Throughout the country the D. A. R.'s are celebrating this great anniversary of our flag. Honor the flag. It belongs to every American citizen, whether we live under Northern or Southern skies, whether the American spirit is enthroned over civilization struggles with its problems upon the shores of the Pacific, or turns to problems as grave on this side.
And we are conquering the world under the emblem of Old Glory. The world turns to us as the maker of Peace, the mightiest since civilization's dawning, for genuine rule—those "common people," of whom Lincoln said, "The Lord must love them, he made so many."
The first flag hoisted on American soil about which we have any authentic record, was that seen by the earliest voyagers to our coasts. They found that the North American Indians carried a pole covered with wing feathers of the eagle as a standard.
Columbus, when he landed, October 12th, 1492, on the island of San Salvador, unfurled upon the shores of the new world the first European banners. The son of Columbus records that his father, dressed in scarlet, came ashore with the royal standard of Isabella emblazoned with the arms of Castile and Leon. He planted this standard together with its companion, a white flag with a green cross, on this small island. In the pictures of the ships of the time of Columbus these flags may be seen streaming from the ship's mast.
In 1499, the Eastern coast of South America was explored by the Florentine, Americus Vespucius. About the same time the Cabots planted the banners of England and of St. Mark of Venice on the North American shores.
The Red Cross of St. George was first raised on American shores at Jamestown, Virginia, in May 1607 and when the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620 there floated from the mast of the Mayflower also the red cross of St. George. Our Pacific coast had been visited in the preceding century by Francis Drake, in his voyage around the world. Into the New York Harbor sailed Hudson with the Dutch flag, a tri-color, orange, white and blue. This banner, with the letters W. I. C., floated over Manhattan Island, proclaiming the rights of the Dutch West India Company. About the same time the Swedes floated their royal banner in the sunlight on the banks of the Delaware. This colony from the frozen north of Europe was so charmed with our country that to Cape Horn they gave the name of Paradise Point, and called their little settlement Christiana, after their far-away Queen.
During the period of our history known as Colonial and Provincial, the English flag was used from Maine to Georgia, with various devices and mottoes. Some flags were all red, with horizontal stripes, or red and blue stripes. Others were red, blue, white or yellow. The flags so frequently mentioned in the newspapers of 1774, were the ordinary English ensigns, bearing the Union Jack. These almost always bore a patriotic motto like "Liberty," "Liberty and Property," and "Liberty and Union."
So I could go on and dwell on the different flags, but I must hurry to our own, our native flag.
It is not generally known, and comes as a surprise to many, that the stars and stripes is one of the oldest National flags in existence, France being next; and England's present flag was not adopted until 1801.