field of white bunting, with the
motto, "An Appeal to Heaven" (391).
This flag was flown by all the ships under
Washington's command at this time, the
design having been suggested by the
commander-in-chief's military secretary,
Colonel Joseph Reed, who wrote, on October 20, 1775, that he wished to "fix
upon some particular color for a flag and
a signal by

only the Lee, under

of John Manley, met with signal success in the bold undertaking.
On
November 29 it captured the brig Nancy,
with a precious cargo of 4,000 muskets,
31 tons of musket shot, 3,000 round shot,
several barrels of powder, and a 13-inch

which our vessels may know

one another."

little fleet

THE EARLY AMERICAN NAVY

Prior to the receipt of the news of the
capture of the Nancy the Continental
Congress had appointed Esek Hopkins
commander-in-chief of the navy built by

287

l*}*^i?Jl^t>l>p

1*1

.-.

\i?^r s~;fE- Dos

L;i

oKon2x^vJ38j

ByArtttopn

H.

?'

Mlta-?**

..^i: -.?- ,

---.

..!

the earliest perfect repre5extatiox of the graxd uxiox ex5igx

''see

The

flag

is

xo. 364)

a part of the decorations appearing on North Carolina currency of the issue of

April

2,

Congress as distinguished from the soldier-manned fleet under General Washington.

Immediately following his appointment Commodore Hopkins the first
and only commander-in-chief the navy
ever had) set sail from Rhode Island in

1776

Library of Congress., thus describes the

historic event:
"It was
fortune, as the senior of

my

Lieutenants, to hoist myself the

Flag of America (I chose to do it with
my own hands the first time it was displayed.
Though this was but a slight
Circumstance, yet I feel for its Honor,
more than I think I should have done, if
it had not happened."
line is drawTi
through the words in parentheses and the
word "myself" has been inserted.
This wa*s the flag 364 which afterward figured so extensively in the literature of the day as the Congress Colors,
from the fact that it first floated over the
navy controlled by Congress. Also known
as the Grand Union Flag and the First
Xavy Ensign, it was the Colonial standard from that day until it was superseded
by the Stars and Stripes, in 1777. It
consisted of thirteen stripes, alternately
red and white, typifying the thirteen colonies, with a union hearing the crosses of
the

first

that colony's armed vessel Kaiy and arrived in the Delaware River on December
The same day the commodore
3- I 77:assumed the formal command of the little

squadron which the Congress had placed

under him.

PAUL JOXE5 RAISES THE FLAG

The manner in which that command

was assumed is of signal importance, in
that the ceremony marked the hoisting of
And the
the first truly American flag.
distinction of having released the banner
to the breeze belongs to that daring spirit.
John Paul Tones, one of the chief among

heroes in the hearts of American naval

officers and seamen.
Jones, at that time
senior lieutenant ("corresponding to execof Hoputive officer in the navy today
kins' flagship, the Alfred, in a letter to
"the United State; Minister of Marine.
Hon. Robert Morris." preserved in the
)

2SS

St.

George and

St.

<

Andrew combined

(the national flag of Great Britain, 361)

and signifying the Mother Country.

There has been much confusion about

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

which were displayed on the
Alfred on that historic December day.
The statement is often made, and corthe flags

Commodore Hopkins hoisted

Gadsden flag (398) a fact which
impresses some historians as a contradiction of John Paul Jones' assertion. Reference to naval usage, both of that day
and of this, however, clarifies the suprectly, that

the

discrepancy.
Flagships display
three flags
the ensign, flown at the
stern the flag of the commanding officer,
displayed at the mainmast and the jack,
which flies from the jackstaff at the bow.
The Gadsden flag (of yellow silk and
bearing a coiled rattlesnake with the

posed

motto "Don't Tread on Me"), used on

the Alfred as the flag of the commodore
commanding the fleet, was presented February 8, 1776, to the Congress by Col.
Christopher Gadsden, a delegate from
South Carolina to the Continental body
and one of the committee of three appointed on October 15, 1775, to report on
out of two armed vessels.
that report was made, two weeks
later, Colonel Gadsden was one of a committee of seven appointed to fit out four

the

fitting

When

armed vessels.
The jack displayed on the Alfred on
this occasion was a small, nearly square
flag of thirteen alternate red

and white

stripes, bearing a crawling rattlesnake

with the legend "Don't Tread on Me"
beneath it (365).

CENSORSHIP IN REVOLUTIONARY TIMES

No mention of the ceremony

modore Hopkins' assumption

of
of

Com-

mand of the little Continental fleet is to

be found in the Philadelphia newspapers
of that period. Indeed, the silence of the
colonial press about the eight vessels
manned, and sent to
was as complete as was that of the
American press of 191 7, when General
Pershing's expeditionary force embarked
fitted out, officered,

sea

for the fields of France.

The intelligence reports to the British

Admiralty were very explicit concerning

In minutest detail
the event, however.
these reports described the ships of the
fleet, how they were painted, the number
all accurately
of guns, officers, and men
supplied by the enemy's secret-service

agents in the colonies. For example, the

following report, under date of January
4, 1776, was sent from Philadelphia:
"This day, about one o'clock, sailed the
ship Alfred and the ship Columbus with
two brigs. Alfred carries 36 guns, 9 and
12 pounders 60 marines and about 200
sailors.
Columbus about the same number of men and 32 guns. The two brigs
carry 16 guns. They sailed with five or
six merchant ships loaded with flour from
Hopkins commands the
the Congress.
Alfred. She has yellow sides, her head
the figure of a man, English colours, but
;

more

striped.

The Columbus

is all

except white bottom, with no head.

black,

Com-

manded by one Whipple."

HOISTING THE GRAND UNION FLAG AT
CAMBRIDGE

One month

after

its

baptism

in

the

from the stern of the Alfred, the

Grand Union Flag (364) was raised at
Cambridge, Mass., on the very day that

breezes,

the Continental Army began its official

existence January 2, 177(3 and General

Washington is authority for the explanation that it was displayed "out of compliment to the United Colonies." It was
two days after this event that Washington wrote to his military secretary, Joseph
Reed, through whom he kept in touch
with affairs at Philadelphia
"We are at length favored with the
sight of His Majesty's most gracious
speech, breathing sentiments of tenderness and compassion for his deluded
American subjects the speech I send you
(a volume of them was sent out by the
Boston gentry), and, farcical enough, we
gave great joy to them without knowing
or intending it, for on that day (January
2) which gave being to our new army,
but before the proclamation came to
hand, we hoisted the union flag in compliment to the United Colonies. But behold it was received at Boston as a token
of the deep impression the speech had
made upon us and as a signal of submission.
By this time I presume they begin
to think it strange that we have not made
formal surrender of our lines."
Although displayed on the Continental
Army's first birthday, neither the Grand
Union Flag (364) nor the Stars and
:

com-

289

- o
bo

ft

- ^<s

St- -a
1

; j

:>

o o p

t-

c.y Si
O & g
b a) a T3 SP
^ .5
c! ^
- +* u aj >
*"

C ^'C
< C/3

<u

>,

.2

OT

a cc -5

.s^"
.5

w
oo

^,"2 -a
r Ui aj

qj

COm

-c
g

5>

O fc u
- S'c

g
c
C

"

>.
i-

.1

u 'S

vz

J3
*"'

id

9"

c 'too
c " c

<!

x c -S2
bo fJ o ^! J3
C < E n
'5

i=
o

,:

-c
^
7: >

li^lc
5

ns

jj

o w j= jS.S o
3 6

fe

> r- *+*
^C 5 5 ~ 5i
- J3
| A; bp C

-c

Jj

" " "

m<e c

bo i-.S

&U-S-3 R

U
g c

<U

--

en

^~

tfl

O U

"
v ?
*> 3 o S

291

>

Harris

& Ewing

THE FREMOXT FLAG

When General John Charles Fremont, surnamed "the Pathfinder," made his way across
the continent in the '40' s, his mission was one of peace, but the arrows in his army flag suggested war to the Indians of the plain. Therefore he inserted the calumet, or pipe of peace,
crossed with the arrows in the talons of the eagle. It is interesting to note that the army did
not carry the Stars and Stripes until the period of the Mexican War (see pages 307-308 and
flag 22).
Stripes (6), adopted by Congress a year
and a half later, was carried in the field
by the land forces during the Revolutionary War. The army carried only the

clared that the commodore's achievement

merited "qiine and the country's thanks,"'
and promised him a "stronger vessel of
war."

colors of the States to which the troops

belonged (see flags 394, 396, 403, 409,
41Q, etc.) and not the national flag.

On Major Samuel Selden's powderhorn of that period is a carving showing

Boston and vicinity. The British fleet is
depicted on one side of Boston Xeck,
while Manley 's symbolical ship Amaraca,

THE

FIRST VICTORY OF

THE AMERICAN

FLAG
It fell to the lot

Union
mainmast
as the commodore's

flying at the stern the Continental

of the newly created

Commodore Manley (the officer who had

commanded the Lee and captured the
ordnance ship Xancy) to carry the Grand
Union Flag to its first victor}-. Commanding the Hancock, Manley captured
two enemy transports, placed prize crews
aboard, and then, with only 16 men left
on his own ship, he engaged an armed
vessel in sight of the enemy fleet at Boston and succeeded in bringing his prizes
Following this
safely into Plymouth.
daring exploit Manley received a letter
written at Cambridge, on January 28,
1776, by General Washington, who de-

flag as its ensign,

the pine-tree flag

and

at the

flag, is shown on the other side.

The
mortar carved on the horn is the famous
"Congress" gun captured by Manley on
the Xancy.
The first occasion upon which any
American flag floated over foreign territory was on March 3. 1776. Commodore
Hopkins, of the Congress fleet, organized
an expedition against Xew Providence,
in the Bahama Islands, for the purpose

of seizing a quantity of powder known to

be stored there and of which both General

202

Washington and the

fleet

were

in

Photograph from Central News Plioto Service,

official

naval photograph

VICE-ADMIRAL SIMS WITH BRITISH AND AMERICAN STAFF OFFICERS AT THE

HOISTING OF THE AMERICAN VICE-ADMIRALS FLAG (65) AT ADMIRALTY
HOUSE WHEN HE TOOK TEMPORARY CQMMAND' OF

QUEENSTOWN AND
Vice-Admiral Bayley's

flag (606)

293

DISTRICT
is

being hauled

down

U.

S. S.

"SYLPH" FLYING THE FOUR-STAR FLAG OF ADMIRAL BENSON, CHIEF OF

NAVAL OPERATIONS (64), ON THE MAINMAST, AND THE FLAG
OF VICE-ADMIRAL BROWNING, OF THE BRITISH
NAVY (606), ON THE FOREMAST

Our naval jack

(4)

is

flying at the jackstaff, but the motion of the steamer has given the
stars a striped effect

great need. Two hundred marines were

landed, under the command of Captain
Nichols, supported by fifty sailors, under
Lieutenant Weaver, of the Cabot. The
Providence and the JVasp covered the
landing party.
Fort Nassau was taken
and a great quantity of military stores
fell into the hands of the expedition.
correspondent of the London "Ladies' Magazine," who was in New Providence at the time of the capture of the
fort by the American forces, under date
of May 13, 1776, described the colors displayed by the marines and sailors as
"striped under the union (the British
union of the crosses of St. George and

St.

Andrew) with

while
flag)

thirteen stripes" (364),

"the standard (the commodore's
bore a rattlesnake and the motto

"Don't Tread on

THE

Me"

the British

commander

re-

sponded that "the impartial world will

judge between us whether these honor
shots, ansxyered on purpose by a Dutch

AN AMERI-

CAN flag

The

page 401), one of the original vessels of

Commodore Hopkins' fleet, which had
been sent to the West Indies, under command of Captain Isaiah Robinson, for a
cargo of military supplies.
The commander of the near-by British
island of St. Christopher, hearing of the
salute, protested to the Dutch governor
of St. Eustatius, Johannes de Graef, who
promptly replied that "in regard to the
reception given by the forts of this island,,
under my commandment, to the vessel
Andrew Deria, I 'flatter. myself that if my
masters exact it I shall be able to give
such an account as will be satisfactory."

Whereupon

(398).

FIRST FOREIGN SALUTE TO

vember 16, 1776. The salute was in acknowledgment of a similar number of

guns fired by the Andrew Doria (s,ee also

fort to a rebellious brigantine, with a flag

to the commander of that fort as

known

salute ever fired in honor of

an American flag (the Grand Union ensign) was an eleven-gun volley given by
the Fort of Orange, on the island of St.
Eustatius, Dutch West Indies, on Nofirst

the flag of His Majesty's rebellious subjects, is or is not a partiality in favor of

those rebels."

The

-'94

British governor then

forwarded

Photograph by Brown Brothers

LAUNCHING THE

U.

S.

S.

"MICHIGAN"

In times of peace the launching of a battleship is a gala event, attended by elaborate

ceremonies and witnessed by enthusiastic throngs proud of the privilege of seeing the "marriage to the sea" of another man-of-war destined to uphold the honor of America.
In times
of war, however, no such crowds as attended the Michigan's launching are admitted to the
shipyards, for an enemy might, with a bomb, undo the labor of years and destroy a formidable
unit of our growing sea power.

to

London

a report of the affair, accom-

panied by affidavits that the brigantine

"during the time of the salute and the

answer
tinental

it, had the flag of the ConCongress flying." The British

to

Government

protested

sharply

to

Union Flag was

in use has never been

definitely established but official records
;

of the navy fail to show that any other

ensign was used until after the Star
Spangled Banner's adoption by Congress.

the

General of the Republic of the

Netherlands.
The Dutch demurred at
the asperity with which England demanded an explanation, but immediately
recalled Commander de Graef from St.

birthday of the stars and stripes

States

Thus the first salute to

new ensign was disavowed, although

Eustatius.

the
the

Holland Republic recognized American

independence shortly thereafter.
In the literature of the Revolution frequent reference is found to a "plain
striped flag" (404). Official correspondence shows that whenever this flag was
used afloat it was as the badge of merchant shipping and privateers and not as
the ensign of the regular commissioned
How long the Grand
vessels of the navy.

It was nearly one year after the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, had
pledged their lives, their fortunes, and
their sacred honor for the support of the
Declaration of Independence that the

crosses of St. George and St. Andrew,

emblematic of the Mother Country, whicti
had formed the union of the Continental"

Union flag (364), were discarded and replaced by a union composed of white
stars in a blue field, "representing a new
constellation" (see flag No. 6," page 310).
The date of the birth of the Stars and
Stripes was June 14, 1777, and its creation was proclaimed in a resolution of the

^95

>

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

Continental Congress. While the resolution appears in the records without any
account of preliminary discussion and
without any designation of specific recommendation, the order in which it is incorporated in the business of the day
leads to the assumption that it was reported by the Marine Committee, for it is
sandwiched in among several naval matters.
This portion of the official journal
for the day reads
"Resolved, That the Marine Committee be empowered to give such directions
respecting the Continental ships of war in
the river Delaware as they think proper
in case the enemy succeed in their attempts on said river.
"Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen
United States be thirteen stripes, alterthat the union be
nate red and white
thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.
"The Council of the State of Massachusetts Bay having represented by letter
to the president of Congress that Captain
John Roach,, some time since appointed
to command the Continental ship of war
Ranger, is a doubtful character and
ought not to be entrusted with such a
command therefore
"Resolved, That Captain John Roach
:

be suspended until the Navy Board for

the eastern department shall have enquired fully into his character and report
thereon to the Marine Committee.
"Resolved, That Captain John Paul
Jones be appointed to command the said
ship Ranger."

Thus

it

would seem that not only was

of the Continental Congress

(364) displayed for the first time from a
naval vessel, the Alfred (see page 288),
but that from the navy (in the person of

the

first flag

the Marine Committee of the Congress

of 1777) the nation also received the
Stars and Stripes.

MANY

THEORIES AS TO THE ORIGIN OE THE

STARS AND STRIPES

There have been advanced almost as

many

theories as to the genesis of the

Stars and Stripes as there were stars in
Many hold to the
the original ensign.
view that the new flag borrowed the
stripes from the ensign (364) raised by

29

John Paul Jones on the Alfred on December 3, 1775, and the stars from the
colonial banner of Rhode Island (396)
;

others maintain that the idea for the flag

came from Netherlands, offering in support of this claim the statements of Ben-

jamin Franklin and John Adams, who

went to Holland to borrow money for the
struggling colonies and who told the
Dutch that America had borrowed much

from them, including the ideas represented in the flag.

Whatever their origin, there is no persuasive evidence in the official records of
the time which would lead to the conclusion that the Stars and Stripes were
in use before the resolution of June 14,
1777. It is true, however, that the paintings of Trumbull and Peale do point to
its earlier use.
But, as to the flags appearing in their paintings, it should be
recalled that an anachronism could be
readily excused in the case of Trumbull,
because he had left the colonies while
Washington was before Boston and was
abroad for seven years. Peak's picture
of Washington crossing the Delaware,
with respect to the colors carried, is believed to be a case of "artist's license."
The well known story of Betsy Ross,
so-called maker of the Stars and Stripes,
is one of the picturesque legends which
has grown up around the origin of the
flag, but it is one to which few unsentimental historians subscribe. There was,
however, a Mrs. Ross, who was a flag-

maker by

trade, living in Philadelphia at

the time of the flag's adoption.

BIUS RENDERED BY A EEAG DESIGNER

A more authentic individual connection

with the designing of the flag is to be
found in the official records concerning
Francis Hopkinson, one of the delegates
to Congress from New Jersey, a signer
of the Declaration of Independence and
a member of the Marine Committee. In
November, 1776, Hopkinson was appointed one of a committee of three to
"execute the business of the navy under
the direction of the Marine Committee."
He resigned as a member of the Navy
Board in August, 1778, but continued to
take an interest in naval affairs, as shown

Photograph by Paul Thompson

THE GUIDON, TROOP

F,

NEW YORK NATIONAL GUARD

Each troop of cavalry

in the American forces carries a guidon

a small flag cut "swallow(23). It consists of two stripes of equal width, the upper being red, the cavalry colors,
with the regimental designation in figures. The letter of the troop, in red, appears on the
white stripe. Two guidons are supplied to each troop a silken banner carried into battle,
on campaigns, and upon occasions of ceremony, and a service flag of bunting to be used at
all other times.
tail"

in the following letter to the

Admiralty more than a year

"Gentlemen

Board of

later

with great pleasure

of a seal for
the Board of Admiralty has met with
your Honours' approbation. I have with
great readiness upon several occasions
exerted my small abilities in this way for
the public service, as I flatter myself, to
the satisfaction of those I wish to please,
I

understand

my

It is

last device

The

flag of the United States of America

4 Devices for the Continental currency
Seal for the Board of Treasury
Ornaments, Devices and Checks, for the new
bills of exchange on Spain and Holland.
Seal for Ship Papers of the United States
A Seal for the Board of Admiralty
The Borders, Ornaments & Checks for the
new Continental currency now in the press,
a work of considerable length.
Great Seal for the United States of America, with a. Reverse.

"For these

viz..,

298

services I

have as yet made

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

no charge, nor received any recompense.
I now submit it to your Honours' consideration whether a quarter cask of the
public wine will not be a proper and a
reasonable reward for these labours of
fancy and a suitable encouragement to
future exertions of the like nature.

."

Subsequently Hopkinson rendered another account to the government for the

various designs mentioned above, together
with numerous others, the first item on
the list being "the great naval flag of the
On this occasion he
United States."
asked for $2,700 compensation. Later he
rendered a third account, itemizing the
charge for each design, and followed this
with an explanatory note which throws
an interesting light on the financial status
of the nation at that time, for he says
"The charges are made in hard money, to
be computed at 50 for one in Conti-

299

be worn by war vessels was one of the

most important.
"Possessing a most attractive personality, Paul Jones was lionized by the
ladies of the city and patronized by some
of the leading delegates to the Convention, who called upon him to advise the
legislators regarding the design for the
flag; he thus had much to do with securing the passage of the act of Congress
fixing

its

characteristics.

"Soon after

this event took place, CapJones received his appointment to

command the Ranger, one of the Continental frigates about to proceed abroad,
and with the act of Congress containing
his commission in his hands he proceeded
with all haste to Portsmouth, New Hamp-

tain

which port the Ranger was fitted

Here he was received with more

shire, in

out.

distinction, even,

than at Philadelphia, for

Portsmouth being one of the principal

nental."

seaports of the country,

This claim was never paid, a board

which passed on accounts reporting that
it appeared that Flopkinson "was not the
only person consulted on those exhibitions of Fancy, and therefore cannot

were more interested in ships which were

to fly the flag and the men who were to
man them than were those living in the

claim the

full

merit of them and

entitled in this respect to the

not

is

full

sum

charged."
Also the board was of the
opinion that "the public is entitled to
those little assistances given by gentlemen
who enjoy a very considerable salary
under Congress without fee or further
reward."

admiral Chester's account oe a

colonial flag-bee

"This young

Xavy had

officer of the

just returned

cruise at sea in

Continental

from a successful

command

of

war

ships,

during which he had captured a number

of the enemy's vessels, and was in Philadelphia at the time Congress was considering the question of a national flag,
member of a Board of Advisers to
the Naval Committee of the Plouse of
Delegates upon matters relating to the
country's sea forces, of which the question of a suitable distinguishing mark to
as a

"At Portsmouth Paul Jones attracted

about him a bevy of girls who formed a
so-called "flag-bee," who with much patriotic enthusiasm and many heart thrills

wrought out of their own and their

mothers' gowns a beautiful Star Spangled
Banner, which was thrown to the breeze
in Portsmouth Plarbor on July 4th, 1777,
less than three weeks after Congress had
so authorized."

The

ENSIGN'S FIRST ACTION AT SEA

story of the

that the Stars

tion at sea

says

inhabitants

capital of the colonies.

XEW

Rear Admiral Colby M. Chester, U. S.

Xavy, has suggested that John Paul Jones
may have had a share in the design. He

its

is

first

time in history

and Stripes went

into ac-

told in the picturesque lan-

guage of the American officer who commanded the ship which displayed the new
ensign
Captain Thomas Thompson. In
command of the Raleigh and the Alfred,
Captain Thompson sailed for France
from Portsmouth, and on September 2,
1777, captured the slow Xancy of the
Windward Island fleet, which had out-

sailed her.
Having possessed himself of
T
the A ancy's signal book, Thompson, on
sighting the fleet two days later, determined to attack with the Alfred, but as

a
_

THE FREXCH ARM\J S

FIRST SALUTE TO

fl

*r "

'

rwood

THE STARS AXD STRIPES OX FREXCII

SOIL

Section V-14 of the American Ambulance Corps, a team of Leland Stanford Jr. Ui versify students, had the honor of bearing the first American flag officially sent from the
United States to the French front

this vessel was a poor sailer and the wind

had changed, the Raleigh went in alone,
passing many merchant ships of the
convoy. AYhen within pistol-shot of the
commodore's ship, recognized by means

of the signal book, Thompson records

"We up sails, out guns, hoisted Continental colours and bid them strike to the
Thirteen United States. Sudden surprise
threw them into confusion and their sails
flew all aback, upon which we complimented them with a gun for each State,
Uur
a whole broadside into their hull.
second broadside was aimed at their rigIn
ging, which had its desired efrect.

about a quarter of an hour all hands

quitted quarters on board the British
man-of-war: we cleared the decks totally.
Had not the wind favored him
and we drifted leeward, he could not have
fetched us and I should certainly have
sunk the ship.""
Thus occurred the baptism of fire at
sea of the new flag, at the hour of sunset
on September 4, 1777.

THE IMPROVISED OLD GLORY OF FORT

STAXWIX
Just one month previously (August 3)
the new flag had been under fire on land.

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

Fort Schuyler, which stood on the site
of the present city of Rome, N. Y. On
August 2 a force composed of British and
Indians attacked the fort, which was defended by Col. Peter Gansevoort with
some 600 men. In the afternoon reinforcements 200 men of the Ninth
Massachusetts Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Mellon arrived by way of
the Mohawk River from Albany, bringing ammunition and supplies.
They also brought with them newspaper accounts of the newly enacted flag
resolution, and immediately the fort was
ransacked for material with which to
make the new national emblem. The ammunition shirts of the soldiers furnished
the white stripes ; a red petticoat belonging to the wife of one of the men supplied the red stripes, and Captain Abraham Swartwout's blue cloth cloak was
requisitioned to provide the blue field of
the union.
In Avery's History it is set forth that
the flag was made on Sunday morning
and was displayed the same afternoon
from a flagstaff raised on the bastion
nearest the enemy. Then the drummer
beat the assembly and the adjutant general read to the defenders the congressional resolution "particularizing the insignia of the flag of the new republic."
There are vouchers extant showing that
the Continental treasury reimbursed Captain Swartwout for the loss of his cloak,
but the red petticoat remained a gift of
the humble soldier's wife to the first of
the Stars and Stripes to undergo fire.
at

FIRST SALUTE TO

THE STARS AND

report to the Marine Committee of Conhow the salute was obtained

"I am happy in having it in my power
to congratulate you on my having seen
the American flag for the first time recognized in the fullest and completest manner by the flag of France. I was off their
bay (Ouiberon) that day, the 13th (of
February), and sent my boat in the next
day to know if the Admiral (Admiral
La Motte Picquet) would return my salute.
He answered that he would return
me, as a senior American Continental
officer in Europe, the same salute which
he was authorized by his court to return
to an Admiral of Holland, or of any other
gress, of

republic, which was four guns less than

the salute given. I hesitated at this, for
I had demanded gun for gun
therefore
I anchored in the entrance of the bay,
at a distance from the French fleet, but
after a very particular inquiry on the
14th, finding that he had really told the
;

was induced to accept his offer,

more so as it was an acknowledgment of American independence. The
wind being contrary and blowing hard,
it was after sunset before the Ranger got
near enough to salute La Motte Picquet
truth, I

the

with thirteen guns, which he returned

with nine. However, to put the matter
beyond doubt, I did not suffer the Independence to salute until the next morning, when I sent word to the Admiral
that I should sail through his fleet in the
brig and would salute him in open day.

He was

exceedingly pleased and returned

the compliment with nine guns" (see page

290).

STRIPES

All Americans recall with especial

pleasure and pride that the first official
salute to the Stars and Stripes was accorded by that nation to which, more
than to any other, the United States owes
its existence
France, the blood-ally of
our darkest days, now, in turn, valiantly
succored by us in her hour of sorest need.
Again John Paul Jones figures as the
chief actor in this flag episode. He sailed

from Portsmouth on November

301

1,

1777,

as a bearer to France of the glad tidings

of the surrender of Burgoyne. Here is
the officer's own account, contained in a

THE SIGNIFICANCE CE OUR COEORS

America's most gifted poets and orators haye vied with one another in setting
forth the significance of the red, the
white, and the blue of the Star Spangled
Banner. In the words of Henry Ward

"A

Beecher:

thoughtful mind,

when

it

sees a nation's flag, sees not the flag, but

the nation

And whatever may

be
he reads chiefly
in the flag the government, the principles,
the truths, the history, that belong to the
its

itself.

symbols,

its

nation that sets

flag has

men

insignia,

it

forth.

The American

been a symbol of Liberty, and

rejoiced in

it.

Photograph by Central News Photo Service

FLAGS

WHICH SIGNALIZED AMERICANS ENTRANCE INTO THE WORLD CONELICT BEING

BORNE INTO ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL BY THE FIRST AMERICAN TROOPS TO

REACH LONDON AFTER THE DECLARATION OF WAR WITH GERMANY
These Stars and Stripes were blessed
for

all

waving

in the great English shrine and are to he preserved

time, together with those of our Allies, whose national emblems, like our own, are
over the hosts fighting" for the world's liberty (see page 286).

"The stars upon it were like the bright

morning stars of God, and the stripes
upon it were beams of morning light.

gether.

As

signia of imperial authority they see the

It is the banner of
symbols of light.

at early

dawn

And wherever this flag comes

and men behold it they see in its sacred
emblazonry no embattled castles or in-

the stars shine forth

even while it grows light, and then as the

sun advances that light breaks into banks
and 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 to-

Dawn."

THE
AND BLUE

BIBLICAL ORIGIN OF

RED,

WHITE,

Charles W. Stewart, superintendent of

naval records and library of the United

302

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

Navy Department,

States

Geographic

whom

to

the

indebted for helpful advice and criticism in the compilation of

the data published in this number of the
magazine, advances the following theory
of the origin of the colors employed in
the national ensign
"The flag may trace its ancestry back
to Mount Sinai, whence the Ford gave
is

Moses the Ten Commandments and

book of the law, which testify of
God's will and man's duty and were de-

to

the

posited in the Ark of the Covenant within

the Tabernacle, whose curtains were blue,
purple, scarlet, and fine-twined linen.
"Before the ark stood the table of
shew-bread, with its cloth of blue, scarlet, and white.
These colors of the Jewish Church were taken over by the early
Western Church for its own and given to
all the nations of western Europe for
their flags.
When the United States
chose their flag it was of the colors of
old, but new in arrangement and design,
and they called it 'The Stars and Stripes.'
"Our flag is of the colors red, white,
and blue. Red is for courage, zeal, fervency white is for purity, cleanness of
life, and rectitude of conduct
blue is for
loyalty, devotion, friendship, justice, and
truth.
The star is an ancient symbol of
India, Persia, Egypt, and signifies dominion and sovereignty."
;

THE CALL OF THE FLAG

Hon. Frederick C. Hicks, in the House
of Representatives on Flag Day, June 14,
1917, thus portrayed the meaning of the
national ensign
"The flag of America does more than
proclaim mere power or acclaim a great
and glorious history. Its folds wave a
benediction to the yesterdays of accomplishment and beckon the tomorrows of
progress with hope and confidence
it
heralds the noble purposes of a mighty
people and carries a message of hope and
:

inspiration to

all

mankind.

splendor appeals to us to

Its

national justice and arbitration;

mands ns

glowing

demand
it

inter-

com-

and to univerwhich alone can

maintain equality of rights and fullness
to self-sacrifice

sal obligation of service,

of opportunity in our republic.

"Its stars

and

its

stripes voice the spirit

503

of America calling to a nation of indomitable courage and infinite possibilities to

live the tenets of Christianity, to teach
the gospel of work and usefulness, to
advance education, to demand purity of
thought and action in public life, and to
protect the liberties of free government
from the aggressions of despotic power.
This is the call of the flag of the Union
in this hour of crisis and turmoil, when
civilization and the laws of nations and
of humanity are being engulfed in the
maelstrom of death and destruction."

THE EMBLEM OF OUR UNITY

Day

President Wilson in a Flag

dress said:

ad-

"This flag, which we honor and under

which we serve, is the emblem of our
unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than that which we give it from
generation to generation.
The choices
are ours.
It floats in majestic silence
above the hosts that execute those choices,
whether in peace or in war. And yet,
though silent, it speaks to us speaks to
us of the past, of the men and women
who went before us, and of the records
they wrote upon it.
"We celebrate the day of its birth;
and from its birth until now it has witnessed a great history, has floated on
high the symbol of great events, of a
great plan of life worked out by a great
people.
are about to carry it into
.

We

it where it will draw the

of our enemies.
are about to
bid thousands, hundreds of thousands, it
may be millions, of our men the young,
the strong, the capable men of the nation
to go forth and die beneath it on
fields of blood far away.
"Woe be to the man, or group of men,
that seeks to stand in our wav in this
day of high resolution, when every principle we hold dearest is to be vindicated
and made secure for the salvation of the
nations.
are ready to plead at the
bar of history, and our flag shall wear
a new luster. Once more we shall make
good with our lives and fortunes the
great faith to which we were born, and
a new glory shall shine in the face of
our people."

battle, to lift

We

fire

We

THE MAKERS OF THE FLAG*

By Fraxklix K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior

THIS
Land

morning, as

passed into the

The Flag dropped

Office,

me
from

its

a most cordial salutation, and

rippling folds I heard it say

''Good morning. Mr. Flag Maker."

"I heg 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."

greet you again, Mr. Flag Maker."

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 Xew 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.
Xo matter whichever one of
these beneficent individuals you may happen to be, I give vou greeting. Mr. Flag
"'I

replied the

Then came a great shout from The

Flag:

"The work that we do is the making of

the flag.
"I am not the flag not at all. I am but
;

shadow.
"I am whatever you make me nothing
more.
"I am your belief in vourself. vour
dream of what a people may become.
"I live a changing life, a life of moods
and passions, of heart-breaks and tired
its

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

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

Maker."
I was about to pass on, when The Flag
stopped me with these words
"Yesterday the President spoke a word

man and

made happier the future of ten milpeons 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

and dreadnaught, drayman and street

sweep, cook, counselor, and clerk.
"I am the battle of yesterday and the
mistake of tomorrow.
"I am the mystery of the men who do
without knowing why.
"I am the clutch of an idea and the

a mother in Michigan worked from sunrise until 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
are all making
millions of our race.
the f.ag."
"But," I said impatiently, "these people
were only working!"

reasoned purpose of resolution.

"I am no more than what you believe
me to be and I am all that you believe I
can be.
nothing
"T am what you make me
more.
"I swing before your eyes as a bright
gleam of color, a symbol of yourself, the
pictured suggestion of that big thing

that
lion

We

* Delivered on Flag Day, 191+ before the

employees 01 the Department of the Interior,
'Washington, D.

the largest dream of the most

daring.
"I am the Constitution and the courts,
statutes and the statute-makers, soldier

which makes this nation. Mystarsandmy

stripes are your dream and your labors.

Thev are bright with cheer, brilliant with

courage, firm with faith, because you
have made them so out of your hearts
for vou are the makers of the flag, and it
is well that you glory in the making."

THE FLAGS OF OUR ARMY, NAVY, AND

GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS
For

illustrations see the corresponding

numbers on

the colored flags,

pages 310 and onward

United States Flag and Ensign.

1.

On

following the admission of Arizona and New Mexico into the Union, two
stars were added to the Stars and Stripes, giving the banner its present composition of 48
stars, representing the States of the Union,
and 13 stripes, commemorative of the Thirteen Original Colonies which achieved the na(See pages 286-304 for
tion's independence.
the history of the American flag; pages 303304, 404-413 for the uses of the flag, and de-

July

4,

1912,

scriptive text

under

flags 6,

7,

8,

361, 362, 364,

and 367 for the evolution and development of

the Star Spangled Banner.)
2.

visits

President's Flag. When the President

a vessel of the United States, the Presi-

dent's flag is broken at the main the moment

he reaches the deck and is kept flying as long
as he is on board. If the vessel can do so, a
national salute of 21 guns is fired as soon as
possible after his arrival on board. Upon departure, another salute of 21 guns is fired, the
President's flag being lowered with the last

gun of the

salute.

When

the President

is

em-

barked in a boat he usually directs that his flag

be displayed from the staff in the bow of his
barge (see page 283). When he passes in a
boat flying his flag, vessels of the navy parade
the full guard, four ruffles are given on the
drum, four flourishes are sounded on the bugle,
the National Anthem is played by the band,
and officers and men salute (see page 282).

When

the President is embarked in a ship flying his flag, all saluting ships, on meeting her
at sea or elsewhere, and all naval batteries,
fire a national salute on passing (see page 324).
Previous to the present order there were
two designs displayed on flags and on colors
to be used in the presence of the Commanderin-Chief of the army and the navy. The navy
design was of an earlier date than that of the
army, and consisted of the coat-of-arms of the
United States, as shown in the Great Seal (3),
upon a blue ground. This happened to be almost identical with the infantry colors (see
The President's colors were designed to
11).
be distinctive from the infantry colors, and
consisted of a blue ground with a large crimson star, outlined heavily with white. Within
the star was to be seen the coat-of-arms of
the United States, and outside the star within
its angles were powdered small stars to the
number of the States in the Union. The double display of flags and colors at the Grand
Army Review in 1915 caused considerable
comment, and as a result the suggestion was
made to the President that the navy flag might
fittingly be made distinctive from the infantry
colors by the addition of four stars one in
each corner. The flags of an Admiral and of

a General bear four stars, as a sign of

mand.

The President approved of

the

comidea,

but directed that the coat-of-arms, as shown

on the President's seal (see 5), be used upon
the President's personal flag and colors.

3. The Great Seal op the United States.

The Great Seal was adopted by the Continental

Congress June 20, 1782.

Arms. Paleways (perpendicular stripes or

of thirteen pieces, argent (white)

(red)
a chief (upper part of the
escutcheon), occupying one-third of the whole
azure (blue) the escutcheon on the breast of
the American eagle displayed proper (represented in its natural colors), holding in his
dexter (right) talon an olive branch, and in
his sinister (left) a bundle of thirteen arrows,
all proper (natural colors), and in his beak a
scroll, inscribed with this motto, "B Pluribus
Unum" (Out of Many, One).
Crest.
Over the head of the eagle, which
appears above the escutcheon, a glory (circle
of light), or (gold), breaking through a cloud,
proper, and surrounding thirteen stars forming a constellation, argent, on an azure field.
Reverse. A pyramid unfinished. In the zenith an eye in a triangle, surrounded with a
glory, proper.
Over the eye these words,
"Annuit Coeptis" (He [God] has smiled on
our undertakings). On the base of the pyramid the numerical letters MDCCLXXVI, and
underneath the following motto, "Novus Ordo
Seclorum" (A New Order of Ages).
Accompanying the report, and adopted by
Congress, was the following
The escutcheon is composed of the chief and
pale, the two most honorable ordinaries (divisions). The pieces, paly (equal in width and
of two colors, alternating), represent the several States all joined in one solid, compact
entire, supporting a chief, which unites the
whole and represents Congress.
The motto
alludes to this union. The pales in the arms
are kept closely united by the chief, and the
chief depends on that union and the strength
resulting from it for its support, to denote the
confederacy of the United States of America
and the preservation of their union through
Congress.
The colors of the pales are those used in the
flag of the United States of America
white
signifies purity and innocence
red, hardiness
and valor; and blue, the color of the chief,
signifies vigilant perseverance and justice.
The olive branch and arrows denote the
power of peace and war, which is exclusively
vested in Congress. The constellation denotes
a new State taking its place and rank among
other sovereign powers.
The escutcheon is
divisions)
and gules

305

borne on the breast of an American eagle

without any other supporters, to denote that
the United States ought to rely on their own
virtue.

Reverse.

The

signifies

which commences from that

date.

The

reverse of the seal has never been cut

and has been allowed to go unused officially to
the present da}'.

USES OF THE GREAT SEAL

When

the Continental Congress made the

obverse of the great seal of the national arms
it intended that the
device should pass into
common use among the people, as the flag has
done, and like the flag, the arms at first- met
with general approval, which soon gave place
to an acceptance of it as an emblem of the
power and sovereignty of the United States.
The seal itself has, of course, a very limited
use, which is strictly guarded by law.
The
Secretary of State is its custodian, but even
he has no authority to affix it to any paper that
does not bear the President's signature.
At the present time the seal of the United
States is affixed to the commissions of all

and diplomatic and consular

officers who are nominated by the President
and confirmed by the Senate all ceremo'nious
communications from the President to the
heads of foreign governments
all treaties,
conventions, and formal agreements of the
President with foreign powers all proclamations by the President
all exequaturs to foreign consular officers in the United States who
are appointed by the heads of the governments
which they represent; to warrants by the
President to receive persons surrendered by
foreign governments under extradition treaties
and to all miscellaneous commissions of
civil officers appointed by the President, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate,
whose appointments are not now especially directed by law to be signed under a different
Cabinet

Secretary of the

when

the

Xavy from
present flag

i860,

(49)

When worn

pyramid

strength
and duration. The eye over it and the motto
allude to the many signal interpositions of
Providence in favor of the American cause.
The date underneath is that of the Declaration of Independence, and the words under it
signify the beginning" of the new American
era,

flag of the

to July 4, 1874,
came into use.

officers

out, jacks are surveyed and

the same manner as ensigns.
The
proper size of jack to display with an ensign
is that corresponding in dimension to the union
of that ensign (see drawing, page 312). Yachts
may display the union jack while at anchor at
the jackstaff from 8 a. m. to sunset, when wash
clothes are not triced up.
Seal op the President. This is the per5.
sonal seal of the President, and the press from
which it is made has been in use for many
years. The device is to be seen in the President's flag (2), in bronze, in the floor of the
entrance corridor of the White House and in
the favorite stick-pin of the President.
6. Our First Stars and Stripes, adopted by
act of Congress June 14, 1777 (see page 297).
In its resolution Congress did not direct a specific arrangement of the thirteen stars.
In the
navy it became customary to place the stars so
as to form the crosses of St. George and St.

burned

in

Andrew, an arrangement distinctly

Rhode Island's banner (396).

illustrated

in

THE FLAG THAT INSPIRED THE

SPANGLED BANNER"
7.

STAR

The Flag with 15 Stripes and 15

When Vermont entered the Union

Stars.

(March

4, 1791J, followed by Kentucky (June

1792), it was felt that the new States should
have the same representation in the design of
the flag that the original thirteen States possessed, and Congress accordingly passed the
following act, which was approved by Presi1,

dent Washington on January

13,

1794:

seal.

Jack. Vessels at anchor fly the union

4.
jack from the jackstaff (the staff at the bow)
from morning to evening colors. The jack
hoisted at the fore mast is a signal for a pilot
gun may be fired to call attention
(220).
to it. Hoisted at the mizzen mast or at a yard
arm it denotes that a general court martial or
a court of inquiry is in session.
When a diplomatic official of the United
States of and above the rank of charge d'affaires pays an official visit afloat in a boat of
the navy, a union jack of a suitable size is carried on a staff in the bow.
When the Xaval
Governor of Guam, Tutuila, or the Virgin
Islands of the United States embarks in a boat,
within the limits of In is government, for the
purpose of paying visits of ceremony in his
official capacity as Governor, a union jack of
suitable size is carried on a staff in the bow of
the boat. The union jack at the main was the

306

"Be

enacted, etc., That from and after the

first day of May, one thousand seven hundred
and ninety-five, the flag of the United States
be fifteen stripes, alternate red and white, and
that the Union be fifteen stars, white in a blue
it

field."

In this flag the stars were arranged in three

parallel rows of five each, with the blue field
resting on the fifth red stripe. This was the
national flag for twenty-three years. It was in
use during the war of 1812, and, in September,
1814, waving over Fort McHenry, it inspired
Francis Scott Key to write the "Star Spangled
Banner." Key was aide to General Smith at

Baltimore and had gone aboard H. M. S. Minden in the harbor to arrange an exchange of
prisoners.
While being detained pending the
bombardment on the morning of September
14, 1814, he wrote the anthem.
The arrangement of the stars in the Fort
McHenry flag is the navy arrangement, that
particular flag of immense size having been
specially made by Mrs. Mary Pickerskill under
the direction of Commodore Barry and General Striker.
The flag is now in the National
Museum at Washington (see page 289). The
missing star is said to have been cut out and
sent to President Lincoln.
This is the flag that encouraged our brave
lads in our war against the Barbary pirates.
It was the first ensign to be hoisted over a fort
of the Old World. On April 27, 1805, after a

wmtm
r*

Hill
_tMis*"!-

Of

Mar

iL

i*5i

iri

Ur.derwood & Underwood

GUAKD TO THE STANDARD

On

from which the regimental standard floats, are

in which" that regiment has played its heroic
therefore,
epitomizes
the glorious .past of its command, and the men
Each standard,
part.
waves
would
their
lives
gjadly give
rather than have these shining symbols of
over whom it
victory tarnished by defeat (see page 308).
silver bands,

encircling the lance

engraved the names; and dates of the battles

bombardment of the

batteries and the town of

Derne, Tripoli, by the Hornet, Nautilus,, and
Argus, the landing party of marines and bluejackets stormed the principal works, and Lieutenant O'Bannon o:f the marines and Midshipman Mann hauled down the Tripolitan flag and

hoisted the fifteen stars and fifteen stripes in

its place.

was our ensign in the Battle of Lake Erie

and was first carried in a man-ofwar by Captain Porter in the Essex, around
Cape of Good Hope, August, 1800, and by
Commodore Porter in the Essex around Cape
Horn on his famous cruise in 1813. It was the
flag flown by Jackson at New Orleans.
It

(see 366')

8.
The requirement that a new stripe be
added to the flag for each new State, however,
soon proved embarrassing-, with the result that
U. S. Congress on April 4, 1818, decided to

return to the original design of thirteen stripes,

and passed the f ollowing law
"Sec. 1. Be it enacted, etc., That from and

after after. the fourth day of July next the flag

of the United States be thirteen horizontal
stripes, alternate red and white; that the union
have twenty stars, white, on a blue field.
"Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That on the
admission of every new State into the Union
one star be added to the union of the flag, and
that such addition shall take effect on the 4th

of July next succeeding such admission."

Twenty-eight States having been admitted
since the enactment of this law. our flag now
contains 48 stars. There have been numerous
laws enacted concerning die flag since that
time, but none of them has departed from the
fundamental principles of the lav/ of 1818.
It is interesting to note that the army for
many decades did not carry the Stars and
Stripes in battle, though it was used as a garrison flag. The land forces carried what was
known as national colors, or standards, of blue,
with the coat-of-arms of the United States,
comprising an eagle surmounted by a. number

3"7

The

of stars, emblazoned thereon, with the designation of the body of troops (see 22).
In 1834 War Department regulations gave
the artillery the right to carry the Stars and
Stripes. The infantry still used the design of
22 until 1841, and the cavalry until 1887, when
that branch of the army was ordered to carry
the Stars and Stripes. The history of the flag
indicates that the Stars and Stripes were not
officially carried by troops in battle until the
period of the Mexican War, 1846-1847.

be used for the purpose.

The names and dates of battles in which

regiments or separate battalions have participated are engraved on silver bands and placed
on the pike of the colors or lance of the standard of the regiment or separate battalion, as
the case may be.
For this purpose only the
names of those battles which conform to the
following definition are considered, viz Battles are important engagements between independent armies in their own theaters of war,
in contradistinction to conflicts in which but a
small portion of the opposing forces are actually engaged, the latter being called, according
to their nature, affairs, combats, skirmishes,

THE ARMY FLAGS

The flags used by the United States Army
to designate its several branches are divided
The
into two classes colors and standards.
colors are used by unmounted troops and the
standards by mounted forces. The principal
difference between them is that the standards
are smaller and have no cords and tassels, because large flags and cords and tassels would
hinder the movements of the mounted standard-bearer.
Every regiment of engineers, artillery, infantry, cavalry, etc., is supplied with one silk national standard or color (17) and one silk

and the like.

The names and dates of battles which it is
proposed to have engraved on the silver bands
are submitted to the War Department, which
decides each case on its merits.
At least two companies, troops, or batteries
of a regiment or separate battalion must have

regimental standard or color(n, 13, 15, 18, etc.).

The silk national and regimental colors or
standards are carried in battle, campaign, and
on all occasions of ceremony at regimental
headquarters in which two or more companies
of the regiment participate.
The official designation of the regiment is
engraved on a silver band placed on the pike
or lance.
When not in use, colors and standards are
kept in their waterproof cases.
In garrison the standards or colors, when
not in use, are kept in the office or quarters of
the colonel and are escorted thereto and therefrom by the color guard. In camp the colors
or standards, when not in use, are displayed
in front of the colonel's tent, the national color
or standard on the right. From reveille to retreat, when the weather permits, they are uncased; from retreat to reveille and during inclement weather they are cased.
In action the position of the standards or
colors will be indicated by the colonel, who
may, through their display, inspire enthusiasm
and maintain the morale. He may, however,
hold them back when they might indicate to
the enemy the direction of the main attack,
betray the position of the main body, or tend
to commit the regiment to defensive action.
In the presence of the enemy and during the
"approach" the standards are carried cased,
ready to be instantly broken out if their in-

participated in a battle in order that the name

of the battle may be placed on its colors or
standards.
company, troop, or battery does not receive credit for having participated in a battle
unless at least one-half of its actual strength

was engaged.
The Adjutant General of the Army furnishes
each company, troop, and battery with a suitably

it

is

assembled.

engrossed

names of

all

certificate setting
battles, engagements,

forth

the

and minor

affairs in which said company, troop, or battery participated, with the dates thereof, and
showing, as nearly as may be, the organiza-

tions of the United States troops engaged

therein, and against what enemy.
This certificate states that the names and dates of these
battles are engraved on silver bands on the
pike of the colors of the regiment or battalion,

spiration is required.
In addition to the handsome silk flags, a
national color or standard made of bunting or
other suitable material, but in all other respects similar to the silk national color or
standard, is furnished to each battalion or
squadron of each regiment.
These colors and standards are, for use at
other
drills and on marches, and on all service
than battles, campaigns, and occasions of ceremony. Not more than one national color or
standard is carried when the regiment or any

part of

colors of a regiment will not be placed

mourning or draped, except when ordered

from the War Department. Two streamers of
crape 7 feet long and about 12 inches wide attached to the ferrule below the spearhead will
in

or the lance of the standard of the regiment

or battalion, as the case may be, excepting in
the case of companies which have no regimental or battalion organization.
This certificate is suitably framed and kept
posted in the barracks of the company, troop,
or battery.
Whenever in the opinion ,of a commanding
officer the condition of any silk color, standard, or guidon in the possession of his command has become unserviceable, the same is
forwarded to the depot quartermaster, PhilaShould
delphia, Pa., for repair, if practicable.
it be found that its condition does not warrant
the expenditure of funds that may be involved,
the depot quartermaster returns to the officer
from whom received and furnishes a new
color, standard, or guidon.
Upon receipt of new silk colors, standards,
or guidons, commanding officers cause those
replaced to be numbered and retained by the
organisation to which they belong as mementos
of service, a synopsis of which, bearing the
same number, will be filed with the records of
the organization.

308

The President's colors in design are simg.

ilar to the President's flag afloat (2), but are
made of silk, with heavy silk embroidery and
bordered with gold and silver fringe, with red,
white, and blue cord and tassels, and a gold
eagle on the pike.
The colors are displayed
when the President is in the presence of troops
as commander-in-chief.
10.
The colors of the Secretary of War are
used in the same manner as the President's
colors when the war minister is the ranking
official in the presence of troops.
11.
The infantry colors are carried by the
several regiments, each with its own particular
designation on the scroll below the eagle.
12.
The Assistant Secretary of War's colors
are used in the same way as those of the Secretary of War when he is the ranking official

present.
13.

The

colors of the coast artillery corps

have a red field, where those of the infantry

have blue otherwise they are the same as the
;

infantry colors, except for the yellow scroll

and the crossed cannon.
The Chief of Staff has colors with a
14.
field made up of a red and a white triangle,
the red triangle having its base on the staff.
On the center is the familiar spread eagle of
the national coat-of-arms imposed upon a large
white star; a small white star on the red and
a red star on the white complete the design,
except for golden fringe, cord, and tassels.
This flag is flown when the Chief of Staff is
in the presence of troops the ranking officer.
The engineer colors are red, the lettered
15.
scroll being white, bearing above it the engineer device, a castellated fort.
The colors of the corps of cadets dis16.
penses with the familiar red and blue for a
Instead
field, gray being substituted therefor.
of the coat-of-arms there is an escutcheon
bearing the national colors, with a cap of Mars

on

the; field,

and surmounted by an

eagle.

The

cadet colors are fringed with yellow and black

and gray.
The national standard used by mounted
17.
troops and the national colors used by unmounted troops are exactly alike, except that
the colors are larger and have cords and tassels, as on the President's colors.
18.
The cavalry standard has a field of yellow and, except in size, is otherwise like the
infantry colors, without cords or tassels.
The field artillery standard is like the
19.
coast artillery colors, except that the crossed
cannon between the eagle and the scroll are
omitted.
The mounted engineers' standard has
20.
the castellated fort to distinguish it.
21.
The standard of the United States Signal Corps is distinguished by the wig-wag flags
between the eagle and the lettered scroll.
22.
This is the national standard as used by
our light artillery in the War of 1812. The
artillery did not carry the Stars and Stripes
until 1834, the infantry until 1841, and the cavalry until 1887.

This is the guidon used by each troop

23.
of cavalry. The figure shows the regiment and
the letter the troop.
The guidon of the field artillery is dis24.
tinguished by crossed cannons.

The word "Mounted" above

25.

fort

lated

proclaims the mounted

the castelengineers'

guidon.

The guidon

26.

of the mounted

engineer

section does not have the panel bearing the

word "Mounted."
The signal corps guidon bears
27.

wag

the wig-

flags.

28.
The aero squadron's guidon duplicates
that of the signal corps, except that the flying
eagle is added.
Telegraph company guidons show the
29.
wig-wag flags with a thunderbolt.
This triangular pennant serves as the
30.
guidon of the motor-truck company.
The field hospital guidon bears the ca31.
duceus of Hermes given him by Apollo and
supposed to be a magic wand which exercises
influence over living and dead.
This guidon
is lettered "F, H."
Ambulance companies have a guidon
32.
like that of the field hospital service, except
that the lettering is different.
The field hospital flag is the familiar
33.
red cross on the white field.
rectangle below shows the night signal.
The guidon of the cavalry and light ar34.
tillery during the Civil War.
Prior to that
war the cavalry used 23, and on the adoption
of 34 General Sheridan made 23 his personal

Upon becoming Secretary of War he

34 from use and restored 23 as the
guidon of the cavalry as it had been prior to
the great conflict.
When a lieutenant general of the army
35.
is in an automobile or aboard a boat officially
the three-starred flag of command is shown.
The auto and boat flag of a major gen36.
eral is like that of the lieutenant general, except that it has two stars instead of three.
The brigadier general's automobile and
37.
boat flag bears the one star of the brigadier's
colors.
retired

rank.

The chief umpire in military maneuvers

38.
in times of peace bears a flag with a saltire
upon

it, like that of St. Andrew.

The flag of an artillery district commander bears crossed cannons with a shell im-

cross
39.

posed upon the intersection.

The
bow

flag of a post commander carried

of a boat in which he is embarked
officially is a pennant with thirteen stars in the
blue, with a red fly.
The ambulance flag is a white field and
41.
a red cross. The night signal is shown below
the flag.
The ammunition trains of the United
42.
States Army display a triangular pennant,
which is accorded the right of way in time of
40.
in the

battle.

The camp colors' of an army are 18 by

43.
20 inches and displayed on an ash pole 8 feet
long and i l/& inches diameter.
The white field with its centered cross
44.
proclaims the chaplain. This flag is used for
field service only.
The transports under Quartermaster's
45.
Corps, U. S. Army, fly this flag.
This is the distinguishing flag of mine46.
planters and submarine defense vessels under
army control. It consists of a field bearing

309

********
********
********
********
********
********

U. S.

FLAG AND ENSIGN

PRESIDENTS FLAG

*****
********
********
********
********
********
JACK

FLAG MAY

1795

(FT IVIcHENRY FLAG)

310

AG JULY

4.

1818

CORPS OF CADETS COLORS

ENGINEER COLORS
311

UNITED STATES ENSIGN

RFD

R%D

jdl
fl

No.

^iy-;

thereon crossed cannons and a mine, with the

words "Submarine Defense."

60.
Vessels of the naval militia display this
flag at the fore mast as a distinguishing mark

47. Army vessels engaged in the ordnance

service fly this distinguishing flag.
Vessels in the engineer service fly flags
48.
bearing as a distinguishing mark the castelfort
which is the emblem of the Engilated

The

neer Corps.

The flag of the Secretary of the Navy

49.
consists of a blue field bearing four white
stars, one in each corner, and a centered anchor. When that official is aboard any vessel
of the navy his flag is displayed at the main
mast and when on a boat it is displayed from
a

bows.
This is the major commission pennant
of the United States Navy. It is flown at the
staff in its

50.

main mast of

of the larger ships of the navy

as long as they are in commission, except when
they have an officer above the rank of captain
aboard, when the flag of command takes its
all

place.

51. The seven-star pennant is flown by the

lesser ships of the navy when in commission,
such as submarines and other small craft. It
is used by' captains of ships as their pennant,
and is carried in the bows of boats on which

they are embarked on an

official visit.

The

national colors of the United States

Marine Corps bear on the middle stripe of red
the words "U. S. Marine Corps." Regiments
carry them together with the regimental colors.
53. The flag of the Assistant Secretary of
the Navy is white with blue stars and blue
anchor, an interchange of the colors of the
Secretary's flag.
It is displayed at the main
mast when the Assistant Secretary is the ranking officer present.
This pennant is carried by vessels of
54.
the naval militia while in commission and is
displayed at the main mast, unless the commanding officer has the rank of commodore,
when 73 replaces the pennant.
55. The colors of the United States Marine
Corps are kept at headquarters in Washington.
They bear in Latin the motto, "Always faith52.

ful."

56. The flag of the United States naval reserve *is displayed on vessels which have been
given a certificate that they belong to the reserve forces.
57. When the navy lands its men as infantry for shore duty, they carry a blue flag upon
which is centered a diamond of white, bearing
a blue anchor.
When an Ambassador of the United
58.
States goes aboard a vessel of the navy on
official business the boat upon which he is embarked bears in its bow the navy jack. The
jack is also used by the naval governors of
Guam, Tutuila, and the Virgin Islands of the
United States when afloat within their jurisdiction. The jack is nearly always the canton
of a nation's ensign when the latter has a canton as one of its features.
The regimental colors of the United
59.
States Marine Corps has a field of blue upon
which is imposed an anchor, and over this the
Western Hemisphere surmounted by the American spread-eagle.
Scrolls of red above and
below the design proclaim the number of the
regiment and the name of the corps.

flag consists of a blue

ground, a yellow

diamond imposed thereon, bearing the

blue

anchor of the navy.

61. When the navy lands artillery battalions for shore duty the flag they carry has s
red field, with a centered diamond of white
upon which appears a red anchor.
62.
The colors of the United States Naval
Academy have a blue field, gold fringe, and a
centered white diamond, bearing an anchor in
white and blue. These colors are carried with
the national colors by the regiment of mid-

shipmen.

The colors of the United States Marine

63.
Corps carried between 1830 and 1850 had a
white field, gold fringe, and bore an elaborate
design in the center, at the top of which was
"From the Shores op Tripoli to
the Halls of Montezuma," having reference
the legend,

engagements the marines participated in

the beginning of the Tripolitan War and
the ending of the War with Mexico.
The flag of the senior admiral of the
64.
navy is blue and bears four stars in the form
of a cross. This flag is displayed at the main
mast of the admiral's flagship, taking the place
of the commission pennant (50) used on vessels other than flagships.
It, along with those
of the vice admiral, rear admiral, and commodore, is called a flag of command. The flags
used today correspond to the Gadsden flag
(398) flown by Esek Hopkins when he took
command of the navy at Philadelphia, Decemto the

from

ber

3,

65.
stars.

1775.

The

66.

67.

The

flag of the vice admiral has three

rear admiral's flag has two stars.

flag of a commodore has one stai
and is a burgee. There are no commodores in
active service in the American navy, although
there are several on the retired list. That grade
has been abolished from the naval service.
68.
When vessels of the navy are togethet
and no flag officer is present, the senior officer
hoists at the starboard main yard arm a blue
triangular pennant as a badge of command.
The flag of the Major General Com69.
mandant of the Marine Corps has a red field
with two white stars in the lower half and
above them the eagle-crested hemisphere imposed upon an anchor which is the emblem of
the corps.
junior admiral in the presence of a
70.
senior flies a flag similar to that of the senior
admiral, with the exception that the field is
red instead of blue.
junior vice admiral in the presence
71.
of a senior vice admiral flies a red flag bearing the three stars of his rank.
Rear admirals of junior grade fly a red
72.
flag bearing two stars while in the presence of
rear admirals senior to them.
The commodore of the Naval Militia
73.
carries a broad pennant, the upper half blue
and the lower half yellow, on the blue half of
which appears a five-pointed star.
When a consul goes aboard a vessel of
74.
the navy on official business, a blue flag with a
centered letter "C" inclosed in a circle of thir-

313

A
A

ADM IRA

(SENIOR!

70

ADMIRAL
(JUNIOR!

65VICE ADMIRAL 66REAR ADMIRAL

'lUVICE

ADMIRAL 72REAR ADMIRAL

67

73
,

COMMODORE

COMMODORE

68

SENIOR
OFFICER
PRESENT

69

MAJ GENL
U S M C

[74

CONSULAR

75

BRIG

NAVAL MILITIA^

99

GUIDOf!
U S

315

GENL

teen white stars

in

which he
IS-

The

is

tlies

in

the

bows of

the boat

embarked.

flag of a brigadier general of the

United States Marine Corps is similar to that

of a major general (69), except that it carries
one star instead of two.
The flag of the commander of a de76.
stroyer flotilla is a swallow-tail pennant of
plain white bordered above and below with
blue.

The commander of a submarine force

77.
has a triangular swallow-tail pennant bordered
above with blue and below with red.
The commanders of district patrol
78.
forces carry a swallow-tail pennant having a
white field bordered by red above and below.
Section commanders of the patrol force
79.
carry a smaller duplicate of 78, with the number of the section in Roman numerals thereon.
r
79 A- The division commander of the patrol
force carries a red-bordered white triangular
pennant with the number of the division in
Arabic notation.
80. When submarines are operating in times
of peace a submarine warning flag is flown on
their tenders, while the submarine itself bears
on one of its periscopes a small metal flag of
the

same

81.

design.

The boat

This is the flag under which the marine

87.
corps moves quartermaster's supplies for its

men.
88.
The interrogatory flag is used in signaling when one ship wants to make a signal in
the interrogatory form or to announce that it
does not understand a signal.
The preparatory flag is displayed with
89.
a signal in order that preparations may be
made to execute the signal itself uniformly and
simultaneously.
When the signal alone is
hauled down, the ships having made ready,
execute the signal.
It is also hoisted when
the ceremony of hoisting the colors in the
morning and taking it in at sunset is the next
thing on the program. It is raised five minutes before the ceremony begins.
Upon being
hauled down by the flagship, all ships execute
the colors ceremony simultaneously.
This flag is displayed either to counter90.
mand the last signal made or the one then being shown.
This pennant has two uses. Its first use
91.
is in answering a call for a semaphore or wigwag message, being hoisted half way when the
ship is ready to receive the message, and all
the way when the message has been completely
It is then hauled down.
Used thus,
might be said to be the "Aye, aye, sir" flag

received.
flag of a post

commander

of
the United States Marine Corps is a triangular
pennant of blue and red, blue at the hoist and
red in the fly, with thirteen white stars on the
blue and the insignia of the Marine Corps on
the red.
82.
Destroyer division commanders carry a
white triangular pennant bordered with blue,
with their numbers indicated on the white field.
The flag of a division commander of
83.
the submarine force is a white triangle bordered with blue at the top and red below,
showing the number of the division in red on
the white.
The battle efficiency pennant is one of
84.
the most coveted trophies of the American
navy.
There is one for each class of ships,
such as battleships, destroyers, and submarines.
The ship of a given class which, during the
preceding year, has shown by her practice and
performance the ability to hit most often and
quickest, to steam the farthest with the least
expenditure of fuel, water, etc., to run longest
without breakdown, and which otherwise gives
evidence that she might be expected to give a
better account of herself in a battle than any
other vessel of her class, is awarded the privilege of flying the battle efficiency pennant during the ensuing year.
There is the keenest
rivalry between the competing vessels of a
class, and this little red triangular flag with
the black disk is prized next to victory in battle itself.

This flag is flown by vessels engaged in

85.
convoy duty. When ships are engaged in maneuvers or are maneuvering in compound formation, this pennant is an indication to the
other vessels of the division to take bearing
and distance from the ship bearing it.
86. Hospital ships fly the Red Cross flag, and
under international law they are immune from
attack, unless it can be shown that the ship
flying it fails to respect all of the provisions
of the international compact made at Geneva.

316

it

Its other use is as a decimal or

divisional flag in flags indicating numerals and
quantities.

of the navy.

This is the "No" flag of the navy. It

used to negative a request, or to say "No"

92.
is

to a question.

The brigade pennant of

93.

the

United

Marine Corps has a swallow-tailed blue

with the number of the brigade and the

States
field,

of the corps in gold.

a ship asks permission of the
flagship .to do this or that, the force commander hoists this flag with the number distinguishing the vessel making the request, as a
sign that it has been granted.
The yellow flag, as is well known, is
95.
the one which proclaims that there is contagious disease aboard.
This flag has two uses. Hoisted at the
96.
main mast, it means that the vessel displaying
it is engaged on dispatch duty.
It is always
carried in a roll at the fore mast of vessels in
formation, so that it can be displayed, or
"broken out," as the sailors say, instantly, to
indicate an accident or derangement on board
that vessel and to warn other ships to keep
clear.
Hoisted half way, clear of the smokestack, it indicates a man overboard.
The church pennant is always displayed
97.
when divine services on board are in progress.
The cornet flag, displayed at the yard
98.
arm, calls all vessels present to receive a semaphore or wig-wag message. Displayed at the
fore mast, it is notice to all officers and men
to come on board at once.
The guidon of the United States Marine
99.
Corps has a blue field, is gold fringed, and
bears in gold on the field the initials of the
initials

94.

corps.
100.

When

This

flag,

displayed with 101, 102, 103,

108, no, and in, indicates

that they represent in value the numerals given
104,

105,

106,

below them.

107,

If those flags are not displayed

in connection with ioo, they

ings, both in the navy code

Three-flag signals are general signals, including compass signals and signals designating
moneys, measures and weights, decimals and
fractions, auxiliary phrases, etc.
Four-flag signals are geographical, alphabetical spelling table, or vessels numbers sig-

have other meanand in the inter-

national code.

Displayed with a numeral signal, this

the boat which has been assigned
that particular number to return to the ship.
Displayed alone, it recalls all boats then absent
109.

flag

summons

from the ship on which it is flying.

112.
These are the semaphore flags used

nals.

198-205. These are yacht flags, indicating

respectively the absence of the owner, the presence of guests, the owner's dinner, the crew's

in

the navy.
These are the wig-wag flags used in
113.
signal operations ashore and afloat.
114-115-116. These pennants are used to
repeat the first, second, and third flags in the

meal, etc.
206-209. These figures show how the dots
and dashes of the United States army and navy
wig-wag code are made by flag-wavers (see
illustration on another page).
210-212. These are the semaphore flags of
the United States army, the boy scouts, and
the British forces. The boy scouts of America, several hundred thousand strong, and tens
of thousands of boys who do not belong to
that organization, are fast learning to communicate with one another by means of flags.
213.
A ship wishing to make a signal hoists
her ensign (1 for United States, 829 for Great
Britain, 743 for France, etc.) with this code
flag under it (see note under 172-197).
214-217. These figures show the numbering
and coloring of buoys as seen coming from
the sea, and illustrated by the alliteration "red,
right, returning."
218-219. These figure's represent respectively the masthead light required by the international rules of the road for steam trawlers
and the area required to be covered by the
starboard and port running lights, the masthead and optional range lights, and the stern
lights of steam vessels.
220-223. These are the day signals for a
pilot, the first being the jack, in this case the
United States jack, at the fore, the next two
flags showing the signal P. T. and S. respectively, and the third the distance signal, consisting of balls and cone.
224-229. Signals of distress include the S.
0. S. call three dots, three dashes, and three
continuous
dots the inverted ensign, etc.
sounding with any fog signal is also a signal
of distress.
Night pilot signals include flashes of
230.
one minute duration at frequenting intervals,
or a blue light showing every fifteen minutes.
231-233. Night signals of distress are made
through gun fire at intervals of one minute, by
flames from a tar or oil barrel, rockets, or

hoist.

This is a pennant very much in use,

117.
and when a ship is at anchor especially welcome to the crew. It is the meal signal. When
a ship is under way it indicates that the vessel
is making more than standard speed for some
When hoisted below the
purpose or other.
admiral's flag on his flagship, it indicates that
that officer is about to leave.
118. This pennant is displayed from the
yard arm of a flag officer's ship when he is
absent.
The powder flag is displayed at the
119.
fore, mast when a ship is taking on board
powder or munitions. It is also carried in
boats and lighters used in transporting ammunition.

120-171. These flags are used in designating

various divisions and ships of the naval forces.

INTERNATIONAL CODE OF SIGNALS

The international code of signals

universal dictionary which makes
communication everywhere intelligible,' regardless of the tongue spoken by those using it.
ship using a signal book printed in English
can communicate with a vessel using a book
printed in French or Italian as easily as if the
second ship were using an English book.
The international code of signals consists of
twenty-six flags one for each letter of the
alphabet and a code pennant.
By means of
these flags 375,000 different signals can be
made. This code was adopted by international
agreement in January, 1901, and is almost entirely based on a system of signaling by flags
devised by the British Government in 1856.
The code consists of nineteen square flags
(179-197), two burgee flags (172-173), and five
pennants (174-178) and the code or answering
pennant (2T3).
When hoisted under the ensign (1 for
United States, 829 for Great Britain, 743 for
France, etc.), the code pennant (213) denotes
a signal taken from the international code.
When hoisted by itself at the masthqad, or
where it can best be seen, it is the answering
pennant.
One-flag signals are for use only between
is

172-197.
a great

vessels towing and being towed.

The flag is
then exhibited by being held in the hand or by
hoisting' at the stay or fore shrouds or to the
gaff, according to circumstances.
Two-flag signals are '-urgent and important
signals, and are made by the code pennant over
one flag, or by combinations of any two flags
AB to ZY.

bombs.
COAST GUARD SIGNALS

317

234-238. All manned Coast Guard stations

of the United States are equipped with international code flags, and are prepared to send
or receive signals in that code or by means of
the International Morse Code.
Practically all
the stations are provided with means of telephonic communication through which the telegraph lines may be reached.
The following signals, recommended by the
International Marine Conference for adoption
by all institutions for saving life from wrecked
vessels, have been adopted by the Coast Guard
of the United States
Upon the discovery of a wreck by night, the
station crew will burn a red pyrotechnic light

FORCE COM'DRS

318

INTERNATIONAL

CODE
FLAGS

ooo
FRENCH
U S

241

INFANTRY

24-2
242

BRITISH
BRIT ~

L_

243

^ 244
BELGIUM

COMPANY SIGNAL FLAGS

C

RUSSIA
uifl
MILITIA
r^ ^i

GERMANY
TURKE
*^
Awn VOLUNTEERS
imtftrc
AND
\/r~ii

or a red rocket to signify,

sistance will be given as
(234)-

light,

"You

mast on holidays, on occasions of official ceremonies, when entering a port after an extended
voyage, and at any other time when the national ensign is hoisted. At no time should a
service flag be displayed without the national
ensign.
These flags are shown as follows:

are seen; as-

soon as possible"

red flag waved on shore by day, or a red

red rocket, or red roman candle displayed

by night, will signify, "Haul away" (235).

A white flag waved on shore by day, or a
white light swung slowly back and forth, or a
white rocket or white roman candle fired by
night, will signify, "Slack away" (236).
Two flags, a white and a red, waved at the
same time on shore by day, or two lights, a
white and a red, slowly swung at the same
time, or a blue pyrotechnic light burned by
night, will signify, "Do not attempt to land in
your own boats; it is impossible" (237).
A man on shore beckoning by day, or two
torches burning near together by night, will
signify, "This is the best place to land" (238).
Any of these signals may be answered from
the vessel as follows In the day-time, by waving a flag, a handkerchief, a hat, or even the
hand; at night, by firing a rocket, a blue light,
or a gun, or by showing a light over the ship's
gunwale for a short time and then concealing

268, 272, 276, 280.

266. The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury has the same flag as the Secretary of the
Treasury, except that the colors are transposed. His flag is never flown in the presence
of the flag of his ranking officer, 262.

267. The pennant of the U. S. Coast Guard

has thirteen stars and vertical red and white
stripes.
It was adopted in 1799, and is always
displayed by Coast Guard cutters in commission.
In time of war the Coast Guard operates -as part of the U. S. Navy and wears the
commission pennant of the navy.
268. The service flag of the Bureau of
Navigation, with its white ship in a red disc
on a blue ground is flown by all vessels of the
Navigation Service during daylight hours.
269. The flag of the Commissioner of Navigation is blue, bearing a full-rigged ship in
white in the center. It is flown on Department
of Commerce vessels when the Commissioner
of Navigation is on board.
270. The flag of the Customs Service is the
same as that of the Coast Guard, except that

it.

239-246. The insignia of the airplanes of

The
the various countries "are" here shown.
United States makes use of the five-pointed
star, Great Britain still retains her three crosses
of the union jack, Germany marks hers with
the Prussian black cross, and Turkey displays
the familiar star and crescent.
248-253. These represent the company signal flags of the U. S. infantry and of the
militia and volunteers.
254-261. Distinguishing flags and lanterns
}f

army headquarters.
The flag of the Secretary of

262.
ury,

who

is

the Treas-

Commander-in-Chief of the Coast

Guard and Public Health

field

the badge of the latter is omitted.

271. The jack of the Coast Guard Service
is a reproduction of the canton of the ensign
of the same service. The jack of the Coast
Guard is used only at parades on shore. Since
the national ensign has been used as the ensign of the Coast Guard, the old Coast Guard
ensign is used only as a distinguishing flag,
and the only jack displayed on vessels of the

Service, has a blue

with crossed anchors in white centered

thereon, the design surrounded by thirteen

This flag is flown
white five-pointed stars.
when the Secretary of the Treasury is aboard
service.
vessels of the Treasury
263. The U. S. Coast Guard flag was
adopted in 1799 for the Revenue Cutter Service, now merged with the Life Saving Service
The sixteen vertical
into the Coast Guard.
stripes proclaim the sixteen States that were
in
the Union at the time the design was
adopted
its red eagle, with the stars above
the escutcheon on its breast, bespeaks the
Federal service. The badge on the seventh red
stripe bears a shield surrounded by the motto,
''Semper Paratus 1790" (Always prepared). It
appears on the flag to show that it represents
The same flag without the
the Coast Guard.
badge denotes the custom houses of the United
States.
In time of war the Coast Guard operates as a part of the United States Navy and
then uses the flags and pennants of the naval
;

md

service.

the arms on the

Secretary and Assistant Secretary
of Commerce are identical, except for the
It is taken from the
transposition of colors.
official seal of the department and shows on
the upper part of the escutcheon a ship at full
sail and on the lower part a lighthouse illumined. The service flag is hoisted at the fore

264-265.

flags of the

The design of

Coast Guard is 4.
272.
white fish on a red diamond imposed upon a blue ground constitutes the flag
flown by the. vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries.
It was adopted in 1896.
273. The Commissioner of Fisheries has
one of the newest flags in the Federal service
It is a blue banner with a white fish in the
center and was adopted July 22, 1913.
The flag of the U. S. Public Health
274.
Service was adopted in 1894. It is the international yellow quarantine flag with the service shield thereon.
The fouled anchor stands
for the seamen in need of assistance, and the
caduceus represents the herald or physician
who is to bring restored health.
275. This is the flag of the senior officer
present, and is flown in the Coast Guard to
indicate that the ship which displays
the force commander.

it

bears

276. The flag of the Bureau of Lighthouses

a white triangular pennant, red bordered,
and bearing in the white field, parallel with
the staff and next to it, a blue lighthouse.
277. The flag of the Commissioner of
Lighthouses has the white field and blue lighthouse of the service flag placed upon a square
is

field

of Ijlue.

The Surgeon General of the U. S.

Public Health Service flies a flag of blue, bearing the fouled anchor, of the official shield of
the service. The design is white.

320

278.

279- Coast Guard cutters patrolling the

anchorage grounds of the large harbors of the
United States fly at their jackstaff a flag of
white upon which is imposed a blue anchor.
280.
The service flag of the Coast and Geodetic Survey consists of a blue field upon
which is imposed a disc of white, bearing
within its circumference a triangle of red.
281.
The Superintendent of the Coast and
Geodetic Survey has a flag with a blue field
bearing a white triangle on the half next to
the staff.
This triangle, which is equilateral,
proclaims the great work of fundamental surveying in United States waters, which is the
chief activity of this bureau.
282. The 30th Congress, August 7, 1848, authorized "That all such licensed yachts shall
use a signal of the form, size, and colors prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy, and the

owners thereof

shall at all times permit the

naval architects in the employ of the United
States to examine and copy'the models of said
yachts."
283-284. The commission pennants of the
Coast and Geodetic Survey are here shown.
They are flown at the main mast while the
vessels are in commission.
The Secretary of Labor has a flag upon
285.
which are the four stars that the President and
other members of his official family have on
their flags, together with the seal of the Department of Labor. This includes an escutcheon surmounted by a spread eagle, and bearing
on its field the plow and other devices which
proclaim the dignity of labor.
286. Vessels of the U. S. Immigration Service display a pennant whose field is of white,
bordered with blue and lettered with red. It
is of a swallow-tailed, triangular design
(or
burgee) and bears, in addition to the lettering,
the seal of the department to which it belongs.
287. Vessels belonging to the U. S. Postal
Service fly a red, swallow-tailed, triangular
pennant (or burgee), bordered with blue, bearing the American spread eagle and inscribed
with the words "United States Mail."
288.
The United States power-boat squadrons carry a flag like the yacht ensign, except
that it wears perpendicular blue stripes where
the yacht ensign has horizontal red ones, and
has a red canton where the yacht ensign, has
one of blue.

289-3OO.

U.

S.

WF.ATHER FORECAST FLAGS AND

STORM WARNINGS

289. white flag, indicates. clear or fair weather.

290. blue flag, indicates rain or snow.
291. white and blue flag (parallel bars of
white and blue), indicates that local rain? or
showers will occur, and that the rainfall will

292 always refers to temperature; when

placed above (289,290,291) it indicates warmei
weather when placed below it indicates colder
weather; when not displayed, the indications
are that the temperature will remain stationary,
it that the change in temperature will not vary
more than four degrees from the temperature
of the same hour of the preceding day from
March to October, inclusive, and not more than
six degrees for the remaining months of the
;

year.
293, white flag, with black square in center,
indicates the approach of a sudden and decided
fall

292

in temperature.
is

When

293

is

displayed

always omitted.

When displayed on poles the flags should be

arranged to read downward; when displayed
from horizontal supports a small streamer
should be attached to indicate the point from
which the flags are to be read.
In the United States the system of weathei
signals is very complete, information of the
approach of storms being received from various stations in the United States, and even
throughout the West Indies. These warnings
are published at the various seaports by the
display of flags by day and by lanterns at
night; also by bulletins and reports furnished
to newspapers.
Every effort is made by the
Weather Bureau of the United States Department of Agriculture to give these warnings as
early as possible at all points where they may
be of service to mariners and others.
Storm warnings are displayed by the United
States Weather Bureau at 142 stations on the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts and at 46 stations on
the Pacific coast.
red pennant
(294) Small-craft warnings.
indicates that moderately strong winds are expected.
red
(295, 296, 298, 299) Storm warnings.
flag, with a black center, indicates that a storm
of marked violence is expected.
The pennants displayed with the flags indicate the direction of the wind: Red, easterly;
white, westerly.
The pennant above the flag
indicates that the wind is expected to blow
from the northerly quadrants ; below, from

southerly quadrants.
(297) By night a red light indicates easterh
winds, and a white light below a red light westerly winds.
(300) Hurricane warnings. Two red flags,
with black centers, displayed one above the
other, indicate the expected approach of a
tropical hurricane, or one of those extremely
severe and dangerous storms which occasionally move across the Lakes and northern At-

lantic coast.

Small-craft and hurricane warnings are not

displayed at night.

not be general.

321

SECRETARY TREASURY
262

270 U S

CUSTOMS

I)

U S

COAST GUARD
263

323

|l

OUR STATE FLAGS

ON

PAGES

323 to 334, for the

time in the history of the
United States, the flags of our 48
States are reproduced in colors in one
first

publication.

The flags have been arranged in the

order that the respective States joined the
Union. If the first numeral of each number be omitted, the relative age of the
State is at once apparent; for instance,
Michigan, 326, is the twenty-sixth State
Maine, 323, the twenty-third, and Oklahoma, 346, the

forty-sixth.

Unless otherwise stated, both sides of

a flag are the same in design.

These
is

flag

emblems combine much that

and inspiring, and

beautiful, historic,

thrill the heart of every

but an observer may perhaps
wish that there was not such. a uniformity
in design.
About one-half of the States

cannot

fail to

American

A commission consisting
301. Delaware;.
of the Secretary of State, the President pro
tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, created under the
laws of Delaware, for the purpose of selecting
a State flag and colors,

made

a report in 1914,

which, while not adopted by the legislature itIt consists

self, has been accepted as official.
of a field of colonial blue, upon which is imposed a diamond of buff which bears the coatof-arms of the State of Delaware. Underneath
the diamond there appears the following in"December 7th, 1787." A flag has
scription
been recorded in the office of Recorder of
:

Deeds for Kent County and a duplicate

in the office of the Secretary of State at

filed

Dover.
of blue

302. Pennsylvania. With a field

of the- same shade as that of the flag of the
United States, the State flag of Pennsylvania,
officially described in the law of June 13, 1907,
bears the coat-of-arms of the State in the cenThe length of the staff is
ter on both sides.
nine feet, including the brass spearhead and
The fly of the flag is six feet two
ferrule.
inches and its width four feet six inches. The
edges are trimmed with knotted fringe of yelcord
low silk, two and one-half inches wide.'
with tassels attached to the spearhead is eight
feet six inches long and composed of white
and blue silk strands. The coat-of-arms of the
State consists of a shield with a ship sailing
on an ocean in the upper third, two plows in
the middle section, and three sheaves of wheat
in the lower section.
Two harnessed horses
rampant support the shield an eagle with outstretched wings forms its crest, and below it is
a streamer carrying the motto, "Virtue, Liberty

and Independence,"

325

use the same blue ground with the State

seal inscribed in the center, with the result that these flags are all so similar that
it is very difficult to distinguish one from
the other at a short distance.
Such designs as Maryland, 307 Arkansas, 325, and California, 331, etc., are
easily distinguishable at considerable dis;

tances.

Many

of these flags are soon to fly on

battlefields for the first time in
history, borne by the National Guard of
the several States, now mustered into the
Federal service.
Some of these State
emblems will receive their baptism of
fire, and to the men fighting under these
colors will be entrusted the proud distinction of winning the first silver bands
which encircle the staffs of their regimental standards, thus perpetuating the
story of each unit's worthy achievements.

European

303.

New

New

Jersey

is

Under a resolution ap1896, the flag of the State of

of buff color, having in the cen-

Jersey.

proved March,

arms of the State properly emblazoned.

This flag is the headquarters flag
of the Governor as Commander-in-Chief, but
does not supersede the distinctive flags which
are or may hereafter be prescribed for different arms of the military or naval service of
the State. When the measure was pending in
the New Jersey Legislature, a memorandum
was submitted showing why buff was chosen.
This memorandum states that in 1779 the Continental Congress by resolution authorized and
directed the Commander-in-Chief to prescribe
uniforms both as to color and facings for the
regiments of the New Jersey Continental Line.
Accordingly, General Washington in general
orders directed that the coat of such regiments
should be dark blue, faced with buff. Later it
was ordered that the flag of the State troops
should have a ground to be the color of the
facing. Thus the New Jersey flag became buff
under orders of the Father of his Country.
The memorandum also states that Washington
elected buff facings for the New York and
New Jersey troops, because New York and
New Jersey were originally settled by the
Dutch, and Jersey blue and buff figured in the
Netherlands insignia. It was displayed in view
of the combined French and American armies
in the great culminating event oi the Revolution, the capitulation of the British army under
Cornwallis at Yorktown.
304. Georgia adopted a State flag in 1879.
It has a perpendicular blue bar from top-to
bottom next to the staff, with three horizontal
bars red, white, and red.
On the blue perter thereof the

315

TE N N 55

KENTUCKY (UNOFFICIAL!
NO STATE FLAG

326

MISSOU
324

327

Rl

pendicular bar appears the coat-of-arms of the

State. This coat-of-arms has three pillars supporting an arch with the word "Constitution"
engraved thereon. The three departments of
government are supposed to be represented by
the three pillars. On the pillars are engraved
the words "Wisdom," "Justice," "Moderation,"
these words being supposed to typify the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the
State government.
305. Connecticut's colors consist of a dark
blue background, bearing the State seal in the
center. The seal has three grape vines, representing the three original colonies of Connecticut
Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield.
Beneath the vines is the State motto, "Qui
transtulit sustinet."
The Connecticut State
flag was adopted by the General Assembly in
Its dimensions are five feet six inches
1897.
by four feet four inches. The Latin inscription is a survival of the Nutmeg State's Colonial banner and, freely translated, means, "He
who brought us over sustains us."

Massachusetts.

By a law approved
of the Commonwealth bears on
one side a representation of the coat-of-arms
of the State, upon a white field, and on the
other side a blue field bearing the representation of a green pine tree against a white background. When carried as colors by troops, or
otherwise, the flag is bordered by a fringe and
surmounted by a cord and tassels, the fringe,
cord, and tassels being of golden yellow. The
staff is of white ash or wood of similar light
color, tipped with a spearhead of gilt.
The
coat-of-arms was authorized under a law of
It
consists
of
shield
having
a
blue
field,
1885.
a
with an Indian man, dressed in shirt, hunting
breeches, and moccasins, holding in his right
306.

in 1908 the flag

hand a bow and in his left hand an arrow

pointing downward, all of gold in the upper
corner of the field above his right arm is a
silver star with five points.
The crest is a
wreath of blue and gold, whereon, in gold, is
a right arm, bent at the elbow, clothed and
ruffled, with the hand grasping a broad sword.
The motto is "Ense petit placidam sub libertate
;

^uietem."

Maryland. One of the oldest flags in

307.
the world at the date of its official adoption,
the State flag of Maryland is unique in design
and striking in its history. Although it was
the flag of the proprietary government of Maryland generations before American independence was dreamed of, and has continued in use
from that day -to this, it was not officially
adopted until 1904. It represents the escutcheon
of the paternal coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore. After reciting that it is eminently fitting
that, by reason of its historic interest and
meaning, as well as for its beauty and harmony
of colors, the flag adopted should be one which
from the earliest settlement of the province to
the present time has teen known and distinguished as the flag of Maryland, the resolutions
then provide that the first- and fourth quarters
consist of six vertical bars, alternately gold and
black, with a diagonal band on which the colors
are reversed the second and third quarters
consist of a quartered field of red and white,
charged with a Greek cross, its arms terminating in trefoils, with the colors transposed, red
;

being on the white ground and white on the

and all -being represented as on the escutcheon of the present great seal of Maryland.
The flag always is to be so arranged upon the
staff as to have the black stripes on the diagonal band of the first quarter at the top of the
staff.
It is to be displayed from the State
House at Annapolis continually during the session of the General Assembly and on such
other public occasions as the Governor of the
State shall order and direct.
South Carolina's flag is reminiscent
308.
of secession times.
Following that State's
withdrawal from the Union, its legislature decided that it was a separate nation and should
have a national banner. A resolution was therefore adopted in 1861 providing that "the national flag or ensign of South Carolina should
be blue, with a golden palmetto upright upon a
white oval in the center thereof, and a white
crescent in the upper flagstaff corner of the
flag." Two days later a resolution was adopted
by the two houses providing that the white
medallion and golden palmetto be dispensed
with and in their place a white palmetto inserted. From that time to this South Carolina
has had a blue flag, with the white crescent
and the white palmetto. When the State entered the Confederate Union its national flag
became the State flag, and continues such to
this da}'.
In 1910 a law was made providing
that State flags should be manufactured in the
textile department of ClemsonCollege and sold
at approximate cost to the people.
Another
provision is that the State flag shall be displayed daily, except in rainy weather, from the
staff of the State House and every court house,
one building of the State University, and of
each State college, and upon every publicschool building except during vacation. Any
person who maltneats or desecrates a flag of
the State, wherever displayed, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction punished by a fine of not more than a hundred
dollars or imprisonment for not more than
red,

thirty days.
309.

New Hampshire had no State flag authorized and described by law until 1909. In
that year an act was adopted providing that
the flag should be blue, bearing upon its center
in suitable proportions and colors a representation of the State seal. The inscription is as
follows "Sigillum Republican Xeo Hantoniesis
1784" (Seal of the Commonwealth of New
:

Hampshire). The shield is surrounded by a

wreath of laurel leaves with nine stars interspersed. When used for military purposes, the
flag

is

to

conform to the regulations of the

Lnder this law New Hamp-

United States.

shire's flag is to

be displayed above the State

House whenever

the legislature

is

in session,

and during meetings of the Governor and council when expedient, and upon such other occasions as the Governor may designate. During
the Civil War. New Hampshire regiments carried yellow-fringed white flags, with blue and
white cords and tassels, bearing on one side
the State coat-of-arms and on the other that
of the United States.
310. "Virginia's flag is of "blue bunting,
sixteen by twenty feet, with a circular white
ground in the center, in which the seal of the

328

State is placed. The State convention of 1861

passed an ordinance providing that "the flag
of the Commonwealth shall hereafter be made
of bunting, which shall be a deep blue field,
with a circle of white in the center, upon which
shall be painted or embroidered, to show on
both sides alike, the coat-of-arms of the State
as described by the convention of 1776, for one
side (obverse) of the seal of the State." This
seal portrays Virtus, the genius of the Commonwealth, dressed like an Amazon, resting on
a scale at one hand and holding a sword in the
other, treading on Tyranny, represented by a
man prostrate, a crown fallen from his head,
a broken chain in his left hand, and a scourge
in his right.
In the exergue the word "Virginia" appears over the head of Virtus, and
underneath the words "Sic semper tyrannis"
(Thus ever to tyrants). The seal of Virginia
was prepared by a committee of which Richard

the letter

"C"

school hours, and at such other times as school

authorities may direct."
When the weather
does not permit the flag's display in the open
it is placed conspicuously in the principal room
in the school-house.

312.

North Carolina.

The

law prescrib-

ing the present State flag was enacted in 1885.

It provides that the flag shall consist of a blue
union containing in the center a white star with

in gilt on the left and the

on the right of the star, the

letter

circle

containing this design being one-third of the

union.
The fly of the flag consists of two
equally proportioned bars, the upper red and
the lower white. The length of the bar horizontally is equal to the perpendicular length of
the union. The total length of the flag is onethird more than the width.
A law enacted in
1907 provides that the State flag shall be flown
above every State institution and public building except in inclement weather. It also provides that the several Boards of Supervisors
of the counties shall either display the flag on
the court-house staff or drape it behind the
judge's stand. These Boards may display the
flag on such public occasions as they deem
proper.
313. Rhode Island. Although some au-

thorities believe that the stars of the American

colors originated in Rhode Island's colonial
colors (see also 396), it was not until 1877
that this State came to have an official flag.
The flag law was revised in 1882, and again in
1897, when the existing banner was established.
It is of white, five feet six inches fly, and four
feet ten inches deep, on a pike, bearing on each
side in the, center a gold anchor twenty-two
inches high, and underneath it a blue ribbon

Henry Lee and George Mason were members,

and was adopted on the fifth day of July, 1776,
one day after the Declaration of Independence
was proclaimed.
311.
New York adopted its present State
flag in 1909. The law provides that it shall be
blue, charged with the arms of the State in the
These arms, dating from March 16,
center.
1778, rival in beauty the insignia of any other

On the
State in the Union (see also 394).
shield is the sun rising in golden splendor behind a range of three mountains. At the base
of the central mountain a ship and sloop are
shown under sail, about to meet on a river
bordered by a grassy shore.
An American
eagle with outspread wings, rising from a globe
showing the north Atlantic Ocean with outlines
of its shores, forms the crest.
The shield is
supported on the right by a blue-robed figure
of Liberty, her hair flowing and decorated with
In her right hand she
a coronet of pearls.
holds a staff crowned with a Phrygian cap of
gold. At her feet a royal crown is cast. The
figure on the left is golden - robed Justice,
crowned with pearls, her eyes bound, and in
her left hand the familiar scales. On a scroll
beneath the shield is the motto, "Excelsior."
No State has been more careful in guarding
the national flag, as well as its own emblem,
from desecration or improper use than the Empire Commonwealth. Its laws are most explicit
and far-reaching in providing penalties for the
misuse of official flags for advertising purposes,
or for defacing, trampling upon, or mutilating
State and national colors and standards.
To
stimulate patriotism and reverence for the national flag, the New York legislature has directed that "it shall be the duty of the school
authorities of every public school in the several cities and "chool districts of the State to
purchase a United States flag, flagstaff, and
necessary appliances, and to display such flag
upon or near the public-school building during

"N"

in gilt

twenty-four inches long and five inches wide,

or in these proportions, with the motto,
"Hope," in gold letters thereon, the whole surrounded by thirteen golden stars in a circle.
The flag is edged with yellow fringe. The
pike is surmounted by a spear head, its length
being nine feet, not including the spear head.
The flag of 1877 used blue for anchor, motto,
and stars, red for the scroll, and white for the
field.
That of 1882 had a blue field in which a
golden anchor and thirteen golden stars were
centered. The flag of 1877 had as many stars
as States, but the later flags went back to the
original thirteen.
314. Vermont's flag, adopted in 1862, consists of thirteen stripes, alternately red and
white, with a canton of blue, on which rests a
single star of white, with the State coat-ofarms thereon. The scene represented on the
coat-of-arms is an actual mountain and harvest
landscape in Vermont.
The outlines of the
mountains are those of Camel's Hump and
Mansfield, as seen from Lake Champlain
While the records of Vermont disclose no authority for a coat-of-arms or a flag prior to
the act of September, 1866, this device appears
on a State seal procured in 1821 under the
order of the executive by Robert Temple, Esq.,
then the secretary of the Governor and Council.
So far as a careful search
315. Kentucky.
of the records of the State reveal, Kentucky
has never by legislative action adopted an official flag.
In 1880, however, a Board was convened by general order, under the Adjutant
General, to consider and report a flag design
for the use of the State guard.
Its report
was adopted with some modification, and by
general order a State flag was prescribed for
the guard and reserve militia when called into
service.
This consists of a blue field with the
arms of the State embroidered in the center
On the escutcheon appear two men apparently

shaking hands.

329

The escutcheon

is

surmounted

IOWA
I

II

Ill

329

un

.'Hl,V.

Jll

JU

If

.Il'll,:

IOWA

CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC
mm
331

CALIFORNIA

330

N N

ESOTA

"w^
SOUTH DAKOTA

NORTH DA KOTA
339

340

331

by an eagle bearing

in its beak a streamer

carrying the legend, "United
Stand. Divided
Fall."
It is said that the original
intention of the seal was to represent two

We

We

friends in hunter's garb, their right hands

clasped, their left resting on each other's shoulders, their feet on the verge of a precipice,
which gave significance to the legend. But the
engravers for the State have uniformly dressed
the figures more to suit their ideals, with varying heraldic effect.
The escutcheon is supported by four United States flags, a drum,
and a cannon.
316. Tennessee.
This unique flag was
adopted in 1905. It consists of a fly one and
two-thirds times as long-as--it is wide. At the
outer or free end is a blue bar separated from
the red field by a thin white stripe. Superimposed upon the red field is a circular disk of
blue separated from the field by a thin circle
of white, its width the same as the width of
the white stripe separating the blue bar from
the red field. Upon the blue of the circular
disk are arranged three five-pointed stars of
white, distributed at equal intervals around a
point which is the center of the blue field.
Tennessee was the third State to join the
Union (after the original thirteen), a fact
which the three stars- recall.
317. Ohio has the only pennant-shaped flag
among all the States. The law making it the
official
ensign of the "Buckeye State" was
adopted in 1902.
The outer quarter of the
field is swallow-tailed, the field itself consisting of five stripes three red and two white
red at the bottom and top. At the staff end of
the field is a triangular blue canton with the
base resting on the staff and the apex reaching
half way across the field. On this canton is a
large circular "O" in white, inside of which is
Seventeen stars, representing all
a red disk.
of the States at the time of Ohio's entrance
into the Union, appear grouped around the
circular "O."
All of these stars are fivepointed.
Louisiana. Those who contend that
318.
the Stars and Stripes were used unofficially
long before they were adopted by the Continental Congress, on June 14, 1777, can point to
the history of the Louisiana State-flag as showing that banners are often used unofficially
long before being officially adopted. It is said
that this flag is a hundred years old, having
become the unofficial flag of Louisiana about
the time of the War of 1812, yet it was not

legally adopted until July 1, 1912.

The measure making it the flag of the State is simply a
statute of ratification, and sets forth that it
shall consist of a solid blue field with the coatof-arms of the State, a pelican feeding its
young, the ribbon beneath, also in white, containing in blue the motto of the State, "Union,
Justice, Confidence."
The law provides that
the flag shall be displayed on the State House
whenever the General Assembly is in session
and on public buildings throughout the State
on all regular holidays and whenever otherwise decreed by the Governor or the General

Assembly.
Although the legislature of
319. Indiana.
the State of Indiana declared in 1901 that its
official banner should be no other than the

American flag itself, it reconsidered

in 1917 and adopted a State emblem.
of the flag
six inches

is

blue;

its

this action

dimensions are

The

field

five feet

by four feet four inches on the

field is centered a flaming
torch in gold, or buff, with nineteen Stars.
Thirteen stars are circled around the torch,
staff,

fly

and upon the

representing the original thirteen States.

Inside this circle is a half circle of" five stars
below the torch, representing the five States
admitted to the Union prior to Indiana. The
outer circle of stars is so arranged that one of
them appears directly in the middle at the top
of the circle.
The word "Indiana"
is placed
in a half circle over a large star "typifying the
State, which is situated just above the flame of
the torch. Rays from the torch radiate to the
three stars of the outer circle. This banner is
to be carried in addition to the American flag
by the militia forces of Indiana and in all public functions in which the State officially ap,"

pears.
320. Mississippi is one of the States that
have had more than one flag. The old flag
was white with a blue canton with a single

white star thereon. On the body of the white

a green tree. The flag was fringed with
red and the pike was surmounted by a tomahawk. After the Civil War the State adopted
a new flag. This consists of a blue, white, and
red field, the red at the bottom, with a red
canton reaching down to the red stripe of the
field.
St. Andrew's cross with thirteen. stars

was

is

imposed upon the canton.

The tomahawk

of the old flagstaff is replaced on the new pike

by a regulation spear head.
321. Illinois' State flag was authorized in
the year 1915. The law provides that the reproduction of the emblem on the great seal of
Illinois be permitted when reproduced in black
or in natural colors on a white background for
use as a State banner. The seal of the State
of Illinois was adopted in 1819, the year after
the State was admitted to the Union. In the
center is an American eagle perched on an
American shield; back of the shield and helping to support it is an olive branch.
In its
beak the eagle holds a scroll containing the
motto, "State Sovereignty National Union."
322. Alabama's colors were adopted by the
act of February 16, 1805, which provides that
the flag of the State shall be a crimson cross
of St. Andrew upon a field of white; the bars
forming the cross shall be not less than six
inches broad, and must extend' diagonally
across the flag from side to side.
The flag
shall be hoisted on the dome of the capitol
when the two houses of the legislature are in
session, and shall be used by the State on all
occasions when it may be necessary or consistent to display a flag, except when in the
opinion of the Governor the national flag
should be displayed. It is said that the purpose of the legislature in enacting the State
flag law was to preserve in permanent form
some of the more distinctive features of the
Confederate battle flag, especially the St
Andrew's cross (see 375)." This being true,
the Alab.ama flag should be^ square in all its
lines and measurements and conform to the
well-known battle flag of the Confederacy.

332

323. Maine's present flag dates from the

year 1909. It consists of a field of blue, the
same color as the blue field in the flag of the
United States, the flag being five feet six inches
long and four feet four inches wide. In the
center there is embroidered in silk on both
sides the coat-of-arms of the State, in proportionate size. The edges of the flag are trimmed
with modern fringe of yellow silk two and a
half inches wide.
cord and tassel, to be
attached to the staff at the spearhead, is eight
feet six inches long and composed of white
and blue strands. The length of the staff is
nine feet, including the brass spearhead and
ferrule. The laws protecting the State flag are
the same as those protecting the national flag.
Any one who uses it for purposes of advertisement or who mutilates, tramples, or otherwise defaces or defiles it, whether public or
private property, shall be punished by a fine of
not less than five nor more than fifty dollars.
324. Missouri formally adopted an official
flag in 1913.
It is rectangular in shape, the
vertical width being seven-twelfths the horizontal length. The field consists of one red
one white, and one blue horizontal stripe of
equal width, the red at the top and the blue at
the bottom.
In the center there is a band of
blue in the form of a circle inclosing the coatof-arms in the colors established by law. The
width of the blue band is one-fourteenth the
vertical width of the flag, and the diameter of
the circle is one-third the horizontal length of
the flag.
In the blue band there are set at
equal distances from each other twenty-four
five-pointed stars. Within the circle on a ground
of white is the coat-of-arms of the State. The
sinister (left) half of the circular shield shows
the American eagle as it appears upon the
great seal of the United States.
The upper
dexter (right) quarter is blue, with a white
crescent.
The lower dexter quarter is red,
with a grizzly bear. It is supported by two

grizzly bears.
325. Arkansas as early as 1876 used an official State flag at the Centennial Exposition
in Philadelphia.
This was a red field bearing
the arms of the State.
But this design was
never recognized by the legislature. Instead,
in 1913, a committee, of which the Secretary
of State was chairman, examined a number of
designs and selected one for the emblem of the
Commonwealth. This the General Assembly
adopted by concurrent resolution, approved
February 26, 191,3. It consists of a red field
upon which is imposed a blue-bordered white
diamond bearing the word "Arkansas" and

three five-pointed stars, in blue. On the blue

border of the diamond are twenty-five fivepointed white stars, which proclaim the fact
that Arkansas was the twenty-fifth State to become a part of the American Union.
326. Michigan's present flag dates from
1911, when an act was passed to adopt and prescribe the design of the coat-of-arms and a
State flag, and their use, and also to prohibit
their desecration in any way.
The law provides that the flag of the State shall be blue,
with the coat - of - arms superimposed on the
center.
The coat-of-arms consists of the device and inscription of the great seal of the
State presented by Lewis Cass through the con-

333

stitutional convention held preliminary to its

admission into the Union.
Only the words
"The Great Seal of the State of Michigan,
A. D. 1835," are omitted.
The coat-of-arms
consists principally of a shield with the device
"Tuebor" (I will defend), supported by an elk
and a moose, rampant. An American eagle
with wings outstretched forms the crest. On
the lower part of the shield is a rising sun and
a man, dressed in rustic garb, standing on a
peninsula, his right arm raised and his left
resting on a gun stock. On an unending scroll
below appears the motto, "Si quaeris peninsulam, amoenam, circumspice" (If thou seekest
a beautiful peninsula, look around).
327. Florida has had several State flags, but
the present one dates from 1899. In that year
the Florida Legislature adopted a joint resolution providing that the dimensions of the flag
should be three-fourths as wide as long, and
that in the center of the field should be placed
the seal of the State, its diameter to be onethird the length of the flag and its ground to
be white. Red bars with the width one-eighth
the length of the flag extending from each
corner toward the center to the outer rim of
the seal.
In the seal appears a view of the
sun's rays, a highland in the distance, a cocoanut tree, a steamboat on water, and an Indian
woman scattering flowers in the foreground.
The words "In God We Trust" appear on the
inner rim of the device.
Florida's seal was
adopted by the Constitutional Convention of
1868 and has been ratified by succeeding con-

ventions.
328. Texas.
The lone star flag of Texas
dates from the days of the Republic.
The
third Congress of the embryo nation fixed its
design, which has never been altered.
It consists of a blue perpendicular bar next to the
staff, one-third the length of the flag, with a
star of five points in the center.
The other
two-thirds of the flag is made up of two horizontal bars, of equal width, one white and the
other red, the white at the top.
Some years
ago a hoodlum committed an act of desecration
against the flag, which was roundly punished
by a native Texan. The State legislature was
so pleased with the performance that it passed
a special act commending the man who had
thrashed the offender.
329. Iowa is the latest recruit to the list of
States having an officially adopted flag.
On
May 11, 1917, the State Regent of the Daughters of American Revolution submitted a design to the War Council of Iowa, which

promptly approved it. The design was copyrighted and the committee having charge of its
preparation was extended a vote of thanks by
the Council. The flag as adopted consists of
a field of white, on the upper half of which is
an eagle in natural colors in flight, carrying in
its beak a long pennant upon which appear the
'

We

Prize And Our

Rights
Will Maintain." Below this pennant appears in large block type the word
Iowa. The national colors are preserved, the
field being white, the lettering of the motto
blue, and the word Iowa red. The flag will be
of regulation size and form, and copies of it
are to be widely distributed by the Daughters of
the American Revolution throughout the State.

words "Our Liberties

We

>.'C

'

"

'

PORTO RICO

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

356

357

335

Wisconsin's State

33-

flag

was

officially

adopted in 1913. The law provides that it shall

be of dark blue silk, five feet six inches fly and
four feet four inches on the pike the State
coat-of-arms is embroidered on each side in
;

appropriate color and design, and the

edges of the flag are trimmed with knotted
fringe of yellow silk two and one-half inches
silk of

wide.

The

pike

is

nine feet long, including the

spearhead and ferrule the cord eight feet six

inches long, with two tassels composed of blue
Service
and white silk strands intermixed.
flags may be of bunting or other material, of
such size as may be required, and the coat-ofarms may be represented otherwise than by
embroidery.
California in 191 1 adopted what is
331.
popularly known in the State's history as the
"Bear Flag," as the official ensign of the "Golden Gate" Commonwealth. The law provides
that the Bear Flag shall consist of a white
field, with a red stripe at the bottom one-sixth
In the upper left-hand
as wide as the field.
corner of the field is a single red star, and at
the bottom of the white field the words "California Republic." Above these words appears
a California grizzly bear upon a grass plat, in
the position of walking toward the left of the
field.
The bear is dark brown in color and in
length equal to one-third the length of the
The Bear Flag dates from the days of
flag.
;

the California pioneers and commemorates the

biggest bear known to science, the California
grizzly,

now

extinct.

332. Minnesota adopted her State flag at

the same time that she provided for a State
flower. The ground is of white silk and the
reverse side of blue silk, bordered with bullion
fringe. In the center is the State seal wreathed
with white moccasin flowers and a blue ground.
The red ribbon of the seal, bearing the motto,

Nord" (Star of the North), is

continued through the wreath entwining the
blossoms and fluttering over the lower portion
of the flag. The seal bears in gold 1819 and
1893, the dates, respectively, of settlement and
of the adoption of the flag; also, in variegated
gold, is the date 1858, the time of the admission of Minnesota into the Union. Below, in
gold letters, is wrought "Minnesota." Grouped
around the seal are nineteen stars, so arranged
that they appear to form the points of a fivepointed star, of which the seal itself is the
central portion.
Four of the points are made
up of four stars each; the fifth point, at the
top, is made up of three stars, one of them
larger than the others, typifying the North
Star and representing the "North Star State."
The choice of the number nineteen was made
because Minnesota was the nineteenth State
after the original thirteen admitted to the
Union. The standard of the flag is surmounted by a gold gopher and tied with a gold cord
"L'Etoile du

and

tassel.

Oregon followed the example of a

majority of her sister States in devising her
flag by making the field blue with a fringe of
333.

gold.
fly

The

size of the flag is five feet six inches

The
feet four inches on pike.

and four

yellow fringe is four inches deep and the cord

and tassel are blue and white silk intermixed.
The length of the pike is ten feet, including

336

the spearhead. The arms of the State are embroidered or painted in the center with the
number and arm of the service of the regiment
underneath where it is used as a regimental
flag.
The arms consist of an inscription supported by 32 stars, the number of States in
the Union at the time Oregon was admitted,
and divided by an ordinary with the inscription, "The Union."
Above this inscription is
an elk with branching antlers, a wagon,' Pacific
Ocean, a British man-of-war departing, and an
American steamer arriving. Below the inscription is a sheaf, a plow, and a pick-axe.
The

national shield forms the crest.

The figures
1859 proclaim the date of the admission of
Oregon into. the Union.
334. Kansas is another State which, according to the most careful research, has not
officially adopted a flag.
The military officials,
therefore, have provided a blue flag upon which
is centered the coat-of-arms of the State. Agriculture is represented by the plowman in the
foreground, commerce by the river and steamboat in the background. Above the plowman
is a wagon train westward bound, following
the course of empire.
herd of buffalo is
seen retreating, pursued by two Indians on
horseback. Around the top is the motto, "Ad
astra per aspera (To the stars through difficulties). Underneath the motto is a cluster of
thirty-four stars, representing the States in the
Union at the time of the admission of Kansas.
335- West Vircinia. The St. J^ouis World's
Fair was responsible for the adtifrtion of West
Virginia's State flag. The West Virginia State
Commission at that exposition found it necessary to adopt a flag and special design to distinguish West Virginia from other States of
the Union represented.
Therefore, it undertook the task of designing a flag itself. The
following year the legislature ratified this design, amending it only by the addition of a
fringe or border of gold or orange. The law
provides that the proportions of the flag shall
be the same as those of the United States banner; that the field shall be pure white, upon
the center of which, on the obverse side, shall
be the great seal or coat-of-arms of the State,
with the motto, "Montani Semper Liberi'"

(Mountaineers always freemen), and beneath

in a scroll, the legend, "State of West
Virginia." On the reverse side of the flag appears a sprig or sprigs of rhododendron maximum, or big laurel, the State flower, having a
blossom and leaves. The field of pure white
is bordered by a strip of blue, and this in turn
by a strip or fringe of old gold. The flag of
the State is to be employed on all occasions
where a special display of the State's individuality shall become necessary or be regarded as
appropriate.
336. Nevada has had several State flag
laws, but the one now in force dates from
1915. The flag it authorizes consists of a blue
field, in the center of which is placed the great
seal of the State of Nevada as designed in
The seal is given a scroll border, and
1912.
the words "The Great Seal of the State of
Nevada" are omitted. Immediately above the
seal is the word "Nevada" in silver-colored,
block Roman capital letters. Immediately below the seal, and in the form of a scroll, are

that,

the words "All for Our Country." The scroll

is red and the lettering gold.
Above the center
device is a row of eighteen gold-colored stars

arranged in an
eighteen

arc,

and below

silver-colored

stars,

it

row

arranged

ol

like-

star has five points, one point being placed up. On the seal appear a range of
mountains with a sun rising behind them, a
railroad train passing a bridge, a cabin and
wise.

Each

team of horses, a plow, and a sickle.

337. Nebraska's State flag consists of the
coat-of-arms or seal on a yellow field. The
present seal was adopted in 1867 and is thus
described The eastern part of the circle shows
:

steamboat ascending the Missouri River; the

mechanic arts are represented by a smith with
hammer and anvil in the foreground agriculture is pictured by a settler's cabin and sheaves
of wheat; in the background a train of cars is
seen heading toward the Rocky Mountains.
a

Around the top of

this circle, in capital letters,

the motto, "Equal Before the Law."

338. Colorado has given considerable attention to its State flag.
There was legislation
concerning a banner for the Centennial Commonwealth in 1908, but the present flag dates
from 1911. It consists of one white and two
blue stripes of equal width and at right angles
to the staff.
The width of the flag is twothirds of its length. At a distance of 1/36 of
the total length from the staff end of the flag
there is a circular red "C" of the same color
as the red in the national flag of the United
States. The diameter of the letter is one-sixth
the width of the flag; the inner line of the
opening of the letter "C" is three-fourths the
width of its body or bar, and the outer line of
the opening is double the length of the inner
line.
Completely filling the letter "C" appears
a golden disk.
Attached to the flag is a cord
of gold and silver intertwined, with tassels,
one of gold and one of silver. The law creating the flag provides that it shall be used on
all
occasions when the State is officially or
publicly represented with the privilege of use
by all citizens on all such occasions as they
may deem fitting and appropriate. All provisions of the State laws regarding the misuse
Df the national flag are made applicable to the
abuse of the State colors.
339. North Dakota's flag was adopted in
1911.
Its origin is almost entirely unknown.
The Blue Book of the State says that it was
the flag of the territorial militia, and that it is
is

remembered at Huron, South Dakota,

it was unfurled at an annual encampment. That authority also states that it is not
first

when

known who designed the flag, nor is it

erable when it was first used. With its

discov-

yellowfringed blue fly charged with a coat-of-arms

that borrows the eagle from the national seal,
North Dakota follows the example of half of
the States in the placing of its arms on a blue,
gold- fringed flag.South Dakota's official flag dates
340.
from 1909. The law adopting it says that the
flag
State
shall consist of a field of blue one
and two-thirds as long as it is wide, in the
center of which shall be a blazing sun in gold,
in diameter two-fifths the width of the flag.
Above this sun shall be arranged in an arc, in
gold letters, the words "South Dakota," and

337

below the sun in the arc the words, in gold

letters, "The Sunshine State."
On the reverse
of the blazing sun shall be printed the great
seal of the State. The edges of the flag shall
be trimmed with a fringe of gold. The staff
shall be surmounted by a spear head, to which
shall be attached a cord and tassels of suitable
length and size.
In practice the seal of the
State is placed on the obverse side of the flag
and the blazing sun on the reverse, which,
while following the general principle of flag
designing, seems to be the opposite of the intent of the law.
341. Montana's flag was adopted in 1905,
the law providing that it shall be of a blue
field, with a representation of the great seal of
the State in the center and with a gold fringe
along the upper and lower borders. This is a
copy of the flag borne by the First Montana
Infantry, United States Volunteers, in the
Spanish-American War, except that the device
"First Montana Infantry, U. S. V." is omitted.
The seal of the State consists of a brilliant
sun setting behind a range of mountains; in
the foreground is a plow and miner's pick and
spade.
Below the pick and spade is a scroll
reading, "Oro y Plata," which means "Gold and
Silver."

342. Washington State has never officially

adopted a flag, but the military authorities
have provided one with a green field upon

which is centered the seal of the State. The

vignette of General George Washington is the
central figure and beneath it are the figures
"1889." Around the vignette is a yellow circle
bearing the legend, "The Seal of the State of
Washington."
343. Idaho's laws forbid all military organizations within the State from carrying any
other flag or device than the national flag and
the flag of the Commonwealth. The latter was
authorized by the tenth legislature in 1909, although the details of the design were left by
the lawmakers to the Adjutant General, it
being prescribed only that the banner should
have a blue field charged with the name of the
State. The dimensions, as well as the addition
of the coat-of-arms above the ribbon with its
legend "State of Idaho," have since been determined upon by the proper authority. The
coat-of-arms consists of a circular device
within a yellow border, the main feature of
which is a moose-crested escutcheon showing
a blazing sun rising above three mountain
peaks and a river in the foreground.
The
supporters are a miner with pick and shovel
and a woman bearing the scales and the torch
of liberty. Beneath the shield appear a sheaf
of wheat and two horns of plenty. Above the
crest is a scroll of white with the legend in
red, "Esto Perpetua" (May she be perpetual).
344. Wyoming's flag is one of the newest of the State flags.
It was created under a
law passed on the last day of January, 1917.
That law provides that the width of the flag
shall be seven-tenths of its length the outside
border is red, its width one-twentieth the
length of the flag. Next to this red stripe is
an inner stripe of white whose width is onethirtieth the length of the flag. The remainder
of the flag is a blue field, in the center of which
is a white silhouetted buffalo, the length of
;

THE RAVEN OF THE VIKINGS

358

jPREREVOLUTION COLONIAL FLAG

361

EUTAW

STANDARD

GATINOIS REGT.
(FRENCH)
IJ

SAINTOGNC REGT ROY A

J

(FRENCH!

nflix

pnNTC

Ur eg T Tf R E

N C hi

iGGQT

mu
QqH

Hr
FLAG

OF

FRANCE

rEf^/iB^M*?
DE GRASSE
FLAGS FAMOUS F4 AMERICAN

I365toI574

339

NAPOLEONSFLAG RUSSIAN AMERICAN

LOUISIANA
1803

HISTORY

fo

CO.

ALASKA

which is one-half that of the blue field. On

the ribs of the buffalo appears the great shield
of the State of Wyoming in blue. The diameter of the shield is one-fifth the length of the
flag.
Attached to the flag is a cord of gold
with gold tassels. All penalties provided by
the laws of the State for the misuse of a
national flag are applicable to the State flag.
345. Utah's flag, consisting of a blue field
with a border of gold and a design in the
The design was
center, was adopted in 191 1.
revised in 1913.
It consists now of a device
in natural colors, the fundamental portion of
which is a shield surmounted by an eagle with
outstretched wings. The shield bears a beehive, on each side of which grow sego lilies
and above which is the word 'Industry." At
the bottom of the shield is a green field bearing the date 1847. with the word "Utah" above
it.
Two American flags on flagstaffs, placed
crosswise, are so draped that they project beyond each side of the shield, the head of the
flagstaffs in front of the eagle's wings, and
the bottom of each staff appearing over the
face of the draped flag below the shield. Below the shield and flags and upon the blue field
is the date "1896." the year in which the State
was admitted to the Union. Around the entire
design is a narrow circle of gold.

It was objected at the time of the adoption of

this design that it contained nothing characteristic of Arizona
that it infringed upon the
ensign of Japan, and that the effect of a star

against a rising sun was a severe straining of

astronomy.

substitute bill

was prepared and

hatchet.
351. The

banner of the Xational Geographic

Society is a flag of adventure and conquest;
a flag of adventure because it is ever carried
beyond the horizon of known scientific fact, in
the hope that there may be found some new
truth that will make mankind freer in the solution of the problems that ever confront the
race it is the flag of conquest because it has
gone to the tops of high mountains, to the inmost recesses of regions unexplored by civilized man, to the craters of volcanoes whose
fiery depths have never been surveyed by the
human eye. Those who have had its support
have conquered polar ice and polar seas, have
mastered many of the secrets of glacial action,
have lent a hand to the solution of the great
problem of vulcanism, have unearthed the holy
city of the Incas, have rescued venerable trees
of California from the only enemy they ever
feared the man with the ax and the saw. Its
colors, typifying earth, sea, and sky, proclaim
the illimitable reaches of the fields of interest
over which it flies, and the vastness of the
work of exploration and diffusion of knowledge, in which it has played no small part, and
to which its future efforts shall ever be dedi-

Oklahoma. The law under which

Oklahoma adopted an official State flag was
enacted in 191 1. The flag authorized under it
346.

offered to the upper house of the legislature,

but the original form became a law, thus establishing one of the most striking of the State
banners.
349. The flag of Hawaii preserves the
crosses of St. Andrew, St. George, and St.
Patrick, and carries eight stripes.
Some of
the Southern States retain the cross of St.
Andrew, but Hawaii is the only American soil
over which float the three crosses which were
the cantonal feature of the first flag of the
United Colonies of America (364).
350. The flag of the Xational Guard of the
District of Columbia has a rectangular field,
the fly end of which is swallow-tailed. Centered thereon is a small hatchet, whose alleged
manipulation in connection with an apocryphal
cherry tree is reputed to have put the Father
of His Country to a very trying test in the
matter of veracity. The designations of the
forces appear on scrolls above and below the

consists of a red field, in the center of which

is a five-pointed star of white edged with blue,
with the figures "46^ in blue in the middle of
the star. This number proclaims the fact that
Oklahoma was the forty-sixth State to become
a part of the Union. The Oklahoma flag departs from the usual in its pike head. Instead
of the regulation spearhead, an eagle at rest,
facing the direction of the fly, stands guard
over the colors.

Xew Mexico. Embodying elements

347.
unique in flag design, the official flag of the
State of Xew Mexico was adopted shortly
after the Commonwealth became a member of
the Union.
The banner has a turquoise blue
~ield. emblematic of the blue skies of Xew
Mexico; it has a canton consisting of the flag
of the United States in miniature in the upper
left-hand corner, designating the loyalty of the
people of the State to the Union ; in the upper
right-hand corner of the field a figure 47. the

forty-seventh star and State in the American

in the lower right-hand corner is the
great seal of the State, and upon the field running from the lower left to the upper righthand corner are the words "Xew Mexico" in
white, ^"hen the flag law was passed it was
ordered that the embroidered banner attached
to the bill should be deposited with the Secretary of State to be faithfully kept by him in
the archives of the Commonwealth.
z :a.
bill making the flag of
348.
'..- '-.>> Arizona the banner of the Comthe
which it is named failed to
m pfnc'.Vn
pass the State Senate in 1915. but a similar
bill was adopted early in 19 17.
As finally described, the upper part of the flag consists of
thirteen segments or rays, alternate red and
yellow; the lower part is a solid field of blue,
while upon the center is imposed a copper star.

Union;

cated.
352.

The Governor of

the

Panama Canal

a rectangular flag upon which is

This
centered the seal of the Canal Zone.
consists of an escutcheon which shows a ship
under full sail passing through Gaillard Cut,
at the point where it divides Gold Hill and
Contractor's Hill.
Below the escutcheon is a
streamer bearing the now familiar words,
"The land divided, the world united." The
escutcheon and streamer are grounded upon a
circle of white.
353. The seal of the Territory' of Alaska is
a circular field bearing in the background a
sun rising over snow-capped, embattled mounIn the right foreground are the waters
tains.
that wash the shore of the territory", bearing
two sailing vessels. To the left is a pier.

Zone

-.'.

34 r

-'

flies

rudely constructed, and an outpost of civilizaIn the foreground is a team of horses

Around the whole is inscribed, "The Seal of
the Territory of Alaska."
The coat-of-arms of the Philippine Is354lands _waS' adopted in 1905. Its principal feature is an,, escutcheon showing the national
colors of the United States.
Imposed upon
this escutcheon are the arms of Manila on a
shield, the upper half red and the lower blue.
Upon the upper half of this shield, in gold, is
the castle of Spain, with blue windows, and
on the lower half a sea-lion bearing in its right
paw a hiltcd sword. The crest is the American
spread eagle, and beneath is a scroll with the
words "Philippine Islands."
355. The coat-of-arms of Mindanao and
Sulu was adopted in 1905, along with those of
the Philippine Islands and Porto Rico. It consists of the escutcheon of the United States,

Above

is imposed a Moro war vinta sailing an Indian sea.

Above the escutcheon is
the American spread eagle mounted on a
wreath, supported by the crossed weapons of
Avar of the Indian seas, and below the device
is a scroll bearing the words "Mindanao and
Sulu."
356. The present coat-of-arms of the Island
of Porto Rico, adopted in 1905, is a restoration
of the original arms of the Spanish colony of
"the rich port." Therefore it is in all its parts
reminiscent of Spanish times. On a. green circular field is a lamb of silver on the red-bound
hook and bearing the cross-crowned banner of
Christ. This is the device ascribed to St. John.

upon which

the lamb are the gold-crowned letters

F and I Ferdinand and

tion.

Isabella.

Surround-

ing the green held is a white border edged

with gold. Upon this border are the castles of
Castile, the crowned red lions that proclaim
Leon, the crosses of Jerusalem, and the standards of Spain in the days when the star of her

fame was

at its zenith.
flag of the

The

Secretary of the Inwith its light green field bearing in the

center a golden buffalo and a five-pointed star
in each quarter, stands for many of the nation's activities and much of the world's prog357.

terior,

The Department whose chief it proress.

claims fosters the priceless fruits of American
inventive genius, aids and safeguards those
who have made America the foremost mineral-producing country of the earth, supervises
the pension system through which is discharged the national duty toward those who
have fought the battles of the Republic, sponsors the cause of justice to the Red Man, who
has given a continent to civi'ization. This Department directs the national aspects of American education, and thus leads Western civilization to a new era; it is saving to posterity
the inestimable boon of majestic forests and
untouched stretches of primeval nature; it is
reclaiming millions of acres of unproductive
land and tapping the bare rocks of waste places
with the wand of irrigation. Also it has distributed an empire to the pioneers of the West
and transformed a million square miles of idle
territory into a wealth- and strength-producing region of infinite national value.

FLAGS FAMOUS IN AMERICAN HISTORY

The Raven of the Vikings. Five

358.
hundred years before the arrival of Columbus
New
World, Eric the Red is supposed
in the
to have guided his ships, square-sailed, decorated with curiously carved figureheads, and
manned by hardy Norsemen, to the shores of
Vinland (Labrador, or Nova Scotia, or the
New England coast), and there planted for a
brief period this banner with the strange device of "a raven, with wings extended and
open bill, upon a white ground."
Columdus, Standard of
359. Flag of
SrAiN. A quartered flag of red, gold and silver the standard of Castile and Leon is generally accepted as having been the first European banner flown on American soil. This
truly regal standard was planted on. the beach

before the startled gaze of the awe-struck aborigines when Christopher Columbus, richly clad,
set foot on shore on October 12, 1492, and, in
the name of their Catholic majesties, Isabella
and Ferdinand, formally took possession of the
island which he called San Salvador, but which
is believed to have been what is now known as

Watling Island

in the

Bahamas.

Flag of Cabot, England.

Giovanni
Caboto (John Cabot), the discoverer of North
America, had m?ny points in common with his
They were both
contemporary, Columbus.
360.

Genoese, both believed the earth to be round,

and that the east .could be reached by sailing

west, and both finally set out on their voyages
of discovery under the flag of a foreign monCabot's flag was the royal standard of
England, the red cross of St. George on a
white ground, and his patron was King Henry
ATI, whose enthusiasm for the enterprise was
quickened by the news that Columbus had
found the East in the West. It was on June
arch.

England was planted

(probably on the northern

24, 1497, that this flag of

in the

New World

extremity of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia),

and the explorer took possession of the country in the name of England's king.
This was the union flag which prob361.
ably was displayed from the main mast of the
Mayflower that bore the Pilgrim Fathers to
Plymouth in 1620, and on the ships which
brought the English settlers to Jamestown in
1607. These vessels also displayed St. George's
cross (360) at the fore mast and the red ensign
(382). The union flag had come into existence
in 1603, when James VI of Scotland ascended
the throne of England as James I, thus uniting
the two countries under one sovereign after
centuries of warfare. He ordered all ships to
display this flag at the m?.in mast. They continued to use their own ensigns and jacks, however English ships 1123 and 1127, Scottish
ships 1131 and 831 (note 1132 for Scotch de-

341

ti

rt

AZTEC STANDARD
BATTLE OF OTUMBA
425

BEFORE PIZARRO
A

OMINICAN REPUBLIC

COMDG OFFICER'S PENNANT

343

sign of union flag).

After the union of parliaments in 1707 this was the only flag officially
used on land over forts and public buildings in
the English colonies.
With the addition of
designating numerals above a small crown at
the intersection of the crosses, it became the
"King's Colors" for regimental troops.
362-363. Continental and Bunker Hill.-^

The

illustrations

show two

replicas in

Annap-

of flags said to have been carried at Bunker Hill. The Trumbull painting of the battle
of Bunker Hill shows 362, while others show
362 was probably formed from the Eng363.
lish ensign, shown in 1123 (in use prior to
1705), by omitting St. George's cross and substituting the pine tree, which was the symbol
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (see also 391,
363 was made by inserting a
399, and 401).
pine tree in the upper left quarter of the old
blue English ensign's canton (1125).
364. This was the flag hoisted by John Paul
Jones on December 3, 1775, as the navy ensign
of the thirteen colonies, when Commodore Esek
Hopkins assumed command of the navy built
by Congress. It was also hoisted by General
Washington January 2, 1776, as the standard
of the Continental Army and remained as our
national flag until the adoption of the Stars
and Stripes, June 14, 1777 (see history of
"Stars and Stripes" elsewhere in this number).
Our First Navy Jack. Hoisted De365.
olis

cember

3,

1775, the

same day

that

John Paul

Jones hoisted 364 as the ensign of our new

that 398 was raised at the main mast
as the flag of the Commander-in-Chief, Esek
Hopkins (see 398 and 400).
Perry's Flag. Lake Erie. At the bat366.
tle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, Oliver
Hazard Perry, who was in command of a fleet
which he h?d been forced to construct in feverish haste from virgin timber, unfurled from
his masthead this challenge to sturdy Ameri-

368. The artillery during the Civil War carried a standard with thirty-six stars arranged
three stars at the top, three at the bottom, and
a lay-out of thirty in six horizontal lines of
five stars each.
It will be noticed that this
flag, like 367, was adopted after West Virginia

and Nevada had entered the Union.

The design on the colors of infantry
369.
regiments during the Civil War was almost a
counterpart of that borne on the standard of
the War of 1812 (see 22).
It shows an eagle
displayed and bearing upon its breast a shield,
with a scroll in its beak and another below
it,
upon which appeared the designation of
each regiment. Above the eagle are thirteen
golden stars arranged in two arcs.
The regimental colors of the United
370.
States artillery during the Civil War were yellow. Upon the field were centered two crossed
cannons with a scroll above and below bearing
the designation of the regiment.
This flag is the familiar "Stars and
371.
Bars" of the Southern Confederacy and was
used from March, 1861, to May, 1863.
This jack of the Confederate States
372.
was made to correspond with the provisional
flag of the Confederacy, known as the Stars
and Bars. It probably was flown by ships of
the seceding States until 1863, when the navy
jack (374) was prescribed by the Secretary of
the Confederate

navy and

canism
the dying words of brave Captain
Under its inspiration the men
Lawrence.
fought gallantly through one of the most notable naval engagements of the war, enabling
Perry at its close to send the famous message
to General Harrison, "We have met the enemy
and they are ours two ships, two brigs, one
schooner, and one sloop."
Although so distinguished a citizen as
367.
S. F. B. Morse proposed at the outbreak of

the Civil War that the national flag, the Stars

and Stripes, should be cut in twain, the North
retaining the upper six and one-half stripes
and those stars above a diagonal line extending from the head of the staff to the lower
corner of the canton, while the South should
be given the lower six and a half stripes and
the stars below the diagonal line on the canton, the remainder of each flag being white,
neither the North nor the South saw fit to follow such a suggestion. The Stars and Stripes
carried by the armies of the North during the
last years of the Civil War had thirty-six stars

1S63.

The navy jack of the Southern Con374.

federacy, used after May 1, 1863, had an oblong red field, with a blue St. Andrew's cross
bordered by white and having three stars on
each arm and one at the intersection. It was
merely the square canton of the second flag
of the Confederacy elongated, so that its
length was one and a half times its width.
The battle flag of the Confederacy during the
same period was like this navy jack, except
that it was square, and all four of its sides
were bordered by a white stripe one and a half
inches wide. The battle flag carried by the infantry was forty-eight inches square, that by
the artillery thirty-six inches, and that by the
cavalry thirty inches square.
The national flag of the Confederacy
375.
between

May

1,

1863,

and March

4,

1865,

had

twice as long as wide, with the

battle flag as its union.
376. The Confederacy's national flag, adopted March 8, 1865, was the same as that adopted
May 1, T863 (375), except that one-half of the
field between the union and the end of the fly
was occupied by a horizontal bar of red.

white

field

377. Hudson's Flag. When Henry Hudson glided into the unsailed waters of New
York harbor in his little Half Moon, this flagwas his ensign; thus it is supposed to have been

one of the first European flags reflected in the

waters of what is now the busiest port on
earth. It was the flag of the Netherlands, with
the letters A. O. C. added to the central stripe.
These were the initials of the Dutch East India

the union, as shown in 367. When Lincoln

became President, however, there were only
thirty- four States, which were impersonated
in

Company, "Algemeene Oost-Indise Compagnie,"

under whose auspices Hudson sailed. Later it

inaugural ceremonies by thirty-four little

rode in a gaily decorated car in the
procession and sang to the new President,
"Flail, Columbia."
at the

girls,

Navy.

373. This ensign was probably displayed by

the ships of the Confederacy from 1861 to

who

floated over the

India

344

little

huts built by the East

Island for the

Company on Manhattan

But in 1650 the orange stripe on

the Netherlands flag became the red stripe of
today's banner (775), and with the withdrawal
of the East India Company's interests from
fur traders.

New Netherlands this flag disappeared from

our waters and shores.
In 1621
378. Dutch West India Company.

the Dutch West India Company was formed

and, with other valuable concessions, was given
control of the fur trade of the New World by
the States General of Holland. Thus this flag
became dominant in the waters around New
York in 1622, and continued so for forty-two
years. The letters G. W. C. are the initials of
the company, "Geoctroyeerde West - Indische
Compagnie." In 1650 the orange' stripe was
changed to red in accordance with a similar
change in the national flag of Holland. It was
not until the conquest of New Netherlands by
the English in 1664 that this flag disappeared
from our northern shores.
Endicott's Flag. The red cross of
379.
St. George on the English flags was a source
of question to the stern religionists of the
Massachusetts Colony.
John Endicott, with
Spartan directness, attempted to settle the
matter by cutting out a part of the red cross
on the Salem ensign in 1634. This led to longdrawn litigation. Fear of offending the mother
country struggled with the seeming idolatry of
a cross on a flag. Finally it -was decided to
"render unto Caesar" his own, and inasmuch
as the fort of Castle Island, at Boston, was
maintained in the King's name, his colors were
It was not until 1651,
allowed to fly there.
however, that the general court of Massachusetts gave official sanction to the use of the
This illustration of the
flag with its cross.
Endicott flag, with its distinguishing blue ball
in the first quarter of the canton, shows it
before the mutilation.
King's Standard in 1635. The de380.
signs on this royal flag, which was in use during the early settlement of our country, are
especially suggestive and carry us back to the
Each little
very roots of English history.
symbol found its place on the flag through
some noteworthy event in the ever-changing
fortunes of early England. The harp on the
third quarter is the ancient symbol of Ireland
(see 839), which Elizabeth, in token of her
success in dealing with the island, added to
the royal ensign.
On the second quarter appears the lion of Scotland (see 838), in token
The
of that country's union with England.
first and fourth quarters of the shield alike
three
lions
the
three
fleurs-de-lis.
bear the
and
Two of the lions were introduced by William
II from the arms of his native Normandy.
Authorities differ as to the origin of the third
lion, some maintaining that it was added by
Henry II in honor of his wife, Eleanor of
Aquitaine, who brought him as a dowry three
provinces in France. Edward III, on assuming the title "King of France," in 1340, quartered with the lions the fleurs-de-lis on a blue
field.
It remained for James I, in 1603, to
combine these various symbols into the form
seen here.
381. Three County Troop. It was in 1659
Suffolk,
that three counties of Massachusetts
Middlesex, and Essex raised a company of

cavalry called the Three County Troop, which

continued its organization for twenty years ot
more. Their standard is not known to be in
existence at present; but a most interesting
drawing of it and the original bill of cost foi
it are preserved in the British Museum.
The
legend in the drawing reads
"Thre Count}
Trom," apparently a mistake in copying the
word troop from the original banner. It probably waved above the brave Colonials in King
Philip's War of 1675 and 1676.
382. Under the red ensign many of England's greatest admirals won the victories
which made the island kingdom mistress oi
the seas. This is the famous "meteor flag of
Old England," and until the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland under one parliament, in 1707, it was the ensign of the English colonies in America.
It was especially
dear to the New England colonists, who cher
ished its brave traditions as their own.
Colonial Flag. 384.
Newbury
383.
:

Mass. 388. New England, 1737. 3go. Taun

Ton Flag. To one interested in watching the
growth and development of customs or in

tracing the symbolic expressions of the ideas

of a people, there is no more fascinating stud)
than the growth of our own flag.
Naturally
the Colonists used at first the flags of the
homeland (such as 361). But slowly the en
vironment of this new, spacious country
working in connection with the deep religious
consciousness of the people, wrought itself
into visible form in the flags.
At Taunton, Mass., was raised, in 1774, flag
number 390, the red union English flag com
mon at the time, with the addition of the
watchword of America the magic watchworc
that now, after nearly a century and a half
bids fair to become the watchword of the
world.
In 383 a stronger feeling of separation is
indicated in the plain red flag with the pure
white canton.
In 384, the flag of Newbury
Mass., the cross is retained, but the color ol
the field has changed to the green of the New

England forests.
Then, in place of the British cross, we see
coming into prominence the sturdy native
American emblems. A pine tree on a white
ground was a symbol of many qualities con
spicuous in the lives of our New England an
cestors.
Simple, austere, and bearing withal a
stately dignity,
of the times.
patriots'
its

fittingly

expressed the ideas

Moreover, it proclaimed the

love for this newest homeland with

pine-clad

tree

it

hills.

And

waved over many

so it was that the pine

a hard-fought field in

those trying years.

cross, it
ker Hill

Joined with St. George's

appeared on the blue banner of Bun(363).

Frequently the pine tree gave place to a

globe, as in the New England flag of 1737
(388). Again, the pine tree alone occupies the
white canton of a red flag, best illustrated In
These
362, the Continental flag of 1775-1777.
historic flags picture to us in striking form the
feelings and the hopes as well as the spirit of
'76.

(See 383.)
Andros" Flag. In 1684 the charter of
Massachusetts was annulled and the home
384.
385.

345

H I: b A: M MiLM

government organized

all

of

Xew England

as

a royal domain.
In i685 Edmund Andros arrived as Governor of the province. The flag
under his rule was the red cross of St. George
on a white field with a gold crown in the cen-

Under

crown appeared the letters

King James. But in 1689,
with the arrival in England of William of
Orange, the colonists deposed Andros, and this
flag was consigned to the oblivion of banners
no longer expressive of the feelings of a de-

ter.
J.

the

R., the cipher of

veloping people.
Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia was the
386.
New Scotland, just as the Massachusetts group
of colonies was the New England, for even in
the days of King James there was no Great
Britain, but the two separate countries.
And
that is why the vertical cross of St. George
appeared on the Andros and other New England flags, while the diagonal Scottish cross of
St. Andrew marked those of Nova
Scotia.
The center of the flag is marked by the crown
and cipher of James Sixth of Scotland and
First of England.
He it was who united the
two crosses into the union flag of 1606, the
very year in which he gave the first royal
grants of land in North America, under which
permanent settlements grew up. It was not
until 1801, long after the Stars and Stripes
were known on every sea, that the red diagonal cross of St. Patrick, in recognition of

Ireland,

was added

to

the

combined crosses,

thus making the familiar British union jack of

today.
Early in the life
387. Escutcheon Enstgn.
of the New England Colonies it was seen that
the merchant ships of the mother country
needed a special flag to distinguish them from
the King's ships.
In 1701 we find this order
from the Admiralty Office at Whitehall, London "Merchant ships to wear no other jack
than that worn by His Majesty's ships, with
the distinction of a white escutcheon in the
middle thereof." The "Governors of His Majesty's plantations" were ordered to oblige the
commanders of their merchant ships to use

this and no other.

The merchant ships, however, continued to fly the various flags endeared
to their commanders by old associations. Many
of them seem to have preferred the usual red
or blue New England flag which had a red
St. George's cross and a globe (388) or tree

(363) on a white ground in the upper lefthand corner.

388.
(See 383O
Colonel Moultrie's Flag.
In Sep38g.

tember, 1775, Colonel Moultrie, having received

orders from the Council of Safety to take Fort
Johnson on James Island, S. C, thought a flag
necessary; so he devised a large blue flag with
a white crescent in the upper corner next the
staff, this design being suggested by the blue
uniforms of the garrison and the silver crescents which the men wore on their caps, inscribed with the words "Liberty or Death."
Colonel Moultrie in his memoirs says that "this
was the first American flag displayed in the

South" (see also 106).

(See 3S3.)
390.

391. Washington's Navy, 1775. This was

the flag flown by Washington's six cruisers in
The Lady Washington, a brig fitted out
1775.

348

was captured by H. M. S. Fowey on

December 7 of the same year, and her colors

in 1775,

were placed

the Admiralty Office in Londescribed as bearing a pale

green pine tree on a field of white bunting,
with the motto, "Appeal to Heaven." After
the Continental ensign (364) came into use by

don.

They

in

are

Washington's fleet, January 1, 1776, this white

flag and green pine tree, with variations (399),
was adopted April 29, 1776, as the ensign of
the vessels of the Massachusetts navy (see 399
and 401 see also the history of our Stars and
Stripes, printed elsewhere in this number).
Bedford Flag. Probably the most in392.
;

teresting flag of all the colonial period is this

standard of the Bedford Minute Men, carried
by them at the battle of Concord. It is small,
being only about 2 2 feet square, but carries
woven among its faded threads the love and
veneration of a grateful America. Wrought
in silver and gold on a red ground is an arm
appearing from a cloud, with the hand holding
a sword. The scroll is in gold with the motto,
"Vince Aut Morire" (Conquer or die). It now
has an honored place among the relics of the
Historical Society at Bedford, Mass. It bears
a striking resemblance to the Ostend Fight ensign (1144)Philadelphia Light Horse.
This
393.
standard, presented to the Philadelphia troop
of Light Horse by Capt. Abraham Markoe, and
still displayed at the troop's anniversary dinners, is one of the first American flags in
which thirteen stripes were used. This banner
was carried by the Philadelphia troop when it
acted as escort to General Washington from

/
l

Philadelphia to

New York

on

his

way

to

Cam-

bridge, there to assume command of the Continental Army.

The Philadelphia troop was
composed of 28 men, who equipped themselves
at their own expense.
Captain Markoe resigned his commission as captain of this organization late in 1775, in obedience to an edict
of King Christian VII of Denmark, who forbade any of his subjects to engage in the war
against Great Britain.
Before tendering his
resignation, however, the commander presented
this standard to the troop.
New York. The armed ships of New
394.

York

are reported to have used this flag in

775- The beaver reminds us eloquently of the
prominent part the lucrative fur trade played
in the early history of the colony.
The glowing accounts brought back by Hudson of the
rich harvest of valuable furs to be secured led
Holland to authorize the trading companies
which colonized New York. The beaver was
used on the seal of New Netherlands and
found a place on the seal of New York City.
Bennington. At the battle of Ben395.
nington, Vt, August 16, 1777, 2,000 Green
Mountain boys, under Gen. John Stark, practically annihilated the forces under General
Baum. sent to capture stores and to overawe
The loss of these troops was
the country.
partly responsible for the failure of Burgoyne's carefully planned campaign and was
one of the events that led to the open recognition of our country by France.
Rhode Island. Fashioned from white
396.
silk with thirteen stars on a canton of blue
and showing a blue anchor surmounted by the
T

Culpeper County was a

Congress.
organization and her minute men
typified on their spirited banner (405) their
fearlessness and independence.

motto of the State, "Hope," on the center of

the held, this regimental banner of Rhode Island easily takes high rank as an attractive
flag; nor is it lacking in interesting historic
Carried safely through the inassociations.
tense struggle of Brandywine, at Trenton, and
at Yorktown, it now rests in the State House
at Providence, mute witness to the heroism of
those who bore it to final victory (see 313).
397.

Linked Hand.

tinental

center

the liberty and pine tree elacs

Flag of 1776.
401.
399. Liberty Tree
Massachusetts Navy. In all early accounts

of

Thirteen mailed hands

One

writer of the time

the rattlesnake's eye
exceeded in brightness that of any other animal, and she had no eyelids, she might therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance
that inasmuch as she never began an attack,
nor,

she

flags.

Liberty Tree. This was an emblem often

The solemn motto, "An Appeal to God,"
tells us of the quiet firmness with which our
forefathers "highly resolved" to claim the
birthright of freedom for themselves and their
The sentiment first appeared in the
children.
"Address of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts" to Great Britain, the closing sentence of which began, "Appealing to Heaven
Through the
for the justice of our cause."
long years that have passed since they won
their victories, the greater task has developed
for us, not only to hold with equal steadiness
and firmness the great principles upon which
our nation stands, but also to fight with equal
fortitude and sacrifice that these gifts may be
extended to the oppressed of all nations.
When in 1652 the colony of Massachusetts
first established a mint, the general court ordained that all pieces of money should bear
on one side a tree, thus bringing into being the
famous pine-tree shillings. In April, 1776, the
Massachusetts council passed a resolution as
follows
the colors rfor the
"Resolved, That
sea service] be a white flag with a green pine
tree
and the inscription, 'An Appeal to
"
Heaven.'
Flag 391 had previously become familiar on
the seas as the ensign of Washington's cruisers.
The English newspapers of the time contain
many references to this striking ensign.
In 401 an extra significance is added by the
coiled snake at the foot of the tree and the
oft-used "Don't tread on me."

mous
used.

when once engaged, ever surrendered,

was therefore an emblem of magnanimity

rattlesnake flags (365, 398, 400, and 405), lends

color to this view.
But it was not only the qualities of the
snake itself, but also the ease with which
symbolism could be added, illustrated in the
use of the distinctive thirteen rattles, that increased the number and variety of the rattlesnake flags. " 'Tis curious and amazing," in
the words of the writer quoted above, "to observe how distinct and independent of each
other the rattles of this animal are, and how
One of the
firmly they are united together.
rattles, singly, is incapable of producing a
sound, but the ringing of thirteen together is
sufficient to alarm the boldest man living."

Flag 398 was presented by Colonel Gadsden

to Commodore Hopkins to serve as the latter's
flag as the commander-in-chief of the fleet constructed by Congress, and was hoisted at the

main mast of the Alfred December 3, 1775.

At the same time John Paul Jones hoisted the
union striped flag (364) at the stern (see history of Stars and Stripes elsewhere in this
number). On the same dav 365 was hoisted
Thus 364, 365, and
as the jack of the navy.
398 are the most historic flags of the U. S.
Navy prior to the adoption of the Stars and

400.
401.

Stripes.

The

Southern

colonies

seemed

and trees

fanned into flame the very embers of discontent that Gage had hoped to stamp out by its
destruction.
On flag 399 appears the well-loved and fa-

as

and true courage. We are bound to suspect,

however, that it was the deadly bite of the
rattler that was foremost in the minds of the
revolutionists who used the banners. The
"Don't tread on me," seen on all four of the

poles

to the destruction of the tea, which led GenIneral Gage to order that it be hewn down.
asmuch as the felling of a venerable tree always touches tender chords in the thoughtful,
it is not surprising that the loss of this one

the rattlesnake elags

stated that

liberty

400. South Carolina

398. Gadsden Flag.
Navy.
CulpepEr Minute Men. The
405.
rattlesnake device was seen again and again

quaintly

colonial activities,

wide-spreading live
bear an important part.
oak in Charleston, near the home of Christopher Gadsden, made a shelter under which the
leading spirits of the day often met to discuss
political questions, and there the Declaration
of Independence was first read to the people
The Sons of Liberty, meeting
of the city.
under the fine old elm in Hanover Square,
Under^ its
gave Boston her Liberty Tree.
shade a notable meeting was held just previous

grasping the thirteen links of an endless chain

formed one of the early representations of the
It recognized
spirit of unity in the colonies.
the sentiment of "United we stand," and foreshadowed the "E Plurihus Unum," soon to appear as our motto. The number thirteen was
prominent on many of the early standards. A
common variation shows a mailed hand grasping a bundle of thirteen arrows.

on our early

of

especially

fond of the device. South Carolina adopted

for her navy the red and blue stripes crossed
by the gliding snake, as seen in 400.
Loyal and energetic enthusiasts in the cause
of liberty, the people of the Piedmont region
of Virginia rallied to the support of the Con^

349

(See 398.)
(See 399.)

The Westmoreland County Battalion

402.
of Pennsylvania was raised in 1775 by John
Proctor and is still preserved in New Alexandria, Pa. It is a British ensign of red silk,
with the addition of the coiled rattlesnake and
the familiar legend, "Don't Tread On Me."

350

Mill

Q>

aim
111

Connecticut Flag. The activities of

4.03.
1775 and 1776 emphasized the need of colors
:o distinguish the various troops.
Soon after
che battle of Bunker Hill the States began to

make

colors

themselves. Connecticut,
with this flag, was one of the first. Her
motto, "Qui transtulit sustinet," of which a
free translation is, "God, who transported us
aither, will sustain us," was put upon one side
af several flags of the time, with "An Appeal
to Heaven," the Massachusetts motto, upoJ
the other.
This shows almost the identical
form of the permanent Connecticut flag (305).
for

Merchant and Privateer Ensign.

404.
Those dashing privateers, whose exploits made
such entertaining reading in the history books
31* our childhood days, flew this ensign of thir:een stripes.
Many references and prints of
'striped flaggs" in contemporary British litera:ure prove its prevalence.
The color of the
varied according to the fancy of the
officer.
Merchant vessels nearly
ahvays displayed this flag.
stripes

commanding

(See 398.)
405.
406. Fort Moultrie. This flag flew from
the southeast bastion of Fort Moultrie (then
:alled Fort Sullivan), in Charleston Harbor,
during the famous Revolutionary battle of
Tune 28, 1776. Early in the attack the sky-

colored emblem fell outside the parapet Sergeant William Jasper, crying out, "Don't let us
right without a flag," vaulted over the wall
jnder a rain of bullets, secured the flag, fixed
t to a staff, and, triumphantly planting it firm.y in place, leaped down within the parapet to
Three ringing cheers greeted his resafety.
turn. After an intense artillery attack lasting
ten hours, the British forces were compelled to
withdraw, and the next day the entire fleet left
Charleston Harbor. The name of the fort was
thanged to Moultrie in honor of the gallant
Southern
defender. This victory left the
States secure from invasion for more than
two years. This flag is identical with Colonel
raised in
September, 1775. with the addition of the word
Liberty'' in white letters.
Erave and gallant Count
407. Pulaski.
Pulaski, who gave his life for our cause in

Moultrie's

earlier flag

(389")

first

Polish
[779, fought beneath this banner.
count volunteering as a private, distinguished
by his coolness and courage at the battle of
Brandywine, he was made Chief of Dragoons, with the rank of Brigadier-General.
The Moravian Sisters, of Bethlehem, PennOne
sylvania, embroidered this flag for him.
side bears the words "X'nitas Virtus Forcior"
which last word, bj' the way, should be jor:or), "Union makes valor stronger." encircling the letters U. S. The other side bears
the motto, "Xon Alius Regit.'" "Xo other governs." with the all-seeing eye in the center
Pulaski raised his own independent
rriangle.
:orps of infantry and light cavalry, and later
commanded the French and American forces
3t the siege of Savannah, where he was morThus fell, at the early age of
tally wounded.
31. one of the many heroic foreign brothers
who fought with us f~>r liberty.
Xew Hampshire Regiment.
408
409.
These two Xew Hampshire flags belonged to
They were
the Second Regiment of the State.

taken at Fort Anne by the British Ninth Regi

ment of Foot, commanded by Lieutenant Colo
nel Hill, a few weeks before the decisive battle
of Saratoga. After the surrender of Burgoyne, Colonel Hill carried them to England,
where they were treasured by his descendants,
finally falling into the hands of Col. George
W. Rogers, of Wykeham, Sussex. From him
they were purchased in 1912 by Mr. Edward
Tuck, and presented to the Xew Hampshire
Historical Society. The}- are of the same size,
approximately five by five and one-half feet.
The buff flag (408) with a golden disk ir
the center bears the motto, "We are one.'
From the disk radiate thirteen rays and thir
teen thin lines, each line touching a go 'den
ring in the outer circle, with each ring bearing
the name of one of the thirteen States. In
the upper left corner are eight red and pale
blue triangles which form two crosses.
The blue silk flag with the gold fringe (4091
bears the letters X. H, with "2nd Regt." below
them on the small red shield in the center
The motto on the scroll is significant. "The
glory, not the prey." The two crosses com
bined in the upper corner are of red and gold
These two Xew Hampshire flags are prob
ably the only ones now in existence which
were captured during the Revolutionary War
"A deep
410. First Pennsylvania Rifles.
green ground, the device a tiger, partly en
closed by toils, attempting the pass, defended
by a hunter with a spear (in white) on a
crimson field" thus reads the description o f
the standard of the First Pennsylvania Rifles
in the words of Lieutenant Colonel Hand
written March 8. 1776. During the war this
regiment served in every one of the thirteen

colonies, and this banner waved at many a

famous battle at Trenton. Princeton, Brandy
wine. Monmouth, and Yorktown, to mention

only a few.

411. Third Maryland. The existence of

known to have been used as
regimental
flag in the Revolution, sheds a bit
a
of light on the darkness surrounding the ex
tent to which the stars and stripes were used
It is certain that this identica.
at the time.
Pag was carried by the Third Maryland Regi
ment at the battle of Cowpens, in January,
William Bachelor was the color-bearer
7778.
It is made of thin cotton, and is remarkably
well preserved. It is a little over five feet
long, and almost a yard wide, and is now in
the flag room of the capito! at Annapolis. It
is the only instance of the use of the "Stars
and Stripes" as a color (i. e., by land troo>ps)
national or regimental, during the Revolution
ary War. that of 1812. and the Mexican War
(See history of Stars and Stripes printed else

this national flag,

where

number.)
Standard. This square of
brilliant crimson formed the battle flag of Col
William Washington's cavalry troop, and led
the way to victory at Cowpens and at the final
412.

in this

Eutaw

of the Revolution, Eutaw Springs, in

1781 two decisive battles of the war in the
South. Tradition tells a quaint story of its
It seems that Colonel Washington, on
origin.
a hurried visit to his fiancee. Miss Jane Elliot
of South Carolina, mentioned that he had no
With quick flashes of her scissors, she
flag.
battle

:2

cut a square of gay, red damask from the back

of a drawing-room chair, saying, "Colonel,
make this your standard." It was mounted on
a hickory pole and borne at the head of his
troops till the end of the war. In 1827 it was
presented to the Washington Light Infantry

of Charleston by Mrs. Jane Elliot Washington,

in person, and is one of our most treasured
banners.
414. Saintogne
413. Gatinois Regiment.
Regiment. 415. Royal Deux PonTs. A number of French regiments were sent to America

All served
during the Revolutionary War.
with gallantry and distinction, Savannah and
Yorktown both being honored by their enerThe flags of all
getic and fearless fighting.
these regiments followed one general pattern,
the basic idea being a white flag with colored
triangles making squares in the corners and
leaving a white cross extending across the center.
They were about four feet square and
the colors were painted on them.
The Gatinois regiment (413) was formed in
1776 out of two sections of a famous old
French regiment of Auvergne, and in honor
of its gallant conduct at Yorktown was ever
after known as the Royal Auvergne.
The blue, red, green, and yellow triangles of
the flag of the Saintogne regiment (414) speak
eloquently of dashing courage and hearty loyalty at

Yorktown.

Each arm of the

Royal

Deux Ppnts

St.

Andrew's cross

(415)

bears

the

in the

golden

fleur-de-lis of France, while a crown holds the

center. Quartered on the flag are the arms of

the

Duke

of

Deux Ponts over

red and blue

stripes.

a French count, with the rank

of lieutenant general, was in command of the
He displayed a
6,000 troops sent to our aid.
fine spirit throughout the war, maintaining his
soldiers as part of the American army and
holding himself as entirely under Washington's command. (See "Our First Alliance," by

Rochambeau,

Jusserand, National Geographic

zine, June, 1917.)
J.

J.

Maga-

Ansbach. Three Ansbach Bayreuth

416.
colors are now in the chapel at West Point.
They were among the German colors captured
All are similar in main design,
at Yorktown.

made of heavy white damask, embroidered

in

On

one side is the red Brandenburg eagle, with the words, "Pro Principe et

colored

silk.

The other side

Patria" on the scroll above.
shows the green laurel and palm, with the
letters S. ET C. A., the first
four letters of which stand for "Sinceriter et
Constanter" and the last for Prince Alexander, then reigning.
It is supposed that eighteen German colors were surrendered at Yorktown; but the others are missing.
It is surprising
417. NEW York Regiment.
to note how few regimental flags used in the
Revolution are in existence today. This is the
most elaborate and detailed of any of them.
It was made in 1778 or 1779, and is approximately six feet square, of dark blue silk with
a blue fringe, and bears on each side the arms
of the State. These arms from that far-away

monogrammed

day to
changed

this have
in general

remained
design.

practically unfigures

The two

are clad in costumes of the day. The dresses

are of cloth of gold, with red mantles.
This regimental color was carried by Col

This is the
Peter Gansevoort at Yorktown.
same Colonel Gansevoort who was in command
of Fort Stanwix, or Fort Schuyler, when he
caused to be hoisted the first Stars and Stripes
over a fort or garrison of the army, August 3
(See History of Stars and Stripes in
1777.
this number.)
Bucks op America. John Hancock
418.
whose presence in Lexington was an addi
tional cause of the, sortie that led to the fa
mous battle, and who, with Adams, was espe
cially excepted in the pardon issued on the
12th of June, 1775, by General Gage, as being
"of too flagitious a nature to admit of any
other consideration than that of condign pun-

ishment," yet lived to a ripe old age, and became the first Governor of the State of Massachusetts.
After the close of the Revolution
one of his official acts as Governor was to present this banner to the colored company, called
the "Bucks of America," in acknowledgment
of their valor. The flag is badly faded now
yet shows unmistakable signs of former beauty
The stars in the blue union were gilded. In
size it is a little over five feet long by three
and one-half feet wide. Notice the "Buck"

under the green

tree.

TallmadgE's Dracoons. Many a dar419.

ing exploit of Major Tallmadge, of Connecticut, and his dragoons adds luster to this flag
On September 5, 1779, without the loss of a
man, Tallmadge captured 500 Tories at Lloyd's
Neck, on Long Island.
His men fought at
Brandywine, Germantown, and
This pink flag of very thin silk

and one-half

feet square.

Monmouth.
is

about two

The two wings on

the center disk are of silver, while the ten ray;

are golden. The canton deserves especial mention, as the thirteen stripes are made by six
strips of white ribbon sewed to the silk of the
flag.
It is remarkably well preserved.

This little flag be420. Webb's Regiment.

longed to the troops under Colonel Webb, undoubtedly the Third Connecticut Regiment,
which during the course of the war was made
up from the depleted Second and the Ninth
It is a small, tattered, yellow flag. A pink ribbon ties the green wreath, while the sword is
painted the color of steel, and the "I" is black
An old account of the colors of the various
Connecticut troops states that the flag of the
first regiment was yellow; so it is possible that
originally this was the banner of that unit.
421. The golden lilies of France (reduced
in 1365) were
to three in number by Charles
borne by many intrepid explorers anxious to
expand the dominion of the Bourbons in the
New World. Joliet and Marquette, the pioneer

who rediscovered the Father oi

Waters, and La Salle, Iberville, and Bienville,
who figured so conspicuously in the history oi
missionaries

the exploration and colonization of Louisiana,

all bore the fleurs-de-lis in the wilderness.
422. French Flag, Champlain and De
GrassE. This was the ensign of daring Samuel de Champlain as he sailed down the lake
that bears his name.
It was also the flag of
Count De Grasse, who, with his fleet of twentyfour ships of the line, sailed from the West

353

734

BELGIUM ENSIGN

!35

BELGIUM MERCHANT

JAPAN GUARD

JAPAN TRANSPORT

758

759

^36

CHINA NAVAL

JAPAN COMDG OFFICER

760

354

,UcHINA NATIONAL

JAPAN MAIL FLAG

761

791

PORTUGAL ENSIGN

355

in the summer of 1781, entered the

Chesapeake, and met the fleet of Admiral
Thomas Graves, compelling him to return to
New York fqr refitting and repairs. Then, by
blocking the mouths of the York and James
rivers, he succeeded in cutting off communica-

indies

between the British forces at Yorktown

and those at New York, and thus assisted materially in causing the famous surrender that
closed the war (see National Geographic
Magazine, June, 1917, pages 527-548).
Napoleon's Flag, Louisiana, 1803.
423.
Among the many changes of flag that helped
to make romantic the early history of Louisiana, this of Napoleon stands out as memorable
because it was hauled down to give place for
"Old Glory" on the 20th of December, 1803.
tion

Each of

the colors of this flag is woven into

the tissue of French history by myriad threads.
The blue banner of St. Martin was first used
by the kings of France in the fourth century,
and for 600 years was carried into battle as a
sure omen of victory.
Next came the wellloved Auriflamme, the gold-broidered banner
of St. Denis. This in turn gave place to the
"cornette blanche" a plain white flag emblematic of the Virgin Mary, carried by Joan of
Arc, and later adopted by the Bourbons.
So it was not purely an accident that the
choice of the populace storming the Bastille,
in 1789, should have been the tricolor; and it
is easy to see how the historic associations, as
well as the beauty and simplicity of the banner
itself,
made it the permanent emblem of

France.
It was fourteen years after this tricolor had
become the national flag of France that the
remarkable and startling chain of events, occurring a quarter of the way around the world
from our Father of Waters, made it possible
for us to purchase the wonderful Louisiana

country.
424.

ka.

RussfAN-AmERicAN Company, Alascoast was explored

it was not until 1794 that the first, and

Although the Alaskan

in 1741,

even then only partially accurate, chart of the

Alaskan mainland was made. Kodiak was settled in 1784, and in the succeeding years private traders raided and robbed the Indian
villages,

until

the

reign

of

lawlessness

was

checked by the formation, in 1799, of the

Russian-American Company, which remained
dominant in Alaskan matters for sixty years.
And thus it was that while the young American Republic was getting on its feet and meeting its first problems of administration and
expansion this white, blue, and red standard
was flaunting in the sunshine from many a
ship through the long days of Alaskan sum-

mers and flapping from the flagstaffs of many

a trading post under the steely glitter of the
long winter nights. In 1867 the Alaska purchase placed our own starry flag on those
valuable far-northern shores.

Aztec Standard Battle of Otum425.

ba.
History says that Cortes and his Spaniards, with their allies, the Tlaxcallans, were
on the verge of defeat at the battle of Otumba, when the Spanish leader, descrying the

gorgeously decorated litter of the Aztec general and observing that he carried the battle
standard lashed to his back, summoned several

356

cavaliers and, praying to Santiago (429), they

fought their way to the Aztec's side. Cortes
overthrew the general and Salamanca cut the
standard from his back.
The loss of their
emblem demoralized the Aztec forces and
turned the tide of the battle.
Cortes afterward presented the standard to the Tlaxcallan
chieftain, Maxixca, as a reward for his aid
and friendship, and the Spanish King caused
it to be represented
on Salamanca's coat-ofarms. This illustration of the standard, which
was called the Quetzalteopamitl and was composed of a golden sun surrounded by the richest plumes of the quetzal (see 487), was taken
from the picture writings of the Tlaxcallans,
shown in the Lienzo of Tlaxcalla (see 426).
426. Banners, Mexican.
The Lienzo of

Tlaxcalla is a document of great importance,

as it represents in hieroglyphics the principal
events of the conquest of Mexico painted by
the Indians themselves. It is on long bands of
linen and is divided into 86 illustrations by
perpendicular lines. The Tlaxcallans were a
fierce mountain people, implacable foes of the
Aztecs, and became the staunch allies of Cortes
after their armies were decisively defeated by
the Spaniards on their way to Tenochtitlan.
In numerous of these illustrations Cortes and
his cavaliers are shown in battle, dressed in
their armor and astride their prancing steeds,
while by their sides are shown their Tlaxcallan
allies, armed with their crude native weapons
and carrying their beautiful banners (426)
cleverly constructed of precious metals and
bright-colored plumes, mounted on wooden
staffs and lashed to their backs to allow free
use of both arms.
Banners Incas. Before Pizarro.
427.
"The Children of the Sun," as the Incas were

among the mountain fastnesses of

Peru and were as cultured as the Aztecs of
Mexico.
Their country has been called the
"Ophir of the Occident," and well it deserved
the name, for its treasures of precious metals
exceeded the dreams of avarice. Like the Aztecs, these ancient Peruvians used the gaudy
plumage of tropical birds for decorative purposes, and this sketch of two old banners illustrates the feathered halyards and trimming.
These Sun-worshipers also had great reverence for the rainbow, and used a representacalled, lived

An

tion of

it in their royal insignia.

old description, referring to the ceremony incident
to the recognition of the heir-apparent, says:

"Being recognized as of age, he was given

command of his father's armies and was enstandard of the raincampaigns."
Cortes Standard. "The hardy and
428.
romantic adventurers who followed in the
wake of Columbus were not merely sordid
gold hunters
they were the descendants of
soldiers who had for centuries fought in the
holy wars of the Cross against the Crescent,
and in their veins flowed the blood of the
knight-errant and Crusader. Gold they sought
with eagerness and without scruple; but they
wanted glory almost as much as they wanted
gold, and in the pursuit of both they carried
aloft the banner of the Church."
Around the edge of this standard of Cortes
there appears in Spanish "This standard was
titled to display the royal

bow

in his military

that carried by Hernando Cortes in the Conquest of Mexico."

It now hangs in the National Museum at Mexico City a relic of the
stirring times when the present city was Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital and the scene of
Another standard
Montezuma's grandeur.
carried by Cortes was, according to Prescott,
'of black velvet, embroidered with gold, and
emblazoned with a red cross amidst flames of
blue and white, with this motto in Latin beneath: 'Friends, let us follow the Cross; and

under

this

sign,

if

we have

faith,

we

shall

conquer.'
Pizarro. This is the banner of Pi429.
zarro, which the people of Cuzco, the royal
city of the Inca's, presented, in 1824, to General de Sucre, the trusted lieutenant of the
liberator Bolivar and the victor of the battle
of Ayacucho, which broke the power of imDe Sucre, in
perial Spain in South America.

turn,

presented

who gave

it

to

it

to his commander-in-chief,
his native city of Caracas,

This
Venezuela, where it is now treasured.
standard is said to have been carried by Pizarro when he entered Cuzco, a conqueror, in
r
It hung all those intervening years in
S33the cathedral of the ancient Peruvian city. In
"I present
a letter to Bolivar, de Sucre said
to you this standard which Pizarro bore to
Cuzco 300 years ago a portion of the material is in shreds, but it possesses the merit
of having led the conquerors of Peru."
Strictly speaking, the flag is really a banner,
or fanion, such as was generally used in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
On one of
its faces of scarlet damask the arms of Charles
represented
V are embroidered; on the other is
the Apostle St. James (Santiago), in an attitude of combat, mounted on a white horse.
When the standard was received in Caracas,
the reverse side consisted only of white satin,
and it was not discovered until 1872 that this
was not a part of the flag, but a covering to
:

protect its most interesting

is painted and embroidered
mounted warrior. The red
appears on his coat-of-mail,
that remains of the sword in

face,

upon which

the figure of the

cross of Santiago
but the hilt is all
his hand.

Pizarro. General San Martin, "the

430.
liberator of the South," believed this flag to

be the standard of Pizarro

relating to the founding of

but old documents

the Spanish conqueror seem to prove that it was the
banner of that city. The escutcheon granted
to Lima by Charles V, in 1537, appears on the
;

Lima by

flag.

The Municipal Council of Lima presented

the standard to San Martin in 1821, after his
successful campaigns in Chile, and in his farewell proclamation to the Peruvians the following year, prior to his departure for Europe,
he said "I have in my possession the standard
:

which Pizarro bore to enslave the empire of

the Incas.
I have ceased to be a public man,
but by this alone I am rewarded with usury
for ten years of revolution and war."
In his
last testament he provided that "the standard
which the Spanish bandit Pizarro waved in the
conquest of Peru be returned to the said Republic."

THE LIBERATORS OF LATIN AMERICA

San Martin. Flying this flag, Gen431.

eral San Martin came north into Peru with
his Ejercito Libertadof, or liberating army, in
1820, after having effected the complete overthrow of the royalists" in Chile. Forces sent
against the liberator joined his army, and in
Lima even the Viceroy's secretaries were revoGeneral San Martin enlutionists at heart.
tered the capital on July 12, 1821, and was preon
sented with the flag of Pizarro (see 430)
July 28 the proclamation of independence was
Major.
in
the
Plaza
issued
After laying the foundations of a republican
government, the Protector journeyed north to
Guayaquil, Ecuador, to confer with General
Simon Bolivar, who had accomplished independence for the Northern States of South
;

America.

Then San Martin returned

to

Lima

and, after placing the government in the hands

of the first constituent congress, retired to Europe, the recipient of every honor within the
gift of a grateful people.
This silken
432. Army of the Andes.
"Banner of the Sun," as it was called, with its
beautiful, embroidered design and edges decorated with precious stones, was made for San
Martin's Army of the Andes by the women of
Mendoza City, which lies at the foot of the
Chilo-Argentine Cordillera on the Argentine
side.
The revolutionary leader carried it over
the snow-covered mountains into Chile, which

he liberated.

The

flag

was

publicly consecrated in

Men-

doza City with elaborate ceremony on January

As it was unfurled a salute of twentyS, 1817.
one guns was fired, the populace shouting,
"Long live our Argentine country." General
San Martin then, holding aloft the banner, exclaimed in a vibrating voice, "Soldiers! Swear
to uphold this standard and die, if necessary,
in its defense, as I swear to die !" "We swear
to do so !" came the response, amid a triple
discharge of musketry, followed by a salvo of
twenty-five guns.
The design of the badge on the field of blue
and white is practically the same as the present
Argentine coat-of-arms (see 453).
433. Bolivar. Under this flag Simon Bolivar, the liberator, broke the hold of imperial
Spain upon its provinces in northern South
America early in the 19th century. Venezuela,

Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru owe their independence to him and he is worshiped as a national hero in these countries.
It is said that
while visiting the United States on his return
journey from Paris, where he had been an eyewitness to some of the stirring scenes of the
last days of the French revolution, he was first
impressed with the desirability of political independence, and, returning to Venezuela, he
began the military operations which freed hi
native land.
434. Banner of Hidalgo. "Viva America,
viva religion, death to bad government," was
the war cry of Mexico's soldier-priest, Miguel
Hidalgo, who, shortly after the American colonies had attained their independence, led the
popular revolt against Spanish rule in the
country to the south of us. His flag was the
sacred banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the

357

C'

'

*ii'X-..

EXHH1T
325

SWEDEN

TUNIS-

828

ROYAL STANDARD

BEY'S
358

STANDARD

&nr^
FLAG OF BRITISH EMPIRE
839

PILOT JACK
857

ST
U

830

GEORGES CROSS
ENGLAND

LLOYDS SIGNAL
STATIONS AND BOATS

858

ST
"831

II

ANDREWS CROSS
SCOTLAND

CONSULAR AFLOAT
859

359

CROSS
IRELAND

ST PATRICK'S
u

832

PACIFIC CABLE
860

BOARD

patron saint of Mexico, and was flown in triumph for a time; but disaster overtook him
and, with several of his generals, he was shot
to death at Chihuahua in 1811.
Two subsequent revolutions were also led by priests,
Padres Morelos and Mier, and they, too, met
Hidalgo's fate. They died upon the threshold
of success, however, for Mexican independence of Spain was accomplished in 1821. The
banner of Hidalgo is preserved in the National

Museum

in Mexico City.
Treaiv of Tordesiixas. These flags
appearing on maps of the sixteenth century in-

435.

dicate the division of territory for exploration

and conquest by Spain and Portugal effected
by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. Pope
Nicholas
had given the Portuguese exclusive
right to the "road to the Indies" in 1454, but
he had in mind only the coast of Africa. Complicating the situation came the discovery of
land in the west by Columbus, who believed
that he had found the eastern shores of Asia.

Pope Alexander VI, a Spaniard, was appealed

to and he drew a line north to south a hundred
leagues west of the Azores, giving the SpanThe
iards the right to all that lay beyond.
Portuguese protested and the diplomats met at
Tordesillas, Spain, with the result that the line
was shifted 270 leagues farther west, approximating the 50th meridian of longitude west of

This line strikes South America

mouth of the Amazon, and the Span-

Greenwich.
at the

iards therefore laid claim to the greater part

of the continent and sought to exclude all
This probably explains why
other nations.
Portugal secured only Brazil from all this vast

domain.

436. Order of Christ. This flag is to be

found on old maps of Brazil, where it indicates the control of territory by the members

of the Brazilian section of this ancient order,

which was instituted by Denys. King of Portugal, in 1231, to expel the Moors from Betica,
adjoining Portugal. According to eighteenth
century historians, the order "added mam' gallant Countries in Asia, Africk, and Brazil, to
the domains of Portugal, and so improved
their own Estates, that all the Isles in the Atlantick do belong to them; besides the Rents
of the Mine of St. George in Guinea, amounting to 100,000 Ducats of yearly Income."

Eraztl Empire. Driven from their

437.
kingdom by the invading armies of Napoleon,
the "royal family of Portugal in 1808 took refuse in Brazil, and for the first time in the history' of the world a colony became the seat of

government of
regent, coming

its

mother country.

to the throne as

The

Dom

prince

John VI,

In 1889 the
raised this standard of empire.
colonists threw off the imperial yoke and established a republic, retaining in their national
ensign (see 458) some of the characteristic
features of the empire flag the yellow diamond and the green field. The shield and imperial crown of the old flag, however, were
replaced by the blue globe and the republican

motto,
438.

"Ordem

e Proeresso."

Spanish Flag in Mexico.

The

seum

at Mexico City,
its peculiar design is
an adaptation of the raguled cross of the Spanish Bourbons, which may also be seen in the
earlier flags of Ostend and Biscay (1143 and
1 146), but with an added feature of crowncrested coats-of-arms on the ends of the cross
439. Mexico Flag. Migrating Aztecs, successors to the Toltecs in Mexico, in 1325 came

to the shores of a lake in the valley of Mexico,

or Anahuac, and there, as had been foretold b>
their oracle, "they beheld, perched on the stem
of a prickly pear, which shot out from the
cre%rices of a rock that was washed by the
waves, a royal eagle of extraordinary size and
beaut)', with a serpent in his talons and his
broad wings open to the sun." This determined the location of Tenochtitlan, now the

City of Mexico. From this legend was devised

the coat-of-arms which appears in the center

of this flag, adopted when Mexico became independent, in 1821 (see new coat-of-arms and

Mexican

flags 489-492-493).
440. Alamo Flag. This was the flag- thai
floated in 1836 over the historic mission fortress, the Alamo, at San Antonio, when Texas
was fighting for her independence. For twelve
days the garrison of 178 Americans held out
under the heavy bombardment of a force of
4,000 Mexicans. On the 6th of March the garrison was so weakened that the Mexicans were
able to make assaults. Twice beaten back, the
invaders were successful at last only through

sheer weight of numbers. They gained an entrance to find but five of the brave defenders
alive.
These Santa Anna ordered bayoneted
in cold blood.
The war cry, "Remember the
Alamo," echoed over many a battlefield, lead
ing the Texans to ultimate victory. The date
indicated the adherence to the constitution o:
1824, and for this reason the numbers were
used in place of the eagle, serpent, and cactus
of the Mexican national flag.
441.

it

now

Texas

and thirteen stripes, the latter evidently borrowed from her neighbor to the
north, the United States. The date given for
this is April 9, 1836, antedating by several
months the adoption of the first national standard of Texas, the design of which was "an
azure ground with a large golden star central.''
As to the origin of the lone star there are
several legends. One gives the honor to Henry
Smith, head of the Provisional Government.
who is said to have sealed his State papers
with the impression of a brass button on his

which had in relief a single star surAnother story

rounded by an oak wreath.
gives the credit to a Mrs. Venson. who presented a flag with that device to a Texas regicoat,

ment in 1836 Csee State flag 328).

New Granada (Colombia).
442-443.
These were the flags of New Granada, the
confederation of South American States now
mainlv embraced in the Republic of Colombia.

States effected a closer union

their flag from three broad vertical stripes of yellow, blue, and red to the present Colombian flags (shown in 462-463). The

In 1*63 these

old

and changed

reposes,

other relics of that struggle, in the

When

single star

'

among

Texas Flag (Naval).

seceded from Mexico and became an independent republic, the first flag that seems to
have been adopted was the naval flag, with its

flag fro-ri ','.->.: :h this illustration has been made

Spanish troops in the war of
was :a'-ie '

Mexican independence and

old and

mu-

360

new

ensigns (442 and 462) are

much

change in stripes, for they

both have the coat-of-anns and the same colThe eight-pointed star is on both merors.
chant flags (443 and 463), but on the latter it
is placed on an oval shield.
444. Ecuapor. This flag of Ecuador when
it was a part of the Republic of Colombia had
as its coat-of-arms a design which was very
similar to that used at present (see 480). The
circle of seven stars in the upper part of the
blue stripe represented the seven provinces of
alike except for the

the republic.

South Peru. The flag of this coun445.

try was in existence but a short time, for the
Peruvian - Bolivian Confederation, to which
South Peru belonged, only endured about two
years.
In the process of evolution which
brought about the present South American nations, stirring events occurred with great rapidity and States formed by political factions
were dissolved almost overnight.
This par-

was inaugurated May 1,

and consisted of three States North
Peru, South Peru, and Bolivia with a president for each and with General Santa Cruz as
the supreme director, or dictator, of the whole.
It was dissolved following severe fighting and
the overthrow of the dictator.
Guatemala. Conquered in 1525 by
446.
the Spaniards under Don Pedro de Alvarado,
who became famous as Cortes' chief lieutenant
ticular confederation
1837,

in the conquest of Mexico and was dispatched

by him to effect the conquest of the lands to
the south, Guatemala continued under Spanish
rule until 1821, when independence was atThe Guatemala of those days contained.
sisted of the whole of Central America, and
1S39 that it broke up under
it was not until
civil wars into the five republics of Guatemala,
Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua, and
Costa Rica. The flag shown in the illustration
was the standard adopted May 31, 1858, which
preceded the present ensign (see 482).
Entre Rios, Corrientes,
447 - 448 - 449.
Santa Ee. These were the flags of the Span-

ish settlements established in wdiat is

now Ar-

In the days of the viceroys they were

under the control of a government located at
Buenos Aires, which in turn was under the
authority of the vice-royalty of Peru. Later
Buenos Aires became the seat of its own
viceroy, having authority over the Argentine
Confederation, composed of these three States
and the territory now occupied by Uruguay,
Entre Rios, CorriParaguay, and Bolivia.
gentina.

and Santa Fe are still in existence, their

today having the same relative importance of our own State flags. The golden sun
in the center of the Entre Rios flag is still used
in the same position on the ensign of modern
Argentina (see 450entes,
flags

THE FLAGS OF PAN-AMERICA

450.

The

flag of the

Pan-American' /Union

a pennant adopted in 1907 and embodies all

of the colors of the twenty-one republics of

is

the Western Hemisphere.

The national banner of the Argentine
451.

Republic was devised in 1812. The Congress

Tucuman formally recognized it as the
standard of the new Argentine Republic, then
officially designated "The United Provinces of
The Argentine banner
the Rio de La Plata."
is something more than merely the national
flag of that Republic.
It is associated in a
large measure with the glories of Latin America, for, under the leadership of General de
San Martin (see also 431) and General Belgrano, it helped to free Bolivia, Chile, Peru,
and Ecuador. This flag has three stripes, skyblue at the top and bottom and white in the
middle. In the center of the held is a golden
representation of the sun.
452. The merchant flag of Argentina, known
as the "Bandera Menor," or flag of peace, is
exactly like the national ensign, except that the
blazing sun is omitted.
453- The presidential flag of the Argentine
Republic consists of a banner upon which the
national coat-of-arms is emblazoned. The essential principle of the coat-of-arms is that of
an ellipse divided by the horizontal diameter,
the field of the upper half being sky-blue and
that of the lower half white. In the center of
the upper section is a carmine liberty cap, supported by a vertical golden staff, held upright
by two clasped hands. Around the ellipse is a

of

border consisting of a wreath of two intertwined laurel branches. At the apex there is
a representation of a golden sun.
454. After Bolivia was liberated by the
sword of Gen. Simon Bolivar (see also 433),
a national flag and coat-of-arms were adopted.

The

national ensign consists of three stripes

red at the top, gold in the middle, and green
The red denotes the animal
at the bottom.
kingdom, the gold the mineral kingdom, and
the green the vegetable kingdom. In the center of the field is placed the national coat-ofarms.
The merchant banner of Bolivia is a
455.
duplicate of the national ensign, with the coatof-arms omitted.
456.

Bolivia's

coat-of-arms

is

elliptical

in

In the center appears the mountain

Potosi, celebrated for its traditional
mineral wealth; beneath this are an alpaca, a
sheaf of wdieat, and a breadfruit tree. In the
upper part is a rising sun with light cloud effect.
At the apex is the inscription, "Bolivia."
On each side of the oval are three Bolivian
banners, a cannon, two rifles with fixed bayonets pointing upward at an angle; on the right
is an Inca battle-axe and on the left a liberty
cap; above all, as a crest, is the condor of the
Andes between two branches of laurel and

form.

crest of

olive.

The

flag of the Argentine Admiral

blue, with three stars next to and
parallel with the staff, and an anchor in the
4.57.

ashore

is

center of the

361

field.

*&#b
CIBRALTAR

==

IGOV.

:om

_=

861

,s_E z-

663

'.-'.

;_:e=mv

CUERNSEY

665

867

864

GENERAL CANADA
868

w
878^
ONTARIO

QUEBEC

NOVA SCOTIA

872

873

874

881

579

NEW

BERMUDA

FOUNDLAND

880

^-S^S5>'

BAHAMA

ISLANDS

875 NEVA/

BRUNSWICK

882"^^^^"

SOMBRERO AND
BAHAMA LIGHTS

MANITOBA
876

JAMAICA
833

877

884

WINDWARD

BADOS

ISLES

886

- = -

_:

904

- .z

ST.

LUCIA

"

890

883

~-

885

TURKS AND

"~^X-^

LEEWARD

BRITISH

HONDURAS

CU1ANA

'-

ISLES

892

BRITISH

"

TONGA ENSIGN

BRITISH

COLUMBIA

I.

CAICOS ISLES

891

PRINCE

EDWARD

z -

z _s~c =
907

905

362

923

STRAITS

SETTLEMENTS

930
1

LABUAN

CEYLON

924

925

ENS FEDERATED

MALAY STATES

HONG KONG
926

WEIHAIWEI
927

MAURITIUS

SEYCHELLES

928

929

The present hag of Brazil was largely

45k.
irheroeo from the extinct empire. It consists
of a green field. twice as ionsr a? wide, on which
a diamond-shaped .".scire is inscribed in yellow. The green represents the vegetable kingdom and the yeliow the mineral. The blue
circle within the yellow diamond, studded with
stars, is a representation of the heavens at Rio,
when the constellation of the Southern Cross
The words stamped :n the
:s at the meridian.
course of the terrestrial orbit mean "Order

and Progress."

The President's flag of Brazil consists

459.
of a tine held, with the national coat-ot'-arrns
in the center.
The large rive-pointed star typifying the unity and territorial integrity of the
nation is bisected in such a manner that one
~r

the halves oi each point

is

green and the

and mineral -veakh of the country. The

blue circular band inscribed within the star
contains twenty-one small silver stars, reminders of the twenty States of the Brazilian Union
ant the neutral city of Rio de Janeiro. The
rive large stars in the center of the coat-01table

em

entire shield is upheld by a

the center ot whose nilt on
a red field is set a star. The shield is encircled
by two branches of coffee and tobacco plants
as emblems of the country's agricultural wealth,
while the straight golden rays, radiating in all
directions outward and upward beyond the
that is.
shield, centre the rising of the sun
the gl eric us future and destiny of Brazil. Inthe
words
"Esrados
L rridos
scribed below are
the Lrthed States of Brazil) and
do Brazil"
_
-he da e of the establishment oi the republic,

The

Cross.

vertical swc-rd.

November 15. iS-S-p.

4cc October ic.

00:7. will be the centennial

Chilian hag.
October :S. :S:r. Gen.
Bernardo O Higgirs. the supreme dictator of
It consists 01 a
Chile, decreed its adoption.
field, the l:wer half of which is red and the
upper white, with a blue canton in the upper
left-hand c truer occupied by a large r.vepointed silver star.
The tanner of the President of Chile
461.
consists of the national ensign with the coatlice condor
of-arms of the country thereon,
and guemnl sutt-crtirg the shield represent the
strongest and most majestic bird of the Chilian
Arties and the most peculiarly Chilian quadThe nift tf three feathers which
ruped.
crowns the shield was formerly used as a special mark of distinction on the hat oi the President of the Republic, as a representation 01 the
:

the

the old days of wetter, ships the sailor

first

succeeded in

':

enemy and came out

who

arcing a warship of the

of

the action alive

was

being crowned with a naval diadem of gold. Copies of this crown appear on
The
the head cf the condor and the guemul.
means "By
"nscrip'tion en the coat-ot-arms
Bight" or Might."

rewarded

~z-y

and coatCiljmbia inherited

462.
tf-arms r:rc the Republic of Xew Granada,
Following the
of which it is the successor
death of Simon Bolivar, the Colombian Crier.
set up by him, which consisted of the present
its

re?,->H-=

of

Venezuela.

flag

Ecuador.

Colombia.

and Panama, cease t

one oz the succeeding
: _

nst-and

New Granada

States. adopted what is

the coac-of-arms and the flag of ColomThe upper half of this flag is yellow, the
bia.
lower half divided between light blue and
bright red. the red strip being at the bottom
the ensign is embroidered the national coat-

now

On

of-arms.
463. The merchant flag of Colombia is a
replica of the national ensign, except that instead of the ccat-of-arms there appears a

bright red oval surrounding a small held of

blue, upon which is imposed an eight-pointed
464. Colombia '5 coat-: 1 -arms consists of a
shield divided into three horizontal sections.
the upper section displaying upon a field of
blue a golden pomegranate tinged with red.
with the leaves and stem of the same color.
each side of the pomegranate is an inclined golden cornucopia, the one on the right

On

pouring out toward the center gold coins and

the one on the left overflowing with the fruits
of the tropics.
The middle section of the
shield is platinum colored and bears a red liberr;.- cap supported upon a lance.
The lower
section represents a silvery-waved ocean, divided by the Isthmus of Panama, with fullrigged ship in both the Pacific Ocean and
Caribbean Sea. The shield is supported by
four national banners.
The crest shows the

from
is

in

its b eak hanging a laurel wreath to which

attached a streamer bearing the inscription
Lann. in black letters. "Liberty and Order.*
465. For a description of the coat-of-arms

of Chile, see 461.

Costa Kica's flag is made up of eve
466.
stripes, blue at the top and bottom, red in the
center, and white between the red and blue
The red stripe is double width. The national
C'Oar-of-arms. in diameter equal to the red
stripe, is placed in the center of the field.
467. The merchant flag of Costa Rica is a
duplicate of the ensign except that the coat468.
As revised by the decree of 1906. the
ccat-cf-arrrs of Cista Rica represents three
volcanoes and an extensive valley between rwc
oceans, with a merchant ship sailing on each

of them. On the extreme left of the line that

marks the horizon is a rising sun. On the
upper part of the ~eld are two myrtle palms.
half covered and ; fined by a white ribb on
which contains the following inscription in gold
letters
"Republica de Costa Rica." The held
between the peaks of the volcanoes and the
myrtle palms contains nve stars of equal size
arranged in an arc. The crest of the shield is
a blue ribbon interlaced in the shape of aercwr.
and bearin? in silver letters the inscription.
:

"America Central."
469. The quarantine flag of Cuba is yellow
with a black anchor and Greek cross superim-

posed up-n the center.

470. The Cuban patriotically calls his national flag "La Estrtlla c^litc-ia."' or *_]The
Lone Star." This banner became the otcicial
emblem, of Cuba on the- 3:0*01 of V.^y. igra. It
consists of a held with three blue and rwc

h*-p *-or"
wnite
:es. wit
onzonta
a so
star
iter of a red ecnilater
set n the
iar.ele

The
staff end of the field.
"lone star" is taken from the banner of the old
Republic of Texas, the equilateral triangle
imposed upon the

in

from Masonic symbolism.

The flag of the Secretary of the Navy

Cuba has a blue ground and an anchor in

471.

of

white

472. The national coat-of-arms of Cuba

was adopted during the revolutionary period
of the republic's history.
It has the form of

an ogive shield and is divided into three sections, two of which are in the lower two-tthirds
of the shield. In the left half of the lower
two-thirds are three blue and two white stripes

Cuba, with her fine geographical position, is

to the Gulf of Mexico.
The golden
the sun, rising out of the waves of the
shedding its rays in all directions, repCuba, redeemed by the blood of martyrs and heroes, with a bright and glorious
future before her. The shield is supported by
fasces surmounted by a crimson liberty cap on
which appears a five-pointed star. Two intertwined branches, the one of evergreen oak and
the other of laurel, denoting respectively enduring strength and vitality and victory, en-

the key
disk of
sea and
resents

and left sides of the shield.

flag of the Captain of the fleet of

blue triangular pennant with an

white imposed on it.
the people of the eastern part
474.
of the island of Haiti threw off the yoke of
the Haitian Government and established the
Dominican Republic, they designed a flag
which consists of a field crossed in both directions with white.
The upper quarter next the
flagstaff and the lower quarter at the free end
are blue, while the lower quarter next the
staff and the upper quarter at the free end are
red.
In the national ensign the coat-of-arms
of the Dominican Republic appears on the
white cross.
475. The merchant flag of the Dominican
Republic is like the national ensign except that
the coat-of-arms is omitted.
476. On the shield of the coat-of-arms of.
the Dominican Republic appear the Cross, the
a

is

anchor

bear the coat-of-

outstretched wings.

circle the right

Cuba

shall

the republic.
480. The coat-of-arms of Ecuador consists
of an oval shield, supported by the colors of
the republic, in the upper part of which is a
representation of the sun, with that part of the
zodiac in which are found the signs corresponding to the months of March, April, May,
and June. At the left of the shield is a representation of Mount Chimborazo, washed by a
river on which floats a steamship.
The shield
rests on consular fasces, the emblem of republican dignity, and is crowned by a condor with

of the Cuban flag. In the right half is depicted

a characteristic landscape of rural Cuba. The
upper third of the shield shows a sea with two
rockj' capes, between which is a golden key
closing the strait thus formed, signifying that

The

countries,

shipping shall be the national colors without

any insignia. The flags flown over municipal
buildings have, under that law, a circle of
white stars on the blue stripe, of a number
equal to that of the provinces which compose

in the center.

473.

foreign

arms of the nation in the center on the yellow

and blue stripes.
479. The Ecuadorean law of 1900 provides
that the flag used by individuals and merchant

in

When

481. The commanding officer's pennant of

the Dominican Republic is triangular, with the
representation of the national colors still preserved.
482. The present national flag of Guatemala is one which was provided under a decree of 1871, restoring the colors fixed by the
National Assembly in 1S23. It consists of three
vertical stripes of equal dimensions, blue and
white, the latter in the center.
The national
ensign bears the coat-of-arrfis of the country
on the white stripe.
483. The merchant flag of Guatemala is
like the national ensign except that the coatof-arms is omitted.
484. The National Congress of Honduras
in 1866 made the flag of the republic that of
the old Central American Federation two blue

stripes and one white stripe between, placed

horizontally, and in addition a group of five
stars, five-pointed, in the center of the white
field'.
In the national ensign these stars are
replaced by the coat-of-arms and regrouped so
as to form a curved row of five stars below

the escutcheon.
485. The Honduras merchant flag, which
the law says is the national flag, as distinguished from the war flag, has the five stars
so grouped in the center of the white stripe as

form an "X."
The coat-of-arms of the Republic of
was established under the constitution
of 1843. It consists of a palm surmounted by
the cap of Liberty and ornamented with a
trophy of arms, with the motto, "L'Union fait

and the colors of the country. Below

a streamer with the inscription, "Dios,
Patria, Libertad"
"God, Country, Liberty."
These words were the secret password of "La
Trinitaria," the patriotic society which inaugurated the revolution that resulted in the
freedom of the republic.
477. The admiral's flag of the Dominican
Republic is like the national ensign (474) except that the outward third of the fly is swal-

to

low-tailed.

remained unchanged.
487. Guatemala's coat-of-arms dates from

Bible,

floats

478. Under a legislative decree entered in

tqoo the national flag of Ecuador is the old
Venezuelan flag of 181 1. The only difference
between it and the Colombian flag (462) is
that the Ecuadorean coat-of-arms appears instead of the Colombian.
The law provides
that the flag raised over the national buildings,
warships, fortresses, and those hoisted by the
diplomatic and consular agents of the republic

486.
Haiti

is strength).
When
established himself as
Emperor Faustin I, he modified the coat-ofarms, but it was restored in 1861 and has since

la force"

President

(In union there

Soulouque

1871.
It consists of a shield with two rifles
and two swords of gold entwined by laurel
branches. On the scroll are the words "Liber-

15 de Setiembre de 1821" (Liberty, 151b

of September, 1S21).
Above the scroll is a
quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala, corresponding to the American eagle. It is said that
this bird never survives captivity, even when
tad,

365

961'ss4Hi-^

96Cf^

LAND

NISERIA
NYASALAND
FORATE PROTECTORATE PROTECTORATE

GAMBIA

962 ^5jfc/

SIERRA LEONE

g^^S^

964

GOLD COAST

ST

HELENA

966

3:

e='.:= ::

union south africa

UNION SOUTH AFR'CA

BADGE

965

969^

970

CAPEGOODHOPt

NATAL

ORANGE RIVER

TRANSVAAL

RHODESIA H IGH COM M ISSION EF

SOUTH AFRICA

*lMDHBo/
".if..

977

CONSULAR
fT,?..?
AFLOAT

(SHOREI

MAIL VESSELS

i--^^^^

^*AV*^

98C

.:

^^^^^"

951

^ty a^

9S2

MERSEY DOCKS COMM'SPORT COMM'S.POP

PORT LONDON 979
RANGOON
CALCUTTA
AUTHORITY ^r.J^H'SSf
5,-^ & HARBOR BD
CONSERVANCY

PORT LONDON
AUTHORITY
984

366

CUSTOMS
z

...

...

=;
986

;,

e =

BULGARIA ENSIGN

GERMANY ENSIGN
*

999

GERMANY

BULGARIA MERCHANT

"GERMANY MERCHANT

taken in early life. In the ancient days of the

Indians none but the royal family could wear
its beautiful feathers.
The tail feathers of the
male, which sometimes reach a length of three
feet, are of a peacock green ranging to indigo,
and contrast with the scarlet breast of this
proud and unconquerable bird.
488. The coat-of-arms of Honduras is an
elaborate affair, with a shield supported on the
mountains of the republic, and surmounted by
two horns of plenty, out of which all good

vegetation.
It is ogival in form and divided
into three parts.
The center of the shield
shows the Isthmus with its two seas and the
sky, wherein is depicted the moon rising over
the waves, with the sun setting behind the
mountains, thus marking the solemn hour of
Panama's declaration of independence. The
upper part is subdivided into two sections. In

the right-hand section, on a silver field, appear

a sword and gun, so placed as to suggest
abandonment, signifying an eternal farewell tc
the civil wars that have heretofore been the
cause of the country's ruin. In the section tc
the left, on a field of red, appear a spade and
hoe, crossed, to symbolize labor. The lower
part of the shield is also subdivided into two
sections.
The right-hand section shows, on a
field of azure, a cornucopia, the emblem of
plenty, and in the left-hand section, on a field
of silver, is a winged wheel, symbolizing progress.
Surmounting the shield and covering it
with outstretched wings is poised an eagle, the
emblem of sovereignty, its head turned to the
left and holding in its beak a silver streamer
with ends flying to right and left.
On the
streamer is the following motto: 'Pro mundi
beneficio" (For the benefit of the world).
Above the eagle seven golden stars are grouped
in the form of an arch, representing the provinces into which the republic is divided.
As
decorative accessories two national flags, gath
ered at the lower extremity of the staff, are
stacked on either side of the shield.
497. The field of the flag of Panama is divided into four quarters. The upper quarter
next to the flagstaff is white and the lower one
farthest away from the staff is also white
The lower quarter next the flagstaff is blue
and the upper quarter farthest away is red. In
the upper white quarter appears a blue star anc
in the lower white quarter a red star.
Both
the flag and coat-of-arms of the republic are
constitution
authorizing
only provisional, the
a contest for the adoption of a permanent de-

things in tropical fruits and flowers are flowOn the shield is a pyramid, with a blazing
sun rising out of the green waters of the sea.
Around the shield is an inscription which
reads, "Republic of Honduras Free, Sover-

ing.

Independent 15 Sept., 1821."

Mexico Coat-of-Arms.
The design
489.
for the coat-of-arms of Mexico has been
changed very recently from that shown on the
flag pictured in 439 to this arrangement, which
shows a side view of the eagle. It is, of course,
based upon the legend relating to the founding
of Mexico City. It has the same fundamen-

eign,

tals

the

eagle, the serpent, the nopal cactus,

and the branches of laurel and evergreen oak

but,

in

addition,

U nidos-M exicanos"

has the words "Estados(United States of Mexico)

round out the circle and further to identify

The change was made in January,
19,17. under the direction of President Car-

to

the seal.

ranza, the explanation given being that it conforms more closely to the ancient Aztec pictographs of the event.
4go. The national flag of Haiti consists of
a field, the upper part of which is blue and the
lower red, with the coat-of-arms of the coun:rv in the center.
The flag was adopted in
1843.

491. The merchant flag of Haiti is blue and

red, exactly like the national ensign, except for
the absence of the coat-of-arms.
492. Dating from 1823, the national flag of
Mexico consists of three parallel, vertical bars,
the one next the flagstaff being green, the middle one white, and the outer one red.
The
three guarantees of the republic, which date
from that time, are symbolized in the flag.

sign.

498.

The green denotes independence,

the white the

purity of religion, and the red the union of the
Spanish element with the Mexican nation. On
the white bar is placed the national coat-ofarms (see also 439-489).
493. Mexico's merchant flag is exactly like
the national ensign, except that the coat-ofarms is absent.
494. The ensign of Nicaragua consists of a
-.eld of three horizontal bars, the upper and
lower blue and the middle one white, with the
:oat-of-arms of the country on the white bar.
This flag dates from 1823. although in 1S54 it
.vas superseded by another banner, which, in
The
its turn, gave place to the old one again.
:oat-of-arms consists of a triangular shield

'So. 498).
cited by the Panthe merchant flag
of Nicaraeua. merchant vessels shall not bear
the coat- t'-arms on the flag.
The present escutcheon of the Repub496.
lic of Panama is described in the Constitution.
.'t
rests upon a field of green, symbolical of

495.

According to the law

American Union respecting

The

present escutcheon of Nicaragua

was borrowed from the old "United Provinces

of the Center of America," of which it was a
member. On the base appears a range of volcanoes, located upon a strip of land washed by
surmounting these and in the
both oceans
upper part of the triangle appears a rainbow,
below this a liberty cap radiating light. Around
the escutcheon appears the legend in gold, "Republica de Nicaragua America Central."
499. The law prescribing the coat-of-arms
of Peru says "The coat-of-arms of the Peruvian Republic shall consist of a shield divided
into three fields, to wit one of sky blue, to the
right, on which shall be a llama looking toward
the left another of white, to the left, with a
cinchona tree; in the base a field of red with
a cornucopia, from which flow coins of golc
These emblems symbolize the riches of Pen
in the three natural kingdoms. The shield shal'
bear as a crest a civic crown (laurel wreath
and <:n either side a flag and a standard wi ti;

the national colors."

Paraguay's coat-of-arms consists of

olive branches interlaced at the vertex with a circular space between in the cen500.

palm and

te-

?Ci

h:s

space

is

the

morning

star,

and

in

the outer border the inscription, "Republica de

quarters.
Jn the upper right-hand division is
depicted, on a field of blue, a pair of scales,
symbolizing equality and justice; in the upper
left-hand division, on a field of silver, the
Ccrro of Montevideo, as a symbol of power;
in the lower right-hand division, on a field of

Paraguay."
501. The ensign of Paraguay is composed
of three bars the upper red, the middle white,
the lower blue running horizontally.
In the
center on the obverse side appears the national
coat-of-arms. On the reverse side, also in the
center, is the seal of the Hacienda (Treasury),
a circle bearing the inscription, "Paz y Justicia" (Peace and Justice), in the center of
which is depicted a lion in a vigilant attitude,
defending the Phrygian cap the symbol of

liberty

above

him on

a pike.

The national standard and flag of Peru

composed of three vertical stripes, the end
ones red and the middle one white. On the
502.

is

latter

appears the coat-of-arms with

its

crest,

and surrounded at its base by a laurel branch

to the left and a palm to the rieht, both tied
together at their lower ends.
This flag was
established by the Peruvian Congress which
met in 1825 and has never been changed.
503. The merchant flag of Peru is the same
as the national ensign, except that the coat-of-

arms

is

omitted.

The merchant

504.

same colors

flag of Paraguay has the

as the national ensign, the coat-

of-arms being omitted; in its place appears "at

the end of the white stripe next to the flagstaff the seal of the department having to do
with merchant marine matters.
The flag of the admiral of the Para505.
guayan navy is a swallow-tailed banner in the
national colors, with a yellow half moon on
the end of the white bar nearest the swallow
tail.

In 1912 the Congress of Salvador orreturn to the original coat-of-arms

Central America as they existed
in the days of the "United Provinces of the
Center of America." The flag consists of the
familiar three horizontal bars, the upper and
lower blue and the central one white, with the
coat-of-arms of the country in the middle of
This is the flag for ports and
the white bar.
vessels and for government envoys to foreign
506.

dered

and

flag of

countries.

The merchant flag does not bear the

507.
coat-of-arms, but on the middle stripe is inscribed in silver letters, "Dios, Union y Lib-

horse running loose, symbolizing libin the left-hand lower quarter, on a

blue field, an ox, as a symbol of abundance.
The field is inclosed within two branches of
olive and laurel joined at the bottom by a bow
of azure.
510. The law establishing the coat-of-arms
of Salvador says "The escutcheon of El Salvador shall be an equilateral triangle. At its
base shall appear a cordillera of five volcanoes
located on a strip of land appearing to be
washed by both seas inthe upper part a rainbow curved above beneath an arc, a liberty
cap radiating light, and in the form of a semicircle an inscription, "15 de Setiembre 1821."
Surrounding the triangle and in the form of a
circle shall be inscribed in letters of gold,
"Republica de El Salvador en la America
Central," and at the base of the triangle, 'Dios,
Union y Libertad." The great seal of the nation, that of the Secretary of the National
'Assembly, and that of government representatives and tribunals of justice bear the same
coat-of-arms.
The coat-of-arms of Venezuela was
511.
established under a decree of 1905. It consists
of a shield divided into three parts, the one at
the right yellow, with a sheaf of seven heads
of wheat. The second section is red, bearing
arms and two national flags bound together
with a wreath of laurel.
The third section
occupies the entire lower portion of the shield,
is blue, and bears an untamed wdiite horse.
The crest of the shield is an emblem of plenty,
two cornucopias flowing with fruit. At the
lower edge of the shield is a branch of laurel
and palm tied together by a ribbon, bearing in
gold letters the following inscription
"Independencia Libertad 5 de Julio de 181 1 24
de Marzo de 1854 Dios y Federacion" (Independence Liberty God and the Federation).
July 5, 181 1, was the date of the republic's
declaration of independence, and March 24,
1854, the date of the abolition of slavery.

ertad."
508. Uruguay has but one flag for its national banner and the emblem of its merchant
marine.
This consists of nine stripes, five
white and four blue, white at the top and bottom. In the upper corner next to the staff is
a white canton on which appears a blazing sun.
This is known as "El Sol de Mayo" (The Sun
of May), symbolizing the awakening of the
colony into independent national life.
509.

The escutcheon

crowned with

sun

silver,

erty

and

THE NAVAL FLAGS OF THE WORLD

514-727. These flags and pennants, showing
of the flags of command, commission pennants, jacks, and pilot flags of the navies of
the world, are used in the same manner as
the corresponding ones of the United States,
and the reader is directed to descriptions 49,
50, 51, 53, 54, 58, and 64-68, inclusive, for information as to the time, occasion, and manner
of their respective use.
all

of Uruguay is an oval
and divided into four

.369

f X*

a,

-t om
r,

*w*

**v

<

Z
_

<

5
e

l-

o o

hitt

>
Li

>
iii

Hi
^--Ip
V

*h

II'

<

\ o

v\i
+

<

^K

mi*
370

#-

na3
U

5 Z
- <

P*P7~
T+V

V)}w
k

z w
< D

<^

'

<

ALCIER

TITUAN

COLOURS

COLOURS

1192

1193

5ALLEY

COLOURS
1194

SALLEY
(MOROCCO!
1195

MOCO ARABA
"1196

THE FLAGS_OF THE WORI J3 TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO

371

CONSTANTI-

NOPLE
1197

IN

1705

THE FLAGS OF EUROPE,

728. The flag of Abyssinia consists of three
horizontal stripes, the uppermost green, the
middle yellow, and the bottom red. This banner flies over that part of Africa which was
known in Bible times as Ethiopia. It is the
emblem of authority of a government which
has been called a sort of feudal monarchy.
The Emperor's title is "King of Kings." Certain parts of the country are ruled by princes,
some of them appointed by the Emperor and
others self-constituted. Some of these princes
have retinues of supporters who are perpetual
warriors and whose usefulness lasts as long as
there are any insubordinate tribes to pacify.

The Abyssinian army, numbering about

did not
Isabella and

tiers,

150,000,

cumbered by any commissariat, its maintenance

being obtained from the inhabitants of regions
through which it passes.

The

Albania has a red field,

imposed a black double-headed
spread eagle. This flag dates from 1913. in
which year a council of six members, chosen
by the powers of Europe, set up the principality as an offset to Serbia's desire to possess a
port on the Adriatic Sea.
Austria resented
Serbia's designs on the ground that the small
nation would cut off the dual monarchy from
an outlet to the Mediterranean in a way as
prejudicial to her interests as the closed Dardanelles were prejudicial to the interests of
flag of

Russia.

public.

century ago Napoleon declared, "I

miniature republic lost in a corner of
the Pyrenees." Today the hero, the conqueror,
and the soldier, merely a handful of dust, is
But in its mildoften recalled by Andorra.
ness, its weakness, its isolation, the republic
has found strength, and its colors float upon
the breeze as independent as they were a century ago, when they waved over an island of
peace in the great sea of human carnage during the Napoleonic wars. For nearly six cenThe war between
turies it has been thus.
France and England, -begun at Crecy and Poi731.

recall a

the tiny country.

Queen

against the Moors, Charlemagne gave them a

charter of freedom and permitted them to govern themselves.
Louis the Pious confirmed
these rights, and from that day to this the tiny
country has been self-governed under its own
code of laws. The Spanish Bishop of Urgel
holds spiritual supremacy and looks after educational matters
and religious instruction.
France exerts a temporal influence by appointing the provost from the department of Ariege
to control the military activities of the republic.
The blue, yellow, and red flag of Andorra,
with its coronet in the center, is the youngest
thing in the nation. It is only fifty years old.
having originated in the reform of 1866 to
emphasize the autonomy of the valley; but
neither of the co-suzerains has approved it.
It is displayed when the council is in session.
The flag of the Chinese army has a
733red field upon which is centered a black star
bearing eight yellow points, with nine yellow
disks on the body of the star. This is the flag
of the republic and is entirely different from
the one flown by the Chinese armies in the

is

730. The coat-of-arms of Andorra, one of

the four vest-pocket nations of the world, has
a quartered shield bearing thereon the episcopal miter, the crozier of Urgel, the red and
yellow pales of Aragon, and two belled cows.
Andorra is under the joint sovereignty of
France and the Spanish Bishop of Urgel. It
is governed by a council of twenty-four members elected for four years by the heads of
The council elects a
families in each parish.
first and second syndic to preside; the executive power is vested in the first syndic, while
the judicial power is exercised by a civil judge
and two magistrates. France and the Bishop
of Urgel each appoint a magistrate and a civil
judge alternately. The permanent delegate of
the prefect of the Pyrenees-Orientales has
charge of the interests of France in the re-

move

nees, left it undisturbed. It was a spectator of

the Carlist War in Spain in 1833 and of the
contest between France and Germany in 1870.
Built upon a rampart of rocks and hid732.
den upon the southern slope of the Pyrenees,
liberty has found a home in Andorra for a
thousand years. Appreciating the services rendered by the Andorrans in his campaign

largely composed of cavalry and is well

adapted for swift movement, as it is not in-

729..

AND AFRICA

Ferdinand left it unmolested.

Charles Y, dreaming dreams of empire as great
as those of Charlemagne, did not crush it upon
his way to the Netherlands or to Italy. Philip
II,
weaving his web of expanding power
around so many principalities, cast no entangling thread about it.
Cynical Louis XI did
not deign to harm it, and Louis XIY, although
he ordered that there should be no more Pyre-

is

upon which

ASIA,

past.

The royal standard of Belgium conof three vertical bars black, yellow, and
red with black next the staff. The national
arms are imposed upon the middle or yellow
bar.
These arms consist of a golden lion on
a black ground. Its tongue and jaws are red.
The shield is ensigned with the royal crown of
Belgium and the supporters are two golden
lions.
The motto of Belgium is "L'Union fait
la force" (Union makes strength).
The black,
yellow, and red of the Belgian flag are the
colors of the Duchy of Brabant, and were
adopted in 1831, when the monarchy was
founded.
Belgium's merchant flag is a duplicate
735.
of the royal standard, except that the coat-ofarms is omitted.
736. The flag of the Chinese navy under the
republic is red, with a blue canton in the upper
corner next the staff, upon which is a large
white sun with ravs emanating in the form of
small triangles. This flag succeeds the one in

,372

734.

sists

which the dragon, on a yellow field, was shown

in the act of devouring a red sun.
China's national flag, which is also
737.
used in the merchant service, consists of five
broad horizontal stripes, the uppermost red,
the next yellow, the next blue, the next white,
and the one at the bottom black. These colors
stand respectively for China, Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet, and Turkestan.

The royal standard of Denmark conof a swallow-tail red fly with the danneThe origin of
brog, or silver cross, upon it.
this cross is said to date from 1219, when King
Waldemar, at a critical moment in his career,
averred that he had seen this cross in the
heavens.
He asserted that it became strength
for him and saved Denmark. At the intersection of the dannebrog is the coat-of-arms. The
first quarter of the shield represents Denmark,
with three blue lions, crowned, on a golden
ground powdered with red hearts. The second
quarter represents Schleswig, with two blue
The third quarter
lions on a golden ground.
738.

sists

stands for

modern Sweden and shows

three

golden crowns on a blue field; Iceland is represented by a silver hawk on a red ground
the Faroe Islands by a silver goat walking on
a blue ground, and Greenland by a silver polar
The fourth quarter
bear on a blue ground.
proclaims Jutland, a blue lion at the top on a
golden ground with ten red hearts below Vandalia has a golden dragon on a red ground, and
Holstein is represented by three leaves of
nettle and the three nails of the Passion of
Christ.
The supporters are two savage men
wearing green wreaths and holding wooden
;

clubs (see also 1172).

Denmark's ensign is the same as the
739.
royal standard (738), except that the national
coat-of-arms is omitted. It is the oldest national ensign in existence.
The merchant flag of Denmark has a
740.
red field with a white cross upon it, and omits
the swallow-tail feature of the ensign.
741. The flag of Iceland is of the same dimensions as the Danish merchant flag, the field
being blue and the cross red, with thin white
stripes separating the red of the cross from
the blue of the field.

THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE

The

flag of the President of France

742.
consists of the French tricolor, with the initials
of the President in gold on the white stripe.
The familiar and inspiring tricolor of
743.
France dates from the year that gave the
United States its Constitution 1789. The best
authorities are doubtful as to the true story of
its origin, but there are three principal theories
as to the derivation of its combination of
colors.
The first of these, and the most authentic, is that after the taking of the Bastille,
when Lafayette had been appointed by accla-

the blue of the Chape de Martin, the

red of the oriflamme, and the white of the
Bourbons. It will be recalled that the Chape
de Martin was supposed to be the original
cloak which St. Martin divided with a beggar
at Amiens, which act was followed by a vision
of Christ making known to the angels this deed
of charity. The chape was in the keeping of
the monks of Marmoutier, and Clovis carried it
when he conquered Alaric, while Charlemagne
When the kings of
bore it at Narbonne.
France transferred the seat of government to
Paris, the local saint, St. Denis, was held in
high honor, and gradually the plain scarlet
banner, known as the oriflamme, and kept in
the abbey church, supplanted the blue of St.
Martin as the national colors. The oriflamme
appeared for the last time at the battle of
The Huguenot party in
Agincourt, in 1415.
France adopted the white flag, and when Henry
III, himself a Protestant, came to the throne
he made it the royal ensign. His successor,
Henry IV, the first king of the Bourbons,
adopted it as the national flag. The third account of the tricolor's origin is that it is copied
from the shield of the Orleans family, as it
appeared after Philippe figalite knocked off the
fleur de lis.
During the first and second empires, the tricolor became the imperial standard, but in the center of the white stripe was
placed the eagle, while all three stripes were
richly powdered with the golden bees of the
Napoleon family. The flag of France today
waves over territory nearly one and a half
times as large as that covered by the United
French colonies have a total of apStates.

France

square miles.
Among
the flags of the earth, only the Union Jack and
the banner of Russia float over more territory.
The flag of the French Governors of
744.
Colonies consists of a blue field with a canton
of white and red in the quarter next to the
flagstaff, a blue stripe as wide as the white
and the red stripe separating the canton from
This flag is to be flown below the
the staff.
national ensign.

proximately 4,500,000

745. The flag of French Indo-China and of

the Lieutenant Governor of Senegal is a duplicate of the flag of the French Governors of
Colonies, except that it is swallow-tailed.
The flag of Greece consists of nine
746.
alternate stripes of blue and white, four white
and five blue, with a canton of blue in the
upper corner next the staff, upon which is imposed a white cross bearing at its point of intersection a Greek crown.
The colors of the
flag, white and blue, were derived from the
arms of Otto of Bavaria, who was called to
the throne of Greece in 1833.
The motto of
the nation reads, "My strength is my people's
love."

747. The merchant flag of Greece is a duplicate of the ensign, with the exception that the
crown is omitted from the cross in the canton.
The ambassadorial flag of Italy con748.
sists of a white fly, upon which is superimposed, in a line descending from the upper
corner next the staff to the lower corner of
the fly, three blue six-pointed stars.

mation commander-in-chief of the National

Guard, he devised for the Guard a new cockade made of the white of the royal family and
of the colors of Paris time out of mind, which
were and continue to be red and blue. From
this cockade, most historians believe, came the
French national flag. Another version links
the tricolor with the three historic flags of

749.

by the

When

a merchant ship is taken over

Italian navy, it flies a triangular pen-

nant, the base half of

373

which next the

staff is

blue and the apex half white. Upon the blue

is placed a crowned anchor, proclaiming the
government and the navy.
Italy's royal standard consists of a
750.
square blue field on which is centered the national coat-of-arms.
crown appears in each
corner of the flag outside the encircling collar
of the Annunciation. Within this collar is a
crowned black spread-eagle on blue. On its
breast is an oval shield bearing a silver cross
on a red ground, the arms of Savoy (see also
1 181).
The collar itself is composed of a series of red and white roses and the letters
F. E. R. T., meaning "Fortitudo ejus Rhodum
tenuit" (His firmness held Rhodes), this being
a tribute to Amadeus the Great from the
Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, in 1310, for
his help against the Saracens at the siege of
Rhodes. The pendant of the collar of the Annunciation bears a design representing that
holy event.
When Napoleon made the northern
751.
provinces of Italy into a kingdom, in 1805, he
gave it a flag of three colors green next to
the flagstaff, white in the middle, and red at
the fly end. This flag disappeared when Napoleon was overthrown, but was revived when
Victor Emmanuel, King of Sardinia and a
representative of the house of Savoy, became
king.
Today Italy's ensign consists of the
Savoy arms, surmounted by a crown, on the
central white vertical stripe of Napoleon's
green, white, and red.
The Italian merchant flag is an exact
752.
duplicate of the ensign, with the exception that
the crown is omitted above the arms.
The flag of the Governor of Eritrea,
753.
the Italian colony in Africa, consists of a white
field upon which are imposed the arms and
crown of Italy.
754. The flag of the Emperor of Japan consists of a red field upon which is centered a
golden representation of the yellow chrysanthemum. It is essential that the flower should
invariably have sixteen petals. While the use
of this flower as a badge is not necessarily
confined to the imperial family, its members
alone have the right to use the sixteen-petalled
form. If used by any other family, society,
or corporation, it must be with a number of
petals less or more than sixteen.
755. The flag of the Japanese crown prince
is like that of the emperor, except that the
chrysanthemum is centered in a rectangle
formed by a line of white on the red field of
the flag.
756. The Japanese ensign consists of a rising sun, slightly to the left of the center of a
white field, with rays radiating to all points of
Both the sun and the rays are
the compass.
red, and the device is generally known as the
sunburst.

757.

The Japanese merchant

flag

is

white,

of rectangular form, with a rayless red sun in

the center, its diameter approximately half the
width of the field.
758. The Japanese guard flag is of white,
with two horizontal parallel dancetty lines in
"dancetty" line is zigzag, rered across it.
sembling the "worth" of a r-ail fence, with deep
indentations.
The Jap.anese transport flag is identical
759.
with the Japanese guard flag, with the excep-

374

tion that the dancetty lines are blue instead of

re d760.

The Japanese commanding

officer s flag

a swallow-tail white, with the red sun and

four rays, two vertical and two horizontal.
761. This flag, flown by all ships under
Japanese registry carrying mail, consists of a
white field with two horizontal red stripes,
separated by a narrower white stripe occupying the upper half. The lower half is quartered by a red stripe, which, with the lower of
the two horizontal red stripes, forms a Tsquare.
The flag which distinguishes a Japa762.
nese repair ship is the same as that displayed
by a transport, with the exception that the bottom and top of the white field are bordered
with red stripes.
In 1910 the Kingdom of Korea was
763.
abolished by Japan, whose influence in this territory had been recognized as paramount by
the treaty which ended the Russo-Japanese
War. The name of Chosen was given the
State, and the red and white of the Japanese
ensign were utilized in the flag adopted.
764. The national ensign of Liberia, which
is also the merchant flag, has eleven horizontal
stripes of red and white, red at the top and
bottom, with the blue canton in the upper corner next to the flagstaff, on which is superimposed a large white star. This flag was
adopted at the time the Republic of Liberia
is

'

was

established,

in

1847,

by colonists from

America.
765. The flag of the President of Liberia
consists of a square blue standard upon which
is imposed a shield containing the red and
white stripes of the national colors, and above
it the five-pointed star of the republic.
766. The coat-of-arms of Liechtenstein (see
767) consists of a shield imposed upon the
mantle of the Prince of the Holy Roman
Empire, with his crown forming the crest. On
the escutcheon, which is quartered, are the
arms of Silesia for Ritberg; the second quarter of the shield, with its six stripes of red
and gold, and green crown of rue cutting them
diagonally, represents Khuenring; the third
quarter, half red and half silver, is for Troppau the fourth quarter, of gold, with its black
harpy crowned, represents East Frisia. At the
point of the shield in blue is a golden hunting
;

horn, representing Jagerndorf; the small red

and gold shield in the center, imposed upon all
four quarters, represents Liechtenstein itself.
767. With its field shared
red, the latter occupying the

by yellow and

lower half, the

national banner of the principality of Liechtenstein flies over a nation having an area of 65

square miles. This miniature principality lies

between Austria and Switzerland. It consists
of Schellenberg and Vaduz, formerly fiefs of
the Roman Empire. Schellenberg in 1699 and

Vaduz
House

came into the possession of the

of Liechtenstein and were set up as
a
principality by Emperor Carl VI in 1719. After
the break-up of the empire in 1806, the principality was incorporated in the Rhine
Confederation. When the map of Europe was
remade
after the Napoleonic wars, it be.came a part
of
the German Confederation and remained
so
from that time until 1866, when the Confederation broke up.
Since then it has not joined
in 1712

with any other nation. There is no pubdebt and the inhabitants have not been
liable to military service since 1867.
768. With its tricolor of red, white, and
blue in three horizontal bars, red at the top
and blue at the bottom, the flag of Luxemburg
flies over a country that did not raise a hand
to check the invader in 1914. An alien army
now passes over its soil at will and unresented.
The population of Luxemburg is approximately
260,000, and it is governed by a reigning Grand
Duchess and a Chamber of Deputies. The
Grand Duchy was included from 1815 to 1866
in the Germanic Confederation. By the treaty
of London in 1867 it was declared neutral teritself
lic

ritory and

its

integrity

and independence were

guaranteed.
769; The Prince of
sisting of a white field
.

shield, -covered
red and silver,

Monaco

flies

upon which

is

a flag cona

crowned

with lozenge-shaped figures of

surrounded by the collar of the

order of St. Charles, instituted in 1863. The

shield bears as a pendant a Maltese cross. The
supporters are two monks with swords. The
motto placed over the shield is "Deo Juvante"
(God Helping).

MONACO SMALLEST NATION ON EARTH

The red and white flag of Monaco
over the smallest nation on earth. The
entire area of the territory, whose symbol of
authority it is, is only eight square miles. Al770.

floats

smallest in area, there are three

It has 23,000 inhabitsmaller in population.
ants, as compared with 5,231 for Andorra,
10,716 for Liechtenstein, and 11,513 for San
Marino. Monaco is a small principality on the
Mediterranean, surrounded by the French department of Alpes-Maritime, except on the side

though

it

is

toward the sea. After 968 A. D. it belonged

to the house of Grimaldi. The reigning prince
was dispossessed during the French RevoluIn 1814 the
tion, in 1792, and, died in 1,795principality was reestablished, but placed under
the protection of the Kingdom of Sardinia by
the treaty of Vienna in 1815. In 1848 the towns
of Mentone and Roccabruna (now known as

Roquebrune) revolted and declared themselves

The prince thereupon ceded his rights

free.
over them to France and the principality thus
became geographically ,an enclave of France,
when the Sardinian garrison was withdrawn
and the protectorate established in 1815 ended.
The prince was an absolute ruler until 1911,
when a representative government was set up.
The State flag of Montenegro Has a
771.
red field bordered with white. In the center
is

the

royal

coat-of-arms,

with

its

double-

headed spread-eagle in silver and holding in

its talons a scepter and an orb.
A small shield
on the breast of the bird contains the letters
"H I," and underneath the eagle is a golden
The initial H is the Montenelion passant.
grin N and refers to Nicholas, the King. "I"
the Roman numeral, the letters together
standing for Nicholas I.
The military standard of Montenegro
772.
consists of a square field of red bordered with
white, a Greek cross centered upon the red.
The cross bears at its intersection the "H I"
of the Montenegrin coat-of-arms.
is

is a tri773. The naval flag of Montenegro

color with red at the top, blue in the middle,
and white at the bottom in horizontal stripes.
On the blue is a gold crown, below which are
The merchant flag is the
the letters "H I."
same as the naval ensign, except that the letters
and crown are omitted.
Morocco's flag now consists of a red
774.
field upon which is imposed a five-pointed star
This star proclaims the
of striking design.
passing of Turkish influence in Morocco.
Under the old regime the familiar crescent of
the Mohammedan world was borne on the Moroccan flag where the star is now imposed.
The old flag of Morocco was red, bearing what

appeared to be scissors, but which were in

reality crossed yataghans.
The national flag of the Netherlands
775.
consists of three horizontal bars, red at the

top, blue at the bottom,

and white between.

It

national flag, ensign, and merchant flag all

in one. In the sixteenth century it was orange,
white, and blue, the orange being in honor of
William the Silent, Prince of Orange. Both
the victories of Van Tromp and De Reuter
were gained under the present colors (see 377)776. The royal standard of the Netherlands
In each
is buff quartered by a cross of blue.
buff quarter there is placed a hunter's horn in
blue, and upon the intersection of the cross is
the royal coat-of-arms, consisting of a blue
ground dotted with golden billets and bearing

is

The lion
a crowned golden lion rampant.
grasps in one paw a naked sword and in the
other a cluster of arrows. The shield has for
its crest a crown.
777. The standard of the Prince of Netherlands is the reverse of the royal standard
(1776) in its coloring. The cross is buff and
the quarters are blue. Instead of the hunter's
horns of the royal standard there are golden
lions like the lion of the coat-of-arms, which
appears in the center of the cross in both
standards.

The flag of the Arabians, also typical

778.
of Muscat and Zanzibar, is scarlet. Elsewhere
the red flag is the emblem of mutiny and disorder, and was carried recently by the Revolutionists of Russia during the eventful days
which marked the overthrow of the Romanoff
dynasty and the establishment of a republican
form of government. The red flag was a
widely used national emblem two centuries
ago, Spain, Venice, Genoa, Tetuan, Salley, and
Camphen being partial to it (see 1141, 1188,
1

193,

and

779.

194).

The Governors of Surinam and Cura-

cao bear a flag which has the national colors

of the Netherlands, with the addition of two
white disks in the red stripe near the staff.
The merchant reserve of the Nether780.
lands bears a flag which is like the national
ensign, except that an anchor and a crown are
imposed upon the middle of the white bar. In
order to make room for these, an arc is cut out
of the blue stripe at the bottom and the red
stripe at the top and the -white stripe enlarged
accordingly.
781.
The ensign of the Governor General
of the Dutch East Indies is a triangular swallow-tail pennant showing the national colors
of the Netherlands and attached to the flagstaff

375

by the means of a toggle.

of
793. The flag of the Governor General
the provinces of Portugal is white, with a strip
of green placed horizontally across the held
and the coat-of-arms centered on it.
of
794. The flag of the dependent Kingdom
Poland (so nominated after the Napoleonic
wars) has a white field with the blue cross of
St. Andrew, which proclaims Russian suzerainty.
Upon the red canton is a crowned

Repair ships of the Netherlands fly a

782.
flag with the regulation red, white, and blue
bars, the staff end of the red bar giving way
to white and forming a canton upon which is
placed a red anchor capped by a crown.
The royal standard of Norway has a
783.
red field upon which is centered a golden lion
rampant holding a battle-ax.
Norway's ensign is red and three784.
tailed, a blue cross edged with white extending
to a point between the swallow-tail.
It thus
preserves the shape of the Swedish ensign,
from which it was fashioned, that ensign having a yellow cross on a blue field (see 826).
The merchant flag of Norway is like
785.
the ensign (784), except that the swallow-tail
effect is omitted.
The senior admiral's flag of Norway
786.
consists of the ensign with the addition of a
saltire cross of white in the upper quarter next

spread eagle.
three vertical
flag has
next the flagstaff, yellow in the
In the standard
middle, and red on the fly.
the blue and the red bars are narrow and the
yellow very wide. Upon the yellow is placed
the national coat-of-arms, a canopy of ermine
on which is a crowned shield. On the quartered field of the shield appear a golden eagle
displayed on blue, a lion's head in gold displayed on red, a golden demilion issuing from
795.

to flagstaff.
787. The imperial standard of Persia consists of a blue square field with the national
colors in a small canton in the upper corner
next to the staff. In the center is a white
circle on which the Persian coat-of-arms appears, showing a lion holding a sword, a rising
sun in the background, and the crown of the
empire above the lion. The lower half of the
circle is

an antique crown on red, and two dolphins in

gold displayed on blue. There is also a small
shield of pretense quartered in white and black.
The shield is supported by golden lions rampant. The motto, "Nihil sine Deo" (Nothing
without God), is below the shield on a ribbon.
Four crowns appear, one in each corner of the
flag.

796. The Roumanian ensign is like the

standard, except that the three stripes are of
equal width, and crowns in the four corners
of the flag are omitted.

bordered by a wreath.

788. The military flag of Persia is unique

in that it embodies a very pale shade of green
and a delicate shade of pink as the upper and
lower hues of its tricolor. The middle stripe
is

797.

The merchant

flag

of

Persia

is

arms

in the center.

flag

is

blue, yel-

RUSSIAN FLAGS

the

white, and pink arrangement as

seen in the ensign and military flag of the
nation, but without the Persian lion.
791. The colors of the flag of Portugal are
green and red, the third of the field next the
staff green, and the two-thirds at the fly end
red. The arms of the country are centered on
the dividing line between the two colors. These
arms consist of a large silver shield upon
which are five small blue ones arranged in the
form of a cross, each of them bearing five
Around the shield is a red
plates of silver.
border upon which are placed seven golden
Alfonso I defeated five Moorish
castles.
princes in the historic battle of Ourique and
adopted the five small blue shields to commemorate his triumph. The five white spots
on the small shields represent the five wounds
of Christ, in whose strength Alfonso believed
he had defeated the infidels. The red border
of the shield was added by Alphonse III in T252,
after his marriage to a daughter of the King
of Castile. The circle of gold upon which the
shield and its border are imposed, together
with the green of the flag, which is that of the
cross and ribbon of the Knights of St. Benedict
of Aviz. commemorate the fame of Prince
Henrv the Navigator.
The flag of the President of Portugal
792.
coat-ofis solid green, with the Portuguese

same green,

Roumania's merchant

low, and red, like the ensign, except that the

arms are omitted.
The Roumanian coast guard flag has
798.
the national colors, together with an anchor,
above which is a crown on the yellow stripe.

white and bears the Persian sword-carrying

lion with the sun peeping over his back. The

crown of the empire is imposed upon the green
The wreath rests upon the pink.
stripe.
789. The ensign of Persia is like the military flag, except that the crown and wreath
above and below the lion are omitted.
790.

Roumania's

stripes, blue

The ensign of the Russian navy is a

799.
blue cross of St. Andrew upon a field of white.
The Russians venerate St. Andrew as their
patron saint, believing that it was he who secured the adoption of Christianity by their ancestors. It has been asserted that he preached
Peter the Great, under his name
in Scythia.
and protection, in the year 1698, instituted St.
Andrew's as the most noble order of Knighthood of the Empire. St. Andrew is also the
patron saint of Scotland, but there the cross
is white upon a field of blue (see 831).
800. The white, blue, and red horizontal
stripes of the Russian merchant flag are reminiscent of the day when Peter the Great was
learning ship-building in Holland. The Dutch
flag is a tricolor of red, white, and blue. Peter,
in making his flag, turned these colors upside
down, but was afterward advised that he was
flying the flag employed by the Dutch as a sigHe thereupon renal of distress and disaster.
vised his flag, putting the white at the top and
the red at the bottom, with the blue between.
801. The flag of the volunteer fleet of Russia is the same as the merchant flag, except
that there is a trumpet in the center of the blue
field.

Russia's customs flag consists of a blue

with a canton in the upper corner next
the staff showing the merchant flag in miniature, while in the lower corner next the staff
are two combination caducei and tridents
802.

field

crossed.

376

The flag of the Russian admiralty conof four anchors interlocked and arranged
in the form of a St. Andrew's cross.
804. The flag of the Commander-in-Chief
of the Russian Navy is flown only while the
country is at war. It consists of a white field
upon which is imposed the blue cross of St.
Andrew, the upper quarter nearest the staff
being occupied by a canton consisting of a
white-bordered blue cross of St. Andrew and
a white St. George's cross on a red field.
blue anchor is centered in a white field imposed upon the insection of the crosses.
805. The flag of Russia's Minister of War
consists of a white field with a red canton on
which is imposed the blue cross of St. Andrew
and the white cross of St. George. Here again
the Russians reverse the British in their insignia, the latter placing the scarlet cross of
St. George on a field of white, while the Russians place a white cross on a field of scarlet.
Below the canton appears the shield with
crossed muskets and cannons.
806. The flag of Russia's aeronautic service
is like that of the Minister of War, except that
the fly is shorter and the shield in the lower
left-hand corner is omitted, while a red-winged
anchor is added in the lower right-hand corner.
The royal standard of Serbia consists
807.
of a field of red, blue, and white, surrounded
by an indented border of the same colors.
Upon the field, which is square, is centered the
coat-of-arms of the country. This consists of
a red shield within a crowned ermine canopy.
The shield bears a silver eagle displayed, having upon its breast another shield with a silver
cross and the date 1804. The supports are two
natives holding flags of the colors, while the
motto is "Spes mihi prima Deus" (My hope is
God first of all).
808. The Serbian merchant flag is red, blue,
and white, like the Russian merchant flag inverted. The latter flown as a signal of distress
might be mistaken for the Serbian merchant
emblem normally displayed. As Servia has no
seaport and no merchant navy, 808 is largely a
flag of hope for a navy.
809. Russia's transport navy flies a blue flag
with a white canton upon which appears the
blue cross of St. Andrew.
810.
Russian transports employing civilian
crews fly a blue flag with a union next the
flagstaff in the upper corner, showing the
colors of the country.
811. The flag of Siam consists of a scariet

white, red.
The central red stripe is broader
than the other four stripes, which are of equal
width. This flag replaces the old red flag upon
which was imposed the white elephant of
Siamese tradition without any trappings or
harness and without the anchor and wheel of
the national ensign.
The merchant flag is of
recent origin.
The flag book of the United
States Navy, published in 1914, and that of the
British Admiralty, published even more recently, show the elephant flag instead of the
new striped one.
The Siamese emblem of royal au813.
thority, the royal standard, has an orange-hued
field upon which is represented an image of
the East, a man eagle.
This standard is of
comparatively recent adoption. Formerly there,
was used a blue flag having a red border.
Upon this was imposed the royal coat-of-arms.
which consisted of an escutcheon portraying a
three-headed elephant in the upper half and
the white elephant and crossed swords in the
two quarters of the lower half.
This is the coat-of-arms of what
814.
claims to be the oldest State in Europe San
Marino. Next to Monaco, it is in area the
smallest independent country in the world.
It
has thirty square miles of territory and a population of 11,513. The coat-of-arms consists
of three hills in gold upon a field of blue.
These hills are Monte Guiato, Monte Cucco,

803.

sists

field

phant

on which

is

a white elephant.

The

ele-

trappings and harness and

stands on a platform.
In the upper corner
next the hoist appear a pagoda-crowned anchor
and a wheel. The elephant recalls the tradition of the founder of the nation.
Before
Xacca, the reputed founder, was born, his
mother dreamed that she had given birth to a
white elephant. The Brahmans affirmed that
Xacca, after undergoing 80,000 reincarnations,
finally did actually become a white elephant,
and as such was received into the company of
the celestial deities. On this account the white
elephant is held a sacred beast, and the Siamese rejoice to place themselves beneath so pois

in

full

tent a protector.
812.
The merchant flag of Siam now consists of a field of five stripes
red, yellow, red,

and Monte Gista, each bearing a castle surmounted by a plume. The shield has a gold
crown as a crest and is surrounded by branches
of laurel and oak united by a ribbon inscribed
with the word "Liberty."

The merchant flag of San Marino,

815.
which, though that of a belligerent, the little
republic having dared to declare war against
the Central Powers, has probably never yet
been encountered by a German submarine because, as may well be imagined, the merchant
navy of the mountain republic is not large.
816.
The ensign of the Republic of San
Marino consists of a field the upper part oi
which is blue and the lower half white. The
coat-of-arms is centered on it. It is this flag
that the soldiers of San Marino carry when
they march to the aid of their ally, Italy.
817. The royal standard of Spain proclaims
more of the glory of the empire that was than
of the country which now exists.
It consists
of a purple field upon which is imposed the
Spanish coat-of-arms. This bears the lion of
Leon and the castle of Castile. It also bears
the arms of Aragon; the device of Sicily; the
red and white stripes, which proclaim the arms
of Austria; oblique stripes of yellow and blue
within a red border, which tell of the flag of
ancient Burgundy; the black lion on the golden
ground, which is the heraldic bearing of Flanders
the red eagle, which is the device of
Antwerp; the golden lion of Brabant; the
fleur-de-lis and checkers of ancient Burgundy;
the arms of Portugal, and the fleur-de-lis of
France. The whole is surrounded by the collar
of the Golden Fleece.
818. The ensign of Spain is yellow, bordered at the top and bottom by a stripe of red.
On the broad yellow stripe is an oval shield
bearing a crown and showing the arms of
Castile impaling Leon.
The merchant flag of Spain consists of
819.
;

377

five stripes, three yellow

and two

red, yellow

The central stripe is

wider than the others. The flag bears no device, but the colors are those of Aragon and

at the top

and bottom.

Castile.

820.
The flag of Switzerland consists of a
red field with a white cross. When the Red
Cross was recognized at the International Conference at Geneva, in 1863, a distinguishing
badge was devised for times of war and peace.
It will be noticed that the colors adopted are
those of Switzerland counterchanged, the red
cross being in a white ground.
821. The Captain General of the fleet of
Spain flies the familiar red and yellow colors
with an anchor placed horizontally on the yel-

low bar.
Spanish ambassadors fly a swallow-tail
flag made up of white, red, and yellow.
The
third of the flag next to the staff is white and
red, white at the top and red below. The middle bar of the flag is yellow and upon it two
crossed tasseled pencils are imposed. The third
of the flag at the fly end is red.
The flag of a Spanish minister is like
823.
that of an ambassador, except that instead of
822.

the pencils there are three blue disks on the

yellow bar.

The military and naval service of

824.
Tunis has a flag consisting of a red field, upon
which is centered a white disk having a diameter half the vertical width of the flag. Upon this
disk a red crescent and a red star are imposed.
The flag is inherited from Turkey, although
it is no longer under Turkish domination.

825. The royal standard of Sweden consists

This
of a blue flag bearing a yellow cross.
flag is swallowtailed and the horizontal arm of
the cross in the fly projects.- Upon the intersection of the cross is placed the coat-of-arms
of the country.
826. The ensign of Sweden is like the royal
standard, with the exception that the coat-of-

arms

is

omitted.

flag of Sweden is a rectangular blue flag, bearing the yellow cross.

The blue and yellow were regarded as colors
of freedom and independence at: the time they
were incorporated in the Swedish flag.
828.
The standard of the Bey of Tunis is a
fearfully and wonderfully made flag. It conred, yellow,
sists of seven horizontal stripes
the green stripe
red, green, red, yellow, red
the
others.
being double the width of
The
stripes do not extend the full length of the
flag, but join a narrow green stripe next to
and parallel with the staff. Every red stripe
has four yellow-centered green disks and four
yellow stars arranged alternately.
On every
yellow stripe are four red stars and four black
disks with red centers arranged in the same
way. On the broad central green stripe is a
double-pointed dagger with white blade and
red handle, gold and red stars being distributed
about it. This flag is a western variation of
the old flag of the days of Moslem authority.
In those days there were thirteen stripes instead of seven. Tunis is now under French
dominion and the tricolor is the supreme banner of the land.

827.

The merchant

THE FLAGS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

829. The national flag of the British Empire,
the union jack, combines the crosses of St.
George (830), St. Andrew (831), and St. Patrick (832). When the union of the two crowns
of England and Scotland took place upon the
accession of James VI of Scotland to the Eng-

throne as James I, the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, and that of
St. George, the patron saint of England, were
combined, and all ships were ordered to fly at
their maintop the new flag, while at the foretop the English were still to fly the red cross
of St. George and the Scots the white cross of
lish

St.

Andrew.

This was the

first union jack (361), as it is

generally termed, though, strictly speaking, the
name of the flag is "great union," being a jack
only when flown from the jackstaff of a ship
James I always signed his name
of war.
"Jacques," and it is believed in many quarters
that the jack and the jackstaff of the navy derived their names from that fact. Others contend that "jack" was used as early as the close
of the sixteenth century. Lord Howard's ships
in their attack upon the Spanish Armada, in
1588, are described as carrying a "jack" on the
jackstaff, their jack being a small edition of
the red cross of St. George.
That St. George's cross was placed over St.
Andrew's was distressing to the Scots, who

made

it the subject of an appeal to the King

(see 1 132)
But even a king cannot solve all of
the problems of heraldry. That art has no way
of making two devices on a flag of equal value.
If they be put side by side the position next
the staff is more honorable than the one remote from it, just as the upper portion of a
flag is more honorable than the lower.
After
the death of Charles I, the union of Scotland
and England was dissolved and the ships of
parliament reverted to the use of the simple
cross of St. George, while those of Scotland
took up the cross of St. Andrew again. When
Cromwell became protector he restored the
union flag, imposing the Irish harp upon its
.

center.

After the Restoration, Charles II removed

the harp, and so the original union flag was
revived and continued in that form until 1801,
when, upon the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland, the cross of St. Patrick was
incorporated. To combine these crosses without losing the characteristic features of each
was not easy. Each had to be distinct and at
the same time retain a border which would
denote its original ground. To place the red
cross of St. Patrick on the white cross of St.
Andrew would have obliterated the latter, and
vice versa. Therefore it was decided to make
the white broader on one side of the red than

378

the other. This breaks the continuity of direction of the arms of St. Patrick's cross, but
permits the Irish and Scottish crosses to be
distinguished from one another.
The union jack flies from the jackstaff of
every man-of war in the British navy. With
the Irish harp on a blue shield displayed in the
center, it is flown by the Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland. The Governor General of India adds
to it the star and device of the Order of the
Star of India and flies it; colonial governors
add the badge of their colony in the center and
fly it; diplomatic representatives use it with'
the royal arms in the center.
As a military
flag it is flown over fortresses and headquarters, and on all occasions of military ceremony. The admiral of the fleet hoists it at
the mainmast of a man-of-war as his flag.
830. The red cross of St. George is reputed
The
to have originated during the Crusades.
story goes that while engaged in a great battle
the soldiers of England were wearied and,
seeing that the number of enemies did not decrease, began to despair.
At this critical mo-

number of heavenly soldiers,

descended from the mountains,
the standard bearers and leaders of them being
St. George, St. Maurice, and St. Demetrius.
When the Bishop of Le Puy first beheld them
he cried aloud to his troops, "There are they,
ment an

all

infinite

in white,

succours which in the name of God I

promised you." As a result of the miracle the
enemies turned their backs and lost the field,
there being slain one hundred thousand horse,
besides foot innumerable, and in their trenches
such infinite store of victuals and munitions
were found that the Christians were refreshed
and the enemy confounded. This great victory
at Antioch led to the recovery of Jerusalem,
and during the Crusades England, Aragon,
and Portugal all assumed St. George as their
the

patron saint.

The cross of St. George was worn as a

badge over the armor by every English soldier
in the fourteenth century, if indeed not in
earlier times. It was the flag under which the

great seamen of Elizabeth's reign traded, explored, and fought; it was the flag that Drake
bore around the world; and to this day it is
the flag of the British admiral (see 60s).
831.
St. Andrew has been the patron saint
How he
of Scotland since about 740 A. D.
came to be such has never been satisfactorily
When he suffered martyrdom, in the
settled.
year 69 A. D. at Papras, his remains were carebut in 370, Regulus, one of
fully preserved
the Greek monks to whom they had been entrusted, learned in a vision that the Emperor
;

Constantine was proposing to

move them

to

In compliance with the inConstantinople.

structions received in the vision, Regulus at
once visited the shrine and removed the arm
bones, three fingers of the right hand, and a
tooth, and, putting them into a chest, set sail

After a
with some half dozen companions.
stormy voyage -the vessel was dashed upon a
rock and Regulus and his companions landed
on an unknown shore and found themselves in
a gloomy forest. The natives there listened to
their story and gave them land on which to
build a church for the glory of God and the
jenshrining of the relic. This inhospitable shore
proved to be that of Caledonia (Scotland).

379

Authorities agree that, devoutly as milit, the use of

St. Patrick's cross is
in defiance of all ecclesiastical usage and custom, because St. Patrick never suffered martyrdom, but died in his bed at the ripe age of
ninety. It is said that he was never canonized,
and that his sainthood, like his cross, is due to
popular error. It has been suggested by some
that the X-like form of cross, both of the Irish
and of the Scots, is derived from the sacred
monogram of the labarum of Constantine,
where the X is the first letter of the Greek
word for Christ. This symbolic meaning of
832.

lions love

the form might readily have been adopted in

the early Irish church and thence carried by
missionaries through Scotland. Another Suggestion is that the red cross on a white field
was the heraldic device of the Geraldines, dating at least from Maurice Fitzgerald, the
grandson of Rhys, the great King of South
Wales, who landed in Ireland in 1169 on the
invitation of King Dermod of Leinster, and
that it is in fact a banner not of St. Patrick,
but of the Norman Invader, which was adroitly
held up to the people of these islands as distinctive of the patron saint.
St. Patrick was born in Scotland, near where
Glasgow now stands. The date of his birth
was about the middle of the fifth century. His
father was of good family, and while the future saint was under the paternal roof divers
visions revealed to him that he was destined
for the great work of the conversion of Ireland, at that time steeped in idolatry.
He resigned his birthright and social position and
took the burden of the Irish upon him. Ordained a deacon and priest, he was ultimately
made a bishop, in which capacity he traveled
over the whole island, founding monasteries,
and filling the country with churches and
schools and with piety and learning.
Tradition has it that he found Ireland a land of
barbarism and left it a seat of learning and
piety.
It continued for centuries a center of

mental and spiritual

With

light.

three golden lions representing England, its red lion rampant standing for
Scotland, and its golden harp for Ireland, the
royal standard was first hoisted on the Tower
of London on the first day of January, 1801.
833.

its

How England came to be represented by

three lions is not entirely clear.
Two lions
were assigned as the arms of William the Conqueror, a lion each for Normandy and Maine,
but there is no distinct evidence that he bore
them. As a Crusader, Richard Cceur de Lion's
banner bore two lions combatant, but on his
second great shield three lions passant guardant appear. The date of this shield is 1 195, so
that for nearly seven and a quarter centuries,
with the exception of the days of Cromwell,
the three golden lions on the red field have
typified the power of England.
The rampant lion of Scotland dates from the
time of William the Lion, about 1165. It became a part of the royal standard in 1603.
The Scots did not like the idea of their lion
being placed in the second quarter any more
than they relished the thought of St. Andrew's
cross being placed under that of St. George.
They claimed that after the death of Queen
Elizabeth the Scottish crown virtually an-

office to which the ship is accredited.

For example, hired transports fly
(see 846) ;
it with a yellow anchor in the fly
Office
the ordnance department of the
displays it with a shield en the fly bearing a
cannon and cannon balls 'see 854).
No other flag in the world flutters in
836.
the breeze of as many ports or sails as far
and wide as the red ensign of the British Mer-

nexed the English, and

badge of the

felt so bitter about it

that for many years after the union on all
shields devoted to Scottish business, and on
the flag displayed north of the Tweed the

War

arms of Scotland were placed

in the first quarmonument to Queen

as they are on the

Elizabeth in Westminster

ter,

Abbey

(see

also

IT33).

The early standard of Ireland contained

three gold crowns on a blue field. Henry VIII
substituted the harp, and James I finally placed
it on the third quarter of the royal standard.
The Earl of Northampton, writing in the reign
of King James I, suggested that the best reason that he could observe for the use of the
harp was that it resembled the country it typified in being an instrument that cost more to
it in tune than it was worth.
The royal standard is hoisted only when the
King is actually within the palace or castle, or

keep

saluting point, or on board the vessel

it.
The King's regulations say
"The royal standard, being the personal flag
of a sovereign, is not to be displayed in future
on board His Majesty's ship or on official
buildings, as has hitherto been customary on
His Majesty's birthday and other occasions;
but it shall only be hoisted on occasions when
the sovereign is actually present or when any
member of the royal family is present, representing the sovereign."
834. The white ensign, bearing the red cross
of St. George with the union flag of the Empire as its canton, is the fighting flag of the
When at anchor in home ports
British navy.
the British ships hoist their colors at 8 o'clock
in the morning in the summer-time and at 9
o'clock in the winter, and when abroad either
at 8 or 9, as the commander-in-chief directs.
On the hoisting of the ensign all work stops
and all ranks must get on deck, standing at
the salute as the band plays the opening bars
of the national anthem, the man at the halyards timing his pulls, so that the ensign
reaches the truck at the last note of the band,
just as it reaches the deck in the evening,
when it is played down. The regulations provide that British ships shall not on any account
lower their flags to any foreign ships whatsoever, unless the foreign ships shall first or at
the same time lower their flags to them.
835. The blue ensign of the British Empire is
now flown by naval reserve vessels, public officers afloat, the consular service, the government
transvessels of the several colonies, by hire
ports, by hired surveying vessels commanded
by officers of the royal navy, by commissioned
officers serving as mail agents, by the Fishery
Board for Scotland, by the Pacific Cable Board
ships, by Lloyds (in boats), by the Indian Maat the

which

flies

'

rine,

and by Royal Naval Reserve.

The

privi-

lege of flying the blue ensign is also allowed

to British merchantmen commanded by officers
on the retired list of the royal navy, or by
officers of the Royal Naval Reserve, on condition that either officer commanding the ship is
one of these, that ten of the crew belong to
the reserve, or that the ship is in receipt of
an admiralty warrant. Yacht clubs Cexcept the
royal, which flies the white) fly the blue ensign.
When flown by ships belonging to the British
public service, it bears in the fly the seal or

380

chant Marine. At the beginning of the present

war nearly one-half of all of the cargo- and
passenger-carrying ships of the earth sailed
under these colors. It is not improbable that
more than half of all the passengers and cargoes sailing the seven seas were carried upon
them, for no nation's ships were more efficiently handled.
At that time the tonnage of
the British Merchant Marine was more than
four times as great as that of Germany.
Uther Pendragon, father of King
837.
Arthur, had a vision of a flaming dragon in
the sky.
This his seers interpreted as meaning that he should ascend the throne.
After
his accession he had two golden dragons fashioned, one of which he carried into battle.
The Anglo-Saxon kings were impressed with
the image and incorporated it into their arms.
Not until the twentieth century was it officially
restored, as proper only to the race of Uther
Pendragon. Under the reign of Edward VII
it was incorporated into the armorial bearings
of the Prince of Wales.
The lion rampant with the tressure,
838.
which is the device of Scotland and which is
seen in the second quarter of the British royal
standard, first appeared on the seal of King
Alexander II about 1230 A. D. Without modification in color or form, it was borne by all
the sovereigns of Scotland, and on the accession of James VI to the throne of England as
James I, in the year 1603, it became an integral
part of the king's standard, and has so re-

mained

to this day.

The

story of the harp of Ireland, which

appears on the blue field of the Irish standard,
has been told in the account of the history of
the British royal standard (833), on which it
appears in the third quarter (see also 1133).
840. The three golden lions of the standard
of England are, as told in 833, of doubtful
origin.
Certain it is that, except for the break
which occurred in the years that Cromwell was
Protector, they have typified the might of England for seven hundred years.
The royal family's standard of the
841.
839.

British Empire is the same as the royal stand(833). except that it has a white border
and bears as an escutcheon of pretence the
arms of Saxony (998), proclaiming the continental origin of the royal family. As the name
of the reigning family has been changed recently, it is probable also that its standard will
be changed in this same particular.
The flag of the Lord Lieutenant of
842.
Ireland is the national flag of the British Empire, with the golden harp of the Irish on a blue
escutcheon at the intersection of the crosses.
The County Lords Lieutenant, when
843.
on land, fly the union with a crown over a
sword borne horizontally along the middle arm
of St. George's cross.
Each county of Great
Britain and Ireland has such a chief official

ard

who controls the appointment of justices of

the peace and issues commissions in the local
military organizations, and in earlier times was
charged with the defense of his county in case
of disturbance.
The flag of British diplomatic func844.
tionaries is that of the Empire, bearing upon
the intersection of the crosses a white shield
surrounded by a garland. The shield is charged
with the royal arms that is, the lions of England, the red lion of Scotland, and the harp of
Ireland in the quarters corresponding to those
of the royal standard (833), with a lion and a
unicorn, rampant, for supporters.
845-860. These are the flags of various departments of the British Government.

BRITISH COLONIAL FLAGS

The union jack (820) is the national flag of
the colonies as well as of the mother country,
and, although it is a rule more honored in its
observance, no other flag is
The ensigns are, strictly
speaking, maritime flags and are not supposed
to be displayed ashore.
According to British
flag law, the union jack, in its plain condition
and without emblazonment or badge, is the
only flag an individual or corporation in British realms may properly fly.
However, since
the shipping of the principal colonies is accustomed to fly the red ensign with the badge of
the colony represented in the fly (see 871, 911,
968, etc.), this flag is frequently, if not indeed
usually, displayed by the people of the several
colonies as their particular flag. Vessels bearing colonial governors or other administrative
officials of badge-possessing rank fly the union
jack with a badge of the colony placed within
a wreath at the intersection of the crosses.
Vessels of the colonial public service display
the blue ensign with the badge of the colony

breach than in

its

to be flown ashore.

from which

it hails in the fly.

861. The badge of Gibraltar is a castle and
key, appropriate to the strategic position of
this natural fortress.
An inscription on a
scroll below represents Mount Calpe, Calpe
being the ancient name of the European Pillar
of Hercules as distinct from Ape's Hill, the

African

Pillar.

862. The badge of Malta is a gold-bordered

shield of white and red, and not the eightpointed silver cross of the Hospitallers (see
1

169).
863.

The badge of Cyprus has two red lions

adapted from the antique.
864. The badge of the Isle of Man consists
of an escutcheon upon which are three trirorporate running legs.
They are joined at
the upper part of the thighs and flexed in a
triangle.
Once these legs were the arms of
Sicily, but they were bare
when appropriated
hy the Manxmen, they were first supplied with
hose,
later
incased in armor, and finally
equipped with spurs.
865.
Alderney's badge is a green medallion
bearing a golden lion crowned and rampant.
866.
Jersey contents herself with a badge
showing the three lions of England.
867. The badge of Guernsey shows the three
lions of England with the addition of a sprig
;

at the top.

3Si

868.

Canada

The

flag of the

Governor General

oi

of the national flag of the

British Empire with the arms of Canada, surrounded by a wreath and crowned, imposed
upon the intersection of the crosses.
The badge of Canada has a shield
869.
quartered. In the first quarter is the shield o(
Ontario (872), in the second of Quebec (873)
in the third that of Nova Scotia (874), and in
the fourth that of New Brunswick (875). Thf
provinces of Prince Edward Island, Manitoba
and British Columbia do not appear, having
joined the Dominion after the arms were de
vised.
Around the escutcheon are intertwined
wreaths and above it the crown of the Empire
870. The blue ensign of Canada is the Brit
ish blue ensign with the addition of the escutcheon of the Colonial Government imposed
on the fly end.
The merchant flag of Canada is thf
871.
red ensign of the British merchant marine,
with the shield of the Canadian Government
imposed on the field.
872. Ontario's badge has an escutcheon, the
upper third of which bears a cross of St
George on white and the lower two-thirdf
three maple leaves on green.
873. The badge of Quebec is an escutcheon
of gold with a horizontal bar of red in the
center.
At the top of the shield are the lilies
of France, which proclaim the old French dominion. The lion of England on the red bar
proclaims the present rule, and the maple leaf
at the bottom is the emblem of Canada itself
Nova Scotia's badge is an escutcheon
874.
of gold with a horizontal bar of blue in the
middle. The bar bears a silver salmon. Above
and below the blue stripe are thistles, which
are reminiscent of Scotland (see also 386).
875. Bearing the golden lion of England at
the top and the ancient lymphad or galley below, the badge of New Brunswick has the
same colors in its field as that of Quebec.
876.
Manitoba's badge is an escutcheon
bearing the cross of St. George at the top on
white and a natural-colored buffalo on green
below.
Prince Edward Island, which joined
877.
the Dominion in 1873, has for its badge
a
shield which bears the British lion at the
top
on red and two trees, one large and one small,
consists

on white. The inscription is "Parva sub ingenti" (The little under the great).
878.
British Columbia's badge consists of a
shield bearing the union jack at the top and a
rising sun below, its rays extending over five
blue and white horizontal stripes which occupy
the middle section of the shield.
879. Newfoundland is Great Britain's "senior
colony," being the earliest discovered, though
not continuously occupied, of British overseas
dominions. Its badge is a Mercury introducing to Britannia a kneeling sailor who has just
landed from a boat.
is

the inscription.

"These gifts I bring you"

At the top are the words

"Terra Nova."
880.
Bermuda's badge is a white shield on
which is represented the wreck of the Sea
Venture, under Sir George Somers, in 1609.
There is shown a cliff loftier than the ship's
masthead, and the imposed escutcheon bearing
the scene is supported by a red lion.

88i.
large and two small ships within a
garter surmounted by a crown constitute the
principal device of the badge of the Bahamas.
On the garter are words which tell us that the
pirates have been expelled and that business
has been resumed.
This is the badge of the
group of islands which include what is now
known as Watling's Island, believed to have
been the first landing place of Christopher
Columbus, who called it San Salvador.
882. The badge of Sombrero and Bahama
Lights has a blue field bearing a ring of red
inclosing a lighthouse shedding its rays. The
ring is crowned and inscribed "Board of
Trade." Above the crown is a scroll bearing
the word "Bahamas."
Jamaica's badge shows an escutcheon
883.
bearing St. George's cross and surmounted by
a lizard. Upon the cross are distributed, one
at each arm and one at the intersection, five
pineapples.
The escutcheon is supported by
two Indians.
884. The Turks and Caicos Islands, which
are close to the Bahamas, have an escutcheon
which consists of a full-rigged sailing ship in
the background, a man making salt in the middle foreground, and the name of the islands
below.
On the badge of the Leeward Islands
885.
appears in the middle distance a mountainous
coast, skirted by a full-rigged ship; in the
foreground is another ship on the shore a
pineapple, larger than either ship, and three
smaller ones.
Above the whole appear the
British royal arms.
Britannia, robed in blue, red, and er886.
mine, and ruling the waves from the backs of
two sea-horses, forms the principal scheme of
the badge of Barbados. One sea-horse in this
badge has a blue tail.
The Windward Isles have a badge
887.
which makes use of a garter encircling a blue
field, upon which is placed a quartered shieldThe device is
red, yellow, green, and purple.
The motto is, "I Pede Fausto,"
crowned.
"Make a propitious beginning."
888.
St. Lucia, the chief coaling station of
the British fleet in the West Indies, has for a
badge a landscape in which appear the Pitons,
twin mountains of the island, and the everbubbling volcano Soufriere, with a land-locked
harbor in the foreground. The Latin motto
below describes this harbor as "Hardly a faithless guard for ships."
St. Vincent's badge has a classical
889.
group showing a woman holding a branch and
another kneeling before the altar of the law,
upon which she is placing a wreath. The badge
bears the motto, "Pax et Justicia."
Discovered by Columbus on his third
890.
voyage, Grenada seems to have taken his ship,
in full sail and running before a spanking
breeze toward the island, as its badge. The inscription "Clarior e Tenebris" means "Brighter
out of the darkness," and doubtless refers to
the fact that Grenada is beyond the hurricane
;

line.

The badge of British Guiana, the BritEmpire's continental holdings on the coast
of South America, consists of a clipper in full
sail surrounded by a garter of gold.
891.

ish

382

that British Honduras is a

that it belongs to the British
Empire, and that it is given to trading, are
brought out in the shield of the colony, which
is circular, one-third of it being devoted to
the display of the tools of mahogany logging,
the second third showing the union jack, while
the remaining third bears a full-rigged sailing

The facts
892.
mahogany colony,

ship.

Trinidad and Tobago have a badge

893.
which shows a mountain in the background, a
frigate in the left middle ground, and a blue
ensign on a jetty in the right middle ground.
A boat, a smaller ship, a house, and several
spars showing behind the jetty complete the
picture.
Below, on white, is a Latin inscription meaning "He approves of the people uniting and entering into treaties."
894.

white bull standing in tussac grass

and a frigate in a river close by form the

badge of the Falkland Islands, lying off South
America and belonging to England.
895. The smaller British islands of the Paare under the control of the Western
Pacific High Commissioner.
His badge is the
crown of the Empire above the letters
P
cific

C.

The main feature of the badge of the

Islands is an escutcheon bearing at the
top on red the British lion. Below is the red
The quarters
cross of St. George on white.
thus formed bear specimens of the vegetable
and bird life of the islands. The shield is
896.

Fiji

supported by two Polynesians wearing skirts

of straw and standing on a scroll upon which
is inscribed a motto in the native language.
The crest is a native catamaran in full sail.
897. The resident commissioner of the New
Hebrides has as a badge a disk of white encircled by a wreath of green and red and bearing a crown with the words NEW HEBRIDES

around

it.

The Protectorate of the British SoloIslands has a simple badge, consisting of

the royal crown, surrounded by the three words
on a white field, British solomon islands.
The British Resident of the Gilbert
899.
and Ellice Islands, in the southern Pacific, has
a badge which consists of a white field bearing
below the letters B R, above which is a crown.
900. The Governor of New Zealand flies a
flag which consists of the national flag of the
British Empire, bearing at the intersection of
the crosses the badge of the island (901).
New Zealand's badge is a wreath-engoi.
circled design of white, bearing four stars in
Z in
the form of a cross, with the letters
the center.
The stars are emblematic of the
southern cross, which appears in the skies over
New Zealand.
902. The blue ensign of New Zealand bears
the southern cross on the fly, the stars being
red with white borders.
903. The red ensign of New Zealand bears
the southern cross in white stars of five points.
The ensign of Paratonga, which flies
904.
over sundry islands in the Pacific, has a field
consisting of three stripes, the upper and the
lower red and the middle one white. Upon
the white stripe are three five-pointed blue
898.

mon

stars.

The Friendly

Islands of the South PaProtectorate of Tonga,

have an ensign with a red field and a white
canton in which appears the cross of St.
905.

cific,

constituting the

George.

The standard of
906.
Tonga has a quartered

the

Protectorate

of
the first and
fourth gold, the second red, and the third blue.
The first quarter bears three six-pointed stars.
The red quarter bears a crown. The third
quarter bears a flying dove.
On the fourth
quarter are three "big sticks." Upon the center
is a six-pointed white star bearing a small St.
field,

George's cross.

The customs
Tonga consists of

flag of the Protectorate

a field the upper part of
which is blue, the lower part white, with a
white canton, upon which is imposed the red
cross of St. George. On the white part of the
field are the initials
C, proclaiming His
Majesty's Customs.

907.

of

H M

Australia's flags
908.

The

flag of the

is

910. The blue ensign of the Commonwealth

of Australia has a large seven-pointed star below the union, and on the fly end five small
stars representing the Southern Cross.
The
Southern Cross exercises a strong appeal to the
people south of the Equator. Even Humboldt
felt its influence and said that in the solitude
of the seas it was hailed as a friend from
whom he and his companions had long been
separated.
This constellation never sets in
Australia (see also 83s).

By

a warrant of the Lords Commisissued in 1903, vessels registered in

Australia were authorized to fly the red ensign
or merchant flag of Great Britain "having in
the center of the lower canton next the staff
and pointed directly to the center of the St.
George's Cross a white six-pointed star, indicating the six Federated States of Australia,"
and in the fly the Southern Cross, as in the
blue ensign. In 1908 the desirability of adding
a seventh point to the star of Australia, for
the Northern Territory, was recognized, and
merchant vessels were authorized to fly the red
ensign as pictured here.
blue Maltese Cross coming down
912.
from the order of St. John and bearing the
crown of the Empire on the intersection forms
the badge of Queensland.
913. New South Wales has for its badge a
St. George's cross on white, with the lion of
the British Empire on the intersection and four
golden stars of the southern cross on the arms.
gi4. The State of Victoria in the Commonwealth of Australia has for its badge a blue
field bearing the constellation of the southern

911.
sioners,

with the royal crown of

the

Empire

above.

South Australia has made the white915.

backed piping crow take the place of the American spread eagle on her arms. The badge of
that State consists of a yellow field bearing the
piping crow displayed.
The celebrated black swan, which was
916.
first discovered on western Australia's principal
river, since named the Swan, has served to
typify in the popular mind the contrariety of
the southern continent's flora and fauna to
those of the rest of the world. This bird represented on a circular gold field has been appropriately chosen as the badge of western
Australia.
917.

white

A
field

red lion passant upon a circular

serves as the design on the badge

of Tasmania.
918. The badge of the territory of Papua is
a white disk, with the name of the territory
below and the crown of the British Empire

above.

Governor General of

the familiar union jack bearing

upon the intersection of the crosses a wreathencircled, crowned star, which is the badge of
the Commonwealth.
909. The star of Australia originally had six
points, one for each of the original States, but
was altered to include a point for the Northern
Territory. The present badge of the Commonwealth is therefore a seven-pointed star, with
a crown above, set within a laurel wreath.

Australia

cross,

383

919. The flag of the North Borneo Company

a British union jack, bearing upon its intersecting crosses a red lion, on a field of gold.
Sabah, a small settlement on the Ma920.

is

lacca Strait side of the Malay peninsula, and

included within the State of Selangor, has a
governor whose flag is yellow, with a red lion
centered, in what the exponents of heraldry
call a passant guardant attitude.
Sarawak, a territory of some 42,000
921.
square miles on the coast of Borneo, has a
yellow flag upon which is imposed a cross of
St. George, the half of which, next the staff,
is black instead of the regulation red.
Upon
the intersection of this cross is superimposed a

crown.
922.

The

flag of the

Rajah of Sarawak

is

country he rules, except that

the arm of the cross next the fly is split apart,
and each section tapered, extending to a corner
of the fly. In 1842 Sir James Brooke bought a
large territory from the Sultan of Brunei. He
ruled this country for a long time as the Rajah
like that of the

of Sarawak, his
tion in

1868.
estimated at

nephew

succeeding" to the posiof Sarawak is

The population

500,000 Malays, Dyaks, Jayans,

Kenyahs, Muruts, with Chinese and other settlers.

923.

The

Straits Settlements, a British col-

ony which comprises Singapore, Penang, and

Malacca, on the Strait of Malacca, has for a
badge a red diamond with three crowns on a
three-armed field of white.
924. Labuan, which was formerly the smallest colony in the British Empire, being about
the size of the Isle of Wight, but which has
since been incorporated in the Straits Settlements colony, has a badge which shows a
brigantine sailing past a very high rock, beyond
which is rising a golden sun.
925. The badge of Ceylon, whose authentic
history goes back to the 5th century B. C,
when an invasion of Hindus from northern
India established the Sinhalese dynasty, has a
pagoda, in front of which is an elephant. The
background is blue and the foreground green,
surrounded by a diamond-studded border of
red and gold.

The

Hongkong's badge shows a harbor

926.
scene in which appear a junk and a tea clipper.
Hongkong is a Chinese city, now under British
sovereignty, and possessed of a naval base of
magnitude.
Weihaiwei, a British holding on the
Chinese coast, is represented by a badge upon
which appear two mandarin ducks on the banks
of a stream.
928. The motto of Mauritius proclaims it,
"The star and the key of the Indian Seas."
On its badge, which is a quartered shield, azure
and gold, appear the symbolical key and star
and a galley. The supporters are a red and
white dodo on the dexter side and a red and
white antelope on the sinister.
Each of the
supporters has a stalk of sugar cane in front
of it.
Mauritius is an island in the Indian
Ocean, 500 miles from Madagascar, having
about 720 square miles of territory and about

relations of Johore with Great Britain are

defined by a treaty dated December 11, 1885,

amended by agreement on May

first

927.

377,000 inhabitants.
929. Seychelles and its dependencies consist
of ninety islands and islets, with a total estimated area of 156 square miles, lying along the
coast of Africa. They are represented on its
badge by a tall palm tree, with a smaller tree
near by and a turtle at its foot, and the motto
Finis coronat opus.
The ensign of the Federated Malay
930.
States is one of the comparatively few ensigns
of the world that use black. The field consists
of four horizontal stripes, white at the top,
then red, yellow, and black in order. Upon the
center is an oval of white bearing a running
tiger.
The Federated Malay States are Perak,
Selangor, Negri-Sembilan, and Pahang. They
occupy a large portion of the Malay peninsula
and are under British protection.
931. The jack of the Federated Malay States
has a unique design. It preserves the colors
of the Malay States ensign, but uses them as
triangles instead of stripes.
The red triangle
has its base on the staff the black triangle, its
base on the fly; the base of the white triangle
is at the upper edge, and that of the yellow at
the bottom. The apexes of the triangles meet
in the center of the flag.
932. The ensign of Pahang, one of the four
Federated Malay States, has a field the upper
half of which is white and the lower half
black. Pahang has 14,000 square miles of territory and a population of 118,000.
933. The ensign of Negri-Sembilan, one of
the four Federated Malay States, consists of a
;

yellow field, with a union bearing two triangles,

one of which, its base resting on the staff, is
black, and the other, its base resting on the
yellow field, is red.
Perak, also a Federated Malay State,
g34.
has an ensign consisting of three horizontal
stripes, the upper white, the lower black, and
the middle yellow.
935. The ensign of Selangor is yellow and
red and is quartered. The first quarter is red
and bears the star and crescent of the Mohammedan world; the second quarter is yellow, the
third yellow, and the fourth red.
Selangor is
about the size of Delaware and has a population of 300.000.
936-945 (inclusive). These are the flags of
the Malay States not included in the Federation.
They are all under British protection.

12,

1914,

in

which the Sultan agreed to accept and to act

upon the advice of a British officer called the
general adviser. The rights of suzerainty, protection, administration, and control of the
other four States were transferred from Siam
to Great Britain by the Anglo-Siamese treaty
of March 10, 1909. The State of Kelantan, on
the east coast of the peninsula, with an area of
5,870 square miles and a population approximating 300,000, is represented by 936 and 937,
ensign and merchant flags respectively. There
are only four post-offices in the entire State.
The flag of Johore (938) is black, with a red
union bearing the star and crescent of the Mohammedan religion. The flag of the Sultan of
Johore (939) is white, bearing a crescent and
star in blue, the star being nine-pointed. Pedis
flies a yellow and black flag (940), the upper
half yellow and the lower black.
The Rajah
of Perlis flies a yellow flag (941), with a shield
inclosed within a wreath. The flag of Kedah
(942) is red, with a green crescent and a shield
half surrounded by a wreath.
That of the
Sultan of Kedah (943) is yellow, with a green
shield, a red crescent, and a green wreath.
The Regent of Kedah flies a green flag (944),
bearing a yellow shield, crescent, and wreath.
Trengganu has a flag (945) the staff third of
which is white and the remainder black.
946. The Governor General of India flies the
familiar union jack, with the star of India,
crowned, at the intersection of the crosses.
947. The badge of India consists of a fivepointed star inclosed within a garter and surrounded by golden rays, as a sunflower. Above
is the crown of the Empire.
948. The Indian marine flies the blue ensign
of Great Britain, with the star of India in the
fly.

94g. The jack of the Indian marine is the

union jack on a field of blue.
950. The flag of the local Indian maritime
government is the blue ensign of Britain, bearing on the fly a golden lion, rampant, carrying
in its forepaws the crown of Empire.
951. The flag of the Conservators of Bombay has seven horizontal red stripes separated
by thin white stripes. The central red stripe
forms with a perpendicular bar the red cross
of St. George, on which is centered the seal of
the Conservators, consisting of two small escutcheons leaning together on a field of white
and having a crown above them.
952. The flag of the Trustees of Bombay,
a body which has in charge the light-houses
and other shipping activities on the Bombay
coast, has a blue cross placed on the field corresponding to the red cross of St. George.
This cross quarters the field, the first quarter
bearing a light-house, the light represented by
rays of red, and the other three quarters bear
shipping scenes along the coast.
The Witu forest lies within the pro953.
tectorate of British East Africa. Its flag is a
red field upon which is centered a union jack,
about half as long and half as wide as the
field itself.

954. British ascendency in Egypt dates from

the 18th of December, 1914, when the govern-

384

ment

of the Empire deposed the reigning

Khedive, on the ground that he had adhered to
the King's enemies.
The British protectorate
has been recognized by France.
The new
Egyptian flag of red has three white crescents,
with the horns toward the fly, and each containing a five-pointed white star.
This flag
was the personal standard of the Khedive and
now takes the place of the former national
flag,

which was distinguished from the Turkish

by having a star of

five instead of six points.

955. The flag of British East Africa is the
national banner of the Empire, bearing upon
the intersection of the crosses a red lion, rampant, or aggressively walking forward on his
passant lion, as shown in 917, is
hind legs.
one walking ahead on all fours, with right
paw uplifted; encircled by a wreath.
Armed vessels of the British East
956.
Africa Company carry the blue ensign of
Britain, with the red lion of East Africa on
the fly.

The East Africa merchant 'flag is of

957.
the familiar red ensign type, with the red lion,
rampant, in a white disk on the fly.
The Somaliland Protectorate in East
958.
Africa has an area of about 68,000 square
miles; its population is about 300,000, mostly
nomadic, almost entirely Mohammedan. The
badge of the protectorate bears the head and
shoulders of a Kudu, one of the antelopes of
that region.

The Nyassaland Protectorate, which

959.
was formerly known as British Central Africa,
with an area of 39,000 square miles and a population of 1,100,000, has a badge which shows a
tree on a diagonal yellow, white, and black
background.
Nigeria, with approximately 336,000
960.
square miles, an area as large as New England
and Texas together, has a population of about
[7.000,000.
In 1900 a proclamation was issued
which, without abolishing domestic slavery, deall children born after January 1, 1900,
free; it also forbade the removal of domestic
slaves for sale or transfer. The badge of this
protectorate has a red field, upon which are
imposed two interlocked triangles in the form

clared

of a six-pointed star.
In the center is the
crown of the British Empire.
An elephant in front of a
961. 962, 963.
palm tree, with mountains in the background,
forms the device of the badge of West Africa,
with the initials "G" for Gambia, "S. L." for
Sierra Leone, and "G. C." for Gold Coast, making the badge representative of each of the
subdivisions of West Africa.
St. Helena has a badge which shows
964.
an Indian merchantman on a green sea. steering between two high cliffs. St. George's cross
on the ensign of the ship is reminiscent of
days long ago.
965. The Governor General of the Union of
South Africa flies the national flag of the British Empire, with the coat-of-arms of South
Africa in the center.
966. The badge of the Union of South Africa consists of a shield quartered and showing
the figure of Hope for Cape Colony, two gnus

385

for Natal, an orange tree for the Orange Free

State, and a trek wagon for the Transvaal.
The gnus and the orange tree are on gold, and
Hope and the wagon on red and green respectively.
The crest is a lion and the supporters
antelopes; the motto, "In union there is
strength."
967. The Union of South Africa has as its
official flag the blue ensign of Great Britain,
with the coat-of-arms, as described in 966, on
the fly.
The merchant flag of the Union of
968.
South Africa, which is made up of Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State,
is the red ensign of Britain, bearing the Union's
coat-of-arms in a white disk on the fly.
969. The badge of the Cape of Good Hope
shows a shield bearing on red a golden lion,
rampant, and supported by a gnu and an antelope.
On a scroll below the shield is "Good
Hope" in Latin.
The badge of Natal shows two gnus,
970.
the odd-looking African antelopes, with the
imperial crown above.
The export of gnu
hides is an important industry in Natal, and
the number of these animals has been greatly
reduced by hunting.
The Orange River Colony, before it
971.
became the Orange Free State of the Union,
had on its badge a springbok in alert attitude.
972. Before the formation of the South African Union the badge of the Transvaal showed
a lion, couchant, resting on the veldt.
973. Rhodesia's badge has a blue field, with
a golden lion grasping an elephant's tusk in its
right paw.
The name of this colony, as well
as the letters B. S. A. C. appearing below its
device, recalls the means by which this region
was secured and developed for Great Britain,
namely, Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa

Company.

The High Commissioner

of South Afbadge a blue disk with the initials S. A. H. C. and a crown above.
This shows the wreath used around
975.
the badges of the colonial possessions when
imposed upon the union jack, at the intersection of the crosses, to betoken the presence of
the colonial representative on the ship flying
it.
There are a few notable exceptions the
wreath around Canada's badge is not the regulation laurel, but is made of maple leaves (see
that around New Zealand's badge con869)
974.

rica has as his

sists of two fern leaves (see 901)

the Union
of South Africa has a wreath of mimosa (see
966), while India's star is circled by the garter
which in turn is surrounded by the blazing rays
of a sun (see 947). When the badges are used
on the blue and red ensigns they are not surrounded by wreaths, except in the case of the
blazing sun of India.
The badge of military officers afloat.
976.
as, for instance, when crossing the English
Channel, or when going to the Saloniki front,
has a blue field, uoon which are inscribed in
rold the initials "G. R." (George Rex), surmounted by the crown of the Empire.
077-986. These flags are used by the various
;

British officials.

FLAGS OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, BULGARIA,

GERMANY, AND TURKEY

The ensign of Austria-Hungary has
987.
three horizontal stripes, red at the top and
bottom, with white between. Upon the white
stripe are imposed the shield of Austria next
the staff and of Hungary next the fly. Above
each shield is the crown of its kingdom. The
Hungarian crown differs from the Austrian,
being that of St. Stephen. The Austrian shield
repeats the red, white, red-striped design of
the flag, and was the device of the ancient
dukes of Austria, dating back to the twelfth
century.
988. The merchant flag of Austria-Hungary
was introduced in 1869 by a commission appointed to blend the flags of the two countries.
As the Hungarian flag is red, white, and
green, the blending was accomplished by making the bottom stripe of the Austro-Hungarian
ensign one-half green.
Thus the half of the
merchant flag containing the Hungarian shield
preserves the distinctive Hungarian tricolor.
The imperial standard of Austria989.
Hungary consists of a yellow field bordered
with small black, red, and white triangles representing flames. It is square and in the center
are placed the arms of the Austrian monarchy.
These consist of a black double-headed eagle
crowned, the double head indicating the former
Holy Roman Empire. Over the eagle appears
the crown of Austria.
In one claw the eagle
holds a sword and scepter and in the other an
orb.
On its breast appears a shield divided
equally into three vertical portions. The red
lion rampant on a golden ground in the first
section represents the House of Hapsburg;
the silver section on a red ground stands for
Austria; the three eaglets in silver on a red
band upon a golden ground are reminiscent of
Lorraine.
The shield is surrounded by the
colors of the Order of the Golden Fleece and
of Maria Theresa. On the wings of the eagle
are the arms of the eleven provinces.
This

commands

different salute from any

it is believed.
Under Austrian naval usage the Emperor is saluted by
twenty-one guns followed by fifteen hurrahs.
minister of state or field marshal gets nineteen guns and eleven hurrahs a general thirteen guns and seven hurrahs; a commodore
flag

other in the world,

eleven guns and three hurrahs, while ambassadors, archbishops, consuls, and others all Have
their definite share of gunpowder and requisite allotment of shouting.
The royal standard of Bulgaria is a
990.
square red flag bordered with black and green
triangles, -upon which is emblazoned the royal
On
lion of the coat-of-arms of the country.
the body of the lion is a shield having a blue
field bearing a series of diagonal and horizontal lines.

g9i.

The ensign of Bulgaria

is

white at the

and green between. In

a canton appears the golden lion rampant of

top, red at the bottom,

386

Bulgarian arms, upon red.

The lion is
crowned.
Bulgaria's merchant flag is of white,
992.
green, and red, white at the top and red at the
bottom.
Germany's imperial standard has a
993.
cross, black with white border, the field being
the

and the intersection of the cross bearing a shield containing the arms of Prussia

yellow,

surmounted by a crown and surrounded by the

Order of the Black Eagle. The

collar of the

yellow field of the flag is diapered over in

each corner with three black eagles and the
crown. The arms of the cross reach out to
the four edges of the flag and bear the legend,
"Gott Mit Uns, 1870," the date commemorating
the origin of this standard.
994. The standard of the King of Prussia
very closely resembles the imperial standard,
except that the field of the flag is red instead
of yellow. The cross which this flag and the
preceding one bear is the cross of the Teutonic order and dates from the close of the
twelfth century.
995. The ensign of the German Empire has
a white field, upon which is imposed a large
black cross, having at its center a circle in
black outlines containing the black Prussian
eagle crowned. The arms of the cross quarter
the flag. In the canton there is the merchant
flag in miniature,

upon which

is

superimposed

the black cross of the Teutonic order (994).

The merchant flag of Germany, con996.
sisting of three bars, black at the top, white in
the middle, and red at the bottom, dates from
1867. In that year it was decreed that the flag
of the North German Confederacy should be
black, white, and red, and when the twelve
southern States joined the federation the same
flag was continued as the merchant symbol of
the Empire. Prior to 1867 no German national
flag had ever flown upon the ocean, each of
the various States and free cities having its
own special colors (see also 1153, 1154, Ii6f5,
etc.).
In a speech delivered that year the
Minister of the Crown stated that the combination of colors was emblematic of a junction
of the black and white Prussian flag with the
red and white ensign of the Hanseatic League.
997. The standard of the King of Bavaria
has a field of blue and white lozenges, -upon
which is centered the coat-of-arms of the
kingdom. This bears a quartered shield with
a golden lion, crowned, on a field of black,
representing the Rhine Palatinate in the first
quarter; the second quarter is red and silver
for the Duchy of Franconia; the third quarter
has eight stripes of silver and red crossed by
a pale of gold, for the Margravate of Burgau;
the fourth quarter has a .blue lion rampant,
crowned with gold, -for .the County of Veldentz. Upon all is a fusiform of striped silver
and blue, which represents Bavaria. Above this

is the royal crown, supported by two

regardant, each of them gold crowned.
whole is upon a royal mantle, which, in

device
lions

The
its

turn,

998.

is

crowned.

The standard of the King of Saxony

reproduces part of the heraldic device found

the arms of the ruling family, namely, a
green crown of rue cutting diagonally across
ten alternate black and gold bars.
The flags of the maritime States of
999.

in

Germany are black, white, and red, black at

the top and red at the bottom, with. an anchor
and crown in the center, where the white stripe
is swelled out to accommodate them, and with
the badge of the respective States, 1003-1008,
inclusive, as a canton in the upper corner next
the staff.
1000. The imperial marine flag is like those
of the maritime States, except that the badge
is omitted.
1001. The standard of the King of Wurttemburg is yellow with three half horns of a
stag in black, antlered.
In each of the four
corners of the standard is a crown.
1002.
The Grandduchy of Hesse has a
standard consisting of three horizontal stripes,
red at the top and bottom and white between,
with the white stripe larger than the others.
Upon the white stripe is a blue shield charged
with a lion having a forked tail and striped
with red and white. The standard has a crown
in each of its four corners.
1003. This badge, with its black eagle, placed
as a canton on the flag of the German maritime States, proclaims that the ship flying it
belongs to Prussia.
1004. The badge of the free city of Bremen
is red and bears an antique key of silver.
It
is crowned with gold.
Placed in the. canton of the flag of
1005.
the maritime States of Germany, this badge
proclaims the authority of Oldenburg. On it
is a shield the first quarter of which, made up
of red and yellow stripes, represent Oldenburg; the second quarter, a gold cross on blue,
represents Delmenhorst
the third quarter, a
golden cross surmounted by a miter on blue,
represents Lubeck
the
fourth quarter is
cheeky, of four rows of red and white, and
proclaims Birkenfeld.
In the point of the
shield is a golden lion, representing Jever.
1006.
The badge of Hamburg is a red
square upon which is placed a castle having
three silver towers, over an anchor.
Mecklenburg's badge has a yellow
1007.
field upon which appears the head of a black
buffalo with red mouth, white horns, and
;

golden crown.
1008.
The badge of Lubeck has a black
double eagle displayed, its tongue, beak, and
claws red, and its breast charged with an escutcheon halved in white and red.

When

the flag of the imperial marine

the golden anchor and
crown from the middle stripe of white and
substitutes the crowned black eagle of the Empire, it proclaims that the building or vessel
displaying it is under the jurisdiction of the
1009.

Germany omits

Foreign

Office.

When the flag of the imperial marine

has 'this badge substituted for the anchor and
crown, it means that the ship or building dis1010.

it is under the jurisdiction of the other

departments of the German Government.
ion. This badge, in place of the anchor
and crown on the flag of the imperial marine
of Germany, transforms it into the flag of the
postal service of the Empire.
1012. Merchant vessels in the naval reserve
of Germany bear the black, white, and red flag
of the German merchant marine, with the black
cross on the end next the staff.
1013. The landes flag of Prussia consists of
a white field bordered at the top and bottom
with black and bearing on the half next the

playing

staff the displayed black eagle of Prussia.

1014. The flag of the German Governors

of
East Africa and Kiao-Chau was the merchant
flag with the eagle of the Empire on the central white stripe.
The former colony has now
been practically conquered by British forces
and the Japanese have taken charge of KiaoChau.
The flag of the commander-in-chief
1015.
of the naval forces of Germany has a square
white field occupied by the black cross, with
guns arranged in the form of a saltire thereon.
1016.
The flag of the inspector general of
the German navy has a red-bordered white
field with the black cross quartering the white.
The ensign and merchant flag of
1017.

Turkey consists of a red field upon which is

imposed a white crescent moon and a fivepointed star.
The Turks adopted this device

when

they captured Constantinople in 1463.

It

originally was the symbol of Diana, who was

the patroness of Byzantium. When the Turks
adopted the crescent as a badge of triumph it
promptly fell into disuse in the western world,

and they secured a complete monopoly upon

it.
Though originally a pagan symbol, it remained throughout the rise and development
of the Greek Church a special mark of Constantinople.
Even to this day in Moscow and
other Russian cities the crescent and the cross
may be seen combined on the_ churches, the
object being to indicate the Byzantine origin
of the Orthodox Church. The origin of this
quarter moon dates from the time of Emperor

Alexander the Great.

to take the city he set his
soldiers to work on a dark night to undermine
the walls, but the crescent moon appeared in
time to reveal the design to the people and
Philip was thwarted.
In acknowledgment the
Byzantines erected a statue to Diana and made
the crescent moon the symbol of their city.
Philip,

the

father

of

While he was trying

1018.

The personal

flag

of the Sultan of

Turkey, which corresponds to the royal standards of other monarchies, or the President's
flag in our own country, is scarlet and bears
in the center a device which changes with each
succession to the throne. This device, according to tradition, originated in the fourteenth
century, when Sultan Murad, being unable to
write his name on a treaty, dipped his open
hand in ink and pressed it on the document.
In the spaces of the figure thus made the
scribes wrote his name, the title Khan, and the
epithet "Ever Victorious."
Now, the name of
the reigning sovereign, within the same figure,
appears on the flag, surrounded by a rayed
halo of somewhat starlike form.

387

ioig.

The

chief of the staff of the German

a flag of white fully quartered by a
black cross, upon whose intersection is imposed a disk of white, a circle of gold rope,
and a sword.
1020.
The flotilla flag of the German navy
consists of a swallow-tailed pennant, hung free
from the flagstaff and bearing the black cross.
1021. The Sultan of Turkey flies a different
flag afloat from that which is borne for him
ashore.
As commander-in-chief of the Turkish naval forces he has a red banner upon

navy

borne upon all religious occasions. It has been

under this banner that untold thousands of
Christians in the Mohammedan world have
suffered at the hands of the followers of

flies

,
'

which

is centered a white anchor with a blazing sun in the center of each quarter of the

flag.

1022. The religious flag of Turkey is green

instead of the familiar red of the ensign and
merchant banner. It bears the usual crescent
and star in white and is the banner that is

Islam.
1023. The customs banner of Turkey is of
the same general design as the national ensign,
except that the star and crescent are inclosed
in a rectangle made of a thin white stripe close
to and parallel with the border.
1024.
The flag of Crete is quartered by a

white cross.

The

first

quarter

is

red and bears

a five-pointed star in white, while the other

three quarters are blue. This was the flag of
the high commissioner appointed by Great
Britain, Russia, France, and Italy, and later
proposed by Greece with the permission of the
Powers, who governed the island before its
annexation to Greece.

HEROIC FLAGS OF THE MIDDLE AGES

The Geography of

the

Earth as Known in Medieval Times Symbolised

p6 Historic Standards

in

(Nos. 1025-1120)

THE

earliest representation of the

be found
in an illuminated manuscript of a
Franciscan friar, a native of Spain, who
was born in 1305 and who, according to
his own claim, wrote his monumental
"Book of the Knowledge of All the Kingdoms, Countries, and Lordships that
flags of all nations is to

there are in the World and of the Ensigns and Arms of Each Country and
Lordship also of the Kings and Lords
Who Govern Them," after having visited
all the places which he describes.
Geographers and historians hesitate to
accept the friar's claim as literally true,
but it is evident that he was a great traveler and a close observer, and though he
is prone to weave legend and hearsay into
his narrative, there is, nevertheless, a remarkable fund of information in this
priceless manuscript, written a century
and a half before Columbus discovered
America, and which now reposes in the
Biblioteca Nacional at Madrid.
;

"In the name of God the Father and Son

and Holy Ghost, three individual persons in
one essence. I was born in the Kingdom of
the reign of the very noble King
the era of the world, according to the Hebrews, was 5,065 years, and
the era of the deluge 4,407 years, and of Nebuchadnezzar of Chaldea 2.502 years, and of
Alexander the Great of Macedonia 1,617, and
of Caesar, Emperor of Rome, ^,343, and of
Castile,

in

Don Sancho, when

388

ARTIST AS WELL AS TRAVELER

The manuscript of the anonymous
Franciscan whose travels extended as far
east as Java, by way of Mecca, was edited
by the Spanish scholar Marcos Jimenez
de la Espada, 40 years ago, with the aid
of Don Francisco Coello, the eminent
geographer. It was recently published in
English, together with the flags (see page
371), by the Hakluyt Society.
The devices are very beautiful and rich,
both in color and in design, the Franciscan evincing great skill in reproducing
in some instances the banners and in others the coats-of-arms of the kingdoms

and

principalities

which he

visited.

The

story of these flags of the world

570 years ago and of the kings and countries over which they waved is best told
in the words of the Franciscan himself,
who makes no attempt to differentiate between what he actually saw and what he
heard (the numbers in the text refer to
the corresponding flag on page 371).
Christ 1,304 years, and of the Arabs 706, on
the nth day of the month of September.
"There are in the Kingdom of Castile 28
cities and many other towns, castles, and villages. Know that this Kingdom of Castile and
Leon has all the seacoast of the west as far as
Bayona the greater, and borders on Navarre
and Aragon and Granada. The ensigns of the
kings of this kingdom are a flag with two
castles and two lions quarterly (1025).

departed

"I

from

the

Kingdom

of

Castile

and went to the Kingdom of Portugal, where

I found four large cities, and three great rivers
flow across it. This kingdom borders on the
western sea and the Kingdom of Castile and

The arms of this kingdom are castles

round and qumas (shields with five white

Leon.
all

representing the five wounds of the

Saviour) in the middle (1026).

circles,

went to Bayona (Bayonne the greater,

which is in Gascony. It is seated on the western sea, near the Pyrenean Mountains (Pyrenees).
The Lord of this Bayona has for his
"I

flag

white with a cross red" (1027).

the Franciscan's visit Bayonne

At the time of

was under the King of England, and the flag

was therefore the St. George's cross (830),
adopted by Richard Cceur de Lion during the
Third Crusade.
"I left Bayona and entered Navarre, a very
rich kingdom, in which there are three great
Three great rivers flow through it. The
cities.
king of

it has for a sign the flag as follows"

(1028).
At the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, in
[212, Sancho, King of Navarre, and his knights
broke the chain which defended the approach
to the tent of "En-Nasir," the Almohade Sultan.
The victory which followed resulted in
laying all Mohammedan Spain at the feet of
the Christians.
From that time the kings of
Navarre bore the chain on their coat-of-arms

and on

their flag.
"I departed from

Navarre and crossed the

Pyrenees. On the left side of these mountains
is the noble city of Tolosa (Toulouse), where
the liberal arts are studied, and the lord of
this Tolosa has for his sign a red flag with a
cross of gold (1029).
"I left Tolosa and turned along the coast of
the country of Burdeo (Bordeaux), and then
to Rochela
(La Rochelle), a rich city of
France, and thence I went to the point of
Sanmae, which is in the province of Bretanea
(Brittany) ; thence to the Gulf of Samalo (St.
Malo), and thence to the province of Normandia (Normandy). All these are in the
Kingdom of Francia (France), where there
are many cities, towns, and villages.
Know
that the Kingdom of France borders on the
Mediterranean, where there is a city called
Marbonne, and on the Alps of Alsace and on
the coasts of Flanders, and all the coasts of
Gascuena (Gascony) to the Pyrenees. The
King of France has three fleurs de lys of gold
(1030).
"I left Paris and went to Roan and Chalon,
and thence to a city on the coast which they
Diepa (Dieppe), and I left it and reached
a rich city called Cales (Calais), which is in

call

the province of Picardy. Know that from this

Cales to the island of England is a short crossing of eight miles (leagues ?).
I departed
from Cales and went to the country of Flanders, to a noble city, Brujas (Bruges).
The
lord of that country has a flag gold with a
black lion (1031).
"Thence I crossed a great river which they
call Rinus (the Rhine), which passes by Colona (Cologne), a great city of Germany.
In
this city they say that the three Magian kings
are interred who worshiped Jesus Christ in

Belem (Bethlehem).

But when

traveled in

the Empire of Cataya (China) I was in a city

called Solin (Saba?), and they showed me

three highly revered monuments, and they were

in honor of the three Magian kings who adored
Jesus Christ, and they said that they were natives of that city.
In this Germany there are
some very high mountains which they call the
German Alps.
The Emperor of Germany has for his device a flag yellow with a
black eagle crowned (1032).
"I departed from Colona and went to a city
called Colanda (Holland), in the Kingdom of
Frisia.
I then passed over a great river, Albia
(Elbe), rising in the mountains of Boemia
(Bohemia). Here the German Sea forms the
great Gulf of Frisia, and in that gulf there are
four islands. The King of Frisia's device is a
flag gold with three long black lions (1033).
"In the Kingdom of Boemia there are seven
great cities, the largest called Praga (Prague),
where they crown the King of Boemia. This
Praga is all surrounded by a lofty range which
they call the Mountains of Boemia.
In the
middle there is a great plateau and in its center
is the city, surrounded by a great river called
Albia.
The King of Boemia has for his device a flag white with a red lion crowned
(1034).
"I left Boemia and went to the province of
Sant Nurio (Sandomir), and to another the
name of which was Curconia (Cracow) and
Culman (Culm), which are great provinces
between Germany and the greater sea, and
though it may be that they are inhabited by
Christians, still they are schismatics and I arrived at two great cities between the greater
sea and the Sea of Germany, called Litefama
(Livonia) and Catalant (Courland). It is a
very populous land and the king of it has for
a device a white flag with this sign (1035).
.

the vanished kingdom

entered the Kingdom of Polonia (Poland), where there are five great cities, the
largest being Santa Maria (Mariempol), where
they crown the kings. The King of Polonia
has for his design a green flag with this sign
in red (1036).
"I left the Kingdom of Polonia and went to
the Kingdom of Leon, which the Germans call
Lumbrec (Lemberg), in which there are five
great cities. It must be known that this Kingdom of Leon (Galicia) borders on the province of Rumenia (Livonia) and with the Kingdom of Suava (Swabia). The king has a
green flag with a red cross (1037).
"After this I turned to the other coast of
the German Sea (Baltic), to the part of the
Trasmontana, being the land of Europe I will
mention further on. I entered a great province they call Suevia (Sweden) and found the
city of Roderin (Roggerwick), very rich and
populous, though the land is very cold. It has
in it nine cities.
The King of this Suevia has
for his device a yellow flag with two red lions
facing each other" (1038).
A few years before the visit of the Franciscan the first union between Norway and
Sweden had taken place under the three-yearold king, Magnus, who, however, lost both
kingdoms before his death.
"I left the city of Roderin and, going on
"I

380

board a

ship, I passed to an island they called

Gotlandia, which is in the German Gulf, and
on tins island there is a great city called Bisuy
(Wisby), in which there are 90 parishes, and
the island is well peopled. There is a smaller
island called Oxilia. The king of these islands
has a flag of gold and purple bars" (1039).
It was in the century preceding the Franciscan's visit that the wealth of the city of
Wisby, or Bisuy, as he called it, became proverbial, and an old ballad relates that "the Gotlanders weigh gold with 20-pound weights and
p'ay with the choicest gems. The pigs eat out
of silver troughs and the women spin with
gold distaffs.
few years after the friar's
visit Wisby was attacked by the King of Denmark, who after a bloody battle, in which 1,800
peasants fell trying to defend the gates of the
city, took possession of the whole island.
"I ascended the lofty mountains of Noruega
(Norway), which is a very strong kingdom
They call the
containing three great cities.
largest Regis (Bergen), where they crown the

be it known that this Noruega

toward the north is uninhabited, and that the
year makes one day for six months and another six months' night, and there are men
who have their heads fixed on their breasts
with no neck whatever, but I did not see them.
The king of this Noruega has for his device
a flag gold with a black lion (1040).
"I departed from Noruega in a ship of the
English, and we shaped a course west and
came to an island, very large, called Salanda,
which is at the entrance of the Gulf of Frisia,
The island of Salanda
already mentioned.
(Zeeland) is very populous and has four great
Salandi (Copenhagen), Risent
called
cities,
(Ringsted), Escondin (Stor Hcdding), Alenda
The king of this island has for
(Lealand).
gold with a black lion, as in
his device a flag

And

kings.

Noruega (1040).

"I left the island of Salanda (Zeeland) and

we made a long voyage, arriving at another
island called Tille (Telemarken, in the south
of Norway), and from thence we came to the
island of Escocia (Scotland) and found in it
three great cities one called Donfres (Dumfries), another Eneruic (Edinburgh), another
Veruic (Berwick). The king of this Escocia
has for his device a red flag with three long
lions of gold" (1041).

The explanation for the Franciscan's confusion of the arms of England with those of
Scotland is quite simple. His visit took place
during the reign of David Bruce, who married
an English princess, and he probably saw her
arms on a flag in Scotland and assumed it to
be the device of the reigning monarch.

ENGLAND CONTAINED "ELEVEN GREAT

CITIES"

"I departed from the land of Escocia and

to the Kingdom of Inglaterra (England).
Know that it is a very well populated country
and that it contains eleven great^ cities. The
largest, where they crown their king, is called

came

Londres (London). The king of those lands

has for his arms, on a flag quarterly, m two
quarters, fleurs de lvs, gold on a field azure, because the king is of the house of France, and
in the other two quarters, in each one, on a field
gules (red), three ounces gold" (1042).

The "ounces" which the friar depicts in his

device for the English king, it will be observed, are almost identical with the "long
lions" which he erroneously credited to Scotland (1041).
the
"I left Inglaterra in a boat and reached
island of Irlanda (Ireland), which is a short
They say that forcrossing of a mile (!).
In this island
merly it was called Ibernia.
there is a great lake, and they say that the
lake brings good fortune, because many enchantments were made on its bank in ancient
times.
The king of this island has the same
arms as the King of Inglaterra (1042).

"Being in Irlanda, I sailed in a ship bound

for Spain, and went with those on that ship on
the high sea for so long that we arrived at the
island of Eterns (Faroe Islands), and another
called Artania (Orkneys), and another called
Citilant (Shetland Islands), and another called
All these islands are in a
Ibernia (Iceland).
part where the sun (never?) sets in the month

of June and they are all peopled. In Ibernia

there are trees and the fruit that they bear are
very fat birds. These birds are very good eatThe men in
ing, whether boiled or roasted.
this island are very long lived, some living 200
years. They are born and brought up in a way
which makes them unable to die in the islands,
so that when they become very weak they are
taken away and die presently.
"In this island there are no snakes nor

nor toads, nor flies, nor spiders, nor

any other venomous things, and the women
It is
are very beautiful, though very simple.
a land where there is not as much bread as
you may want, but a great abundance of meat
and milk. The king of this island has for his
device the same flag as the King of Noruega
vipers,

(1040).

"After this I departed from the island of

Ibernia in a ship, and voyaged so far over the
western sea that we sighted Cape Finisterre
and arrived at Pontevedra, in the province of
Thence I went to a town in
Galicia (Spain).
the Kingdom of Castile, as I mentioned before, which they call Tarifa.
It was founded
by a very powerful Arab named Tarif. Near
this town Albuacen, king of all the land of
the west, was defeated and conquered by the
very noble king, Don Alfonso of Castile, who
all his tents and took his treasures,
his women, and his horses."
(This was the
battle of Salado, in which the King of Castile,
Alfonso XI, defeated Abu-1-hasan Ali, King

pillaged

of Morocco, on October 28, 1340.)

"I departed from Tarifa
city of Aljezira (Algeciras),

and went to the

where is the rock
of Gibraltar, being places in the dominions of
the King of Castile.
"I went to Malaga, a very luxurious city of
the Kingdom of Granada.
In this kingdom
there are three cities.
The grandest, where
they crown the kings, is Granada. This kingdom is bounded by the Mediterranean and the
Kingdom of Castile. The device of this king
is a red flag with Arabic letters of gold, such
as Mahomad, their prophet, bore" (1043).
The friar made an altogether excusable error in copying the Arabic inscription, which
should read, "No conqueror but God."
"I departed from the Kingdom of Granada

.300

and went to the Kingdom of Aragon, a very

rich and well supplied kingdom.
I found five
great cities in it.
The chief one, where the
kings are crowned, is Zaragosa (Saragossa).
It is bounded by Navarre, Castile, France, and
the Pyrenees.
The king has for his device
nine pales gules and or" (1044). (Nine strokes
red and gold.)
There is a picturesque legend concerning
the adoption of this device. Far back in history an heiress of Aragon married the Count
of Barcelona, and the gold shield of the latter
was adopted by the kingdom. After a battle,
however, Raymond Berenger, Count of Barcelona, wiped his bloody fingers down the shield
and thereafter it became "or with five pales
gules"

gold

with

five

red strokes.

and went along the coast

to the country of Ampuria, and thence to the
city of Narbona (Narbonne), which is by the
shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The lord of
"I left Barcelona

it has a white flag with a red cross like that of

Tolosa (1029), and in each quarter a sign like
this (1045), for this city belonged to Raymondo Conde de Tolosa.
"I ascended the mountains and down to
Genoua (Genoa), a very rich city on the shores
of the Mediterranean Sea. The lord of it has
for his device a white flag with a red cross, and
with the word 'Justicia' " (1046).
It was about the time of the Franciscan's
.

Genoa elected its first doge, Simone

Boccanera, 15 years after whose death, in 1363,
the republic city engaged in one of its many
disastrous wars with Venice, during which the
Genoese galleys reached the very threshold of
their rival in the Adriatic and could have dictated a most advantageous peace had they not
boasted that they would "bit and bridle the
horses of Saint Mark."
"I departed from Genoua and entered Lombard}', where there are many great and rich
visit that

cities.
I left Lombardy and came to Pisa, a
land very fertile with a temperate climate. It
has a flag gules (red)" (1047).
Pisa had reached the zenith of its power
during the century preceding the friar's visit.
Its red flag had been banished from Corsica
by the Genoese in 1300, and 23 years later the
kings of Aragon supplanted it with their own
over Sardinia.

"Leaving Pisa, I came to Tuscany, in which

there is a city called Florence. The lord of it
has for his device a white flag with a red cross.
I
went from Tuscany to the noble city of
Rome, which is the head of the empire of the
Romans. The devices of Rome are a red flag
with a gold bar, on which are letters" (1048).
Senatus Populusque Romanus
(S. P. Q. R.
the Roman Senate and People.)

TRANSPLANTED

LILIES OF

FRANCE

"I left Rome and arrived at Naples, a very

luxurious, well supplied, and pleasant land, in
which are the provinces of Pulla (Apulia) and
Calabria.
There are many rich cities. The
King of Naples has for his device a purple flag
with gold fleurs de lys, for he is of the house
of France. Above is a red slip which they call
a label (1049).
"I departed from Naples and went over to
the island of Sicily, a short passage. It is very
luxurious and well supplied. There are in it

391

eight large cities. This Sicily has a flag parted

per saltire (the field divided into four parts by
two lines), two quarters argent (silver or
white), with eagles sable, the other two bars
gules and or, for the king is of the House of
Aragon (1050).
"I went to the city of Venecia, which is at
the head of the gulf on the sea. The lord of
this Venice has for 'his flag
argent, a winged
lion gules like the lion of St. Mark" (1051).
The friar omits the words "Pax tibi, Marce,
Evangelista meus" ("Peace be with thee, Marcus, my evangelist"), which are supposed to be
inscribed on the open book or scroll held by
the lion.
"I departed from Venecia in the same galley
and coasted along the side of Esclavonia
(Croatia-Slavonia), passing by a city called
Aquylea (Aquilea), and another called Triesa
(Trieste).
The king of this Esclavonia has
for his device a yellow flag in halves; the red
half near the hoist has a white star and the
other half is yellow (1052).
"In the Kingdom of Esclavonia there is a
very high mountain called Boxina (Bosnia),
where four rivers rise. All these rivers enter
the Kingdom of Ungria (Hungary) and unite
with the great river Danube, which rises in the
Alps of Germany. Now this land of Boxina
(Bosnia) marches with Germany and Ungria,
and the mountains are in its center, and they
are mountains well peopled, with a well supplied land
but they are not Catholic Christians, and the king of these mountains has the
same arms as those of the King of Esclavonia
(i53>"I departed from Boxina and went along the
coast to the city of Jara (Zara), thence to
Sinbochon (Sebenico in Dalmatia), and thence
to Narent (in Dalmatia, at the mouth of the
Narenta) (1054).
"With this Narent there marches a city
called Dulcecno (Dulcigno), which, with the
adjacent mountainous country, is very pleasant
and well supplied. In these mountains two
very great rivers rise one called Dranoya (the
Drave), the other Pirus (Epirus or Drina)
which flow into the Kingdom of Ungria, falling into the great river Danube and forming
in Ungria ten islands.
They call the first
Ungria La Mayor, whence the Kingdom of
.

Ungria took

"Know

its

name.

Ungria there are many

of Ungria (Hungary) marches with Greece and Germany,
Esclavonia, Bolonia (Bologna), and Burgaria
(Bulgaria). The flag of this kingdom is parted per fess (that is, in two equal parts), upper
rich

that in this

cities.

The Kingdom

half with fleurs de lys of France, because the

king is of the House of France (Louis I of
Hungary, 1342-1382, came, in the male line,
from Charles of Anjou, brother of St. Louis),
the lower half bars gules and argent (1055).
"I departed from the Kingdom of Hungary
and went along the coast to a city called
Durazo (Durazzo). There I took ship and
proceeded to the island of the Morea (the
Peloponnesus, the peninsula portion of the
mainland of Greece). In it there are seven
great cities (1056 and 1057).
"I left the island of the Morea and went to
the island of Rodas (Rhodes).
This island
belongs to the order of St. John" (1058).

The Knights of the Order of the Hospital

of St. John of Jerusalem, afterward known as
the Knights of Rhodes and the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta, came into existence in Jerusalem during the First Crusade.
After its expulsion from the Holy Land at the
fall of the Latin Kingdom, the order was established in Rhodes in 1309, where it was holding
sway at the time of the friar's visit and where
it

remained until 1522.

"I left the island of

Rhodes and went to the

island of Candia (Crete), and thence to another island they call Negropont (Eubcea),
which the Venetians conquered. I left the entrance to the greater sea and Constantinople,
which I will describe further on, to my left,
and went to the city they call Satalia (Adalia),
of Greek Christians. This Satalia is part of
the province of Naturi (Anatolia). The King
of this Satalia has for his device a flag with
bars wavy argent and purpure and over all the
sign of Solomon's seal" (1059).
Adalia, known in ancient times as Attalia,
played a conspicuous part in the history of the
eastern Mediterranean during the Middle Ages.
It was from this port that Louis VII sailed
for Syria in 1148, and it was the assembling
point for Richard Cceur de Lion's descent upon
Cyprus during the Third Crusade.

THE RICH LAND OF TURKEY

"The
lesser

city of Satalia

Armenia are

and others as far as the

all

in

the

province

of

Turquia (Turkey), which was called, in ancient times, Asia Minor. In it there are many
lordships and provinces which it would be hard
to enumerate, for this Turquia extends to the
greater sea, and be it known that it is a very
rich land, well supplied with all goods.
The
king of this province has this flag for his device (1060).
"I went along the coast of this Turquia to a
The king of
city called Corincho (Kongos).
this land has a black flag with five white

crosses (1061).
"I departed from Corincho and went to the
city they call Feradelfia, or Feradelfin (Philadelphia), which marches on that of Troy,
which in ancient times King Menelaus of
Greece destroyed. Troy was the head of all
that Asia Minor which they now call Turquia,
and its device is a flag half white, with a red
cross, the other half yellow, with a red square
(1063).
"In this Turquia there is another province
call Cunio (Iconium, modern Konia), in
which there is a rich city called Cunyo, with
much territory, and the king has a flag with
bars wavy argent and gules" (1064) (silver
and red).
Following its conquest by the Seljuk Turks
in the eleventh century, Konia became one
of the most brilliant cities of the medieval
world. Many splendid mosques, palaces, and
tombs adorned the place, which was surrounded by a wall two miles in circumference.
Beyond the city proper spread the gardens and
villas of a
numerous suburban population.

they

From

the

splendor

of

Turkish proverb, "See

Konia."

the city sprang the

the world, but see

all

is also another province called Sau(Sebastia, or Siwas), anciently Sausco,

from a city of that name which was the head
of all the cities. This city of Sauasco was the,
ancient Samaria, though now it is Sauasco,
head of the kingdom, with a white flag having
five red crosses (1064).
In the time of the Franciscan Siwas, known
in ancient times as Megalopolis-Sebastia, was
enjoying its second period of prosperity, having been rebuilt by the great Sultan Ala-eddin Kaikobad I.
Fifty years after the friar
wrote his "Knowledge of the World," Siwas'
flag was trampled in the dust by the implacably cruel Tamerlane, who buried alive 4,000
of its inhabitants.
"I entered Armenia the Less, which is all

"There

asto

surrounded by very high mountains, and within

the mountains there is a plain country in which
there are 360 towns and villages and castles."

This reference should not be confused with

the Armenia of today.
The Franciscan is referring to a small principality founded in 1080,
which gradually grew until it became the independent kingdom of Lesser Armenia.
It
was a Christian State set in the midst of Moslem principalities and gave valuable assistance
to the Crusaders, although it was hostile to
the Byzantine rulers.
It had a tempestuous
existence extending over a period of about
three centuries.
"On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, in
the place where it ends, you must know that
anciently this Armenia was called the island of
Colcos for in this Armenia an arm of the sea
enters in which there is a small island called
Porto Bonel (in the Gulf of Alexandretta, or
Iskanderun), and here was the temple to the
;

enchanted golden sheep which bewitched Jason

the Greek.

"After this Armenia is the island of Chipre

(Cyprus), and in this Chipre there are four
great cities. The King of Chipre has for his
design a flag parted per pale argent five crosses
gules and purpure (purple), two fleurs de lys
palewise, because he is of the House of France"
(Armenia the Less, 1065, and Cyprus, 1066).
At the- close of the twelfth century the
reigning prince of Cyprus provoked the wrath
of Richard Cceur de Lion by ill-treating the
Crusaders.
The English monarch thereupon
captured the island and sold it to the Knights
Templar, who in turn sold it to the French
crusader, Guy de Lusignan, titular King of
Jerusalem. It was Hugh IV, one of the ablest
of the Lusignan dynasty, who was governing
Cyprus at the time of the friar's visit. This
was the sovereign to whom Boccaccio dedicated one of his works and who brought about
an alliance with the Pope, with Venice, and
the Hospitallers, which resulted in the capture
of Smyrna, in 1344.
After visiting many of the cities of Syria
and Palestine, including Jaffa, Acre, Caesarea,
and Ascalon, the friar says of Jerusalem:
"Know that in this Suria (Syria) is the city
of Iherusalem, which was sanctified by the holy
temple of Salamon (Solomon), built there, and
was consecrated by the blood of Ihesu Christo.
This land was anciently called Cananea after
Canaan, son of Noe (Noah). Afterward it had
the name of Judea after Juda, son of Jaco

392

(Jacob).

Know

that this province

was taken

by the French when they made the conquests

beyond seas. The device of this province is a
white flag with red crosses, like this" (1067).
Sir Clements Markham, vice-president of
the Hakluyt Society and translator of the
Franciscan's Book of Knowledge, notes that
there was no authority for these five crosses
gules in the arms of Jerusalem.
The correct
arms were metal on metal; argent a cross potent or (gold) between four lesser crosses or.
"Suria marches with the land of Jafet
(Japhet), and this Jafet borders the very rich
city of Damasco
(Damascus), well supplied
with all things. Near this Damasco flows the
river Eufrates.
The king has a yellow flag
with a white moon (1068).
"Egipto (Egypt) borders on Suria. I came
along the coast to a port called La Risa (the
Port of Risa). And I took the road to the
west and came to Damiata (Damietta), a noble
city surrounded by the river Nilus
(Nile).
Know that here the King of France was defeated and a prisoner when he went to make
conquest beyond sea (Louis IX, defeated at
Massura, near Damietta, in 1250).
On the
banks of this river Nilus is situated the great
city Alcaira
(Cairo), where the kings of
Egipto are crowned. The device of this kingdom is a white flag with a blue moon (1069).

THE HIDING PLACE OF THE ROSETTA STONE

"I left Alcaira and went to the coast where
is the city of Alexandria, which is noble and
rich.
From this Alexandria to the isle of
Roxeta the distance is ten leagues, all peopled
(Rosetta is the Egyptian town
with villages.
made famous for all time by the discovery
near here of the "Rosetta Stone" in 1799, the
inscribed block of basaltic rock which unlocked
the secrets of hieroglyphic writing.)
The king
of this Alexandria has for his device a yellow
flag and in the middle a black wheel in which
is a gray lion (1070).
"I departed from Alexandria and went by
the coast to a city called Luchon (Lucha),
where the king has a yellow flag with a white

moon

(1071).

"Leaving Luchon I came to Mon de Barcas

(Barca) and Bona Andrea (Apolonia), which
is in Berberia (Barbary), and thence to Tolometa (Ptolemais), on the seashore. The king
has for a device a white flag with a yellow
sash on a lance (1072).
I came to Puerto Magro
river Magra, ancient Cyniphus), and thence to Tripul (Tripoli), of Berberia.
It is called Tripul because it is bounded

"From Tolometa
mouth of the

(the

by the Triplicana Mountains. This Tripul is

a rich city and the king of it has for his device a white flag with a green palm tree and
two red keys (1073 and 1074).
"I went from Tripul to Rahasa (Ras Majabes), Capiz (Gabes), and Faquiz (Alfaques),
and thence to Africa (Mahdia, in Tunisia), a
rich city. Know that 26 miles from this Africa
is a great tower called Ligem, and from this
tower to Alcairahuan (Kairowan) there are 40
miles.
At this Alcairahuan the king of all
Africa toward the west, named Albohacem
defeated and all his
( Abu-1-hasan Ali), was
The King of Africa has
tents were pillaged.

for his device a white flag with a purple moon"

(1075).
The Franciscan's mention of the battle between Abu-1-hasan Ali and Ahmed, near Kairowan, which occurred in 1348, is of special interest, as it is the latest date mentioned by the
chronicler.
The friar probably did not visit
Kairowan, for with the exception of Mecca
and Medina it is the most sacred of cities in
the eyes of Mohammedans, and up to the time
of the French occupation, in 1881, no Christian
was permitted to pass through its gates without a special permit from the bey.)
"I
built

went thence
on the

site

to

Cucia (Susa, in Tunisia,

of the

Roman Hadrumetum),

and thence to Tunez (Tunis), which is a great

and rich city, well supplied with all things, and
is the head of all Berberia
(Barbary). The
flag

of the king

is

white with a black

moon

(1076).
"I
St.

went to Bona (old name, Hippo), where

Augustine was bishop. It is a rich city.

The king of it has

moon (like Tunis

a white flag with a black

1076).

departed from
of Constantina
(Constantine), which is all surrounded by a
river.
The king has a flag parted per fess
white and yellow (1078).
"I left Constantina and arrived at Bugia
("Bougie). It is a very strong and ancient city.
The king has for his device a red flag with a
yellow cross-bow" (1080).

Bona and went

to

the

city

AN EARLY SIGNALING

DEVICE

Long before

the Franciscan's visit to Bougie it had become the greatest commercial

center on the North African coast and had
attained a high degree of civilization.
There
is evidence that the heliograph was used here
for signaling from special towers as early as
the middle of the eleventh century.
During
the century following the visit of the friar it
became the stronghold of the Barbary pirates.
"I went from Bugia to Arguer (Algiers),
thence to Brischan (Bresia), a city on the seacoast.
The king of it has a white flag with a
sign like this (1082).
"I departed from Brischan and went to the
island of Mayorcas (Majorca), in which there
is a noble, rich, and well supplied city.
The
king has for his device a flag with bars vert
(green) and sable" (1077).
The colors which the Franciscan ascribes
to the Kingdom of Majorca constitute internal
proof that he visited the country prior to 1375,
for in that year the island was. annexed by the
King of Aragon and its flag, of course, assumed a red-and-gold hue (see 1044).
"I entered Numedia as far as the river of
Muluya until I arrived at the strong city of
Cepta (Ceuta). Know that Cepta is opposite
to Algezira (Algeciras) and Gibraltar, places
of the King of Spain.
The gulf of the sea,
called the strait of Azocaque (Strait of Gibraltar), passes between Cepta and Gibraltar. The
king of this city has for his design a red flag

with two white keys (1079.)

"I departed from Cepta and went to the
noble city of Fez, where the kings of the Bena
Marin (kings of the lineage of Befli Merin)
always reside. At Fez their kings are crowned

392

and reside

and they have a

flag

all

white

GOLD-MINING ANTS AS BIG AS CATS

(1081).

"Thence

went

to Nife (Anafi?) and Azamor. Know that in this province is the very
noble city of Marruecos, which used to be
called Cartagu the Great (Carthage, a mistake
in which the traveler confuses Morocco with
Tunis).
A consul of Rome named Scipio
Africanus conquered it in the time of the sovI

ereignty of the Romans. Afterwards the Goths,

the lords of Spain, were the sovereigns here.
The King of Marruecos has for
his device a red flag with a chess-board black
and white (1083).
"I climbed the mountains of Cucia La-Alta
(western Atlas), which is a country well supplied with everything.
These mountains are
very high and it is a most dangerous land, for
there are not more than two very perilous
passes.
The king has 'for his device a flag
white with a black lion" (1084).
The friar's next objectives were various
points along the West African coast as far as
the Senegal River, traveling always in a "panfilo"
a galley used in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages, equipped with two masts
for sails and one row of oars. He next visited
many of the islands in the Canary and Madeira
groups. Returning to the mainland, he joined
a party of Moors who were crossing the Sahara with gold for the King of Guinea. He
continues
"We came to some very great and high
mountains in the middle of the Zahara (Sahara), and afterward we traveled a very great
distance over the desert until we came to another mountain (oasis?) called Infurent (Zefran).
Here I parted from these Moors and
joined some others.
I then went to Sulgumenca (the ancient town of Segelmessa, now
Tafilet), a rich city in the Zahara, near a river
which comes from the clear mountains. The
king of it has for his device a white flag with
the root of a green palm tree, in this manner
(1085).
"I went with some Moors over the Zahara
until we arrived at Tocoron (Tamagrut, on
the river Dra), which is a city among some
mountains. The inhabitants are negroes, and
the King of Tocoron has for his device a white
flag with a black mountain in the middle, like
that of the King of Guynoa (Guinea) (1086).
"Thence I went to Tibalbert (Tibelbelt, south
of the Atlas), a city on some very high mountains
thence to another mountain, which is
under the King of Guynoa (Guinea), and
thence to Buda, a well-supplied city, also on
Know that the city
the top of a mountain.
was peopled by a king of Tremecen for he
was bad and did evil things and the people
wanted to kill him. So he fled, with his treasure, to this place and founded this city of
Buda (an oasis south of Atlas). Its flag is
white with a red moon (1087).

who were

"Afterwards I departed from Buda and went

by the Zahara to another mountain called Ganahe (Ghana), in which there is a rich, wellsupplied city of the same name. It is the head
of the kingdom, where they crown the kings.
And the King of Guynoa (Guinea) has a gold
flag with a black mountain in the middle
(1088).

"Of Guynoa

It conthere is much to say.

seven mountains well peopled and land
yielding abundantly as long as there are mountains
elsewhere it is all Zahara. Two ranges
of mountains extend to the Rio Del Oro
(Senegal River), and there they collect the
ivory teeth and the gold in the ant-hills which
the ants make on the river banks. The ants are
as big as cats and dig out much earth. This
kingdom marches with the Kingdom of Organa (a kingdom on the upper Senegal), in
which also there is much desert. Organa is
the head of the kingdom, where the king is
crowned. The King of Organa has for his
device a white flag with a green palm tree and
two keys (1089).
"I traveled for a very long distance on
camels, until I arrived at the kingdom they
call Tremecen (Tremizen, or Telensin, which
extended along the Barbary coast between Melilla and the present seaport of Bougie), which
borders on the river Nilus (Nile). They live
always at war with the Christians of Nubia
and Etiopia (Ethiopia).
There are in this
kingdom five large places inhabited by negroes.
Know that these inhabitants of this kingdom
of Tremecen peopled it from Berberia (Barbary). The king has for his device a purple
flag with a white moon (1090).
"Thence I went to another kingdom called
Dongola (west of Nubia), marching with the
deserts of Egipto (Egypt) and the river Nilus.
It is a country well peopled with Christians
from Nubia, but they are negroes. It is a rich
land and very well supplied and with many
fruit trees.
The land has a very hot climate.
The King of Dongola has for his device a
white flag with a cross like this" (1091).
After revisiting Cairo in company with some
Genoese merchants whom he met in Dongola,
the Franciscan journeyed to Damieta (Damietta), where he embarked for Ceuta.
He dis-

tains

embarked
crossed

and

journeyed

through

Morocco,

Atlas Mountains, where he met

some Moorish traders and embarked with them
on a galley for another cruise down the west
shore of Africa. After leaving the mouth of
the Senegal River "we went on for a very long
distance," continues the friar, "always keeping
in sight of the coast, leaving behind us the
Islas Perdidas
(the Atlantic Islands), and
came to an island inhabited by many people.
"They call this island Gropis (Galpis, of the
Bissagos group, off the coast of Portuguese
Guinea). It is a well-supplied island, but the
people are idolaters. They took us all before
their king, and wondered much at us and our
language and customs.
The merchants who
armed the galley made much profit.
The
king's device is a white flag with the figure of
his idol" (1092 and 1093).
The Franciscan now left the Moors and
journeyed to towns in the Soudan and Senegambia. He marvels at the gold, the ambergris, and the ivory which come from this torrid
region, and declares that the Mountains of the
Moon, also called the Mountains of Gold, are
supposed to be the highest in the world, and
that the five largest rivers in the world have
their sources in these lofty regions.
He gives

304

the

a city in Ethiopia called Menam, where the

crew was imprisoned and none ever returned.
"I departed from Graciona and traveled over
many lands and through many cities, arriving
at the city of Malsa (Melee, or Melli?), where
the Preste Johan (Prester John) always re-

no picture of the flag of this kingdom, which

he calls Gotonie, and designates as "one of the
largest in the world," but describes the device
as "some yellow sashes on a spear." His narrative continues
"I departed from this Kingdom of Gotonie
(Soudan and Senegambia) and arrived at a
gulf connected with the sea, and in the gulf
there are three islands.
I crossed this gulf
until I came to a great city called Amenuan
(Miniana and Amina, regions north of the
Kong Mountains). It is a very great and
populous kingdom, with a land supplying all
that is good, but the people are heathens and
believe in idols.
The kingdom contains eight
great cities, one of which is Amenuan, in which
the king always resides and is crowned.
The
king has a white flag with an idol (1094).
"In this Kingdom of Emenuan there enters
a branch of the river Eufrates (Niger
the
friar does not confuse this with the Mesopotamian Euphrates, but assumes two rivers with
the same name).
This river forms three
branches, one entering the middle of the Kingdom of Amenuan and the other branches flowing round the whole kingdom, the width in
some places being two days' journey. When I
crossed this great river I first made a long
journey along its banks, which are very populous (referring evidently to the river Benue,
a tributary of the Niger).

sides.

"This

the mountains.

"They further told me that these mountains

were surrounded by very deep seas, and that
from the water of those seas come four rivers
which are the largest in the world."
Perhaps this is a vague reference, based on
hearsay, to those noble lakes which constitute
the reservoirs of the Nile and Congo basins
Albert Edward, Tanganyika, Nyassa, and Victoria Nyanza.
It was not until centuries later
that these lakes were definitely located.
In
fact, Victoria Nyanza, which, next to Lake Superior,

is the largest fresh-water lake in the

world, was not discovered until 1858, by J. H.
Speke, while seeking the source of the Nile.

A MYTHICAL MONARCH

came

"The waters which descend by these rivers

make so great a noise that it can be heard at a

great city called Graciona,

which is the head of the Empire of Ardeselib,
a word meaning 'Servant of the Cross.'
The
Ardeselib is defender of the Church of Nubia
and Ethiopia, and he defends Preste Juan
(Prester John), who is Patriarch of Nubia and
Abyssinia."
Prester John, to whom the Franciscan refers, was a mythical Christian potentate, whose
name appears many times in the chronicles of
to

of two days' journey.

All the men
near it are deaf and cannot hear each
other, owing to the great noise of the waters.
"In all time the sun in those mountains is
there day and night, either on one side or the
other.
This is because half those mountains
are over the horizon and the other half are
over the horizon, so that on the top of the
mountains it is never either cold nor dark, nor
hot nor dry, nor moist, but an equable temperature.
All things, whether animal or vegdistance

who

endowed with many

wisdom, and magic.
Originally he was supposed to be a monarch
the Middle Ages, and he
attributes of greatness,

is

voyage of Vadino and Guido de

Vivaldo, navigators who set sail in 1821 in an
attempt to reach India. One of them reached
relates to the

live

can never decay nor die.

told me many other secrets of the
stars both as regards judgments and magical
virtues
also concerning herbs, plants, and
etable,

"They

of Asia, his capital being somewhere in India.

During the fourteenth century, however, the
mythical Prester John's domain w.as transferred to Africa, and he then became the Christian king of Abyssinia.
"Preste Juan rules over very great lands and
many cities of Christians. But they are negroes as to their skins and burn the sign of
the cross with fire in recognition of baptism.
But although these men are negroes they are
still men of intelligence, with good brains, and
they have understanding and knowledge. Their
land is well supplied with all good things, and
excellent water of that which comes from the
Antarctic Pole, where, it is said, is the earthly
paradise.
They told me that the Genoese
whose galley was wrecked at Amenuan and
who were saved were brought here. It was
never known what became of the other galley
The Emperor of Abdeselib
which escaped.
has for his device a white flag with a black
cross like this" (1095).
The friar's reference to the Genoese galley

a well-peopled and well-supplied

the time I came to Malsa I heard

and saw marvelous things every day. I inquired what the terrestrial paradise was like,
and wise men told me that it consisted of
mountains so high that they came near to the
circuit of the moon.
No man has been able to
see it all, for of twenty men who went not
more than three ever saw it, and that they had
never heard tell of any man who had ascended

"I

is

From

land.

minerals, and

The Greeks

saw several marvelous

things.

Ortodoxis, and the

Jews Ganheden, and the Latins Paraiso Terrenal, because there is always a good temperature.
The device of Preste Johan is a white
with a black

flag

call this place

cross

(1096).

departed

from Malsa and took an eastern route."

The Franciscan was the first writer to locate
the mysterious Prester John in Abyssinia.
"I went for a very long distance, meeting
with people of many beliefs and with strange
manners and customs which it would take long
to describe, until I came to a gulf of the Sea
of India which enters into the land fifty days'
journey.

In

this

gulf

there

are

three

very

called Zanzibar (probably an

error of the copyist for Acibar), Alcubil (Kuria Muria), and Aden (peninsula), which is
the largest and the most populous.
It lies
against Arabia, and here the Red Sea begins,
and penetrates the land westward forty days'

large

islands,

journev.

and

395

On

villages.

its

shores are

many

cities,

towns,

A RED RED SEA

ters

"When
rive at
dise,

with spices.

the ships come from

Aden and pay a tithe of

merchan-

Aden and the

city.
Then there

point of Aden there is a rich

is a very narrow place to pass, and a ship then
enters the Red Sea and discharges its cargo at
a city they call Sacam (Suakin), belonging to
the King of Caldea.
"This Red Sea is so called because the bottom consists of red ochre which makes the
water red. By this sea the Jews passed when
they went forth from the Egyptian captivity
Presently I
of Faraon the King (Pharaoh).
entered Caldea, which is all surrounded by two
very great rivers, rising in the mountains of
Toro (Taurus). One is called Cur (a mistake
for Tigris) and the other called Eufrates, but
not the one of Nubia. Both these rivers reach
the Indian Sea in the gulf they call the Black
Sea (Persian Gulf). This Caldea is a rich,
populous, and well-supplied land.
"Know that in this province is the Tower of
Babel, which the giants built in the center of a
great plain, the Agra de Senabar (Shinar),
and here was the great city of Bauilonia (Babylon), which is now destroyed, of which the
lord was Nabucodonusor (Nebuchadnezzar).
"I crossed an arm of the Eufrates and entered the province of Baldaque (Bagdad), in
which there is a great city which they call

Nabucodonusor
and
(Bagdad),
Bandacho
(Nebuchadnezzar) was king of these provinces.
I departed from Bandacho and went to
Mesopotamia. I left Mesopotamia and went
to a city where the river Cur (Tigris) forms
a great island called Ansera, in which island
there is a great city. Beyond this river is the
site of the city of Niniue (Nineveh), which
was destroyed for its sins. Know that this region contains very extensive lands, many cities
villages, and is all encircled by the two
great rivers called Eufrates and Cur (Tigris).
From the borders of the Red Sea to the shores
of the Persian Gulf as far as Aquysio (Kishm)
we cannot give different devices because Caldea and Baldaque are all in one lordship and

and

one region.

Cur (Tigris) and made

a very long journey until I came to Arabia,
traversing a great extent of land and arriving
at the city of Al Medina (Medina), where
Mahomat was born. Thence I went to Median (Mecca), where is the law and testament
of Mahomat in an iron chest and in a house
of calamita stone. For this reasonit is in the
Know
air, neither ascending nor descending.
that this Mechan is the head of the empire of
Its device is a red flag and on it
the Arabs.
Arabic letters in gold (1097).
"I departed from Mecha and traveled over
the Kingdom of Arabia onwards until I arrived
at a. very large city they called Fadal (Fartak),
on the shores of the Sea of India. I remained
there sometime and then went on board a ship
and passed a very large and well-peopled
There is in
island called Sicocra (Socotra).
"I crossed the river

a very large citv also called Sicocra, under

This same
the rule of the King of Arabia.
island the ships touch coming from India laden

it

has a red flag with Arabic

let-

India they artheir

because between the island

it is all

It

(1098).

THE WEALTH OF INDIA

"I then traveled with some merchants for a
very great distance and arrived at a kingdom
of Delini (Delhi), belonging to the kings of
India.
It contains extensive lands, very rich
and populous. The cities I came to were nine.
Know that in this Kingdom of Lini (Delhi)

the pepper and ginger and aloe ripen, and many

other spices, of which there are great harvests,
which are taken over all the world. They call
this province India the sandy (Sind and Rajputana), and the color of the people is black.
They use Turkish bows. They are a wise
people, with good memories, and learned in all
kinds of knowledge. The device of the king
is a white flag with a gold pale (1099).
"I departed from the Kingdom of Dilini and
entered that of Viguy (Bijaya-nagar), which
is on the other coast of the Indian Sea.
Beyond this kingdom there is an island in the
Indian Sea called Sagela (Ceylon), in which
there is a great and rich city.
In this island
there are workings whence gold, silver, and
other metals and very large rubies come;
others smaller.
This kingdom marches with
the Empire of Armalec (Bengal), with the
Kingdom of Linj and with the Indian Sea.
"Know that this Indian Sea is a branch
which joins to the great eastern sea. Some
say that it covers all the world up to the western sea. Wise men say that as far as the Antarctic Pole there is a great land forming a
The learned
tenth part of the whole earth.
call this land Trapouana (Sumatra), marching
with the island of Java and extending to the
westward along an arm of the great sea which
surrounds the whole earth and of which the
Indian Sea is part.
"Know that in the islands of Java and Trapouana there are 45 extensive regions, the
greater part desolate, owing to the great heat
of the sun.
But in the inhabited parts they
gather much pepper and many other spices.
Here are the great griffins and the great cockThe king has for his device a white
atrices.
flag with a gold wand.
"Afterwards I departed from the Kingdom
of Viguy and passed over a gulf of the Indian
Sea, which they call the Gulf of Bengala (Bengal), because on its shore is a great city called
Bengala, of the Empire of Armelec, and it is
the capUal of the kingdom.
I passed thence
to the Kingdom of Oxanao (Burma?), which
is on the shore of the Indian Sea.
Along the
shores of Oxanao the sea is green it is an arm
of the Indian Sea between this Oxanap and
the island of Java. The King of Oxanap has
for his device a white flag with a pale of gold
(similar to Delhi
iorjg).
"I departed from Oxanap, went on board a
ship with some merchants, and sailed over the
green sea until we came to the island of Java,
a very great island in the Indian Sea about 40
The island is very
days' journey in length.
populous, but there are no cities, because all
the people live in the country and gather spices,
It is a very
pepper, and odoriferous gums.
hot land. The people are black and thev adore
;

306

Emperor of Cathay (China), whose image

they have on their flags (noo).
"On leaving Java I returned to Oxanap and
took the way to the Kingdom of Armalec, whose
device is a white flag with a pale of gold (similar to Delhi
1099). I departed from the Empire of Armalec and traveled by land for a
great distance over a well-peopled country,
with flocks, but no cities nor towns, because
all the inhabitants live in the country.

"From

the

magant (Samarkand), Bocarin (Bokhara), and

The flag of its king is white,

with a figure of the sun in the center (1102),
Trimic (Tibet).

Europe's first account or Tibet

"The Kingdom of Trimic (Tibet) is all surrounded by mountains, which give rise to many
fountains and rivers. Those who are born here

irrigated by three great rivers, which rise in

the Montes Caspios (Himalaya Mountains)

many

have very long lives. They are men of clear

understandings and good memories, learned in
the sciences and live according to the law
They say that the men who first heard of science and learning were these, and that the Persians heard of those things from them.
For
this reason they deserve honour above all other
men; for others do not equal these in learning

They call the

largest of these rivers Magot (Hoang-Ho),
for it rises near the castle of Magot (the Great
parts.

Wall), which is one of the gates of encircled

Tartaria (Tartary).
They call this emperor
Gosman Imperator Morroy, and Grand Can,
Lord of the East. His device is a gold flag
and in the middle an emperor seated, in white
cloths, with an imperial crown on his head, in
one hand a Turkish bow, in the other a golden
apple (1101).
"I departed from the Empire of Catayo toward the north, up the "course of the river
Magot (Hoang-Ho), and traveled for 65 days.
I did not find town nor city.
The land is entirely inhabited by tribes with flocks.
It is all
a plain country and has no stones nor trees
nor people who eat bread, but only meat and
milk.
Thence I reached the Montes Caspios
(Himalayas) of Magot.
"Know that these mountains are of immeasurably height and surround Tartaria from sea
to sea, and there is only one very narrow pass.
Here there is a castle built of magnet iron
throughout, for nature made it in this manner
and it reaches to the clouds. At its foot rises
the river Magot.
On the other side there is
another castle which is as high and built of the

same

stone, called

Got (Gog and Magog, men-

tioned in Ezekiel xxxviii).

The castles are
very high on the top, so that ten thousand men
can reside in each of them. Between the two
are the Iron Gates which shut the entrance to
Tartaria.
"Within this Tartaria there are countless
tribes who do not observe any of the commandments of God, except that they do no evil
one to another. They are very confident and
great fighters, both on foot and on horseback,
insomuch that Alexander was unable to conquer them or to enter their country by the
mountains, for they shut and fastened those
iron gates by placing great rocks against them,
and they were closed for a long time. Eventually they removed the obstruction, coming
out and conquering a great part of the world
themselves. From that lineage came all those
of the Empire of Catayo.

397

and Goths

of them turned to the law of Abraham

and others turned Moors. The wise men of
Tartaria say that when 7,000 years of the era
of Adam are completed they will be lords of
the whole face of the earth and will make all
peoples conform to their law and their freedom.
This enclosed Tartaria forms a fourth part
of the whole earth.
"In the Empire of Catayo there is a kingdom called Scim (perhaps a kingdom of hearsay), which borders on the Kingdom of Sar-

THE END OF THE EARTH

off into

the Per(Caspian),

all

Some

"At last I arrived in the Empire of Catayo

(China), where all the cities are on the shores
of the eastern sea, which joins with the Sea of
India.
This sea of the east is full of reefs
and islands, and to the eastward there is no
news of any lands, only waters, as in the western sea.
"Know that Catayo (China) is the end of
the earth in the line of Spain. This empire is

and are led

came those of the

sians, those of the Empire of Sara

as well Turks and Tartars, Saracens

TO

that lineage also

empires of Armalec, Mesopotamia,

or science."
This is the earliest
people of Tibet.

European account of

the

departed from Magot, where I had resided for sometime, and traveled with some
companions, 25 days' journey to the westward,
to the city of Bocarin (Bokhara), where the
king always resides.
Here I met with merchants who came from Catayo and traveled
with us, 35 days' journey, to another city, called
Cato, the head of a kingdom with very extensive territory (probably a region bordering on
Siberia).
But all the people live in the country, except the people of one city where the
king lives. These two kingdoms have for a
device a yellow flag with many white stars
"I

(1103).

"We departed from the Kingdom of Cato

and traveled a great distance without finding
town nor city, yet the country was inhabited
and with many flocks. We came to a mountain which is a spur from the Montes Caspios
and extends to the Sea of Sara (Caspian).
This mountain is 125 days' journey long.
"We crossed it by a very high pass and again
traveled a long distance over a country without cities or towns until we came to a great
city called Norgancio (Khiva), in the Empire
of Uxbeco (Shah Usbek, who reigned during
the first half of the fourteenth century over a
vast region stretching from the Dnieper to the
Ural Mountains). The King of the Norgancio has for his device a white flag with the
sign of Uxbeco Emperor of Sara (on the Caspian) red" (1104).
Journeying westward by way of the Caspian
Sea, which he crossed in a ship belonging to
Christians, the friar visited Armenia.
His recital

continues

"Then I went to see the mountains of Armenia the Greater, where the ark of Noe
'

(Noah) arrived when it escaped the universal

deluge. This mountain is of salt stone as white
as crystal. Know that it is one of the highest
mountains in the world.
No man has been
able to ascend it, though attempts have been
made many times. These mountains are in the
Empire of Persia. All round the country is
inhabited by Armenian Christians, who are the
guards of the emperor, and he places much
trust in them.
"I departed from Armenia and came to the
great city of Toris (Tabriz), which is the capital of the Empire of the Persians.
It is one of
the grandest cities in the world, well supplied,
rich, and in a good climate.
For this reason
the Persians are wise and very well versed in
all the sciences.
They have learned men with
a profound knowledge of the stars. The Emperor of Persia has for his device a yellow
flag with a red square in the middle (1105).
"I went over a great part of Persia, going
thence to the Kingdom of Saldania and its rich
and noble city (Sultanieh?). Its king has for
a device a yellow flag with a red square (similar to Persia's
1105).

departed from Saldania and went with

some merchants a long distance until I came
to the city of Ayras (Shiraz), called by the
Tartars Sarax, where the Empire of Persia
ends.
It is a well supplied city, rich and veryancient.
They say that in this city was first
discovered the astronomy or law of the stars,
"I

for this city is in the line of the center of

Persia. The cities I have visited in Persia are
Casar (Kazan), Serrans, Thesi, Spaor (Ispa-

han), Jorjaman (Georgia), Spalonero (Razelain), Saldania (Sultanieh), and Toris (Tabriz).
last town is where Besnacayt, the
of Persia, was crowned. His empire
extends from the Sea of Sara (Caspian) to
the Persian Gulf, where is the city of Hormixio (Ormuz), and from the Mare Mayor
(Black Sea) to Aquisio, also on the Persian
Gulf. Its length is 125 days' journey and its
width from the river Cur to the city of Siras
Benascayt, Em(Sari?) 100 days' journey.
peror of Persia, assembled a very great host
and went to fight with Uxbeco, Emperor of
Sara (the Caspian).
"There arrived more than a million and a
Then Benascayt promised
half of cavalry.
some Armenian monks, whom he consulted,
that if he won the battle he would become a
Christian. The Armenian Christians who came
with him marched with a cross before them,
and, God helping, he conquered. Uxbeco was
defeated and his cavalry pillaged and their
women captured. The conqueror advanced far
into the enemy's country.
"After this I left Persia with some merfrom Catavo (China).
chants who came
Thence we traveled for a great distance without coming to any city, for all the inhabitants
lived in the country.
"I came to a city called Tripul of Suria
(Syria), which is on the shore of the Mediterranean (not the Tripoli of North Africa,
previously mentioned). There I embarked in
a ship of Christians and went to Chipre (Cyprus), thence to the Morea, and thence to
Creta, Negropont (Eubcea), and a kingdom of

"In this

Emperor

308

Greeks which they call Salonica, bordering on

Macedonia, where the great Alexander reigned.
The King of Salonica has for his device a red
flag with a yellow cross and four chain links
(1106).

GALLIPOU IN AN EARLY CAMPAIGN

"Thence I went to a city called Galipoli,

which is on the shore of the gulf between the
Mediterranean and the greater sea. By this
way the French passed when they conquered
Suria. Thence I went along the seacoast to a
city they call Recrea (Heraclea), and thence to
the city of Constantinople, a rich city, the capital of the empire, where they crown the kings.
Here there is a church of God called Santa
Sofia, which is very wide, lofty, and beautiful.
"Before it there is a tower of stone which
has not been ascended. On the summit of this
tower there is placed a knight with his horse
of metal. It is very large, and he has on his
head an episcopal cap (probably a nimbus or
crown). It is in honor of the Emperor Constantine.
His right hand is extended toward

Turquia, which was formerly called Asia

Minor, on the other side of this gulf of the
sea.
The Emperor of Constantinople has for
device a flag quarterly, first and fourth
argent a cross gules, second and third gules a
cross, or (gold) between four chain links or
(1107 and 1108).
"I left Constantinople and entered the Mare
Mayor (Black Sea), proceeding along the
his

hand to a great city called

Here nine rivers unite and
fall into the Mare Mayor.
These nine rivers
make a great commotion before this city of
Vecina, which is the capital of the kingdom.
coast on the left

Vecina (Vidin).

It

has

(1109).

white

a
.

flag

with

four

red

squares

"I proceeded along the shores of the eastern

side of the Mare Mayor (Black Sea) for a

very long distance and arrived in the Kingdom

of Sant Estropoli (Sebastopol), which is inhabited by Comanes Christians.
Here there
are many people who have Jewish descent, but
all perform the works of Christians in the sacrifices, more after the Greek than the Latin
Church.
The king has for his flag gules a
hand argent (1110).
"I left Sant Estropoli and ux-nt to Gorgania
(Georgia), which is between the Mare Mayor
(Black Sea) and the Mar de Sara (Caspian),
a very extensive land of the Empire of Uxleto
(Uzbeg). I then went along the shore to the
city of Trapesonda (Trebizond), where I remained for some time. This empire borders
on Turquia, but the people are Greek Christians.
The Emperor of Trapesonda has for
his device a red flag with a golden two-headed

eagle.
"I departed

from Trapesonda and arrived at

of Semiso (Samsun), a large
and populous territory bordering on Turquia
and the Mare Mayor. The king has for his
the

Kingdom

device a white flag with a sign like this (1112).

"I came to Feradelfia (Philadelphia) and
found a rich and well supplied city. It is in
Turquia, anciently called Asia Minor.
The
king has for his device a flag parted per pale,
argent and azure and on a field argent a cross
gules (1113)-

"I departed

from the Kingdom of Feradelfia

and went to another kingdom, called Stologo

(Hypsili, in Asia Minor), which contains extensive territory near the sea.
The king has
for his device a red flag charged with a black
wheel (1114).
"I left Stologo, traveling by land with some
merchants; went across all Turquia and came
to the city of Sauasco (Siwas?). Leaving that
place I crossed a river, traveled over Jorgania
(Georgia) until I arrived at the Sea of Sara,
I went
at a city called Deruent (Derbent).
along the shores of the Sea of Sara (Caspian).
"I entered a great province called Roxia
(Russia), in which there is a city called Xorman(?), the capital of the kingdom (1115 and
1 1 16).
It is bounded by the great lake of
Tanay, which is three days' journey in length
and two broad (an imaginary body of water
in which most medieval geographers believed).
Thr^e very great rivers flow from it. One of
these, the Nu (Dwina), bounds a great province called Siccia (Scythia), a very cold country.
In this Siccia there is a great city, the
capital of the kingdom, called Nogorado (Novgorod). The king has for his device a red flag
with a white castle (1117).

"I came to Maxar, a kingdom in which there

are three great cities Casama (Kazan), Lasac
(Lechel, in the province of Kazan), and Monscaor (Moscow). This King of Maxar (Orenburg) has for his device a purple flag with
white stars (1118).
"From Maxar I went to the Kingdom of
Siluana, which they call Septen Castra, and the

Greeks

call

encircled

it

by

Horgiml (Transylvania). It is
the Turbo
two great rivers

The
(Dniester) and the Lusim (Dnieper).
king has for his device a green flag with a red
The people

scimitar (1119).
Christians.

are

schismatic

THE MIDNIGHT SUN

"Ascending the river Tir (Dniester) toward
the north, there are two very large provinces
called Yrcania and Gotia (northern Russia),
whence the Goths came forth who entered
Spain. It is called the land of Nogulaus. The
people are strong and warlike, but their country is very cold.
This Gotia and Yrcania
march with the lofty mountains of Trasmontana (mountains of Norway).
"In these mountains the north star is seen in
the middle of the heavens, and throughout the
year there is daylight for six months and
night for six months.
It is uninhabited, yet
they say that men are met with whose heads
come out of their shoulders, having no necks
whatever. Their beards are on their breasts,
and their ears reach to the shoulders. There
are also found in this land very great bears
and wild beasts, as I have already related.
These two provinces of Yrcania and Gotia
were peopled by the Godos, who came from
the closed Tartaria, from the castle of Got and
Magot (Gog and Magog), when they deliberated on the siege of Alexandre and the conquest of the greater part of the world (device
of Yrcania 1120).
"I went to Flanders, and from there to Seville, the city from which I first started."

Thus ends the recital of the Franciscan's wandering's.

PENNANTS OF PATRIOTISM

200

YEARS AGO

(Nos. 1123-1197)

John Beaumont, an
PROBABLY
English author who lived during
the last half of the seventeenth cen-

had never heard of the anonymous

Franciscan friar who wrote his "Book of
Knowledge" (see page 388) about the year
1350; and yet Beaumont has left to posterity a work on nations and their flags
which strangely parallels the book of the
Spanish churchman, save that whereas
the latter's volume is beautifully hand
tury,

illumined with the colored coats-of-arms

of the nations of earth in his day, the

Englishman

relies

upon somewhat crude

black and white copper plates, with the

(white),
(yellow),
letters
(red),
etc., chiseled out to indicate the colors.
The flags reproduced on page 371 of
this issue of the Geographic have been

in colors, in large measure

from the black and white drawings which
Beaumont included in the third edition of

prepared

book, published by John Motte in

London in the year 1 701. The full title
of the work is
"The Present State of the Universe, or
an Account of the Rise, Birth, Names,

his

Matches, Children, and near Allies of all

the present Chief Princes of the World.
Their Coats of Arms, Mottos, Devices,
Liveries, Religions, and Languages. The
Names of their Chief Towns, with some
Computation of the Houses and Inhabitants. Their Chief Seats of Pleasure, and
other Remarkable things in their Dominions.
Their Revenues, Power, and
Strength.
Their respective Styles and
Titles, or Appellations. Also An Account
of Common-Wealths, relating to the same
Heads. The Third edition continu'd and
enlarg'd, with the Effigies of all the
Crown'd Heads of Europe; as also the
various Bearings of their several Ships
at Sea."

399

There are three British ensigns

and red.

the

ing organization of England) carried its checkered red and white ensign (1130) up and down
In
the West African coast for many years.
1663 its vessels brought from Guinea the gold
from which the first English "guineas" were

white,

blue,

To understand the use of the red, the white,

in the British navy, it is
necessary to know the organization of the huge
fleets of that day.
In a fleet there were the

and the blue ensign

coined.

and the rear.

of the fleet, with the union flag
at the mainmast of his flagship, commanded
the vessels of the "center," and they were required to display red ensigns (1123), referred
to countless times in history as the famous
"meteor flag of Old England" on account of
its red field and the red cross of St. George.
The vice-admiral of the white, with his white
flag (1121) at the fore of his flagship, commanded the vessels of the van (fore), and they
displayed the white ensign (1124). The rearadmiral of the blue, with his blue flag (1122)
at the mizzen of his flagship, commanJed the
vessels of the rear (mizzen), and they wore
the blue ensign (1125).
So that the ensigns
indicated the squadrons, and the colors and the
positions (main, fore, and mizzen) of the admirals' flags the ranks of the commanding
admirals. This practice was of long standing,
and of course came from the English navy,
there being practically no Scottish navy. This
is all made clear by examination of the admirals' flags, 1 121 and 1122, and the ensigns
1123, 1124, and 1125 of the year 1705 (two
years before the union of the crosses of St.
center, the van,

The Scottish ensign (1131) and Scottish Union flag (1132) recall an interesting bit of controversy between the subjects of "South Britain
and North Britain," as the English and Scotch
were then designated. With the union of the
two countries under James I, it became necessary to devise a new flag. A royal ordinance
of April 12, 1605, recites the following:
"Whereas some difference hath arisen between our subjects of South and North Britain,
traveling by seas, about the bearing of their
flags,
for the avoiding of all such contentions
hereafter, we have, with the advice of our
council, ordered that from henceforth all our
subjects of this isle and kingdom of Greater
Britain, and the members thereof, shall bear
in their maintop the Red Cross, commonly
called St. George's Cross (1127), and the White
Cross, commonly called St. Andrew's Cross
(831), joined together, according to a form
made by our heralds, and sent by us to our
admiral to be published to our said subjects;
and in their foretop our subjects of South
Britain shall wear the Red Cross only, as they
were wont, and our subjects of North Britain
in their foretop the White Cross only, as they
were accustomed" (see also 829).
The Scottish Union flag (1132) carries the
quarrel a step farther. The Scottish superimposed the white cross on the English red; the
English, on their side, superimposed the red
cross on the white.
The Irish ensign at the beginning of the
eighteenth century (1133) bore the cross of
St. George in the canton and a gold harp on
a green field, thoroughly appropriate for the

The admiral

George and St. Andrew).

At the time of our Revolution the same flags
of rank and the same ensigns were in use, but
with the union flag of England and Scotland
in their cantons.
These ensigns continued to
have this significance until 1864, when the red
ensign disappeared from the place of honor in

the British navy, the white ensign (834) becoming the exclusive ensign of the navy, the
blue ensign (835) for public vessels (with a
badge in its fly) and naval reserve vessels,
and the red ensign (836) became the exclusive
property of the merchant marine.
The red flag of defiance (1126) has for centuries been the symbol of revolution and of
mutiny.
Queen Elizabeth chartered the East India
Company in 1600. Its flag (1129) has peculiar
interest for America, as some historians declare that it was the parent banner of our
Stars and Stripes.
Benjamin Franklin is reputed to have urged its adoption at a dinner

"Emerald

Holland's five flags

In his "Book of the Universe," Beaumont
ascribes five flags to Holland at the dawn of
the eighteenth century (1134, 1135, 1136, 1139,
1 140).
Holland became an independent State
in 1579, and in 1599 its flag was officially
designated as orange, white, and blue, in three
horizontal stripes, these being the colors of the
great leader, William, Prince of Orange. In
some manner never satisfactorily explained
(see 377 and 775), the orange became red early
in the seventeenth century, and it was under
the tricolor (red, white, and blue) that the

which he and Washington attended on December 13, I77S, and at which he is said to have
declared
"While the field of your flag must
be new in the details of its design, it need not
:

be entirely new in its elements. It is fortunate

for us that there is already in use a flag with
which the English Government is familiar, and
which it has not only recognized but protected.
I refer to the flag of the East India Company."
The East India Company's banner at that
time was slightly different, however, from the
colors shown here (1129), for in 1707 the union
between England and Scotland took place and
the St. George's cross was combined with that
of St. Andrew.
vanished from
British

The East India Company

seas in 1858, when

the

Government took over

The Guinea Company

flag

the

functions.
(also a chartered tradits

Isle."

naval heroes

many

Tromp and De Ruyter

fought

engagements with the

English between 1652 and 1654.
Concerning the city of Amsterdam (1137)
two centuries ago, Beaumont furnishes the
their

brilliant sea

following unique description

"Amsterdam is
the most considerable city of all Holland the
houses are generally built of brick, and it's
built on piles like Venice. As to what proportion of bigness this city bears to London I
have no exact account. Amsterdam for riches,
trading, shipping, fair streets, and pleasant
habitations scarce yields to any other city of
the world. The whole town being in a low.

400

aiiir shy ground, the water is let in through all

the considerable streets, and it's all built upon
piles, or high fir trees, driven down perpendicularly so close together that nothing can
be forced betwixt them."
With the exception of Amsterdam, perhaps
no other town in Holland had more right to
a flag of its own than Flushing (1138), for it
was in this seaport that the standard of liberty
was first raised after the "Water Beggars" had
taken Briel in 1572, the first overt act of the
Dutch in their war against Spanish supremacy.
Concerning Genoa, whose red flag (1141)
was identical with that of the scarlet emblems
of Venice and Spain, Beaumont gives this
picturesque description at the close of the

a great floating battery to close the harbor, and

a fortress on wheels with a draw-bridge to
span water gaps (forerunner of the twentieth
century tank cars).
The defenders used great bonfires and hoops
of flaming pitch to light the battleground during night attacks. Earthworks were mined and
countermined.
Red-hot shot were fired into
the city. To prevent conflagrations, the garrison covered all the houses with sod. When
there was no more earth suitable for the construction of fortifications, the besieged turned
to the graveyards, exhuming their heroic dead
and using their bodies as ramparts for the

seventeenth century
"The State of Genoa is, like that of Venice,
govern'd by a Doge or Duke, with this Exception, that the Office of the Duke of Genoa
lasts but for three years, whereas the other is
for life.
He has for his Ordinary Guard five
Controversies
between
hundred Germans.
Citizens are adjudg'd by a Court called the
Rota, consisting of Lawyers, not Natives of
Genoa. They are under the Protection of the
King of Spain (hence the identity of the
Spanish and Genoese red flag).
Genoa was
under the Government of several Princes till
the year 1528, when Andrew Doria established
there the Form of Government observ'd to this
day, which is Aristocratical. There is seen in
the Town the statue of Andrew Doria, mounted
on a Horse of Cast Copper, with this Inscrip(It
tion on the pedestal, Liberator Populi."

it

was after

this liberator that the brig

Andrew

vessel to obtain a salute for

the American flag, was named
see page 295.)
Tradition says that Russia derived its blue,
white, and red flag (1142) in the following
manner Peter the Great, while learning shipbuilding in Holland, adopted the Dutch ensign
But the
(1136), merely reversing the colors.
Russians were not flattered by this, for it made
them appear like "Dutchmen in distress" (the
sign of distress being an inverted flag).
Subsequently the order was changed to white, blue,
and red (the present Russian merchant flag
800), but in 1701 the Czar of Muscovy (Peter)
had only added the blue cross in the white
stripe to distinguish his flag from the Dutch
distress signal.

Doria, the

first

ostend's brave

banner

Ostend, the last stronghold of the Dutch in

South Netherlands against the Spaniards, well
deserved the distinction of a fight standard
(1144) as well as an ensign (1143). This little
fishing village, of scarcely three thousand souls
at the beginning of the seventeenth century,
withstood one of the most remarkable sieges
of history, the chroniclers of that time being
amply justified in comparing it to the siege of
Troy.
It resisted the Spaniards for three years and
seventy-seven days (July 5, 1601, to September
1604), and it is computed that one hundred
thousand lives and four million dollars were
All the engineering
sacrificed in its reduction.
skill and resources of the age were employed.
Targone, a famous Italian engineer, invented
20,

401

living.

When

the town finally hauled down its flag

was with the honors of war, granted by
Spinola, the chivalrous Genoese commander oi
the Spanish forces, who gave a splendid ban-

quet to the republican officers in his pavilion.

The Spanish flag (1145) is of special interest
at this period of history, for it recalls the War
of the Spanish Succession, which followed the
death of Charles II, in 1700, the last of the
Austrian (Hapsburg) dynasty to sit on the
throne of Castile and Leon.
Beaumont records
"On the first of November, 1700 N. S. (New
Style), died Charles II of Spain, after a long
illness, or rather after a diseased life of almost
40 years. In his pretended last will, he is
said to have left the Duke of Anjou, second
son of the Dauphin of France, his heir and
successor to all his dominions, who immediately
took upon the title of Philip V, King of Spain,
:

etc.

"But the German Emperor is far from

acknowledging him as such."
The coat-of-arms which Beaumont places on
the Spanish banner (1145) is far from complete, for the King of Spain at the beginning
of the eighteenth century bore the insignia of
Castile, of Leon, Aragon,
Sicily, Granada,
Portugal, Algarve, Austria, Ancient Burgundy
and Modern Burgundy, Brabant, Flanders, and
of Antwerp, capital city of the Holy Empire.
Surrounding the large shield may be seen the
collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
The King of Spain, as one of his minor titles,
.

was known

as the Lord of Biscay.

The Bis
cay ensign (1146) was a white cross "raguled
on a red field. The raguled cross in heraldry
is described as "trunked" or having many cuts,
resembling two ragged staffs in the shape of a
cross.
The Spanish Bourbons used it as their
insignia; hence it appeared on the flag of
Ostend (1143), a Spanish possession.
The New England ensign (1147), with the
pine tree in the first quarter of the St. George's
cross, was the first distinctively American flag
of the American colonies.
It should be remembered that this is an ensign and was used
by vessels only (see also 362-364, 379-390).
The national flag of the colonies was that of
the mother country, the union flag (361).
The French galley standard (1148) was of
red with numerous fleurs de lys in gold.
In
the center were the arms of France.
Beaumont recites that "the arms of France in the
days of Pharamond and his three successors
were gules (red) three crowns or (gold).
Clovis the Great altered them to azure (blue)

strewn with flower-de-luces

who came

or,

The Munich

and Charles VI,

crown

in 1380, reduced the

lilies in his coat-of-arms to three."
White became the national color of France
to the

during the Hundred Years War. Later the

Huguenot party adopted the white Hag, and
when Henry III, himself a Protestant, came
to the throne, in 1574, it became the royal ensign.
In the following reign (Henry IV) it
became the symbol of the French Bourbons.
Thus the French ensign (1149), a simple white
banner, came to be the basis of many of the
French flags (see 1150, 1151, 1157, 1158, H59.
The ensign (1149) was the
1 160, and 1 161).
flag under which Cartier sailed on his voyage
of exploration to Canada, and the emblem
which floated from the flagship of Admiral De

Grasse, whose victory off Yorktown was a

most important factor contributing to the success of the American Revolutionary War (see
422). Joan of Arc bore a white flag with gold

embellishments at the Battle of Orleans.

The French cornet (1159) is distinctive only
in its swallow-tail shape; in modern signaling
it is usually called a burgee.
The blue crosses in the banners of Province
(Provence) (1150), of Bretagny (Brittany)
(1151), and Normandy (1158), and the blue
stripes of Picardy (1161) recall the fact that

from earliest recorded times until the seat of

French Government was removed to Paris
(when the red of that city's patron, St. Denis,
was adopted) blue was a favorite color of the
It was under the plain blue flag
Franks.
known as "Chape de St. Martin" that Clovis
won his great victory over Alaric in 507, and
Charlemagne, bore it at Narbonne. This was
supposed to be the original cloak which^ St.
Martin, while stationed at Amiens, divided
with a beggar the following night he had a
;

vision of Christ making known to his angels

this act of charity (see also 743).
Marseilles had a white ensign of its own,
with a white cross on a blue square in the first
quarter (1160).
The Zealand colors (1152) are, naturally,
On the white bar is the
those of Holland.
distinctive feature, the red lion of the Zealand
(Zeeland) coat-of-arms. In the same manner
the flag of Middleburgh (1156), the capital of
Zeeland, had the colors of Holland, with its
own gold tower in the white band.
The Hanseatic League, the famous federation of North German towns which controlled
the commerce of northern Europe during the
Middle ages, had for its colors red and white,
two of the three colors which survive in the
flag of modern Germany (996). The chief city
of the federation was Lubeck (1153). Hamburg, also an important city of the league,
bore a red flag with a white tower (1154),
while Bremen's emblem (1166) was a red and

Rostock, not content with

the league's red and white, added blue (1167),
thereby giving her citizens the same occasion
as the Russians for complaining that they appeared like "Dutchmen in distress" (see note
on the flag of the Tsar of Moscovy 1142).
Dantzick (Dantzic) employed the league's
red, but placed upon that field three gold
crowns, arranged vertically (1165).

white chess-board.

flag (1164)

had an unfortunate

color combination, the yellow frequently fading out, leaving the banner a French white
(ii49)Lunenburgh (Luneburg) was one of the
most important towns of the Hanseatic League.
Its flag (1174) included the red field common
to Hamburg and Dantzic, but with a winged
Pegasus in gold as the distinctive feature.
The flag of Heyligeland (Heligoland) (1155)
is of especial interest at this time on account
of the tremendously important role which the
scraps of land (it was one island up to 1720,
when a violent eruption of the sea severed a
neck of sand and made two islets of it) are
playing in the present war as an impregnable
naval and submarine base for Germany. Heligoland was a fief of the dukes of SchleswigHolstein in 1705, but the free city of Hamburg
frequently held it in pawn for loans advanced
to the dukes.
In 1807 England obtained it
from Denmark, and 27 years ago made the
great mistake of 'ceding it to Germany.

The Swedish man-of-war ensign (1162) and

Swedish merchant flag (1163) 200 years ago
were virtually the same as today (826 and
827), with the exception that the blue in the
modern standards is of a much lighter shade.

The Genoa ensign (1168)

is

identical with

the St. George's jack (1127).

THE MALTESE CROSS

Few

of history can rival in romantic

interest the red banner with its eight-pointed
white cross (1169), emblem of the island of
Malta. The eight points of this famous Maltese cross are supposed to represent the eight
Beatitudes.
In their monasteries the Knights
of Malta wore black habits with Maltese
In war their coatcrosses over their hearts.
of-arms was crimson with the white Maltese
cross, like the flag.
The flag of Jerusalem (1170) at the beginning of the eighteenth century contained the
same five crosses which the Franciscan monk
pictured in 1350 (see 1067), save that the central cross at the later period quartered the
flag, and the "Croisettes," as they are called in
French, occupied the four quarters.
Tuhen (Thuin, Belgium) was one of several
cities of the low countries whose device at the
beginning of the eighteenth century was a
white swan (1171).
The Danish man-of-war (1172) and merchant flags (1173) are the oldest national emblems now in use, their history dating back to
the year 1219, when Waldemar is supposed to
have seen a cross in the sky while leading his
troops against the Livonian pagans. The flag
is known as the Dannebrog (Strength of Denmark). On the time-stained walls of the medieval church on the island of Heligoland there
is still to be seen a painted Dannebrog.
The city and district of Surat, the green flag
of whose Grand Mogul (1175) was distinguished by two gold scimitars, was the site of
the first factory (trading post) established by
England in India, a seed which has developed
into a great Eastern Empire.
Bengal's Grand Mogul bore a white flag with
It
a red scimitar (1176) two centuries ago.

402

flags

was at this time that the East India Company

purchased from the great grandson of Shah
Jahan (builder of the Taj Mahal) the group
of Bengal villages which grew into the city of
Calcutta.

Now an unimportant fishers' town, Enchysen

(Enkhuizen) once well deserved the right to
have a flag of its own (1177). Long ago it
harbored the fleets of Charles V and Philip II
of Spain, when their word was law in all the
low countries. Its banner preserved the yellow
and red of Aragon.
The flag of Legorne (Leghorn) (1178) contains the five red roundels (little circles) peculiar to the arms of the Great Duke of Tuscany, who derived a large share of his revenues from this seaport.
The winged lion of St. Mark (1179) is as
familiar to students of flags as the eagles of

Roman Empire and

dragon of St.
placed on the
Venetian red flag (1141) in honor of the
patron saint of the republic. St. Mark, while
on a missionary journey to Italy, according to
a very ancient legend, was stranded on the
Rialto when it was still an uninhabited island.
Here the future greatness of Venice was revealed to him in a vision.
The lion was the
commonly accepted symbol of the saint in all
the

George

in

British heraldry.

the

It is

early Christian art.

The Pope's colours (1180)

include the red

(red being the color of the livery of the
Holy Father als6) with the white cross of Calvary and the white lamb, the significance of
which are apparent.
field

,.

THE BANNER OF SAVOY

The white cross on the red field, device of

the House of Savoy (1181), has played an important role in the history of Europe.
Beaugives this account of its adoption hy the
dukes of Savoy
"This coat was given to
Amadeus the Great by the Knights of Rhodes
in 1315, with these letters in lieu of a motto.
'F. E. R. T.' that is, 'Fortitude Ejus Rhodum
Tenuit' (His valor has saved Rhodes).
The
occasion was that Amadeus V, surnamed the
Great, forced Mahomet II, Emperor of the
Turks, to raise his siege at that time from
before the city of Rhodes. The said cross is
the cross of St. John of Jerusalem, whose
knights at that time were owners of Rhodes."
The Portugal man-of-war (1182) and merchant flags (1183 and 1184) bore the same distinguishing features five shields with the five
circles representing the five wounds of Christ,
the castles surrounding the inner shields and
the armillary sphere, reminiscent of that nation's maritime prowess in the sixteenth century, 200 years ago, as they do now (see modern flags 791, 792, and 793).
The broad, deeply notched border, differing
in color from the field of the flag, is one of
the peculiar characteristics of many Chinese
banners (see 1185 and 1186). Tunquin (Tongking or Tonquin) was a place of great interest

mont

geographers 200 years ago.

It was described as containing 20,000 cities and towns,
"and many more there would be, but that many
of the people choose to live on the water than
on the land; so that the greatest part of their
rivers are covered with boats which serve them
instead of houses."
Silks, according to the
eighteenth century report, were worn in Tonto

quin by rich and poor alike.

Anchonia's (Ancona) red and white stripes
(1187) indicate its reliance upon the Pope.
The province, with its capital of the same
name boasting the finest harbor on the southwest coast of the Adriatic, was a semi-independent republic during the Middle Ages.
Camphen (Kampen) was one of the important members of the Hanseatic League.
Its
ensign (1188) was the simple red field seen in
the Hamburg, Luneburg, and Dantzic flags,
but without any coat-of-arms or symbol such
as distinguished the devices of its sister cities.
Today Kampen is a thriving little town in Holland, with a population of about 20,000.
Its
days of glory were in the fifteenth centun
Its red field charged with a golden crescent,
the flag of Tunis (1189) was for centuries one
of the most important banners of the Mohammedan world. Tunis rose in importance as
Carthage declined. It is still the largest city
in North Africa, outside of Egypt.
It began
to blossom following the Arab conquest, and
became the chief port for pilgrims from Spain
on their way to the sacred city of Kairowan.
Between 1350 and 1705 the flag of Tripoly
(Tripoli) underwent a complete change.
At
the beginning of the eighteenth century its
banner of white and green bands (1190) was
floating over the marine nest of the notorious
Tripolitan pirates, the scourge and terror of
the Mediterranean.
A century later America
was to fight its first foreign war against these
sea robbers.
Algier (Algiers) (1191 and 1192) was also
a haunt of Barbary pirates during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.
The outlaws of this port were not suppressed
completely until 1830, when on the 4th of July
of that year a French army under General de
Bourmont effected the city's capture.
In the very year that Columbus discovered
America a band of Andalusian Moors built the
walls of the town of Tituan (Tetuan) (1193),
the only open port of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea. Sallee (Salli), whose red flag
(1194) is almost identical with that of Tetuan.
was once the haunt of the Salli Rovers. It
also had another flag of unique design (1195).

The flag of Moco Araba (Mocha, Arabia)

(1196) was of great importance two centuries
ago, for at that time Mocha was one of the
greatest coffee ports of the world.
The Christian crosses which adorned Constantinople's flags (1107 and 1108) at the time
of the visit of the Franciscan friar in 1350
were long since replaced by the crescent of the
Mohammedan Turk, as shown in the flag of
1705 (1197).

403

THE CORRECT DISPLAY OF THE STARS

AND STRIPES

WHILE

there

is

no federal law

in force pertaining to the

man-

ner of displaying, hanging, or

saluting the United States flag, or prescribing any ceremonies that should be
observed, there are many regulations and
usages of national force bearing on the
subject.
In raising the flag it should never be
rolled up and hoisted to the top of the
staff before unfurling.
Instead, the fly
should be free during the act of hoisting, which should be done quickly.
It
should be taken in slowly and with dignity.

the

It

should not be allowed to touch

ground on shore, or the deck of a

nor should it be permitted to trail

water or in the dust. It should
not be hung where it can be contaminated or soiled easily, or draped over
chairs or benches for seating purposes,
and no object or emblem of any kind
should be placed upon it or above it.
ship,

in the

common but regrettable practice at

public meetings is to drape the flag like a
tablecloth over the speaker's table and
then to place on the flag a pitcher of ice
water, flowers, books,
etc.
Another
equally careless practice, and, unfortunately, quite common, is to tie small
United States flags to the bottom of a
stage curtain when the curtain is raised
the flags are lifted aloft and are effectively displayed, but when the curtain is
lowered, so that the stage scenes may be
shifted, the flags trail in the dust of the
stage floor.
;

The

flag

should not be festooned over

doorways or arches. Always let the flag

hang straight. Do not tie it in a bow
knot.
Where colors arc desired for decorative purposes, use red, zt'hite, and blue
bunting.

The

flag

should not be hoisted upside

down, other than as a signal of distress

at sea, when it may, if necessary to accentuate the distress and make it easily
recognized at a distance, be knotted in
the middle of its length, forming what
is called a "weft."

404

International usage forbids the display

of the flag of one nation above that of
any other with which it is at peace. Such
an act is considered an insult in times of
peace, and is always followed by a demand for an explanation and apology.
When the flags of two or more nations
are displayed, they should be on separate
staffs, or on separate halyards of equal
size and on the same level.
The flag should never be raised or lowered by any mechanical appliance.
When the national colors are passing
on parade, or in review, the spectator
should, if walking, halt, and if sitting,
arise and stand at attention and uncover.
When flags are used in unveiling a
statue or monument they should not be
allowed to fall to the ground, but should
be carried aloft to wave out, forming a
distinctive feature during the remainder
of the ceremony.
Where the national flag is displayed
with State or other flags, it should be
given the place of honor on the right.
Its use should be confined as much as
possible to its display upon the staff.
Where 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.
Old, faded, or worn-out flags should
not be used for banners or other secondary purposes.
When no longer fit for display, the flag
should be destroyed privately, preferably
by burning or other methods lacking the
suggestion of irreverence or disrespect.
Over only three buildings in America
does the national flag fly officially night
and day continuously over the east and
west fronts of the National Capitol
and over the adjacent House of Representatives and Senate Office Buildings.
The two emblems over the Capitol
("storm-flag size) are replaced every six
weeks, the wear and tear, due to wind
and rain, being excessive.
Over the Senate and House of Representative wings of the Capitol the flags

Photograph by U.

S.

Navy Department

SENDING AND RECEIVING SEMAPHORE MESSAGES ON THE SIGNAL BRIDGE

Bluejackets are never graduated in the "two R's" of warship education "readin' and
" with flags. The radio and the wireless telephone have accomplished marvels in facilitating communication between the units of a fleet, but the semaphore and the wigwag flag
still have their place in the service.

'ritin'

fly

only while those bodies are in session

April

6,

1917,

and

will be subject to

sum-

and during a recess. At adjournment,

either at the end of a day's work or for

mary arrest and punishment.

At every military post or

a session, they are lowered.

the practice in the army, each day in

the year, to hoist the flag briskly at sunrise, irrespective of the condition of the
weather, and to lower it slowly and ceremoniously at sunset, indicating the commencement and cessation of the activities
of the day. While the flag is being lowered the band plays the national anthem,
which for the army and navy is the "Star
Spangled Banner." If there is no band
present the field music sounds "To the
colors." Officers and enlisted men out of
rank face toward the flag, stand at attention, and salute.
(For a description of

When the Stars and Stripes float from

the flagstaff of the White House, from
sunrise to sunset, it is indicative of the
presence in Washington of the President.
An act of Congress passed in 1905
provides that a trade-mark cannot be registered which consists of or comprises
"the flag, the coat-of-arms, or other insignia of the United States, or any simuAn act passed in 1917
lation thereof."
provides penalties for the desecration,
mutilation, or improper use of the flag
The
within the District of Columbia.
Department of Justice has held that any
alien enemy tearing down, mutilating,
abusing, or desecrating the United States
flag will be regarded as a danger to the
public peace or safety within the meaning of the President's proclamation of

405

army

flags see page 307 and

military force is said to
"the honors of war" when,
cially honorable defense, it

station

it

is

onward.)
be accorded
after a spe-

has surrendered its post, and is permitted by the

terms of capitulation to march out with

Photograph by Crown Bi-others

INSURING ACCURACY IN A FACTORY WHERE GOVERNMENT FLAGS ARE MADE

The United States Government uses thousands of flags annually, not only the Stars and
Stripes and the various flags and pennants of its own army and navy officers and civilian
officials, but the flags of other countries as well.
Every warship of our navy carries 43
foreign flags, for ceremonial purposes. The flag-maker in a government ensign factory must
test all buntings.
Sample lots are soaked and washed with soap in fresh water one day and
the next in salt water. They are then exposed to weather for ten days, 30 hours of which
must be sunlight. The colors must not fade or "run." The material is also tested for its
strength. The flag shown above is the Portugal ensign (791"!.
to effect an advance or to

colors flying, bands playing, and bayonets

fixed.
It retains possession of the field
artillery, horses, arms, and baggage. The

withdraw

is

not settled.

NAVY CEREMONIES OF RAISING AND

LOWERING THE COLORS

French, Russian, and other governments

require that in every case the commander
of the place must not surrender until he
has destroyed all flags but this must be
done before signing the capitulation.
General Stoessel destroyed all Russian
flags at Port Arthur.

Shore stations under the jurisdiction

of the

Navy Department

tional ensign

morning

The Hague rules of land warfare forbid the improper use of the flag of truce,
of a national flag, or of the military insignia and uniform of the enemy, as well
as the distinctive badges of the Geneva
Convention. In practice it has been authorized to make use of the enemy's flag
and uniform as a ruse, but not during a
combat. Before opening fire these must
be discarded. Whether the enemy's flag
can be displayed and his uniform worn

from

display the naeight o'clock in the

The same is true of

to sunset.
ships at anchor. Ships coming to anchor
or getting under way before or after the
regular hours hoist their colors if there
be sufficient light for them to be seen.
Unless there are good reasons to the contrary, ships display their colors when falling in with other men-of-war or when
near land, particularly when passing or
approaching forts, lighthouses, or towns.
The ceremonies aboard a ship in commission when the ensign is raised and
lowered are most impressive. At morn-

406

Photograph by Brown Brothers

CUTTING FLAG STARS BY MACHINERY

Five-pointed stars are used exclusively on our national flags today, but in the early days
of the Republic the six-pointed star frequently appeared. Until 1842 the stars of the Great
Seal of the United States were six-pointed, and they are still to be found on the "Liberty"
side of many of our silver coins.

from the peak at the beginning of the

national anthem and is lowered slowly
and with dignity. All officers and enlisted men face toward the colors.
If
in uniform, covered or uncovered, or in
civilian clothes, uncovered, they salute at
the first note of the anthem, retaining the
position of salute until the last note of
the anthem. If not in uniform and covered, they uncover at the first note of
the anthem, holding the headdress opposite the left shoulder, and remain in that
position until the last note of the anthem,
except in inclement weather, when the

ing "colors," the band plays the national

at the beginning of which the
ensign is started up and hoisted smartly
All officers then face the
to the peak.
ensign and salute, and the guard of the
day and the sentries come to present. I f
there be no band, the field music sounds
If the ship happens to
"to the colors."
be in a foreign port the national anthem
of that country is played following the
Then follow the
raising of the ensign.
national anthems of the ships of war
present, in the order of rank.
At sunset "colors" the ensign is started

anthem,

407

Photograph by Paul Thompson

THE LIVING EMBLEM OF OCR NATIONAL UNION

On mam- occasions and in mam- places throughout the United States the effective climax
of a civic pageant is the formation of a mammoth living flag by school children wearing the
red, white, and blue.
The great emblem of liberty shown above was formed by the school
children of bait Lake Citv.

may

The

reaching the quarter-deck, from aboard

same marks of respect are shown to the

national anthems of other countries. At

boat, from a gangway, or from the shore,

to salute the national ensign. They stop
at the top of the gangway, or upon arriving at the quarter-deck, face the colors

headdress

'"colors."

be slightly raised.

pulling boats

passing near a

man-of-war, of any nationality,

their oars,

and steamers stop

lie

on

their en-

coxswains saluting and members of the crew outside the canopy standgines, the

ing facing the colors and saluting.

7HE USAGES in flag salutes

On

board ships of the navy it is customarv for officers and men whenever

-z'i

and salute. On leaving the quarter-deck

the same salute is given. This is distinct
from the salute to the officer of the deck.
\Yhen warships enter a port where
there is a fort or batten- displaying the
national flag, or a commissioned ship of
war, they display at the main the flag
of the country in whose waters they are,

Photograph by Paul Thompson

SCHOOL CHILDREN

01?

NEW YORK
CITY

OBSERVING AMERICANIZATION DAY IN

HALL PARK

In this wonderful assemblage, truly representative of patriotic Young America, there are,
perhaps, children whose forebears have come to our shores from all of the nations of the
earth; and it is these children of alien races who are uniting and cementing a heterogeneous
people into an indivisible and invincible force which, under the Stars and Stripes, is today
battling for the liberty of the world.

and salute it with a national salute of

The ships of the
twenty-one guns.
United States Navy do not salute forts
and cities of the United States, and do
not fire salutes in honor of any nation,
or of any official of any nation, not formIt is
ally recognized by this country.
customary to fire salutes only between 8
They are never fired
a. m. and sunset.
between sunset and sunrise.

During the

present war salutes have been dispensed

with as between allied countries.
The United States today requires that
no ship of the navy shall lower her sails
or dip her ensign unless in return for such
compliment.
dip is made by quickly
lowering the ensign and without pause
quickly returning it to the peak.
flag or an ensign at half-mast is the
universal sign of mourning.
Before be-

409

>i

>H

in

r/)

3J

-g *!

M
.2
J3

r|

--

P"

>

4-T

5^

So
O
o S

V.

,S

"I

^ S
u

IS
aj

a;

oi

"

ci

'

:-5

<u

F
ay

'

re

z
-^

J2
as

"aj

rt

ci

VQ

"i

tn

<

rt

ci

fD
B
<i

a
.2

ra

o P

PS

a.

"2

_rt

[U

c
>>o
-:

.2
I

I-

Q
Z

JD

tf3

OJD

In

r-

QJ

^M-t

Lh

o
&
o

rj~>

Cl

3 ?

hn

Moo

rt

Cl

So

O
>, O
"o u
Cj
<fi

2?

^=

.-,

J?

b/j-a

^
"K

-a

c
n

O O

g"|

"a J
1

4-t

p3

to

(L)

K c ^

]^ ^

ai

;<*=
-<-"

e-

(n -7,

c w = -?H.
3 3
TO
a;

O"

qj ,;

.O
ci

411

o c

412

INSIGNIA OF UNIFORMED FORCES OF UNITED STATES

ing placed at half-mast the flag must always be raised to the top of the staff, and
before it is lowered from half-mast it
must likewise be hoisted to the top.

WHEN

A FINEST FARES FORTH TO BATTLE

the command "Clear the ship for action," the battle ensigns are mastheaded
and final preparations are made for battle, and under no circumstances is an action to be commenced or a battle fought
without the display of the national ensign.
When an enemy's ship strikes her
colors in battle, the commanding officer
of the man-of-war to whom she struck

At

41c

is required to continue the action with

other ships of the enemy, but takes possession of the surrendered ship as soon
as possible.
Striking the flag is an indication of
surrender. The articles for the government of the Navy of the United States
require the punishment by death, or such
other penalties as a court-martial may
adjudge, of any person in the naval service who strikes, or attempts to strike, the
flag to an enemy or rebel without proper
authority, or when engaged in battle
treacherously yields or pusillanimously
cries for quarter.

THE INSIGNIA OF THE UNIFORMED FORCES

OF THE UNITED STATES
Presented in the six succeeding pages are the
insignia of the various branches of the United
States Army and Navy and of the organizations
cooperating with them. By means of these illustrations one may identify the rank and arm
of the service of the wearer of practically any
American uniform seen during the period of
the war information which is of especial value
at this time, when the young men of America
are flocking to the colors and donning the uniform of our country to help in the titanic struggle to make the "World Safe for Democracy."
By direction of the Secretaries of War and
Navy, officers and men wear only the service
uniform for the duration of the war, dispensing
with the handsome dress uniforms which give
color to elaborate peace-time social functions
in all the capitals of the world.
Brass buttons
have generally been discarded, and in their
place in the Army and Marine Corps the more
subdued color of bronze is in keeping with the
somber olive drab of the field uniforms, reducing the visibility of the forces to a minimum.
In the comparatively short time we have been
at war several important changes have been
made and new branches and officers created.
Generals Pershing and Bliss have been raised
to the rank of full general a grade vacant
since the Civil War; and while no Admiral of
the Navy has been appointed to succeed the

Admiral Dewey, Admirals Benson, Mayo,

Caperton, and Knight have been made full admirals, and Admirals Sims and Coffman ViceAdmirals grades recently revived by act of
Congress in order that our officers may rank
with" the men of the Allied Forces with whom
thev are cooperating.
The U. S. Marine Corps, "the soldiers of the
sea," operate, as usual, under the general direcThe prition of the Secretary of the Navy.
vates of this fighting force wear caps as a part
of their field uniform while on board ship. On
land they follow the style set by the army and
wear the field service hat, with the difference,
however, that they wear no colored cord, but
late

have their metal corps device fastened to the

crown. At the front they, as well as the men
of the army, are wearing the shrapnel helmet.
During times of peace the U. S. Coast Guard,
acting under the Treasury Department, polices
the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards, and its cutters are the foes of smugglers and other lawbreakers.
It also performs life-saving service
on these shores, enforces the sealing laws in
northern waters, and patrols the sea lanes of
commerce for icebergs and derelicts. In time
of war the Coast Guard automatically becomes
a branch of the navy.
The U. S. Public Health Service is an especially important organization in war times,
and its men in uniform are performing a valuable service in safeguarding the health of soldiers at home by creating the best sanitary conditions in the territory surrounding the great
encampments.
Many patriotic societies are cooperating with
the military forces to lessen the soldier's hardships, and chief among these is the American
Red Cross, which is facing an enormous task
in caring for the sick and wounded, besides furnishing numerous comforts for the men in the
field.
This great organization is vastly increased in personnel, and a field uniform, with
appropriate insignia, has been recently adopted
for its officials abroad, the essentials of which
are shown on page 419.
With the forces in the field, both in this
country and abroad, are hundreds of men who
are dispensing the hospitality of the V. M. C. A.
and the Knights of Columbus, and are looking
out for the welfare of the soldiers in every
manner their ingenuity can devise. These men
are distinguished by insignia worn on semimilitary uniforms (see page 419).

Note. The Italian airplane insignia, painted

on wings of machines, are like the French, No.
240, on page 319, except that the centers are
green.

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

414

SERVICE
Worn by

Officers in field

HAT

and

all

Enlisted

Men.

GOLD CORD
a GOLD AND BLACK CORD
RED. WHITE AND BLL'E CORD
RESERVE OFFICERS TRAINING CAM?
GENERAL OFFICERS
ALL OTHER OFFICERS
.

'.

ENLISTED MEN
INFANTRY

CAVALRY

ARTILLERY
MEDICAL..

MEDAL OF HONOR

LIGHT ELL'S CORD

ENGINEERS

YELLOW CORD

ORDNANCE

SCARLET CORD
SIGNAL CORPS
MAROON AND WHITE CORD FIELD CLERKS
QUARTERMASTER CORPS

SCARLET AND WHITE CORD

BLACK AND SCARLET CORD
ORANGE AND WHITE CORD
BLACK AND SILVER CORD

MAJOR

CAPTAIN

FIR5T

UELT

***

.SILVER,

INSIGNIA OF

RANK ON SHOULDER LOOPS COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE

ULSP
\)BLGLLARS

(B;

KLitK. L5

E3

ARMY

U.

S.

E3

;
-

'.

ND

UEtT

ARMY

ENGINEER AIDE TO CENT.

CORPS
VT'T "V^"

CAVALRY

GENERAL STAFF

QLAR [LRMASTER'S

JLDGE AD\ OCATE

GENUS DEPT.

DEPT.

ONTlRCOAT SLEEVE5
GENERALS HAVE STARS OF RANK
FIVE STRIPS OF BRAID
COLONEL
FOLR LT. COLONEL
THREE MAJOR
.

DENT.AJ. CORPS
SANITARY CORPS
_,
\ETERLNARY CORPS *f fe
AMBULANCE ODRPS <S 7T
NURSES CORPS
f

E3
ORDNANCE
CORPS

"

COLLAR DEVICES COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

aa w-ii ike tppropf j:c corp* dcruze

CAPTAIN
FIRST LEUT.

PHILIPPINE
crru rrc

PORTO RICO
ocr.T

TWO

ONE

STRIP

WEST FOLNT

INTERPRETERS

COLLAR DEVICES COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

SLEEVCTNSIGNIA RE5ER\E OFFICERS

TRAINING CAMPS

CA)

NATIONAL

ARMY

QUARTERMASTER

(B)

NATIONAL

GUARD

(C)

REGULAR

ARMY

ORDNANCE

V5L5T POINT

MIUTARY ACADEMY "DETACHMENTS

CAVALRY

CORPS

ENGINEERS

DISCIPLINARY

BARRACKS

COLLAR

INSIGNIA ENLISTED MEN.U.

S.

A-

ARTILLERY

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

OOOOO
MASTER

HOSPITAL SERGEANT

CHIEF PLANTER
COAST ARTILLERY

CHEVRONS AND SLEEVE

*

INSIGNIA

CHIEF MECHANIC

OBSERVER

FIRST CLASS
COAST ARTILLERY

HORSESHOER

aADC ^ '"' EXCELLENCE

IN TARGET PRACTICE

FIELD.ARTILLERt

OF NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND ENLISTED MEN.U.

Conforming

ENCINEER
COAST ARTILLERY.

COMMANDER

COAST ARTILLERY

CUI-l

MASTER GUNNER

in

color to

arm

of service

S.

ARMY

See hat cord colors opposite page

MILITARY AVIATOR
Junto, M.l.tary A.iato, and Reserve Mil.t.ry Aviator without

ENLISTED

MEN

Slat

ENUSTED AVIATOR

INSIGNIA

OF AVIA TION SECTION, SIGNAL CORPS U

.>Mtfct>*l.>t>. S s

"ENLISTED MECHANICIAN

ARMY

of Signal Corp, on collar, and Enlisted Men

regular Signal Corp, buttons on collar
red ,n lve, thread with ld U. S. and
e
worn on left brea.t, Enhsted Men on sleeve

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

416

SERVICE UNIFORM CAP

ALL COM M15510NED OFFICERS

NAVAL A\'IATORS

Bn JD n .;V a4, ul 1 ,w4 ,n !1 o: ;!

CoM 8f.d De..r i.m.]*f F C=.=.- aad ry^---?
Gc

StaS

Oisai wit ^i oi rUw Adaur*!

hl*t M P
pU, a Gold Br*d

BAH

or Capta

Ll

MEDAL OF HONOR

C43iaurJ t

'

C.U

L.ciirrar.ix

Rti

U*W ON LEFT BREAST

Nits! Artntwj vol saltans leirmblini:

T.ce bat ith rcsaUlion up and ihoaldct

j=d Eancai b-e

B..;d , V,*>r

Muw Corp. f*W *

<

CAP DEVICE
ALL COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

COLLAR

Blue

SLEEVE

S>m[i Cu

***>

SHOULDER

Bl^W^Con

\V>,.ie5enieeCars

MEDICAL OFFK
'_--_-_-

Between Smpei

ADMIRAL
OF THE \A\T

ADMIRAL OF THE NAVY

'# ~- * *

PA1 OFFICERS
\Tt

:e

Cloth

Bet-eStrt>

<*$>*!*
VICE ADMIRAL

VICE ADMIRAL

PROFESSORS OF

MATHEMATICS

*&&> +

Oli^e Green

doth

REAR ADMIRAL

NAVAL
CONSTRUCTORS
Beeweea Smnea

<+<*
COMMANDER

COMMANDER ISdrex Leall

UELT COMMANDER

UEL TENANT

LiEUTENANT

CHI
<cam
COMMANDER

UELT.

COMMANDER

can
LIEUTENANT

LIEUTENANT

Junior Grd.

JunierGr.de

Juiioi Grade

ENSKN

E .; ._'.

ENSIGN
anu'ie.

COLLAR, SLEEVE AND SHOULDER INSIGNIA OF COMMISSIONED UNE OFFICERS OF THE

CAP DEVICE

55

FIRST CLASS

M1DSH1&MEN

SECOND CLASS

U.

p<mi

S.

e^A.

.=d J,

NAVY

NAS AL RESERVE

FORCE
Vera oa collar in
icricr. Le gCiia

lieo of ctrpa

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

WARRANT

OFFICER'S

CAP DEVICE WARRANT OFFICERS

CAP

417

PETTY OFFICERS CAP

CAP DEVICE PETTY OFFICERS

NAVAL RESERVE WBCI

U,

CHIEF SA1LMAKER

S.

NAVAL RESERVE

CHIEF PAY CLERK

CHIEF PHARMACIST

SHOULDER MARKS CI IIEF WARRANT

CHIEF BOATSWAIN
(

HIF.F

CHIF.F

FORCE.

OFFICERS, U.

S.

NAVY

MATE

Warrant

(For

Officers

Omit

Stripe)

CHIEF CARPENTER
CHIEF SAILMAKER
CHIEF PHARMACIST

GUNNER
MACHINIST

INSIGNIA OF RANK.

ON SLEEVES OF WARRANT OFFICERS, U.

S.

NAVY

V;-;i

Chief Boal wain,

Cunnrr and Mnehinisl-Silver D;v,ee. Cold

BM taw.in .&.nn e r.ndMeh 1 <.i.._Cold

GUN POINTER

Device. Silver

Sd

Sta

COLLAR DEVICES OF WARRANT

OFFICERS.U.

Leu

S.

TORPEDOMAN

DISTINGUISHING

rhan 20 Vearg* Scrvi te -Gold

NAVY Ch,ef Carp^.e,. Sa.lmaUr, Ph",

NAVY "E"

MARKS ON SLEEVES OK PETTY OFFICERS

Those MarkedXAlao Worn by Enlisted

Men Not Petty

U.S.

NAVY

Fdi

e - ,,c -"

Officers

QUARTERMASTER

MACHINISTS MATE
MARKS PETTY OFFICERS
OF AVIATION SERVICE

DISTINGUISHING

QUARTERMASTER
THIRD CLASS
DISTINGUISHING MARK. ENLISTED MEN.

NAVAL

MILITIA

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

413

u s. Marine corps
FIELD SERVICE CAP

U. S. MARINE CORPS
FIELD SERVICE HAT

Worn on

Shore w,th Field Service Uo.forn

(Officer! wear Cold td Scarlet Hit CordJ
Enlitifd Urn weal no cords.

COLONEL

LT-

RANK

ADJUTANT AND

PAYMASTER'S

INSPECTOR'S DEPT.

DEPARTMENT

COLLAR ORNAMENTS STAFF AND WARRANT OFFICERS

MARINE

CORPS DEVICE
U. S.
and Enlisted Men
Worn on all Hsu and Capi and on
Worn Aboard Ship and Other
ComrnUsionedOfLcer. ColUri
Occasions When Pre.cnbed
Officer,

COLONEL

OUARTERM ASTER'S MARINE

CUNNER,
DEPARTMENT

MAIOR

Staff Officer*

U0S
SECOND LIEUT

FIRST LIEUT

CAPTAIN

INSIGNIA COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

OF THE

U.

S.

Wear both Corps and Department Device

Warrant Officers Wear Department Device Only

WARRANT

OFFICERS

MARINE CORPS ON OVERCOAT SLEEVES

SECOND LEADER
OF BAND
'"With

Three

Ch^om
GUN POINTER

DRUM MAJOR

GLNNER'.

Wnh

SERGEANT
f

MARKS EXUSTED MEN OF THE

DISTINCTIVE SLEEVE

U.

S.

Three Chevron*)

MARINE CORPS

Nate: The
Shoulder loop insignia is

5. Marine Corps follows generally the Insignia of the U. S. Army, with the exceptions shown above
the same as (or similar rank in the army, but besides being worn on service coat is also worn on overcoat

PETTY OFFICER'S CAP DEVICE

COM.'.i:ii:^-.D
Vuri

lilt

^>i

S-ji c=

OFF 'EP'5 CAP DEVICE

S'-wea

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

COLLAR

SLEEVE

'BlueVrvic.Cn;

Blue Service

SHOULDER

Coau.

tw&SSH^

CAPTAIN COMMANDANT

SENIOR CAPTAIN
Two Bart Fim

AND CAPTAIN
Two

Lienl

One Bar Second Liel

No BarThird Lieotei

O^Ba."
No
."o

Wd

One StupeThird

Lieutenant

ENGINEER

Shown Engineer-in-Chief
Half Widib Center 5irrpe-t*pi*.n
Sln&ei First Lieutenant
One and Oae-hali Stripea Second
Stripes as

Two Equal

Lieutenant

Bars Third Lieutenan

Ar, ihor, Leaves in Center
Cad
Leal or

Second

Stripes

LIEUTENANTS

Save* Uaf-En,
Geld Leaf- Captain

SENIOR CAPTAIN

Stripes First Lieutenant

One and One-hall

One Stripe -Third Lieutenant

No Stripes Cadet
OFFICERS

Brown Velvet Between

Stripes

AND CAPTAIN

shoulders.

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

419

U.S.
COLLAR
WORN ON EACH

SIDE

BACK OF

U- S\

CAP DEVICE

UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

tk
SURGEON
GENERAL

SENIOR SURG

5URC
CENERAL

ASST.

SURG.

icoldi

f\

4tk

^k

PROFESSOR

QUARANTINE

CHAPLAIN

INTERNE

HYCIEN1C LAB.

INSPECTOR

ASST SURC.

PASSED ASST.

'SILVER'

SURGEON

jk

^k

INSIGNIA OF

RANK ON SHOULDER LOOPS

is ^^ ^jfeff^ ^Eci

III

'

fe^

fe^r

l^bS atcSv

Od CLASS)

'^d

KOTE. CHc<a

of Cl e

-W

PHARMACIST

PHARMACIST

PHARMACIST

cH '

CLASS)

SLEEVE MARKS ON OVERCOATS

STATION ENCINEER

PILOT

r
COOK

CARPENTER
SPECIALTY MARKS

ft
COACHMAN
(Maroon

x *
YARDMAN

Silk)

(Maroon

SURGICAL NURSE

COOK

Silk)

s.

MESSENGER

LAUNDRVMAN

NIGHT

WATCH

s'HIPKEEPER

UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

BOATSWAIN

COXSWAIN

SPECIALTY MARKS (Maroon

Silk)

>W#%?

*
THE GENEVA CROSS

FIRST

MARINE ENGINEER

EMPLOYES' SLEEVE MARKS

US.
....I

SHOULDER LOOP

'*

'

SLEEVE MARKS

'W^f

MAJOR GENERAL
BRIGADIER CENERAL

CAP DEVICE

AMERICAN RED CROSS

2
I

STARS
STAR

COLONEL ... 5 BARS BLUE CLOTH

COLONEL .4
Major

LT.

^SSff.

COLLAR

SLEEVE
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS SECRETARIES

Photograph by

MAKERS OF THE FLAG

Then conquer we must, when our cause
And this be our motto "In God is our

is just,
trust."
in triumph shall wave

And

the Star Spangled Banner

O'er the land of the free and the

420

home

it

of the brave.

May I*.

Smith

RJRnMBHHBBH

ifhraWttTOBHwmOT