1IYALE UNIVERSITY!!?

>SCHQ0L OF THE FINE ARTS <

This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in
cooperation with Yale University Library, 2008. You
may not reproduce this digitized copy ofthe book for
any purpose other than for scholarship, research,
educational, or, in limited quantity, personal use. You
may not distribute or provide access to this digitized copy
(or modified or partial versions of it) for commercial purposes.

Vol. XXXII, No. 4

WASHINGTON

October, 1917

s ¦a

ATONAL MI

OUR FLAG NUMBER

FLAGS symbolize the noble aspira
tions and glorious achievements of
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, Jeho
vah made a covenant with man, prom
ising that never again would He send the
waters to cover the face of the earth and
destroy all flesh, He unfurled the first
flag — the multihued banner of the rain
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
finite way, employed his earthly banners
as emblems of faith, of hope, and of high
resolve. Around the bits of varicolored bunt
ing which the people of each land nom
inate 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 him
self alone, like other wild animals of plain
and mountain side, until, through com
munity of interests and unity of effort,
mankind has been enabled to rear the
splendid structure of twentieth century
civilization. When the savage began to emerge from
his isolation 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

could distinguish, during primitive battles,
between creatures of his own tribe or
family and those of enemy tribes. A
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 re
placed by the skins of animals attached
to poles so that they might be held high
in the air and recognized at a distance.
From such crude beginnings it is easy to
trace the evolution of the flags of civil
ized man.
Today, while 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 na
vies have a deep and noble significance
far removed from their use in leading
men to battle. In reality flags are the bul
warks of idealism.
AN INSPIRATION TO PERSONAL SACRIFICE
The flag epitomizes for 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
be bestialized by slaughter. It keeps
men's motives lofty even in mortal com
bat, 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-

.:'

i_

c

booo

l-H
'¦'
5
>
ort o
fc
O oj
."5
*? t
i5 c
j-18
C c
o !-.
£
H "
w >
w
Pi
<u „
•5 d
53
bo
o
o.S
^ >>
tl*
rt «1
p.-«
ctI'-n
,  r^>*
{* C
u 60
<U i/J
.G C
-M OJ
.5 c
c o
eve
rt cs
a c
-, <L>
(J ,->
5-h r-*
rtt-1
a"
.a
Eh
282
$m

Photograph by Paul Thompson
THE PRESIDENT OF 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, requir
ing 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 of his countrymen. To "full-
dress 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
sovereignty, the National Geographic
Magazine presents this issue, devoted to
the flags of all countries.
In the present world struggle, in which
the United States of America is now en
gaged, 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 monu
ment to their sacrifice. History can be
stow upon such soldiers no higher en

comium than that of Defenders of the
Flag. In the presentation of 1,197 flags in
their accurate colors and design, the Na
tional Geographic Magazine issues the
most expensive as well as the most in
structive and beautiful number in the
whole history of periodical literature.
THE BIG TASK OF MAKING THE FLAG
NUMBER
In 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 well
as in the research which has made it pos
sible to present here many flags pregnant
with historic associations, the National

283

284

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

Geographic Society has been fortunate
in having the enthusiatic cooperation and
active professional services of the fore
most flag expert of the United States
Government and probably the leading au
thority 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 American fleet at Vera
Cruz in 1913, and in the performance of
his duties there he found that the signal
officers and enlisted men were handi
capped in their work by the non-existence
of a flag book. Being far removed from
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 atten
tion among naval officers, and the de
mand for copies of the work became so
great that the improvised flag plates,
made of soft metal, soon wore away.
Lieut. Commander McCandless was in
duced by the National Geographic Society
to undertake, with the consent of the Sec
retary of the Navy, the assembling of the
flags of the world for this issue of the
Geographic In view of the value of
this flag material to the government, the
Society has donated 5,000 copies of the
Flag Number to the United States Navy
and 5,000 copies to the Army.
In addition to the expert services of
Lieut. Commander McCandless, the Ed
itor has had the assistance of John Oliver
La Gorce, the Associate Editor ; of Wil
liam Joseph Showalter, Ralph A. Graves,
Franklin L. Fisher, and other members
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
in black and white. Thus, through such
concerted effort, it is possible to present
in this issue the most complete and au
thoritative work on flags ever published.
The engraving of the coats-of-arms and
devices appearing on many of the ban
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 ar
tistic cooperation of the Beck Engraving
Company of Philadelphia. In the proc
esses 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 this issue of the
magazine). The Flag Number, like all the other is
sues since the founding of the magazine
twenty-nine years ago, owes its attractive
typographical appearance to Messrs. Judd
& Detweiler, Inc., of Washington, D. C.
THE WORK OF PRINTING
Every one will readily appreciate that
the cost of our flag number far exceeds
the moderate price at which it is dis
tributed to members of the Society (one-
twelfth of the annual membership fee),
a sum not sufficient to cover the bare cost
of the paper, engraving, and printing.
This deficit is made good from the So
ciety's educational fund, but for addi
tional copies the price will necessarily be
50 cents each.
So vast has grown the membership of
the National Geographic Society that one
finds it hard to realize how wide-spread
is the geographic interest it has engen
dered or how many magazines must be
printed before each member can receive
his or her copy. Two striking illustra
tions of the Society's numerical strength
have come home to the Editor in the is
suance of the current number. With one
of the largest color printing plants in
America engaged in producing the 32
pages of flags in colors, it took 75 work
ing 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, they occupy
more than 700,000 square inches of space,
or 1,728 pages the size of the National
Geographic Magazine. Put side by
side they would form a ribbon of paper
twenty miles long.
Gilbert Grosvenor,
Editor and Director,
National Geographic Society.

INDEX TO FLAGS AND INSIGNIA

Subject Illustration Page
African flags  oka osn o.-q op-
Army flags of United States  Ill' d55' 6M' 3G'
%S+\ fl^SS •" '« ' ;  '¦¦¦'¦  ; ¦ • 354, 355, 358, 367
British Empire flags  359-366 ¦ -
Australia  3g3
Dominion of Canada  !!!!!!  36?
Correct dimensions of United States flag.  312
Correct display of United States flag  
European flags  '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 354, 358, 367
Flags famous in American history  338, 33S), 342
Geography of middle ages told by flags  370'
Insignia of uniformed forces of United States  414-419
Makers of the Flag  :  ' 
Marine Corps flags of United States  315
National Geographic Society flag  335
Naval flags of the world  347, 350, 351
Navy flags of United States  315, 318, 319
Pan-American flags  343, 346
Stars and Stripes, History of  310
State flags of United States  323-334

Text
Page
372
308, 309
37237S383381
404
404372, 388
341
388 413
304
313, 316
340 369
313, 316
361
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.

285

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG
The text and illustrations of this Flag Number, in its entirety, are protected by
copyright, and all rights are reserved

AS IF in augury of that perpetual
peace for which all mankind hopes
L 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
and Stripes were received gratefully and
reverently into that historic shrine of the
English-speaking race — St. Paul's Ca
thedral, London — there to be preserved
among the hallowed banners of the hosts
of liberty (see page 302).
This epochal event marked the alli
ance, 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 Re
public from the British Empire.
From the embattled pinnacle of high
resolve and lofty idealism where the
American flag has always floated, the
course of its rise may 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 symbolic of the evolution of our
free institutions; its development epito
mizes the amazing expansion of our
boundaries and the development of our
natural resources ; its glorious history is
the history of the people whose sover
eignty 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
by the Revolutionary forces as there are
today races fused into one liberty-loving
American people.
The local flags and colonial devices
(Nos. 361-366, 377-422) displayed in bat
tle on land and sea during the first months

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
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 faith
ful subjects." DISINCLINED TO SEVER ALL TIES
Disinclined to sever all ties with Eng
land, yet bitterly resentful of the treat
ment accorded them and unyielding in
their determination to resist further op
pression, when it became necessary to
adopt an ensign for their newly created
navy, in the autumn of 1775, the revolt
ing colonies chose a flag that reflected
their feeling of unity with the Mother
Country, but at the same time expressed
their firm joint purpose to demand and
obtain justice and liberty.
The events which resulted in the estab
lishment of the Continental navy, and
thereby the birth of the first flag repre
sentative of the thirteen united colonies,
constitute one of the most picturesque
chapters in American history. At the be
ginning of October the Continental Con
gress, sitting in Philadelphia, learned that
two unarmed North 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
MARTIAL

FOUGHT AND FELL IS NOW THEIR
SHROUD

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 mu
nitions-laden brigs. The aid of the armed
vessels of Rhode Island and Connecticut
was also promised the commander-in-
chief in this important enterprise.
General Washington, of his own initia
tive, 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
Franklin. By November I four addi
tional cruisers had been added to the
fleet — the Lee, the Harrison, the Warren,
and the Lady Washington.
Of this little fleet only the Lee, under
command of John Manley, met with sig
nal 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

brass mortar, subsequently called "Con
gress," 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. Fowey, 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 Oc
tober 20, 1775, that he wished to "fix
upon some particular color for a flag and
a signal by which our vessels may know
one another." 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

<Hfe/; ¦ TlpT&il

'¦imihtfWiik

¦*&>

******

NS^TPK^fe i.)01 j^vMED

<^>. . nismim^AmU'riyyO^,

WM

'/JJ/a^? Wt^i

_«suJi£T*

THE EARLIEST PERFECT REPRESENTATION OF THE GRAND UNION ENSIGN
(SEE no. 364)
The flag is a part of the decorations appearing on North Carolina currency of the issue of
April 2, 1776

Congress as distinguished from the sol
dier-manned fleet under General Wash
ington. Immediately following his ap
pointment Commodore Hopkins' (the first
and only commander-in-chief the navy
ever had) set sail from Rhode Island in
that colony's armed vessel Katy and ar
rived in the Delaware River on December
3> 1775- The same day the commodore
assumed the formal command of the little
squadron which the Congress had placed
under him.
PAUL JONES RAISES THE FLAG
The manner in which that command
was assumed is of signal importance, in
that the ceremony marked the hoisting of
the first truly American flag. And the
distinction of having released the banner
to the breeze belongs to that daring spirit,
John Paul Jones, one of the chief among
heroes in the hearts of American naval
officers and seamen. Jones, at that time
senior lieutenant (corresponding to exec
utive officer in the navy today) of Hop
kins' flagship, the Alfred, in a letter to
"the United States Minister of Marine,
Hon. Robert Morris," preserved in the

Library of Congress, thus describes the
historic event :
"It was my fortune, as the senior of
the first Lieutenants, to hoist myself the
Flag of America (I chose to do it with
my own hands) the first time it was dis
played. 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." A line is drawn
through the words in parentheses and the
word "myself" has been inserted.
This was the flag (364) which after
ward figured so extensively in the litera
ture 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
Navy Ensign, it was the Colonial stand
ard 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 colo
nies, with a union bearing the crosses of
St. George and St. Andrew combined
(the national flag of Great Britain -361)
and signifying the Mother Country
There has been much confusion about

288

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

289

the flags which were displayed on the
Alfred on that historic December day.
The statement is often made, and cor
rectly, that Commodore Hopkins hoisted
the Gadsden flag (398) — a fact which
impresses some historians as a contradic
tion of John Paul Jones' assertion. Ref
erence to naval usage, both of that day
and of this, however, clarifies the sup
posed 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
motto "Don't Tread on Me"), used on
the Alfred as the flag of the commodore
commanding the fleet, was presented Feb
ruary 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 ap
pointed on October 15, 1775, to report on
the fitting out of two armed vessels.
When that report was made, two weeks
later, Colonel Gadsden was one of a com
mittee of seven appointed to fit out four
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 of Com
modore Hopkins' assumption 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
fitted out, officered, manned, and sent to
sea was as complete as was that of the
American press of 1917, when General
Pershing's expeditionary force embarked
for the fields of France.
The intelligence reports to the British
Admiralty were very explicit concerning
the event, however. In minutest detail
these reports described the ships of the
fleet, how they were painted, the number
of guns, officers, and men — all accurately
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 num
ber of men and 32 guns. The two brigs
carry 16 guns. They sailed with five or
six merchant ships loaded with flour from
the Congress. Hopkins commands the
Alfred. She has yellow sides, her head
the figure of a man, English colours, but
more striped. The Columbus is all black,
except white bottom, with no head. Com
manded by one Whipple."
HOISTING THE GRAND UNION FLAG AT
CAMBRIDGE
One month after its baptism in the
breezes, from the stern of the Alfred, the
Grand Union Flag (364) was raised at
Cambridge, Mass., on the very day that
the Continental Army began its official
existence — January 2, 1776 — and General
Washington is authority for the explana
tion that it was displayed "out of compli
ment to the United Colonies." It was
two days after this event that Washing
ton 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 tender
ness 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 com
pliment to the United Colonies. But be
hold ! it was received at Boston as a token
of the deep impression the speech had
made upon us and as a signal of submis
sion. 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

Sag

^-_rt O

GuO

s

""mh 2

x)

¦U o-O

IH

S3 ^

rt

aH^

s

-d

_ 1- o

" rt O o
^F S3 .2^
" rt c &
|-as 0.
r° CD CO J-.
«fl3s
Ph „S 3
o.~tyj
§£.££!
^ ° "2
m u • 8
jl^j!
S S3 O J"1
rri *— ' bo .
tn
3 o rt **»
Ph
— J3 co g
in
t;-« °
P
a; V V t>.
£
J-. O
<!
¦C 2 3*°
OJ3,» U
tn
S3 *iW "
OJ 33 3
P3
1-, ri j3T3
<
Ph <u-- 0
in
<u 3°5J p.
rp rt bo u
tn t3
fej
£«JSc*
2 as o bo
S»cc
o
M«TJ^3
-£3 rt to
w
frH
D
<
o via -
3 p
CD Cj4 0J 5
-t-1 o o 33
H
3-- S3 0>
tnPi
.-" 0. n, CO
£
titi«^
O 0,-h
a
Urii'OR >- S3 o
tC3 rt — ¦«
,-,1-f S3 rt
a. J: c «
<d<<5
J2 - tn -
-a m 3^
R C*
3 sE"1^
S3 M 13
S •» = . &
O S3 uxl
°;s3w
2 O tt?
S3 „, <u ¦
O «j t. m
,_ -H CD S3
3 rt ^3 \nl
rt M ¦K S3
Ph « °-S
«Esft
-5 3 rt <u
o j: a
.3 fc E
290
t : o P

^25i:

? ^

CJ3"

Z o • "

Vl -£ ^ r- -r

< L'_-=,-i';

~

cc

— x ^> ,—

^

.j
2
;>
u ^ X ^
-
u< = ~
«
'/.
¦ —
— >¦• 0 —
—
z T !•= = Z 5
L> X X -
291
I Harris & Ewing

THE FREMONT 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 sug
gested 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 carMed in the field
by the land forces during the Revolu
tionary War. The army carried only the
colors of the States to which the troops
belonged (see flags 394, 396, 403, 409,
410, etc.) and not the national flag.
THE FIRST VICTORY OF THE AMERICAN
FLAG
It fell to the lot of the newly created
Commodore Manley (the officer who had
commanded the Lee and captured the
ordnance ship Nancy) to carry the Grand
Union Flag to its first victory. Com
manding 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 Bos
ton and succeeded in bringing his prizes
safely into Plymouth. Following this
daring exploit Manley received a letter
written at Cambridge, on January 28,
1776, by General Washington, who de

clared that the commodore's achievement
merited "mine and the country's thanks,"
and promised him a "stronger vessel of
war." On Major Samuel Selden's powder-
horn of that period is a carving showing
Boston and vicinity. The British fleet is
depicted on one side of Boston Neck,
while Manley's symbolical ship Amaraca,
flying at the stern the Continental Union
flag as its ensign, and at the mainmast
the pine-tree flag as the commodore's
flag, is shown on the other side. The
mortar carved on the horn is the famous
"Congress" gun captured by Manley on
the Nancy.
The first occasion upon which any
American flag floated over foreign terri
tory was on March 3, 1776. Commodore
Hopkins, of the Congress fleet, organized
an expedition against New Providence,
in the Bahama Islands, for the purpose
of seizing a quantity of powder known to
be stored there and of which both Gen
eral Washington and the fleet were in

292

Photograph from Central News Photo Service, official naval photograph
VICE-ADMIRAL SIMS WITH BRITISH AND AMERICAN STAFF OFFICERS AT THE
HOISTING OF THE AMERICAN VICE-ADMIRAL'S FLAG (65) AT ADMIRALTY
HOUSE WHEN HE TOOK TEMPORARY COMMAND OF
QUEENSTOWN AND DISTRICT
Vice-Admiral Bayley's flag (606) is being hauled down

293

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 Wasp covered the
landing party. Fort Nassau was taken
and a great quantity of military stores
fell into the hands of the expedition.
A correspondent of the London "La
dies' Magazine," who was in New Provi
dence at the time of the capture of the
fort by the American forces, under date
of May 13, 1776, described the colors dis
played by the marines and sailors as
"striped under the union (the British
union of the crosses of St. George and
St. Andrew) with thirteen stripes" (364),
while "the standard (the commodore's
flag) bore a rattlesnake and the motto
"Don't Tread on Me" (398).
THE- FIRST FOREIGN SALUTE TO AN AMERI
CAN FLAG
The first salute ever fired in honor of
an American flag (the Grand Union en
sign) was an eleven-gun volley given by
the Fort of Orange, on the island of St.
Eustatius, Dutch West Indies, on No

vember 16, 1776. The salute was in ac
knowledgment • of a similar number of
guns fired by the Andrew Doria (see also
page 401), one of the original vessels of
Commodore Hopkins' fleet, which had
been sent to the West Indies, under com
mand 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 Doria, I flatter myself that if my
masters exact it I shall be able to give
such an account as will be satisfactory."
Whereupon the British commander re
sponded that "the unpartial world will
judge between us whether these honor
shots, answered on purpose by a Dutch
fort to a rebellious brigantine, with a flag
known to the commander of that fort as
the flag of His Majesty's rebellious sub
jects, is or is not a partiality in favor of
those rebels."
The British governor then forwarded

294

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 "mar
riage 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 to it, had the flag of the Con
tinental Congress flying." The British
Government protested sharply to the
States General of the Republic of the
Netherlands. The Dutch demurred at
the asperity with which England de
manded an explanation, but immediately
recalled Commander de Graef from St.
Eustatius. Thus the first salute to the
new ensign was disavowed, although the
Holland Republic recognized American
independence shortly thereafter.
In the literature of the Revolution fre
quent reference is found to a "plain
striped flag" (404). Official correspond
ence shows that whenever this flag was
used afloat it was as the badge of mer
chant shipping and privateers and not as
the ensign of the regular commissioned
vessels of the navy. How long the Grand

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.
BIRTHDAY OF THE STARS AND STRIPES
It was nearly one year after the repre
sentatives of the United States of Amer
ica, 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, which
had formed the union of the Continental
Union flag (364), were discarded and re
placed 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 crea
tion was proclaimed in a resolution of the

295

> 2 ™
£' E o

co

»« 8

e,

*3 "S3 „,

ao

S3 S3 I)

fH

"kg1

3

rt

-*-* co cj

>,
^3

. ,« cd
"CO 'iZ 'H

1- -W
O S3 S3

,C

^R <D CD

fa

O co <R
ej S3

M

„ •P'O

M-M cD

o

.Et3 lo

s

S3 CU3

i- ni S3
O ^ CD
P >>
¦< CD ^
/Sc
IUMh (U
¦£ °tc
"to -[-)<£
« £ O
C
•4-J i-3— OJ
"<
p p p.
£
sis
O
N
ra -tR
r-H
-1 3
M
_<
•C73 C
£ ™Jr
"¦
<u'a'5 t> ? p
"^ ¦- CtJ
tn
0 rt
tn
.-, P ctf
^ bOC
3 •-. 0
rt 3
0
TR CD ctj
CD S3
W
co CD
hH
¦3 JR CD
r1 ~.c
£
o
"urn
g
c- "+*
b/j „ >>
S
%qR »o
otr.
tn
« O
¦£ — js
p<"l
<-<
<D -^
O
£ >. 3
u
~ rt
3 v.
_o rt_>>
'¦« E"S
CO co iT
• p UJ O
E-a*u5
C CD
0 h .
P > C^
• — „ > G\
„.2 0 0
CV"~ ^
13 M co \o
en «•- 0
tR rt-t
rt P
CD bO co
"S « S 0
JR
*7j W3
w." bO
" .s
co 3
E «
3 co
10
296
THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

29i

Continental Congress. While the resolu
tion appears in the records without any
account of preliminary discussion and
without any designation of specific rec
ommendation, the order in which it is in
corporated in the business of the day
leads to the assumption that it was re
ported by the Marine Committee, for it is
sandwiched in among several naval mat
ters. This portion of the official journal
for the day reads :
"Resolved, That the Marine Commit
tee 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 at- !
tempts on said river.
"Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen
United States be thirteen stripes, alter
nate red and white ; that the union be
thirteen stars, white in a blue field, rep
resenting a new constellation.
"The Council of the State of Massa
chusetts 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 en
quired 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
the first flag 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 Marine Committee of the Congress
of 1777) the nation also received the
Stars and Stripes.
MANY TFIEORIES AS TO THE ORIGIN OF 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
the original ensign. ' Many hold to the
view that the new flag borrowed the
stripes from the ensign (364) raised by

John Paul Jones on the Alfred on De
cember 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 sup
port 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 repre
sented in the flag.
Whatever' their origin, there is no per
suasive evidence in the official records of
the time which would lead to the con
clusion that the Stars and Stripes were
in use before the resolution of June 14,
1777. It is true, however, that the paint
ings of Trumbull and Peale do point to
its earlier use. But, as to the flags ap
pearing 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. Peale's picture
of Washington crossing the Delaware,
with respect to the colors carried, is be
lieved 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 unsenti
mental 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.
BILLS RENDERED BY A FLAG 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 ap
pointed 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
tail" (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.

in the following letter to the Board of
Admiralty more than a year later:
"Gentlemen : It is with great pleasure
I understand my last device 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,
viz.,

The flag of the United States of America
4 Devices for the Continental currency
A Seal for the Board of Treasury
Ornaments, Devices and Checks, for the new
bills of exchange on Spain and Holland.
A 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.
A Great^ Seal for the United States of Amer
ica, with a Reverse.
"For these services I have as yet made

298

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

299

no charge, nor received any recompense.
I now submit it to your Honours' con
sideration 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 an
other 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
United States." On this occasion he
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
nental." This claim was never paid, a board
which passed on accounts reporting that
it appeared that Hopkinson "was not the
only person consulted on those exhibi
tions of Fancy, and therefore cannot
claim the full merit of them and is not
entitled in this respect to the 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 of a
colonial flag-bee
Rear Admiral Colby M. Chester, U. S.
Navy, has suggested that John Paul Jones
may have had a share in the design. He
says: "This young officer of the Continental
Navy had just returned from a successful
cruise at sea in command of war ships,
during which he had captured a number
of the enemy's vessels, and was in Phila
delphia at the time Congress was con
sidering the question of a national flag,
as a member of a Board of Advisers to
the Naval Committee of the Flouse of
Delegates upon matters relating to the
country's sea forces, of which the ques
tion of a suitable distinguishing mark to

be worn by war vessels was one of the
most important.
"Possessing a most attractive person
ality, Paul Jones was lionized by the
ladies of the city and patronized by some
of the leading delegates to the Conven
tion, who called upon him to advise the
legislators regarding the design for the
flag ; he thus had much to do with secur
ing the passage of the act of Congress
fixing its characteristics.
"Soon after this event took place, Cap
tain Jones received his appointment to
command the Ranger, one of the Conti
nental 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
shire, in which port the Ranger was fitted
out. Here he was received with more
distinction, even, than at Philadelphia, for
Portsmouth being one of the principal
seaports of the country, its inhabitants
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
capital of the colonies.
"At Portsmouth Paul Jones attracted
about him a bevy of girls who formed a
so-called "flag-bee," who with much pa
triotic 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 Harbor on July 4th, 1777,
less than three weeks after Congress had
so authorized."
NEW ENSIGN'S FIRST ACTION AT SEA
The story of the first time in history
that the Stars and Stripes went into ac
tion at sea is told in the picturesque lan
guage of the American officer who com
manded 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 Naiicy of the
Windward Island fleet, which had out
sailed her. Having possessed himself of
the Nancy's signal book, Thompson, on
sighting the fleet two days later, deter
mined to attack with the Alfred, but as

) Underwood & Underwood
THE FRENCH ARMY'S FIRST SALUTE TO THE STARS AND STRIPES ON FRENCH SOIL
Section V-14 of the American Ambulance Corps, a team of Leland Stanford Jr. Uni
versity 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. When within pistol-shot of the
commodore's ship, recognized by means
of the signal book, Thompson records:
"We up sails, out guns, hoisted Con
tinental 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 compli
mented them with a gun for each State,
a whole broadside into their hull. Our
second broadside was aimed at their rig
ging, which had its desired effect. In

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

300

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

301

at 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 de
fended by Col. Peter Gansevoort with
some 600 men. In the afternoon rein
forcements — 200 men of the Ninth
Massachusetts Regiment under Lieuten
ant Colonel Mellon — arrived by way of
the Mohawk River from Albany, bring
ing ammunition and supplies.
They also brought with them news
paper accounts of the newly enacted flag
resolution, and immediately the fort was
ransacked for material with which to
make the new national emblem. The am
munition shirts of the soldiers furnished
the white stripes ; a red petticoat belong
ing to the wife of one of the men sup
plied the red stripes, and Captain Abra
ham 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 gen
eral read to the defenders the congres
sional resolution "particularizing the in
signia of the flag of the new republic."
There are vouchers extant showing that
the Continental treasury reimbursed Cap
tain 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.
FIRST SALUTE TO THE STARS AND. STRIPES
All Americans recall with especial
pleasure and pride that the first official
salute to the Stars and Stripes was ac
corded, 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 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

report to the Marine Committee of Con
gress, of how 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 recog
nized in the fullest and completest man
ner by the flag of France. I was off their
bay (Quiberon) 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 sa
lute. 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
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
truth, I was induced to accept his offer,
the more so as it was an acknowledg
ment 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
with thirteen guns, which he returned
with nine. However, to put the matter
beyond doubt, I did not suffer the Inde
pendence to salute until the next morn
ing, 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). THE SIGNIFICANCE OF OUR COLORS
America's most gifted poets and ora
tors have 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
Beecher: "A thoughtful mind, when it
sees a nation's flag, sees not the flag, but
the nation itself. And whatever may be
its symbols, its insignia, he reads chiefly
in the flag the government, the principles,
the truths, the history, that belong to the
nation that sets it forth. The American
flag has been a symbol of Liberty, and
men rejoiced in it.

Photograph by Central News Photo Service
FLAGS WHICH SIGNALIZED AMERICA'S ENTRANCE INTO THE WORLD CONFLICT 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 in the great English shrine and are to be preserved
for all time, together with those of our Allies, whose national emblems, like our own, are
waving 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.
As at early dawn 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 efful
gent, so, on the American flag, stars and
beams of many-colored light shine out to

gether. And wherever this flag comes
and men behold it they see in its sacred
emblazonry no embattled castles or in
signia of imperial authority ; they see the
symbols of light. It is the banner of
Dawn." BIBLICAL ORIGIN OF THE RED, WHITE,
AND BLUE
Charles W. Stewart, superintendent of
naval records and library of the United

302

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN FLAG

30J

¦States Navy Department, to whom the
Geographic is indebted for helpful ad
vice 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 Lord gave
to Moses the Ten Commandments and
the book of the law, which testify of
God's will and man's duty ; and were de
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, scar
let, and white. These colors of the Jew
ish 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, fer
vency; 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 do
minion and sovereignty."
THE CALL OF THE FLAG
Hon. Frederick C. Hicks, in the House
of Representatives on Flag Day, June 14.
191 7, 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 accom
plishment 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. Its glowing
splendor appeals to us to demand inter
national justice and arbitration; it com
mands us to self-sacrifice and to univer
sal obligation of service, which alone can
maintain equality of rights and fullness
of opportunity in our republic.
"Its stars and its stripes voice the spirit

of America calling to a nation of indom
itable 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
President Wilson in a Flag Day ad
dress said :
"This flag, which we honor and under
which we serve, is the emblem of our
unity, our power, our thought and pur
pose as a nation. It has no other char
acter 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 it's birth ;
and from its birth until now it has wit
nessed a great history, has floated on
high the symbol of great events, of a
great plan of life worked out by a great
people. We are about to carry it into
battle, to lift it where it will draw the
fire of our enemies. We are about to
bid thousands, hundreds of thousands, it
may be millions, of our men — the young,
the strong, the capable men of the na
tion — 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 way in this
day of high resolution, when every prin
ciple we hold dearest is to be vindicated
and made secure for the salvation of the
nations. We 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."

THE MAKERS OF THE FLAG*
By Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior

THIS morning, as I passed into the
Land Office, The Flag dropped
me a most cordial salutation, and
from its rippling folds I heard it say:
"Good morning, Mr. Flag Maker."
"I beg your pardon, Old Glory," I said,
"aren't you mistaken? I am not the
President of the United States, nor a
member of Congress, nor even a general
in the army. I am only a government
clerk." "I greet you again, Mr. Flag Maker,"
replied the gay voice ; "I know you well.
You are the man who worked in the
swelter of yesterday straightening out
the tangle of that farmer's homestead in
Idaho, or perhaps you found the mistake
in that Indian contract in Oklahoma, or
helped to clear that patent for the hope
ful inventor in New 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 Wyo
ming. No matter ; whichever one of
these beneficent individuals you may hap
pen to be, I give you greeting, Mr. Flag
Maker." I was about to pass on, when The Flag
stopped me with these words :
"Yesterday the President spoke a word
that made happier the future of ten mil
lion peons in Mexico ; but that act looms
no larger on the flag than the struggle
which the boy in Georgia is making to
win the Corn Club prize this summer.
"Yesterday the Congress spoke a word
which will open the door of Alaska; but
a mother in Michigan worked from sun
rise until far into the night to give her
boy an education. She, too, is making
the flag.
"Yesterday we made a new law to pre
vent financial panics, and yesterday, may
be, a school teacher in Ohio taught his
first letters to a boy who will one day
write a song that will give cheer to the
millions of our race. We are all making
the flag."
"But," I said impatiently, "these people
were only working!"
* Delivered on Flag Day, 1914, before the
employees of the Department of the Interior,
Washington, D. C.

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
its shadow.
"I am whatever you make me ; nothing
more. "I am your belief in yourself, your
dream of what a people may become.
"I live a changing life, a life of moods
and passions, of heart-breaks and tired
muscles. "Sometimes I am strong with pride,
when men do an honest work, fitting the
rails together truly.
"Sometimes I droop, for then purpose
has gone from me, and cynically I play
the coward.
"Sometimes I am loud, garish, and full
of that ego that blasts judgment.
"But always I am all that you hope to
be and have the courage to try for.
"I am song and fear, struggle and
panic, and ennobling hope.
"I am the day's work of the weakest
man and the largest dream of the most
daring. "I am the Constitution and the courts,
statutes and the statute-makers, soldier
and dreadnaught, drayman and street
sweep, cook, counselor, and clerk.
"I am the battle of yesterday and the
mistake of tomorrow.
"I am the mystery of the men who do
without knowing why.
"I am the clutch of an idea and the
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.
"I am what you make me; nothing
more. "I swing before your eyes as a bright
gleam of color, a symbol of yourself, the
pictured suggestion of that big thing
which makes this nation. My stars andmy
stripes are your dream and your labors.
They are bright with cheer, brilliant with
courage, firm with faith, because you
have made them so out of your hearts;
for you are the makers of the flag, and it
is well that you glory in the making."

304

THE FLAGS OF OUR ARMY, NAVY, AND
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS
For illustrations see the corresponding numbers on the colored flags,
pages 310 and onward

1. United States Flag and Ensign. — On
July 4, 1912, following the admission of Ari
zona and New Mexico into the Union, two
stars were added to the Stars and Stripes, giv-,
ing the banner its present composition of 48
stars, representing the States of the Union,
and 13 stripes, commemorative of the Thir
teen Original Colonies which achieved the na
tion's independence. (See pages 286-304 for
the history of the American flag; pages 303-
304, 404-413 for the uses of the flag, and de
scriptive text under flags 6, 7, 8, 361, 362, 364,
and 367 for the evolution and development of
the Star Spangled Banner.)
2. President's Flag— When the President
visits 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 de
parture, 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 fly
ing 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 Commander-
in-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 al
most identical with the infantry colors (see
11). The President's colors were designed to
be distinctive from the infantry colors, and
consisted of a blue ground with a large crim
son 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 dou
ble 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 com
mand. The President approved of the idea,
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 or the United States.—
The Great Seal was adopted by the Continental
Congress June 20, 1782.
Arms. — Paleways {perpendicular stripes or
divisions) of thirteen pieces, argent (white)
and gules (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 (repre
sented 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 form
ing a constellation, argent, on an azure field.
Reverse. — A pyramid unfinished. In the ze
nith 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 pyra
mid 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 (di
visions). The pieces, paly (equal in width and
of two colors, alternating), represent the sev
eral States ail 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 trf 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

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 pyramid signifies 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 Declara
tion of Independence, and the words under it
signify the beginning of the new American
era, 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 day.
- 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
Cabinet, officers and diplomatic and consular
officers who are nominated by the President
and confirmed by the Senate ; all ceremonious
communications from the President to the
heads of foreign governments; all treaties,
conventions, . and formal agreements of the
President with foreign powers; all proclama^-
tions by .the President ; .all exequaturs to for
eign 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 trea
ties ; 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 di
rected by law to be signed under a different
seal. 4. Jack. — Vessels at anchor fly the union
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
(220). A gun may be fired to call attention
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'af
faires pays an official visit afloat in a boat of
the navy, a union jack of a suitable size is car
ried on a staff in the bow. When the Naval
Governor of Guam, Tutuila, or the Virgin
Islands of the United States embarks in a boat,
within the limits of his 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

flag of the Secretary of the Navy from 1869
to July 4, 1874, when the present flag (49)
came into use.
When worn out, jacks are surveyed and
burned in 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.
5. Seal of the President.— This is the per
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 Presi
dent'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 spe
cific 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.
Andrew, an arrangement distinctly illustrated
in Rhode Island's banner (396).

THE flag that inspired the
spangled banner"

'star

. 7. The Flag with is Stripes and 15
Stars. — When Vermont entered the Union
(March 4, 1791), followed by Kentucky (June
1, 1792), it was felt that the new States should
have the same representation in the design of
the flag that the original thirteen States pos
sessed, and Congress accordingly passed the
following act, which was approved by Presi
dent Washington on January 13, 1794 :
"Be it 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
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. Min-
den 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 Gen
eral 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

306

Underwood & Underwood

GUARD TO THE STANDARD

On silver bands, encircling the lance from which the . regimental standard floats, are
engraved the names and dates of the battles in which that regiment has played its heroic
part. Each standard, therefore, epitomizes the glorious past of its command, and the men
over whom it waves would gladly give their lives rather than have these shining symbols of
victory tarnished by defeat (see page 308).

bombardment of the batteries and the town of
Derne, Tripoli, by the Hornet, Nautilus, and
Argus, the landing party of marines and blue
jackets stormed the principal works, and Lieu
tenant O'Bannon of the marines and Midship
man Mann hauled down the Tripolitan flag and
hoisted the fifteen stars and fifteen stripes in
its place.
It was our ensign in the Battle of Lake Erie
(see 366) and was first carried in a man-of-
war 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.
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 following 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 the flag since that
time, but none of them has departed from the
fundamental principles of the law 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 gar
rison 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

307

of stars, emblazoned thereon, with the desig
nation 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.
THE ARMY FLAGS
The flags used by the United States Army
to designate its several branches are divided
into two classes — colors and standards. The
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, be
cause large flags and cords and tassels would
hinder the movements of the mounted stand
ard-bearer. Every regiment of engineers, artillery, infan
try, cavalry, etc., is supplied with one silk na
tional standard or color (17) and one silk
regimental standard or color (11, 13, IS, 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 there
from 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 re
treat, when the weather permits, they are un
cased; from retreat to reveille and during in
clement 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
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 re
spects 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
drills and on marches, and on all service other
than battles, campaigns, and occasions of cere
mony. Not more than one national color or
standard is carried when the regiment or any
part of it is assembled.

The colors of a regiment will not be placed
in mourning or draped, except when ordered
from the War Department. Two streamers of
crape 7 feet long and about 12 inches wide at
tached to the ferrule below the spearhead will
be used for the purpose.
The names and dates of battles in which
regiments or separate battalions have partici
pated are engraved on silver bands and placed
on the pike of the colors or lance of the stand
ard 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 : Bat
tles are important engagements between inde
pendent armies in their own theaters of war,
in contradistinction to conflicts in which but a
small portion of the opposing forces are actu
ally engaged, the latter being called, according
to their nature, affairs, combats, skirmishes,
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
participated in a battle in order that the name
of the battle may be placed on its colors or
standards. A company, troop, or battery does not re
ceive 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 suit
ably engrossed certificate setting forth the
names of all battles, engagements, and minor
affairs in which said company, troop, or bat
tery 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 cer
tificate 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,
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 regi
mental 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, stand
ard, or guidon in the possession of his com
mand has become unserviceable, the same is
forwarded to the depot quartermaster, Phila
delphia, Pa., for repair, if practicable. Should
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
organization 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

9. The President's colors in design are sim-
»lar 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.
n. 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 Sec
retary 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.
14. The Chief of Staff has colors with a
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 qf *
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.
15. The engineer colors are red, the lettered
scroll being white, bearing above it the engi
neer device, a castellated fort.
16. The colors of the corps -of cadets dis
penses with the familiar red and blue for- a
field, gray being substituted therefor.. > Instead(
•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.
17. The national standard used by mounted
troops and the national colors used by un
mounted troops are exactly alike, except that
the colors are larger and have cords and tas
sels, as on the President's colors.
18. The cavalry standard has a field of yel
low and, except in size, is otherwise like the
infantry colors, without cords or tassels.
19. The field artillery standard is like the
coast artillery colors, except that the crossed
cannon between the eagle and the scroll are
omitted. 20. The mounted engineers' standard has
the castellated fort to distinguish it.
21. The standard of the United States Sig
nal Corps is distinguished by the wig-wag flags
between the eagle and the lettered scroll.
52. 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 cav
alry until 1887.
23. This is the guidon used by each troop
of cavalry. The figure shows the regiment and
the letter the troop.
24. The guidon of the field artillery is dis
tinguished by crossed cannons.

25. The word "Mounted" above the castel
lated fort proclaims the mounted engineers'
guidon. 26. The guidon . of the mounted engineer
section does not have the panel bearing the
word "Mounted."
27. The signal corps guidon bears the wig
wag flags.
28. The aero squadron's guidon duplicates
that of the signal corps, except that the flying
eagle is added.
29. Telegraph company guidons show the
wig-wag flags with a thunderbolt.
30. This triangular pennant serves as the
guidon of the motor-truck company.
31. The field hospital guidon bears the ca-
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."
32. Ambulance companies have a guidon
like that of the field hospital service, except
that the lettering is different.
33. The field hospital flag is the familiar
, red cross on the white field. A rectangle be-
"to'w shows the night signal.
S-_L 34. The guidon of the cavalry and light ar-
'rillery 'during the Civil War. Prior to that
' ' war the cavalry used 23, and on the adoption
ofi 34 General Sheridan made 23 his personal
colors. Upon becoming Secretary of War he
¦¦' fetired/JS4 from use and restored 23 as the
guidon of the- cavalry as it had been prior to
the;great conflict.
35. .When a lieutenant general of the army
is in an automobile or aboard a boat officially
the three-starred flag of command is shown.
36. The auto and boat flag of a major gen
eral is like that -of the lieutenant general, ex
cept that ij has rwo stars instead of three.
37^ The'hrigadier general's automobile and
boat flag bears the one star of the brigadier's
rank. 38. The chief umpire in military maneuvers
in times of peace bears a flag with a saltire
cross upon it, like that of St. Andrew.
39. The . flag of an artillery district com
mander bears crossed cannons with a shell im
posed upon the intersection.
40. The flag of a post commander carried
in the bow of a boat in which he is embarked
officially is a pennant with thirteen stars in the
blue, with a red fly.
41. The ambulance flag is a white field and
a red cross. The night signal is shown below
the flag.
42. The ammunition trains of the United
States Army display a triangular pennant,
which is accorded the right of way in time of
battle. 43. The camp colors of an army are 18 by
20 inches and displayed on an ash pole 8 feet
long and V/% inches diameter.
44. The white field with its centered cross
proclaims the chaplain. This flag is used for
field service only.
45. The transports under Quartermaster's
Corps, U. S. Army, fly this flag.
46. This is the distinguishing flag of mine-
planters and submarine defense vessels under
army control. It consists of a field bearing

309

c^rra

:**?*???? ********
j-* **???? .*
********

^Z^^

: * * * * * * ? *
*****?¦**

r
Ul| i u. s.
FLAG AND ENSIGN
FLAG— JUNE 14, 1777
******** ********
******** ********
************???*
JACK
. flag— may i 1795
7 (ft Mchenry flag)
310
O.'.IM,:,!!,. ,, '¦hilllffl

CHIEF OF STAFF COLORS
riTTTT r TTTTTT HTTT1

ffS»

IllIljrjJJULlllIllLLLJjLUIllLlLlLlLT CORPS OF CADETS COLORS

311

UNITED STATES ENSIGM

\\tt3EB3EEX3S

? ???? W *4*
WHITE STARS /
? ?**?* *)*

? **

M*

B (Fly)

No.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

1

J

K

FEET

FEET

FOOT

FEET

FEET

FEET

FEET

FOOT

FEET

FEET

FEET

1

20

38

• .95

9.23

10.77

15.20

1.90

.897

179'

1.23

1.54

2

19

36.10

.903

8.77

10.23

14.44

1.81

.850

1.70

1.17

1.46

3

14.35

27.27

.619

6.62

7.73

10.91

1.24

.642

1.28

.883

1.103

4

12.1.9

23.16

.579

5.63

6.56

9.26

1.16

.545

1.09

.751

.938

5

10

19

.475

4.62

5.38

7.60

.95

.449

.90

.616

.769

6

8.94

16.99

.424

4.13

4.81

G.79

.848

.400

.798

.551

'.687

7

5.14

9.77

.244

2.37

2.77

3.91

.488

.230

.459

.317

.395

8

5

9.S0

237

2.31

2.69

3.80

.475

.224

.449

.3.08

.385

9

3.52

6.69

.167

1.62

1.90

2.68

.335

.158

.316

.271

.271

10

2.90

5.51

.138

1.34

1.56

2.20

.275

.130

.260

.208

.223

II

2.37

4.50

.113

1.09

1.28

1.80

.225

.106

.213

.167

.182

12

1.31

2.49

062

.60

.71

1.00

..124

.059

.118

.094

.101

ARMY SIZES
Nos. L 5 and B
BOAT FLAG SIZES
Nos. 9.10. Ii and 12
-, ; V- * "
FOREIGN ENSIGNS

No.

A

B

1
2

FEET
13.12 8.75

VARIABLE
VARIABLE

UNION JACK

****** *f*
****** *j*
BLUE FIELD /
* * * * * * *-(?
WHITE STARS f-J-4 I
****** *4*
****** tM*
-C-4 — G — + — G  + — G — 4 — G — 4 — G — 4 — G — <|— G-| — -)f-C-
****** *f*

B (Fly)  ¦

UNION JACK
No.
A
B
C
H
1
G
J
FEET
FEET
FOOT
FOOT
FEET
FEET
FEET
2
10.23
14.44
.902
.850
1.705
1.805
1.170
3
7.72
10.91
.613
.642
1.281
1.238
.883
4
6.56
9.26
.579
.545
1.089
1.158
.751
6
4.81
6.79
.424
.400
.798
.848
.551
7
2.77
3.91
.244
.230
.459
.488
.317
SECRETARY
ADMIRAL. '
SENIOR OFFICER
°F THE NAVY
VICE ADMIRAL "c
PRESENT
SEE FLAGS 49 8 53
SEE FLAGS 64T066
SEE FLAG 68
No.
A
B
A
B
A
B
FEET
FEET
FEET
FEET
FEET
FEET
1
10.20
14.40
10.20
14.40
8.00
6.40
2
7.73
10.88
7.73
10.88
6.56
5.25
4
3.60
5.13
4.81
6.77
4.90
3.90
6
3.60
5.13
A. DIAGRAM AND TABLE TO SHOW THE EXACT PROPORTION AND POSITION OF EACH
FEATURE OE THE STARS AND STRIPES, ACCORDING TO THE REGULATIONS
OF THE ARMY AND NAVY
312
thereon crossed cannons and a mine, with the
words "Submarine Defense."
47. Army vessels engaged in the ordnance
service fly this distinguishing flag.
48. Vessels in the engineer service fly flags
bearing as a distinguishing mark the castel
lated fort which is the emblem of the Engi
neer Corps.
49. The flag of the Secretary of the Navy
consists of a blue field bearing four white
stars, one in each corner, and a centered an
chor. 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 staff in its bows.
50. This is the major commission pennant
of the United States Navy. It is flown at the .
main mastjjf -all 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
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.
52. 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 rank
ing officer present.
54. This pennant is carried by vessels of
the naval militia while in commission and is
displayed at the main mast, unless the com
manding 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 faith
ful." 56. The flag of the United States naval re
serve is displayed on vessels which have been
given a certificate that they belong to the re
serve forces.
57. When the navy lands its men as infan
try for shore duty, they carry a blue flag upon
which is centered a diamond of white, bearing
a blue anchor.
58. When an Ambassador of the United
States goes aboard a vessel of the navy on
official business the boat upon which he is em
barked 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 juris
diction. The jack is nearly always the canton
of a nation's ensign when the latter has a can
ton as one of its features.
59. The regimental colors of the United
States Marine Corps has a field of blue upon
which is imposed an anchor, and over this the
Western Hemisphere surmounted by the Amer
ican spread-eagle. Scrolls of red above and
below the design proclaim the number of the
regiment and the name of the corps.

60. Vessels of the naval militia display this
flag at the fore mast as a distinguishing mark
The flag consists of a blue ground, a yellow
diamond imposed thereon, bearing the blue
anchor of the navy.
61. When the navy lands artillery battal
ions for shore duty the flag they carry has a
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. 63. The colors of the United States Marine
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
the legend, "From the Shores of Tripoli to
the Halls or Montezuma," having reference
to the engagements the marines participated in
from the beginning of the Tripolitan War and
the ending of the War with Mexico.
64. The flag of the senior admiral of the
navy is blue and bears four stars in the fnrm
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 ves
sels other than flagships. It, along with those
of the vice admiral, rear admiral, and commo
dore, 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, Decem
ber 3, 1775.
65. The flag of the vice admiral has three
stars. 66. A rear admiral's flag has two stars.
67. The flag of a commodore has one stat
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 together
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. '
69. The flag of the Major General Com
mandant of the Marine Corps has a red field
with two white stars in the lower half and
above them the eagle-crested hemisphere im
posed upon an anchor which is the emblem of
the corps.
70. A junior admiral in the presence of a
senior flies a flag similar to that of the senior
admiral, with the exception that the field is
red instead of blue.
71. A junior vice admiral in the presence
of a senior vice admiral flies a red flag bear
ing the three stars of his rank.
72. Rear admirals of junior grade fly a red
flag bearing two stars while in the presence of
rear admirals senior to them.
73. The commodore of the Naval Militia
carries a broad pennant, the upper half blue
and the lower half yellow, on the blue half of
which appears a five-pointed star.
74. When a consul goes aboard a vessel of
the navy on official business, a blue flag with a
centered letter "C" inclosed in a circle of thir-

313

145 VESSELS
l TRANSPORT SERVICE

NGINEER VESSELS

314

ADMIRAL (SENIOR)

;en ior
 _ OFFICER
65 VICE ADMIRAL 66REAR ADMIRAL 67 COM M ODO R E 68 PRESENT 69MAJ GENL
ij 5. M ~~

315

teen white stars flies in the bows of the boat
in which he is embarked.
75. The 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.
76. The flag of the commander of a de
stroyer flotilla is a swallow-tail pennant of
plain white bordered above and below with
blue. 77. The commander of a submarine force
has a triangular swallow-tail pennant bordered
above with blue and below with red.
78. The commanders of district- patrol
forces carry a swallow-tail pennant having a
white field bordered by red above and below.
79. Section commanders of the patrol force
carry a smaller duplicate of 78, with the num
ber of the section in Roman numerals thereon.
79^2. 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 design.
81. The boat 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.
83. The flag of a division commander of
the submarine force is a white triangle bor
dered with blue at the top and red below,
showing the number of the division in red on
the white.
84. The battle efficiency pennant is one of
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 bj^ 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 privi
lege of flying the battle efficiency pennant dur
ing 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 bat
tle itself.
85. This flag is flown by vessels engaged in
convoy duty. When ships are engaged in ma
neuvers or are maneuvering in compound for
mation, 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.

87. This is the flag under which the marine
corps moves quartermaster's supplies for its
men. 88. The interrogatory flag is used in signal
ing when one ship wants to make a signal in
the interrogatory form or to announce that it
does not understand a signal.
89. The preparatory flag is displayed with
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 min
utes before the ceremony begins. Upon being
hauled down by the flagship, all ships execute
the colors ceremony simultaneously.
90. This flag is displayed either to counter
mand the last signal made or the one then be
ing shown.
91. This pennant has two uses. Its first use
is in answering a call for a semaphore or wig
wag message, being hoisted half way when the
ship is ready to receive the message, and all
the way when the message has been completely
received. It is then hauled down. Used thus,
it might be said to be the "Aye, aye, sir" flag
of the navy. Its other use is as a decimal or
divisional flag in flags indicating numerals and
quantities. 92. This is the "No" flag of the navy. It
is used to negative a request, or to say "No"
to a question.
93. The brigade pennant of the United
States Marine Corps has a swallow-tailed blue
field, with the number of the brigade and the
initials of the corps in gold.
94. When a ship asks permission of the
flagship to do this or that, the | force com
mander hoists this flag with the number dis
tinguishing the vessel making the request, as a
sign that it has been granted.
95. The yellow flag, as is well known, is
the one which proclaims that there is conta
gious disease aboard.
96. This flag has two uses. Hoisted at the
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 smoke
stack, it indicates a man overboard.
97. The church pennant is always displayed
when divine services on board are in progress.
98. The cornet flag, displayed at the yard
arm, calls all vessels present to receive a sema
phore or wig-wag message. Displayed at the
fore mast, it is notice to all officers and men
to come on board at once.
99. The guidon of the United States Marine
Corps has a blue field, is gold fringed, and
bears in gold on the field the initials of the
corps. 100. This flag, displayed with 101, 102, 103,
104, 105, 106, 107, 108, no, and in, indicates
that they represent in value the numerals given
below them. If those flags are not displayed

316

in connection with 100, they have other mean
ings, both in the navy code and in the inter
national code.
109. Displayed with a numeral signal, this
flag summons the boat which has been assigned
that particular number to return to the ship.
Displayed alone, it recalls all boats then absent
from the ship on which it is flying.
112. These are the semaphore flags used in
the navy.
113. These are the wig-wag flags used in
signal operations ashore and afloat.
114-115-116. These pennants are used to
repeat the first, second, and third flags in the
hoist. 117. This is a pennant very much in use,
and when a ship is at anchor especially wel
come 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
purpose or other. When hoisted below the
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. 119. The powder flag is displayed at the
fore mast when a ship is taking on board
powder or munitions. It is also carried in
boats and lighters used in transporting ammu
nition. 120-17!. These flags are used in designating
various divisions and ships of the naval forces.
INTERNATIONAL CODE OF SIGNALS
172-197. The international code of signals
is a great universal dictionary which makes
communication everj'where intelligible, regard
less of the tongue spoken by those using it. A
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 en
tirely 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 (213). 1
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 masthead, or
where it can best be seen, it is the answering
pennant. One-flag signals are for use only between
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 j
gaff, according to circumstances. I
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.

Three-flag signals are general signals, in
cluding compass signals and signals designating
moneys, measures and weights, decimals and
fractions, auxiliary phrases, etc.
Four-flag signals are geographical, alpha
betical spelling table, or vessels numbers sig
nals. 198-205. These are yacht flags, indicating
respectively the absence of the owner, the pres
ence of guests, the owner's dinner, the crew's
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 Amer
ica, several hundred thousand strong, and tens
of thousands of boys who do not belong to
that organization, are fast learning to com
municate 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 figures represent respect
ively the masthead light required by the inter-
nationaTTrules of the road for steam trawlers
and the area required to be ' covered by -the
starboard and port running lights, the mast
head 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. respec
tively, and the third the distance signal, con
sisting of, balls and cone.
224-229. Signals of distress include the S.
O. S. call — three dots, three dashes, and three
dots — the inverted ensign, etc. A continuous
sounding with any fog signal is also a signal
of distress.
230. Night pilot signals include flashes of
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.
bombs. COAST GUARD SIGNALS
234-238. All manned Coast Guard stations
of the United States are equipped with inter
national 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 tele
phonic communication through which the tele
graph 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

317

BHBB

Z AND
FORCE COM'DRS.

318

NATIONAL

©QOO

FRENCH 241
U S INFANTRY

DHQHHHKKDD

BRITISH 243 BELGIUM RUSSIA
COMPANY SIGNAL FLAGS   Ivl I L I T I A AND VOLUNTEERS

?

B3

FIRST BATTALION SECOND BATTALION THIRD BATTALION FIRST BATTALION SECOND THIRD
-249-- -.-.&... '-2^te-,= B2A5r %¥¦

249 250
ARMY HEADQUARTERS DISTINGUISHING FLAGS AND LANTE-

¦SlBlHiMBMB M H HI -.FANTP-. ARTILLERY INFANTRY
J'MFILLD .-akMY|j2J5 DIVISION U256 BR IG A DE U257B R IG A DE
319

T CD

SB

POST
261 OFFICE

or a red rocket to signify, "You are seen; as»"
sistance will be given as soon as possible"
(234)- '
A red flag waved on shore by day, or a red
light, 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 shofe by, day, or two lights, a
white and a red, slowly swung at the same
time, o|r a blue pyrotechnic light burned by
night, 'iill signify, i "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 wav
ing 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
it. 239-246. The insignia qf the airplanes of
the various countries "are" here shown. The
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 sig
nal flags of the U. S. infantry and of the
militia and volunteers.
254-261. Distinguishing flags and lanterns
of army headquarters.
262. The flag of the Secretary of the Treas
ury, who is Commander-in-Chief of the Coast
Guard and Public Health Service, has a blue
field with crossed anchors in white centered
thereon, the design surrounded by thirteen
white five-pointed stars. This flag is flown
when the Secretary of the Treasury is aboard
vessels of the Treasury s^r'ice.
263. The U. S. Coast Guard flag was
adopted in 1799 for the Revenue Cutter Serv
ice, now merged with the Life Saving Service
into the Coast Guard. The sixteen vertical
stripes proclaim the sixteen States that were
in the " Union at the time the design was
adopted ; its red eagle, with the stars above
and 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 Coast Guard. The same flag without the
badge denotes the custom houses of the United
States. In time of war the Coast Guard oper
ates as a part of the United States Navy and
then uses the flags and pennants' of the naval
service. 264-265. The design of the arms on the
flags of the Secretary and Assistant Secretary
of Commerce are identical, except for the
transposition of colors. It is taken from thfe'
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 illu
mined. The service flag is hoisted at the fore

mast on holidays, on occasions of official cere
monies, when entering a port after an extended
voyage, aftd at any other . time when the na
tional ensign is hoisted. At no time should a
'service flag be displayed without the national
ensign. These, flags are shown as follows:
268,, 272, 276, 280.
266. The Assistant Secretary of the Treas
ury has the same flag as the Secretary of the
Treasury, except that the colors are trans
posed. 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 commis
sion. In time of war the Coast Guard oper
ates 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 Navi
gation 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
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 riSe'S only at parades on-shore. Since
the natiojiaL-&nsign has been used as the en
sign 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
Coast Guard is 4.
272. A white fish on a red diamond im
posed upon a blue ground constitutes the flag
flown by the vessels of the Bureau of Fish
eries. 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, 19 13.
274. The flag of the U. S. Public Health
Service was adopted in 1894. s It is the inter
national yellow quarantine flag with the serv
ice 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 it bears
the force commander.
276. The flag of the Bureau of Lighthouses
is a white triangular, pennant, red bordered,
and bearing in the white field, parallel with
the staff -and next to it, a blue lighthouse.
277. fhe flag of the Commissioner of
Lighthouses has the white field and blue light
house of the service flag placed upon a square
field of blue.
278. The Surgeon General of the U. S.
Public Health Service flies a flag of blue, bear
ing the fouled anchor, of the official shield of
the -service. The design is -white. --

3-20

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 Geo
detic 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 sur
veying in United States waters, which is the
chief activity of this bureau.
282. The 30th Congress, August .7,' 1848, au
thorized "That ail such licensed yachts shall
use a signal of the form, size, and colors pre
scribed 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.
285. The Secretary of Labor has a flag upon
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 De
partment of Labor. This includes an escutch
eon 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 Serv
ice 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, bear
ing the American spread eagle and inscribed
with the words "United States Mail."
288. The United States power-boat squad
rons carry a flag like the yacht ensign, except
Lhat it wears perpendicular blue stripes where
the yacht ensign has horizontal red ones, and
lias a red canton where the yacht ensign has
one of blue.
289-3OO. U. S. WEATHER FORECAST FLAGS AND
STORM WARNINGS
289, white flag, indicates clear or fair weather.
1, -3,90, blue flap, indicates rain or snow.
.<2'9i, white and blue flag (parallel bars of
white and blue), indicates that local rains or,
showers will occur, and that the rainfall will
not be general.

292 always refers to temperature; when
placed above (289,290,291) it indicates warmer
weather ; when placed below it indicates colder
weather ; when not displayed, the indications
are that the temperature will remain stationary,
or 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 in temperature. When 293 is displayed,
292 is 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 weather
signals is very complete, information of the
approach of storms being received from vari
ous 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 Depart
ment 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.
(294) Small-craft warnings. — A red pennant
indicates that moderately strong winds are ex
pected. (295, 296, 298, 299) Storm warnings. — A red
flag, with a black center, indicates that, a storm
of marked violence is expected.
The pennants displayed with the flags indi
cate 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 easterly
winds, and a white light below a red light west
erly 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 occasion
ally move across the Lakes and northern At
lantic coast.
Small-craft and hurricane warnings are not
displayed at night.

! M

3;

321

9RS IJ s POWER
° SQUADRONS

WEATHER FORFCAST FLAGS

297 STORM WARNINGS

322

323

G

P.

a

CJ

'rt

J3

6

fi

cu

.c

C/i

bu

E

o

"3

c
en
bJB
« it
££
c
bo- a
rt ™
JH
<B u
w
en
w
en -m
l-t
cH
ft
>, C
w
,Q CD
W
"P.-X
u ^
fe
¦32
ft*
c —
>
&.!•
r4
.-. CO
52 a
>h
.° V
>
¦a jj
<
o *»
W
^s
h-i
c"~
0 en
JH
ft
fi M
o
¦S.S
ft
'en 5?
ft*
FH
n* a
w
Ph en
o
a> -3
i
X .
is
h-"0
1
m °
O encu
CD l_
ft*
a
y-o
z
cu —
<
en "74
CD p «
a
ou
ft*
*^ +J .Q
<il +J **"
fr
%H
iz.
ft*
<cc"
e-ej/3
K fe
"I*
o-;cg»
- ccj-r.
i-'.eo.CI
cd ^ en
js-d-
+J B 10
e 3 c
CD M
en I- »
.« 0
MH MH
it °
^"3 4)
-*— U. 4J
*F, V cct
¦*-^ CD en
o „,—
f-i S "
C
C «
wo
3-24
OUR STATE FLAGS

ON PAGES 323 to 334, for the
first time in the history of the
United States, the flags of our 48
States are reproduced in colors in one
publication. The flags have been arranged in the
order that the respective States joined the
Union. If the first numeral of each num
ber 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 Okla
homa, 346, the forty-s^xth;
Unless otherwise stated, both sides of
a flag are the same in design.
These flag emblems combine much that
is beautiful, historic, and inspiring, and
cannot fail to thrill the heart of every
American ; but an observer may perhaps
wish that there was not such a uniformity
in design. About one-half of the States

use the same blue ground with the State
seal inscribed in the center, with the re
sult that these flags are all so sw^ilar that
it is very difficult to distinguish one%om
the other at a short distance.
Such designs as Maryland, 307; Ar
kansas, 325, and California, 331, etc,, are
easily distinguishable at considerable dis
tances. Many of these flags are soon to fly on
European 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 dis
tinction of winning the first silver bands
which encircle the staffs, of their regi
mental standards, thus perpetuating the
story of each unit's worthy achievements.

301. Delaware. — A commission consisting
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 it
self, has been accepted as official. It consists
of a field of colonial blue, upon which is im
posed a diamond of buff which bears the coat-
of-arms of the State of Delaware. Underneath
the diamond there appears the following in
scription: "December 7th, 1787." A flag has
been recorded in the office of Recorder of
Deeds for Kent County and a duplicate filed
in the office of the Secretary of State at Dover.
302. Pennsylvania. — With a field of blue
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 cen
ter on both sides. The length of the staff is
nine feet, including the brass spearhead and
ferrule. The fly of the flag is six feet two
inches and its width four feet six inches. The
edges are trimmed with knotted fringe of yel
low silk, two,and one-half inches wide. A cord
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 out
stretched wings forms its crest, and below it is
a streamer carrying the motto, "Virtue, Liberty
and Independence."

303. New Jersey. — Under a resolution ap
proved March, 1896, the flag of the State of
New Jersey is of buff color, having in the cen
ter thereof the arms of the State properly em
blazoned. 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 differ
ent 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 Con
tinental 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 of the Revolu
tion, 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 per-

S2S

BDUHniUIDUIIUn
%
PEll
=
.
JtiF&jBmif.
¦¦•'l-'sQBJ
2^. ygfr.
¦
. '
1
|309
NEW HAMPSHIRE
N*C
KENTUCKY (UNOFFICIAL'
NO STATE FLAG
326
327

pendicular bar appears the coat-of-arms of 'the
State. This coat-of-arms has three pillars sup
porting 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 leg
islative, 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, repre
senting the three original colonies of Connecti
cut — Hartford, Windsor, ^nd Wethersfield.
Beneath the vines is the State motto, "Qui
transtulit sustinet." The Connecticut State
flag was adopted by the General Assembly in
"1897. Its dimensions are five feet six inches
by four feet four inches. The Latin inscrip
tion is a survival of the Nutmeg State's Colo
nial banner and, freely translated, means, "He
who brought us over sustains us."
306. Massachusetts. — By a law approved
in 1908 the flag 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 representa
tion of a green pine tree against a white back
ground. 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
1885. It consists of a shield having a blue field,
with an Indian man, dressed in shirt, hunting
breeches, and moccasins, holding in his right
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
silvetJ 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
quietem." 307. Maryland. — One of the oldest flags in
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 Mary
land generations before American independ
ence 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 Balti
more. 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 been known and distin
guished 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 ol a quartered field., of red and white,
charged with a Greek cross, its arms terminat
ing in trefoils, with the colors transposed, red

being on the white ground and white on the
red, and all being represented as on the. es
cutcheon 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 diag
onal 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 ses
sion of the General Assembly and on such
other public occasions as the Governor of the
State shall order and direct.
308. South Carolina's flag is reminiscent
of secession times. Following that State's
withdrawal from the Union, its legislature de-v.
cided that it was a separate nation and should
have a national banner. A resolution was there
fore adopted in 1861 providing that "the na
tional 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 in
serted. From that time to this South Carolina
has had a blue flag, with the white crescent
and the white palmetto. When the State en
tered the Confederate Union its national flag
became the State flag, and continues such to
this day. In 1910 a law was .made providing
that State flags should be manufactured in the
textile department -of Clemson College and sold
at approximate cost to the people. Another
pro.vision is that the State flag shall be dis
played 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 public-
school building except during vacation. Any
person who maltreats or desecrates a flag of
the State, wherever displayed, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction pun
ished by a fine of not more than a hundred
dollars or imprisonment .for not more than
thirty days.
309. New Hampshire had no State flag au
thorized 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 representa
tion of the State seal. The inscription is as
follows : "Sigillum Republics Neo Hantoniesis
1784" (Seal of the Commonwealth of New
Hampshire). The shield is surrounded by a
wreath of laurel leaves with- nine stars inter
spersed. When used for military purposes, the
flag is to conform to the regulations of the
United States. Under this law New Hamp
shire's flag is to be displayed above the State
House whenever the legislature is in session,
and during meetings of the Governor and coun
cil when expedient, and upon such .other occa
sions as the Governor may designate. During
the Civil War, New Hampshire regiments car
ried 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 1.861
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 Com
monwealth, 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 "Vir
ginia" 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
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 shathbe
blue, charged with the arms of, the* State in the
center. These arms, dating from/ March 16,
1778, rival in beauty the insignia of any other
State in the Union (see also 394). On the
shield is the sun rising in golden splendor be
hind 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
a coronet of pearls. In her right hand she
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 Em
pire 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 na
tional flag, the New York legislature has di
rected that "it shall be the duty of the school
authorities of every public school in the sev
eral cities and school 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
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

the letter "N" in gilt on the left and the letter
"C" in gilt on the right of the star, the 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 hori
zontally is equal to the perpendicular length of
the union. The total length of the flag is one-
third more than the width. A law enacted in
1907 provides that the State flag shall be flown
above every State institution and public build
ing except in inclement weather. It also pro
vides 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 1S82, and again in
1897, when the existing banner w-ts 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
twenty-four inches long and five inches wide,
or in these proportions, with the motto,
"Hope," in gold letters thereon, the whole sur
rounded 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, con
sists of thirteen stripes, alternately red and
white, with a canton of blue, on which rests a
single star of white, with the State coat-of-
arms 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 au
thority 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.
315. Kentucky. — So far as a careful search
of the records of the State reveal, Kentucky
has never by legislative action adopted an offi
cial flag. In 1880, however, a Board was con
vened 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. The escutcheon is surmounted

329

iLT,,,.  Iliilllli i, , .iJililllllllllllN.. ' .illllll"" .IIIM'llllHi, ">S

329

minii  'iLiiiiiiiiirrfir

mmnnffi

CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC

milllllilMi.  ' ¦' HUlillllllIln - •'  '-'".: '

HHaRII

^3B'^^Sr'<*s\ i"^-^B

SmhBbAb

33
H
1 330
W 1 SCON SIN
;aliforni,a
MINNESOTA
330
331

by an eagle bearing in its beak a streamer
carrying the legend, "United We Stand, Di
vided We Fall." It is said that, the original
intention of the seal was to represent two
friends in hunter's garb, their right hands
clasped, their left resting on each other's shoul
ders, 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 vary
ing heraldic effect. The escutcheon is sup
ported 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 if Is wide. At the
outer or free end is a blue bar separated from
the red field by a thin white stripe. Superim
posed upon the red field is a circular diskof
blue separated from the field by a thin circle
of white, its width the same as the width o,f
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 ceritef of the blue field.
Tennessee was • the third -State to join the
Union (after the- original thirteen), a fact
which the three star's retail.
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 consist
ing 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 .rjf which is
a red disk. Seventeen stars, representing all
of the States at the time of Ohio's entrance
into the Union, appear grouped around the
circular "O." All of these stars are five-
pointed. 318. Louisiana. — Those who contend that
the. Stars and Stripes were used unofficially
long before they were adopted by the Conti
nental Congress, on June 14, 1777, can point to
the history of the Louisiana State flag as show
ing 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 I, 1912. The meas
ure 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 coat-
of-arms of the State, a pelican feeding its
young, the ribbon beneath, also in white, con
taining 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 other
wise decreed by the Governor or the General
Assembly. 319. Indiana. — Although the legislature of
the State of Indiana declared in 1901 that its
official banner should be no other than the

American flag itself, it reconsidered this action
in 19 17 and adopted a State emblem. The field
of the flag is blue; its dimensions are five feet
six inches fly by four feet four inches on the
staff, and upon the field is centered a flaming
torch in gold, or buff, with ..lineteen stars.
Thirteen stars are circled around the torch,
representing the original thirteen States. In
side 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 fhe American flag
by the militia forces of Indiana and^in all pub
lic functions in which the State officially ap
pears. 320. Mississippi is one, of the States that
have had more than one r'flag. The old flag
was white with a blue canton with a single
white star thereon. On-'therpctdy of the white
was a green tree. The flag" was fringed with
red and the pike was surmounted by a toma
hawk. 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. A St. Andrew's cross with thirteen stars
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 re
production 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 help
ing 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, 1895, 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 les.s 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 capital
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 con
sistent to display a flag, except when in the
opinion of the Governor the national flag
should be displayed. It is said that the pur
pose 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,
the1 Alabama 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 propor
tionate size. The edges of the flag are trimmed
with modern fringe of yellow silk two and a
half inches wide. A 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 adver
tisement or who mutilates, tramples, or other
wise 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 hori
zontal 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 coat-
of-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 of
ficial 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, 1913. 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 five-
pointed white stars, which proclaim the fact
that Arkansas was the twenty-fifth State to be
come a part of the American Union.
326. Michigan's present flag dates from
191 1, when an act was passed to adopt and pre
scribe 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 pro
vides 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 de
vice and inscription of the great seal of the
State presented by Lewis Cass through the con

stitutional convention held preliminary to its
admission into the Union. Only the words
"The Great Seal of the State of Michigan,
A. D. 1835," al"e 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 peninsu-
lam, 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 reso
lution 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 one-
third 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 cocoa-
nut 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 con
sists 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 hori
zontal 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 Daugh
ters of American Revolution submitted a de
sign to the War Council of Iowa, which
promptly approved it. The designrwas copy
righted 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
words "Our Liberties We Prize And Out-
Rights We Will Maintain." Below this pen
nant 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.

333

N EW M EXICO
347

ARIZONA 348

534

PO RTO RICO
356

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
357

33.=-

330. Wisconsin's State 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
silk of appropriate color and design, and the
edges of the flag are trimmed with knotted
fringe of yellow silk two and one-half inches
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
and white silk strands intermixed. Service
flags may be of bunting or other material, of
such size as may be required, and the coat-of-
arms may be represented otherwise than by
embroidery. 331. California in 191 1 adopted what is
popularly known in the State's history as the
"Bear Flag," as the official ensign of the "Gol
den Gate" Commonwealth. The law provides
that the Bear Flag shall consist of a white
field, with a red stripe at the bottom one-sixth
as wide as the field. In the upper left-hand
corner of the field is a single red star, and at
the bottom of the white field the words "Cali
fornia 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
flag. The Bear Flag dates from the days of
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,
"L/Etoile du 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 admis
sion 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 five-
pointed star, of which the seal itself is the
centr; 1 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 surmount
ed by a gold gopher and tied with a gold cord
and tassel.
333- Oregon followed the example of a
majority of her sister States in devising her
flag by making the field blue with a fringe of
gold. The size of the flag is five feet six inches
fly and four feet four inches on pike. The
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

the spearhead. The arms of the State are em
broidered 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 sup
ported by 32 stars, the number of States in
the Union at the time Oregon was admitted,
and divided by an ordinary with the inscrip
tion, "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 inscrip
tion 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, ac
cording 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. Ag
riculture is represented by the plowman in the
foreground, commerce by the river and steam
boat in the background. Above the plowman
is a wagon train westward bound, following
the course of empire, A herd of buffalo is
seen retreatitjg,1 pursued by two Indians on
horseback. Around the top- is the motto, "Ad
astra per aspera (To the-' stars,' through diffi
culties). 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 Virginia.— The St. Louis World's
Fair was responsible for the adoption of West
Virginia's State flag. The West Virginia State
Commission at that exposition found it neces
sary to adopt a flag and special design to dis
tinguish West Virginia from other States of
the Union represented. Therefore, it under
took the task of designing a flag itself. The
following year the legislature ratified this de
sign, 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 ban
ner; 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
that, in a scroll, the legend, "State of West
Virginia." On the reverse side of the flag ap
pears a sprig or sprigs of rhododendron maxi
mum, 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 individ
uality 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
1912. The seal is given a scroll border, and
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 be
low the seal, and in the form of a scroll, are

336

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 arc, and below it a row oi
eighteen silver-colored stars, arranged like
wise. Each star has five points, one point be
ing 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
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
a steamboat ascending the Missouri River ; the
mechanic arts are represented by a smith with
hammer and anvil in the foreground; agricul
ture 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.
Around the top of this circle, in capital letters,
is the motto, "Equal Before the Law."
338. Colorado has given considerable atten
tion to its State flag. There was legislation
concerning a banner for the Centennial Com
monwealth in 1908, but the present flag dates
from 191 1. 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 two-
thirds 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 creat
ing 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 pro
visions of the State laws regarding the misuse
of the national flag are made applicable to the
abuse of the State colors.
339. North Dakota's flag was adopted in
1911. Its origin1 is almost entirely unknown.
The Blue Book of the State says that it was
the flag of the territorial militia, and that it is
first remembered at Huron, South Dakota,
when it was unfurled at an annual encamp
ment. That authority also states that it is not
known who designed the flag, nor is it discov
erable when it was first used. With its yellow-
fringed 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.
340. South Dakota's official flag dates
from 1909. The law adopting it says that the
State flag 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

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 in
tent 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 omitterl.
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 or
ganizations 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, al
though 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 de
termined 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 new
est 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 one-
thirtieth 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

337

374 BATTLE FLAG 1861 | 375
ALSO NAVY JACK AFTER MAY I. I863w FLAGS FAMOUS IN AMERICAN HISTORY

338

FLAG OF FRANCE
1365 T0157-1

FRENCH FLAG NAPOLEONS FLAG RUSSIAN AMERICAN
CHAMPLAIN & IlLOUISIANA 1803 U CO ALASKA
DE GRASSE

FLAGS FAMOUS IN AMERICAN HISTORY
339

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 diam
eter of the shield is one-fifth the length of the
flag. Attached to tire 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
center, was adopted in 1911. The design was
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 bee
hive, 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 bear
ing the date 1847, with the word "Utah" above
it. Two American flags on flagstaffs, placed
crosswise, are so draped that they project be
yond 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. Be
low 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.
346. Oklahoma. — The law under which
Oklahoma adopted an official. State, flag was
enacted in 191 1. The flag authorized under it
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 de
parts 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.
347. New Mexico. — Embodying elements
unique in flag design, the official flag of the
State of New Mexico was adopted shortly
after the Commonwealth became a member of
the Union. , The banner has a turquoise blue
field, emblematic of the blue skies of New
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
Union ; in the lower right-hand corner is the
great seal of the State, and upon the field run
ning from the lower left to the upper right-
hand corner are the words "New Mexico" in
white. When the flag law was passed it was
ordered that the embroidered banner attached
to the bill should be deposited with the Secre
tary of State to be faithfully kept by him in
the archives of the Commonwealth.
348. Arizona. — A bill making the flag of
the battleship Arizona the banner of the Com
monwealth for which it is named failed to
pass the State Senate in 1915, but a similar
bill was adopted early in 1917. As finally de
scribed, 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.

It was objected at the time of the adoption of
this design that it contained nothing charac
teristic 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. A substitute bill was prepared and
offered to the upper house of the legislature,
but the original form became a law, thus es
tablishing 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 National Guard of the
District of Columbia has a rectangular field,
the fly end of which is swallow-tailed. Cen
tered 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
hatchet. 351. The banner of the National 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
troth that will make mankind freer in the solu
tion 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_ in
most recesses of regions unexplored by civil
ized man, to the craters of volcanoes whose
fiery depths have never1 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 knowl
edge, in which it has played no small part, and
to which its future efforts shall ever be dedi
cated. 352. The Governor of the Panama Canal
Zone flies a rectangular flag upon which is
centered the seal of the Canal Zone. This
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 moun
tains. In the right foreground are the waters
that wash the shore of the territory, bearing
two sailing vessels. To the left is a pier,

340

rudely constructed, and an outpost of civiliza
tion. In the foreground is a team of horses.
Around the whole is inscribed, "The Seal of
the Territory, of Alaska."
354. The coat-of-arms of the Philippine Is
lands was adopted in 1905. Its principal fea
ture 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 hilted sword. The crest is the American
spread eagle, and beneath is a scroll with the
words "Pliilippine 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 con
sists of the escutcheon of the United States,
upon which is imposed a Moro war vinta sail
ing an Indian sea. Above the escutcheon is
the American spread eagle mounted on a
wreath, supported by the crossed weapons of
war 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 cir
cular field is a lamb of silver on the red-bound
book and bearing the cross-crowned banner of
Christ. This is the device ascribed to St. John.

Above the lamb are the gold-crowned letters
F and I — Ferdinand and Isabella. Surround
ing the green field 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 stand
ards of Spain in the days when the star of her
fame was at its zenith.
357. The flag of the Secretary of the In
terior, with its light green field bearing in the
center a golden buffalo and a five-pointed star
in each quarter, stands for many of the na
tion's activities and much of the world's prog
ress. The Department whose chief it pro
claims fosters the priceless fruits of American
inventive genius, aids and safeguards those
who have made America the foremost min
eral-producing country of the earth,- supervises
the pension system through which is dis
charged the national duty toward those who
have fought the battles of the Republic, spon
sors the cause of justice to the Red Man, who
has given a continent to civilization. This De
partment directs the national- aspects of Amer
ican education, and thus leads Western civili*
zation 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 w.and of irrigation. Also it has dis
tributed an empire to the pioneers of the West
and transformed a million square miles of idle
territory into a wealth- and strength-produc
ing region of infinite national value.

FLAGS FAMOUS IN AMERICAN HISTORY

358. The Raven of the Vikings. — Five
hundred years before the arrival of Columbus
in the New World, Eric the Red is supposed
to have guided his ships, square-sailed, deco
rated 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 de
vice of "a raven, with wings extended and
open bill, upon a white ground."
359. Flag of Columbus. Standard of
Spain. — A quartered flag of red, gold and sil
ver — the standard of Castile and Leon — is gen
erally accepted as having been the first Euro
pean banner flown on American soil. This
truly regal standard was planted on the beach
before the startled gaze of the awe-struck abo
rigines 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.
360. Flag of Cabot, England. — Giovanni
Caboto (John Cabot), the discoverer of North
America, had many points in common with his
contemporary, Columbus. They were both
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 mon
arch. Cabot's flag was the royal standard of
England, the red cross of St. George on a
white ground, and his patron was King Henry
VII, whose enthusiasm for the enterprise was
quickened by the news that Columbus had
found the East in the West. It was on June
24, 1497, that this flag of England was planted
in the New World (probably on the northern
extremity of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia),
and the explorer took possession of the coun
try in the name of England's king.
361. This was the union flag which prob
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 main mast. They con
tinued to use their own ensigns and jacks, how
ever — English ships 1123 and 1 127, Scottish
ships 1 131 and 831 (note 1132 for Scotch de-

34i

ENTRE RIOS CORRIENTES
447 W 448
FLAGS FAMOUS IN AMERICAN HISTORY
342

SANTA FE

MINICAN REPUBLIC
COMDG OFFICERS PENNANT

343

sign of union flag). After the union of par
liaments 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
olis of flags said to have been carried at Bun
ker Hill. The Trumbull painting of the battle
of Bunker Hill shows 362, while others show
363. 362 was probably formed from the Eng
lish ensign, shown in 1123 (in use prior to
t/05), by omitting St. George's cross and sub
stituting the pine tree, which was, the symbol
of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (see also 391,
399, and 401). 363 was made by inserting a
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 riurnber).
365. Our First Navy Jack. — Hoisted De
cember 3, 1775, the same day that John Paul
Jones Hoisted 364 as the ensign of our new
navy and that 398 was raised at the main mast
as the flag of the Commander-in-Chief, Esek
Hopkins (see 398 and 400).
366. Perry's Flag, Lake Erie. — At the bat
tle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, Oliver
Hazard Perry, who was in command of a fleet
which he had been forced to construct in fever
ish haste from virgin timber, unfurled from
his masthead this challenge to sturdy Ameri
canism — the dying words of brave Captain
Lawrence. Under its inspiration the men
fought gallantly through one of the most nota
ble 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."
367. Although so distinguished a citizen as
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 extend
ing 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 can
ton, the remainder of each flag being white,
neither the North nor the South saw fit to fol
low 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
in the union, as shown in 367. When Lincoln
became President, however, there were only
thirty- four States, which were _ impersonated
at the inaugural ceremonies by thirty-four little
girls, who rode in a gaily decorated car in the
procession and sang to the new President,
"Hail, Columbia."

368. The artillery during the Civil War car
ried 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.
369. The design on the colors of infantry
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.
370. The regimental colors of the United
States artillery during the Civil War were yel
low. Upon the field were centered two crossed
cannons with a scroll above and below bearing
the designation of the regiment.
371. This flag is the familiar "Stars and
Bars" of the Southern Confederacy and was
used from March, 1861, to May, 1863.
372. This .jack of the Confederate States
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.
373. This ensign was probably displayed by
the ships of the Confederacy from 1861 to
1863. 374. The navy jack of the Southern Con
federacy, used after May I, 1863, had an ob
long 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 in
fantry was forty-eight inches square, that by
the artillery thirty-six inches, and that by the
cavalry thirty inches square.
375. The national flag of the Confederacy
between May 1, 1863, and March 4, 1865, had a
white field twice as long as wide, with the
battle flag as its union.
376. The Confederacy's national flag, adopt
ed March 8, 1865, was the same as that adopted
May 1, 1863 (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.
377. Hudson's Flag. — When Henry Hud
son glided into the unsailed waters of New
York harbor in his little Half Moon, this flag
was 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
Company, "Algemeene Oost-Indise Compagnie,"
under whose auspices Hudson sailed. Later it
floated over the little huts built1- by the East
India Company on Manhattan Island for the

344

fur traders. 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
New Netherlands this flag disappeared from
our waters and shores.
378. Dutch West India Company. — In-1621
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 fhe 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.
379. Endicott's Flag. — The red cross of
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 long-
drawn litigation. Fear of offending the mother
country struggled with the.jseemirjg 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
allowed to fly there. It was not until 1651,
however, that the general court of Massachu
setts gave official sanction to the use of the
flag with its cross. This illustration of the
Endicott flag, with its distinguishing blue ball
in the first quarter of the canton, shows it
before the mutilation.
380. King's Standard in 1635. — The de
signs on this royal flag, which was in use dur
ing the early settlement of our country, are
especially suggestive and carry us back to the
very roots of English history. Each little
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 ap
pears the lion of Scotland (see 838), in token
of that country's union with England. The
first and fourth quarters of the shield alike
bear the three lions and the three fleurs-de-lis.
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 assum
ing the title "King of France," in 1340, quar
tered 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
that three counties of Massachusetts — Suffolk,
Middlesex, and Essex — raised a company of

cavalry called the Three County Troop, which
continued its organization for twenty years or
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 for
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 prob
ably waved above the brave Colonials in King
Philip's War of 1675 and 1676.
382. Under the red ensign many of Eng
land's greatest admirals won the, victories
which made the island kingdom, mistress, of
the seas. This is the famous "meteor flag oi
Old England," and until the union of the king
doms of England and Scotland under one par
liament, in 1707, it was the ensign of the Eng
lish colonies in America. It was especialh
dear to the New England colonists, who cher
ished its brave traditions as their own.
383. A Colonial Flag. 384. Newbury
Mass. 388. New England, 1737. 390. 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 study
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 watchword
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 of
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
grpund 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, it fittingly expressed the ideas
of the times. Moreover, it proclaimed the
patriots' love for this newest homeland with
its pine-clad hills. And so it was that the pine
tree waved over many a hard-fought field in
those trying years. Joined with St. George's
cross, it appeared on the blue banner of Bun
ker Hill (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 by
362, the Continental flag of' 1775-1777. These
historic flags picture to us in striking form the
feelings and the hopes as well as the spirit of
'76. 384. (See 383.)
385. Andros'. Flag. — In 1684 the charter of
Massachusetts was annulled and the home

345

SALVADOR COAT ARMS VENEZUELA COAT ARMS
510 511

VENEZUELA ENSIGN
512

[VENEZUELA MERCHANT
513

346

government organized all of New England as
a royal domain. In 1686 Edmund Andros ar
rived 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
ter. Under the crown appeared the letters
J. R., the cipher of 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
veloping people.
' 386. Nova Scotia. — Nova Scotia was the
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 Eng
land 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 diag
onal cross of St. Patrick, in recognition of
Ireland, was added to the combined crosses,
thus making the familiar British union jack of
today. 387. Escutcheon Ensign. — Early in the life
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, Lon
don : "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 Maj
esty's plantations" were ordered to oblige the
commanders of their merchant ships to use
this a'nd no other. The merchant ships, how
ever, 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 left-
hand corner.
388. (See 383.)
38g. Colonel Moultrie's Flag. — In Sep
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 cres
cents which the men wore on their caps, in
scribed wilh the words "Liberty or Death."
Colonel Moultrie in his memoirs says that "this
was the first American flag displayed in the
South" (see also 406).
390. (See 383.)
391. Washington's Navy, 1775. — This was
the flag flown by Washington's six cruisers in
1775. The Lady Washington, a brig fitted out

in 1775, was captured by H. M. S. Fowey on
December 7 of the same year, and her colors
were placed in the Admiralty Office in Lon
don. They are described 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
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).
392. Bedford Flag. — Probably the most in
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 2l/2 feet square, but carfies
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 en
sign (1144)- - .
393. Philadelphia Light Horse. — This
standard, presented to the Philadelphia troop
of Light Horse by Capt. Abraham Markoe, and
still displayed at the troop's anniversary din
ners, 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
Philadelphia to New York on his way to Cam
bridge, there to assume command of the Con
tinental Army. The Philadelphia troop was
composed of 28 men, who equipped themselves
at their own expense. Captain Markoe re
signed his commission as captain of this orga
nization late in 1775, in obedience to an edict
of King Christian VII of Denmark, who for
bade 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.
394. New York. — The armed ships of New
York are reported to have used this flag in
1775. The beaver- reminds us eloquently of the
prominent part the lucrative fur trade played
in the early history of the colony. The glow
ing 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,
395. Bennington. — At the battle of Ben
nington, Yt., August 16, 1777, 2,000 Green
Mountain boys, under Gen. John Stark, practi
cally annihilated the forces under General
Baum, sent to capture stores and to overawe
the country. The loss of these troops was
partly responsible for the failure of Bur-
goyne's carefully planned campaign and was
one of the events that led to tbe open recog
nition of our country by France.
396. Rhode Island. — Fashioned from white
silk with thirteen stars on a canton of blue
and showing a blue anchor surmounted by the

348

motto of the State, "Hope," on the center of
the 'field, this regimental banner of Rhode Is
land easily takes high rank as an attractive
flag; nor is it lacking in interesting historic
associations. Carried safely through the in
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. — Thirteen mailed hands
grasping the thirteen links of an endless chain
formed one of the early representations of the
spirit of unity in the colonies. It recognized
the sentiment of "United we stand," and fore
shadowed the "E Pluribus Unum," soon to ap
pear as our motto. The number thirteen was
prominent on many of the early standards. A
common variation shows a mailed hand grasp
ing a bundle of thirteen arrows.
the rattlesnake flags
398. Gadsden Flag. 400. South Carolina
Navy. 405. CulpepEr Minute Men.— The
rattlesnake device was seen again and again
on our early flags. One writer of the time
quaintly stated that as the rattlesnake's eye
exceeded in brightness that of any other ani
mal, and she had no eyelids, she might there
fore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance ;
that inasmuch as she never began an attack,
nor, when once engaged, ever surrendered,
she was therefore an emblem of magnanimity
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
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 in
creased the number and variety of the rattle
snake flags. " 'Tis curious and amazing," in
the words of the writer quoted above, "to ob
serve how distinct and independent of each
other the rattles of this animal are, and how
firmly they are united together. One of the
rattles, singly, is incapable of producing a
sound, but the ringing of thirteen together is
sufficient to alarm the boldest man living."
Flag 308 was presented by Colonel Gadsden
to Commodore Hopkins to serve as the latter's
flag as the commander-in-chief of the fleet con
structed 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 his
tory of Stars and Stripes elsewhere in this
number). On the same dav 365 was hoisted
as the jack of the navy. Thus 364, 365, and
398 are the most historic flags of the U. S.
Navy prior to the adoption of the Stars and
Stripes. The Southern colonies seemed 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

tinental Congress. Culpeper County was a
center of organization and her minute men
typified on their spirited banner (405) their
fearlessness and independence.
the liberty and pine tree flags
399. Liberty Tree Flag of 1776. 401.
Massachusetts Navy. — In all early accoupts
of colonial activities, liberty poles and trees
bear an important part. A wide-spreading live
oak in Charleston, near the home of Christo
pher 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
of the city. The Sons of Liberty, meeting
under the fine old elm in Hanover Square,
gave Boston her Liberty.. Tree. Under its
shade a notable meeting was held just previous
to the destruction of the tea, which led Gen
eral Gage to order that it be hewn down. In
asmuch as the felling of a venerable tree al
ways touches tender chords in the thoughtful,
it is not surprising that the loss of this one
fanned into flame the very embers of discon
tent that Gage had hoped to, stamp out by its
destruction. On flag 399 appears the well-loved and fa
mous Liberty Tree. This was an emblem often
used. 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
children. The sentiment first appeared in the
"Address of the Provincial Congress of Mas
sachusetts" to Great Britain, the closing sen
tence of which began, "Appealing to Heaven
for the justice of our cause." Through the
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 or
dained 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 :
"Resolved, That . . . the colors [for the
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."
400. (See 39S.)
401. (See 399.)
402. The Westmoreland County Battalion
of Pennsylvania was raised in 1775 by John
Proctor and is still preserved in New Alex
andria, 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."

349

350

403. Connecticut Flag. — The activities of
1775 and 1776 emphasized the need of colors
to distinguish the various troops. Soon after
the battle of Bunker Hill the States began to
make colors for 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
hither, will sustain us," was put upon one side
of several flags o.f the time, with "An Appeal
to Heaven," the' Massachusetts motto, upon
the other. This shows almost the identical
form of the permanent Connecticut flag (305).
404. Merchant and Privateer Ensign. — ¦
Those dashing privateers, whose exploits made
such entertaining reading in the history books
of our childhood days, flew this ensign of thir
teen stripes. Many references and prints of
"striped flaggs" in contemporary British litera
ture prove its prevalence. The color of the
stripes varied according to the fancy of the
commanding officer. Merchant vessels nearly
always displayed this flag.
405. (See "398.)
406. Fort Moultrie. — This flag flew from
the southeast bastion of Fort Moultrie (then
called Fort Sullivan), in Charleston Harbor,
during the famous Revolutionary battle of
June 28, 1776. Early in the attack the sky-
colored emblem fell outside the parapet. Ser
geant William Jasper, crying out, "Don't let us
fight without a flag," vaulted over the wall
under a rain of bullets, secured the flag, fixed
it to a staff, and, triumphantly planting it firm
ly in place, leaped down within the parapet to
safety. Three ringing cheers greeted his re
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
changed to Moultrie in honor of the gallant
defender. This victory left the Southern
States secure from invasion for more than
two years. This flag is identical with Colonel
Moultrie's earlier flag (389) first raised in
September, 1775, with the addition of the word
"Liberty" in white letters.
407. Pulaski. — Brave and gallant Count
Pulaski, who gave his life for our cause in
1779, fought beneath this banner. A Polish
count volunteering as a private, distinguished
by his coolness and courage at the battle of
Brandywine, — he was made Chief of Dra
goons, with the rank of Brigadier-General.
The Moravian Sisters, of Bethlehem, Penn
sylvania, embroidered this flag for him. One
side bears the words "Unitas Virtus Forcior"
(which last word, by the way, should be for-
tior), "Union makes valor stronger," encir
cling the letters U. S. The other side bears
the motto, "Non Alius Regit," "No other gov
erns," with the all-seeing eye in the center
triangle. Pulaski raised his own independent
corps of infantry and light cavalry, and later
commanded the French and American forces
at the siege of Savannah, where he was mor
tally wounded. Thus fell, at the early age of
31, one of the many heroic foreign brothers
who fought with us for liberty.
408, 409. New Hampshire Regiment.: —
These two New Hampshire flags belonged to
the Second Regiment of the State. They were

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 Bur-
goyne, 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 New Hampshire
Historical Society. They are of the same size,
approximately five by five and one-half feet.
The buff flag (408) with a golden disk in
the center bears the motto, "We are one."
From the disk radiate thirteen rays and thir
teen thin lines, each line touching a golden
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 (409)
bears the letters N. 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 New Hampshire flags are prob
ably the only ones now in existence which
were captured during, the Revolutionary War.
410. First Pennsylvania Rtfles. — "A deep
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 of
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
this national flag, known to have been used as
a regimental flag in the Revolution, sheds a bit
of light on the darkness surrounding the ex
tent to which the stars and stripes were Used
at the time. It is certain that this identical
flag was carried by the Third Maryland Regi
ment at the battle of Cowpens, in January,
1778. William Bachelor was the color-bearer.
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 capitol at Annapolis. It
is the only instance of the use of the "Stars
and Stripes" as^ a color (j. p., by land troops),
national or regimental, during the Revolution
ary War. that of 1812, and the Mexican War.
(See history of Stars and Stripes printed else
where in this number.)
412. Eutaw 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
battle of the Revolution, Eutaw Springs, in
1781 — two decisive battles of the war in the
South. Tradition tells a quaint story of its
origin. Tt seems that Colonel Washington, on
a hurried visit to his fiancee. Miss Jane Elliot,
of South Carolina, mentioned that he had no
flag. With quick flashes of her scissors, she

352

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
tEQ.ops"' 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. 413. Gatinois Regiment. 414. Saintogne
Regiment. 415. Royal Deux Ponts. — A. num
ber of French regiments were sent to America
during the Revolutionary War. All served
with gallantry and distinction, Savannah and
Yorktown both being honored by their ener
getic and fearless fighting. The flags of all
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 cen
ter. 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 loy
alty at Yorktown.
Each arm of the St. Andrew's cross in the
Royal Deux Ponts (415) bears 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. Rochambeau, a French count, with the rank
of lieutenant general, was in command of the
6,000 troops sent to our aid. He displayed a
fine spirit throughout the war, maintaining his
soldiers as part of the American army and
holding himself as entirely under Washing
ton's command. (See "Our First Alliance," by
J. J. Jusserand, National Geographic Maga
zine, June, 1917.)
416. Ansbach. — Three Ansbach Bayrenth
colors are now in the chapel at West Point.
They were among the German colors captured
at Yorktown. All are similar in main design,
ma4e of heavy white damask, embroidered in
colored silk. On one side is the red Branden
burg eagle, with the words, "Pro Principe et
Patria" on the scroll above. The other side
shows the green laurel and palm, with the
monogrammed letters S. ET C. A., the first
four letters of which stand for "Sinceriter et
Constanter" and the last for Prince Alexan
der, then reigning. It is supposed that eigh
teen German colors were surrendered at York-
town ; but the others are missing.
417. New York Regiment. — It is surprising
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 approxi
mately 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
day to this have remained practically un
changed in general design. The two figures

are clad in costumes of the day. The dresses
alije, of- cloth of gold, with red mantles.
This regimental color was carried by Col.
Pinter- Ganseybort at Yorktown. This is the
S;arne 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,
1777- (See History of Stars and Stripes in
this number.)
418. Bucks of America-. — John Hancock,
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 be
came the first Governor of the State of Massa
chusetts. After the close of the Revolution,
one of his official acts as Governor was to pre
sent 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.
419. Tallmadce's Dragoons. — Many a dar
ing exploit of Major Tallmadge, of Connecti
cut, 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 Monmouth.
This pink flag of very thin silk is about two
and one-half feet square. The two wings on
the center disk are of silver, while the ten rays
are golden. The canton deserves especial men
tion, as the thirteen stripes are made by six
strips of white ribbon sewed to the silk of the
flag. It is remarkably well preserved.
420. Webb's Regiment. — This little flag be
longed to the troops under Colonel Webb, un
doubtedly 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 rib
bon 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
to three in number by Charles V in 1365) were
borne by many intrepid explorers anxious to
expand the dominion of the Bourbons in the
New World. Joliet and Marquette, the pioneer
missionaries who rediscovered the Father of
Waters, and La Salle, Iberville, and Bienville,
who figured so conspicuously in the history of
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 Sam
uel 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 twenty-
four ships of the line, sailed from the West

353

734 BELGIUM ENSIGN 735 BELGIUM MERCHANT 7-35 CHINA NAVAL 737CHINA NATIONAL

742

\NCE NATIONAL
743

GOVS. COLONIES . RESIDENCE INDO-CHINA
LIEUT. GOV SENEGAL

,,, ¦! - ¦ -.-- -

j ,J

1— ^^^

, , ........

GREECE
MERCHANT
747
ITALY AMBASSADOR 748
ITALY
MERCHANT SHIPS
AS AUXILIARY CRUISERS
752 ITALY MERCHANT 753 ITALY GOV ERITREA
0
JAPAN CROWN PRINCE JAPAN ENSIGN
755 756
JAPAN MERCHANT 757
JAPAN GUARD
758
JAPAN TRANSPORT 759
JAPAN COMDG OFFICER
760
JAPAN MAIL FLAG
761
354
779GOVS SURINAM
H & CURACAO

ABOVE ENSIGN FOR
780 NETHERLANDS GOV G E N E R A L O F DUTCH I N D I ES I NETHERLANDS
u MARINE RESERVE I 782 REPAIR SHIPS

791 PORTUGAL ENSIGN

792 PORTUGAL
PRESIDENT S

793 PORTUGAL
GOV GENL PROVINCE

I 794 POLAN D

355

Indies in the summer of 1781, entered the
Chesapeake, and met the fleet of Admiral
Thomas Graves, compelling him to return to
New York for refitting and repairs. Then, by
blocking the mouths of the York and James
rivers, he succeeded in cutting off communica
tion between the British forces at Yorktown
and those at New York, and thus assisted ma
terially in causing the famous surrender that
closed the war (see National Geographic
Magazine, June, 1917, pages 527-548).
423. Napoleon's P'lag, Louisiana, 1803. —
Among the many changes of flag that helped
to make romantic the early history of Louisi
ana, this of Napoleon stands out as memorable
because it was hauled down to give place for
"Old Glory" on the 20th of December, 1803.
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 well-
loved Auriflamme, the gold-broidered banner
of St. Denis. This in turn gave place to the
"cornette blanche" — a plain white flag emblem
atic 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, oc
curring 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. Russian-American Company, Alas
ka.— Although the Alaskan coast was explored
in 1741, it was not until 1794 that the first, and
even then only partially accurate, chart of the
Alaskan mainland was made. Kodiak was set
tled in 1784, and in the succeeding years pri
vate 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 Amer
ican Republic was getting on its feet and meet
ing 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 pur
chase placed our own starry flag on those
valuable far-northern shores.
425. _ Aztec Standard — Battle of Otum-
ba. — History says that Cortes and his Span
iards, with their allies, the Tlaxcallans, were
_on the verge of defeat at the battle of Otum-
"ba, when the Spanish leader,' descrying the
gorgeously decorated litter of the Aztec gen
eral and observing that he carried the battle
standard lashed to his back, summoned several

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 after
ward 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-of-
arms. This illustration of the standard, which
was called the Quetzalteopamitl and was com
posed of a golden sun surrounded by the rich
est 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.
427. Banners — Incas. Before Pizarro. —
"The Children of the Sun," as the Incas were
called, lived 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 Az
tecs, these ancient Peruvians used the gaudy
plumage of tropical birds for decorative pur
poses, and this sketch of two old banners illus
trates the feathered halyards and trimming.
These Sun-worshipers also had great rever
ence for the rainbow, and used a representa
tion of it in their royal insignia. An old de
scription, 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 en
titled to display the royal standard of the rain
bow in his military campaigns."
428. Cortes Standard. — "The hardy and
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

356

that carried by Hernando Cortes in the Con
quest of Mexico." It now hangs in the Na
tional Museum af Mexico City — a relic of the
stirring times when the present city was Te-
nochtitlan, the Aztec capital and the scene of
Montezuma's grandeur. Another standard
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 be
neath : 'Friends, let us follow the Cross ; and
under this sign, if we have faith, we shall
conquer/" 429. Pizarro. — This is the banner of Pi-
zarro, which the people of Cuzcb, the royal
city of the Incas, presented, in 1824, to Gen
eral de Sucre, the trusted lieutenant of the
liberator Bolivar and the victor of the battle
of Ayacucho, which broke the power of im
perial Spain in South America. De Sucre, in
turn, presented it to his commander-in-chief,
who gave it to his native city of Caracas,
Venezuela, where it is now treasured. This
standard is said to have been carried by Pi
zarro when he entered Cuzco, a conqueror, in
J533- It hung all those intervening years in
the cathedral of the ancient Peruvian city. In
a letter to Bolivar, de Sucre said : "I present
to you this standard which Pizarro bore to
Cuzco 300 years ago ; a portion of the ma
terial 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
V are embroidered ; on the other is represented
the Apostle St. James (Santiago), in an atti
tude 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 not1 a part of the flag, but a covering to
protect its rjetost interesting face, upon which
is painted and embroidered the figure of the
mounted warrior. The red cross of Santiago
appears on his coat-of-mail, but the hilt is all
that remains of the sword in his hand.
430. Pizarro. — General San Martin, "the
liberator of the South," believed this flag to
be the standard of Pizarro ; but old documents
relating to the founding of Lima by the Span
ish 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
flag. The Municipal Council of Lima presented
the standard to San Martin in 1821, after his
successful campaigns in Chile, and in his fare
well proclamation to the Peruvians the follow
ing 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 T 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 Re
public."

THE LIBERATORS OF LATIN AMERICA
431. San Martin. — Flying this flag, Gen:
eral San Martin came north into Peru witfi
his Ejercito Libertador, or liberating army, in
1820, after having effected the complete over
throw of the royalists in Chile. Forces sent
against the liberator joined his army, and in
Lima even the Viceroy's secretaries were revo
lutionists at heart. General San Martin en
tered the capital on July 12, 1821, and was pre
sented with the flag of Pizarro (see 430) ; on
July 28 the proclamation of independence was
issued in the Plaza Major.
After laying the foundations of a republican
government, the Protector journeyed north to
Guayaquil, Ecuador, to confer with General
Simon Bolivar, who had accomplished inde
pendence 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 Eu
rope, the recipient of every honor within the
gift of a grateful people.
432. Army of the Andes. — This silken
"Banner of the Sun," as it was called, with its
beautiful, embroidered design and edges deco
rated 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
5, 1817. As it was unfurled a salute of twenty-
one guns was fired, the populace shouting,
"Long live our Argentine country." General
San Martin then, holding aloft the banner, ex
claimed 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 Boli
var, 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 inde
pendence to him and he is worshiped as a na
tional hero in these countries. It is said that
while visiting the United States on his return
journey from Paris, where he had been an eye
witness to some of the stirring scenes of the
last days of the French revolution, he was first
impressed with the desirability of political in
dependence, and, returning to Venezuela, he
began the military operations which freed his
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 col
onies 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

ROYAL STANDARD

828 TUNIS-
BEYS STANDARD

358

^nr^

ST GEORGES CROSS
M 830 ENGLAND

ST ANDREWS CROSS
831 SCOTLAND

ST PATRICKS CROSS
832 IRELAND

PILOT JACK
857

LLOYD S SIGNAL
STATIONS AND BOATS

CONSULAR AFLOAT
859

1.CIFIC CABLE BOARD
860

359

patron saint of Mexico, and was flown in tri
umph for a time; but disaster overtook him
and, with several of his generals, he was shot
to death at Chihuahua in 1811. Two subse
quent 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 independ
ence of Spain was accomplished in 1821. The
banner of Hidalgo is preserved in the National
Museum in Mexico City.
435. Treaty of Tordesillas. — These flags
appearing on maps of the sixteenth century in
dicate the division of territory for exploration
and conquest by Spain and Portugal effected
by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. Pope
Nicholas V had given the Portuguese exclusive
right to the "road to the Indies" in 1454, but
he had in mind only the coast of Africa. Com
plicating 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 Span
iards the right to all that lay beyond. The
Portuguese protested and the diplomats met at
Tordesillas, Spain, with the result that the line
was shifted 270 leagues farther west, approxi
mating the 50th meridian of longitude west of
Greenwich. This line strikes South America
at the mouth of the Amazon, and the Span
iards therefore laid claim to the greater part
of the continent and sought to exclude all
other nations. This probably explains why
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 indi
cates the control of territory by the members
of the Brazilian section of this ancient order,
which was instituted by Denys, King of Portu
gal, in 1231, to expel the Moors from Betica,
adjoining Portugal. According to eighteenth
century historians, the order "added many gal
lant Countries in Asia, Africk, and Brazil, to
the domains of Portugal, and so improved
their own Estates, that all the Isles in the At-
lantick do belong to them ; besides the Rents
of the Mine of St. George in Guinea, amount
ing to 100,000 Ducats of yearly Income."
437. Brazil Empire. — Driven from their
kingdom by the invading armies of Napoleon,
the royal family of Portugal in 1808 took ref
uge in Brazil, and for the first time in the his
tory of the world a colony became the seat of
government of its mother country. The prince
regent, coming to the throne as Dom John VI,
raised this standard of empire. In 1889 the
colonists threw off the imperial yoke and estab
lished a republic, retaining in their national
ensign (see 458) some of the characteristic
features of the empire flag — the yellow dia
mond and the green field. The shield and im
perial crown of the old flag, however, were
replaced by the blue globe and the republican
motto, "Ordem e Progresso."
438. Spanish Flag in Mexico. — The old
flag from which this illustration has been made
was carried by Spanish troops in the war of
Mexican independence and it now reposes,
among other relics of that struggle, in the mu

seum at Mexico City. Its peculiar design is
an adaptation of the raguled cross of the Span
ish Bourbons, which may also be seen in the
earlier flags of Ostend and Biscay (1143 and
1 146), but with an added feature of crown-
crested coats-of-arms on the ends of the cross.
439. Mexico Flag. — Migrating Aztecs, suc
cessors 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 by
their oracle, "they beheld, perched on the stem
of a prickly pear, which shot out from the
crevices of a rock that was washed by the
waves, a royal eagle of extraordinary size and
beauty, with a serpent in his talons and his
broad wings open to the sun." This deter
mined 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 in
dependent, in 1821 (see new coat-of-arms and.
Mexican flags 489-492-493).
440. Alamo Flag. — This was the flag- that.
floated in 1836 over the historic mission for
tress, 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 gar
rison 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 en
trance 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 of
1824, and for this reason the numbers were
used in place of the eagle, serpent, and cactus
of the Mexican national flag.
441. Texas Flag (Naval). — When Texas
seceded from Mexico and became an inde
pendent republic, the first flag that seems to
have been adopted was the naval flag, with its
single star and thirteen stripes, the latter evi
dently 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 stand
ard 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
coat, which had in relief a single star sur
rounded by an oak wreath. Another story
gives the credit to a Mrs. Venson, who pre
sented a flag with that device to a Texas regi
ment in 1836 (see State flag 328).
442-443. New Granada (Colombia). —
These were the flags of New Granada, the
confederation of South American States now
mainly embraced in the! Republic of Colombia.
In 1863 these States effected a closer union
and changed their flag from three broad verti
cal stripes of yellow, blue, and red to the pres
ent Colombian flags (shown in 462-463). The
old and new ensigns (442 and 462) are much

360

alike except for the change in stripes, for they
both have the coat-of-arms and the same col
ors. The eight-pointed star is on' both mer
chant flags (443 and 463), but on the latter it
is placed on an oval shield.
444. Ecuador. — 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
the republic.
445. South Peru.— The flag of this coun
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 na
tions, stirring events occurred with great ra
pidity and States formed by political factions
were dissolved almost overnight. , This par
ticular confederation was inaugurated May 1,
1837, and consisted of three States— North
Peru, South Peru, and Bolivia— with a presi
dent 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.
446. Guatemala. — Conquered in 1525 by
the Spaniards under Don Pedro de Alvarado,
who became famous as Cortes' chief lieutenant

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 at
tained. The Guatemala of those days con
sisted of the whole of Central America, and
it was not until 1839 that it broke up under
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).
447 - 448 - 449. Entre Rios, Corrientes,
Santa Ee. — These were the flags of the Span
ish settlements established in what is now Ar
gentina. 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,
Paraguay, and Bolivia. Entre Rios, Corri-
entes, and Santa Fe are still in existence, their
flags today having the same relative impor
tance 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 451).

THE FLAGS OF PAN-AMERICA

450. The flag of the Pan-American Union
is a pennant adopted in 1907 and embodies all
of the colors of the twenty-one republics of
the Western Hemisphere.
451. The national banner of the Argentine
Republic was devised in 1812. The Congress
of Tucuman formally recognized it as the
standard of the new Argentine Republic, then
officially designated "The United Provinces of
the Rio de La Plata." The Argentine banner
is something more than merely the national
flag of that Republic. It is associated in a
large measure with the glories of Latin Amer
ica, for, under the leadership of General de
San Martin (see also 431) and General Bel-
grano, it helped to free Bolivia, Chile, Peru,
and Ecuador. This flag has three stripes, sky-
blue at the top and bottom and white in the
middle. In the center of the field 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 es
sential 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, sup
ported by a vertical golden staff, held upright
by two clasped hands. Around the ellipse is a

border consisting of a wreath of two inter
twined laurel brandies. 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
at the bottom. The red denotes the animal
kingdom, the gold the mineral kingdom, and
the green the vegetable kingdom. In the cen
ter of the field is placed the national coat-of-
arms. 455. The merchant banner of Bolivia is a
duplicate of the national ensign, with the coat-
of-arms omitted.
456. Bolivia's coat-of-arms is elliptical in
form. In the center appears the mountain
crest of Potosi, celebrated for its traditional
mineral wealth ; beneath this are an alpaca, a
sheaf of wheat, and a breadfruit tree. In the
upper part is a rising sun with light cloud ef
fect. At the apex is the inscription, "Bolivia."
On each side of the oval are three Bolivian
banners, a cannon, two rifles with fixed bayo
nets 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
olive. 457. The flag of the Argentine Admiral
ashore is blue, with three stars next to and
parallel with the staff, and an anchor in the
center of the field.

361

GIBRALTAR MALTA CYPRUS H COM. ISLE OF MAN ALDERNEY
861 862 863 864 865

JERSEY GUERNSEY
866 867

881"*^S^ 882"-^^^' — 884"-  -" 885
879 NEW BERMUDA BAHAMA SOMBRERO AND JAMAICA TURKS AND LEEWARD
FOUNDLAND 880 ISLANDS BAHAMA LIGHTS 883 CAICOS ISLES ISLES

TRINIDA
& TOBAG

894
D FALKLAND
O ISLES

895 H
COMMISSIONER
WESTERN PACIFIC

RESIDENT BRIT. SOLOMON BRIT. R ESI DENT.
COMMISSIONER I -PROTECT. GILBERTAND
NEW HEBRIDES ELLICE ISLES

BLUE ENSIGN

03 N. ZEALAND
RED ENSIGN

TONGA— ENSIGN
905

0 0 1
B

)

i

1 TONGA— STANE
906

1ARD

^mi:

HM C

TO N C A— C U STO M S
u 907

3d 2

912"-  -^ 913 "-^"-^ 914^^^^ 91y^-^^^ 916^^—-^ 917  918
QUEENSLAND NEW VICTORIA SOUTH WESTERN TASMANIA TERRITORY
SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA PAPUA

^TT^

NORTH BORNEO CO
919

923 STRAITS LABUAN
SETTLEMENTS 924

HONG KONG WEIHAIWEI MAURITIUS SEYCHELLES
926 927 928 929

363

458. The present flag of Brazil was largely
inherited from the extinct empire. It consists
of a green field, twice as long as wide, on which
a diamond-shaped figure is inscribed in yel
low. The green represents the vegetable king
dom and the yellow 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
is at the meridian. The words stamped in the
course of the terrestrial orbit„ mean "Order
and Progress."
459. The President's flag of Brazil consists
of a blue field, with the national coat-of-arms
in the center. The large five-pointed star typi
fying the unity and territorial integrity of the
nation is bisected in such a manner that one
of the halves of each point is green and the
other yellow, symbolizing respectively'the vege
table and mineral wealth of the country. The
blue circular band inscribed within- the star
contains twenty-one small silver stars, remind
ers of the twenty States of the Brazilian Union
and the neutral city of Rio de Janeiro. The
five large stars in the center of the coat-of-
arms represent the constellation of the South
ern Cross. The entire shield is upheld by a
vertical sword, in the center of whose hilt 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
shield, denote the rising of the sun — that is,
the glorious future and destiny of Brazil. In
scribed below are the words "Estados Unidos
do Brazil" (the United States of Brazil) and
the date of the establishment of the republic,
November 15, 1889.
460. October 18, 1917, will be the centennial
of the Chilian flag. October 18, 1817, Gen.
Bernardo O'Higgins, the supreme dictator of
Chile, decreed its adoption. It consists of a
field, the lower half of which is red and the
upper white, with a blue canton in the upper
left-hand corner occupied by a large five-
pointed silver star.
461. The banner of the President of Chile
consists of the national ensign with the coat-
of-arms of the country thereon. The condor
and guemul supporting the shield represent the
strongest and most majestic bird of the Chilian
Andes and the most peculiarly Chilian quad
ruped. The tuft of three feathers which
crowns the shield was formerly used as a spe
cial mark of distinction on the hat of the Presi
dent of the Republic, as a representation of the
supreme executive dignity of the nation. In
the old days of wooden ships the sailor who
first succeeded in boarding a warship of the
enemy and came out of the action alive was
rewarded by being crowned with a naval dia
dem of gold. Copies of this crown appear on
the head of the condor and the guemul. The
inscription on the coat-of-arms means "By
Right or Might."
462. Colombia inherited its flag and coat-
of-arms from the Republic of New Granada,
of which it is the successor. Following the
death of Simon Bolivar, the Colombian Union,
set up by him, which consisted of the present
republics of Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia,

and Panama, ceased to exist, and New Granada,
one of the succeeding States, adopted what is
now the coat-of-arms and the flag of Colom
bia. The upper half of this flag is yellow, the
lower half divided between light blue and
bright red, the red strip being at the bottom.
On the ensign is embroidered the national coat-
of-arms. 463. The merchant flag of Colombia is a
replica of the national ensign, except that in
stead of the coat-of-arms there appears a
bright red oval surrounding a small field of
blue, upon which is imposed an eight-pointed
star. 464. Colombia's coat-of-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.
On each side of the pomegranate is ,an in
clined golden cornucopia, the one on the right
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 lib
erty cap supported upon a lance. The lower
section represents a silvery-waved ocean, di
vided by the Isthmus of Panama, with full-
rigged ship in both the Pacific Ocean and
Caribbean Sea. The shield is supported by
-four national banners. The crest shows the
condor of the Andes with -extended wings,
from its beak hanging a laurel w*reath to which
is attached a streamer bearing the inscription,
in Latin, in black letters, "Liberty and Order."
465. For a description of the coat-of-arms
of Chile, see 461.
4.66. Costa Rica's flag is made up of five
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
coat-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 coat-
of-arms is left off.
468. As revised by the decree of 1906, the
coat-of-arms of Costa Rica represents three
volcanoes and an extensive valley between two
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 field are two myrtle palms,
half covered and joined by a white ribbon
which contains the following.inscription in gold
letters : "Republica de Costa Rica." The field
between the peaks of the volcanoes and the
myrtle palms contains five stars of equal.-size
arranged in an arc. The crest of the shield is
a blue ribbon interlaced in the shape of a crown
and bearing in silver letters the inscription,
"America Central."
469. The quarantine flag of Cuba is yellow,
with a black anchor and Greek cross superim
posed upon the center.
470. The Cuban patriotically calls his na
tional flag "La Estrella Solitaria," or "The
Lone Star." This banner became the official
emblem of Cuba on the 20th of May, 1902. It
consists of a field with three blue and two
white horizontal stripes, with a solitary star
set in the center of a red equilateral triangle

364

imposed upon the staff end of the field. The
"lone star" is taken from the banner of the old
Republic of Texas, the equilateral triangle
from Masonic symbolism.
471. The flag of the Secretary of the Navy
of Cuba has a blue ground and an anchor in
white in the center.
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 sec
tions, two of which are in the'iower two-thirds
of the shield. In the left half of the lower
two-thirds are three blue and two white stripes
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
rocky capes, between which is a golden key
closing the strait thus formed, signifying that
Cuba, with her fine geographical position, is
the key to the Gulf of Mexico. The golden
disk of the sun, rising out of the waves of the
sea and shedding its rays in all directions, rep
resents Cuba, redeemed by the blood of mar
tyrs 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 inter
twined branches, the one of evergreen oak and
the other of laurel, denoting respectively en
during strength and vitality and victory, en
circle the right' and left sides of the shield.
473. The flag of the Captain of the fleet of
Cuba is a blue triangular pennant with an
anchor in white imposed on it.
474. When the people of the eastern part
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 direc
tions with white. The upper quarter next the
flagstaff and the lower quarter at the free end
are blue, wi*|fe 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
Bible, and the colors of the country. Below
floats a streamer with the inscription, "Dios,
Patria, Libertad" — "God, Country, Liberty."
These words were the secret password of "La
Trinitaria," the patriotic society which inau
gurated 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) ex
cept that the outward third of the fly is swal
low-tailed. 478. Under a legislative decree entered in
1900 the national flag of Ecuador is the old
Venezuelan flag of 1811. The only difference
between it and the Colombian flag (462) is
that the Ecuadorean coat-of-arms appears in
stead 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

in foreign countries, shall bear the coat-of^
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
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
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 corre
sponding to the months of March, April, May,
and June. At the left of the shield is a repre
sentation of Mount Chimborazo, washed by a
river on which floats a steamship.. The shield
rests on consular fasces, the emblem of repub
lican dignity, and is crowned by a condor with
outstretched wings.
481. The commanding officer's pennant of
the Dominican Republic is triangular, with the
representation of the national colors still pre
served. 482. The present national flag of Guate
mala is one which was provided under a de
cree of 1871, restoring the colors fixed by the
National Assembly in 1823. It consists of three
vertical stripes of equal dimensions, blue and
white, the latter in the center. The national
ensign bears the coat-of-arms of the country
on the w*hite stripe.
483. The merchant flag of Guatemala is
like the national ensign except that the coat-
of-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
fhe escutcheon,
485. The Honduras merchant flag, which
the law says' is the national flag, as distin
guished from the war flag, has the five stars
so grouped in the center of the white stripe as
to form an "X."
486. The coat-of-arms of the Republic of
Haiti 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
la force" (In union there is strength). When
President Soulouque established himself as
Emperor Faustin I, he modified the coat-of-
arms, but it was restored in 1861 and has since
remained unchanged.
487. Guatemala's coat-of-arms dates from
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
tad, 15 de Setiembre de 1821" (Liberty. 15th
of September, 1S21V Above the scroll is a
quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala, corre
sponding to the American eagle. It is said that
this bird never survives captivity, even when

36s

958 -^b^- 959
SOMALILAND NYASALAND NIGERIA
PROTECTORATE PROTECTORATE PROTECTORATE

962
SIERRA LEONE

963^^
GOLD COAST

964 ST HELENA

GOVERNOR GENERAL
UNION SOUTH AFRICA
965

969^  -'' 970^"«^ 971 *¦»¦' 972 ""•KBi*^' 973*^^1^' 974 ~~  975-a
CAPEGOODHOPE NATAL ORANGE RIVER TRANSVAAL RHODESIA HIGH COMMISSIONER
SOUTH AFRICA

MILITARY
OFFICERS AFLOAT

977 CONSULAR (SHORE)

978 -
PORT LONDON 979
AUTHORITY _ _.H UMBER

CONSERVANCY

980 ^^^^r* 981 -^pr 982
MERSEY DOCKS COMM'SPORT COMMS.PORT
& HARBOR BD RANGOON CALCUTTA

ROYAL MAIL VESSELS
983

PORT LONDON
AUTHORITY 984

THAMES CONSERVANCY 985

CUSTOMS
COMMISSIONER 986

366

| 999 GERMANY [1 1000 GERMANY 10
FLAGS MARITIME STATES IMPERIAL MARINE
? BADGES BELOW ,N pLACE^xxBADGE ABOVE

FOREIGN!
BUILDINGS!

1004

PRUSSIA BREMEN

1005

1010

OFFICE
'& VESSELS

1009

1011

OTHER DEPTS POST OFFICE 1012 NAVAL RESERVE

OLDENBURG HAMBURG

U07

*»" 1008

MECKLEN LUBECK
BURG

TU RKEY
IMPERIAL STANDARD

1022

1021 TURKEY
'ERIAL STANDARD AFLOAT

TU RKEY
RELIGIOUS FLAG

1023

V

367

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
things in tropical fruits and flowers are flow
ing. On 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
eign, Independent — 15 Sept., 1821."
489. Mexico Coat-of-Arms. — The design
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
tals — the eagle, the serpent, the nopal cactus,
and the branches of laurel and evergreen oak — •
but, in addition, has the words "Estados-
Unidos-Mexicanos" (United States of Mexico)
to round out the circle and further to identify
the seal. The change was made in January,
1917, under the direction of President Car-
ranza, the explanation given being that it con
forms more closely to the ancient Aztec picto-
graphs of the event.
490. 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
try 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 mid
dle one white, and the outer one red. The
three guarantees of the republic, which date
from that time, are symbolized in the flag.
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-of-
arms (see also 439-489).
49B. Mexico's merchant flag is exactly like
the national ensign, except that the coat-of-
arms is absent.
494. The ensign of Nicaragua consists of a
field of three horizontal bars, the upper and
lower blue and the middle one white, with the
coat-of-arms of the country on the white bar.
This flag dates from 1823, although in 1854 it
was superseded by another banner, which, in
its turn, gave place to the old one again. The
coat-of-arms consists of a triangular shield
(No. 498).
495. According to the law cited by the Pan-
American Union respecting the merchant flag
of Nicaragua, merchant vessels shall not bear
the coat-of-arms on the flag.
496. The present escutcheon of the Repub
lic of Panama is described in the Constitution.
It rests upon a field of green, symbolical of

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 to
the civil wars that have heretofore been the
cause of the country's ruin. In the section to
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 prog
ress. 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 prov
inces 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 di
vided 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 and
in the lower white quarter a red star. Both
the flag and coat-of-arms of the republic are
only provisional, the constitution authorizing
a contest for the adoption of a permanent de
sign. 498. 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 vol
canoes, located upon a strip of land washed by
both oceans ; surmounting these and in the
upper part of the triangle appears a rainbow,
below this a liberty cap radiating light. Around
the escutcheon appears the legend in gold, "Re-
publica de Nicaragua America Central."
499. The law prescribing the coat-of-arms
of Peru says : "The coat-of-arms of the Peru
vian 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 gold.
These emblems symbolize the riches of Peru
in the three natural kingdoms. The shield shall
bear as a crest a civic crown (laurel wreath),
and on_ either side a flag and a standard with
the national colors."
500. Paraguay's coat-of-arms consists of
palm and olive branches interlaced at the ver
tex with a circular space between; in the cen
ter of this space is the morning .star, and in

368

the outer border the inscription, "Republica de
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 Jus-
ticia" (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.
502. The national standard and flag of Peru
is composed of three vertical stripes, the end
ones red and the middle one white. On the
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 right, 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.
504. The merchant flag of Paraguay has the
same colors as the national ensign, the coat-
of-arms being omitted ; in its place appeafs at
the end of the white stripe next to the flag
staff the seal of the department having to do
with merchant rnarine matters.
505.- The flag of the admiral of the Para
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. 506. In 1912 the Congress of Salvador or
dered a return to the original coat-of-arms
and flag of 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
the white bar. This is the flag for ports and
vessels and for government envoys to foreign
countries. 507. The merchant flag does not bear the
coat-of-arms, but on the middle stripe is in
scribed in silver letters, "Dios, Union y Lib-
ertad." 508. Uruguay has but one flag for its na
tional banner and the emblem of its merchant
marine. This consists of nine stripes, five
white and four blue, white at the top and bot
tom. 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 of LTruguay is an oval
crowned with a sun and divided into four

quarters. In 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
Cerro of Montevideo, as a symbol of power;
in the lower right-hand division, on a field of
silver, a horse running loose, symbolizing lib
erty; and in 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 Sal
vador 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";" in the upper part a rain
bow curved above ; beneath an arc, a liberty
cap radiating light, and in the form of a semi
circle 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 na
tion, that of the Secretary of the National
,i Assembly, and that of government representa
tives and tribunals of justice bear the same
coat-of-arms. 511. The coat-of-arms of Venezuela was
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 white 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: "Inde-
pendeTicia — Libertad — 5 de Julio de 1811 — 24
de Marzo de 1854 — Dibs y Federacion" (Inde
pendence — 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.
THE NAVAL FLAGS OF THE WORLD
514-727. These flags and pennants, showing
all of the flags of command, commission pen
nants, 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 in
formation as to the time, occasion, and manner
of their respective use.

369

370

1121 VICE
ADMIRALL

?EAR | ENCLISF-
ADMIRALL 1123 ENSIGN

3UGEE FLAG j EAST INDIA [GUINVCOMP SCOTCH
"1128 1129 COMP 1 130 ENSIGN u^, ENSIGN

1124 VICE
ADMIRALL i ^5 ADMIRALL

HOLLAND S

CONSTANT! NOPLE 1197

THE FLAGS OF THE WORLD TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO. IN 1705
371

THE FLAGS OF EUROPE, ASIA, AND AFRICA

728. The flag of Abyssinia consists of three
horizontal stripes, the uppermost green, the
middle yellow, and the bottom red. This ban
ner 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." Cer
tain 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 150,000,
is ' largely composed of cavalry and is well
adapted for swift movement, as it is not in
cumbered by any commissariat, its maintenance
being obtained from the inhabitants of regions
through which it passes.
729. The flag of Albania has a red field,
upon which is 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 principal
ity 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 Dar
danelles were prejudicial to the interests of
Russia. 730. The coat-of-arms of Andorra, one of
the four vest-pocket nations of the world, has
a quartered shield bearing thereon the episco
pal 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 mem
bers elected for four years by the heads of
families in each parish. The council elects a
first and second syndic to preside; the execu
tive 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
public. 731. A century ago Napoleon declared, "I
recall a miniature republic lost in a corner of
the Pyrenees." Today the hero, the conqueror,
and the soldier, merely a handful of dust, is
often recalled by Andorra. But in its mild
ness, its weakness, its isolation, the republic
has found strength, and its colors float upon
the breeze as independent as they were a cen
tury ago, when they waved over an island of
peace in the great sea of human carnage dur
ing the Napoleonic wars. For nearly six cen
turies it has been thus. The war between
France and England, begun at Crecy and Poi

tiers, did not move the tiny country. Queen
Isabella and Ferdinand left it unmolested.
Charles V, 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 entang
ling thread about it. Cynical Louis XI did
not deign to harm it, and Louis XIV, although
he ordered that there should be no more Pyre
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.
732. Built upon a rampart of rocks and hid
den upon the southern slope of the Pyrenees,
liberty has found a home in Andorra for a
thousand years. Appreciating the services ren
dered by the Andorrans in his campaign
against the Moors, Charlemagne gave them a
charter of freedom and permitted them to gov
ern 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 edu
cational matters and religious instruction.
France exerts a temporal influence by appoint
ing the provost from the department of Ariege
to control the military activities of the repub
lic. 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.
733- The flag of the Chinese army has a
red 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
past. 734- The royal standard of Belgium con
sists of 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 183 1, when the monarchy was
founded. 735. Belgium's merchant flag is a duplicate
of the royal standard, except that the coat-of-
arms 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 rays emanating in the form of
small triangles. This flag succeeds the one in

372

which the dragon, on a yellow field, was shown
in the act of devouring a red sun.
737. China's national flag, which is also
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, Mon
golia, Tibet, and Turkestan.
738. The royal standard of Denmark con
sists of a swallow-tail red fly with the danne-
brog, or silver cross, upon it. The origin of
this cress 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 intersec
tion 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
lions on a golden ground. The third quarter
stands for modern Sweden and shows three
golden crowns on a blue field; Iceland is rep
resented 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
bear on a blue ground. The fourth quarter
proclaims Jutland, a blue lion at the top on a
golden ground with ten red hearts below ; Van-
dalia 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).
739. Denmark's ensign is the same as the
royal standard (738), except that the national
coat-of-arms is omitted. It is the oldest na
tional ensign in existence.
740. The merchant flag of Denmark has a
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 di
mensions 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
742. The flag of the President of France
consists of the French tricolor, with the initials
of the President in gold on the white stripe.
743. The familiar and inspiring tricolor of
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 au
thentic, is that after the taking of the Bastille,
when Lafayette had been appointed by accla
mation commander-in-chief of the National
Guard, he devised for the Guard a new cock
ade 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

France — 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
bore it at Narbonne. When the kings of
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
Agincourt, in 1415. The Huguenot party ir
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 ac
count 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 em
pires, the tricolor became the imperial stand
ard, 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
States. French colonies have a total of ap
proximately 4,500,000 square miles. Among
the flags of the earth, only the Union Jack and
the banner of Russia float over more territory.
744. The flag of the French Governors of
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
the staff. This flag is to be flown below the
national ensign.
745. The flag of French Indo-China and of
the Lieutenant Governor of Senegal is a dupli
cate of the flag of the French Governors of
Colonies, except that it is swallow-tailed.
746. The flag of Greece consists of nine
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 im
posed a white cross bearing at its point of in
tersection 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 dupli
cate of the ensign, with the exception that the
crown is omitted from the cross in the canton.
748. The ambassadorial flag of Italy con
sists of a white fly, upon which is superim
posed, in a line descending from the upper
corner next the staff to the lower corner of
the fly, three blue six-pointed stars.
749. When a merchant ship is taken over
by the Italian navy, it flies a triangular pen
nant, the base half of which next the staff is

373

blue and the apex half white. Upon the blue
is placed a crowned anchor, proclaiming the
government and the navy.
750. Italy's royal standard consists of a
square blue field on which is centered the na
tional coat-of-arms. A 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
1181). The collar itself is composed of a se
ries 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 An
nunciation bears a design representing that
holy event.
751. When Napoleon made the northern
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 Na
poleon 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.
752. The Italian merchant flag is an exact
duplicate of the ensign, with the exception that
the crown is omitted above the arms.
753- The flag of the Governor of Eritrea,
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 con
sists of a red field upon which is centered a
golden representation of the yellow chrysan
themum. 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 ris
ing sun, slightly to the left of the center of a
white field, with rays radiating to all points of
the compass. Both the sun and the rays are
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
red across it. A "dancetty" line is zigzag, re
sembling the "worm" of a rail fence, with deep
indentations. 759- The Japanese transport flag is identical
with the Japanese guard flag, with the excep

tion that the dancetty lines are blue instead of
red. '
760. The Japanese commanding officer's flag
is 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 occupy
ing the upper half. The lower half is quar
tered by a red stripe, which, with the .lower of
the two horizontal red stripes, forms a T-
square. 762. The flag which distinguishes a Japa
nese repair ship is the same as that displayed
by a transport, with the exception that the bot
tom and top of the white field are bordered
with red stripes.
763. In 1910 the Kingdom of Korea was
abolished by Japan, whose influence in this ter
ritory 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 cor
ner next to the flagstaff, on which is super
imposed a large white star. This flag was
adopted at the time the Republic of Liberia1
was established, in 1847, hy 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 the1
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 quar
ter 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 Trop-
pau ; 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 by yellow and
red, the latter occupying the lower half, the,
national banner of the principality of Liechten
stein 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 Em.pire. Schellenberg in 1699 and
Vaduz in 1712 came into the possession of the
House 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 princi
pality was incorporated in the Rhine Confed
eration. When the map of Europe was remade
after the Napoleonic wars, it became a part of1
the German Confederation and remained so
from that time until 1866, when the Confedera
tion broke up. Since then it has not joined

374

itself with any other nation. There is no pub
lic debt 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 1S66
in the Germanic Confederation. By the treaty
of London in 1867 it was declared neutral ter
ritory and its integrity and independence were
guaranteed. 769. The Prince of Monaco flies a flag con
sisting of a white field upon which is a crowned
shield, covered with lozenge-shaped figures of
red and silver, 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 XATI0X OX EARTH
770. The red and white flag of Monaco
floats over the smallest nation on earth. The
entire area of the territory, whose symbol of
authority it is, is only eight square miles. Al
though it is smallest in area, there are three
smaller in population. It has 23,000 inhabit
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 de
partment of Alpes-Maritime, except on the side
toward the sea. After 968 A. D. it belonged
to the house of Grimaldi. The reigning prince
was dispossessed during the French Revolu
tion, in 1792. and died in 1795. In 1814 the
principality* 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
free. The prince thereupon ceded his rights
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 191 1,
when a representative government was set up.
771. The State flag of Montenegro has a
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
lion passant. The initial H is the Montene
grin X and refers to Nicholas, the King. "I"
is the Roman numeral, the letters together
standing for Xicholas I.
772. The military standard of Montenegro
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.

773. The naval flag of Montenegro is a tri
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 letters "H I." The merchant flag is the
same as the naval ensign, except that the letters
and crown are omitted.
774. Morocco's flag now consists of a red
field upon which is imposed a five-pointed star
of striking design. This star proclaims the
passing of Turkish influence in Morocco.
Under the old regime the familiar crescent of
the Mohammedan world was borne on the Mo
roccan 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.
775. The national flag of the Netherlands
consists of three horizontal bars, red at the
top, blue at the bottom, and white between. It
is 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
is buff quartered by a cross of blue. In each
buff quarter there is placed a hunter's horn in
blue, and upon the intersection of the cross is
the royal coat-pf-arms, consisting of a blue
ground dotted with golden billets and bearing
a crowned golden lion rampant. The lion
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 Nether
lands 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. 778. The flag of the Arabians, also typical
of Muscat and Zanzibar, is scarlet. Elsewhere
the red flag is the emblem of mutiny and dis
order, and was carried recently by the Revo
lutionists 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 1 194).
779. 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.
780. The merchant reserve of the Nether
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 swal
low-tail pennant showing the national colors
of the Netherlands and attached to the flag
staff by the means of a toggle.

375

782. Repair ships of the Netherlands fly a
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.
783. The royal standard of Norway has a
red field upon which is centered a golden lion
rampant holding a battle-ax.
784. Norway's ensign is red and three-
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 hav
ing a yellow cross on a blue field (see 826).
785. The merchant flag ,of Norway is like
the ensign (784), except that the swallow-tail
effect is omitted.
786. The senior admiral's flag of Norway
consists of the ensign with the addition of a
saltire cross of white in the upper quarter next
to flagstaff.
787. The imperial standard of Persia con
sists 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 ap
pears, 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 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 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
stripe. The wreath rests upon the pink.
789. The ensign of Persia is like the mili
tary flag, except that the crown and wreath
above and below the lion are omitted.
790. The merchant flag of Persia is the
same green, white, and pink arrangement as
seen in the ensign and military flag of the
nation, but without the Persian lion.
7gi. 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
plates of silver: Around the shield is a red
border upon which are placed seven golden
castles. Alfonso I defeated five Moorish
princes in the historic battle of Ourique and
adopted the five small blue shields to com
memorate 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 1252,
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
Henry the Navigator.
7g2. The flag of the President of Portugal
is solid green, with the Portuguese coat-of-
arms in the center.

793. The flag of the Governor General of
the provinces of Portugal is white, with a strip
of green placed horizontally across the field
and the coat-of-arms centered on it.
794. The flag of the dependent Kingdom of
Poland (so nominated after the Napoleonic
wars) has a white field with the blue cross of
St. Andrew, which proclaims Russian suzer
ainty. Upon the red canton is a crowned
spread eagle.
795. Roumania's flag has three vertical
stripes, blue next the flagstaff, yellow in the
middle, and red on the fly. In the standard
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 quar
tered field of the shield appear a golden eagle
displayed on blue, a lion's head in gold dis
played on red, a golden demilion issuing from
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 ram
pant. 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.
797. Roumania's merchant flag is blue, yel
low, and red, like the ensign, except that the
arms are omitted.
798. The Roumanian coast guard flag has
the national colors, together with an anchor,
above which is a crown on the yellow stripe.
RUSSIAN FLAGS
799. The ensign of the Russian navy is a
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 se
cured the adoption of Christianity by their an
cestors. It has been asserted that he preached
in Scythia. Peter the Great, under his name
and protection, in the year 1698, instituted St.
Andrew's as the most noble order of Knight
hood 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 remi
niscent 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 sig
nal of distress and disaster. He thereupon re
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 Rus
sia is the same as the merchant flag, except
that there is a trumpet in the center of the blue
field. 802. Russia's customs flag consists of a blue
field with a canton in the upper corner next
the staff showing the merchant flag in minia
ture, while in the lower corner next the staff
are two combination caducei and tridents,
crossed.

376

_ 803. The flag of the Russian admiralty con
sists of 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. A
blue anchor is centered in a white field im
posed 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 in
signia, the latter placing the scarlet cross of
St. George on a field of white, while the Rus
sians 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.
807. The royal standard of Serbia consists
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, hav
ing 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 in
verted. 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 scarlet
field on which is a white elephant. The ele
phant is in full 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 tradi
tion 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 Siam
ese rejoice to place themselves beneath so po
tent a protector.
812. The merchant flag of Siam now con
sists of a field of five stripes — red, yellow, red,

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 re
cently, show the elephant flag. instead of the
new striped one.
813. The Siamese emblem of royal au
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.
814. This is the coat-of-arms of what
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 pop
ulation 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,
and Monte Gista, each bearing a castle sur
mounted 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."
815. The merchant flag of San Marino,
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 be
cause, 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 of
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 Flan
ders ; 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, bor
dered 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.
819. The merchant flag of Spain consists of

377

five stripes, three yellow and two red, yellow
at the top and bottom. The central stripe is
wider than the others. The flag bears no de
vice, but the colors arc those of Aragon and
Castile. 820. The flag of Switzerland consists of a
red field with a white cross. When the Red
Cross was recognized at the International Con
ference 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.
822. 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 mid
dle 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.
823. The flag of a Spanish minister is like
that of an ambassador, except that instead of
the pencils there are three blue disks on the
yellow bar.
824. The military and naval service of
Tunis has a flag consisting of a red field, upon
which is centered a white disk having a diam
eter 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
of a blue flag bearing a yellow cross. This
flag is swallowtailed and the horizontal arm of
the cross in the fly projects. Upon the inter
section 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.
827. The merchant flag of Sweden is a rec
tangular 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 con
sists of seven horizontal stripes — red, yellow,
red, green, red, yellow, red — the green stripe
being double the width of the others. 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 in
stead of seven. Tunis is now under French
dominion and the tricolor is 'the supreme ban
ner of the land.

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. Pat
rick (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
lish throne as James I, the cross of St. An
drew, 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 fore-
top the English were still to fly the red cross
of St. George and the Scots the white cross of
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 jackitaff of a ship
of war. James I always signed his name
"Jacques," and it is believed in many quarters
that the jack and the jackstaff of the navy de
rived their names from that fact. Others con
tend 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 1132). 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 re
mote from it, just as the upper portion of a
flag is more honorable than the lower. After
Ihe 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 Brit
ain and Ireland, the cross of St. Patrick was
incorporated. To combine these crosses with
out 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 direc
tion 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 headquar
ters, and on all occasions of military cere
mony. 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
to have originated during the Crusades. The
story goes that while engaged in a great battle
the soldiers of England were wearied and,
seeing that the number of enemies did not de
crease, began to despair. At this critical mo
ment an infinite number of heavenly soldiers,
all in white, 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,
the 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
patron saint.
The cross of St. George was worn as^ a
badge over the armor by every English soldier
in Fhe fourteenth century, if indeed not in
earlier times. It was the flag under which the
great seamen of Elizabeth's reign traded, ex
plored, 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 605).
831. St. Andrew has been the patron saint
of Scotland since about 740 A. D. How he
came to be such has never been satisfactorily
settled. When he suffered martyrdom, in the
year 69 A. D. at Papras, his remains were care
fully preserved; but in 370, Regulus, one of
the "Greek monks to whom they had been en
trusted, learned in a vision that the Emperor
Constantine was proposing to move them to
Constantinople. In compliance with the in
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
with some half dozen companions. After a
stormv vovas-c the vessel was dashed upon a
rock and Regulus and his companions landed
on an unknown shore and found themselves m
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
enshrining of the relic. This inhospitable shore
proved to be that of Caledonia (Scotland).

832. Authorities agree that, devoutly as mil
lions love it, the use of St. Patrick's cross is
in defiance of all ecclesiastical usage and cus
tom, because St. Patrick never suffered mar
tyrdom, 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 Iabarum of Constantine,
where the X is the first letter of the Greek
word for Christ. This symbolic meaning of
the form might readily have been adopted in
the early Irish church and thence carried by
missionaries through Scotland. Another sug
gestion is that the red cross on a white field
was the heraldic device of the Geraldines, dat
ing 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 dis
tinctive 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 fu
ture saint was under the paternal roof divers
visions revealed to him that he was destined
for the great work of the conversion of Ire
land, at that time steeped in idolatry. He re
signed his birthright and social position and
took the burden of the Irish upon him. Or
dained 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. Tradi
tion 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 light.
833. With its three golden lions represent
ing 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.
How England came to be represented by
three lions is not entirely clear. Two lions
were assigned as the arms of William the Con
queror, 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 guard-
ant appear. The date of this shield is 1195, 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 be
came 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.
Thev claimed that after the death of Queen
Elizabeth the Scottish crown virtually an-

37U

nexed the English, and 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
arms of Scotland were placed in the first quar
ter, as they are on the monument to Queen
Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey (see also
i 132). 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 rea
son that he could observe for the use of the
harp was that it resembled the country it typi
fied in being an instrument that cost more to
keep it in tune than it was worth.
The royal standard is hoisted only when the
King is actually within the palace or castle, or
at the saluting point, or on board the vessel
which flies 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, repre
senting the sovereign."
834. The white ensign, bearing the red cross
of St. George with the union flag of the Em
pire as its canton, is the fighting flag of the
British navy. When at anchor in home ports
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 hal
yards 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 pro
vide that British ships shall not on any account
lower their flags to any foreign ships whatso
ever, 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 offi
cers afloat, the consular service, the government
vessels of the several colonies, by hired trans
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 Ma
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 condi
tion 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 (except 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

badge of the office to which the ship is ac
credited. For example, hired transports fly
it with a yellow anchor in the fly (see 846) ;
the ordnance department of the War Office
displays it with a shield en the fly bearing a
cannon and cannon balls (see 854).
836. No other flag in the world flutters in
the breeze of as many ports or sails as far
and wide as the red ensign of the British Mer
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 car
goes sailing the seven seas were carried upon
them, for no nation's ships were more effi
ciently handled. At that time the tonnage of
the British Merchant Marine was more than
four times as great as that of Germany.
837. Uther Pendragon, father of King
Arthur, had a vision of a flaming dragon in
the sky. This his seers interpreted as mean
ing that he should ascend the throne. After
his accession he had two golden dragons fash
ioned, 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.
838. The lion rampant with the tressure,
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 modi
fication in color or form, it was borne by all
the sovereigns of Scotland, and on the acces
sion 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.
839. 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 11 33).
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 Eng
land for seven hundred years.
841. The royal family's standard of the
British Empire is the same as the royal stand
ard (833), except that it has a white border
and bears as an escutcheon of pretence the
arms of Saxony (998), proclaiming the conti
nental origin of the royal family. As the name
of the reigning family has been changed re
cently, it is probable also that its standard will
be changed in this same particular.
842. The flag of the Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland is the national flag of the British Em
pire, with the golden harp of the Irish on a blue
escutcheon at the intersection of the crosses.
843. The County Lords Lieutenant, when
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,

380

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.
844. The flag of British diplomatic func
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 Eng
land, 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 de
partments of the British Government.
BRITISH COLONIAL FLAGS
The union jack (829) is the national flag of
the colonies as well as of the mother country,
and, although it is a rule more honored in its
breach than in its observance, no other flag is
to be flown ashore. 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 Brit
ish realms may properly fly. However, since
the shipping of the principal colonies is accus
tomed 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 bear
ing 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
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 eight-
pointed silver cross of the Hospitallers (see
1169). 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 tri-
corporate 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
by 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.

868. The flag of the Governor General of
Canada consists of the national flag of the
British Empire with the arms of Canada, sur
rounded by a wreath and crowned, imposed
upon the intersection of the crosses.
869. The badge of Canada has a shield
quartered. In the first quarter is the shield of
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). The
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 es
cutcheon of the Colonial Government imposed
on the fly end.
871. The merchant flag of Canada is the
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-thirds
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 do
minion. 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.
874. Nova Scotia's badge is an escutcheon
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 be
low, 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. 877. Prince Edward Island, which joined
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,
on white. The inscription is "Parva sub in-
genti" (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 introduc
ing to Britannia a kneeling sailor who has' just
landed from a boat. "These gifts I bring you"
is the inscription. 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.

38l

881. A 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."
883. Jamaica's badge shows an escutcheon
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 mid
dle foreground, and the name of the islands
below. 885. On the badge of the Leeward Islands
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.
886. Britannia, robed in blue, red, and er
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.
887. The Windward Isles have a badge
which makes use of a garter encircling a blue
field, upon which is placed a quartered shield —
red, yellow, green, and purple. The device is
crowned. The motto is, "I Pede Fausto,"
"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 ever-
bubbling volcano Soufriere, with a land-locked
harbor in the foreground. The Latin motto
below describes this harbor as "Hardly a faith
less guard for ships."
889. St. Vincent's badge has a classical
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."
890. Discovered by Columbus on his third
voyage, Grenada seems to have taken his ship,
in full sail and running before a spanking
breeze toward the island, as its badge. The in
scription "Clarior e Tenebris" means "Brighter
out of the darkness," and doubtless refers to
the fact that Grenada is beyond the hurricane
line. 891. The badge of British Guiana, the Brit
ish Empire's continental holdings on the coast
of South America, consists of a clipper in full
sail surrounded by a garter of gold.

892. The facts that British Honduras is a
mahogany colony, 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
ship. 893. Trinidad and Tobago have a badge
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 inscrip
tion meaning "He approves of the people unit
ing and entering into treaties."
894. A 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 Pa
cific are under the control of the Western
Pacific High Commissioner. His badge is the
crown of the Empire above the letters W P
H C.
896. The main feature of the badge of the
Fiji Islands is an escutcheon bearing at the
top on red the British lion. Below is the red
cross of St. George on white. The quarters
thus formed bear specimens of the vegetable
and bird life of the islands. The shield is
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 en
circled by a wreath of green and red and bear
ing a crown with the words new Hebrides
around it.
898. The Protectorate of the British Solo
mon Islands has a simple badge, consisting of
the royal crown, surrounded by the three words
on a white field, British Solomon islands.
899. The British Resident of the Gilbert
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).
901. New Zealand's badge is a wreath-en
circled design of white, bearing four stars in
the form of a cross, with the letters N Z in
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.
904. The ensign of Paratonga, which flies
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
stars.

382

_ 905. The Friendly Islands of the South Pa
cific, constituting the Protectorate of Tonga,
have an ensign with a red field and a white
canton in which appears the cross of St.
George. 906. The standard of the Protectorate of
Tonga- has a quartered field, 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.
George's cross.
907. The customs flag of the Protectorate
of Tonga consists of 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 H M C, proclaiming His
Majesty's Customs. Australia's flags
908. The flag of the Governor General of
Australia is the familiar union jack bearing
upon the intersection of the crosses a wreath-
encircled, 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 Common
wealth is therefore a seven-pointed star, with
a crown above, set within a laurel wreath.
gio. The blue ensign of the Commonwealth
of Australia has a large seven-pointed star be
low 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 835).
911. By a warrant of the Lords Commis
sioners, issued 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, indi
cating 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.
912. A blue Maltese Cross coming down
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 Common
wealth of Australia has for its badge a blue
field bearing the constellation of the southern

cross, with the royal crown of the Empire
above. gi5- South Australia has made the white-
backed piping crow take the place of the Amer
ican spread eagle on her arms. The badge of
that State consists of a yellow field bearing the
piping crow displayed.
916. The celebrated black swan, which was
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 rep
resented on a circular gold field has been ap
propriately chosen as the badge of western
Australia. 917. A red lion passant upon a circular
white field 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. 919. The flag of the North Borneo Company
is a British union jack, bearing upon its inter
secting crosses a red lion, on a field of gold.
920. Sabah, a small settlement on the Ma
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.
921. Sarawak, a territory of some 42,000
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
like that of the 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
of Sarawak, his nephew succeeding to the posi
tion in 1868. The population of Sarawak is
estimated at 500,000 Malays, Dyaks, Jayans,
Kenyahs, Muruts, with Chinese and other set
tlers. 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 small
est colony in the British Empire, being about
the size of the Isle of Wight, but which has
since been incorporated in the Straits Settle
ments 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.

383

g26. Hongkong's badge shows a harbor
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
first magnitude.
927. 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
377,000 inhabitants.
929. Seychelles and its dependencies consist
of ninety islands and islets, with a total esti
mated 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.
930. The ensign of the Federated Malay
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 terri
tory 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.
934. Perak, also a Federated Malay State,
has an ensign consisting of three horizontal
stripes, the upper white, the lower black, and
the middle yellow.
g35. The ensign of Selangor is yellow and
red and is quartered. The first quarter is red
and bears the star and crescent of the Moham
medan world; the second quarter is yellow, the
third yellow, and the fourth red. Selangor is
about the size of Delaware and has a popula
tion of 300.000.
936-945 (inclusive). These are the flags of
the Malay States not included in the Federa
tion. They are all under British protection.

The relations of Johore with Great Britain are
defined by a treaty dated December 11, 1885,
amended by agreement on May 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, pro
tection, 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 approxi
mating 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 Mo
hammedan religion. The flag of the Sultan of
Johore (939) is white, bearing a crescent and
star in blue, the star being nine-pointed. Perlis
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 five-
pointed star inclosed within a garter and sur
rounded 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. 949. 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, bear
ing on the fly a golden lion, rampant, carrying
in its forepaws the crown of Empire.
951. The flag of the Conservators of Bom
bay 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 es
cutcheons 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 cor
responding 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.
953. The Witu forest lies within the pro
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 con
taining 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, ram
pant, or aggressively walking forward on his
hind legs. A passant lion, as shown in 917, is
one walking ahead on all fours, with right
paw uplifted; encircled by a wreath.
956. Armed vessels of the British East
Africa Company carry the blue ensign of
Britain, with the red lion of East Africa on
the fly.
957. The East Africa merchant flag is of
the familiar red ensign type, with the red lion,
rampant, in a white disk on the fly.
958. The Somaliland Protectorate in East
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.
959. The Nyassaland Protectorate, which
was formerly known as British Central Africa,
with an area of 39,000 square miles and a popu
lation of i,ioo,oco, has a badge which shows a
tree on a diagonal yellow, white, and black
background. 960. Nigeria, with approximately 336,000
square miles, an area as large as New England
and Texas together, has a population of about
17,000,000. In 1900 a proclamation was issued
which, without abolishing domestic slavery, de
clared all children born after January I, 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
of a six-pointed star. In the center is the
crown of the British Empire.
961, 962, 963. An elephant in front of a
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, mak
ing the badge representative of each of the
subdivisions of West Africa.
964. St. Helena has a badge which shows
an Indian merchantman on a green sea, steer
ing between two high cliffs. St. George's cross
on the ensign of the ship is reminiscent of
davs long ago.
5)65. The Governor General of the Union of
South Africa flies the national flag of the Brit
ish Empire, with the coat-of-arms of South
Africa in the center.
966. The badge of the Union of South Af
rica consists of a shield quartered and showing
the figure of Hope for Cape Colony, two gnus

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 respect
ively. The crest is a lion and the supporters
antelopes ; the motto, "In union there is
strength." g67. 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.
968. The merchant flag of the Union of
South Africa, .which is made up of Cape Col
ony, 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 ante
lope. On a scroll below the shield is "Good
Hope" in Latin.
970. The badge of Natal shows two gnus,
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.
971. The Orange River Colony, before it
became the Orange Free State of the Union,
had on its badge a springbok in alert attitude.
972. Before the formation of the South Af
rican 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. 974. The High Commissioner of South Af
rica has as his badge a blue disk with the ini
tials S. A. H. C. and a crown above.
975. This shows the wreath used around
the badges of the colonial possessions when
imposed upon the union jack, at the intersec
tion 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 regu
lation laurel, but is made of maple leaves (see
869) ; that around New Zealand's badge con
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 sur
rounded by wreaths, except in the case of the
blazing sun of India.
976. The badge of military officers afloat.
as, for instance, when crossing the English
Channel, or when going to the Saloniki front,
has a blue field, upon which are inscribed in
gold the initials "G. R." (George Rex), sur
mounted by the crown of the Empire.
g77-g86. These flags are used by the various
British officials.

385

FLAGS OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, BULGARIA,
GERMANY, AND TURKEY

987. The ensign of Austria-Hungary has
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 ap
pointed to blend the flags of the two countries.
As the Hungarian flag is red, white, and
green, the blending was accomplished by mak
ing 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.
g8g. The imperial standard of Austria-
Hungary consists of a yellow field bordered
with small black, red, and white triangles rep
resenting 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
flag commands a different salute from any
other in the world, it is believed. Under Aus
trian naval usage the Emperor is saluted by
twenty-one guns followed by fifteen hurrahs.
A minister of state or field marshal gets nine
teen guns and eleven hurrahs ; a general thir
teen guns and seven hurrahs; a commodore
eleven guns and three hurrahs, while ambassa
dors, archbishops, consuls, and others all have
their definite share of gunpowder and requi
site allotment of shouting.
ggo. The royal standard of Bulgaria is a
square red flag bordered with black and green
triangles, upon which is emblazoned the royal
lion of the coat-of-arms of the country. On
the body of the lion is a shield having a blue
field bearing a series of diagonal and horizon
tal lines.
ggi. The ensign of Bulgaria is white at the
top, red at the bottom, and green between. In
a canton appears the golden lion rampant of

the Bulgarian arms, upon red. The lion is
crowned. 992. Bulgaria's merchant flag is of white,
green, and red, white at the top and red at the
bottom. 993. Germany's imperial standard has a
cross, black with white border, the field being
yellow, and the intersection of the cross bear
ing a shield containing the arms of Prussia
surmounted by a crown and surrounded by the
collar of the Order of the Black Eagle. 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.
gg4. 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 Teu
tonic order and dates from the close of the
twelfth century.
gg5. 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).
996. The merchant flag of Germany, con
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, 1166,
etc.). In a speech delivered that year the
Minister of the Crown stated that the combi
nation of colors was emblematic of a junction
of the black and white Prussian flag with the
red and white ensign of the Hanseatic League.
gg7- 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 Vel-
dentz. Upon all is a fusiform of striped silver
and blue, which represents Bavaria. Above this

386

device is the royal crown, supported by two
lions regardant, each of them gold crowned.
The whole is upon a royal mantle, which, in
its turn, is crowned.
gg8. The standard of the King of Saxony
reproduces part of the heraldic device found
in the arms of the ruling family, namely, a
green crown of rue cutting diagonally across
ten alternate black and gold bars.
999. The flags of the maritime States of
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 Wurtt-
emburg 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 mari
time 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.
1005. Placed in the canton of the flag of
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 Olden
burg; 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.
1007. Mecklenburg's badge has a yellow
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 es
cutcheon halved in white and red.
1009. When the flag of the imperial marine
of Germany omits the golden anchor and
crown from the middle stripe of white and
substitutes the crowned black eagle of the Em
pire, it proclaims that the building or vessel
displaying it is under the jurisdiction of the
Foreign Office.
1010. When the flag of the imperial marine
has this badge substituted for the anchor and
crown, it means that the ship or building dis

playing 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
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 cen
tral white stripe. The former colony has now
been practically conquered by British forces
and the Japanese have taken charge of Kiao-
Chau. 1015. The flag of the commander-in-chief
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.
1017. The ensign and merchant flag of
Turkey consists of a red field upon which is
imposed a white crescent moon and a •- five-
pointed 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 re
mained throughout the rise and development
of the Greek Church a special mark of Con
stantinople. 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
Philip, the father of Alexander the Great.
While he was trying 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.
1018. The personal flag of the Sultan of
Turkey, which corresponds to the royal stand
ards 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, accord
ing 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

1019. The chief of the staff of the German
navy flies a flag of white fully quartered by a
black cross, upon whose intersection is im
posed 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 Turk
ish naval forces he has a red banner upon
which is centered a white anchor with a blaz
ing 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

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
Islam. 1023. The customs banner of Turkey is of
the same genetal 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 Symbolized in
g6 Historic Standards
(Nos. 1025-1120)

THE earliest representation of the
flags of all nations is to 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 King
doms, Countries, and Lordships that
there are in the World and of the En
signs 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 trav
eler and a close observer, and though he
is prone to weave legend and hearsay into
his narrative, there is, nevertheless, a re
markable 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
Castile, in the reign of the very noble King
Don Sancho, when the era of the world, ac
cording to the Hebrews, was 5,065 years, and
the era of the deluge 4,407 years, and of Nebu
chadnezzar of Chaldea 2,502 years, and of
Alexander the Great of Macedonia 1,617, and
of Ca:sar, Emperor of Rome, 1,343, and of

ARTIST AS WEU, 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 Fran
ciscan evincing great skill in reproducing
in some instances the banners and in oth
ers 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 coun
tries over which they waved is best told
in the words of the Franciscan himself,
who makes no attempt to differentiate be
tween 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 vil
lages. 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).

388

"I departed 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
Leon. The arms of this kingdom are castles
all round and qmnas (shields with five white
circles, representing the five wounds of the
Saviour) in the middle (1026).
"I went to Bayona (Bayonne the greater,
which is in Gascony. It is seated on the west
ern sea, near the Pyrenean Mountains (Pyre
nees). The Lord of this Bayona has for his
flag white with a cross red" (1027).
At the time of the Franciscan's visit Bayonne
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
cities. Three great rivers flow through it. The
king of it has for a sign the flag as follows"
(1028). At the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, in
1212, Sancho, King of Navarre, and his knights
broke the chain which defended the approach
to the tent of "En-Nasir," the Almohade Sul
tan. 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 Nor-
mandia (Normandy). All these are in the
Kingdom of Francia (France), where there
are many cities, towns, and villages. Know
that the Kingdom of Erance borders on the
Mediterranean, where there is a city called
Narbonne, 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
call Diepa (Dieppe), and I left it and reached
a rich city called Cales (Calais), which is in
the province of Picardy. Know that from this
Cales to the island of England is a short cross
ing of eight miles (leagues ?). I departed
from Cales and went to the country of Flan
ders, 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 Co-
lona (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 I 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
m honor of the three Magian kings who adored
Jesus Christ, and they said that they were na
tives of that city. In this Germany there are
some very high mountains which they call the
German Alps. . . The Emperor of Ger
many 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 de
vice 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 ar
rived 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
"I entered the Kingdom of Polonia (Po
land), 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 King
dom of Leon (Galicia) borders on the prov
ince of Rumenia (Livonia) and with the King
dom 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 prov
ince they call Suevia (Sweden) and found the
city ol 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 Fran
ciscan the first union between Norway and
Sweden had taken place under the three-year-
old king, Magnus, who, however, lost both
kingdoms before his death.
"I left the city of Roderin and, going on

389

board a ship, I passed to an island they called
Gotlandia, which is in the German Gulf, and
on this 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 Fran
ciscan's visit that the wealth of the city of
Wisby, or Bisuy, as he called it, became pro
verbial, and an old ballad relates that "the Got-
landers weigh gold with 20-pound weights and
play with the choicest gems. The pigs eat out
of silver troughs and the women spin with
gold distaffs. A few years after the friar's
visit Wisby was attacked by the King of Den
mark, 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
containing three great cities. They call the
largest Regis (Bergen), where they crown the
kings. And be it known that this Noruega
toward the north is uninhabited, and that the
year makes one day for six months and an
other, 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)..
li'T departed from Noruega in a ship of the
English, and we shaped a course west r and
came to an island, very large, called Salanda,
which is at the. entrance of the Gulf of Frisia,
already . mentioned. The island . of Salanda
(Zeeland) is very populous and has four great
cities, > called Salandi (Copenhagen), Risent
(Ringsted), Escondin (Stor Heddihg), Alenda
(Lealand). The king of this island \ has for
his device a flag — gold with a black lion, as in
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 (Dum
fries), 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 cone-
fusion 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
came to the; Kingdom of Inglaterra (England).
Know that it is a very well populated country
and that it cqntains eleven great .cities. The
largest, where they crown .their king, is called
Londres (London). The King. of those lands
has for his arms, on a iflag, quarterly, in two
quarters, fleurs de.Jys, gold on a field azure, be
cause the king is of the hous,e pf 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 ob
served, are almost identical with the "long
lions" which he erroneously credited to, Scot
land (1041).
"I left Inglaterra in a boat and reached the
island of Irlanda (Ireland), which is a short
crossing of a mile (!). They say that for
merly it was called Ibernia. In this island
there is a great lake, and they say that the
lake brings good fortune, because many en
chantments 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
Ibernia (Iceland). All these islands are in a
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 eat
ing, whether boiled or roasted. The men in
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.Lthis island there are no snakes nor
vipers, nor toads, nor flies, nor spiders, nor
any other venomous things, and the women
are very beautiful, though very simple. It is
a land where there is not as much bread as
you maynwant, 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
(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
Galicia (Spain>). • Thence I went to a town .in
the Kingdom of Castile, as I mentioned be
fore, which they call Tarifa. It was founded
by a very powerful Arab named Tarif. Near
this towniAlbuacen, king of all the land of
the west, was. defeated and conquered by the
very noble Icing, Don Alfonso of Castile, who
pillaged 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
of Morocco, on October 28, 1340.)
"I departed from Tarifa and went to the
city of Aljezira (Algeciras), 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 kingi-
dom 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 er
ror in copying the Arabic inscription, which
should read, "No conqueror but God/'
; "I departed from the Kingdom of Granada

390

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 his
tory 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 Barce
lona, wiped his bloody fingers down the shield
and thereafter it became "or with five pales
gules" — gold with five red strokes.
"I left Barcelona 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
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 Ray-
mondo 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
visit that 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 dic
tated 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 Lom-
bardy, where there are many great and rich
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).
(S. P. Q. R. — Senatus Populusque Romanus—
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

eight large cities. This Sicily has a flag parted
per s'altire (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, Mar
cus, 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 sup
plied land ; but they are not Catholic Chris
tians, and the king of these mountains has the
same arms as those of the King of Esclavonia
(1053). "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, fall
ing into the great river Danube and forming
in Ungria ten islands. . They call the first
Ungria La Mayor, whence the Kingdom of
Ungria took its name.
"Know that in this Ungria there are many
rich cities. The Kingdom of Ungria' (Hun
gary) marches with Greece and Germany,
Esclavonia, Bolonia (Bologna), and Burgaria
(Bulgaria). The flag of this kingdom is part
ed per fess (that is, in two equal parts), upper
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).

391

The Knights of the Order of the Hospital
of St. John of Jerusalem, afterward known as
the Knights of Rhodes and the Sovereign Or
der of the Knights of Malta, came into exist
ence in Jerusalem during the First Crusade.
After its expulsion from the Holy Land at the
fall of the Latin Kingdom, the order was estab
lished 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 an
other island they call Negropont (Eubcea),
which the Venetians conquered. I left the en
trance 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 city of Satalia and others as far as the
lesser Armenia are all in the province of
Turquia (Turkey),, which was called, in an
cient 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 de
vice (1060).
"I went along the coast of this Turquia to a
city called COrincho (Kongos). The king of
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 (Phila
delphia), 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
they 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 sur
rounded by a wall two miles in circumference.
Beyond the city proper spread the gardens and
villas of a numerous suburban population.
From the splendor of the city sprang the
Turkish proverb, "See all the world, but see
Konia."

"There is also another province called Sau-
asto (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, hav
ing been rebuilt by the great Sultan Ala-ed-
din Kaikobad I. Fifty years after the friar
wrote his "Knowledge of the World," Siwas'
flag was trampled in the dust by the impla
cably cruel Tamerlane, who buried alive 4,000
of its inhabitants.
"I entered Armenia the Less, which is all
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 re
ferring to a small principality founded in 1080,
which gradually grew until it became the in
dependent kingdom of Lesser Armenia. It
was a Christian State set in the midst of Mos
lem 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 dedi
cated 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, Cassarea,
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 po
tent 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 de
feated 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 king
dom 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
with villages. (Rosetta is the Egyptian town
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 Tolo-
meta (Ptolemais), on the seashore. The king
has for a device a white flag with a yellow-
sash on a lance (1072).
"From Tolometa I came to Puerto Magro
(the mouth of the river Magra, ancient Cyni-
phus), and thence to Tripul (Tripoli), of Ber
beria. It is called Tripul because it is bounded
by the Triplicana Mountains. This Tripul is
a rich city and the king of it has for his de
vice a white flag with a green palm tree and
two red keys (1073 and 1074).
"I went from Tripul to Rahasa (Ras Maja-
bes), 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
(Abu-1-hasan Ali), was defeated and all his
tents were pillaged. The King of Africa has

for his device a white flag with a purple moon"
(1075). The Franciscan's mention of the battle be
tween Abu-1-hasan Ali and Ahmed, near Kairo
wan, which occurred in 1348, is of special in
terest, 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 trench occupation, in 1881, no Christian
was permitted to pass through its gates with
out a special permit from the bey.)
"I went thence to Cucia (Susa, in Tunisia,
built on the site 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 went to Bona (old name, Hippo), where
St. Augustine was bishop. It is a rich city.
The king of it has a white flag with a black
moon (like Tunis — -1076). I departed from
Bona and went to the city 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).
AN EARLY SIGNALING DEVICE
Long before the Franciscan's visit to Bou
gie 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 sea-
coast. 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, as
sumed 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 Gibral
tar), 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 Beni Merin)
always reside. At Fez their kings are crowned

393

and reside and they have a flag all white
(1081).
I "Thence I went to Nife (Anafi?) and Aza-
mor. 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 sov
ereignty of the Romans. Afterwards the Goths,
who were the lords of Spain, were the sover
eigns 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 sup
plied 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 "pan-
filo" — a galley used in the Mediterranean dur
ing 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 Sa
hara with gold for the King of Guinea. He
continues :
"We came to some very great and high
mountains in the middle of the Zahara (Sa
hara), and afterward we traveled a very great
distance over the desert until we came to an
other mountain (oasis?) called Infurent (Ze-
fran). Here I parted from these Moors and
joined some others. I then went to Sulgu-
menca (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 moun
tains; thence to another mountain, which is
under the King of Guynoa (Guinea), and
thence to Buda, a well-supplied city, also on
the top of a mountain. Know that the city
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 treas
ure, to this place and founded this city of
Buda (an oasis south of Atlas). Its flag is
white with a red moon (1087).
"Afterwards I departed from Buda and went
by the Zahara to another mountain called Ga-
nahe (Ghana), in which there is a rich, well-
supplied 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).

GOLD-MINING ANTS AS BIG AS CATS •
"Of Guynoa there is much to say. It con
tains seven mountains well peopled .and land
yielding abundantly as long as there are moun
tains ; 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 Or
gana (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'Me-
lilla 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 (Bar
bary)^ 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 (Dami
etta), where he embarked for Ceuta. He dis
embarked and journeyed through Morocco,
crossed the 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 Sene-
gambia. He _ marvels at the gold, the amber
gris, 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

394

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 nar
rative 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 Euf rates (Niger — the
friar does not confuse this with the Mesopo-
tamian -Euphrates, but assumes two rivers with
the same name). This river forms three
branches, one entering the middle of the King
dom of Amenuan and the other branches flow
ing 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 popu
lous (referring evidently to the river Benue,
a tributary of the Niger).
A MYTHICAL MONARCH
"I came to 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 re
fers, was a mythical Christian potentate, whose
name appears many- times in the chronicles of
the Middle Ages, and he is endowed with many
attributes of greatness, wisdom, and magic.
Originally he was supposed to be a monarch
of Asia, his capital being somewhere in India.
During the fourteenth century, however, the
mythical Prester John's domain was trans
ferred to Africa, and he then became the Chris
tian king of Abyssinia.
"Preste Juan rules over very great lands and
many cities of Christians. But they are ne
groes 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
which escaped. . The Emperor of Abdeselib
has for his device a white flag with a black
cross like this" (1095).
The friar's reference to the Genoese galley
relates to the voyage of Vadino and Guido de
Vivaldo, navigators who set sail in 1821 in an
attempt to reach India. One of them reached

a city in Ethiopia called Menam, where the
crew was imprisoned and none ever returned.
"J 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
sides. "This is a well-peopled and well-supplied
land. From the time I came to Malsa I heard
and saw marvelous things every day. I in
quired 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
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 Vic
toria Nyanza. It was not until centuries later
that these lakes were definitely located. In
fact, Victoria Nyanza, which, next to Lake Su
perior, 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.
"The waters which descend by these rivers
make so great a noise that it can be heard at a
distance of two days' journey. All the men
who live 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 tem
perature. All things, whether animal or veg
etable, can never decay nor die.
"They told me many other secrets of the
stars both as regards judgments and magical
virtues ; also concerning herbs, plants, and
minerals, and I saw several marvelous things.
The Greeks call this place Ortodoxis, and the
Jews Ganheden, and the Latins Paraiso Ter-
renal, because there is always a good tempera
ture. The device of Preste Johan is a white
flag with a black cross (1096). I 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
large islands, called Zanzibar (probably an
error of the copyist for Acibar), Alcubil_(Ku-
ria 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'
journey. On its shores are many cities, towns,
and villages.

395

A RED RED SEA
"When the ships come from India they ar
rive at Aden and pay a tithe of their merchan
dise, because between the island Aden and the
point of Aden there is a rich city. Then there
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 bot
tom consists of red ochre which makes the
water red. By this sea the Jews passed when
they went forth from the Egyptian captivity
of Faraon the King (Pharaoh). Presently I
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 (Baby
lon), which is now destroyed, of which the
lord was Nabucodonusor (Nebuchadnezzar).
"I crossed an arm of the Eufrates and en
tered the province of Baldaque (Bagdad), in
which there is a great city which they call
Bandacho (Bagdad), and Nabucodonusor
(Nebuchadnezzar) was king of these prov
inces. 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 re
gion contains very extensive lands, many cities
and 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 Cal
dea and Baldaque are all in one lordship and
it is all one region.
"I crossed the river 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 AI Medina (Medina), where
Mahomat was born. Thence I went to Me
dian (Mecca), where is the law and testament
of Mahomat in an iron chest and in a house
of calamita stone. For this reason it is in the
air, neither ascending nor descending. Know
that this Median is the head of the empire of
the Arabs. Its device is a red flag and on it
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
island called Sicocra (Socotra). There is in
it a very large city also called Sicocra, under
the rule of the King of Arabia. This same
island the ships touch coming from India laden

with spices. It has a red flag with Arabic let
ters (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 Raj-
putana), 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 (iogg).
"I departed from the Kingdom of Dilini and
entered that of Viguy (Bijaya-nagar), which
is on the other coast of the Indian Sea. Be
yond 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 west
ern sea. Wise men say that as far as the Ant
arctic Pole there is a great land forming a
tenth part of the whole earth. The learned
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 Tra
pouana 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 cock
atrices. The king has for his device a white
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 (Ben
gal), because on its shore is a. great city called
Bengala, of the Empire of Armelec, and it is
the capital 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 — 1099).
"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
days' journey in length. The island is verv
populous, but there are no cities, because all
the people live in the country and gather spices,
pepper, and odoriferous gums. It is a very
hot land. The people are black and they adore

396

the 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 (simi
lar to Delhi — iogg). I departed from the Em
pire 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.
TO THE END OF THE EARTH
"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 west
ern sea.
"Know that Catayo (China) is the end of
the earth in the line of Spain. This empire is
irrigated by three great rivers, which rise in
the Montes Caspios (Himalaya Mountains)
and are led off into many parts. Ihey call the
largest of these rivers Magot (Hoang-Ho),
for it rises near the castle of Magot (the Great
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 to
ward 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 en
tirely 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
mi'k. Thence I reached the Montes Caspios
(Himalayas) of Magot.
"Know that these mountains are of immeas
urably 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 com
mandments 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 con
quer 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. Even
tually 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.

"From that lineage also came those of the
empires of Armalec, Mesopotamia, all the Per
sians, those of the Empire of Sara (Caspian),
as well Turks and Tartars, Saracens and Goths.
Some 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 king
dom called Scim (perhaps a kingdom of hear
say), which borders on the Kingdom of Sar-
magant (Samarkand), Bocarin (Bokhara), and
Trimic (Tibet). The flag of its king is white,
with a figure of the sun in the center (1102).
Europe's first account of Tibet
"The Kingdom of Trimic (Tibet) is all sur
rounded by mountains, which give rise to many
fountains and rivers. Those who are born here
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 sci
ence and learning were these, and that the Per
sians heard of those things from them. For
this reason they deserve honour above all other
men ; for others do not equal these in learning
or science."
This is the earliest European account of the
people of Tibet.
"I departed from Magot, where I had re
sided 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 mer
chants who came from Catayo and traveled
with us, 35 days' journey, to another city, called
Cato, the head of a kingdom with very exten
sive territory (probably a region bordering on
Siberia). But all the people live in the coun
try, except the people of one city where the
king lives. These two kingdoms have for a
device a yellow flag with many white stars
(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 moun
tain 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 with
out 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 Norgan
cio has for his device a white flag with the
sign of Uxbeco Emperor of Sara (on the Cas
pian) red" (1104).
Journeying westward by way of the Caspian
Sea, which he crossed in a ship belonging to
Christians, the friar visited Armenia. His re
cital continues :
"Then I went to see the mountains of Ar
menia the Greater, where the ark of Noe

397

(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 capi
tal of the Empire of the Persians. It is one of
the grandest cities in the world, well supplied,
rich, and in a good climate. Eor 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 Em
peror 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 (sim
ilar to Persia's — 1105).
"I 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 very
ancient. They say that in this city was first
discovered the astronomy or law of the stars,
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 (Raze-
lain), Saldania (Sultanieh), and Toris (Ta
briz). "In this last town is where Besnacayt, the
Emperor of Persia, was crowned. Flis empire
extends from the Sea of Sara (Caspian) to
the Persian Gulf, where is the city of Hor-
mixio (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
(Sari?) 100 days' journey. Benascayt, Em
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
half of cavalry. Then Benascayt promised
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 mer
chants who came from Catavo (China).
Thence we traveled for a great distance with
out 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 Medi
terranean (not the Tripoli of North Africa,
previously mentioned). There I embarked in
a ship of Christians and went to Chipre (Cy
prus), thence to the Morea, and thence to
Creta, Negropont (Eubcea), and a kingdom of

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). GALLIPOLI 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 cap
ital 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 Con
stantine. 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
his 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
coast on the left hand to a great city called
Vecina (Vidin). 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.
It has a white flag with four red squares
(1109). . . .
"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 in
habited by Comanes Christians. Here there
are many people who have Jewish descent, but
all perform the works of Christians in the sac
rifices, more after the Greek than the Latin
Church. The king has- for his flag — gules a"'
hand argent (1110).
"I left Sant Estropoli and went 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 re
mained for some time. This empire borders
on Turquia, but the people are Greek Chris
tians. The Emperor of Trapesonda has for
his device a red flag with a golden two-headed
eagle. "I departed from Trapesonda and arrived at
the Kingdom of Semiso (Samsun), a large
and populous territory bordering on Turquia
and the Mare Mayor. The king has for his
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).

398

I departed from the Kingdom of Feradelfia
and went to another kingdom, called Stologo
(Hypsili, in Asia Minor), which contains ex
tensive 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,
at a city called Deruent (Derbent). I went
along the shores of the Sea of Sara (Caspian).
"I entered a great province called Roxia
(Russia), in which there is a city called Xor-
man(?), the capital of the kingdom (1115 and
1116). 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).
Three very great rivers flow from it. One of
these, the Nu (Dwina), bounds a great prov
ince called Siccia (Scythia), a very cold coun
try. In this Siccia there is a great city, the
capital of the kingdom, called Nogorado (Nov
gorod). The king has for his device a red flag
with a white castle (1117).
"I came to Maxar, a kingdom in which there
are threegreat cities — Casama (Kazan), Lasac
(Lechel, in the province of Kazan), and Mons-
caor (Moscow). This King of Maxar (Oren
burg) has for his device a purple flag with
white stars (11 18).
"From Maxar I went to the Kingdom of
Siluana, which they call Septen Castra, and the
Greeks call it Horgiml (Transylvania). It is
encircled by two great rivers — the Turbo

(Dniester) and the Lusim (Dnieper). The
king has for his device a green flag with a red
scimitar (1119). The people are schismatic
Christians. 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 coun
try is very cold. This Gotia and Yrcania
march with the lofty mountains of Trasmon-
tana (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 deliber
ated on the siege of Alexandre and the con
quest of the greater part of the world (device
of Yrcania — 1120).
"I went to Flanders, and from there to Se
ville, the city from which I first started."
Thus ends the recital of the Francis
can's wanderings.

PENNANTS OF PATRIOTISM 200 YEARS AGO

(Nos. 1123-1197)

PROBABLY John Beaumont, an
English author who lived during
the last half of the seventeenth cen
tury, 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 pos
terity 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
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
letters R (red), W (white), Y (yellow),
etc., chiseled out to indicate the colors.
The flags reproduced on page 371 of
this issue of the Geographic have been
prepared in colors, in large measure
from the black and white drawings which
Beaumont included in the third edition of

his book, published by John Motte in
London in the year 1701. The full title
of the work is :
"The Present State of the Universe, or
an Account of the Rise, Birth, Names,
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 Inhabit
ants. Their Chief Seats of Pleasure, and
other Remarkable things in their Do
minions. 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 — the white,
blue, and red.
To understand the use of the red, the white,
and the blue ensign in the British navy, it is
necessary to know the organization of the huge
fleets of that day. In a fleet there were the
center, the van, and the rear.
The admiral of the fleet, with the union flag
at the mainmast of his flagship, commanded
the vessels of the "center," and they were re
quired 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, com
manded the vessels of the van (fore), and they
displayed the white ensign (1124). The rear-
admiral of the blue, with his blue flag (1122)
at the mizzen of his flagship, commanfed 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 ad
mirals' 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 ad
mirals' flags, 1121 and 1122, and the ensigns
1123, 1124, and 1125 of the year 1705 (two
years before the union of the crosses of St.
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) be
coming 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 cen
turies 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 de
clare that it was the parent banner of our
Stars and Stripes. Benjamin Franklin is re
puted to have urged its adoption at a dinner
which he and Washington attended on De
cember 13, 1775, 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 (1120), for in 1707 the union
between England and Scotland took place and
the St. George's cross was combined with that
of St. Andrew. The East India Company flag
vanished from the seas in 1858, when the
British Government took over its functions.
The Guinea Company (also a chartered trad

ing organization of England) carried its check
ered red and white ensign (1130) up and down
the West African coast for many years. In
1663 its vessels brought from Guinea the gold
from which the first English "guineas" were
coined. The Scottish ensign (1131) and Scottish Un
ion flag (1132) recall an interesting bit of con
troversy 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 neces
sary to devise a new flag. A royal ordinance
of April 12, 1605, recites the following :
"Whereas some difference hath arisen be
tween 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 superim
posed 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
"Emerald Isle." 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
naval heroes Tromp and De Ruyter fought
their many brilliant sea engagements with the
English between 1652 and 1654.
Concerning the city of Amsterdam (1137)
two centuries ago, Beaumont furnishes the
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 propor
tion 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

marshy ground, the water is let in through all
the considerable streets, and it's all built upon
piles, or high fir trees, driven down perpen
dicularly 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
seventeenth century :
"The State of Genoa is, like that of Venice,
govern'd by a Doge or Duke, with this Ex
ception, 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
hundred Germans. Controversies between
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
tion on the pedestal, Liberator Populi." (It
was after this liberator that the brig Andrew
Doria, the first 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 ship
building in Plolland, adopted the Dutch ensign
(1136), merely reversing the colors. But the
Russians were not flattered by this, for it made
them appear like "Dutchmen in distress" (the
sign of distress being an inverted flag). Sub
sequently 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. 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
20, 1604), and it is computed that one hundred
thousand lives and four million dollars were
sacrificed in its reduction. All the engineering
skill and resources of the age were employed.
Targone, a famous Italian engineer, invented

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 dur
ing night attacks. Earthworks were mined and
countermined. Red-hot shot were fired into
the city. To prevent conflagrations, the garri
son covered all the houses with sod. When
there was no more earth suitable for the con
struction of fortifications, the besieged turned
to the graveyards, exhuming their heroic dead
and using their bodies as ramparts for the
living. When the town finally hauled down its flag
it was with the honors of. war, granted by
Spinola, the chivalrous Genoese commander of
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 rec
ords :
"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 com
plete, 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 ue 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. (jeorge's
cross, was the first distinctively American flag
of the American colonies. It should be re
membered 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. Beau
mont 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)

401

strewn with flower-de-luces or, and Charles VI,
who came to the crown in 1380, reduced the
lilies in his coat-of-arms to three."
White became the national color of France
during the Hundred Years War. Later the
Huguenot party adopted the white flag, and
when Henry III, himself a Protestant, came
to the throne, in 1574, it became the royal en
sign. 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 11 50, 1151, 1157, 11 58, H59.
1160, and 1161). The ensign (1149) was the
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 suc
cess 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
Franks. It was under the plain blue flag
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,
those of Holland. On the white bar is the
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 federa
tion 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 (gg6). The chief city
of the federation was Lubeck (1153). Ham
burg, 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
white chess-board. 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 ap
peared 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).

The Munich flag (1164) had an unfortunate
color combination, the yellow frequently fad
ing out, leaving the banner a French white
(1149). 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. Heli
goland was a fief of the dukes of Schleswig-
Holstein 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 flags 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 Mal
tese cross are supposed to represent the eight
Beatitudes. In their monasteries the Knights
of Malta wore black habits with Maltese
crosses over their hearts. In war their coat-
of-arms was crimson with the white Maltese
cross, like the flag.
The flag of Jerusalem (1170) at the begin
ning of the eighteenth century contained the
same five crosses which the Franciscan monk
pictured in 1350 (see 1067), save that the cen
tral 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 mer
chant flags (1173) are the oldest national em
blems 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 Den
mark). On the time-stained walls of the medi
eval 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 distin
guished 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
a red scimitar (1176) two centuries ago. It

402

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) con
tains the five red roundels (little circles) pe
culiar to the arms of the Great Duke of Tus
cany, who derived a large share of his reve
nues from this seaport.
The winged lion of St. Mark (1179) is as
familiar to students -of flags as the eagles of
the Roman Empire and the dragon of St.
George in British heraldry. It is 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 re
vealed to him in a vision. The lion was the
commonly accepted symbol of the saint in all
early Christian art.
The Pope's colours (1180) include the red
field (red being the color of the livery of the
Holy Father also) with the white cross of Cal
vary and the white lamb, the significance of
which are apparent. THE BANNER OF SAVOY
The white cross on the red field, device of
the House of Savoy (1181), has played an im
portant role in the history of Europe. Beau
mont gives this account of its adoption by 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 mer
chant flags (1183 and 1184) bore the same dis
tinguishing 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 na
tion's maritime prowess in the sixteenth cen
tury, 200 years ago, as they do now (see mod
ern 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 1 186). Tunquin (Tong-
king or Tonquin) was a place of great interest

to geographers 200 years ago. It was de
scribed 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 Ton
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 south
west coast of the Adriatic, was a semi-inde
pendent republic during the Middle Ages.
Camphen (Kampen) was one of the impor
tant 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 Hol
land, with a population of about 20,000. Its
days of glory were in the fifteenth century.
Its red field charged with a golden crescent,
the flag of Tunis (1189) was for centuries one
of the most important banners of the Moham
medan 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 six
teenth, 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 Medi
terranean Sea. Sallee (Salli), whose red flag
(ng4) is almost identical with that of Tetuan,
was once the haunt of the Salli Rovers. It
also had another flag of unique design (ngs).
The flag of Moco Araba (Mocha, Arabia)
(ng6) 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 Con
stantinople's flags (1107 and 1 108) 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 pre
scribing 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 hoist
ing, which should be done quickly. It
should be taken in slowly and with dig
nity. It should not be allowed to touch
the ground on shore, or the deck of a
ship, nor should it be permitted to trail
in the water or in the dust. It should
not be hung where it can be contami
nated 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.
A 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, unfortu
nately, 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 effect
ively 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 are desired for dec
orative purposes, use red, white, 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 ac
centuate the distress and make it easily
recognized at a distance, be knotted in
the middle of its length, forming what
is called a "weft."

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 de
mand 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 low
ered 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 second
ary 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 Repre
sentatives 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 Repre
sentative wings of the Capitol the flags

404

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
'ritin' " with flags. The radio and the wireless telephone have accomplished marvels in facili
tating communication between the units of a fleet, but the semaphore and the wigwag flag
still have their place in the service.

fly only while those bodies are in session
and during a recess. At adjournment,
either at the end of a day's work or for
a session, they are lowered.
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 reg
istered which consists of or comprises
"the flag, the coat-of-arms, or other in
signia of the United States, or any simu
lation thereof." An act passed in 1917
provides penalties for the desecration,
mutilation, or improper use of the flag
within the District of Columbia. The
Department of Justice has held that any
alien enemy tearing down, mutilating,
a.busing, or desecrating the United States
flag will be regarded as a danger to the
public peace or safety within the mean
ing of the President's proclamation of

April 6, 1917, and will be subject to sum
mary arrest and punishment.
At every military post or station it is
the practice in the army, each day in
the year, to hoist the flag briskly at sun
rise, irrespective of the condition of the
weather, and to lower it slowly and cere
moniously at sunset, indicating the com
mencement and cessation of the activities
of the day. While the flag is being low
ered 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 atten
tion, and salute. (For a description of
army flags see page 307 and onward.)
A military force is said to be accorded
"the honors of war" when, after a spe
cially honorable defense, it has surren
dered its post, and is permitted by the
terms of capitulation to march out with

405

Photograph by Brown Brothers
INSURING ACCURACY IN A FACTORY WHERE GOVERNMENT FLAGS ARE MADE
The United States Government uses thousands of flags annuallyvnot only the Stars and
Stripes and thevarious 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 lofs 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).

colors flying, bands playing, and bayonets
fixed. It retains possession of the field
artillery, horses, arms, and baggage. The
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.
The Hague rules of land warfare for
bid the improper use of the flag of truce,
of a national flag, or of the military in
signia and uniform of the enemy, as well
as the distinctive badges of the Geneva
Convention. In practice it has been au
thorized 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

to effect an advance or to withdraw is
not settled.
. NAVY CEREMONIES OE RAISING AND
LOWERING THE COLORS
Shore stations under the jurisdiction
of the Navy Department display the na
tional ensign from eight o'clock in the
morning to sunset. The same is true of
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 con
trary, ships display their colors when fall
ing 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 com
mission 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.

ihg "colors," the band plays the national
anthem, at the beginning of which the
ensign is started up and hoisted smartly
to the peak. All officers then face the
ensign and salute, and the guard of the
day and the sentries come to present. If
there be no band, the field music sounds
"to the colors." If the ship happens to
be in a foreign port the national anthem
of that country is played following the
raising of the ensign. Then follow the
national anthems of the ships of war
present, in the order of rank.
At sunset "colors" the ensign is started

from the peak at the beginning of the
national anthem and is lowered slowly
and with dignity. All officers and en
listed 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 cov
ered, they uncover at the first note of
the anthem, holding the headdress oppo
site the left shoulder, and remain in that
position until the last note of the anthem,
except in inclement weather, when the

.407

Photograph by Paul Thompson
THE LIVING EMBLEM OF OUR NATIONAL UNION
On many occasions and in many 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 Salt Lake City.

headdress may be slightly raised. The
same marks of respect are shown to the
national anthems of other countries. At
"colors," pulling boats passing near a
man-of-war, of any nationality, lie on
their oars, and steamers stop their en
gines, the coxswains saluting and mem
bers of the crew outside the canopy stand
ing facing the colors and saluting.
THE USAGES IN FLAG SALUTES
On board ships of the navy it is cus
tomary for officers and men whenever

reaching the quarter-deck, from aboard
boat, from a gangway, or from the shore,
to salute the national ensign. They stop
at the top of the gangway, or upon arriv
ing at the quarter-deck, face the colors
and salute. On leaving the quarter-deck
the same salute is given. This is distinct
from the salute to the officer of the deck.
When warships enter a port where
there is a fort or battery displaying the
national flagt or a commissioned ship of
war, they display at the main the flag
of the country in whose waters they are,

408

Photograph by Paul Thompson
SCHOOL CHILDREN OF NEW YORK OBSERVING AMERICANIZATION DAY IN
CITY 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
twenty-one guns. The ships of the
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 form
ally recognized by this country. It is
customary to fire salutes only between 8
a. m. and sunset. They are never fired
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. A dip is made by quickly
lowering the ensign and without pause
quickly returning it to the peak.
A flag or an ensign at half-mast is the
universal sign of mourning. Before be-

409

4io

u

ntry
has ;
United Hies has t,
in the national placed
4

<

of
this cou h which
tin Entente A mallet,
bu for every :r
and
are

z

J1 Ctt

s
o
^.•p «j -a -a i!
c? >-g p «• <"
¦+H
.sS,S.-iig..2
a
-^ O „v1 (UT)
eel
T3 -" »-i
bao
-£i.o*s<°-s
o
5
efore
in uropean ous
miss ve
tools eemblen one yard 12.)
Ch
<
%
h* w
W CJ 25
facturing. -Never
H heflags 'of all
the
E America of
the vari mployed
the primiti s
to cut
the 48
Stat ize.
The starsare our
flag see page
3
p -*-1 cu eu en e+n
< <
C -U P P O
lag ma ers,
bu rrival
i •maker machi feetin rtions
in
w PS
0 J-1 ceJTd J "*
«
al
Ameri Spangled world. ormerly e motor- id
is 50 rcorrect
o is 1
,-r
i-r h-i
%
ustri Star the s.
F w
us ds ai (Fo
>
H
^~> p tu O c
Ph
!=>
0 0 B ^ **¦*
Q
-^
OJ P H C <-> :>,
3p25
brid ags— autoc oreig: ag
fa eighs 28
b;
S-Ejp*"^ £.2
25
= eS'P 05 OS
W >
O
the genuine nal
demand order
to
ba .n
dforflags s
demands, ove
illustrati Id of
the uni
o <l-I
1^ u e 5 3 J3 u
y
one0 phenom forcesi the
den enormo in the a .
Thefi
3 caT"''? C bf)''-
« „ cu ej 0 "" ra
tion sucl join :ken rcc e
fl; sap
en .*; cu -C CU
P oj ccj cr^1^ ^3
o1 eu ^ su
CO ¦-,•?-; ..S3
t-^ ui c; O c
H ««;£ „, so °*
*-, -t; -u <u . . . .
o ra 1-1 o <x
--£ 3 rf c
411
412

INSIGNIA OF UNIFORMED FORCES OF UNITED STATES 413

ing placed at half-mast the flag must al
ways 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 ELEET FARES FORTH TO BATTLE
At the command/'Clear the ship for ac
tion," the battle ensigns are mastheaded
and final preparations are made for bat
tle, and under no circumstances is an ac
tion to be commenced or a battle fought
without the display of the national en
sign. When an enemy's ship strikes her
colors in battle, the commanding officer
of the man-of-war to whom she struck

is required to continue the action with
other ships of the enemy, but takes pos
session of the surrendered ship as soon
as possible.
Striking the flag is an indication of
surrender. The articles for the govern
ment 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 serv
ice 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 il
lustrations 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 uni
form of our country to help in the titanic strug
gle 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, reduc
ing 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
late Admiral Dewey, Admirals Benson, Mayo.
Caperton, and Knight have been made full ad
mirals, and Admirals Sims and Coffman Vice-
Admirals — 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 direc
tion of the Secretary of the Navy. The pri
vates of this fighting force wear caps as a part
of their field uniform while on board ship. On
land thev follow the style set by the army and
wear the field service hat, with the difference,
however, that they wear no colored cord, but

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 cut
ters are the foes of smugglers and other law
breakers. 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 es
pecially important organization in war times,
and its men in uniform are performing a valu
able service in safeguarding the health of sol
diers at home by creating the best sanitary con
ditions in the territory surrounding the great
encampments. Many patriotic societies are cooperating with
the military forces to lessen the soldier's hard
ships, and chief ambng these -is the American
Red Cross, which is facing an enormous task
in caring. for the sick and wounded, besides fur
nishing numerous comforts for the men in the
field. This great organization is vastly in
creased 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 Y. 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 semi-
military 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

414

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

SERVICE HAT
Worn by Officers in field and all Enlisted Men.
GENERAL OFFICERS . . .  GOLD CORD
ALL OTHER OFFICERS _ . _ - . . . GOLD AND BLACK CORD
RESERVE OFFICERS TRAINING CAMP , RED. WHITE AND BLUE CORD

SERVICE CAP
All Commissioned Officers

ENLISTED MEN

INFANTRY .
CAVALRY .
' ARTILLERY
MEDAL OF HONOR MEDICAL

LIGHT BLUE CORD
. YELLOW CORD
. SCARLET CORD
. MAROON AND WHITE CORD

ENGINEERS. „ .
ORDNANCE. .
SIGNAL CORPS
F1LLD CLERKS

QUARTERMASTER CORPS

. SCARLET AND WHITE CORD
. BLACK AND SCARLET CORD
ORANGE AND WHITE CORD
BLACK AND SILVER CORD

CAP DEVICE
ALL COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

COLONEL

rnl^VJn MAJOR CAPTAIN
COLONEL (goldi
(SILVER!
INSIGNIA OF RANK ON SHOULDER LOOPS COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE U. S. ARMY

LIEUT.
GENERAL

MAJOR
GENERAL

BRIG.
GENERAL

FIRST
LIEUT

SECOND LIEUT

E3

ULSJR

(A) REGULARS (B) RESERVES

(D) NATIONALGUARD

GENERAL STAFF

JUDGE ADVOCATE
GEN'L'S DEPT.

n MEDICAL DEPT.

INSPECTOR
GEN'L'S DEPT.

fc^-2

(C) NATIONAL ARMY

ADJUTANT
CENT'S DEPT.

QUARTERMASTER'S DEPT.

OVERCOAT SLEEVES

DENTAL CORPS
SANITARY CORPS l£
VETERINARY CORPS ~ iff
AMBULANCE CORPS f/S ,(.
NURSES CORPS ' elSfc

GENERALS HAVE STARS OF RANK
COLONEL  FIVE STRIPS OF BRAID
LT. COLONEL . . . FOUR 
MAJOR  THREE 
CAPTAIN  TWO 
FIRST LIEUT. . . . ONE STRIP

PHILIPPINE SCOUTS

PORTO RICO
REGT

COLLAR DEVICES COMMISSIONED OFFICERS
A. B. C or D is worn In coojonclion wilh the nppropr.nl. corps device.
The U. S in worn on each aide ol collar and the corps device bock of It.

SLEEVE INSIGNIA RESERVE OFFICERS
TRAINING CAMPS

INTERPRETERS

MACHINE CUN
BATTALION
COLLAR DEVICES COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

DISCIPLINARY BARRACKS JGUARD,

MACHINE GUN
BATTALION

INTELLIGENCE POLICE

COLLAR INSIGNIA ENHSTED MEN,

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

415

MASTER GUNNER

MASTER ENGINEER
HOSPITAL SERGEANT COAST ARTILLERY

CHIEF MECHANIC
FIELD.ARTILLERY

CUN COMMANDER OBSERVER FIRST CLASS
COAST ARTILLERY COAST ARTILLERY

CHIEF PLANTER
COAST ARTILLERY

oooo COOK WAGONER SADDLER HORSESHOER

BADGE for EXCELLENCE
IN TARGET PRACTICE

CHEVRONS AND SLEEVE INSIGNIA OF NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND ENLISTED MEN.U. S. ARMY
Conforming in color to arm of service (See hat cord colors opposite page)

MILITARY AVIATOR
Junior Mtlitary Aviator and Reserve Mtlitary Aviator without Stai

ENLISTED MEN

ENL15TED AVIATOR

'ENLISTED MECHANICIAN

INSIGNIA OF AVIATION SECTION, SIGNAL CORPS, U. S. ARMY

Note: Military Aviators and Observers wear U. S. and crossed flags of Signal Corps on collar, and Enlisted Men regular Signal Corps buttons on collai
The Insignia of Military Aviators and Observers are embroidered in silver thread with gold U. S. and worn on left breast. Enlisted Men on sleeve

416

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

SERVICE UNIFORM CAP
ALL COMMISSIONED OFFICERS
Gold hVnd Desi.n on Visor ..shown fo. Flag Officer!
Gold Braid Design similar loi Cant's and Com'ond'u
SlafF Office's with rank of Rear Admiral or Captain.
p ol plain Gold Bra.d

NAVAL AVIATORS"
COLD BAR PIN WLinN ON LEFT BREAST
Naval Aviatots wear onifotm resemblinn Marine Corp. field ser-'

MEDAL OF HONOR '

COLLAR Blue Service C

VICE ADMIRAL

qj^i^. -«&

REAR ADMIRAL

LIEUT. COMMANDER (Gold Leaf)

CAP DEVICE
ALL COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

SLEEVE (Blue Service Coats

SHOULDER
I Overcoats and White Service Coal

ADMIRAL
OF THE NAVY

VICE ADMIRAL

REAR ADMIRAL

COMMANDER

LIEUT COMMANDER

LIEUTENANT

ENSIGN ENSIGN ENSIGN
COLLAR, SLEEVE AND SHOULDER INSIGNIA OF COMMISSIONED LINE OFFICERS OF THE U. S. NAVY

SLEEVE

SLEEVE

SHOULDER

m

CAP DEVICE FIRST CLASS 'SECOND CLASS
MIDSHIPMEN

NAVAL MILITIA
service except Stall Officers

MEDICAL OFFICERS
Maroon Velvet
Between Stripes

PROFESSORS OF
MATHEMATICS Olive Green Cloth
Between Smoes

NAVAL
CONSTRUCTORS Dark Violet Cloth
Between Stripes

DENTAL OFFICERS
Oronse Velvet

STAFF OFFICERS'
CORPS DEVICES
Note: The anchor and the
il«f .nd.cate Line Officers In
the collar inatgniB SlafF Offi
cers substitute lor the anchor
the device oi the corps to
which they belonn On the
shoulder marks and sleeves

NAVAL RESERVE
FORCE
device. In other respect, same
as regular service.

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

417

WARRANT OFFICER'S CAP CAP DEVICE— WARRANT OFFICERS CAP DEVICE-PETTY OFFICERS PETTY OFFICER'S CAP

u NAVAL RESERVE KHta

U S. NAVAL RESERVE FORCE

!Hp!«Ptf^

NAVAL MILIT

CHIEF SAILMAKER CHIEF PHARMACIST CHIEF PAY CLERK.
SHOULDER MARKS— CHIEF WARRANT OFFICERS, U. S. NAVY (For Warrant Officers Omit Stripe)

CHIEF BOATSWAIN
CHIEF GUNNER
CHIEF MACHINIST

CHIEF CARPENTER
CHIEF SA1LMAKER
CHIEF PHARMACIST

BOATSWAIN GUNNER
MACHINIST MATE

CARPENTER SAILMARER
PHARMACIST PAY CLERK

INSIGNIA OF RANK ON SLEEVES OF WARRANT OFFICERS, U. S. NAVY

BOATSWAIN GUNNER MACHINIST CARPENTER
Chiel Boats. rain, Gunner and Machinist— Silver Device. Cold S'

DDDDnO

SA1LMAKER PHARMACIST PAY CLERK MATE
20 Years Service— Silver
BoauwaTnVc^ COLLAR DEVICES OF WARRANT OFFICERS.U. S. NAVYchtef CmTP^^^i^^^i^^^T^SA^i
~ 'P'"'g'- Sailmaker. Pharmaciit and Pay Clerk-Cold

?LiQiiQniaaB
MASTER-AT-ARMS BOATSWAIN'S MATE GUNNER'S MATE QUARTERMASTER MACHINIST'S MATE ELECTRICIAN TURRET CAPTAIN C9"M'SS^?'1 BLACKSMITH
^  ______^_  S I L\v AHU
?QQanHEac3 ¦¦¦¦¦¦" PHARMACIST'S MATE STOREKEEPER GUN CAPTAIN
K£D CLOTH SjjjjSJjISjjjjjjjjjT


ftTI  -afflWrtrmti
TsT^^llffllllllP* ,

SEAMAN GUNNER M&J^^mlAllllH I RADIO OPERATOR SHIP'SCOOK
GUN POINTER TORPEDOMAN

NAVY - E "
DISTINGUISHING MARKS ON SLEEVES OF PETTY OFFICERS U.S. NAVY f™*"""-
Those Marked X Also Worn by Enlisted Men Not Petty Officers

CHIEF BOATSWAIN GUNNER QUARTERMASTER
MASTER-AT-ARMS FIRST CLASS SECOND CLASS THIRD CLASS
RATING BADGES, PETTY OFFICERS U. S. NAVY
U»cd with ADDroprUte DiitinRuiiKins Mark*. Shown Above.

QUARTERMASTER MACHINIST'S MATE
DISTINGUISHING MARKS PETTY OFFICERS
OF AVIATION SERVICE

DISTINGUISHING MARK. ENLISTED MEN. NAVAL MILITIA

418

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

MARINE GUNNER

U. S. MARINE CORPS
FIELD SERVICE HAT
Worn on Shore with Field Service Uniform
(Officers wear Gold n,.d Scarlet Hat Co.dl
Enlisted Men wear no cords.

U S. MARINE CORPS
FIELD SERVICE CAP

U. S. MARINE CORPS DEVICE
i on all Hats and Caps and on
^missioned Officers Collars

COLLAR ORNAMENTS STAFF AND WARRANT OFFICERS
Staff Officers Wear both Corps and Department Device
Warrant Officers Wear Department Device Only

COLONEL LT COLONEL MAIOR CAPTAIN FIRSTL1EUT SECOND LIEUT WARRANT OFFICERS
RANK INSIGNIA COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE U. S. MARINE CORPS ON OVERCOAT SLEEVES

i |f[ i H

SECOND LEADER
OF BAND
(With Three Chevrons)

GUN POINTER

?

GUNNERY
SERGEANT
DISTINCTIVE SLEEVE MARKS ENLISTED TvlEN°OF THE U. S. MARINE CORPS
Note: The U. S. Marine Corps follows generally the Insignia of the U. S. Army, with the exceptions shown ab<
Shoulder loop insignia Is the same as for similar rank in the army, but besides being worn on service coat is al:

DRUM MAJOR
iWrth Three Chevronsl

PETTY OFFICER'S CAP DEVICE

CADETS CAP DEVICE

COLLAR ("Blue Si

COMMISSIONED OFFICER'S CAP DEVICE
UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
SLEEVE (Blue Service Coats;

SHOULDER U°,7s,

CAPTAIN COMMANDANT

SENIOR CAPTAIN AND CAPTAIN

SENIOR CAPTAIN AND CAPTAIN

Two Bars-First Lieutenant
One Bar-Second Lieutenant
No Bar— Third LieutenL.nl

Silver Leaf-Engineer-in-Chief
Gold Leal-Captain
One Bar-Second Lieutenant
No Leal or Bars— Th.rd Lieutenant
No Anchor, Leave, in Cenler-Cod.

One Stripe— Thud Lieutenani
LIEUTENANTS

, Stupes as Shown— EnEineer-.n-Ch,ei
Hall Width Center Slr.pc-Capla.n
Two Equal bmpes-F.rsr L.cutenan,
1 One and One-half Stripes-Second

.!,_, One Stupe-Third Lieutenant
ENGINEER OFFICERS No s.„pe,-Ci

Cold Leaf-Senior Super. nle
One Bar-Second Lieutenani
Anchor Only-Third Lieutcn

CONSTRUCTORS _ ^ Strl]

CONSTRUCTORS

s Shown-Senior Super

DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS

¦ TwoFqualSlr.prs-F.rstLieutena
¦¦¦= One and Onc-hal. Stripes-Secon
 = Liculenant
JJgJjJfjj One Stripe-Third Lieutenant
DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS Green Cloth Between Stripes DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS
COLLAR, SLEEVE AND SHOULDER INSIGNIA OF COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

COLLAR DEVICES OF
WARRANT OFFICERS
U. S. COAST GUARD

BLACKSMITH

SPECIALTY MARKS PETTY OFFICERS U. S. COAST GUARD
(Worn with rating badges similar to those at foot of page 4 1 7 I

WATER TENDER

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

419

US.

COLLAR
WORN ON EACH SIDE

COLLAR
WORN ON EACH SIDE BACK OF U

CAP DEVICE
UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTrTSERVlCE

SURGEON A5ST. SURG. SENIOR SURG. PASSED ASST. ASST. SURG. PROFESSOR QUARANTINE CHAPLAIN INTERNE
GENERAL GENERAL isilveri SURG. HYGIENIC LAB. INSPECTOR
SURGEON 'cold, INSIGNIA OF RANK. ON SHOULDER LOOPS

SURCEON GENERAL

ASsf'sURC...,,, SENIOR SURG PASSED ASST
GEN'L SURG eM.tWIr .,...= hji«idrl,> SURGEON

ASSISTANT PROF. HYG QUARANTINE
SUKGEON LABORATORY INSPECTOR
II I

CHAPLAIN INTERNE

PHARMACIST PHARMACIST
(3d CLASS) (2d CLASS)
SLEEVE MARKS ON OVERCOATS

STATION ENGINEER

PILOT MARINE ENC1NEER FIRST COOK
EMPLOYES' SLEEVE MARKS (Maroon Silk)

SURGICAL NURSE

c r ft x * »

COOK CARPENTER COACHMAN YARDMAN MESSENGER LAUNDRYMAN NICHT SHIPKEEPER BOATSWAIN COXSWAIN
SPECIALTY MARKS (Maroon Silk J WATCH SPECIALTY MARKS iMoroon Silk)
UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

THE CENEVA CROSS

SHOULDER LOOP

+

SLEEVE MARKS
MAJOR GENERAL . . 2 STARS COLONEL . . 5 BARS BLUE CLOTH
BRIGADIER GENERAL I STAR LT. COLONEL .4 
CAP DEVICE MAJOR . . . 3 "
AMER1CAN.RED CROSS gfeuf. : f bar ¦¦ •¦

WORN IN AMERICA WORN ABROAD
SLEEVE INSICNIA Y. M. C A. SECRETARIES

COLLAR SLEEVE
KNICHTS OF. COLUMBUS SECRETARIES

Photograph by May L,, Smith

MAKERS OF THE FLAG

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto : "In God is our trust."
And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

420