Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1877 — The American Flag. [ARTICLE]

The American Flag.

CHARLES H. PRICE.

My riii : .vTnvMEN;.lnapired with a lofty pali iolisiii, and actuated by a high setise of patriotic ifuty, the noble members of the Ciiotincntal Cungr.ss, who less thnu a year beioi c had immortalized themselves, and at rh« sumo time recorded one of the most brilliant pages in our eouuiry’s history by framing the immortal D-olafatii.ii of Independence, did on tlie 14th day of Junu iu the historic year of 177.7, bequeath lous that dear old flag, the grandest that ever swept tho breuzc, thereby adding another diadem of glory to- the crowns of fame which bedeoked their heads. Acting upon ttie recomuien iation of n committee which had been previously appointed to confer with General Washington mid design a suitable Bag lor the nation, they resoived ••that the flag of the thirteen United States ho thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that ihe union tic thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” lliis, my cwpntrynien, is the language of the resolution and is the first reeor.ied legislative action for the adoption ot a natiiui.vl flag, and was enacted at a time when the great and glorious Washington with Iris sruißl but gallant and invincible army of compatriots was slriig.ling so grandly and battling s.» bravely to beat back the proud waves of British tyranny, to bauHK ii justieeand oppression lrom our shores, that they might build up the sacred temple of (ibertf; a temple which', to-day, thank God, wiih that Siai’-he-sjinnglecl banner grandly rising above i , challenges the ailmiraiioii of all fivedom-lovitig people throughout Christendom, and is justly iegarded as the most glorious .superstructure ever eri-cted by the wit of umu. Although the law creating our banner was enact i d on the 14 th day ot J une, 1777, as I have before stated, it was not officially promulgated until the September following; but it was at once recognized as the nation’s ensign aud was first uniurled by rhe heroic John Haul Jones and flung to rhe breeztxfrom tin- m ist-head of tho Hunger, whileiu prayer went up lo heaven from the gallant seamen who manned that gallant ship-that God would bless that. Hug forever. It waved tiiumphantly over the invincible armies of the illustrious Washington and received its first baptism ot blood at the battle of Beuuington, Vermont, and through the valor of the Green Mountain heroes the proud eagle of victory perched upon it, another triumph was achieved, and another milestone reached in the great .march to independence. This glovione victory, won as it was utrder the stars arid stripes, filled the hearts of o.tr illustrious sires with love for the flag ftndAf became as dear to them as it Ts dear aud saered 10-day to the more than forty millions Of freemen who'Ure robed in the garments of Aipei'ican 'citizens, and who all over this great and glorious republic, from the forests of Maine to the goldwashed shores of California, and ''from the great lakes to the mighty gnlf unite to-day in one grand cliorus iu singing that grandest pf nil grand songs "’ihe is tar Spangled Banner.” While U» mafi belongs tho honor jf designing, adopting and first unfurling our banner, it must uot be forgotten that the flag which John Paul Jones nailed to the mast head of .Ills gallant ship was made by a woman’s hands a nd received a woman's blessing. Yes, my countrymen, that fair flag was made by tho fair hands of a fair woman, a Mr*. Ros* by name, who lived in the city of Philadelphia and who, like all the brave, heroic women of the American Revolution, was true arid devoted to tlie grand cause which that grand flag represeuted; in placing (hose silver stars and crimson bars upon that grand old banner of freedom covered all over with glory as ii is, and duster.ng around it as there does all the sacred memories of tho pest, that noble wo'ui.-tn reflected honor upon' her sex; nave additional luster to her race. And to thb Jodie*'with arc assembled here to-day. celebrating with us the one handted and first fV -Vs . •

of. our paUou's birth, let. »9 say time we rejoice with yon u you gam upon that old banner of freedom, and with ypur hearts furiof patriotism and joy exultingly exclaim ; My sistei* made that flag. We p*y the patriotic women of this land the highest compliment that can he bestowed upon iheua when we assert the truth of history and say that they hire always been true to our Utauer, uot only when the glorious sunshine of peace bos shed its effulgent rays upon it, but in She sorrowful times of red war as well, when it has been borne amid the' thunder of'cannon, the clash of musketry and the smelt* of battle. It har been said that the flag of a country is the rallying point of sentiment. While this is true of the ensigns of all nation* it is especially true of our own star spnngled banner. The reverouccand affection which are bestowed upon it ami ibe sentiment and devotion which rally around it attract the admiration of the world, and Americans everywhere guard it as jealously as a mother guards her babe. This love for the flag is not to be wondered at, my countrymen, when we consider that it is the ensign of a country whose freedom is as pure as the sparkling streams which gush from the mountain side, and whoso people, thunk God, ere as free as the very gales which sweep from the Atlantic to tho Fact fIC. Born as it were upon the crimsoned battlefields of the great American Revolution, amid the mighty thunder of cannon and the death thrusts of gliston’ng bayonets, it was defended by our fathers with a gallantry equal to that which was exhibited by the .Spartan heroes of ancient days at. the pass of Thermopylae. Xt waa carried by them through the smoke nnd din of every contest for liberty from Benningnington to Yorktown. It ka« been baptized and rehnptized in their pure, bright blood, and under its broad and graceful folds this country made the grand triumphant march to independence. With this bright and shining record inscribed upon it in letters of living light it is not strange, my countrymen, that the patriotic sentiment of this laud rallied to the defense us that standard when traitorous Funds pulled it down from the battlements of Fort Sumpter. The fires of patriotic indignation were enkindled upon the heart of every patiiut in this land, and brave men, nctuitu d by motives as pure as though they had emanated l'rouj Him who sits upon the greui white throne, for the sake of (flat brave flag, cam., pouring down like the resistless torrents of the mighty rivers, to delend ils honor and preserve its ancient glory. They came from the forests of Maine and the green hills and granite cliffs of New England; they came from the mighty cities of che east and the grand prairies of the great northwest; they came from the mines of tho golden state of California, and from the snow-capped mountains of Montana and Oregon, and with each tissue of our country’s flag entwined about their heartstriugs they enrolled themselves in the grand Army of the Union to battle for tlie salvation of the flag nnd to preserve our national uuily; they snatched the old banner from tl.e dust and hcroipallv plained it upon the ramparts of Donaldson and Vicksburg; they bore it bravely above the clouds in the battle in Lookout; they rill ed around It in the (earful carnage of Shiloh* Btoue River, Ghickanmuua and Gettysburg, and besprinkled it with their life’s red blood on a thousand oiher crimsoned batiiefleids; and with it proudly si remising above him the gallant Sherman, with his victorious legion* of brave, Intrepid men, nisre ied to the sea, saved the HfA'uf this great Republic, blotted out the great stain which slavery had ifinijd upon our natidnnl escutcheon, nnd rcstuied that dear old flag to its righlful pi see* in' power and in pride without a star dimmed or a stripe obscured, When the stars and stripes were ndo'ptejl by our fathers as our national ensign, they declared that it represented a new constellation. It was a constellation, in. countrymen, of thirteen infant states inhabited by a people who had fled from tin- Old World to esenre persecution, but whose rights were still ignored and trampled upon. It represented a people in whose hearts was swinging the great cloc k of human liberty, the pendulum of which was ticking against tyranny and oppression, It represented it people who believed that all men were created free nnd equal, and with unflinching confidence in the justice of their cause and after invoking the bles'.ine of Almighty God upon that cansft they commenced tho grand struggle for indcponeduce against a country who.-e military prowess was equal to that of any nation on earth. It was a mighty conicet, but the God of Battles gave victory to the right, the independence of this country was achieved, mid America, with her grand old banner proudly waving above her; emerged- front"tkpw conflict/'.alf covered over wif.ll giAry and took her place among the catalogue of nation's; mid has marched forward with the stately steppings of a giant, uniiL silo stniVds, tO-d»y, preeminently, head’ and slMiildeVs above any nation on God’s groCn edrtli. To day, our slug represents thirty-eight mightyvnnd-prnspetYltis states, forming The . grandest and fairest"'Republic the sun ever shone upon or the World ever saw. It, rep-, resents'the wisest and‘‘most eqnnlly bnl- * anced diriment that cVer'existed on any ’ contiKßltthand the finest political fabric that, was ever'CrecTed in Christendom.' It represcnis ihhl-e than forty millions' of Intelligent, prokp’6rdus arid brave peoplfe, ;o, wlW wear upon IheSr brows the stairy wr'eitVlloA’ of freedom, anil who to-day are singing tlfa ' praises of tHe flag and churning the anthem !' of liberty. It floats triumphantly over every inch of American'soil, and is loved, honored and revered by every American citizen. It waves in every'firtrttifirtntclly on llie face of the globe and is respe'eted bv every nation on earth. It is associate wiVu ' all of the heroic deeds and glorious achievements which adorn the pages of our country's history, and is as sacred as are the graves of more than half a million of patriots who have lain down their lives ill its defense and with whose blood it is consecrated.' In conclusion I will use the inngui.go of another and say “that the record of thnfc starry banner has often been that Of the triumphs of ils soldiers on the laud or its" sailors on the sea, but it has come out of ail of them unscathed and to-day it. is the flag of pence and business and not of diplomacy and war. It is the flag of the satisfactory situation of the present and the bright hopes of the future; so bright indeed that they dim anything which may have hcen discernible iu the'past. It is the flag which invites those of till nations to come,.. and claim the protection of its Broad 1 njjcL * graceful folds. Then let us take with us, my countrymen, as we journey through this great K* public with some such fading as that expressed by the poet when ‘ heeaidt .. “Across the wide spread continent Our fathers’ flag wo hear, Each hill and vale from shoro to shore The sacred sign shall wear, ’While Unseen hands shall strengthen ours To hold it high in sir As we go murching on.’ ’