FLAG 



2194 



FLAG 



LAG, the symbol of nations, the distin- 

 guishing mark of armies and fleets, departments 

 of governments and parties, and the personal 

 standard of rulers and officers. The word is 

 derived from the Anglo-Saxon fleogan, meaning 

 to float or fly in the wind, and it has the same 

 meaning in English, Swedish, Danish, German 

 and Dutch. The typical form of a flag is that 

 of an oblong piece of cloth of light material, 

 such as cotton or silk, attached to a staff, 

 and bearing devices of special meaning. The 

 end of the flag fastened to the staff is known as 

 the hoist, and the length from the support to 

 the free end is called the fly. The flag as it is 

 known to-day is the result of many centuries of 

 development. In the early dawn of civiliza- 

 tion man felt the need of some token that 

 would distinguish family from family and tribe 

 from tribe, and from these ancient symbols 

 came the standards which were emblematic of 

 nations. 



The earliest national symbols were figures 

 worked in metal, wood or stone, borne at the 

 top of a pole or spear. Standards of this char- 

 acter were carried in battle by the Egyptians, 

 Hebrews, Persians, Assyrians and Romans. One 

 of the most ancient Roman standards consisted 

 of a wisp of hay fastened to the end of a pole, 

 but the Latin student reads more frequently of 

 the aquila, the eagle standard which was car- 

 ried with the legions in time of battle. The 

 Emperor Constantine had an Imperial standard 

 made of purple silk, richly embroidered with 

 gold. This usually hung from a horizontal 

 crossbar, but at a later period it was sometimes 

 attached to the side of a staff, constituting a 

 flying flag. It is supposed that the waving 

 flag originated with the Saracens. During the 



Middle Ages this form of standard came into 

 general use. For the flags of different nations, 

 see subtitles below. 



There are several interesting customs in 

 connection with the flags of to-day. Flags are 

 borne on the masts of vessels to designate the 

 country to which they belong, and also on war 

 vessels, to show the rank of the officer by whom 

 a ship is commanded. When a naval ship 

 enters the port of a foreign nation it hoists 

 the flag of that country and fires a salute of 

 twenty-one guns. In the army, each regiment 

 carries a flag as its distinguishing mark. Flags 

 are used for signaling at sea, where, by inter- 

 national codes, *ships may communicate with 

 each other. Each nation, also, has its private 

 code. See SIGNALING; SIGNAL CORPS. 



To strike the flag is to haul it down, indi- 

 cating surrender; to dip it is to lower it slightly 

 and then to run it up again, a form of salute; 

 if the flag floats half way up the pole it is 

 said to be at half mast, a token of mourning; 

 a flag reversed, that is upside down, indicates 

 distress. A white flag, often called the flag oj 

 truce, is used as a token of surrender or as a 

 sign that one of the combatants wishes to 

 communicate with the other. A yellow . flag 

 waving over a hospital, vessel or fort means 

 that there is contagious disease within and 

 that the place is in a state of quarantine (see 

 QUARANTINE). Red is the color associated with 

 anarchy or mutiny. Historically, the red flag 

 has often been used as the standard of an 

 extreme revolutionary body, as the Commune 

 of Paris of 1870, and it is the banner of anar- 

 chistic bodies to-day. Black banners are usually 

 associated with piracy and warfare where no 

 quarter is given or expected. 



United States Flag 



The story of the national 

 American people begins with 

 of the Revolutionary War. 

 few months of the struggle 

 local flags were carried by the 

 battle of Concord, in 1775, 

 unfurled which bore, in Latin, 



emblem of the quer or die," and at Bunker Hill, the same 



the stormy days year, the pine-tree flag of the New England 



During the first colonies inspired the American troops. On 



several different January 2, 1776, Washington raised over the 



soldiers. At the American camp at Cambridge the first ensign 



a standard was of the united colonies, known as the Grand 



the motto, "Con- Union Flag of^ 1776. On its blue field were 



