Posted by Scott Bubar on September 23, 2001 at 17:11:55:
I received a solicitation in the mail yesterday for a tax-deductible donation to the The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
The bait was a 3' x 5' version of one of these, "suitable for flying on holidays", "reserved in my name": The Grand Union Flag.
The first American Flag.
Authorized by the Second Continental Congress in 1775.
The thirteen stripes of the field stood, of course, for the hoped-for unity of the thirteen colonies as a unified entity--still an ideal at the time, and far from a reality.
The King's colors in the canton--the juxtaposition of England's St. George's Cross, and Scotland's St. Andrew's cross--dates back to the time when King James VI of Scotland ascended to the English throne. Each country retained it's flag, but when the navy went forth overseas, they went together.
And on the first American flag it was an expression of our loyalty and hope that we would be recognized as equals within the British Empire.
Of course, things didn't work out that way.
This was the flag that Washington chose to hoist over his headquarters in Cambridge in January of 1776.
The canton was soon to display the "new constellation" of stars.
In this time of an assault on our right to exist, the support of those of many nations is much appreciated.
But the Brits and ourselves go back a long ways.
A grand union.