Charlotte Todd Leonard

DEFINITION FOR FLAG

A COMMON PIECE OF BUNTING OR SIMILAR MATERIAL, ADMITTING OF VARIOUS SHAPES AND COLORS, AND WAVED IN THE WIND FROM A STAFF OR CORD FOR USE IN DISPLAY AS A STANDARD, ENSIGN OR SIGNAL.

HISTORY

IT IS PROBABLE THAT ALMOST AS SOON AS MEN BEGAN TO COLLECT TOGETHER FOR COMMON PURPOSE SOME KID OF CONSPICUOUS OBJECT WAS USED AS THE SYMBOL OF THE COMMON SENTIMENT, FOR THE RALLYING POINT OF THE COMMON FORCE.  IN MILITARY EXPEDITIONS WHERE ANY DEGREE OF ORGANIZATION AND DISCIPLINE PREVAILED, OBJECTS OF SUCH A KIND WOULD BE NECESSARY TO MARK OUT THE LINES AND STATIONS OF ENCAMPMENT AND TO KEEP IN ORDER THE DIFFERENT BANDS WHEN MARCHING OR IN BATTLE.  IN ADDITION, IT CANNOT BE DOUBTED THAT FLAGS OR THEIR EQUIVALENTS HAVE OFTEN SERVED BY REMINDING MEN OF PAST RESOLVES, PAST DEEDS AND PAST HEROES,AS TO AROUSE TO ENTHUSIASM OR FAMILY PRIDE AND HONOR OF PERSONAL DEVOTION, PATRIOTISM OR RELIGION, WHICH AS WELL AS  UPON GOOD LEADERSHIP, DISCIPLINE AND NUMERICAL FORCE, SUCCESS IN WARFARE DEPENDS.  

IT APPEARS THAT SEVERAL COMPANIES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY HAD THEIR OWN PARTICULAR STANDARDS. THESE WERE FORMED OF SUCH OBJECTS AS THERE IS REASON TO BELIEVE, WERE ASSOCIATED IN THE MINDS OF THE MEN WITH FEELINGS OF OWE AND DEVOTION. 

 SACRED ANIMALS, BOATS, EMBLEMS OF FIGURES, A TABLETS BEARING A KINGS NAME AND FAN AND FEATHER-SHAPED SYMBOLS WERE RAISED ON THE END OF A STAFF AS STANDARDS AND THE OFFICE OF BEARING THIS WAS ONCE TAKEN AS AN ANSWER TO PRAYER, AND AN ASSURANCE OF CELESTIAL AID. IT WAS FOR WITH ADOPTED AS THE DANISH FLAG AND CALLED THE DANNEBROG.

THE PRINCIPAL VARIETIES OF FLAGS BORNE DURING THE MIDDLE AGES WERE THE PENNON, THE BANNER AND THE STANDARD.  THE GUYDHOMMES OR GUIDONS, BANDEROLLS, PENNON CELLS, STREAMERS OF  PENDANTS, MAY BE CONSIDERED AS MINOR VARIETIES.  THE PENNON AS A PURELY PERSONAL ENSIGN, SOMETIMES POINTED, BUT MORE GENERALLY FORKED OR SWALLOW-TAILED AT THE END.

THE BANNER WAS, IN THE EARLIER DAYS OF CHIVALRY, A SQUARE FLAG, THOUGH AT A LAYER DATE IT IS OFTEN FOUND GREATER IN LENGTH THAN IN DEPTH, PRECISELY AS IS THE CASE IN THE ORDINARY NATIONAL FLAGS OF TODAY.  IN SOME VERY EARLY EXAMPLES IT IS FOUND CONSIDERABLY LONGER IN THE DEPTH ON THE STAFF THAN IN ITS OUTWARD PROJECTION FROM THE STAFF.  THE BANNER WAS CHARGED IN A MANNER EXACTLY SIMILAR TO THE SHIELD OF THE OWNER, AND IT WAS BORNE BY KNIGHTS BANNERET AND ALL ABOVE THEN IN RANK.  AS A ROUGH GUIDE IT MAY BE TAKEN THAT THE BANNER OF AN EMPEROR WAS 6 FT. SQUARE; OF A KING.

AS THE FUNCTION OF THE BANNER WAS TO DISPLAY THE ARMORIAL BEARINGS OF THE DIGNITARY WHO HAD THE RIGHT TO CARRY IT, IS EVIDENT THAT THE SQUARE FORM WAS THE MOST CONVENIENT AKIN TO THE SHIELD OF PRIMAL HERALDRY.  IN FACT, FLAGS WERE ORIGINALLY HERALDIC EMBLEMS, THOUGH IN MODERN DEVICES THE STRICT LAWS OF HERALDRY HAVE OFTEN BEEN DEPARTED FROM.THEY WAS LOOKED UPON AS ONE OF PECULIAR PRIVILEGE AND HONOR, SOMEWHAT SIMILAR SEEM TO HAVE BEEN THE CUSTOMS OF THE ASSYRIANS AND JEWS. 

BANNERS AND STANDARDS AND ENSIGNS ARE FREQUENTLY MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE.

*EVERY MAN OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL PITCH BY HIS STANDARD WITH THE ENSIGN OF THEIR FATHERS HOUSE.

*WHO IS SHE THAT LOOKETH FORTH AS THE MORNING, FAIR AS THE MOON, CLEAR AS THE SUN, TERRIBLE AS AN ARMY WITH BANNERS?

THE PERSIANS  BORE AN EAGLE FIXED TO THE END OF A LANCE, AND THE SUN, AS THEIR DIVINITY, WAS ALSO REPRESENTED UPON THEIR STANDARDS.

FIGURES OF ANIMALS, AS THE WOLF, HORSE, BEAR AND OTHERS WERE BORNE, AND IT WAS NOT TILL A LATER PERIOD THAT THE EAGLE BECAME THE SPECIAL STANDARD OF THE LEGION. 

EARLY FLAGS WERE ALMOST PURELY OF A RELIGIOUS CHARACTER ROMAN MISSIONARY AGUSTINE SAID TO HAVE BORNE A BANNER WHICH SILVER CROSSES WERE DISPLAYED.  THE NATIONAL BANNER OF ENGLAND FOR CENTURIES, THE RED CROSS OF ST. GEORGE WAS A RELIGIOUS ONE, IN FACT THE AID OF RELIGION SEEMS EVER TO HAVE BEEN SOUGHT TO GIVE SANCTITY TO NATIONAL FLAGS AND THE ORIGIN OF MANY CAN BE TRACED TO A SACRED BANNER AND IN NOTABLY THE CASE WITH THE ORIFLAMME OF FRANCE AND THE DANNYBROOK OF DENMARK. KING ALDERMAN OF DENMARK, LEADING; HIS TROOPS TO BATTLE AGAINST THE ENEMY IN 1219, SAW AT A CRITICAL MOMENT A CROSS IN THE SKY. THIS WAS ONCE TAKEN AS AN ANSWER TO HIS PRAYER, AND AN ASSURANCE OF CELESTIAL AID.  IT WAS ADOPTED AS THE DANISH FLAG AND CALLED THE DANNEBROG. 

BEFORE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE THE FLAGS OF THOSE COLONIES WHICHNOW FORM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WERE VERY VARIOUS.

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF NEW ENGLAND THE PURITANS OBJECTED TO THE RED CROSS OF ST. GEORGE, NOT FROM ANY DISLOYALTY TO THE MOTHER COUNTRY, BUT FROM A CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION TO WHAT THEY DEEMED AN IDOLATROUS SYMBOL.  BY THE YEAR 1700 MOST OF THE COLONIES HAD DEVISED BADGES TO DISTINGUISH THEIR VESSELS FROM THOSE OF ENGLAND AND OF EACH OTHER.

ON THE 14TH OF JUNE 1777 CONGRESS RESOLVED THAT THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES BE THIRTEEN STRIPES, ALTERNATE RED AND WHITE; THAT THE UNION BE THIRTEEN STARS, WHITE IN A BLUE FIELD, REPRESENTING A NEW CONSTELLATION.  THIS WAS THE ORIGIN OF THE NATIONAL FLAG, BUT AT FIRST, AS THE NUMBER OF THE STRIPES WERE HAVING SEVEN WHITE AND SIX RED STRIPES, AND AT THE OTHER TIMES SEVEN RED AND SIX WHITE, AND IT WAS NOT FOR SOME CONSIDERABLE TIME THAT IT WAS AUTHORITATIVELY LAID DOWN THAT THE LATTER ARRANGEMENT WAS THE ONE TO BE ADOPTED. 

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