By Alex Berger
Only a bit of color – Waving upon the street;
Only a wind-whipped pennant – Where the band plays shrill and sweet.
Yet the soldier’s heart beats faster, And proud is the sailor’s eye,
And the citizen’s step is quickened – When our flag is passing by.
Only a bit of color, Did I hear a body say?
True be the hearts that greet it – Wherever it waves today!
Back of that bit of color – Lies a nation’s history,
And ahead of our splendid banner – Who knows what there yet may be? – Frances C. Hamlet
The American flag is a symbol of U.S. history and of the fundamental principles on which our nation was founded. All 50 states honor the flag on Flag Day. But Flag Day is a holiday in only one state – Pennsylvania.
Sheila, a patriotic reader, called to request that I write a column about the historical background of Flag Day. As this newspaper’s “Holiday Man,” I would be happy to honor her request, and thank you, Sheila, for asking.
Every year on June 14 we celebrate Flag Day as an observance of our nation’s heritage and quest for liberty. The practice of Flag Day began in 1877, in recognition of the centennial anniversary of the Stars and the Stripes.
Local governments continued the observance of Flag Day in the early 1900s, and President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation calling for nationwide observance of Flag Day in 1916. Congress permanently declared June 14 Flag Day in 1949, requesting that the president issue an annual proclamation asking Americans to honor the Stars and Stripes.
It was in Philadelphia that the Continental Congress adopted the first official American flag on June 14, 1777. At that time, the 13 American colonies were fighting for freedom from Great Britain.
When the Revolutionary War began in 1776, Americans fought under many different flags. One flag had a pine tree on it and the words “An Appeal to Heaven.” Another had a rattlesnake and the words “Don’t Tread on Me.” Others had “Liberty or Death” or “Conquer or Die.”
A unified flag was finally chosen. It had 13 stripes, seven red and six white, and 13 white stars on a field of blue. There is no record of why those colors were chosen, but it was believed that the red stands for hardiness and courage, the white for purity and innocence and the blue for vigilance, perseverance and justice.
No one knows who designed this flag or made the first one. According to one theory, the first flag was made by Betsy Ross. She lived in Philadelphia and sewed flags during the Revolutionary War.
The flag that flew over Baltimore’s Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 was 30 feet by 42 feet and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that became the national anthem. It was hand-sewn by Mary Pickersgill and her daughter, Caroline, in 1814. It is displayed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Our very first flag was a “hurry-up” or “home-made” Stars and Stripes. It was improvised and floated over Fort Schuyler at Rome, N.Y. on Aug. 2, 1777.
To quote a British soldier: “The flag had white and red stripes and (13) white stars on a canton (a section of something) of azure. The white stripes were cut out of (an) ammunition shirt; the blue out of the camlet (a fabric of angora wool), while the red stripes were made of different pieces of the stuff procured from one and another of the garrison.”
In 1791 and 1792, Vermont and Kentucky, respectively, were the first states to join the Union. Then in quick succession came Tennessee, in 1796; Ohio, in 1802; Louisiana, in 1812; Indiana, in 1816; Mississippi, in 1817; and Illinois, in 1818.
Also in 1818, Congress ordered: “That from and after the Fourth of July next, the flag of the United States be 13 horizontal stripes, alternate red and white,” and “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 Fourth of July next succeeding each admission.”
The meaning of the flag was best phrased by Wilson at the Flag Day celebration at the White House in 1914: “This flag for the future is meant to stand for the just use of undisputed national power. No nation is ever going to doubt our power to assert its rights, and … doubt our purpose to put it to the highest uses to which a great emblem of justice and government can be put.
“It is henceforth to stand for self-possession, for dignity, for the assertion of the right of one nation to serve the other nations of the world – an emblem that will not condescend to be used for purposes of aggression … that is too great to be debased by selfishness; that has vindicated its right to be honored by all nations of the world and feared by none who do righteousness.”
So fly an American flag, go to a Flag Day event and find time to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, a clear and succinct statement of what the flag is about.
So, Old Glory, during this period of peril and uncertainty, we will rely upon you to carry us through in grand tradition. We know you will not let us down. God bless our flag and God bless America!
Reach columnist Alex Berger by e-mail at timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 140.
