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American and French Flags 
 
 of The Revolution 
 
 1775-1783 
 
 By 
 FRANK EARLE SCHERMERHORN 
 
 former Captain of the Color Guard, 
 
 Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 
 of the Revolution 
 
 Published by 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY OF SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 1948 
 
Copyright, 1948, by 
 Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution 
 

 
 4 
 
 J* 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 Contents 
 
 Page 
 Preface 5 
 
 Part I— Regimental and Other American Flags of the Period 
 
 of the American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783.. . . 9 
 
 Part II— French Flags of the Period of The French Alliance, 
 
 1778-1783 103 
 
Preface 
 
 THE present work is an attempt to popularize the subject of 
 the regimental and other flags of our Revolutionary War, 
 examining, however, the story of each flag in a semi-judicial 
 manner, stating fact coldly where it can be or has been ascertained, 
 but presenting also (carefully labelled as such) some of the tradi- 
 tions and rumor, the possible and the probable, associated with the 
 particular flag. 
 
 It must be remembered that while positive evidence is seldom 
 forthcoming, yet, in most cases, we are squarely confronted by the 
 presence in our midst, after more than 150 years, of what appear, 
 reasonably and logically, from their workmanship and from the 
 materials used, to be some of the old flags themselves, which must 
 be accounted for, with or without legends, and either accepted or 
 argued out of existence as far as our Revolution is concerned. 
 
 Washington was constantly urging the colonels of his various 
 regiments to agree upon and procure flags for their commands. Steu- 
 ben provided in his regulations for two flags to each regiment. Con- 
 gress and the States, however, were slow to appropriate money for 
 such purposes, and it was not until the War was nearly over that any 
 official flags at all were issued to our land forces. Those in use were, 
 therefore, personal rather than official, and there must have been 
 a great variety of them, even though only a very small number have 
 come down to us. Davis remarks 1 that regimental flags of the thir- 
 teen original States exist only as to New Hampshire, Rhode Island, 
 Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and South Caro- 
 lina. 2 For New Jersey, he says, "not even a description of their 
 colors exist"; and "even more remarkable that very little is known 
 about the regimental colors of the Massachusetts troops." 
 
 This book represents original research only to a small extent. 
 It is rather a bringing together of the results of the research work 
 done by others. In a few of the chapters some of the text has been 
 
 1. "Regimental Colors in the War of the Revolution," by Gherardi Davis, 1907; 
 page 6. 
 
 2. Writing today, he could have added Virginia, North Carolina, and perhaps 
 Delaware. 
 
 [5] 
 
PREFACE 
 
 borrowed, practically verbatim, from the two previous flag books of 
 the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution, one published 
 in 1903, written by Captain Henry Hobart Bellas, United States 
 Army, the other in 1913, prepared and partly written by a Com- 
 mittee consisting of Harrold E. Gillingham, George C. Gillespie 
 and Henry M. Medary. The paragraphs or passages so borrowed 
 are marked as quoted, and are followed in each instance by this 
 statement: "From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society; 
 see Preface, supra." 
 
 Besides other flags, the Pennsylvania Society owns thirty-nine 
 full-size replicas of Revolutionary War flags, thirty-two being Amer- 
 ican (including the 2nd South Carolina Regiment) and seven 
 French. Their total cost was about $5,000.00. They are cared for, 
 displayed and paraded, on orders from the Society, by a select body 
 of some sixty of its members, called the Color Guard. Excepting for 
 errors in some details, carefully checked and corrected in the illus- 
 trations appearing in the present book, these replicas are believed 
 to be good copies of the originals. 3 
 
 In preparing this work, valuable assistance was received from 
 both individuals and institutions, sometimes most unexpectedly. 
 Credit has been given in the text or footnotes for much of this cour- 
 teous, painstaking cooperation. Also, many of the original letters, 
 pamphlets, booklets, prints, etc., which were thus received, are to be 
 found, classified in Volume A of a file called "Flag Book Sources," 
 kept during the preparation of this book, and now the property of 
 the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution. There is also 
 a Volume B, containing a number of small books, referred to 
 herein, which were too large to be included in Volume A of this file. 
 
 Considerable praise is due Stanley Edwards Whiteway, whose 
 skillful drawings have made the illustrations in this book possible. 
 Every detail in each flag drawing has been carefully considered to 
 insure the greatest accuracy obtainable. In some cases considerable 
 restoration was necessary. This often required intelligent inter- 
 
 3. In order that the Color Guard may carry all fifty-three of the flags pictured in the 
 present book, the following six additional American flags would need to be 
 acquired (plus eight more French flags) : 
 
 (a) Stars and Stripes flown at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor in 1781 
 (stars in rectangular grouping, 4, 5, 4) ; Color Plate 1; 
 
 (b) General Schuyler's Betsy Ross Flag; Color Plate 2; 
 
 (c) Flag of the Green Mountain Boys; Color Plate 4; 
 
 (d) Flag of Third Maryland Regiment; Color Plate 5; 
 
 (e) Eutaw Flag; Color Plate 6; 
 
 (f) White Plains Flag; Color Plate 6. 
 
 It is hoped, and fully expected, that, in time, well-authenticated additions will 
 be made to the list of fifty-three flags of the Revolution shown in this book. 
 
 [6] 
 
PREFACE 
 
 pretation of meagre bits of information available on missing flag 
 parts. Mr. Whiteway received his art education in the art colony at 
 Ogunquit, Maine, and the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, 
 D. C. He is recently of the United States Army, where, while on 
 active duty, he encircled the globe, visiting over twenty countries 
 on three continents. His paintings have appeared in several large 
 exhibits and his drawings in The Saturday Evening Post, Nature 
 Magazine and various other national publications. Prior to his 
 present position as public relations director of a large industrial 
 concern, he was a staff artist and writer successively on the 
 Washington Post and Washington Times-Herald newspapers. 
 
 The project for the publication of this book was begun under 
 the leadership and during the administration of Thomas Hart as 
 president of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution 
 (1943-1946) , and has been pursued under his leadership, chiefly, 
 ever since, although ably assisted by the later Board of Managers 
 and President of the Society, and by Captain Aller and other offi- 
 cers of the Color Guard of the Society. Publication was carried 
 through to completion in 1948, during the administration of 
 President Francis Shunk Brown, Jr., and under the Publication 
 Committee appointed by him in 1946, consisting of Bran ton H 
 Henderson, Chairman; Thomas Hart, Benjamin Franklin James, 
 3rd, Joseph Wharton Lippincott, C. Newbold Taylor, Charles P 
 Blinn, Jr., and Frank Earle Schermerhorn, the author. The cost 
 of the book, in the form first proposed, proved financially pro- 
 hibitive. But finally, in somewhat changed form, and with the 
 experienced planning and management of Benjamin Franklin 
 James, 3rd, of the Franklin Printing Company, aided by sugges- 
 tions from Joseph Wharton Lippincott, both of them members 
 of the Publication Committee, completion of publication wa? 
 achieved in September, 1948. 
 
 F. E. S. 
 
 [7] 
 
PART I 
 
 REGIMENTAL 
 
 AND OTHER AMERICAN FLAGS 
 
 of the Period of the 
 
 American Revolutionary War 
 
 1775-1783 
 
 Contents of Part I Co ioi 
 
 Page Plate No. 
 
 The Stars and Stripes 11 1 
 
 Continental or Grand Union Flag 16 1 
 
 Betsy Ross Flag (So-Called) 19 
 
 General Schuyler's Betsy Ross Flag 21 2 
 
 Flag of the Bedford Minute Men 25 . 2 
 
 Flag of Bunker Hill 27 2 
 
 Flag of the Continental Navy 29 2 
 
 Pine Tree Flag 30 2 
 
 Flag of the Floating Batteries 31 2 
 
 Washington's Headquarters Flag 32 3 
 
 Flag of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard 35 3 
 
 Flag of First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry. . 38 3 
 
 Crescent Flag of South Carolina 40 3 
 
 Flag of Second South Carolina Regiment 42 3 
 
 Bennington Flag 45 3 
 
 Flag of the Green Mountain Boys 48 4 
 
 Flag of First Pennsylvania Regiment 51 4 
 
 Flag of Eleventh Virginia Regiment 53 4 
 
 Flag of Third New York Regiment 56 4 
 
 Flag of First Rhode Island Regiment 59 4 
 
 Flag of Second Rhode Island Regiment 62 4 
 
 Flags of Second New Hampshire Regiment 64 5 
 
 Flag of Third Maryland Regiment 67 5 
 
 Flag of Second Connecticut Regiment 70 5 
 
 Rattlesnake Flag 73 5 
 
 Flag of Pulaski's Legion 74 5 
 
 [9] 
 
CONTENTS OF PART I 
 
 Color 
 
 Page Plate No. 
 
 Flags of Second Regiment Light Dragoons 75 6 
 
 Eutaw Flag of Colonel Washington's Cavalry .... 80 6 
 
 Guilford or North Carolina Militia Flag 83 6 
 
 Flag of the United Train of Artillery 88 6 
 
 White Plains Flag 90 6 
 
 Franklin Flag (So-Called) 92 7 
 
 Naval Privateer Flag 95 7 
 
 Schuyler Flag of Old Congress Hall 96 7 
 
 Flag of Hanover Associators 98 7 
 
 Flag of Proctor's Independent Battalion 99 7 
 
 Flag of Webb's Connecticut Regiment 101 7 
 
 [10] 
 
The Stars and Stripes 
 
 (SEE COLOR PLATE 1) 
 
 SO MUCH that is deliberately (if not maliciously) iconoclastic 
 has been written about the American Revolution, its heroes 
 and its emblems, that one who loves the old traditions and 
 beliefs feels sad indeed when he finds, from his own researches (and 
 the more profound ones of others) , that he must contradict and 
 veil with even greater uncertainty some of these traditions and 
 beliefs. 
 
 What could be finer and more colorful than the picture of 
 Betsy Ross designing, or partly designing, the first stars and stripes, 
 in her fascinating house on Arch Street in Philadelphia? This re- 
 stored "Betsy Ross House" visualizes and symbolizes her home and 
 workshop, even though her actual residence may have been several 
 street numbers removed. Somehow she was associated with the 
 stars and stripes. How or when, we shall probably never know. 
 But, strong, persisting family tradition, must usually, like smoke, 
 have some fire behind it. As Americans all, we would like to believe 
 and be able to prove that Elizabeth Griscom Ross, of Philadelphia, 
 cut, pieced and sewed together the first stars and stripes ever carried. 
 Her first husband, John Ross, who died in January, 1776, of an 
 injury sustained while guarding military stores, was a nephew of 
 Colonel George Ross, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, later a signer of 
 the Declaration of Independence, and therefore a man presumably 
 influential and well informed on public matters. George Ross must 
 have been well acquainted with General Washington, and if 
 Washington, Ross and Robert Morris, in May or June, 1776, did 
 really plan a new flag, with a canton of stars to replace the now 
 objectionable British union of the Continental Flag, what more 
 likely place to discuss the subject than the parlor in back of Betsy 
 Ross' workshop, Mrs. Ross being already known to Washington 
 through having done some seamstress work for him? 
 
 [11] 
 
THE STARS AND STRIPES 
 
 Then, besides the Betsy Ross story, there are those other men- 
 tal pictures, even more colorful, of these same stars and stripes flying 
 at Cooch's Bridge, Brandywine and Saratoga. 1 But where is the 
 evidence to support any of these interesting mind-pictures? Unfor- 
 tunately, up to this time, there is none. There is argument, surmise, 
 conjecture; but no direct evidence, or even hearsay, much as we 
 would wish it were otherwise. It would seem that at Brandywine 
 and Saratoga there must have been a headquarters flag at least; but 
 what was it like? No one, in any report, letter or diary, has ever told 
 us. Nor are there any army rules, or regulations of Congress, on 
 the subject. We know that in the American Navy the stars and 
 stripes were promptly adopted, at least semi-officially, as the national 
 ensign, toward the close of 1777, if not earlier; 2 but what of the 
 land forces, their headquarters, the public office buildings, etc.? 
 There is no evidence (not even secondary evidence) to tell us. No 
 funds were appropriated by Congress for flags until very late in the 
 War. Such stars and stripes as were then flown on land (and there 
 must have been and were some) were unofficial. 3 In fact, it was not 
 until 1834 that any regiment of the United States Army was offi- 
 cially authorized or ordered to carry the stars and stripes. 4 
 
 "Much more certain than the facts concerning the first use of 
 the Stars and Stripes on land and in battle by the American Army 
 are those of its first appearance on the high seas and in foreign lands 
 or waters as the ensign of the American Navy. This achievement 
 was effected by John Paul Jones." 5 On the very same day that the 
 Flag Resolution was adopted, Jones was appointed by Congress to 
 command the sloop of war Ranger, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 
 The Ranger did not sail until November 1, 1777, "and thus it was 
 on that date that the flag first went upon the high seas." Jones se- 
 cured a salute to the Stars and Stripes from the French fleet 
 in Quiberon Bay, on February 14, 1778. The first British warship 
 to strike her colors to the Stars and Stripes was the Drake, after being 
 engaged with the Ranger on April 24, 1778. Jones wrote to the 
 
 1. The oft-repeated Fort Schuyler story as disproved to a finality by John Spargo, 
 in his "The Stars and Stripes in 1777"; published in 1928; pages 24 et seq. (In 
 "Flag Book Sources," Volume B; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 2. "The navies of the world have always led in flag matters because international 
 law has made ships that do not bear recognized ensigns liable to charge of 
 piracy." See "Flags of the World," by Gilbert Grosvenor and W. J. Showalter, 
 in National Geographic Magazine for September, 1934. 
 
 3. See chapters on the Bennington Flag, the Guilford Flag, and the Flag of Third 
 Maryland Regiment, infra; and Note 7 to the chapter on the Flag of the French 
 Navy; in Part II; also infra. 
 
 4. "The National Flag," by Willis Fletcher Johnson; 1930; page 19. 
 
 5. Same; page 62. 
 
 [12] 
 
CONTINENTAL OR GRAND UNION FLAG 
 
 COLOR PLATE 1 
 
THE STARS AND STRIPES 
 
 American Commissioner in Paris that on this occasion "the Ameri- 
 can stars were displayed on board the Ranger. " Q 
 
 The best analysis of the probable origins of the stars and stripes 
 is contained in the 19-page booklet by the late Howard M. Chapin, 7 
 entitled "The Artistic Motives in the United States Flag." What 
 will be said here in the three numbered paragraphs following is a 
 condensation of that able work: 
 
 1. The English red ensign of the time of Queen Elizabeth 
 seems to have been the first national (or naval) flag to carry the 
 design or combination of canton and field (a canton in strict her- 
 aldry being two-thirds of a quarter of the entire shield) . This 
 English red ensign, approximately but not accurately divided thus, 
 was the flag commonly flown by English merchant vessels at the 
 outbreak of the American Revolution and for many years preceding 
 it, and was one of the most widely known flags. 8 
 
 2. The field of 13 red and white horizontal stripes was not 
 a new departure in design at that time, for the British East India 
 Company's flag, as early as 1701, had 13 red and white horizontal 
 stripes, and, besides that, it had a canton in the upper corner near 
 the staff. This flag was well known in America. It was a curious 
 coincidence that it had 13 stripes. 9 
 
 3. On the subject of the stars in the canton, many hundreds 
 of pages have been written by various authors, without reaching 
 any definite conclusion whatever. Chapin points out, nevertheless, 
 that the first of the flags of one of the American colonies, the flag of 
 the First Rhode Island regiment, carried a blue canton containing 
 13 white five-pointed stars. "These stars were arranged in five rows 
 of 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, stars respectively. It may have been merely a coin- 
 cidence that this arrangement of the stars follows the lines of the 
 arms of the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew." The flag of the 
 United Train of Artillery of Providence, Rhode Island, carried in 
 1776, also bore 13 five-pointed stars, arranged in a circle, not in a 
 canton but in the field of the flag. 10 But why did Rhode Island 
 happen to choose stars for emblems upon its colonial flags? The 
 answer is simple enough: The seal of the town of Providence, as 
 early as 1680, was a circle of six 8-pointed stars around a seventh 
 star. The motive of this seal is still used by the Providence City 
 
 6. Same; page 64. 
 
 7. See Note 3 to chapter on Royal Flags of Louis XVI; in Part II; infra. 
 
 8. "The Artistic Motives in the United States Flag," by Howard M. Chapin; 1930; 
 page 5. 
 
 9. Same; page 11. 
 10. Same; page 15. 
 
 [13] 
 
THE STARS AND STRIPES 
 
 Council on its flag. 11 We know also that the seal of Portsmouth, 
 Rhode Island, as early as 1676, consisted of seven 8-pointed stars, 
 arranged likewise in a circle of six around the seventh, probably 
 suggested by the ancient arms of Portsmouth, England, which bore 
 a crescent and a star. 12 Providence, Rhode Island, besides being 
 one of the capitals of the state, was one of the chief seats of the 
 Revolutionary patriots of the Colonies. As Mrs. J. G. Walker said 
 in the Sunday Star, Washington, D. C, in 1927 (quoted by 
 Chapin) : "Without definite proof to the contrary, there seems 
 every reason to believe that some one of Rhode Island's starry flags 
 must have been well known to those who were interested in the 
 organization of the Continental forces and that it contributed to 
 the design of the new constellation adopted June 14, 1777. " 13 
 
 This, as to the stars, is, again, obviously, all surmise, theory, 
 conjecture. The truth probably will never be known. There are, 
 of course, three five-pointed stars on the coat-of-arms of the Wash- 
 ington family: mullets, as they are called heraldically; really spur- 
 rowels. In this connection it may be strange to note that this English 
 escutcheon of Washington had stars of five points, following the 
 heraldry of Holland, France and Germany, instead of the heraldry 
 of England, which prescribed six-pointed stars. 14 Perhaps we shall 
 be obliged to go back, for the stars, to the song published in the 
 Massachusetts Spy of March 10, 1774, which included the following 
 lines: 
 
 "A ray of bright glory now beams from afar 
 The American Ensign now sparkles a star 
 Which shall shortly flame wide through the skies." 15 
 
 The particular stars and stripes chosen for the illustration at 
 the beginning of this book is the so-called flag of Fort Independence, 
 in Boston Harbor, 16 which is supposed to date from about 1781, 
 and is still preserved in the State House at Boston. The rectangular 
 or linear arrangement of the stars has been given preference here 
 over the circular form because that pattern is the one which finally 
 prevailed and is to be found in the flag of today. 
 
 11. Same; page 17. 
 
 12. Same; page 18. 
 
 13. Same; page 17. 
 
 14. "Our Flag," by Rear- Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N.; 1872; page 192. 
 
 15. "The Birth of Our Flag," 2nd edition, 1923, by Lieutenant-Colonel Louis 
 Barcroft Runk, U.S.A.; page 15. Also, "Our Flag," by Rear- Admiral George 
 Henry Preble, U.S.N.; 1872; page 181. 
 
 16. "The Origin and Evolution of the United States Flag," by R. C. Ballard Thrus- 
 ton; 1926; page 13. (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C.) 
 
 [14] 
 
THE STARS AND STRIPES 
 
 The original Flag "Resolve" of June 14, 1777, reads as follows: 
 "Resolved, That the Flag of the United States be 13 stripes alter- 
 nate red and white, that the Union be 13 stars white in a blue field 
 representing a new constellation." Its first appearance in the news- 
 papers, however, was not until September 2, 1777, in Dunlap's 
 Pennsylvania Packet. 17 But the placement of the thirteen stars in 
 the "new constellation" was never defined. After two new states, 
 Vermont and Kentucky, had come into the Union, it was decreed 
 by Congress that on May 1, 1795, and thereafter, "the flag of the 
 United States be fifteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the 
 union be fifteen stars, white in a blue field." 18 These stars were 
 arranged in five parallel rows of three each (apparently by common 
 agreement) , resting on the fifth red stripe. This was the famous 
 Fort McHenry Flag, which inspired our national anthem. On 
 April 4, 1818, other states having been admitted to the Union, 
 Congress returned to the original design of thirteen stripes, with 
 as many white stars in the blue canton as there should be states, 
 as time went on; and this has continued until there are 48 stars, in 
 six regular rows, forming our brave galaxy in these serious latter 
 days. 
 
 17. "The Evolution of the American Flag," by George Canby and Lloyd Balderston; 
 1909; page 68. 
 
 18. Same; page 87. 
 
 f 15] 
 
Continental or Grand Union 
 
 Flag 
 
 (see color plate 1) 
 
 THIS was really the first flag of the United States, although in 
 a sense it was unofficial, because the Continental Congress 
 passed no resolution recognizing it. But it was displayed on 
 January 1, 1776, necessarily with General Washington's consent, at 
 Cambridge and at Prospect Hill, near Boston, ovtfr the camp of 
 Washington's assembled militia regiments, which he was gradually 
 to make over, with Steuben's help, into the splendid Continental 
 Line. 
 
 The so-called "Great Union" or "Grand Union" flag of Britain 
 dates from the accession of James I to the throne in 1603. Every 
 merchant ship was ordered to fly at its maintop this new flag, and 
 at its foretop either the red cross of St. George or the white cross of 
 St. Andrew. 1 This flag probably flew from the main mast of the 
 Mayflower, in 1620. 2 The new flag united the two crosses. 
 
 The white cross of St. Andrew (on a blue field) had been the 
 Scottish flag since the 8th century. Then, about 1275, the English 
 Prince (afterward Edward I) adopted on one of his Crusades the 
 red cross of St. George on a white field, as the flag of England. 
 
 These were the two flags which joined together about 1606 to 
 form this new flag. About a century later, in 1707, the two coun- 
 tries, by agreement, united their parliaments, thus becoming Great 
 Britain, and the first article of this agreement required "the union 
 of the crosses to be used in all their flags, banners, standards, and 
 ensigns, both at sea and on land. The designs of the flags or colors 
 made for the army were ornate, whilst those for the navy and mer- 
 chant marine were simple." 3 Each, however, had a red field, but 
 
 1. National Geographic Magazine, October, 1917; page 378. 
 
 2. Same; page 341. 
 
 3. "The Origin and Evolution of the United States Flag," by R. C. Ballard Thrus- 
 ton; 1926; page 2. (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C.) 
 
 [16] 
 
CONTINENTAL OR GRAND UNION FLAG 
 
 with the Union Flag of 1606 as a canton in the upper part next 
 the staff, in place of its former canton containing only the cross of 
 St. George. This red ensign (which is not the royal ensign) was 
 the one which the American colonists knew, and sailed with, and 
 probably fought under through the wars with the French and 
 Indians, during the 18th century (until 1775) , at Louisburg, Fort 
 Duquesne, Ticonderoga, Quebec, and elsewhere. When used alone 
 as an ensign as it was in 1606, or as a canton in the red ensign of 
 1707, the union of the two crosses should not, strictly and correctly 
 speaking, be called a "Union Jack"; it became a jack only when 
 flown as a smaller separate flag from the jack-staff in the bow of 
 a ship of war; 4 although a merchant ship could fly a red jack with 
 the design of the Union Jack in the canton. 
 
 The American flag of January 1, 1776, was simply this British 
 red ensign of 1707 with six white ribbons sewed across its field, 
 making thirteen red and white stripes to denote the thirteen Ameri- 
 can colonies. The retention of the British Union Jack in the can- 
 ton indicated that while we were protesting we had not yet decided 
 to sever our relations with the mother country. After "six months 
 of unremitting study and checking of facts," the authors of the 
 "Flags of the World" article in the September, 1934, number of the 
 National Geographic Magazine concluded that not until as late as 
 the middle of June, 1776, was "that degree of unanimity in the 
 Continental Congress attained which made the Declaration of In- 
 dependence . . . possible." In fact this was not until it finally 
 became apparent to all that the British were planning to take New 
 York City that very summer. 5 
 
 The earliest appearance of the Continental or Grand Union 
 Flag seems to have been on the Alfred, flagship of the new 
 "Congress Navy," as she lay at anchor in the Delaware River, 6 on 
 December 3, 1775. We have the written word of John Paul Jones, 
 senior of the first lieutenants of the Congress Navy, that he hoisted 
 the flag himself. John Adams, however, claimed the honor for 
 Captain John Manley; but it is practically certain that Manley was 
 flying the pine-tree flag of the earlier small fleet called the "Wash- 
 ington Cruisers," which had been commissioned by Washington 
 and not by Congress. 
 
 4. National Geographic Magazine, October, 1917; "Our Flag Number," by Captain 
 Byron McCandless, U.S.N., and Gilbert Grosvenor; page 378. 
 
 5. Same; page 345. 
 
 6. National Geographic Magazine, September, 1934; "Flags of the World," by Gilbert 
 Grosvenor and William J. Showalter; page 340. 
 
 [17] 
 
CONTINENTAL OR GRAND UNION FLAG 
 
 Captain John Barry, it would seem, was the first of the Navy 
 officers commissioned by Congress, and sailing under the Conti- 
 nental Flag, to fight a British warship, and make it strike its colors. 7 
 
 Late in 1775, carrying a flag which may possibly have been 
 this Continental or Grand Union Flag, Arnold made his incredible 
 march through the Maine wilderness into Canada, with eleven hun- 
 dred men: New Englanders except as to Morgan's three rifle com- 
 panies from Pennsylvania and Virginia. 8 We do know, however, 
 that this Grand Union Flag was flown in the important battle of 
 Valcour Island, Lake Champlain, in October, 1776. 9 Also pictur- 
 esque and adventurous was the exploit of Commodore Esek 
 Hopkins in the Bahama Islands, where, after capturing two enemy 
 schooners, some of the ships of his fleet, on March 17, 1776, entered 
 the British harbor of New Providence, defended by Fort Nassau, 
 and sailed away the same day, taking with them nearly one hundred 
 of the "King's guns, brass mortars and other warlike stores," to- 
 gether with the governor of the Islands and his secretary; all this 
 being told in a London magazine of July, 1776, which also states 
 that "The colours of the American fleet were striped under the 
 union with thirteen strokes, called the thirteen united colonies, and 
 their standard was a rattlesnake, motto, 'Don't tread upon me!' " 10 
 
 7. "The National Flag," by Willis Fletcher Johnson; 1330; page 25. 
 
 8. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 1, 
 page 192. 
 
 9. "Life and Times of Philip Schuyler," by Benson J. Lossing; 1872; volume 2, 
 pages 113-114. 
 
 10. "The Evolution of the American Flag," by George Canby and Lloyd Balderston; 
 1909; page 28. Also "The National Flag," by Willis Fletcher Johnson; 1930, 
 page 24. 
 
 [18] 
 
Betsy Ross Flag (So-Called) 
 
 THE so-called Betsy Ross flag differs only from other early stars 
 and stripes of the regular type in having the thirteen stars 
 grouped in a circle in the canton of the flag. One of the best 
 arguments for this sometime, yet unofficial, use of the stars in a 
 circle on our national color is found in one of the designs for the 
 great seal of the United States, submitted to Congress by William 
 Barton in 1782. Part of this design included what he called "the 
 Standard of the United States," which was a stars and stripes flag 
 with the stars arranged in a circle. 1 
 
 Then again, we find that in all of Charles Willson Peale's 
 paintings showing the flag, the stars were displayed in a circle. 2 
 Peale was at the head of a company of infantry in the battles of 
 Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. 3 
 The artist, John Trumbull, however, who was also an experienced 
 soldier in the Revolution, painted the stars on his flags not in a 
 circle but arranged in rows in a rectangle (with one exception, his 
 Surrender of Burgoyne) . 4 
 
 Just why this particular design of the stars and stripes has been 
 called for years the Betsy Ross Flag is not known, unless it is because 
 of the publicity given to Charles H. Weisgerber's excellent paint- 
 ing, "Birth of Our Nation's Flag," which shows Betsy Ross display- 
 ing to General Washington, George Ross and Robert Morris a stars 
 and stripes flag with the stars in a circle. Each subscriber of ten cents 
 or more to the American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial 
 Association (incorporated in 1898) received a membership certifi- 
 cate which included a reproduction in colors of this painting. It is 
 
 1. "Our Flag," by Rear- Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N.; 1872; page 477. 
 
 2. "Regimental Colors in the War of the Revolution," by Gherardi Davis; Supple- 
 ment of 1910; pages 13 and 28. 
 
 3. "Eminent Americans," by Benson J. Lossing; 1881; page 176. 
 
 4. For a reproduction of this painting see page 13 of "Saratoga National Historical 
 Park," a pamphlet published by United States Department of the Interior, 
 National Park Service; 1942 (in "Flag Book Sources," see Preface, supra) . See 
 also "The Evolution of the American Flag," by George Canby and Lloyd Balder - 
 ston; 1909; page 70; and "Regimental Colors in the War of the Revolution," 
 by Gherardi Davis; Supplement of 1910; page 5. 
 
 [19] 
 
BETSY ROSS FLAG (SO-CALLED) 
 
 said that more than a million persons contributed in this way to the 
 fund for purchasing the house. 5 
 
 The flag-picture of a conventional "Betsy Ross Flag," which it 
 was intended should precede this chapter, has been redrawn and is 
 used with the newer chapter following, entitled "General Schuyler's 
 Betsy Ross Flag." In 1943, as is explained in that chapter, a stars 
 and stripes flag, which, according to tradition, was made by Betsy 
 Ross for General Schuyler, in 1777, and which had come down, with 
 the tradition, through the Hamilton and Schuyler families, was 
 deposited in the Fort Ticonderoga Museum by Schuyler Hamilton, 
 a lineal descendant. 6 Excepting for the use of larger stars in the 
 canton, this flag is the same in pattern and coloring as the one which 
 has been so often associated in books and paintings with Betsy Ross. 
 The seven red and six white stripes are there, the blue canton rest- 
 ing on the fourth white stripe; and the proportionate dimensions 
 of the flag are about the same. 
 
 5. "The Evolution of the American Flag," by George Canby and Lloyd Balderston; 
 1909; page 121. 
 
 6. "The Bulletin of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum," July, 1943; page 184. Also 
 letter of Colonel S. H. P. Pell, Director of the Museum, September 27, 1943. (Both 
 in "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 [20] 
 
General Schuyler's Betsy Ross 
 
 Flag 
 
 (see color plate 2) 
 
 THE original of this flag was presented in March, 1943, to the 
 Fort Ticonderoga Museum, by Schuyler Hamilton, a great- 
 great-great-grandson of General Schuyler. 1 It will be remem- 
 bered that the care and restoration of the ancient Ticonderoga fort 
 was undertaken many years ago by the well-known Pell family of 
 New York City, who acquired the property in 1820. 2 
 
 In September, 1943, Mr. Hamilton sent the following to Col- 
 onel S. H. P. Pell, the present Director of the Museum: 3 
 
 1. "The Bulletin of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum," July, 1943, page 184. 
 
 2. S. H. P. Pell, in his letter of October 14, 1943, filed in "Flag Book Sources" (see 
 Preface, supra) , relates briefly the strange, romantic story of his family's con- 
 nection with Fort Ticonderoga. The Pell family, in the American Revolution, 
 were divided; there were cousins on both sides at the battle of Saratoga. The 
 present Mr. Pell's branch were "loyalists" and emigrated to Canada from New 
 York. But his great-great-grandfather sent the Canadian young people of the fam- 
 ily, for their education, down to the Manor of Pelham, in Westchester County, New 
 York, which was the home of the "patriot" branch of the family. S. H. P. Pell's 
 great-grandfather, William Ferris Pell, in these journeys back and forth, visited 
 the ruins of Fort Ticonderoga, and made up his mind to buy them if ever he 
 could afford to. He went into business in New York City. In 1820 he did buy 
 Ticonderoga, which the State had deeded in the late 1790's, with other former 
 Crown properties, to Columbia and Union Colleges, for educational purposes. 
 The Colleges wanted cash, not forts, which enabled Pell to acquire the Ticon- 
 deroga property. He built a small house for his summer use, near the Fort, but 
 this having burned down, he built a fairly large residence in 1826, called "The 
 Pavilion," which is S. H. P. Pell's residence now. "It is under the walls of the 
 Fort, on the edge of the King's Garden, laid out in 1756 by the French officers 
 and called 'Jardin du Roi'." William Ferris Pell died intestate, and the property 
 went to his ten children. About thirty years ago the present S. H. P. Pell bought 
 out his brothers and sisters and cousins and "started the restoration, which has 
 progressed slowly since," as he "had to do the job in small bites." "About fifteen 
 years ago," he says, "I transferred the property to the Pell Family Association, 
 the trustees of which are myself, my sons, my cousins and my brothers." See also 
 Colonel Pell's excellent "Fort Ticonderoga, A Short History," published in 1935; 
 and an article, illustrated in color, in The Saturday Evening Post of August 16, 
 1946; copies of both of which are to be found in "Flag Book Sources." 
 
 3. See letters of Mr. Pell, dated September 21 and 28, 1943; filed in "Flag Book 
 Sources" (see Preface, supra) . 
 
 [21] 
 
GENERAL SCHUYLER S BETSY ROSS FLAG 
 
 "Memorandum on General Philip Schuyler Flag 
 
 "When word was received by General Schuyler of the 
 adoption of the American Flag, he was serving in Pennsyl- 
 vania, and immediately ordered a flag made to fly at head- 
 quarters. The flag was inherited by his daughter, Mrs. 
 Alexander Hamilton (nee Elizabeth Schuyler) . It was given 
 by her to her son, John C. Hamilton, who in turn gave it to 
 his son, Major General Schuyler Hamilton, my grandfather, 
 who in turn gave it to me, Schuyler Hamilton, General Ham- 
 ilton's grandson, as my father Schuyler Hamilton, Jr., 
 had predeceased my grandfather, Major General Schuyler 
 Hamilton. 
 
 "Family tradition has it that it was made by Betsy Ross, 
 maker of the original flag. 
 
 "The flag was flown as late as 1898 after Dewey's victory 
 at Manila by my Grandfather Major General Schuyler Ham- 
 ilton, who shortly after had it sealed in a glass case. I was 
 with Grandfather at the time at Sing Sing now Ossining, 
 New York. 
 
 "The canvas and brass grommets were applied by my 
 grandfather to the flag, who also had it reinforced with silk 
 mesh on both sides and cross stitched with silk thread when 
 he had it mounted in the case. 
 
 "Schuyler Hamilton." 
 
 There is, probably, an error in the first three lines of this 
 "Memorandum," as General Schuyler had left Philadelphia in time 
 to reach Albany on June 8, 1777, 4 whereas the American flag was 
 not "adopted" until June 14. 
 
 Colonel Pell states that when Mr. Hamilton deposited the flag 
 with the Museum, in the original glass case or frame in which it 
 had been sealed some forty-five years previously, there was a brass 
 tablet on it saying that the flag had been made by Betsy Ross. 5 
 
 The resolutions of Congress adopted on March 15, 25 and 
 31, 1777, had practically relieved General Schuyler of command 
 in the Northern Department. He attended a session of the New 
 York Convention, at Kingston, New York, in March, 1777, where 
 his cause was being strongly supported. The Convention sent him 
 as one of the delegates from New York to the Second Continental 
 Congress, and he set out for Philadelphia on the 30th of March. 6 
 
 4. "Life of General Philip Schuyler," by Bayard Tuckerman; 1905; page I7l» The 
 earlier biography, by Lossing, 1873, gives this date as June 3rd. 
 
 5. See letter of Mr. Pell, dated September 27, 1943; also filed in "Flag Book Sources"; 
 (see Preface, supra) . 
 
 6. "Life and Times of Philip Schuyler," by Benson J. Lossing; 1873; volume 2, 
 pages 167 and 168. 
 
 [22] 
 
FLAG OF 
 THE FLOATING BATTERIES 
 
 COLOR PLATE 2 
 
GENERAL SCHUYLER S BETSY ROSS FLAG 
 
 About April 9, General Schuyler was appointed "command- 
 er-in-chief of the military in the State of Pennsylvania." He formed 
 a camp on the western side of the Schuylkill, completed works on 
 one of the Delaware River islands, threw up others at Red Bank, 
 New Jersey, and sent troops and supplies to Washington, who was 
 then in New Jersey. 7 On May 22, in accordance with the request 
 of the Board of War, Congress resolved "that Albany, Ticonderoga, 
 Fort Stanwix, and their dependencies, be henceforth considered as 
 forming the Northern Department"; and "that Major-General 
 Schuyler be directed forthwith to proceed to the Northern Depart- 
 ment and take command there." 8 By June 8 he was in Albany 
 again. 
 
 During his two months in Philadelphia, therefore, besides 
 attending to his duties as a member of the Congress, General 
 Schuyler had displayed real military skill and energy. Being thus in 
 the very midst of things, he must have known even the details of 
 what was going on in Congress and in Philadelphia, and could 
 hardly have failed to learn, well in advance, of the forthcoming 
 Flag "Resolve," which was adopted on the 14th of June. As there 
 would be no controversy in Congress over this resolution, and 
 Schuyler having, perhaps, through his intimacy with Washington 
 and others, some knowledge of her supposed previous association 
 with the Stars and Stripes, it is not at all improbable that he gave 
 Betsy Ross, even before he left Philadelphia, a tentative order for 
 one of the new flags. The circumstances make it at least reasonably 
 possible, in accordance with the strong family tradition, that the 
 Fort Ticonderoga Museum flag was ordered of and made by Betsy 
 Ross, in 1777. It seems, however, a very small flag (only two and 
 one-half feet across the top) , for use as a "headquarters flag." Even 
 assuming that the finished flag was delivered to the General 
 promptly, it is unfortunate that there should have been so few 
 occasions upon which it could have flown over his headquarters in 
 the Northern Department, for on August 1, 1777, Congress voted 
 him out, and he was finally relieved of command on August 14, in 
 Albany, by General Gates. 9 But his resignation as Major-General 
 was not accepted by Congress until April 9, 1779. 10 
 
 Flag Description: The original flag was made, appar- 
 ently, of homespun wool, excepting the stars, which are of 
 
 7. Same; volume 2; pages 168 and 169. 
 
 8. Same; volume 2, page 177. 
 
 9. Same; pages 305 to 307. 
 10. Same; page 332. 
 
 [23] 
 
GENERAL SCHUYLER S BETSY ROSS FLAG 
 
 white linen; it is about 2i/2 feet by 2 feet; the stripes are in 
 strips, sewn together; the stars are stitched in, star-shaped 
 pieces having been cut out of the blue canton and then sewn 
 on both sides. 11 
 
 11. Detailed in letters from Colonel Pell, dated October 20 and October 22, 1943; 
 also filed in "Flag Book Sources"; (see Preface, supra) . 
 
 [24] 
 
Flag of the Bedford Minute 
 
 Men 
 
 (see color plate 2) 
 
 WHETHER based on tradition or on written evidence, or 
 both, the following statement, thrilling indeed to lovers of 
 the old flags, was published on a postcard, in 1930, beneath 
 a beautifully colored picture of this Bedford Flag, by the Bedford 
 Free Public Library Corporation: 1 
 
 "This flag was commissioned to Cornet Page in 1737, 
 then a loyal subject of King George II. 
 
 "April 19, 1775, it was carried to Concord to the fight at 
 the bridge, by his son, Cornet Nathaniel. 
 
 "In 1875 it was carried at the Centennial Celebration 
 at Concord and was presented by Captain Cyrus Page, grand- 
 son of Cornet Nathaniel Page, to the town of Bedford, Octo- 
 ber 19, 1885." 
 
 When the New England Confed- 
 eracy was formed in 1643 by the col- 
 onies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, 
 Connecticut and New Haven, 2 three 
 regiments were determined upon for 
 Massachusetts, from the three counties 
 of Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex 
 (joined with Norfolk) . Out of this 
 military formation there grew a com- 
 pany of cavalry called the Three 
 County Troop, whose flag is shown by 
 
 Preble, 3 copied from two drawings of it (with a detailed bill of its 
 cost) found in the British Museum. Although both of the drawings 
 
 1. "History of Bedford," Massachusetts, by Abram English Brown; 1891; page 23. 
 See also "Our Nation's Flag," by Colonel Nicholas Smith; 1903; page 14. 
 
 2. "The Colonial Era," by George Park Fisher; 1892; page 133. 
 
 3. "Our Flag," by Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N.; 1872; page 123. 
 
 Standard of the 
 
 Three County Troop 
 
 1659-1677 
 
 [25] 
 
FLAG OF THE BEDFORD MINUTE MEN 
 
 bear the inscription "Thre County Trom," this is evidently an 
 error, for the early records of Massachusetts refer at least nine times 
 between 1659 and 1677 to the "Three County Troop." 4 The 
 quaintly itemized bill of a herald painter, probably in the time 
 of Charles I, 1625-1649, as to this troop flag, is for "worke done for 
 New England, . . . painting in oyle on both sides ... a Cornette on 
 rich crimson damask, with a hand and sword and invelloped with a 
 scarfe about the arms of gold, black and silver." 5 A silver fringe is 
 also mentioned. 
 
 The so-called Bedford Flag which has come down to us, is 
 obviously connected with or descended from this Three County 
 Troop standard of 17th century New England. In its origin, there- 
 fore, this small flag (about two and one-half feet square) is the 
 oldest of the Revolutionary War regimental or company standards 
 of which there is any definite knowledge. William S. Appleton, in 
 a report to the Massachusetts Historical Society, in January, 1886, 
 quoted Henry Cabot Lodge's "The Story of the Revolution," was 
 of the opinion that this was "one of the accepted standards of the 
 organized Militia of the State, and as such was used by the Bedford 
 Company." 6 
 
 And, if we picture the fight at Concord, we can see, perhaps, 
 this ancient flag marching boldly with the Minute Men, down over 
 the low hill beyond, to face the British regulars, and to drive them 
 back, at the old North Bridge, with shots "heard 'round the world." 
 
 4. New England Historical and Genealogical Register; volume 25; April, 1871; page 
 138. 
 
 5. "Our Flag," by Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N.; 1872; page 124. 
 According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th edition) , a cornet was a small 
 standard, formerly carried by a troop or company of cavalry. In the 16th century 
 and later it meant also the junior officer who carried the cornet. 
 
 6. "The Story of the Revolution," by Henry Cabot Lodge; 1898; volume 1, page 45. 
 
 [26] 
 
Flag of Bunker Hill 
 
 (see color plate 2) 
 
 A SO-CALLED New England Flag, blue, with a white canton 
 containing the red cross of St. George (a tree in its first 
 . quarter) , is shown in "Le Neptune Francois," published at 
 Amsterdam, Holland, in 1693. The title of the illustration is in 
 French, meaning "English Pavilion of New England"; a pavilion 
 being a maritime flag. 1 A similar blue flag, also purporting to be 
 the New England Flag, appears in two Dutch publications in 1711 
 and 1718. 2 Johnson says 3 that this flag was authorized in 1737 for 
 use in the United Colonies of New England. McCandless shows it 
 also as a blue flag and calls it the Bunker Hill Flag. 4 
 
 Tree or globe flags, with red fields, but still called New England 
 Flags or Ensigns, are pictured in English and other foreign flag 
 plates of about the same period. 5 Colonel John Trumbull's paint- 
 ing of the Battle of Bunker Hill shows a red flag with a white canton 
 bearing merely a green tree and no red cross. Trumbull was adju- 
 tant of a Connecticut regiment stationed at Roxbury, only a few 
 miles away, when the battle was fought. But he may be wrong about 
 this flag, just as he is wrong when he pictures General Putnam as 
 present in a splendid blue and scarlet uniform, when Prescott's re- 
 doubt is being taken. Putnam was not on Breed's Hill at all after 
 the British infantry assault had been launched, and if he had been 
 there would, according to the best contemporary opinion, have 
 been dressed in his shirt sleeves and an old hat. 6 While Trumbull 
 may or may not have noted closely the few flags which the Ameri- 
 cans carried at Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston, nevertheless, 
 
 1. "The New England Flag," by Howard M. Chapin; 1930; page 8. 
 
 2. Same; page 12. 
 
 3. "The National Flag," by Willis Fletcher Johnson; 1930; page 9. 
 
 4. National Geographic Magazine, October, 1917, page 338; article by Lieutenant- 
 Commander Byron McCandless, U. S. Navy, and Gilbert Grosvenor, editor of 
 National Geographic Magazine, see also same Magazine, September, 1934, page 370. 
 
 5. "The New England Flag," by Howard M. Chapin; 1930; pages 10 and 11. 
 
 6. "Battles of the United States, by Sea and Land," by Henry B. Dawson; 1858; 
 page 59, note 2; also pages 71 and 157; and also "Our Nation's Flag," by Colonel 
 Nicholas Smith; 1903; page 14. 
 
 [27] 
 
FLAG OF BUNKER HILL 
 
 as chief of staff under General Gates, at Ticonderoga, in the sum- 
 mer of 1776, he observed very accurately and prophetically a much 
 more important matter. At dinner one day with the General and a 
 number of American officers he stated that Sugar Loaf Mountain, 
 or Mount Defiance, as it was later called, could be climbed and 
 occupied by artillery, thus dominating fatally the fort and lines at 
 Ticonderoga. For this suggestion he was laughed at by most of 
 those present. Arnold and Wayne, however, actually investigated, 
 the next day, and admitted that Trumbull was right. General Gates, 
 as might have been expected, did not pass along this suggestion to 
 General St. Clair, who defended Ticonderoga the next year, June, 
 1777, and was obliged to leave precipitately because of the occupy- 
 ing of this very hill by the British, although he might readily have 
 fortified it himself, before Burgoyne arrived. 7 McCandless and 
 Grosvenor state in the National Geographic Magazine of October, 
 1917, that Trumbull "had left the colonies while Washington was 
 before Boston and was abroad for seven years"; but this is incorrect; 
 Colonel Trumbull's military record was continuous from May, 
 1775, until the spring of 1777; and he became a member of the 
 Society of the Cincinnati. 8 
 
 Lossing tells of a conversation with an old lady whose father 
 had assisted in hoisting a flag over the forward redoubt on Breed's 
 Hill, before the British assault. She had heard him speak of it as a 
 blue flag with the red cross, and the pine tree in one corner. 9 
 
 In the absence, therefore, of direct testimony, our conclusion, 
 perhaps, as to the flag of Bunker Hill, should favor the blue New 
 England Flag (so-called) shown in the prints of the early 18th 
 century, and supported by the secondary evidence of this very in- 
 telligent woman whom Lossing interviewed about 1850, whose 
 father was in the Breed's Hill redoubt. Probably we shall never 
 know, but at least we have here an authentic Colonial New England 
 flag, which should not be inappropriate for any color guard of a 
 patriotic society to carry, a flag which, in one form or another, per- 
 sisted in America even after the adoption officially of the Union 
 flag and jack, to the exclusion of other British flags, about 1707, 
 in the reign of Queen Anne. 
 
 7. "Autobiography, Reminiscences and Letters of John Trumbull"; 1841; pages 
 26, 27, 31. See also "Major-General Anthony Wayne and the Pennsylvania Line," 
 byC.J.Stille; 1893; page 72. 
 
 8. "Eminent Americans," by Benson J. Lossing; 1881; page 196. Also Trumbull's 
 autobiography, cited here in Note 7, supra. 
 
 9. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1850; volume 1, 
 page 541. See also National Geographic Magazine, September, 1934; page 370 
 
 (flag No. 250) . 
 
 [28] 
 
Flag of the Continental Navy 
 
 (see color plate 2) 
 
 IN DECEMBER, 1775, the Continental Congress provided for 
 the fitting-out of five ships of thirty-two guns, five of twenty- 
 eight guns, and three of twenty-four guns, making thirteen 
 ships in all, to form a navy of the United Colonies; but no provision 
 was made for a naval flag. John Jay, in a letter dated July, 1776, 
 states that Congress has made no order 'concerning Continental 
 colors, and that captains of the armed vessels had followed their own 
 fancies.' He names as one device a rattlesnake rearing its crest and 
 shaking its rattles, and having the motto, 'Don't tread on me.' De 
 Benvouloir, the emissary of Vergennes, in 1775, reports to the 
 French Minister: 'They have given up the English flag and have 
 taken for their device a rattlesnake with thirteen rattles.' The 
 rattlesnake was a favorite device with the Colonists, and its origin 
 as an American emblem is a curious feature of our national history." 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.} 
 
 [29] 
 
Pine Tree Flag 
 
 THE flag pictured on Color Plate 2 is copied, in design and 
 lettering, from the one shown to the right of the portrait of 
 "Commodore Hopkins, Commander in Chief of the Ameri- 
 can Fleet," in a mezzotint engraving "published as the law directs, 
 22d August, 1776, by Thomas Hart," and preserved, according to 
 Preble, at the United States Naval Academy. 1 
 
 The pine tree flag, like the pine tree shilling, was a New Eng- 
 land product. The tree was not always a pine, but might be an 
 oak or a fir, or even a willow. 2 
 
 The vogue of the tree, which began at least as far back as 1652, 3 
 as a symbol of New England (or more particularly of the colony of 
 Massachusetts Bay) , developed a variety of pine tree flags. Willis 
 Fletcher Johnson counts seven of them, of which the one pictured 
 above is a striking and beautiful example, 4 and the Bunker Hill 
 Flag is another. 
 
 Sometimes the tree was in a canton, sometimes it was a large 
 tree in the field of the flag. When small and poorly or carelessly 
 drawn, the tree might become a globe or sphere, 5 especially to a 
 foreign artist or engraver making pictures of a "New England Flag" 
 in the early 1700's. 6 
 
 We know the gallant part these pine tree flags played for us on 
 the sea, in the earlier fighting years of 1775 and 1776, and although 
 the written evidence is meagre, yet here and there on land, in the 
 ranks of those dauntless Massachusetts regiments, pine tree banners 
 must, also have waved. How many there were, along those hills near 
 Boston in 1775, then through the War to York town, we shall never 
 know. 
 
 1. "Our Flag, Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America," 
 by Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U. S. Navy; 1872; page 164. 
 
 2. "The New England Flag," by Howard M. Chapin; 1930; page 7. 
 
 3. Same; page 7. 
 
 4. "The National Flag," by Willis Fletcher Johnson; 1930; page 10. 
 
 5. A globe, a sphere, a world, a star! What possibilities of reasoning for an icono- 
 clast — with the origin of the stars on the Stars and Stripes so uncertain! No mere 
 going back to the "stars" on the Washington arms, or the stars of 1680 in the seal 
 of the town of Providence, reflected on the blue and white flags of the Rhode 
 Island regiments of 1776! Further back, much further back, to the stars of the 
 universe! 
 
 6. "The New England Flag," by Howard M. Chapin; 1930; page 12. 
 
 [30] 
 
Flag of the Floating Batteries 
 
 (see color plate 2) 
 
 IN SEPTEMBER, 1775, two strong floating batteries were 
 launched on the Charles River, Massachusetts, and in the fol- 
 lowing month opened fire on the enemy in Boston. The ensign 
 used was a pine tree flag. Colonel Joseph Reed, in a letter from Cam- 
 bridge, Massachusetts, to Colonels Glover and Moylan, dated Octo- 
 ber 20, 1775, said, 'Please to fix some particular color for a flag, 
 and a signal, by which our vessels may know one another. What do 
 you think of a flag with a white ground, a tree in the middle, the 
 motto— "Appeal to Heaven"? This is the flag of our floating 
 batteries.' The six schooners first commissioned by Washington 
 in the same month to cruise in Massachusetts Bay and the first ves- 
 sels commissioned soon afterwards by the Continental Congress 
 sailed under the same device— a green pine tree in the centre of a 
 white field— with the motto: 'Appeal to Heaven,' and the floating 
 batteries of the State of Pennsylvania in the Delaware River also 
 carried this flag— a green pine tree in the centre of a white field- 
 in the autumn of 1775, and likewise during the operations on that 
 river in the defence of the city of Philadelphia in 1777 and 1778. 
 The London Chronicle— an anti-ministerial newspaper— in its issue 
 for January, 1776, states that an American provincial privateer had 
 been captured and that its bunting flag, when in the British Admir- 
 alty office, 'consisted of a white field with a green pine tree in the 
 middle, and upon the opposite side the motto, "Appeal to 
 Heaven".' " 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 [31] 
 
Washington's Headquarters 
 
 Flag 
 
 (see color plate 3) 
 
 IF ONLY there could be more certainty about some of the flags 
 of our often desperate War of the Revolution! If we could be 
 sure, for instance, that the flag which we have pictured on Color 
 Plate 3 (a copy of an ancient, well-accredited banner) is really the 
 flag which waved from the staff at the modest headquarters-house 
 in Valley Forge, then our imaginations might bring to us, because 
 of it, some quiverings of the thrill "that never was, on sea or land": 
 for these were sublime occasions. We could see Washington, as he 
 is shown in a recent painting, 1 peering out of his office-room win- 
 dow into the deep snow which his brave troops must conquer to 
 survive. At a desk-table in this room sits Tench Tilghman, his able 
 secretary and aide. We can sense their anxiety, and Washington's 
 calm determination. In another mind-picture, perhaps, we could 
 see him leaving the house, mounting his horse, saluting his Guard, 
 lined up in the roadway, and then riding off with an escort to in- 
 spect the condition of his dwindling army and the camp defenses; 
 also, perhaps, reviewing the situation with some of his officers in 
 their variously located quarters. Then there would be the picture 
 of Martha Washington, up from Virginia, alighting from her coach, 
 beneath this headquarters flag, to be welcomed profoundly by her 
 General. And so on. We could make a gallery of paintings from 
 the incidents, both colorful and grim, which occurred in that house 
 and around it, during the crisis of Valley Forge. But we cannot 
 quite detail these mind-pictures as we would, for we do not know 
 surely today what flag, if any, adorned a staff beside this simple, yet 
 now glorified, headquarters-home. 
 
 In the Museum of the Valley Forge Historical Society at the 
 Washington Memorial Chapel is a flag of faded blue silk, in dimen- 
 
 1. By Stanley M. Arthurs, of Wilmington, Delaware. 
 
 [32] 
 
WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS FLAG 
 
 t 
 
 FLAG OF 
 THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF'S GUARD 
 
 ym/fw//vwi/m((iMv/j/mimnMt//ifi/f/m/WJWfm 
 
 FLAG OF 
 SECOND SOUTH CAROLINA REGIMENT 
 
 FLAG OF 
 FIRST TROOP PHILADELPHIA CITY CAVALRY 
 
 COLOR PLATE 3 
 
WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS FLAG 
 
 sions about 36 by 28 inches, with thirteen six-pointed white stars, 
 the silk back of them having been cut out to show the stars on both 
 sides. 2 Dr. Burk, in his "Valley Forge Guide Book," states that this 
 flag has the original homespun linen heading. He says that the 
 stars "follow the lines of the crosses of the King's colors, the flag 
 carried by every British regiment." 3 He further states that Miss 
 Frances Lovell gave the flag to the Museum, and that she was a 
 descendant of Betty Washington Lewis, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, 
 the only sister of George Washington. Dr. Burk gives the full line 
 of descent of Miss Lovell, who said that the flag was known in the 
 family as "Washington's Headquarters Flag." 
 
 This flag is shown in the article on flags in the September, 1934, 
 National Geographic Magazine, with the statement: "At Valley 
 Forge, General Washington used this flag before his tent." 
 
 Gilbert S. Jones, executive secretary of the Valley Forge Park 
 Commission says (1943): "A replica of this Commander-in-Chief s 
 flag flies daily from a staff at Washington's Headquarters in the park, 
 in addition to the standard American flag." 4 
 
 Harry Emerson Wildes, however, in his "Valley Forge," pub- 
 lished in 1938, writes as follows (page 308) : "Historians of the 
 Valley Forge Park Commission, while admitting that the banner 
 is undoubtedly an authenticated record of the encampment, hold 
 that the flag was more probably a regimental standard. Their own 
 researches, based largely upon a Charles Willson Peale painting, 5 
 indicate that Washington's personal flag had its stars arranged in 
 circular form." 
 
 2. These are the dimensions given by Reverend W. Herbert Burk in a copyrighted 
 article in the July 15, 1910, issue of "The Washington Chapel Chronicle." This 
 article had been forgotten, but was brought to light again by Mr. Jones of the 
 Valley Forge Park Commission. (Copy filed in "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, 
 supra.) 
 
 3. We find this arrangement of the stars in the canton of the flag, dating back to 
 1776 or earlier, of the First Rhode Island Regiment, infra, and in numerous 
 paintings by Trumbull, made, however, after 1784. John Trumbull was an 
 officer in the patriot army from June, 1775, until February, 1777, first as adjutant 
 of a Connecticut regiment, then on Washington's staff, and later on the staff 
 of General Gates. He must have seen many regimental and other flags of the 
 new Army. 
 
 4. Mr. Jones, who is also Secretary-Treasurer of the Valley Forge Historical Society, 
 is the author of "Valley Forge Park"; 1943. (This remarkable booklet is not only 
 extremely well written, but is exceptionally well printed and illustrated.) Mr. 
 Jones has given valuable assistance in the preparation of this chapter on "Wash- 
 ington's Headquarters Flag." See "Flag Book Sources," referred to in Preface, 
 supra. 
 
 5. This is Peale's portrait of Washington at the Battle of Trenton, painted in 1779, 
 which does not show a stars and stripes flag, but a plain blue flag with thirteen 
 six-pointed white stars arranged in a circle. (Peale himself fought in the battle 
 of Trenton.) The views of the late Horace Wells Sellers, R. A., as set forth in his 
 report to the Valley Forge Commission as Chairman of the Committee on the 
 
 [33] 
 
WASHINGTON S HEADQUARTERS FLAG 
 
 An interesting sidelight is this: At the siege of Charleston, 
 South Carolina, according to a surgeon in the British service, the 
 flag first displayed by the Americans was a blue flag with thirteen 
 stars; but on April 3, 1780, he says, there appeared on their great 
 battery fronting the harbor "the American flag of thirteen stripes." 6 
 
 Preservation of Historic Monuments (of the Philadelphia Chapter, American 
 Institute of Architects) , are cited fully in The Picket Post, published in January, 
 1944, by Valley Forge Historical Society (copy filed in "Flag Book Sources"; see 
 Preface, supra) . Mr. Sellers reached the conjectural conclusion that the blue 
 flag with thirteen stars in a circle, which the female figure on the flag of the 
 Commander-in-Chief's Guard is presenting to a mounted officer of the Guard, is 
 the true Washington's Headquarters Flag. It must be borne in mind, however, 
 that this flag of Washington's Guard, in all probability, because of its heraldic 
 blazons of the eagle, and the 13-striped shield, could not have been designed or 
 painted until some three or four years after the Valley Forge encampment. See 
 chapter on the Flag of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard; infra; also, "Our Flag," 
 by Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N. ; 1872; page 197, quoting from 
 a letter written by Peale's son; and "Regimental Colors in the War of the 
 Revolution," by Gherardi Davis; 1910 Supplement, pages 13 and 28. 
 6. Dr. John Jeffries, quoted in "The Evolution of the American Flag," by George 
 Canby and Lloyd Balderston; 1909; page 77. Also "History of the Flag"; by 
 Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N.; 1880; page 284. 
 
 [34] 
 
Flag of the Commander 
 in-Chief s Guard 
 
 (see color plate 3) 
 
 'T~]P1HIS flag, frequently designated as that of 'Washington's 
 Life Guard' (which term was resolved by Congress on 
 JL April 15, 1777, to be a misnomer) , originally consisted of 
 white silk on which the following device was painted: One of the 
 Guard was represented holding a caparisoned horse and in the act 
 of receiving a banner or pennon from the Genius of Liberty, who 
 was personified as a woman leaning upon the Union shield, near 
 which is the American eagle. The figures stood upon a green ground 
 and overhead on a ribbon was the motto of the corps, 'Conquer 
 or Die.' The figure of the guard was in the uniform adopted for 
 the corps, a blue coat with white facings, white waistcoat and 
 breeches, black half-gaiters, a cocked hat with a blue and white 
 feather, and sword and cross belt. The female figure was robed in 
 light blue. 
 
 "The original flag was owned by Mr. George Washington 
 Parke Custis, the adopted son of General Washington, and was 
 deposited by Mr. Custis in the Museum of Alexandria, Virginia, 
 with many other valuable relics, including British flags captured 
 at Trenton and at Yorktown, and one that belonged to Morgan's 
 Rifle Corps. 
 
 "The Guard of the Commander-in-Chief was a distinct corps 
 of superior men attached to his person, but never for this reason 
 specially spared in battle. It was organized in 1776, soon after the 
 siege of Boston and while the American army was encamped on 
 Manhattan Island, near New York City. It consisted of a battalion 
 of one hundred and eighty men under the command of an officer 
 with the rank of Captain Commandant; care being always taken to 
 have all the States, from which the Continental army was supplied 
 with troops, represented in the corps. 
 
 [35] 
 
FLAG OF THE C O M M A N D E R- I N - C H I E F ' S GUARD 
 
 "During the winter of 1779-80, however, when the American 
 army under Washington was cantoned at Morristown, New Jersey, 
 in close proximity to the enemy, the Guard was increased to two 
 hundred and fifty men. It was reduced to its original number in 
 the following spring, and early in 1783, the last year of its service, 
 was again reduced to only sixty-four non-commissioned officers and 
 privates, and under its new and final reorganization (on June 16, 
 1783) , it consisted of but thirty-eight rank and file, twelve of whom 
 were mounted. The Guard was armed with muskets and occasion- 
 ally carried side arms. 
 
 "The organization was finally disbanded and mustered out of 
 service on Constitution Island, opposite West Point, New York, 
 December 23, 1783." 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 This flag, illustrated by Lossing, 1 now restored and on exhibi- 
 tion in the museum of Alexandria Lodge, No. 22, A. F. & A. M., at 
 Alexandria, Virginia, is undoubtedly the flag of Washington's 
 Guard, and yet it must have originated quite late in the War. The 
 figure of the woman holding a flag in her right hand, her left hand 
 touching a shield, 2 appeared in 1776 in a design for the proposed 
 seal of the United States of America. 3 But even (in America) 
 before 1776 we find a woman with a staff in her hand and a streamer 
 or motto Britannia, on the "Louisburg Camp Colour," borne, it is 
 said, in 1745, in Colonel William Pepperrell's land attack, sup- 
 ported by a part of the British navy, against the strong French for- 
 tress of Louisburg, on Cape Breton Island, near Nova Scotia. 4 
 
 It is most unlikely, nevertheless, that a flag with the American 
 eagle on it could have been painted before 1782. While the eagle 
 was common enough in ancient heraldry it does not seem to have 
 
 1. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 1, 
 page 688. 
 
 2. The outer stripes of this shield are incorrectly painted, however; they should 
 be white, not red, in accordance with strict heraldry. See the stripes in the 
 United States shield, on the reverse side of any current One Dollar bill (silver 
 certificate) . The stripes on our Stars and Stripes are, of course, not in accordance 
 with the old heraldry, but nothing can be done about that. 
 
 3. "Our Flag," by Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N. ; 1872; page 475. 
 
 4. Pepperrell was a merchant, living in Kittery, Maine. His army of about 3300 
 were militia from Massachusetts (Maine) , Connecticut and New Hampshire. 
 He was knighted after this successful enterprise, which has been described as 
 "the only instance recorded in history of the victory of a body of irregulars, led 
 by a civilian, over well-trained and gallant foes." See "Annual Register of the 
 Society of Colonial Wars," January, 1896; Appendix, pages xi to xx; with an 
 engraving, opposite page iv, of the "Camp Colour" (still preserved by the New 
 York Historical Society) . 
 
 [36] 
 
FLAG OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF S GUARD 
 
 been used in American heraldic or similar designs until William 
 Barton of Philadelphia presented two proposed "devices," on June 
 13, 1782, to the committee of Congress appointed to prepare a de- 
 sign for the "Great Seal of the United States." This Committee as 
 originally constituted on July 4, 1776, consisted of Benjamin 
 Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, but its personnel 
 had completely changed before it concluded its task on June 20, 
 1782. 5 
 
 In the American army of the Revolution each general officer 
 had his own separate corps of guards. Honors were paid by "parad- 
 ing the corps and presenting arms, the officers saluting and drums 
 beating; except in camp before the enemy, when the drums were 
 not to be beat." 6 Chapter six of the manual prepared by General 
 Steuben, approved in general orders, May 16, 1778, in defining the 
 honors due from these guards, provides clearly, "the Guard of the 
 Commander-in-Chief to pay no honor except to him." 7 
 
 5. "Our Flag," by Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N. ; 1872; page 479. Also 
 "The Seal of the United States," by Gaillard Hunt; page 16; published by the 
 Department of State, Washington, D. C, in 1892. 
 
 6. "The Commander-in-Chief's Guard, Revolutionary War," by C. E. Godfrey; 1904; 
 page 58; citing Washington's Orderly Book. 
 
 7. Same; page 58. 
 
 [37] 
 
Flag of First Troop, 
 Philadelphia City Cavalry 
 
 (see color plate 3) 
 
 THIS flag is of yellow silk, with silver fringe, and bears in 
 its corner a canton of thirteen alternate blue and silver 
 stripes. This canton is the earliest known instance of 
 the thirteen stripes being used upon an American banner. In the 
 centre of the flag is a blue shield bearing a golden knot from which 
 radiate thirteen golden scrolls like the ends of as many stripes of 
 ribbon; this is a very early symbol of the idea expressed by the 
 motto: 'E pluribus unum.' The head of a bay horse bearing a white 
 star on his forehead appears as a crest, while as supporters we find 
 'a Continental masquerading as an Indian,' holding a golden staff 
 surmounted by a liberty cap, and an angel with a staff in one hand 
 and a golden trumpet in the other. These figures symbolize 
 LIBERTY and FAME. Beneath, on a ribbon, is the motto, obvi- 
 ously referring to the supporters: 'For these we strive,' and over the 
 crest appear the cipher letters 'L.H.'. The original of this flag was 
 presented to the Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse, now known as 
 the First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, by Captain Abraham 
 Markoe in 1775, and was carried by the Troop at Trenton, Prince- 
 ton, the Brandywine and Germantown. Captain Markoe resigned 
 his commission late in 1775, an edict of Christian VIII, King of 
 Denmark, having forbidden his subjects to engage in war against 
 Great Britain under penalty of the confiscation of their property. 
 The flag is beautifully made and richly mounted, and is now care- 
 fully preserved by the First City Troop in its armory in Philadel- 
 phia, it having been placed between sheets of glass and fitted into a 
 specially constructed frame. A short while ago the original bills 
 for designing and painting the flag were discovered by a descend- 
 
 [38] 
 
FLAG OF FIRST TROOP 
 
 ant of Captain Markoe, and they are now to be found safely kept 
 in the case that protects the flag from fire and decay." 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 There were other cavalry units in Philadelphia from 1775 to 
 1781 and later, probably "Associator" organizations, but apparently 
 they were not engaged in the actual battle-fighting, as was the First 
 Troop. One of these other companies has been definitely identified 
 as the "Second Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry," including among 
 its various commanders a Bingham, a Cadwalader, a Rawle, a John 
 Morin Scott, and a John Price Wetherill. 1 It lasted through until 
 about 1865, serving both in the War of 1812 and in the War of the 
 Rebellion. But it seems to have lapsed then until 1895, when it 
 was revived by certain of the descendants of the early troopers, and 
 served capably in the National Guard of Pennsylvania, and in the 
 World War I effort (with casualties) , until about 1940, at which 
 time, in a newer military order of things, it disappeared again as a 
 separate organization. 
 
 1. "The Second Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry," by W. A. Newman Dorland, 
 A.M., M.D., F.A.C.S., Lieutenant-Colonel, Medical Corps, United States Army, 
 retired; the manuscript of this work was published, in part, by the Historical 
 Society of Pennsylvania, in its Pennsylvania Magazine, and the remainder (un- 
 published) has been deposited with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 
 
 [39] 
 
Crescent Flag of South Carolina 
 
 (see color plate 3) 
 
 THE Crescent Flag used in the historic defence of Fort Sulli- 
 van (now Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island, in Charleston 
 Harbor) against the British in June, 1776, by Colonel 
 William Moultrie, was the first American flag used in the South in 
 the Revolution. It consisted of a dark-blue field with a white cres- 
 cent in the upper right-hand (dexter) corner. Colonel, afterwards 
 General Moultrie, states in his Memoirs that 'as there was no na- 
 tional flag at the time, I was desired by the Council of Safety (on 
 September 13, 1775, on taking possession of Fort Johnson, on James 
 Island, in the harbor) to have one made; upon which, as the State 
 troops were clothed in blue and the fort was garrisoned by the men 
 of the first and second regiments who wore a silver crescent on the 
 front of their caps, I had a large blue flag made with a crescent in the 
 dexter corner to be uniform with the troops. This was the first 
 American flag displayed in the South.' It was this flag that the 
 gallant Sergeant William Jasper, of South Carolina, fastened up on 
 a sponge-staff and replaced upon the bastion in the midst of a 
 furious fire, after it had been shot away by the enemy's fleet and 
 had fallen outside the parapet upon the beach. For his heroic act 
 Governor Rutledge, the following day, presented him with his 
 own sword, and thanking him in the name of his country, tendered 
 him an officer's commission which Jasper modestly declined." 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 The restoring of this flag to the bastion of the fort was of more 
 than sentimental importance. The people of Charleston, who were 
 tensely watching the battle from their housetops a number of miles 
 across the harbor, were considerably divided between loyalty to 
 the king and the independence of the patriot forces. Much might 
 
 [40] 
 
CRESCENT FLAG OF SOUTH CAROLINA 
 
 happen in the town if its defenses surrendered, and therefore the 
 crescent flag must still wave as long as it dared. 
 
 In connection with the victory at Fort Moultrie it must not 
 be forgotten that during the day of the attack, Colonel William 
 Thompson and his South Carolina Rangers at the northeastern end 
 of the Island turned back a British landing force of over 2,000 men 
 who expected, with the aid of a number of armed ships and boats, 
 to cross over from the adjoining Long Island at a narrow ford 
 (which, however, was then much deeper than usual because of 
 strong east winds and tides) . Colonel Thompson had erected a 
 small two-gun battery near this point, but it was the wonderful 
 rifle-shooting of his Rangers which really decided the issue, and 
 saved the partly completed Fort from being fatally attacked from 
 the rear and on its left flank. (See "History of South Carolina in 
 the Revolution," by Edward McCrady; 1902; pages 152-153.) 
 
 [41] 
 
Flag of Second South Carolina 
 
 Regiment 
 Continental Line 
 
 (see color plate 3) 
 
 THIS was one of the two flags which commemorated the re- 
 markable defense of Fort Moultrie in 1776, and which were 
 then carried on to even greater bravery and tragedy in the 
 assault on the British Spring Hill redoubt at Savannah, Georgia, in 
 1779. 
 
 In 1775, soon after the battles of Lexington and Concord had 
 been fought, the Provincial Congress of South Carolina gathered 
 together, partly from the British government storehouses (some of 
 which were deliberately broken into) and partly from private 
 sources, about 1500 pounds of gunpowder and 1200 stand of arms 
 (plus a few pieces of artillery) . At the same time it resolved to 
 organize two regiments of foot and one of rangers (500 men to 
 each regiment) . William Moultrie was chosen colonel of the 
 Second Regiment of foot, and William Thompson colonel of the 
 rangers-regiment. Francis Marion, afterwards noted as the "Swamp 
 Fox," became a major and later lieutenant-colonel of Moultrie's 
 regiment. 1 
 
 With his Second South Carolina Regiment, Colonel Moultrie 
 was ordered on March 2, 1776, to Sullivan's Island, in Charleston 
 Harbor, to take command of a "large fort sufficient to contain 1000 
 men" which was being built by a "great number of mechanics and 
 negro laborers." 2 This fort would be "the key to the Harbor," 
 when the expected British naval expedition from New York ap- 
 peared, as it did on June 28, 1776, in ten vessels, with over 250 
 guns, and bringing a landing force of nearly 3000. 
 
 1. "Memoirs of the American Revolution," by William Moultrie; 1802; volume 1, 
 pages 58, 64, 65. 
 
 2. Same; page 124. 
 
 [42] 
 
FLAG OF SECOND SOUTH CAROLINA REGIMENT 
 
 The fort was built of rows of green palmetto logs with sixteen- 
 foot merlons or mounds of earth in between. It was found that the 
 cannonballs from the ships could not get through these logs but be- 
 came ineffectually buried in the soft wood. 3 
 
 The attack on the fort began between ten and eleven o'clock in 
 the morning. "A most tremendous cannonade ensued .... Colonel 
 Moultrie, with 344 regulars and a few volunteer militia, made a 
 defence that would have done honor to experienced veterans." 4 
 The fire was continuous until seven in the evening. By 9:30 P. M. 
 the firing on both sides had ceased. The British did not return to the 
 attack, but sailed for New York, on June 30, with a greatly dam- 
 aged fleet and the loss of 205 in killed and wounded; the American 
 loss being only thirty-seven. 5 
 
 The Second South Carolina Regiment had the post of honor in 
 the defense of the fort, and on the day the British sailed away the 
 wife of Major Bernard Elliott presented to the regiment, in which 
 her husband had been a captain, "an elegant pair of colors, . . . 
 one of a fine blue silk, the other a fine red silk, richly embroidered." 
 She presented the colors in person, saying: "Gentlemen— Soldiers! 
 Your gallant behavior in defence of your country entitles you to 
 the highest honors! Accept these two standards as a reward justly 
 due to your regiment; and I make not the least doubt but that 
 under heaven's protection you will stand by them as long as they 
 wave in the air of liberty." 6 "Her anticipations were fully justi- 
 fied," for on October 9, 1779, at the siege of Savannah, the colors she 
 had presented were both planted inside the British lines, by men 
 of this regiment, which was then commanded by Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Francis Marion. 7 As to what actually took place, in the 
 attack, we have the following, written by a former captain in The 
 King's Royal Rifle Corps, with reference to the Second South Caro- 
 lina Regiment: "At the assault on Spring Hill redoubt, Lieutenant 
 Bush being wounded handed the blue colour to Sergeant Jasper. 
 Jasper, who had already received a bullet, was then mortally 
 wounded, but returned the colour to Bush, who the next minute 
 fell, yet even in the moment of death attempted to protect the flag 
 
 3. "History of South Carolina," by David Ramsay; 1858; page 156. 
 
 4. Same; page 154. 
 
 5. "Memoirs of the American Revolution," by William Moultrie; 1802; volume 1, 
 page 178. 
 
 6. Same; volume 1, page 182. Also, "History of South Carolina in the Revolution," 
 by Edward McCrady; 1902; page 415. The motto on the flag, "Vita potior 
 libertas," means Liberty rather than life. 
 
 7. "History of South Carolina in the Revolution," by Edward McCrady; 1902; 
 page 415. 
 
 [43] 
 
FLAG OF SECOND SOUTH CAROLINA REGIMENT 
 
 which was afterwards found beneath him. No one could have done 
 more; and the colour, hallowed by the blood of Bush and Jasper, 
 deserves to be deposited under a consecrated roof. . . . After the 
 action it was picked up under Bush's body by the Royal Americans 
 and handed to their Colonel-Commandant, General Prevost," 8 in 
 the possession of whose grandson it remained as late as 1913. Lieu- 
 tenant Gray, who had the other color, was likewise mortally 
 wounded, but Sergeant McDonald planted it on the redoubt, and 
 succeeded in carrying it off in safety when the retreat was ordered; 
 but eventually it was captured with the regiment, when General 
 Lincoln surrendered at Charleston in May, 1780, 9 and presumably 
 was also taken to England. 
 
 8. "The Annals of The King's Royal Rifle Corps," by Lewis Butler; published in 
 London in 1913; volume 1, pages 214-216. Oscar T. Barck, historian of the Sons 
 of the Revolution in the State of New York, has a copy of this book, in which, 
 facing page 216, the blue flag of the Second South Carolina Regiment is pictured 
 in colors. There is also a copy in the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 
 
 9. "History of South Carolina," by David Ramsay; 1858; page 156 (footnote) . 
 
 [44 J 
 
Bennington Flag 
 
 (see color plate 3) 
 
 NATHANIEL Fillmore, of Bennington, Vermont, was the 
 grandfather of Millard Fillmore, thirteenth president of the 
 United States. In 1777, this same Nathaniel Fillmore, then 
 thirty-seven years of age, First Lieutenant of Captain Elijah Dewey's 
 Bennington company, was one of the most valuable and active of 
 the local militia officers and a devoted patriot, having even served 
 against the French in Canada near the close of the French and 
 Indian War, and in June and July, 1777, against the British, on 
 Lake Champlain, until the retreat of St. Clair. On August 16, 1777, 
 he fought with distinction, it is said, in the battle of Bennington. 
 It was this man who presented to his nephew, Colonel Septa 
 Fillmore, at the outbreak of the War of 1812, a flag which he had 
 faithfully preserved for thirty-five years. He told his nephew (who 
 was then in command of an army detachment at Plattsburg) that 
 this flag had been used by the patriots in the battle of Bennington. 
 As John Spargo claims in his thoroughly logical and well- 
 balanced work on "The Stars and Stripes in 1777," page 47, 1 this 
 was almost certainly: 
 
 " 1 . The oldest known Stars and Stripes flag; 
 
 "2. The actual flag of the army led by General John Stark in 
 
 the battle of Bennington; 
 "3. The first Stars and Stripes flag known to have been used 
 
 by any of the land forces of the United States; 
 "4. The first Stars and Stripes flag to be raised in a victory 
 
 over the enemy in the War of Independence." 
 
 1. "The Stars and Stripes in 1777, An Account of the Birth of the Flag and its First 
 Baptism of Victorious Fire," by John Spargo, who for twenty years has been 
 President of the Bennington Battle Monument and Historical Association. He 
 was Chairman of the United States-Vermont Sesqui-Centennial Commission, and 
 President of the Vermont Historical Society. The book was published in 1928. 
 Later he was Director-Curator of the Bennington Historical Museum and 
 Art Gallery which he founded and built up. He is also Registrar of the Diocese 
 of Vermont, and Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of Vermont. This is the 
 same John Spargo who was born in 1876 in Cornwall, England, and after begin- 
 ning a distinguished career in England in the Socialist cause and in open opposi- 
 
 [45] 
 
BENNINGTON FLAG 
 
 By many writers on the subject it has been assumed that the 
 first appearance of the stars and stripes in battle was at Cooch's 
 Bridge, in Delaware, on September 3, 1777. Others mention the 
 battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777. Still others write with 
 confidence of a stars and stripes flag, on August 3, 1777, at the 
 courageous defense of Fort Schuyler (near the present Rome, New 
 York) , when the little garrison of Gansevoort and Willett was 
 holding out against St. Leger's uncounted horde of British, Tories 
 and Indians. But a careful study of the evidence shows conclu- 
 sively 2 that it was a Continental or Grand Union Flag which rose 
 in defiance, one morning, over Fort Schuyler. All of these priority 
 statements leave out of consideration the undoubted participation 
 of a form of the stars and stripes in the battle of Bennington on 
 August 16, 1777. 
 
 While there is no written evidence, no diary or letter even, 
 to show that any flag whatever was carried on the American side, 
 in this battle, nevertheless the parents of many citizens of Benning- 
 ton who were alive at the time of the centennial in 1877 had heard 
 from the lips of actual participants that the stars and stripes was 
 raised by Stark's force, and then after the battle was borne in tri- 
 umph through the village street. As Spargo expresses it, these men 
 and women could only say "Our fathers told us," and the world 
 was left free to believe or to doubt. 3 The tradition was accepted by 
 "historical writers of repute" of the period of 1877 and earlier 
 (Street, Herrick, Forbes, and others) . 4 
 
 Then, further, there is the existence of the flag itself to be 
 accounted for, handed down as it was by a soldier of high character 
 and of long, arduous service, a flag which belongs to the period be- 
 cause of the manner of its fabrication and the materials used, and 
 which by its design reflects clearly the uncertainties prevailing then 
 as well as many years later regarding the meaning of the flag resolu- 
 tion of June 14, 1777. 
 
 The Bennington Flag, now owned by the Bennington Battle 
 Monument and Historical Association, is "a carefully and skillfully 
 wrought example of needlework . . . designed with care and taste 
 
 tion to the Boer War, came to America in 1901, where he has written many 
 well-known books and pamphlets, chiefly on humanitarian and socialistic subjects. 
 During the first World War he went abroad by appointment of President Wilson 
 on several important war missions. He has been well known also as a lecturer 
 on various phases of Socialism. More lately he has written several valuable works 
 on American history. For many years he has made his home, with his wife and 
 his children, at "Nestledown," in Old Bennington, Vermont. 
 
 2. Same; pages 17-30. 
 
 3. Same; page 37. 
 
 4. Same; page 31. 
 
 [46] 
 
BENNINGTON FLAG 
 
 . . . made of homespun linen . . . probably woven in the village 
 from flax grown in the vicinity." 5 It is ten feet long and five and 
 one-half feet wide, too large to have been carried in a close-fought 
 battle, yet suitable for use as a camp flag, or to be borne in front of 
 the army, on the march. 
 
 Unfortunately, the minutes of the Vermont Council of Safety 
 for the period of 1776-1777 were lost, seemingly as early as 1778. 
 Perhaps they contained some reference to the stars and stripes, or 
 other flags. Vermont having declared itself an independent republic 
 in January, was seeking recognition from Congress all through the 
 year 1777. Its leaders were, therefore, in close touch with all that 
 took place in Congress, and would naturally have been among the 
 first to hear of the Flag Resolution of June 14. It is to be remem- 
 bered also that Bennington was a very important army supply post, 
 and in daily communication with Albany. 6 The women of Benning- 
 ton doubtless, therefore, had ample opportunity, before August 
 16, to fashion a new American flag for the troops which were as- 
 sembling, inevitably, for the expected battle. 
 
 And, after Bennington, it is hardly to be doubted that the 
 flag was taken victoriously to Saratoga by Dewey and Warner, and 
 paraded again in the victory there. 7 No matter how the argument 
 as to the Stars and Stripes at Gates' headquarters, after the battle, 
 may be finally decided, at least we know that the new flag of the 
 United States was present somewhere along our lines, though in 
 strange form, perhaps, when Burgoyne surrendered his army in 
 October of 1777. 
 
 As to this Bennington Flag, John Spargo concludes, 8 after 
 studying "the history of all the historic early flags of the United 
 States . . . that there is not one of them with a clearer record, better 
 deserving of credence, and few indeed with a record of equal his- 
 toric merit." 
 
 5. Same; page 43. The conventional picture of this flag has been changed slightly 
 in our drawing of it, the stars being made smaller, and the figures "76" being 
 somewhat modified to show their quaint outlines on the original flag. (See 
 photograph of the flag as it is today: in "Flag Book Sources" referred to in 
 Preface, supra.) 
 
 6. Thacher's so-called "Military Journal," published in 1823, and probably not 
 compiled until about that time, states that the Flag Resolution was first men- 
 tioned in "the papers" August 3, 1777, although there is no proof today of its 
 publication before August 30, 1777, in the Pennsylvania Evening Post. See "The 
 Battle of Cooch's Bridge," by Edward W. Cooch; 1940; page 71. (It is quite 
 evident that the author of this very interesting recent work had not read John 
 Spargo's completed book on "The Stars and Stripes in 1777," published in 1928.) 
 
 7. "The Stars and Stripes in 1777," by John Spargo; see note 1, above; page 53. (A 
 copy of this book is in "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra) . 
 
 8. Same; page 38. 
 
 [47] 
 
Flag of the Green Mountain 
 
 Boys 
 
 (see color plate 4) 
 
 THIS was the flag, perhaps, of the Green Mountain Boys, whose 
 leaders, John Stark, Ethan Allen, and Seth Warner, were 
 great names in the history of our Revolution. Stark cherished 
 this flag, while he lived, as one of his most important possessions, 
 always saying that it had been in the thickest of the fight at Ben- 
 nington. On his death he passed it down to his posterity along with 
 his old war-pistols and Molly Stark's wedding dress. 
 
 Evidently this plain green flag with a starry canton was one 
 of John Stark's two battle-flags at Bennington, August 16, 1777, 
 when Colonel Seth Warner was his aide and chief adviser, with 
 Warner's Green Mountain regiment coming forward in all its brav- 
 ery at the close of the battle to clinch the victory, after the Hessian 
 relief column appeared and Stark's other troops had become partly 
 disorganized by their own success. 1 
 
 These Green Mountain Boys or Rangers, from the staunch 
 hills of Vermont and New Hampshire, appeared as a group of 
 volunteers, under Stark, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in June, 
 1775, to fight desperately in the battle of Bunker Hill. 2 A month 
 earlier, led by Allen and Warner, they had taken Ticonderoga and 
 Crown Point. Participating in the ill-fated invasion of Canada with 
 Montgomery and Arnold, and in the long retreat which followed 
 well into 1777, 3 they returned, few indeed in number, to be re- 
 cruited again, still under one of their indomitable leaders, to rout 
 the Hessians of Burgoyne at Bennington. 4 
 
 1. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 1, 
 page 397. 
 
 2. Same; volume 1 , pages 534, 547. 
 
 3. Same; volume 1, page 153. 
 
 4. Same; volume 1, pages 391 to 398. 
 
 [48] 
 
FLAG OF 
 THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS 
 
 FLAG OF 
 FIRST PENNSYLVANIA REGIMENT 
 
 FLAG OF 
 
 ELEVENTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT 
 
 (MORGAN'S RIFLE CORPS) 
 
 FLAG OF 
 THIRD NEW YORK REGIMENT 
 
 FLAG OF 
 SECOND RHODE ISLAND REGIMENT 
 
 FLAG OF 
 FIRST RHODE ISLAND REGIMENT 
 
 COLOR PLATE 4 
 
FLAG OF THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS 
 
 If this flag was their flag in 1777, and the reasons for believing 
 so are strong, then there is no braver flag to be borne by the color 
 guard of any society commemorating the deeds of the men of our 
 Revolution. 
 
 The facts, traditions and arguments relating to this flag, its 
 authenticity, and probable connection with the Green Mountain 
 Boys, are set forth in the important historical work entitled "The 
 Stars and Stripes in 1777," by John Spargo; pages 34 to 37. 5 
 
 While this flag was certainly a Green Mountain Boys flag, it 
 must be said, however, that it need not necessarily have been identi- 
 fied with Seth Warner's regiment (which did not, very fortunately, 
 enter at all into the first phase of the battle of Bennington) . It may, 
 for example, have belonged to Colonel Samuel Herrick's militia 
 organization of "Rangers," also from the Green Mountains, in- 
 creased before the battle by volunteers from various localities, 
 which was in the thick of the assault on the western side of Baum's 
 position. The uniform of these Rangers was green, as several 
 authorities indicate. Colonel Herrick was of the Ethan Allen and 
 Warner group, having distinguished himself, as a captain, in the 
 capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, early in 1775. 6 Then, 
 again, this may possibly have been the home-made flag of a small 
 regiment of local militia commanded by Colonel Brush. 7 
 
 Of the original flag only the canton remains today, with a nar- 
 row edge of sage green silk on its right-hand side, together with some 
 small pieces of the green field. This canton is of light blue silk, 17 
 by 19 inches, with thirteen 5-pointed stars, painted in white, scat- 
 tered irregularly over it. In our picture of the flag it has been as- 
 sumed or imagined that the entire flag was about 48 inches in length 
 by 36 inches in width along the staff, the green silk field extending 
 both to the right of and below the canton. It is practically certain, 
 however, that there really was a green silk field or float below the 
 canton (this being clearly indicated by recent careful examination 
 of the flag fragment which has come down to us and is now owned 
 
 5. "The Stars and Stripes in 1777, An Account of the Birth of the Flag and its First 
 Baptism of Victorious Fire," by John Spargo, published in 1928. See Note 1 on 
 Page 2, in Bennington Flag chapter (supra) , as to this remarkable contribution 
 to American flag-history, and its distinguished author. (A copy is in "Flag 
 Book Sources," Volume B; see Preface, supra) . 
 
 6. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 1, 
 pages 123, 137. 
 
 7. In writing this chapter, very valuable assistance was cordially given by Howard 
 P. Moore, of New York City, and Lakeport, New Hampshire. Mr. Moore is un- 
 doubtedly an authority on even the minor interesting details of the "Life of 
 General John Stark of New Hampshire," which is the title of the new biography 
 he is preparing for publication. 
 
 [49] 
 
FLAG OF THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS 
 
 by the Bennington Historical Museum and Art Gallery) . If there 
 were no such indication we might be obliged to imagine a flag 
 measuring perhaps three feet to three and one-half feet by 19 or 20 
 inches, with all of its field to the right of the canton, and none below, 
 which would have presented a very odd appearance among the 
 other American regimental flags of that period. Therefore the 
 type or shape of flag common at the time has been assumed, and 
 is illustrated on our Color Plate 4. 8 
 
 8. In a letter dated August 12, 1942, Mr. Spargo says, "You are correct in assuming 
 a flag of the normal type." (In "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 [50] 
 
Flag of First Pennsylvania 
 
 Regiment 
 
 Continental Line 
 
 (see color plate 4) 
 
 'T1 P]HIS standard had a deep green field with a crimson square 
 in the centre, bearing on the square, as a device, a hunter in 
 J- the attitude of striking a lion enclosed in a net, with a spear. 
 The motto below is 'Domari Nolo' (I refuse to be subjugated) . 
 The flag, described in a letter by Lieutenant-Colonel Hand to 
 James Yeates, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, dated Prospect Hill, 
 March 8, 1776, was carried by the regiment through the Revolu- 
 tion in all its skirmishes and battles, from Boston, in 1775, to York- 
 town, in 1781 . It was with this regiment with Wayne in Georgia in 
 1782, and in camp of James Island, South Carolina, in 1783, when 
 the news of peace reached there, and whence the regiment em- 
 barked for Philadelphia soon afterward. The original flag is now 
 in the State Library at Harrisburg." 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 What was called the "Continental Army" was organized in 
 June, 1775. In a general order issued July 4, 1775, the day after 
 Washington took command of the army at Cambridge, Massa- 
 chusetts, he said: "The Continental Congress having now taken 
 all the troops of the several colonies, which have been raised, or 
 which may be hereafter raised for the support and defense of the 
 liberties of America, into their pay and service, they are now the 
 troops of the UNITED PROVINCES OF NORTH AMERICA; 
 and it is hoped that all distinction of colonies will be laid aside, so 
 that one and the same spirit may animate the whole. . . ." 1 
 
 1. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 1, 
 page 565, footnote 4. 
 
 [51] 
 
 U. OF ILL LIB. 
 
FLAG OF FIRST PENNSYLVANIA REGIMENT 
 
 On the 19th day of July, Adjutant-General Gates reported 
 11,688 troops from Massachusetts, and 5,082 from Connecticut, 
 New Hampshire and Rhode Island. This was the "Continental 
 Army," made up of companies enlisted for a few months only. Out 
 of this must come, in 1777, the "Continental Line," enlisted "to 
 serve during the present War," based on the Act of Congress of 
 September 16, 1776, which provided for 88 battalions (16 more 
 being added later) . 2 
 
 Egle, the historian, says: "Within ten days . . . after news of 
 the battle of Bunker's Hill had reached the Province of Pennsyl- 
 vania, her first rifle regiment was officered and completed, many 
 of the eight companies numbering one hundred men. It was com- 
 manded by Colonel William Thompson, of Cumberland county. 
 . . . The regiment ... at once marched to the relief of Boston, 
 where they arrived about the last of July. . . . They were the first 
 companies south of the Hudson to arrive in Massachusetts. . . . 
 They were stout and hardy yeomanry, the flower of Pennsylvania's 
 frontiersmen. . . . Two companies of this battalion 3 were subse- 
 quently ordered to accompany General Arnold ... to Quebec. 
 Their term of service was for one year." 4 
 
 After Congress began organizing the Continental Line, 
 Thompson's rifle regiment or battalion was claimed and counted 
 by the State as the first of its Line regiments. 5 The flag of this 
 regiment probably dates back, in its design at least, to Benjamin 
 Franklin's Associator regiments of 1747 and the French and Indian 
 War period. 
 
 In speaking of the Pennsylvania Line the great name of 
 General Anthony Wayne first comes to mind. 6 But there were other 
 brave and capable commanders whose names, while less known, 
 are entitled to special glory in the Pennsylvania Line, such leaders 
 as Thompson, Irvine, Stewart, Magaw, Miles, Cadwalader, and 
 others. 
 
 2. "The Private Soldier Under Washington," by Charles K. Bolton; 1902; page 48; 
 and authorities cited by him. (Note: While it seems to be the general under- 
 standing that the "Line" means regiments or battalions enlisted for the War, 
 there appear to be some exceptions, in the earlier years especially, to this strict 
 definition.) 
 
 3. "Regiment" and "battalion" appear to have been interchangeable terms, meaning 
 usually (on paper at least, though often actually) from 500 to 600 officers and 
 men. 
 
 4. "History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," by William Henry Egle, M.D.; 
 1877; page 154. 
 
 5. "Official History of the Militia and National Guard of Pennsylvania," by Major 
 William P. Clarke; 1909; volume 1, page 135. 
 
 6. Notwithstanding his services and extraordinary military abilities, Congress did 
 not permit Wayne to become a Major-General until after the war was over. 
 
 [52] 
 
Flag of Eleventh Virginia 
 
 Regiment 
 
 Continental Line 
 
 (Morgan's Rifle Corps) 
 
 (see color plate 4) 
 
 MORGAN'S Rifle Corps began with the march to Cambridge 
 of seventy-five riflemen, enlisted from Virginia, Western 
 Pennsylvania, and Maryland, by Captain Daniel Morgan 
 at Winchester, Virginia, in July, 1775. 1 The rifle was a new weapon 
 in those days. The British army as well as most of the Colonial 
 militia still used the old smooth-bore Brown Bess. But skillful gun- 
 makers in America, especially at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, had rec- 
 ognized the importance of a spiral-grooved musket barrel, and were 
 supplying primitive rifles to the settlers in the border counties. 2 
 
 Morgan's men "attracted much attention," says Lossing, "and 
 on account of their sure and deadly aim, they became a terror to the 
 British. Wonderful stories of their exploits went to England, and 
 one of the riflemen, who was carried there as a prisoner, was gazed 
 at as a great curiosity." 3 
 
 Although born in New Jersey, Morgan was a Virginian nearly 
 all his life. At twenty he served under Braddock at Fort Duquesne. 
 In the autumn of 1775 he joined the ill-fated adventure into 
 Canada, with three companies of his riflemen. Captured at Quebec, 
 he remained a prisoner until paroled in the following year. Con- 
 gress made him Colonel of the Eleventh Virginia Regiment of the 
 
 1. "The Private Soldier Under Washington," by C. K. Bolton; 1902; page 19. 
 
 2. "The Rifle That Won the Revolution," by Roger Burlingame; in Scribner's; 
 February, 1938. (In "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 3. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 1, 
 page 565. 
 
 [53] 
 
FLAG OF ELEVENTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT 
 
 Continental Army on November 12, 1776. 4 After his parole had 
 expired he began to recruit his regiment, incorporating therein his 
 old rifle corps, and reached the camp at Morristown in April, 1777. 
 Washington referred to this new regiment as a "corps of Rangers," 
 to be "considered as a body of Light Infantry . . . exempted from 
 the common duties of the line." 5 It rendered great service at Sara- 
 toga, and was at Whitemarsh, Brandywine, Monmouth, and else- 
 where. Shortly after Monmouth, in 1778, Morgan took over the 
 brigade of General Woodford, because of the latter's illness. This 
 event terminated Morgan's connection with his famous rifle corps. 6 
 
 Morgan resigned from the army in 1779, partly because of 
 rheumatism but chiefly because of the lack of recognition by Con- 
 gress of his valuable efforts; but when the South was invaded by 
 the British and the battle of Camden had been lost by Gates, he 
 returned to the service. Congress appointed him brigadier-general 
 in October, 1780. On January 17, 1781, he gained his remarkable 
 victory over Tarleton at the Cowpens, in South Carolina, a battle 
 brilliantly planned, 800 against 1 100, won by the skillful, confident 
 cooperation, under Morgan, of Pickens and the militia, John Eager 
 Howard with his Maryland regulars, and William Washington with 
 his brave hundred of cavalry. 7 
 
 Morgan retired finally from the army in February, 1781. 
 
 The re-discovery of this noted flag of the Eleventh Virginia 
 Regiment, begun in 1935, was consummated in 1939, by James 
 J. Keating of Philadelphia, with the assistance and cooperation of 
 members of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution. 
 The original flag had been on exhibition in a museum of Revolu- 
 tionary War relics at Alexandria, Virginia, until 1871. This 
 museum was connected with the Alexandria- Washington Lodge, 
 No. 22, A. F. & A. M. 8 Three sketches of the flag had been pub- 
 lished, 1850, 1853, 1864, each differing in details from the others. 9 
 The color of the field was not of record anywhere, apparently. In 
 1871 the museum was destroyed by fire. Some of its exhibits were 
 
 4. "Life of General Daniel Morgan of the Virginia Line of the Army of the United 
 States," by James Graham; 1858; page 118. 
 
 5. Same; page 123. 
 
 6. Same; page 215. 
 
 7. "The True History of the American Revolution," by Sydney George Fisher; 1912; 
 page 415. Also Lossing (see Note 3 above) , volume 2, pages 431, 434. 
 
 8. "The Lodge of Washington and His Masonic Neighbors," 1928; also an edition 
 of the same, by F. L. Brockett, in 1876. 
 
 9. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 2, 
 page 431. Illustrated News, February 26, 1853; page 132. "History of Our Flag," 
 by Ferdinand Sarmiento; 1864. 
 
 [54] 
 
FLAG OF ELEVENTH VIRGI NI A REGIMENT 
 
 hurriedly carried to places of safety, among them being the Morgan 
 flag. This was not learned, however, until 1926, when it was found, 
 rolled in a sack with two other old flags, in very bad condition, in the 
 attic of a house occupied by the widow of a former superintendent of 
 the museum. The Lodge authorities would not then allow the flags 
 to be examined, fearing that they would fall into fragments, but 
 stored them away again, bag and all, in a room on an upper floor of 
 the old City Hall in Alexandria. Not until December, 1939, was 
 permission finally granted to open the receptacle and spread out 
 the flags for a brief inspection. This courtesy was extended to Mr. 
 Keating, who took quick and careful advantage of his opportunity, 
 making sketches, noting color tints, fabric, lettering, etc., from 
 which, afterwards, colored drawings were made, and also a full-size 
 replica of the Morgan flag, to be carried by the Color Guard of the 
 Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution with its other rep- 
 licas of Revolutionary War regimental flags. 
 
 A description of this flag, as furnished by Mr. Keating, is as 
 follows: Dimensions, about 50 inches by 40 inches. Buff-colored 
 silk, with design, etc., painted on. The broad ribbons are white; 
 the vines or scrolls, grayish-silver. All lettering is black; regiment- 
 number XI on both sides of the flag. There is a green wreath around 
 the date 1776; with a bow of pink ribbon in the lower part of the 
 wreath. There is no fringe; the fly-end is frayed, although not 
 apparently to represent fringe. The upper and lower edges of the 
 flag are neatly sewed by hand, and devoid of fringe or wear. The 
 staff, tassels, etc., were not found. 
 
 [55] 
 
Flag of Third New York 
 
 Regiment 
 
 Continental Line 
 
 (see color plate 4) 
 
 WHEN we see the flag of the Third New York Regiment we 
 think first of old Fort Stanwix, built during the French 
 and Indian War, where the city of Rome, New York, now 
 stands. Then with its name changed to Fort Schuyler, we think 
 of it in the Mohawk Valley wilderness, nearly surrounded by the 
 British regulars and Indians of St. Leger, in 1777, holding bravely 
 under Colonel Gansevoort awaiting the relief that finally came. We 
 think also of the nearby militia battle of Oriskany where General 
 Herkimer was ambushed and mortally wounded; and then of the 
 march of Arnold with a more or less mythical force of volunteers 
 from the main Army near Saratoga to effect the final rescue. And 
 we must not forget the gallant sortie of Lieutenant-Colonel Marinus 
 Willett, nor the supply boats under Lieutenant-Colonel Mellon 
 which were rowed up the Mohawk River and managed to enter the 
 fort almost at the last minute. 1 This was all a part of Burgoyne's 
 hard-fought but unsuccessful campaign to cut the Colonies in half 
 from Canada to New York City. 
 
 Avery shows a colored print of this flag in his "History of the 
 United States and its People," published in 1909, 2 which he says 
 is "reproduced from a carefully colored photograph by courteous 
 permission of Mrs. Abraham Gansevoort Lansing," of Albany, New 
 York, a lineal descendant of Colonel Gansevoort. It is quite pos- 
 sible, however, that this Third New York Regiment flag was not 
 flown at Fort Schuyler. Mrs. Lansing said, some forty years ago, 
 
 1. "Battles of the United States," by Henry B. Dawson; 1858; volume 1, page 237, 
 et seq. 
 
 2. By E. M. Avery; volume 6, page 333. 
 
 [56] 
 
FLAG OF THIRD NEW YORK REGIMENT 
 
 that it was not made until a year or two later, but that it was carried 
 at the siege of Yorktown in 1781. 3 Its ornate design was later 
 adopted for the seal and flag of the state of New York. 
 
 It must also be said, emphatically, that this brave defense of 
 Fort Schuyler, in August, 1777, was not fought under the new Stars 
 and Stripes of June 14, 1777, as writers still persist in telling us, but 
 under the old Continental or Grand Union Flag authorized by 
 Washington at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1775. 4 (See our Color 
 Plate 1.) 
 
 Apparently this is the only New York regimental flag of the 
 Revolution which has been preserved. That there were others, how- 
 ever, would appear from a bill which has come down to us as 
 follows: 5 
 
 "1776 
 
 
 
 June 17, 
 
 To 7 pieces brown Hessian linen, 
 
 £ 14.14 
 
 24, 
 
 8 yards yellow taffeta, 
 
 5.12 
 
 
 4i/2 yards white taffeta, 
 
 3.3 
 
 
 19 yards blue Italian silk, 
 
 12.16.6 
 
 
 1^4 yards green silk, 
 
 1.3.7 
 
 
 4 skeins silk, 
 
 5.4 
 
 
 7 1/2 yards pink lute string, 
 
 3.15 
 
 
 2% yards green lute string, 
 
 1.6.8 
 
 £ 42.16.1 
 "the above was for Colours for the Regiments 
 in the New York Line. Deld. Richd Kip." 
 
 Through the courtesy of Mr. R. W. G. Vail, Librarian of New 
 York State Library, Albany, New York, it is learned that the original 
 flag passed, upon Mrs. Lansing's death, to the Albany Institute of 
 History and Art, where it now is. She also gave or bequeathed his 
 uniform, swords, and other Revolutionary War relics to the Smith- 
 sonian Institution; and the Gansevoort-Lansing collection of manu- 
 scripts, books, etc., to the New York Public Library. 6 
 
 This Colonel Peter Gansevoort of the Continental Line was 
 born in Albany, New York, in 1749. When twenty-six years of age 
 he became major of the Second New York Regiment and went to 
 
 3. Preble says in his second edition of "Our Flag," on page 614, that "General 
 Gansevoort wrote under his own hand a declaration that the flag was borne at 
 the surrender of Yorktown in 1781." 
 
 4. "The Stars and Stripes in 1777," by John Spargo; 1928. (Copy in "Flag Book 
 Sources"; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 5. "New York in the Revolution"; Supplement, 1901; by E. C. Knight. 
 
 6. See letters from Mr. Vail, dated February 18 and 19, 1943 (filed in "Flag Book 
 Sources"; see Preface, supra) . 
 
 [57] 
 
FLAG OF THIRD NEW YORK REGIMENT 
 
 Canada in Montgomery's invading army. In November, 1776, he 
 was appointed Colonel of the Third Regiment, and was given com- 
 mand of Fort George, at the foot of Lake George. In April, 1777, 
 he was given command of the "not only indefensible but untenable" 
 Fort Schuyler. 7 He served faithfully and capably throughout the 
 War, distinguishing himself not only for his defense of Fort 
 Schuyler, but also for his energy and effective strategy against the 
 Indians in 1779, capturing the noted "lower Mohawk castle" with 
 all its Indian inhabitants; and finally parading his splendid banner 
 in the victory of York town in 1781. In that same year he was made 
 brigadier-general by the state of New York; and brigadier-general 
 in the United States Army in 1909. He died in 1812, after serving 
 in various important civic offices. 8 
 
 7. "Battles of the United States," by Henry B. Dawson; 1858; volume 1, page 237, 
 et seq. 
 
 8. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 1, 
 page 240. 
 
 [58 J 
 
Flag of First Rhode Island 
 
 Regiment 
 
 Continental Line 
 
 (see color plate 4) 
 
 ONE of the notable fights of the Revolution was the defense of 
 Fort Mercer, at Red Bank, New Jersey, on the Delaware 
 River, across from what is now the lower end of Philadel- 
 phia. This was on October 22, 1777. The Americans were trying to 
 prevent the British fleet, then near Newcastle, Delaware, from ad- 
 vancing northward. Fort Mifflin had been erected on an island 
 below the mouth of the Schuylkill and Fort Mercer on the New 
 Jersey bluffs diagonally opposite. There were American galleys in 
 the River. 
 
 Colonel Christopher Greene, with his First Rhode Island Regi- 
 ment, was in command at Fort Mercer and had been reinforced by 
 a detachment of Colonel Angell's Second Rhode Island Regiment, 
 so that he had four hundred men with him in a half-completed fort 
 when Colonel Donop with twelve hundred Hessians came marching 
 to the attack. We can picture their well-disciplined lines, colorful 
 uniforms and flags. Greene could not hold his exterior lines against 
 so many, and wisely retired to his inner defenses, occupying also, 
 however, a curtain of the old works, where he could pour an enfilad- 
 ing fire upon any over-confident storming party attempting to take 
 the stockade. Assaulting columns advanced against the north 
 and south faces of the fort simultaneously, with great dash and spirit. 
 But Greene met them with an overwhelming, deadly resistance. 
 In less than an hour the Hessians were in retreat, leaving one-third 
 of their force, and their mortally wounded commander, on the field. 
 In this gallant exploit if any regimental flag was flown it must have 
 
 [59] 
 
FLAG OF FIRST RHODE ISLAND REGIMENT 
 
 been that of the First Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental 
 Line. 1 
 
 This Colonel Greene was forty years old, and a cousin of Gen- 
 eral Nathaniel Greene. He had been in command of the First 
 Rhode Island Regiment since the beginning of 1777. He had hur- 
 ried to the front with the Kentish Guards (of Rhode Island) in 
 1775 upon hearing the news of Lexington. He was appointed major 
 in Colonel James M. Varnum's regiment, which joined the army 
 near Cambridge, Massachusetts. He joined Arnold's expedition 
 up the Kennebec River and through the woods to the St. Lawrence 
 in Canada. He was captured at Quebec, December 31, 1775, after 
 the death of General Montgomery, but was later exchanged. On 
 November 4, 1777, Congress voted him a sword for his defense of 
 Fort Mercer. On May 13, 1781, while on patrol and outpost duty in 
 Westchester County, New York, he was killed by Delancey's Tories 
 in a surprise attack, but not until he himself had disposed of several 
 of his assailants. 2 
 
 There are two Rhode Island regimental flags still in existence. 
 The flag with the anchor and motto, shown here (on Color Plate 4, 
 supra) as that of the First Rhode Island Regiment, is so labelled 
 in the State House at Providence 3 where it is now preserved. But 
 we do not know where or by whom it was so labelled. We do know, 
 however, that both flags were presented on February 28, 1784, to 
 the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence 
 Plantations by the "officers of the line" of the state as being "the 
 standards of their corps." The Assembly replied in a letter of the 
 same date, signed by the governor and the speaker, addressed "To 
 the officers of the line of this state's late continental battalion," and 
 voted "that the standards should be carefully preserved under the 
 immediate care of the governor, to perpetuate the noble exploits of 
 the brave corps." 4 
 
 The flag with the anchor and motto is shown in nearly all of 
 the flag books and articles hitherto published as being the Rhode 
 Island flag of the Revolution; the other, as a rule, not being pictured 
 
 1. "Battles of the American Revolution," by Colonel Henry B. Carrington, U.SA.; 
 1876; page 394. Also "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. 
 Lossing; 1860; volume 2, page 87. 
 
 2. "Diary of Colonel Israel Angell," edited by Edward Field; 1899; page 7, note I. 
 Also "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; 
 volume 2, page 88. 
 
 3. "Early Rhode Island Flags," a booklet by Howard M. Chapin; 1925; Notes 2 and 3 
 on page 5. (In "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 4. "Our Flag," by Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N.; 1872; page 206; 
 citing "Rhode Island Colonial Records," volume X, page 14. 
 
 [601 
 
FLAG OF FIRST RHODE ISLAND REGIMENT 
 
 or mentioned at all. Furthermore, it is the one whose anchor, stars 
 and motto of Hope form the basis of the present state flag adopted 
 in 1877. We have, therefore, assumed for the purposes of this 
 article that it was the flag of the First Regiment. 5 
 
 Flag description. White silk field, about 90 inches by 
 65 inches. Light blue canton containing 13 five-pointed gold, 
 stars, each star outlined with a deeper blue and having a 
 shadow on the left side. The stars are arranged 3-2-3-2-3. In 
 the field is a light blue foul anchor with a dark blue rope, 
 sewed on. Above the anchor is a motto, HOPE, in dark blue, 
 painted on. 
 
 5. Howard M. Chapin, former Librarian of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 
 in his booklet on "Early Rhode Island Flags," page 5, calls the other Rhode 
 Island regimental flag the flag of the First Regiment, using this explanation 
 (footnote 2, page 5) : "It seems more probable that the flag bearing the wording 
 'R Island Regt' would be the one adopted by the first regiment, when there 
 was only one regiment, rather than by the second regiment." He mentions also 
 that Field, in his "Diary of Israel Angell" (in frontispiece and note on page 
 xviii) , states that the flag with the anchor and motto is that of Colonel 
 Angell's Second Rhode Island Regiment, and does not mention the other flag 
 at all. Stone, in "Our French Allies," page 453, Chapin says (page 5, note 3) , 
 gives an engraving of the Second Regiment flag, which he shows as "merely a 
 plain flag bearing the lettering SECOND RHODE ISLAND REGIMENT. No 
 colors are designated and no authority is given." Preble, in "Our Flag," 1872 
 edition, page 208, gives descriptions of two flags, based on letters of 1871 and 1872 
 from Hon. J. R. Bartlctt, Secretary of state of Rhode Island. After describing 
 "Flag No. 1" (with the anchor and motto) he adds that at the commencement of 
 the war of the rebellion "this flag was taken to Washington by the 2d Rhode 
 Island regiment, but was soon returned." 
 
 [61] 
 
Flag of Second Rhode Island 
 
 Regiment 
 Continental Line 
 
 ' (see color plate 4) 
 
 THE Second Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Line 
 was formed on January 1, 1777. Colonel Israel Angell was 
 its commander from January 13, 1777, until he left the serv- 
 ice in 1781 upon the consolidation of the First and Second Rhode 
 Island Regiments. 1 
 
 The Second Regiment had a long and distinguished career: 
 Brandywine, Red Bank, Valley Forge, Monmouth (a conspicuous 
 part) , Newport (under Sullivan) , Springfield (with special men- 
 tion by Washington) . 2 
 
 It was this lone regiment, with a single gun, and perhaps this 
 flag flying, which made its stubborn, skillful stand in an orchard 
 across the first bridge over the Rahway River, at Springfield, New 
 Jersey, on the direct road from Elizabeth to Morristown, only a 
 dozen miles away, against the whole left column of the heavy British 
 advance into New Jersey, from Staten Island, New York, under Sir 
 Henry Clinton, on June 23, 1780. The regiment lost one-fourth 
 of its number before falling back to the second bridge, 3 but it gave 
 our left wing under General Greene time enough to mass in the 
 Short Hills in a strong position from which the powerful British 
 column later turned back. Historians say that if this British ma- 
 neuver could have forced its way through the passes of the Short 
 Hills of New Jersey to Washington's camp and magazines at Morris- 
 
 1. "Diary of Colonel Israel Angell," edited by Edward Field; 1899; page XIII. 
 
 2. "Battles of the American Revolution," by Colonel Henry B. Carrington, U. S. 
 Army; 1876; page 500. Also "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson 
 J. Lossing; 1860; volume 1, page 323. 
 
 3. "Diary of Colonel Israel Angell"; 1899; page XIII. 
 
 [62] 
 
FLAG OF SECOND RHODE ISLAND REGIMENT 
 
 town the War might have ended then and there. It was another of 
 those serious occasions when America, well led, did not falter. 
 
 Heitman, in his "Officers of the Continental Army," says that 
 from May to December, 1775, Angell was Major in Colonel Hitch- 
 cock's Rhode Island Regiment. From January 1 to December 31, 
 1776, he was Major in the Eleventh Continental Infantry. January 
 1, 1777, Angell was elected Lieutenant-Colonel of the Second Rhode 
 Island Regiment, Continental Line. Upon the death of Colonel 
 Hitchcock, he was commissioned Colonel, January 13, 1777. 
 
 Israel Angell had a good education, and his ancestors had come 
 to Rhode Island with Roger Williams. He was a man of medium 
 height, fair complexion, and military bearing. He was married 
 three times, and had seventeen children, eight of whom became 
 octogenarians. He was courting a fourth lady when he died in 1832, 
 ninety-two years of age. 4 
 
 A remnant of the flag which we and others have chosen to call 
 the flag of the Second Rhode Island Regiment is still preserved in 
 the State House at Providence, Rhode Island. The controversy as 
 to the two Rhode Island regimental flags is analyzed at considerable 
 length in the preceding chapter, entitled "Flag of First Rhode 
 Island Regiment, Continental Line." 
 
 Flag Description. White field, about 51 inches in width 
 by 45 inches in length. Light blue canton of silk sewed on 
 a white field of silk. This canton contains thirteen white 
 5-pointed stars painted on the blue silk, arranged 3-2-3-2-3, in 
 parallel lines. In the lower part of the field is a blue scroll, 
 painted on both sides, with an inscription in white letters, 
 R. ISLAND REGT. 
 
 4. Same: "Diary of Colonel Israel Angell, 1778-1781," edited by Edward Field; 
 1899; page XV. 
 
 [63] 
 
Flags of Second New 
 
 Hampshire Regiment 
 
 Continental Line 
 
 (see color plate 5) 
 
 THE Second New Hampshire Regiment, under Colonel Enoch 
 Poor, was one of the three additional regiments organized by 
 the Provincial Congress of New Hampshire in May, 1775, to 
 reinforce the volunteers from that State already gathered at Cam- 
 bridge under John Stark. These volunteers became the First New 
 Hampshire Regiment. The Third was placed under Colonel James 
 Reed. The New Hampshire regiments served at the siege of Boston, 
 and in part at least in the expedition to Canada. 1 Brigaded under 
 Arthur St. Clair, they were in Washington's army during his retreat 
 through New Jersey in 1776. They crossed the Delaware with him 
 on Christmas Night, and fought in the battles of Trenton and 
 Princeton. 2 Later they became part of the Continental Line. 
 
 On February 25, 1777, the Committee of Safety of New 
 Hampshire ordered the three regiments to Ticonderoga, but ap- 
 pointed Colonel Poor to be Brigadier instead of Stark, who there- 
 upon resigned and took no part in the resistance by Schuyler to the 
 southward advance of Burgoyne, until just before the battle of 
 Bennington. 3 
 
 The Second New Hampshire Regiment lost its two flags to the 
 British near Fort Anne, New York, on July 8, 1777. At this Fort 
 about five hundred Americans had been posted, under Colonel 
 Long, principally invalids and convalescents of the army, with 
 
 1. "History of the First New Hampshire Regiment in the War of the Revolution," 
 by Frederic Kidder; 1868; page 3. 
 
 2. "The Battles of Trenton and Princeton," by William S. Stryker; 1898; page 354. 
 
 3. "History of the First New Hampshire Regiment," by Frederic Kidder; 1868; 
 page 20. 
 
 [64] 
 
FLAG OF 
 
 SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT 
 
 (BUFF FIELD) 
 
 FLAG OF 
 THIRD MARYLAND REGIMENT 
 
 FLAG OF 
 SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT 
 
 FLAG OF 
 SECOND CONNECTICUT REGIMENT 
 
 RATTLESNAKE FLAG 
 
 FLAG OF 
 PULASKI'S LEGION 
 
 COLOR PLATE 5 
 
FLAGS OF SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT 
 
 orders from General Schuyler to defend the place. Upon Bur- 
 goyne's approach Colonel Long marched his little force northward 
 three-quarters of a mile to a narrow, rocky defile, attacked and nearly 
 surrounded the 9th British Regiment of Foot, giving way only 
 when his powder and ball gave out and some Indian reinforcements 
 had arrived for the enemy. Setting fire to Fort Anne, Colonel Long 
 led his Americans back to the headquarters of General Schuyler at 
 Fort Edward. 4 In this brave fight the Second New Hampshire Regi- 
 ment lost its two flags, which "were carried to England in the per- 
 sonal baggage of Lieutenant-Colonel Hill," commander of the 9th 
 Regiment of Foot of Burgoyne's army. "From him they descended 
 by inheritance to . . . Colonel George W. Rogers of Wykeham, 
 Sussex, from whom they were purchased by Mr. Edward Tuck, and 
 presented to the New Hampshire Historical Society in 1912. " 5 
 
 The Second New Hampshire Regiment fought in the battle 
 of Saratoga as a part of Enoch Poor's brigade. 6 It participated after- 
 ward in the battles around Philadelphia, went to Valley Forge, 7 and 
 served at Monmouth, pressing the enemy at the close of the action. 
 In May, 1779, the New Hampshire brigade was in Sullivan's expedi- 
 tion against the Indians 8 and thus marched up from Easton, Penn- 
 sylvania, past Hungry Hill and the Shades of Death swamp in the 
 Poconos, to the Susquehanna Valley and northward into the state 
 of New York. 9 
 
 The two existing flags of this regiment are pictured in Mr. 
 Hammond's book, 10 and are described therein as follows: "Both 
 these flags are of silk, one blue and one buff, and measure five feet 
 on the staff and five feet six inches on the fly. The blue flag has 
 a gold fringe. In the center is a small red shield, with golden scrolls 
 on either side and over it. On the shield are the letters 'N.H.' 
 interlaced, under which is '2d,' and under that 'Regt.' On the scrolls 
 
 4. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 1, 
 page 141. Also "Life and Times of Philip Schuyler," by Benson J. Lossing; 1873; 
 page 221, volume 2. 
 
 5. "History of the Seal and Flag of the State of New Hampshire," by Otis Grant 
 Hammond, A. M., Superintendent of New Hampshire Historical Society; 1916; 
 page 40. (A copy of this book is in "Flag Book Sources," Volume B; see Preface, 
 supra.) 
 
 6. "History of the First New Hampshire Regiment," by Frederic Kidder; 1868; 
 page 34. 
 
 7. Same; page 40. 
 
 8. Same; page 47. 
 
 9. "History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," by William Henry Egle, M.D.; 
 1877; pages 946, 948. 
 
 10. "History of the Seal and Flag of the State of New Hampshire," by Otis Grant 
 Hammond, A. M., Superintendent of New Hampshire Historical Society; 1916; 
 pages 40-41. (See Note 5, this chapter.) 
 
 [65] 
 
FLAGS OF SECOND NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT 
 
 is the motto 'The Glory, Not the Prey.' In the upper corner next 
 the staff are two small superimposed crosses, the upright cross being 
 red, bordered with gold, the diagonal cross gold, bordered with red. 
 The buff flag bears in its center a golden disc, with 13 rays and 13 
 lines radiating from it, each of the latter touching one of 13 inter- 
 laced golden rings. The disc bears the motto 'We Are One,' and 
 each ring the name of one of the 13 original states. In the upper 
 corner next the staff are eight triangles, alternately red and blue, so 
 arranged as to form two crosses, one upright and the other diag- 
 onal." The two crosses are really just the buff-colored silk of the flag 
 showing through between the triangles. 
 
 [66] 
 
Flag of Third Maryland 
 
 Regiment 
 
 Continental Line 
 
 (see color plate 5) 
 
 THIS flag became the property of the State of Maryland in 
 1907, and was deposited in the State House at Annapolis. 
 Shortly afterward Major-General Riggs, Adjutant-General of 
 the State, wrote to Gherardi Davis giving its history. While there 
 is no inscription on the flag, nevertheless General Riggs states: "It 
 is positively known to have been carried as the regimental flag 
 of the Third Maryland Regiment under Colonel John Eager 
 Howard at the battle of Cowpens, South Carolina, in January, 
 1781." 1 In this battle it was carried by color-sergeant William 
 Batchelor, who was wounded there, and sent to his home in Balti- 
 more, bringing the flag with him. After William Batchelor's death, 
 on December 10, 1781, the flag remained in his family, and was 
 carried by his son, Joshua F. Batchelor, in the Battle of North Point, 
 Maryland, in the War of 1812, where it was cut in several places by 
 British bullets. It continued in the family until 1843, when it was 
 presented to the Old Defensers' Association, and by that Associa- 
 tion, in 1894, to The Society of the War of 1812, which in turn pre- 
 sented it finally to the State of Maryland. 2 
 
 Can we picture the Maryland brigade, carrying this flag with 
 its strange stars and stripes, now faded and dim, but then in bright 
 colorings, marching suddenly to the rear, at Cowpens, as if for 
 flight; then in unbelievable discipline, led by two great leaders, 
 
 1. "Regimental Colors of the War of the Revolution," by Gherardi Davis; 1910 
 Supplement, page 3. 
 
 2. "The Evolution of the American Flag," by George Canby and Lloyd Balderston; 
 1909; page81,etseq. 
 
 [67] 
 
FLAG OF THIRD MARYLAND REGIMENT 
 
 Dan Morgan and John Eager Howard, turning about to face the 
 astonished foe, at close quarters, with a murderous volley and a bay- 
 onet charge of the Continental Line: to victory, to annihilation 
 of this Tarleton and his cruel force, 830 killed, wounded or pris- 
 oners out of 1200? If this was the flag we think it was, it symbolizes 
 Cowpens, "a most remarkable battle," says Sydney George Fisher, 
 "the first originally contrived battle that had been fought by the 
 patriots." 3 
 
 It was a victory of serious importance, in the wearing down of 
 Cornwallis' army of British regulars and Tories, which, followed 
 by Guilford, Eutaw, Green Spring, and other battles, small in them- 
 selves, but fateful in results, led on to the great surrender at 
 Yorktown. 
 
 This flag, and the crucial charge of the Maryland Line at Cow- 
 pens, which was said to have been "the first occasion in the war in 
 which the American troops fairly conquered the British with the 
 bayonet in the open field," 4 only climaxed the extraordinary 
 achievements of the regular Maryland regiments in the Revolution. 
 At the battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776, on the extreme 
 American right, Colonel Smallwood's Maryland regiment under 
 Major Mordecai Gist, Colonel Hazlett's small Delaware regiment, 5 
 and the Pennsylvania battalions of Atlee and Keichline, personally 
 led and directed, as an impromptu division, by Major-General Stir- 
 ling (who tarried until he could do no more and was captured) , un- 
 doubtedly saved Washington's army, and perhaps also the Ameri- 
 can cause. This Maryland regiment of less than 450 men was made 
 up of the sons of the best families of Maryland; and yet, almost sur- 
 rounded, they gave their lives, voluntarily and deliberately, in six 
 bayonet charges against far-outnumbering British forces; to save 
 the retreat of our army, whose left, under Sullivan, had been sur- 
 prised and broken. 6 General Greene, who had planned and would 
 have commanded our defense, and who had studied every foot of 
 the terrain, was taken suddenly ill with a raging fever a few days 
 before the battle, and everything seemed to go wrong under 
 Sullivan and Putnam, who were thrown into the breach, without 
 much information, at the last moment. 7 
 
 3. "The True History of the American Revolution," by Sydney George Fisher; 1902; 
 page 413. 
 
 4. "History of Maryland," by J. T. Scharf; 1879; page 399. 
 
 5. Colonel Small wood and Colonel Hazlett were both absent that day in New York 
 City, on a court-martial detail: see "History of Maryland," by J. T. Scharf; 1879; 
 page 243. 
 
 6. Same; page 246. 
 
 7. "Battles of the American Revolution," by Colonel H. B. Carrington, U.SA.; 
 1876; pages 198, 203, 204. 
 
 [68] 
 
FLAG OF THIRD MARYLAND REGIMENT 
 
 In the later battles in the Carolinas, usually under Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Howard or Colonel Otho H. Williams, the Maryland Line 
 again performed deeds almost impossible: hoping at Camden to 
 avert the American collapse, and at Eutaw contributing by a sweep- 
 ing bayonet attack to a very significant "drawn victory." 8 
 
 Born in Maryland in 1752, John Eager Howard was identified 
 after 1776 with the Maryland Brigade of the Continental Line, 
 serving as an officer in several of its regiments. Previously, in Octo- 
 ber, 1776, he had commanded a company in the so-called Flying 
 Camp under General Hugh Mercer. He fought at Germantown, 
 Monmouth, Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk's 
 Hill and Eutaw Springs (where he was severely wounded) . He was 
 for three years governor of Maryland, and United States Senator 
 for seven years. In 1796 he declined a seat in Washington's cabinet. 
 His wife, Margaret, was a daughter of Chief Justice Benjamin 
 Chew, of Pennsylvania, about whose very house, Cliveden, Howard 
 had helped to fight an important part of the battle of Germantown. 
 Hediedinl827. 9 
 
 Flag Description. Davis says that the original flag "is of 
 a thin material, similar to cheesecloth, a little over five feet 
 long and between 30 and 34 inches wide, the greatest width 
 being at the staff. It is narrowest in the middle. It has 13 
 stripes, and 13 stars, 12 in a nearly circular ring and one in 
 the centre." 10 "The flag is in a fair state of preservation, 
 although showing the holes made by bullets." 11 
 
 8. "History of Maryland," by J. T. Scharf; 1879; page 425. 
 
 9. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 2, 
 pages 433, 497. 
 
 10. "Regimental Colors of the War of the Revolution," by Gherardi Davis; 1910 
 Supplement, page 3. 
 
 11. "The Evolution of the American Flag," by George Canby and Lloyd Balderston; 
 1909; page 83. 
 
 [69] 
 
Flag of Second Connecticut 
 Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 5) 
 
 A BOUT 1830 there was in the possession of Colonel John Mix, 
 L\ of Farmington, Connecticut, the flag of dark red silk which 
 JL JL is pictured here. This information was given to Gherardi 
 Davis, 1 probably about 1905 or 1906, by the Connecticut Historical 
 Society, where the flag is now deposited. Colonel Mix, the Society 
 goes on to say, was adjutant of the Second Regiment of the Con- 
 necticut Line in the Revolution, from June 1, 1778, to January 1, 
 1781, and the flag is supposed to be of that or earlier date. "It may 
 have been carried in the Revolution, although the color designated 
 for the Second Regiment's flag was blue, while this is red. Possibly 
 it was for the use of the second regiment of the colony's militia be- 
 fore the Revolution. There is no record of its history previous to 
 its being in Colonel Mix's possession." 2 Davis further comments: 
 "This flag, of course, does not antedate 1711, as prior to that date 
 the Connecticut arms bore thirteen vines not three." 3 These three 
 vines represent the three original settlements of Connecticut: 
 Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield. 4 
 
 Preble refers to the flag as "an old red silk flag, about a yard 
 square, on which is a tracing of the arms of Connecticut, in a darker 
 red paint, and over them, in gilt letters, this inscription: II Bat: 
 II REG: CONNECTICUT Raised 1640. This is supposed to 
 allude to the great English rebellion, as a presage of what might 
 
 1. "Regimental Colors in the War of the Revolution," by Gherardi Davis; 1907; 
 page 9. 
 
 2. Connecticut Historical Society's Statement, quoted by Davis (see Note 1 above) . 
 
 3. "Regimental Colors in the War of the Revolution," by Gherardi Davis; 1907; 
 page 10. 
 
 4. National Geographic Magazine, October, 1917; page 328; Also same, September, 
 1934; page 356. 
 
 [70] 
 
FLAG OF SECOND CONNECTICUT REGIMENT 
 
 be hoped for in the rebellion just begun." 5 The Connecticut His- 
 torical Society states, however, under date of July 1, 1943: "The 
 figures and letters are not superimposed on the banner as Preble 
 says. They are on the obverse side of the flag and the motto and 
 shield are on the reverse side." This letter, from the present cus- 
 todian of the flag, describes the flag as follows: "The flag is dark 
 red in color and bears on the obverse side in gold letters, 
 
 II. BAT: 
 
 II. REG: 
 
 CONNECTICUT 
 
 Raised 1640 
 
 On the reverse side is a shield, the background being of red 
 silk, while the three grapevines and the border are of gold. The 
 bow and ribbons are blue and the scrollwork and motto ribbon are 
 of gold. The motto reads: QUI TRAN: SUST:, an abbreviation 
 of our State motto QUI TRANSTULIT SUSTINET. You may 
 see exactly how the flag looks by referring to Regimental Colors in 
 the War of the Revolution by Gherardi Davis, plates II and III, 
 and to his description of the flag on pages 9 and 10." 6 Davis says 
 that the shadings and outlines are in black, and the letters of the 
 motto are black. 
 
 Preble says that on July 18, 1775, Major-General Putnam as- 
 sembled his division of Connecticut troops on Prospect Hill, near 
 Cambridge, Massachusetts, to have read to it a manifesto of Con- 
 gress. The reading was followed by a prayer. "The artillery of the 
 fort thundered a general salute, and the colors recently sent to 
 General Putnam, bearing on one side the Connecticut motto, 'Qui 
 transtulit sustinet,' 7 and on the other the recognized motto of 
 Massachusetts, 'An Appeal to Heaven,' were unfurled." 8 Preble 
 says that this flag was scarlet in color. 9 But it was not, of course, 
 the flag of the Second Connecticut Regiment, as preserved to us; 
 but the two flags may have borne some resemblance to each other. 10 
 
 5. "History of the Flag," by Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N. ; 1880; 
 page 197. 
 
 6. For this letter from Connecticut Historical Society, signed by Frances A. Hoxie, 
 Assistant to the Librarian, see "Flag Book Sources," referred to in Preface, supra. 
 
 7. Meaning "He who transported us hither, will sustain us." 
 
 8. "Our Flag," by Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N. ; 1872; page 139; 
 citing Bancroft's "History of the United States"; also Frothingham's "Siege of 
 Boston"; in a footnote; and published diary of Lieutenant Paul Lunt. 
 
 9. "History of the Flag," by Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N. ; edition of 
 1880; page 199. 
 
 10. Same as Note 3, supra. 
 
 [71] 
 
FLAG OF SECOND CONNECTICUT REGIMENT 
 
 In 1775, the General Assembly of Connecticut ordered eight 
 regiments to be raised, to serve for short terms of enlistment. They 
 had all disappeared when the Continental Line was formed in 1777. 
 The standards of these regiments were ordered to be colored as 
 follows: 1st, yellow; 2nd, blue; 3rd, scarlet; 4th, crimson; 5th, 
 white; 6th, azure; 7th, blue; 8th, orange. 11 
 
 11. "History of the Flag," by Rear- Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N.; 1880; 
 page 197. 
 
 [72] 
 
Rattlesnake Flag 
 
 (see color plate 5) 
 
 "T I I^IS famous flag consists of thirteen horizontal alternate red 
 and blue stripes— sometimes also alternate red and white 
 J_ stripes— bearing diagonally across them a rattlesnake in a 
 moving or running position, with the threatening motto above or 
 beneath, 'Don't tread on me.' The flag was used by different or- 
 ganizations of the American army during the Revolution, but par- 
 ticularly by the vessels of the American navy, as stated by John Fay 
 in a letter dated July, 1776. Captain John Paul Jones was supposed 
 to have used this special device, though an English writer of the 
 period of Jones' cruise in European waters (in 1779) is quoted 
 as saying 'a strange flag has lately appeared in our seas, having a pine 
 tree with the portraiture of a rattlesnake coiled up at its roots and 
 with these daring words, 'Don't tread on me.' This flag would seem 
 to be almost the same as that designed by Colonel Gadsden, of South 
 Carolina, in 1776, for 'the Commander in Chief of the American 
 Navy.' The brave Captain Gustavus Conyngham also carried the 
 rattlesnake flag at the masthead of his little vessels, the Surprise and 
 Revenge, in his continued successful attacks on British commerce 
 in 1777 and the following years of the Revolution." 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 [73] 
 
Flag of Pulaski's Legion 
 
 (see color plate 5) 
 
 " A CAVALRY guidon of double crimson silk with the designs 
 l\ on each side handsomely embroidered in yellow silk, and 
 -L \. the letters shaded with green. On the obverse side of the 
 banner appears the 'all-seeing Eye' within a circle of thirteen stars 
 surrounded by the motto, 'Non alius regit' (No other governs) . On 
 the reverse are the letters 'U.S.' encircled with the motto, 'Unita 
 virtus forcior' (Union makes valor stronger) . This banner was 
 made for and presented to the brave Count Pulaski by the Moravian 
 sisters at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, after he had raised and organ- 
 ized an independent corps of sixty-eight horse and two hundred 
 foot at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1778. Pulaski received the banner 
 gratefully and bore it gallantly through many battles until he fell 
 at Savannah, Georgia, in the autumn of 1779. The banner was 
 saved by his lieutenant— though himself sorely wounded— and it 
 eventually reached Baltimore after the close of the war, where it 
 was used in the procession that welcomed La Fayette to that city, 
 during his visit to this country in 1824, and was then deposited, 
 first in Peale's Museum and afterwards with the Maryland Histor- 
 ical Society (in 1844) , in whose rooms it is still carefully preserved. 
 But little of its former beauty remains, the crimson silk being now 
 faded to a dull brownish red. A deep green bullion fringe orna- 
 mented the edge of the banner which was attached to a lance when 
 borne in the field. The size of the original flag is only twenty inches 
 square. The presentation of the flag to Pulaski and the soldier's 
 glorious death are commemorated by the poet Longfellow in his 
 stirring 'Hymn of the Moravian Nuns,' at the consecration of the 
 banner." 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 [74] 
 
Flags of Second Regiment 
 Light Dragoons 
 Continental Line 
 
 (see color plate 6) 
 
 IN THE retreat of Washington's army across New Jersey in late 
 1776, the only cavalry present was a "Detachment of Colonel 
 Elisha Sheldon's Second regiment light dragoons." 1 These 
 dragoons, who seem to have come from Connecticut, 2 may have 
 been all that Alexander Graydon, in his "Memoirs," said they were: 
 Men "beyond the meridian of life," without uniformity of clothing 
 or discipline, and armed mostly with fowling pieces. 3 But surely 
 something in the way of horsemen or cavalry gave Washington his 
 needed warnings, his flanking and scouting, in part at least, during 
 his dangerous retreat. It may have been these "old-fashioned men," 
 as Graydon calls them, who carried on stubbornly and guarded 
 through for him. 
 
 Perhaps, using our imagination, we might consider the hand- 
 some but sedate blue and gold battalion or squadron flag of the 
 Second Dragoons as representing this more strictly Connecticut 
 portion of the regiment. 
 
 These Second Dragoons, under Colonel Sheldon, seem later 
 to have been assumed by New York State to be part of the New 
 York Continental Line, together with Colonel Moylan's Fourth 
 Regiment Light Dragoons. 4 Just how Moylan was identified in 
 
 1. "The Battles of Trenton and Princeton," by William S. Stryker; 1898; page 309. 
 
 2. Heitman's "Officers of the Continental Army," page 493, states that Elisha Sheldon, 
 in June, 1776, was "Major Commandant Battalion, Connecticut Light Horse," 
 and that on December 12, 1776, he became Colonel of the Second Continental 
 Dragoons, serving thus until he was made a brigadier-general, September 30, 1780. 
 
 3. "The Battles of Trenton and Princeton," by William S. Stryker; 1898; footnote on 
 page 10. 
 
 4. "New York in the Revolution," by James A. Roberts, Comptroller; 2nd edition, 
 1898; page 67. 
 
 [75] 
 
FLAGS OF SECOND REGIMENT LIGHT DRAGOONS 
 
 any way with New York State (except that he served with his 
 Dragoons along the Hudson in 1780) is not clear, as he was a Penn- 
 sylvanian from the first, when he joined the army before Boston in 
 
 1775, and upon the recommendation of John Dickinson of Penn- 
 sylvania was placed in the commissariat department. In March, 
 
 1776, he was appointed an aide-de-camp to General Washington. 
 In June, 1776, he was appointed quartermaster-general, by Con- 
 gress, on Washington's recommendation, but resigned in October, 
 to raise the first Pennsylvania regiment of cavalry, an independent 
 organization which served at Valley Forge in 1777-1778, on the 
 Hudson River in 1780, and in the southern campaign in 1781. 
 Before his retirement he was commissioned a brigadier-general. 5 
 
 But the Second Dragoons, to the extent that they were com- 
 manded or were led and influenced by the brilliant Major 
 Benjamin Tallmadge, in the later years of the War, were essentially 
 a New York organization. In our imagination they were well en- 
 titled to parade the bright pink standard which, together with the 
 blue and gold standard, also belonged to that gallant regiment. 
 Tallmadge was one of the most capable and trusted of the Revolu- 
 tionary War officers whose commissions were below the rank of 
 brigadier-general. He was born on Long Island, New York, in 
 1754, and as a boy knew its small ports and coves and byways. He 
 was graduated from Yale in 1773, and then became superintendent 
 of a school in Connecticut. In 1775 he joined the Connecticut mili- 
 tia regiment of his friend, Colonel Chester, as adjutant, and hurried 
 to the front. 6 He was later at the battle of Brooklyn and endured 
 the mile-wide crossing to New York on the night of August 29, 
 1776. In December Congress resolved to raise four regiments of 
 horse. "Before our regiment was dismissed," says Tallmadge in 
 his "Memoir" (page 16) , "I had the offer of the first troop in the 
 2nd regiment of light dragoons, commanded by Colonel Elisha 
 Sheldon." His commission as captain was dated December 14, 
 1776, signed by John Hancock, President of Congress. He went 
 to Philadelphia at once "to receive instructions from the Board of 
 War about raising and equipping this new body of troops," which 
 was ordered to rendezvous at Wethersfield, Connecticut. 7 There 
 were men and horses enough for four troops. 
 
 5. Appleton's "Cyclopedia of American Biography." 
 
 6. "Memoir of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, Prepared by Himself at the Request 
 of His Children"; 1858; pages 6 to 9. 
 
 7. Same; page 18. 
 
 [76] 
 
FLAG OF 
 
 SECOND REGIMENT LIGHT DRAGOONS 
 
 (PINK FIELD) 
 
 .■ ; 
 
 FLAG OF 
 
 SECOND REGIMENT LIGHT DRAGOONS 
 (BLUE FIELD) 
 
 * * * * *l 
 
 GUILFORD OR 
 NORTH CAROLINA MILITIA FLAG 
 
 EUTAW FLAG OF 
 COLONEL WASHINGTON'S CAVALRY 
 
 Libert/ or DejBtK 
 
 FLAG OF 
 UNITED TRAIN OF ARTILLERY OF PROVIDENCE 
 
 COLOR PLATE 6 
 
FLAGS OF SECOND REGIMENT LIGHT DRAGOONS 
 
 Tallmadge became Major in the "Second Regiment Light 
 Dragoons," on April 7, 1777. Joining Washington at Middlebrook, 
 where were also the cavalry regiments of Colonel Bland and Colonel 
 Moylan, the Second Dragoon fought at Brandywine. At German- 
 town, under Tallmadge, they were at the head of General Sullivan's 
 division (at left of the American center) , in a heavy fog. At Valley 
 Forge the Dragoons were used as an advanced corps for observa- 
 tion. In the campaign of 1778-1779 they were in Westchester 
 County, New York, along the shores of the Sound. In July, 1779, 
 Colonel Sheldon and his regiment were attacked by British light 
 horse and some infantry. This, says Tallmadge, was principally a 
 cavalry fight with broadsword, Sheldon retreating when the infan- 
 try appeared on his flanks. 8 
 
 Tallmadge now undertook the several important military 
 operations which gave especial distinction to his name. On Sep- 
 tember 5, 1779, he proceeded (in the peculiar whaleboat warfare 
 which was carried on in this vicinity) from near Stamford, Con- 
 necticut, with 130 of his light dragoons, dismounted, and at ten 
 o'clock at night attacked and surprised 500 strongly intrenched 
 Tory marauders at Lloyd's Neck, Long Island. Without losing a 
 man he took nearly all of them back to the Connecticut shore as 
 prisoners. 9 
 
 In 1780 some Rhode Island Tory refugees had constructed 
 near Oyster Bay, Long Island, what they called Fort George, which 
 consisted of a strongly barricaded house, and a redoubt ninety-six 
 feet square, with bastions, ditch and abatis. There were also stock- 
 ades twelve feet in height, and two mounted cannon. Tallmadge 
 crossed from Fairfield, Connecticut, on the evening of November 
 21, 1780, with only eighty of his Dragoons. A storm intervened, 
 but at dawn on November 23 he burst through the stockade, and 
 assailing the redoubt on three sides, the entire garrison surrendered 
 without resistance. Having demolished the fort and the vessels at 
 the wharf laden with stores, he returned to Fairfield with 300 pris- 
 oners, again without losing a man. 10 "This brilliant exploit," says 
 Lossing, "drew from Washington a very complimentary letter, and 
 from Congress a gratifying resolution." 
 
 Another Tallmadge exploit well worth mentioning was that 
 of October 9, 1780, by Major Trescott with 150 of the Dragoons 
 
 8. Same; pages 20 to 32. 
 
 9. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 2, 
 page 627. 
 
 10. Same; volume 2, page 628. 
 
 [77] 
 
FLAGS OF SECOND REGIMENT LIGHT DRAGOONS 
 
 (dismounted) who landed at four o'clock in the morning and at 
 dawn assailed a military work called Fort Slongo, near Smithtown, 
 Long Island, defended by 150 Tories. After some resistance the 
 garrison yielded, and the blockhouse and two iron cannon were 
 destroyed. The Dragoons, without losing a man, returned with 2 1 
 prisoners, a brass three-pounder cannon, 70 stand of arms and a 
 quantity of ammunition. 11 
 
 Tallmadge, as is well known, was closely connected with the 
 Andre episode. The prisoner had been turned over to the North 
 Castle post of the Second Dragoons, where Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Jameson, Tallmadge's superior, was in command. Jameson had 
 already sent Andre forward under guard, to be conducted to Arnold. 
 He also wrote a letter to Arnold telling him what had occurred and 
 expressing suspicion. Tallmadge had been below White Plains that 
 day and did not reach North Castle until evening. He protested 
 boldly against Jameson's actions. Jameson ordered Andre to be 
 brought back under an escort commanded by Major Tallmadge, 
 who took him to Colonel Sheldon's headquarters at North Salem, 
 as a more secure place. But Jameson insisted on his letter being 
 delivered to Arnold. This was done in time to allow Arnold to 
 escape on the Vulture. 12 
 
 There remains still something to be told, however, of the im- 
 portant and confidential part played by this same Tallmadge of the 
 Second Dragoons in Washington's spy system, from 1778 to 1783. 
 Tallmadge (alias John Bolton) was the go-between, the clearing- 
 house, through whom the two principal spies, known as Culper, Sr., 
 and Culper, Jr., transmitted their information to the Chief of the 
 Army. 13 
 
 Tallmadge retired from the army with the rank of colonel. 
 He married in 1784, served in Congress from Connecticut, 1800 
 to 18 16, and died at the age of 81, in 1835. 14 
 
 The two Flags. The blue standard is owned (1943) by 
 Morgan B. Brainard, of Hartford, Connecticut, and "for some 
 years has been deposited as a loan with the Connecticut State 
 Library where it may be seen by the public." The pink one, 
 however, Mr. Brainard says, was similarly owned by his uncle, 
 Senator Morgan G. Bulkeley, but "in some curious fashion, 
 never explained, this flag disappeared and its whereabouts is 
 
 11. Same; volume 2, page 628. 
 
 12. Same; volume 1, pages 757-758. 
 
 13. "General Washington's Spies," by Morton Pennypacker; 1939, published by Long 
 Island Historical Society. 
 
 14. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 2, 
 page 627. 
 
 [78] 
 
FLAGS OF SECOND REGIMENT LIGHT DRAGOONS 
 
 not known. . . . Frequently afterwards, search was made 
 for it and inquiry sent to every possible place where it might 
 have been loaned but no trace of it was ever found." See letter 
 of August 20, 1943. 15 Both standards are shown in Gherardi 
 Davis' "Regimental Colors in the War of the Revolution," 
 plates V and VI. Both are shown also in "Memoir of Colonel 
 Benjamin Tallmadge," edited by Henry Phelps Johnson; 
 1904; published by Society of Sons of the Revolution in the 
 State of New York. There is also a colored print of the blue 
 standard in E. M. Avery's "History of the United States and 
 Its People"; 1909; volume 6, page 252. 
 
 15. In "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra. 
 
 [79] 
 
Eutaw Flag of Colonel 
 Washington's Cavalry 
 
 (see color plate 6) 
 
 INTO the personal or anecdotal history of the Revolution Col- 
 onel William Washington enters vividly. 
 His great adventure was at the battle of Cowpens, on March 
 17, 1781, when he had his famous personal encounter with the 
 British Colonel Tarleton, who, at the close of the battle, was in full 
 retreat with his cavalry. 1 In the hotness of the pursuit, Washington, 
 accompanied only by a sergeant and a mere boy of a bugler, had 
 pressed forward some thirty yards ahead of his troop. Suddenly 
 three British officers wheeled their horses and rode toward him. 
 Washington immediately engaged Tarleton, the middle one of the 
 three, and had gone as far as to wound him in the hand, when the 
 British officer on his right rode up behind Washington and would 
 have dealt him such a saber cut as might have finished the fight if 
 Washington's sergeant had not parried the blow with his saber. 
 Another attempt to cut him down, by the British officer on Wash- 
 ington's left, would have succeeded if the assailant's arm had not 
 been disabled at just the right moment by a pistol shot from Wash- 
 ington's brave little bugler. Washington sustained a pistol wound 
 in the knee. Then more British horsemen arrived and carried 
 Tarleton off with them to the rear. 
 
 Lossing relates that this wound of Colonel Tarleton was the 
 subject for the sallies of wit of two American ladies, who were sis- 
 ters, daughters of Colonel Montfort, of Halifax county, North 
 Carolina. When the British were in Halifax County, on their way 
 to Virginia, Tarleton was at the house of an American. In the 
 
 1. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 2, 
 page 436. Also "Life of Daniel Morgan," by James Graham; 1858; page 306. And 
 "Life of Washington," by John Marshall; volume IV, page 347; cited in "History 
 of Maryland," by J. T. Scharf ; 1879; volume 2, page 408. 
 
 [80] 
 
EUTAW FLAG OF COLONEL WASHINGTON S CAVALRY 
 
 presence of Mrs. Jones (one of these sisters) Tarleton spoke of 
 Colonel Washington as an illiterate fellow, hardly able to write 
 his name. "Ah, colonel," said Mrs. Jones, "you ought to know 
 better, for you bear on your person proof that he knows very well 
 how to make his mark." At another time, Tarleton was speaking 
 sarcastically of Washington, in the presence of her sister, Mrs. Ashe. 
 "I would be happy to see Colonel Washington," he said, with a 
 sneer. Mrs. Ashe instantly replied, "If you had looked behind you, 
 Colonel Tarleton, at the battle of the Cowpens, you would have 
 enjoyed that pleasure." 2 
 
 This Colonel Tarleton, with the encouragement of Cornwallis, 
 by his cruelties, his destruction of the property of friend and foe 
 alike, his treachery and disregard of the rules of civilized warfare, 
 had done more than anyone or anything in Britain or America to 
 inflame for war the peace-loving southland of America (inclined 
 to favor, neutrally, the mother country of England) . 3 
 
 We wonder how William Washington's quaint and curious flag 
 was devised. It seems that he was engaged to marry (and eventu- 
 ally did) a Miss Jane Elliott, daughter of Colonel Charles Elliott, 
 owner of "Sandy Hill," a large plantation near Charleston, South 
 Carolina. On one of his visits to her home the question arose of a 
 flag for Colonel Washington's cavalry. Miss Elliott cut a square 
 of crimson silk from the end of a rich damask curtain and fashioned 
 it into a flag, which, being mounted on a hickory pole, became 
 famous at Cowpens, and Hobkirk's Hill, and finally at Eutaw 
 Springs. This same Jane Elliott, in 1827, widow of William Wash- 
 ington, committed the flag to the care of the Washington Light 
 Infantry, of Charleston, South Carolina, an organization which 
 dates back to 1807, and still continues, the proud custodian of what 
 is, to them, an almost sacred flag. The Washington Light Infantry 
 took part in the Mexican War in 1846, and in the first World 
 War in 1918. It erected a marble tablet in 1929 over the graves of 
 Colonel Washington and his wife in the old cemetery of the Elliott 
 family near Rantowles, South Carolina. 4 
 
 But, apart from these well-known incidents, a brief biography 
 of the man indicates the value, the courage, the ability and the 
 
 2. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 2, 
 page 436, footnote 1; citing Ellet's "Women of the Revolution." 
 
 3. Same; volume 2, page 458. 
 
 4. See pamphlet History of Washington Light Infantry of Charleston, S. C, 1807- 
 1929; published some time prior to 1934. (In "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, 
 supra.) See also National Geographic Magazine, "Our Flag Number," October, 
 1917; page 352. 
 
 [81] 
 
EUTAW FLAG OF COLONEL WASHINGTON S CAVALRY 
 
 loyalty of this cousin of General Washington, in the great War for 
 our Independence. He was born in 1752, a Virginian, son of Baily 
 Washington, of Stafford County, and was early educated for the 
 ministry. The war began, however, and he became a captain in 
 the Third Virginia Infantry of General Hugh Mercer's brigade. He 
 was wounded in the battle of Brooklyn, and distinguished himself 
 at Trenton, where he and his lieutenant, James Monroe (later 
 president of the United States) , were both injured in the capture 
 of a Hessian battery on King Street. 5 In 1778 he was transferred to 
 Colonel Baylor's regiment of dragoons, and was ordered south in 
 1779 to join the army of General Lincoln. In March, 1780, he de- 
 feated Tarleton in South Carolina. A few weeks later he clashed 
 with him again, but not so successfully. At Cowpens, however, 
 March 17, 1781, under General Morgan, he made a charge at a 
 critical moment, timed with a sudden advance of the Continental 
 Line under Colonel Howard, which nearly annihilated Tarleton's 
 force, thus winning for himself a medal from Congress. He was 
 in the battle of Guilford Courthouse; then, later, at Hobkirk's Hill, 
 where he fought with great energy and distinction. 6 
 
 Just why his flag should now be called the Eutaw Flag it is 
 very difficult to say, for it was in the battle of Eutaw Springs, South 
 Carolina, in September, 1781, that Colonel Washington, finding 
 the American left wing in danger, toward the close of the action, 
 attempted the impossible, and while forcing his way through a 
 thicket of trees was wounded and captured with some forty of 
 his men. 7 
 
 In 1782 Colonel Washington was married to Miss Elliott, and 
 settled in Charleston. Later he was elected to the South Carolina 
 legislature, and was even solicited to become a candidate for gov- 
 ernor, but declined the honor because he insisted that he could not 
 make a speech. When President Adams appointed General Wash- 
 ington commander-in-chief of the American army, as war threat- 
 ened with France in 1798, he chose Colonel Washington to be one 
 of his staff, with the rank of brigadier-general. William Washing- 
 ton died in 18 10. 8 
 
 5. "The Battles of Trenton and Princeton," by William S. Stryker; 1898; page 194. 
 
 6. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 2, 
 page 435. 
 
 7. "Battles of the American Revolution," by Colonel Henry B. Carrington, U.S.A.; 
 1876; page 581. 
 
 8. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 2, 
 page 435, note 1. 
 
 [82] 
 
Guilford or 
 North Carolina Militia Flag 
 
 (see color plate 6) 
 
 THIS, probably, was the flag, or one of the flags, of the North 
 Carolina militia during their most dangerously active service, 
 in 1780 and 1781. These new, ill-equipped companies, re- 
 cruited chiefly from the State-organized battalions called "Minute 
 Men," 1 were desperately needed when the British marched up 
 from Florida to join the regiments of Clinton, brought in ships 
 from New York, for the conquest of the South. By that time North 
 Carolina had fairly exhausted itself in supplying brave soldiers, 
 both regulars and militia, to support the cause of the Colonies. 
 
 The North Carolina regulars of the Continental Line have 
 their own faithful story, from the training camp in 1776 at Wil- 
 mington, North Carolina, of their first 4000, 2 on to the battles of 
 Brandywine and Germantown, to Valley Forge, Monmouth and 
 Stony Point, with one of their generals, Francis Nash, mortally 
 wounded in action, buried in the small, beautiful cemetery on a 
 hillside, at Kulpsville, in Pennsylvania, twenty-six miles from 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 North Carolina lost all that remained of these Continental 
 regiments which fought under Washington, and nearly all of its 
 trained militia when General Lincoln 3 surrendered at Charleston 
 
 1. "Historical Sketches of North Carolina," by John H. Wheeler; 1851; volume 1, 
 page 72. Also "North Carolina, 1780- '81," by David Schenck; 1889; pages 22-23. 
 
 2. "North Carolina, 1780-'81," by David Schenck; 1889; page 27. 
 
 3. A major-general appointed by Congress, in 1777, from Massachusetts, where he 
 had been in command of the militia, and had rendered valuable service in re- 
 cruiting and training regiments for the Continental Army. After recovering 
 from wounds received at Saratoga he was appointed in charge of the meagre 
 Southern army (partly made up of regulars and militia from more Northern 
 states) hurriedly assembled to resist the upsurging of British forces through the 
 South, becoming more and more violently cruel and destructive after their failure 
 to win in the North. He arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, in December, 
 1778, cooperated with D'Estaing in the attack on Savannah in October, 1779, but 
 in May, 1780, finding himself besieged in Charleston by much superior numbers, 
 was obliged to surrender. 
 
 [83] 
 
GUILFORD OR NORTH CAROLINA MILITIA FLAG 
 
 in May, 1780. 4 It is almost unbelievable that so small a state could 
 have reestablished its armed forces thereafter in time to join the 
 armies of Gates and Greene of later 1780, and 1781, rendering in- 
 valuable aid, during that period, at King's Mountain, Camden, 
 Cowpens, Guilford, Eutaw Springs, and other less known engage- 
 ments in the Carolinas. 
 
 The North Carolina militia (without bayonets) may or may 
 not have retreated or fled or hurried away prematurely at Guilford 
 Courthouse on March 15, 1781: authorities differ. General Greene, 
 who reported adversely on them in this battle, did not actually see 
 what happened in their forward position, being himself, very prop- 
 erly of course, with his main line of regulars, 800 yards back. 5 But 
 it cannot be denied or disproved that the Whig volunteers and- 
 Minute Men of North Carolina, from 1775 to 1782, under their 
 devoted leaders, Shelby, Dixon, Davie, Sumner, Rutherford, and 
 others, fought with ability and great courage, as well as with long 
 self-sacrifice, for the cause of our liberties. These names, like so 
 many others in American history, which, for exceptional achieve- 
 ment, should not die, are still too sadly forgotten. Any flag which 
 was borne by the North Carolina militia in the American Revolu- 
 tion is an honored flag, and should be carried in replica today, to 
 perpetuate in memory the silent, gallant names of those who dared 
 to fight beneath it. 
 
 The more an American learns about the battle of King's 
 Mountain, October 10, 1780, which stopped the left column of 
 Cornwallis' army in its threatened move through the border moun- 
 tains toward the Tennessee country, the more he feels the strange 
 fatalism that ruled at certain crises in the story of our nation. Here 
 was a battle, fought largely by North Carolina militia, under 
 Cleaveland, Shelby, Sevier, Winston, 6 that was not really planned 
 except at the last moment, like the battle of Trenton, both of which 
 battles, small as were the numbers engaged, were epoch-making, 
 and in a world-sense as important as many of the battles of history 
 
 4. "North Carolina, 1780-'81," by David Schenck; 1889; pages 41, 42. 
 
 5. At the successful battle of Cowpens, January 15, 1781, the Americans were also in 
 three lines, but the total depth of their formation was only 300 yards, whereas 
 the total depth at Guilford, March 15, was over 800 yards. At Cowpens, Morgan 
 remained with his front line (militia) until nearly the last moment exhorting 
 them to fire their two volleys before retiring, which they did. ("North Carolina, 
 1780-'81," by David Schenck; 1889; page 328; also "Pictorial Field Book of the 
 Revolution," by B. J. Lossing; 1860; volume 2, page 34.) 
 
 6. "North Carolina, 1780-*81," by David Schenck; 1889; pages 155-175. Also "His- 
 torical Sketches of North Carolina," by John H. Wheeler; 1851; volume 2, pages 
 104-105. 
 
 [84] 
 
GUILFORD OR NORTH CAROLINA MILITIA FLAG 
 
 wherein great armies struggled against each other. Lodge says 7 
 that King's Mountain alone saved the South after the defeat of the 
 Maryland and Delaware regulars and North Carolina and Virginia 
 militia, under Gates 8 at Camden, South Carolina, on August 16, 
 1780. And if the South had been lost then, perhaps a great cause 
 would have gone with it. 
 
 After his defeat at Camden, which took place shortly after 
 dawn, Gates retired precipitately from the field. He reached Char- 
 lotte, sixty miles away, before midnight on the day of the battle, 
 riding a blooded horse to accomplish his speedy purpose. 9 "No 
 place of rendezvous had been appointed by Gates, no order was 
 given by him after the battle began, and every soldier who fled 
 followed his own judgment and instinct of safety." 10 
 
 The fearless self-reliance of one of the commanders of the 
 North Carolina militia, as compared with this defeatist attitude of 
 the much-overestimated General Gates, is shown by an incident 
 which occurred about ten miles out of Camden on the very morning 
 of the battle. Major William Richardson Davie, having won his 
 brave exploit against a force of British regulars and loyalists at 
 Hanging Rock, North Carolina, was marching to join Gates (not 
 aware of his defeat) , after leaving his own wounded in a hospital 
 which his foresight had provided at Charlotte. He met an American 
 soldier who was riding at full speed. He arrested him as a deserter, 
 but learned from him of the British triumph at Camden. This news 
 was soon confirmed by the appearance of General Gates himself, in 
 full flight. Gates desired Davie to fall back on Charlotte, "or the 
 
 7. "The Story of the Revolution," by Henry Cabot Lodge; 1898; volume 2, page 54. 
 
 8. General Horatio Gates had served in the British army as an officer under Brad- 
 dock in 1755, and later in the Seven Years' War in Europe. In 1763 he bought an 
 estate in Virginia. In June, 1775, Congress appointed him Adjutant-General of 
 the Continental Army. In the following year he was commissioned Major- 
 General, and in 1777 commanded at the battle of Saratoga, although the victory 
 was really due to the independent efforts of Schuyler, Arnold, Morgan and others, 
 unguided by Gates at all. A trained soldier when it came to discipline and organi- 
 zation, he rendered good service to his adopted country, but displayed neither 
 leadership nor strategy in battle. Nevertheless he and a strong following in 
 Congress were constantly plotting to make him commander-in-chief in place of 
 Washington; and Congress it was, without consulting Washington, that appointed 
 Gates to command in the South in 1780. (See "Eminent Americans," by Benson 
 J. Lossing; 1881; page 295.) 
 
 9. "North Carolina, 1780-81," by David Schenck; 1889; page 95; citing "Moore's 
 Diary of the Revolution"; Volume 2, page 312. 
 
 10. The battle of Guilford Courthouse, in March, 1781, while not an American victory, 
 nevertheless definitely reduced the strength of Cornwallis, and, unlike the battle 
 of Camden, was followed by a well-managed retreat, directed personally by General 
 Greene himself. (See "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by B. J. Lossing; 
 1860; volume 2, page 469; also "North Carolina, 1780-'81," by David Schenck; 
 1889; page 95.) 
 
 [85] 
 
GUILFORD OR NORTH CAROLINA MILITIA FLAG 
 
 dragoons would soon be on him." Davie replied that his men "were 
 accustomed to Tarleton and did not fear him." Gates did not argue, 
 but hurried on. 11 
 
 By September 10 about a thousand remnants of the Con- 
 tinental Line had gathered at Hillsboro, and were being reorgan- 
 ized. Several hundred of the militia who had been in the battle 
 had formed a camp under General Jethro Sumner, of North 
 Carolina, 12 about eight miles south of Charlotte, with some recruits 
 coming in from the neighboring counties. On October 1, 1780, 
 Colonel Charles McDowell, also of North Carolina, was sent to 
 Hillsboro, about 150 miles distant, by the forces which had as- 
 sembled for the attack on King's Mountain, to ask General Gates 
 for a general officer to command their expedition. Gates ignored 
 the request, and Colonel William Campbell of Virginia was chosen 
 to lead the fight, by those on the field, because of his known ability 
 and because he had come the farthest. Gates sent no regulars nor 
 militia, from those under his command, to assist at King's Moun- 
 tain; never in any way recognizing the serious importance of that 
 battle. 13 
 
 And now, what do we know of the origin and authenticity of 
 this strange so-called Guilford Flag? William P. Brandon, Super- 
 intendent of the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, in 
 a letter dated February 10, 1941, goes exhaustively into the subject, 
 from his own researches, telling probably all that there is to be 
 known. 14 He quotes, also, from "The Proceedings of the Grand 
 Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, 121st Annual Com- 
 munication," pages 124 to 126, published in 1909, recording the 
 presentation of the flag to the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, on 
 January 15, 1909. Some of the remarks at the presentation are 
 quoted as follows: 
 
 11. "Of General Huger, who then rode up, Major Davie asked how far the directions 
 of Gates ought to be obeyed, who answered, 'Just as far as you please, for you will 
 never see him again.' Davie then sent a messenger who overtook General Gates, 
 to say that if he wished, he would return and bury his dead. The answer of Gates 
 was, 'I say, retreat. Let the dead bury their dead'. " Both Wheeler in "Historical 
 Sketches of North Carolina"; 1851; volume 2, page 194; and Schenck in "North 
 Carolina, 1780-'81"; 1889; page 74; say that this account is taken nearly verbatim 
 "from the manuscript left by Mr. Davie." 
 
 12. Jethro Sumner served with Washington in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and 
 survived as one of 700 of a brigade of 5000 from his State in the Continental 
 Army; was made brigadier-general in 1779, and in 1780-81 was detached to raise 
 four new regiments of regulars in North Carolina; was called by some "the hero 
 of Eutaw Springs," because of the great success of the North Carolina militia 
 under his command in that battle. (See "North Carolina, 1780-'81," by David 
 Schenck; 1889; page 470) . 
 
 13. "North Carolina, 1780-'81," by David Schenck; 1889; pages 100, 141. 
 
 14. In "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra. 
 
 [86] 
 
GUILFORD OR NORTH CAROLINA MILITIA FLAG 
 
 "This flag is presented by . . . the two eldest male 
 descendants of Micajah Bullock, who brought it home from 
 the battlefields of North and South Carolina about the close 
 of the War of the Revolution. . . . This flag was brought 
 home by our ancestor, and the family tradition says was care- 
 fully preserved in his home until the dedication of the lodge 
 at Mt. Energy in April, 1854. At this Masonic festival his son, 
 Major Edward Bullock, then eighty-one years old, carried this 
 flag in the Masonic procession and left it at the lodge. Here it 
 was carefully preserved with other Masonic paraphernalia." 
 
 In 1914 it was presented by the Grand Lodge to the North 
 Carolina Historical Commission, and is now preserved in the Hall 
 of History at Raleigh, North Carolina. 
 
 Miss Mattie Erma Edwards, 15 then Collector for the Hall of 
 History, in a letter dated February 13, 1941, 16 gives a minute de- 
 scription and sketch of the flag, in its present condition, with one of 
 the thirteen stripes partly missing. Miss Edwards intimates that 
 there may have been once as many as sixteen stripes, several having 
 been added in later years, rather crudely, and for no apparent 
 reason, since no attempt was made to increase the number of stars. 
 
 In conclusion it should be said, perhaps, that R. C. Ballard 
 Thruston, in his fine essay on "The Origin and Evolution of the 
 United States Flag," accepts this flag as authentic. 17 
 
 FLAG DESCRIPTION. Eight and one-half feet long 
 by three feet three and one-half inches wide. 7 blue and 6 red 
 stripes. Canton: white, six and one-half feet by two feet one 
 inch; with 13 blue 8-pointed stars averaging 8 inches in diam- 
 eter, and arranged 5-3-5. The flag is hand-sewn on heavy 
 cotton material; faded, stretched, and with several small tears. 
 
 15. Now Mrs. John M. Parker. 
 
 16. Also in "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra. 
 
 17. Page 11. Published in 1926 by U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 
 D.C. 
 
 [87] 
 
Flag of the United Train 
 of Artillery of Providence 
 
 (see color plate 6) 
 
 THE strangest in appearance of all the well-authenticated 
 Revolutionary War flags which have been preserved to us is, 
 probably, that of The United Train of Artillery of Provi- 
 dence. It is still to be seen in the Museum of the Rhode Island 
 Historical Society. The flag, which is painted on silk, has no can- 
 ton, the design being charged on the field. "The field of the flag 
 is yellow, the snake yellow and blue, the stars blue, 1 the cannon 
 gold with black mounting, the scroll under the snake is pink with 
 gold lettering and the scroll on the cannon light blue with gold 
 lettering. The scrolls and stars are outlined in blue." 2 
 
 "In April, 1775, the Providence Fusileers united with the 
 Providence Train of Artillery under the legal title of 'The United 
 Company of the Train of Artillery,' but generally spoken of as 
 'The United Train of Artillery.' It did home guard and defense 
 work " 3 
 
 Stone says, however, that this company, with four field pieces 
 and twelve siege guns, joined the American army, encamped at 
 Roxbury, near Boston, in 1775. He says also that: "In 1778 Rhode 
 Island had five regiments in the field, and in addition to these there 
 were eleven independent chartered companies; among them the 
 Kentish Guards, the Kingston Reds, the Pawtuxet Rangers, and 
 
 1. A critical examination of this flag, made in 1943 through the courtesy of the 
 Rhode Island Historical Society, under a strong searchlight, in order to penetrate 
 the glass plates in which it is sealed, disclosed that the thirteen stars are pasted 
 on the flag. Looking at the flag as it is in our picture, there is a small inscription 
 on the right hand fluke of the anchor as follows: PAINTED by JOHN R. 
 PENNIMAN BOSTON. 
 
 2. "Early Rhode Island Flags," by Howard M. Chapin; 1925; pages 9, 10, 13; with an 
 engraving of the flag. 
 
 3. Letter of Howard M. Chapin, Librarian of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 
 October 2, 1939; in "Flag Book Sources" (see Preface, supra) . 
 
 [88] 
 
FLAG OF THE UNITED TRAIN 
 
 the Providence companies of Cadets, Artillery and Infantry, ready 
 as minute men for any service required." 4 
 
 The United Train of Artillery of Providence was always a 
 militia battery, but when it is remembered that "the English forces 
 reached Warren, only eight miles from Providence," 5 and that 
 armies of Britain and France were on Rhode Island soil at various 
 times between 1776 and 1782, their fleets hovering and maneuver- 
 ing also in Rhode Island waters during the same period, this artil- 
 lery company, even if it had remained in Providence, was practically 
 at the battle-front for several years. It belongs, therefore, to 
 Revolutionary War history, as an active military flag, and appears 
 to have been carried as early as 1776. 6 
 
 4. "Our French Allies," by Edwin Martin Stone; 1884; page 9. 
 
 5. See the above-mentioned letter of Howard M. Chapin, October 2, 1939, citing 
 Edward Field's "State of Rhode Island," volume 1, page 487. 
 
 6. "Early Rhode Island Flags," by Howard M. Chapin; 1925; foot of page 9. 
 
 [89] 
 
White Plains Flag 
 
 (see color plate 6) 
 
 AN ACCOUNT in German of the Hessian participation in the 
 ZJm American War, 1776-1783, 1 relates the following incident as 
 •J- A- having occurred, apparently near Flatbush, August 26- 
 27, 1776, during the battle of Long Island, when the American 
 left wing was fading away, and General Sullivan was captured: "As 
 there was an open view, they saw a troop of Americans, about fifty 
 men, hastening toward them, with flying colors. An under-officer 
 leaping forward took away the colors. He was just going to present 
 them to Colonel Rail, when General von Mirbach arrived, and 
 was about snatching the colors from the officer's hand, when Rail 
 said in a tone of vexation, 'By no means, General, my grenadiers 
 have taken these colors, they shall keep them, and I shall not permit 
 any one to take them away.' " But as Dr. Alfred Hopkins, of the 
 Museum Division of the National Park Service, points out, there 
 was no General von Mirbach with the Hessian forces at this time, 
 although there was a von Mirbach brigade. 2 Perhaps General von 
 Heister is intended, who was in command of the Hessian center. 3 
 Later in the account we are told: "The captured flag, which is 
 made of red damask, with the motto, 'Liberty,' appeared with sixty 
 men before Rail's regiment. They had all shouldered their guns 
 upside down, and had their hats under their arms. They fell on 
 their knees and begged piteously for their lives." 4 The Hessian 
 
 1. "Die Deutschen Hulfstruppen im Nordamerikanische Befreiungskriege, 1776 bis 
 1783," von Max Von Eelking. Translated in "Memoirs of Long Island Historical 
 Society," volume II, pages 431 to 438. 
 
 2. Letter of February 18, 1941 (in "Flag Book Sources," see Preface, supra) . Dr. 
 Hopkins made researches as to some of the old flags while he held the important 
 post of curator at the Morristown National Historical Park, in New Jersey. 
 
 3. "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing; 1860; volume 2, 
 page 600. 
 
 4. Statement by Colonel von Heeringen, who commanded a regiment in the battle; 
 quoted in "The Hessians and other German Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the 
 Revolutionary War," by Edward J. Lowell; 1884; p. 65. 
 
 [90] 
 
WHITE PLAINS FLAG 
 
 officers wrote most contemptuously of the Americans who opposed 
 them at the battle of Long Island and throughout the remainder 
 of the campaign which ended with the Hessian victory at Fort 
 Washington, November 16, 1776, when "the garrison marched out 
 between the regiments Rail and Lossberg, laid down their arms, 
 and gave up their banners, which were yellow, white and light 
 blue." Knyphausen is said to have looked on these banners "with 
 disdain." 5 But as Lowell reminds us, in his book on the German 
 auxiliaries of Great Britain in America, "within six weeks the 
 colors of the regiments Rail and Lossberg were in the hands of 
 Washington's army." We do not know which organizations the 
 flags thus taken at Fort Washington represented; nor what became 
 of them. We are told also of Colonel Magaw's "battered old rattle- 
 snake banner that had been dyed a violent purple," and which 
 he "was inordinately proud of." This must also have gone to the 
 enemy. 
 
 Preble states, however, as to the incident which the Hessian 
 writers have described as occurring at the battle of Long Island: 
 "I have an undated engraving of what purports to be the battle 
 of White Plains, but which seems to represent the scene above 
 described, the Americans carrying a flag of which the annexed is a 
 fac-simile." 6 Preble's illustration of this flag is the one shown at 
 the beginning of this chapter. The title which he placed under 
 it was as follows: "American Flag, from an Old Engraving of the 
 Battle of White Plains, October 28, 1776." Below the motto, Lib- 
 erty or Death (letter a reversed in the word Death) , there is a staff 
 with a liberty cap over one end, crossed by a drawn sword. 
 
 The same flag is also shown in the National Geographic 
 Magazine, September, 1934, page 371 (flag No. 283) , where it is 
 called "White Plains" flag, with the following statement (page 
 369) : "American troops surrendered this flag to Hessian troops at 
 the battle of Long Island, August 26, 1776." 
 
 5. Same; page 83. 
 
 6. "Our Flag; Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America," by 
 Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N. ; 1872; page 177. 
 
 [91] 
 
Franklin Flag (So-Called) 
 
 (see color plate 7) 
 
 THIS so-called Franklin Flag is one of several attempted re- 
 productions 1 of the flag sketched in the records of the ship- 
 ping office at the harbor of the Texel in Holland, when John 
 Paul Jones went there in 1779 to recover from his great fight with 
 the British warship Serapis. The flag shown in colors on Color 
 Plate 7 does not follow closely the sketch or drawing in the 
 Dutch records, with its eight-pointed stars and the irregular ar- 
 rangement of the blue, red and white stripes, for it is obvious that 
 such drawings, especially of new, unheard-of ensigns, flying from 
 the sterns of strange warships, cannot be depended on absolutely. 
 We might doubt even the blue stripes on the Texel flag, were 
 it not for a letter dated October 9, 1778, signed by Benjamin 
 Franklin and John Adams, and sent from Paris to the Ambassador 
 of the King of the Two Sicilies. 2 This letter is in part as follows: 
 
 "Passy, Oct. 9, 1778. 
 "It is with pleasure that we acquaint Your Excellency that the 
 flag of the United States of America consists of 13 stripes, al- 
 ternately red, white, and blue; a small square in the upper 
 angle, next the flag staff, is a blue field, with 13 white stars, 
 denoting a new Constellation. 
 
 "Some of the States have vessels of war distinct from those 
 of the United States. For example, the vessels of war of the 
 State of Massachusetts Bay have sometimes a pine tree; and 
 those of South Carolina a rattlesnake, in the middle of the 13 
 stripes; but the Flag of the United States, ordained by Con- 
 gress, is the 1 3 stripes and 1 3 stars above described. 
 
 "B. Franklin" 
 
 "John Adams." 
 
 1. For instance, the Color Guard of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New 
 York has adopted as its particular reproduction a flag of 13 stripes and a blue 
 canton with 13 white 5-pointed stars arranged in the familiar 3, 2, 3, 2, 3 order. 
 The 13 stripes are: red, blue, white; red, blue, white; red, blue white; red, blue, 
 white; red. The canton covers five stripes. (See original letters, copies, etc., in 
 "Flag Book Sources," referred to in Preface, supra.) 
 
 2. "Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution," edited by Jared 
 Sparks; 1829; volume 1, page 469. 
 
 [92] 
 
FRANKLIN FLAG 
 (so-called) 
 
 SCHUYLER FLAG 
 OF OLD CONGRESS HALL 
 
 FLAG OF 
 PROCTOR'S INDEPENDENT BATTALION 
 
 FLAG OF 
 WEBB'S CONNECTICUT REGIMENT 
 
 COLOR PLATE 7 
 
FRANKLIN FLAG (SO-CALLED) 
 
 Evidently neither Franklin nor John Adams had received a 
 true copy of the flag resolution or "resolve" of Congress, adopted 
 on June 14, 1777, which described the new stars and stripes. Jones 
 sailed from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on November 1, 1777. 
 If he knew about the flag resolution at all it must have been, almost 
 certainly, from hearsay only, and not from print or writing. 
 
 Commander (now Captain) Byron McCandless, U.S.N., an 
 authority on flags not only of America but of the World, 3 learned 
 of or discovered an original entry, including a sketch or drawing, 
 in the records of the shipping office of the port of the Texel in The 
 Netherlands, which, translated, read partly as follows: "North 
 American Flag, Van d'SERAPIS, and captured English war frigate, 
 now in command of the North American Commander Paul Jones, 
 arrived at Texel, October 5, 1779." Captain McCandless told of 
 all this in a letter dated February 2, 1921, addressed to the late 
 Major Henry Russell Drowne, who was an active and prominent 
 member of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York. 
 The McCandless letter relates some of the circumstances surround- 
 ing this incident, thus: 
 
 "John Paul Jones went into the Texel with his squadron which 
 had been outfitted entirely at the expense of the French King, 
 except the Alliance, which was strictly American. The Alliance 
 had been on the point of sailing with John Adams for home when 
 the Minister of Marine for Louis XVI asked Franklin to have her 
 joined to Jones' squadron, which was done. As soon as Jones ar- 
 rived in the Texel the Dutch officials were in hot water. Sir Joseph 
 Yorke demanded that Jones be turned over to the British and the 
 Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough be delivered." "Previous 
 to the Serapis affair Jones had had the Ranger and had scared up 
 England pretty well and captured the Drake and many prizes." 
 
 A flag strictly following the sketch in the shipping records of 
 Texel would make a very odd-looking, rather impossible, flag. 
 There would be, for instance, thirteen ^'g^-pointed stars, in a 
 canton covering only three of the stripes in the field of the flag. 
 Then, examining the field of the flag, we find that there are only 
 twelve stripes, and that they are irregularly colored, as follows: blue, 
 red, white, red, white, blue, red, white, blue, red, white, blue. 
 
 Captain McCandless stated that the sketch of the flag on the 
 Alliance was practically the flag of the thirteen stars with white 
 
 3. See "Our Flag Number," National Geographic Magazine, October, 1917, by Byron 
 McCandless and Gilbert Grosvenor ("with 1197 flags in full colors and 300 addi- 
 tional illustrations in black and white") . 
 
 [93] 
 
FRANKLIN FLAG (SO-CALLED) 
 
 and red stripes; and the stars eight-pointed. "As the Alliance had 
 brought Lafayette over early in the year (1779) and had been on 
 the point of returning to America, it can be assumed that the flag 
 she bore was the U. S. practice, while the other was Jones' variation 
 on the Flag Resolve of Congress of June 14, 1777." 
 
 We have seen that these were thus two different designs of 
 early stars and stripes flags on John Paul Jones' ships in the Texel. 
 But there was still a third, claimed to have been the ensign of the 
 Bon Homme Richard, rescued when she sank after the surrender 
 of the Serapis. This flag is still preserved in the National Museum 
 at Washington, D. C. It is made of English bunting, three and 
 one-half yards long and two feet five inches wide; it has a field of 
 thirteen stripes alternately red and white; and a blue canton with 
 twelve white stars arranged in four parallel rows of three stars each. 
 
 A young man named James Bayard Stafford was among the 
 prisoners released when Jones, ten days before his battle with the 
 Serapis, captured a British man-of-war and her prize, an American 
 armed ship. Stafford enthusiastically joined the crew of the 
 Richard. In fact he was appointed an officer on the Richard, and 
 when her flag was shot away during the fight he jumped into the 
 sea and recovered it, 4 being severely wounded in so doing, although 
 he continued to serve in our Navy until the end of the War. 
 
 As the Richard was sinking with her stars and stripes flying 5 
 (as Jones had intended she should) , someone may have seized the 
 flag and finally transferred it to the Alliance, which was sold, after 
 the War (flag and all, apparently) , to Robert Morris for the East 
 India trade. In 1784, Congress, on motion of the Marine Com- 
 mittee, gave the flag to Stafford, for his "meritorious services 
 through the late war." It remained in the Stafford family until 
 1 898, when it was presented to the nation. 
 
 The probable presence and use, in 1779, of these three differ- 
 ent designs or types of stars and stripes, by Jones' small fleet of 
 four or five vessels, constitutes a real mystery or coincidence, and 
 one which, in all likelihood, will never be explained. 
 
 4. New England Historical and Genealogical Register; 1874; volume 28, page 17; 
 paper by (then) Captain George Henry Preble, U.S.N. 
 
 5. "The National Flag," by Willis Fletcher Johnson; 1930; page 67. 
 
 [94] 
 
Naval Privateer Flag 
 
 (see color plate 7) 
 
 'TipiHIS flag of thirteen alternate yellow and black stripes— 
 sometimes varied by thirteen yellow and white stripes— was 
 J_ used, according to Preble in his 'History of the United States 
 Flag,' by Continental as well as by American privateer vessels. It 
 was also often, probably, a decoy which has been used by some of 
 the Continental cruisers in foreign ports. In September, 1776, the 
 Continental brig Reprisal, 16 guns, commanded by Captain 
 Lambert Wickes, while lying at Martinique, W. I., bore a flag of 
 thirteen stripes, whose field was yellow and white." 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 [95] 
 
Schuyler Flag of Old 
 Congress Hall, Philadelphia 
 
 (see color plate 7) 
 
 THE original of this so-called Schuyler Flag has been on ex- 
 hibition since 1922 in a frame hanging in venerable Congress 
 Hall, adjoining Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. 1 To 
 all appearances it is a very old flag and might well belong to the 
 American Revolutionary War period. It has been partly restored 
 or remounted and is in a good state of preservation. In design it 
 is somewhat similar to the Grand Union flag, except that it has 
 seven white and six red stripes and a bluish canton on which is 
 painted a fair representation of the great seal of the United States, 
 as it was adopted by Congress in 1782, with the eagle, the arrows, 
 olive branch, etc., and the thirteen stars. The fringe is of heavy 
 red silk. 
 
 A printed card beneath the flag says: "Regimental Flag. Pre- 
 sented to General Philip John Schuyler (N. Y.) and carried by 
 troops under his command during the latter part of the Revolution- 
 ary War. Presented to the National Museum by his great, great, 
 great granddaughters, Miss Elizabeth Schuyler, Mrs. Anna Schuyler 
 Killie." Obviously, a part of this statement cannot be true. Gen- 
 eral Schuyler did not have troops under him "during the latter 
 part of the Revolutionary War," nor in fact after August, 1777, 
 when he was superseded by General Gates in command of the 
 Northern Army. Then again, the canton of the flag could not, 
 seemingly, have originated prior to 1782, as the earlier designs 
 for the seal of the United States, reported in 1776 and 1779, did 
 not show the eagle, etc. 2 But the flag itself undoubtedly descended 
 
 1. Article in Public Ledger, Philadelphia; November 22, 1922. 
 
 2. "The Seal of the United States," by Gaillard Hunt; 1892; page 16. 
 
 [96] 
 
SCHUYLER FLAG OF OLD CONGRESS HALL 
 
 in the Schuyler family, 3 and it can be reasonably assumed, there- 
 fore, that it had some fond or reminiscent value to General 
 Schuyler, being perhaps a presentation flag from some of his old 
 supporters and comrades in arms. 4 As such, until evidence shall 
 appear to the contrary, we can accept and cherish the flag for its 
 probable association with one of the most able and valuable leaders 
 of the cause of the Colonies during the entire formative period of 
 the nation, from the days of the "Old French War" until after the 
 adoption of the Constitution. Unfairly treated by the Continental 
 Congress in 1777, he still carried on with unswerving loyalty, de- 
 voting his fortune, his energies, his talents, without stint, to the 
 upbuilding of the new United States. 
 
 3. This is manifest not only from the declarations of the donors of the flag in 1922, 
 but from other traditions in the family vouched for by Herbert S. Killie, Esq., 
 a member of the bar and a prominent citizen of Mount Holly, N. J., nephew of 
 Mrs. Anna Schuyler Killie. Mr. Killie also says that "Miss Elizabeth Schuyler," 
 mentioned on the printed card beneath the flag, was usually called Josephine 
 E. Schuyler. 
 
 4. There is no mention of such an incident in the Schuyler biographies of Baynard 
 Tuckerman, Benson J. Lossing, or George W. Schuyler; but that, of course, is not 
 necessarily significant. 
 
 [97] 
 
Flag of Hanover Associators 
 
 (see color plate 7) 
 
 THIS is a crimson flag, bearing as a device a rifleman in green 
 hunting shirt and buckskin leggings, standing on guard, 
 with the motto, 'Liberty or Death' underneath on a yellow 
 scroll. The Hanover Associators (or Volunteers) originated at a 
 meeting on June 4, 1774, of the inhabitants of Hanover, Lancaster 
 Co., Pennsylvania. Resolutions were there adopted, 'That in the 
 event of Great Britain attempting to force unjust laws upon us 
 by the strength of arms, our cause we leave to Heaven and our 
 rifles.' The flag of the Hanover Riflemen was also adopted by the 
 committee at the same time." 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 Davis says, in his "Regimental Colors of the War of the Revo- 
 lution," 1907, page 15: "As far as I have been able to ascertain, 
 this flag no longer exists, but it is represented in colors in Volume 
 XIII (Second Series) , Pennsylvania Archives. The authority for 
 this print, I do not know." 
 
 The flag, as its name implies, was an Associator flag. Our 
 chapter on the Flag of Proctor's Independent Battalion, which fol- 
 lows this chapter, gives the origin and a brief history of the Associa- 
 tor organizations which constituted the only armed force of 
 Pennsylvania from 1748 to 1775. 
 
 [98] 
 
Flag of Proctor's Independent 
 
 Battalion, Westmoreland 
 
 County, Pennsylvania 
 
 (see color plate 7) 
 
 "fHP^HIS flag was of crimson silk with the British Union in the 
 upper right-hand corner, and is of the greatest interest be- 
 J_ cause it is an old English ensign altered for use by American 
 patriots. In the centre of the field is a rattlesnake coiled, with head 
 erect, in the attitude of striking, and under it the motto so fre- 
 quently used— 'Don't tread on me.' The letters above ('J. P.' and 
 'I.B.W.C.P.') indicate Colonel John Proctor's 'Independent Battal- 
 ion, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.' The flag was used 
 by Colonel Proctor's regiment throughout the war and was carried 
 at Trenton, Princeton and in other battles. On Colonel Proctor's 
 death it passed to the next senior officer, and so on to the last sur- 
 vivor with whose family it remained." 
 
 (From former flag books of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons 
 of the Revolution; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 On a list of the fifty-three battalions of Associators existing 
 in 1775, we find that the 52nd battalion was from Westmoreland 
 County and was commanded by John Proctor. 1 
 
 These Associator battalions were an institution peculiar to 
 Pennsylvania. While the Charter of the Province, granted to 
 William Penn by Charles II in 1682, gave Penn the power to mus- 
 ter, levy and train troops, his laws contain no mention of military 
 training. In 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701- 
 1713) , Lieutenant-Governor Evans tried to have military laws en- 
 
 1. "Official History of the Militia and the National Guard of the State of Pennsyl- 
 vania," by Major William P. Clarke; 1909; volume 1, page 88. 
 
 [99] 
 
FLAG OF PROCTOR S INDEPENDENT BATTALION 
 
 acted, but did not succeed. In 1746, during the War of the Austrian 
 Succession (1740-1748), Governor Thomas made a similar un- 
 successful attempt, although Spanish privateers had actually fired 
 shot into New Castle (then situated in one of the "three lower 
 counties of Pennsylvania.") 
 
 In 1747, however, Benjamin Franklin, encouraged by the 
 Provincial Council, formed a voluntary association for military 
 purposes throughout the Province. The companies and battalions 
 thus organized were called Associators, and in 1748 numbered 
 several thousand: horse, foot and artillery. In 1757, during the 
 Seven Years' War, 1756-1763 (known in America as the French 
 and Indian War) , the Assembly passed a militia law which 
 remained in effect until 1775, although little was done by the 
 Provincial Government to carry out its provisions. But the Asso- 
 ciators carried on, three of their Philadelphia battalions forming 
 part of General Cadwalader's division as late as the battle of 
 Trenton, in December, 1776. The battalions of Associators exist- 
 ing in 1775 filled the first quota of troops called for by Congress 
 late that year. They numbered 4300 and were to serve until January 
 1, 1777. Early in 1777 recruiting began for the Continental Line, 
 which was enlisted for "three years or the war." 2 
 
 The Associators had silk flags which bore mottoes (usually in 
 Latin) and strange, sometimes really beautiful, devices. Many of 
 these flags were prepared by the women of the various communities. 
 Descriptive lists are given in the Pennsylvania Gazettes of January 
 12 and April 16, 1748, but without mention of the companies or 
 regiments which carried them. Here are three of these descriptions: 
 
 "A Lion erect, a naked Scymeter in one Paw, the other holding 
 
 the Pennsylvania Scutcheon. Motto, Pro Patria." 
 
 "A City walled round. Motto, Salus Patriae, Summa Lex." 
 
 "Hope, represented by a Woman standing clothed in blue, 
 
 holding one Hand on an Anchor. Motto, Spero per Deum 
 
 vincere." 
 
 We have examples of such flags in the Hanover Associators 
 and the First Pennsylvania Regiment flags. The flag of the First 
 Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, may also have had an Associator 
 origin. 3 
 
 2. Clarke's "History," cited in Note 1, above. Also, "History of the Commonwealth 
 of Pennsylvania," by William Henry Egle, M.D.; 1877. Also "Major-General 
 Anthony Wayne," by Charles J. Stille; 1893. 
 
 3. See chapters on these three flags, in this book; supra. 
 
 [100] 
 
Flag of Webbs Connecticut 
 
 Regiment 
 
 Continental Line 
 
 (see color plate 7) 
 
 TRULY artistic in its strange design, with a sword and wreath 
 upon it, this flag was selected from many others for presenta- 
 tion, beautifully colored, by both Gherardi Davis in his flag- 
 book and E. M. Avery in his fine, many-volumed history. 1 They 
 accept the flag as belonging to Colonel Samuel B. Webb's Third 
 Connecticut Regiment, but neither of them gives any evidence, 
 direct or inferential, for his conclusion. The flag is almost certainly, 
 nevertheless, a Revolutionary War regimental or battalion flag, and 
 is, therefore, reasonably, to be included here. 
 
 The print shown on our Color Plate 7 is a careful copy of the 
 original flag, preserved now between two glass plates in the head- 
 quarters of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution, at 
 Philadelphia. The flag itself is of yellow silk, painted; and is 34l/£ 
 inches long by 28 inches wide. The sword is grayish silver. The 
 wreath is mostly of bluish-green leaves, although some are yellow- 
 ish; and they are overlapping. The bow of ribbon is cherry-red, 
 and the Roman numeral, grayish black. Considerably faded now, 
 it still makes an attactive picture. 
 
 The National Geographic Magazine Flag Number, of October, 
 1917, states that "This little flag belonged to the troops under 
 Colonel Webb, undoubtedly the Third Connecticut Regiment." 
 The September, 1934, flag article in this same magazine, substi- 
 tuted "probably" for "undoubtedly." In his well-known flag-book, 
 
 1. Colored pictures of this flag are to be found in: "Regimental Colors in the War 
 of the Revolution," by Gherardi Davis; 1907; "A History of the United States and 
 Its People," by E. M. Avery; 1909; volume 6, page 240; and National Geographic 
 Magazine, October, 1917, page 339; and same magazine, September, 1934, page 370. 
 
 [101] 
 
FLAG OF WEBB'S CONNECTICUT REGIMENT 
 
 previously referred to, Davis shows two original flags which he says 
 were presented to the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolu- 
 tion "by Mr. Francis Parsons Webb (a descendant of Colonel 
 Samuel B. Webb) through Mr. Oliver Hough, as having belonged 
 to the Third Connecticut Regiment of which Colonel Webb, after 
 he was exchanged, became Colonel." Davis says that "One or both 
 of these flags must have belonged to the Third Connecticut Regi- 
 ment." He also states that the larger one (not shown on any of 
 our Color Plates) was probably a regimental color, not the Light 
 Infantry standard which the Adjutant-General of the Army, 
 Edward Hand, on September 6, 1782, sent to Colonel Webb from 
 Verplanck's Point. 2 This larger one is now half destroyed, and 
 so curious and complicated in design, that it is impossible to tell 
 what it may have looked like, nor to what command it may have 
 belonged; and no clue nor explanation of any kind has been forth- 
 coming as yet. Not even the motto on this flag fragment can be 
 read. What is left of it is still preserved, between two glass plates, 
 in the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the 
 Revolution, at Philadelphia. 
 
 The smaller flag referred to (shown on our Color Plate 7) , 
 Davis thinks, is a guidon of some kind. With a figure "I" upon it, 
 and having a yellow field, he suggests that it may at one time have 
 belonged to the First Connecticut Regiment, whose colors, as fixed 
 by the Connecticut Assembly in 1776, were to be yellow. In the 
 "Correspondence and Journals of Samuel Blatchley Webb," 3 how* 
 ever, it is stated that this Third Regiment was made up of the Ninth 
 (Webb's old regiment) and the Second Regiments. 
 
 Colonel Webb served on the staff of General Putnam in 1775 
 and on that of General Washington in 1776, later organizing, al- 
 most entirely at his own expense, the Third Connecticut Regiment 
 of the Continental Line, which he commanded in 1777. He was 
 wounded at Bunker Hill and at Trenton, and was taken prisoner 
 on an expedition to Long Island in December, 1777. Shortly after 
 his exchange in 1780 he took command of the Light Infantry of 
 the Army, being given later the brevet rank of Brigadier-General. 4 
 
 2. "Reminiscences of General Samuel B. Webb," by his son, J. Watson Webb; New 
 York, 1882; volume 2, page 416. 
 
 3. In three volumes; collected and edited by Worthington C. Ford, 1893-1894; 
 volume 3, page 367. 
 
 4. Appleton's "Cyclopedia of American Biography," volume 6, page 402. See also 
 "The Battles of Trenton and Princeton," by William S. Stryker; 1898; page 140. 
 
 [102] 
 
PART II 
 
 FRENCH FLAGS 
 
 of the Period of 
 
 The French Alliance, 1778-1783 
 
 Contents of Part II 
 
 Color 
 Page Plate No. 
 
 Royal Flags of Louis XVI of France, 1778-1783 . . 105 
 
 Flag of the French Navy 107 
 
 The French Regimental Flags 109 
 
 Bourbonnais 112 8 
 
 Deux-Ponts 114 8 
 
 Saintonge 117 8 
 
 Soissonnais 119 8 
 
 Gatinois 120 8 
 
 Agenois 122 8 
 
 Touraine 123 9 
 
 Metz (Artillery) 124 9 
 
 Auxonne (Artillery) 126 9 
 
 Lauzun's Legion 127 
 
 Dillon 131 9 
 
 Champagne 133 9 
 
 Foix 134 9 
 
 Hainault 135 10 
 
 Auxerrois 136 10 
 
 Walsh 138 
 
 Armagnac 139 
 
 Grenoble (Artillery) 140 
 
 The Rochambeau Headquarters Flag 141 10 
 
 [103] 
 
Royal Flags of Louis XVI 
 of France, 1778-1783 
 
 THE unprecedented splendor of the royal Bourbon flags of 
 France, especially of Louis XIV, is shown by Desjardins in 
 his great work on the French flags: The superb white stand- 
 ard blazoned with the arms of the Maison de France, two angels 
 supporting the shield and crown amid numerous fleurs-de-lis; the 
 great swallow-shaped standard of three broad stripes, red and white, 
 charged with the blue shield and three fleurs-de-lis; and the almost 
 sacred blue heraldic flag derived with its three fleurs-de-lis from 
 the arms of the Valois, still clinging, loyal to the monarchy, until 
 the fatal year of 1789. Much of this splendor of the Sun King may 
 have departed later, although it would appear that under Louis XVI 
 there may have been at least two royal flags, the square blue ancient 
 banner and (perhaps) a pennon, the famed cornette blanche, a 
 thing of beauty in itself, with its fleurs-de-lis, sometimes many in 
 number, sometimes only three, gilding a field of shining white. 1 
 But, says Desjardins, these flags were never carried except in the 
 presence of the king or his household, 2 and we must therefore prob- 
 ably dismiss the thought that one or more of them were paraded in 
 America, during our Revolution. 3 
 
 1. Desjardins, "Les Drapeaux Francais," page 51, speaks of the disappearance of the 
 cornette blanche before the fall of the Bourbons, but does not fix the date, and 
 therefore it may have been used, in France, during all or part of the period, 
 1778-1783, along with the square blue banner or standard. 
 
 2. Desjardins gives us a hint, however, in a footnote, page 51, that sometimes the 
 cornette blanche was carried in the field for the king's "lieutenant, the chief of 
 the army." 
 
 3. For his patient, thorough assistance, most courteously rendered, especially with 
 regard to the royal flags of the Bourbons, the flag of the French Navy, and the 
 colonels' flags of the French regiments, much more than a word of appreciation is 
 due Howard M. Chapin, Librarian of the Rhode Island Historical Society, himself 
 a distinguished writer on our colonial and Revolutionary War flags. Mr. Chapin 
 had access to a copy of "Les Drapeaux Francais" in the library of William Davis 
 Miller. He was also able to obtain the latest French information on some of the 
 difficult questions involved, by correspondence with Ernest Harot, architect-in- 
 chief of the historic monuments of France: an authority, besides, on heraldry 
 and flags. 
 
 [105] 
 
ROYAL FLAGS OF LOUIS XVI OF FRANCE 
 
 The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1 1th Edition, volume 10, page 
 460) states that "the oriflamme and the Chape de St. Martin were 
 succeeded at the end of the 16th century, when Henry III, the last 
 of the house of Valois, came to the throne, by the white standard 
 powdered with fleurs-de-lis. This in turn gave place to the famous 
 tri-colour . . . introduced at the time of the Revolution." 
 
 On page 499 of the same volume of this Encyclopaedia it is said, 
 however, that "In February, 1376, Charles V of France reduced the 
 number of fleurs-de-lis to three— in honor of the Trinity— and the 
 kings of France thereafter bore d'azur, a trois fleurs-de-lis d'or." 
 
 E. Saillens, M.A. (Paris University) , in "Facts about France," 
 published in 1919 with a foreword by the Inspector General of 
 Public Instruction in France, says, at page 74: "The banner of St. 
 Martin, the oriflamme of St. Denis, a white cornet personal to the 
 king, and another royal banner in the form of a blue pennant with 
 four fleurs-de-lis, were used jointly for a time. Then, from . . . 
 accession of the Bourbon branch, 1589, the white cornet, strewn 
 with fleurs-de-lis, remained the only flag." 4 
 
 Thus it is seen how authorities differ. In such a situation 
 should we not rely, preferably, upon the profound, special research 
 of Desjardins? 
 
 4. Mr. Chapin (referred to in note 3, supra) remarks that the "French Neptune," 
 published in 1700, disproves this last statement, for it shows the elaborate white 
 standard with the arms of the Maison de France as in use then. 
 
 [106] 
 
Flag of the French Navy 
 
 A WHITE flag or pavilion blanc, with originally perhaps a white 
 cross stitched upon it, was the flag of the French Navy in 
 l the period from 1778 to 1783, as well as long previously. 
 It was the flag used by Champlain in 1609, and by De Grasse in his 
 supremely important naval battle off Chesapeake Bay in 1781. In 
 fact, it is one of the most significant flags in our history, for, in 
 various convoys and cruises and some actual sea-fighting in Ameri- 
 can waters, during the period of the French Alliance, fully 40,000 
 men of the French Navy cooperated with us. We can even read 
 their names, down to the last cabin boy, in the archives of France, 
 these "forgotten men of the American Revolution." 5 
 
 It is this flag, apparently, that Blanchard, Dumas and other 
 French officers referred to as "the French flag," in their American 
 diaries and journals. This must also have been the white "French 
 flag" mentioned by Minister of War Vergennes in his instructions 
 to Lafayette as to the landing of the French fleet and troops in 
 American in 1780. 6 
 
 As will be explained later, in the chapter on "The French 
 Regimental Flags," there was never in France, until the tri-color 
 appeared in the French Revolution of 1789, a national flag: that is 
 to say, a common or uniform flag carried by all regiments and ships, 
 of the army and navy, to represent the nation. 7 There were various 
 
 5. "Les Corabattants Francais de la Guerre Americaine, 1778-1783," compiled by 
 the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1903. See also the address of the Consul 
 for France at Philadelphia, Marcel de Verneuil, April 3, 1936, at the 48th annual 
 meeting of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution; published in the 
 "Annual Proceedings" of the Society, 1935-1936. 
 
 6. For translations of passages from Blanchard, Dumas and Vergennes, see "France 
 and New England," by Allan Forbes and Paul F. Cadman; volume 1, pages 15, 
 104, 108. As to the flag itself, see "Les Drapeaux Francais," by Gustave Desjardins; 
 1874. 
 
 7. But even our stars and stripes were not regularly carried by our own Army 
 regiments until well into the 19th century. (See "The Origin and Evolution of 
 the United States Flag," by R. C. Ballard Thruston, 1926, published by Superin- 
 tendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.; and "The National Flag," page 60, by 
 Willis F. Johnson, 1930, also a logical and well-considered work.) 
 
 [107] 
 
FLAG OF THE FRENCH NAVY 
 
 royal standards or personal flags of the kings, but no national en- 
 sign. The researches of Desjardins, the preeminent "scholar and 
 student of this subject," as well as other authorities in France, 8 have 
 shown this conclusively. Therefore, the white silk flag sprinkled 
 (senile) with gold fleurs-de-lis, pictured on page 35 of the 1913 
 flag book of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution 
 (see Preface, supra) could not have been "The Royal (or Bour- 
 bon) Flag of France"; nor, seemingly, was it "used by the French 
 allied forces in the American Revolution." 
 
 8. Felix Pernet (see note 14 on page 115, infra) , in "The Men of Yorktown," pages 
 2 and 4. A copy of this work will be found, under title of "French Flags," in the 
 file of "Flag Book Sources" kept by Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolu- 
 tion, referred to in second page of Preface, supra. 
 
 [108] 
 
The French Regimental Flags 
 
 FOR sheer artistic, old world pageantry it is doubtful if any- 
 thing has ever been seen in America more impressive than the 
 army of Rochambeau during our Revolution, when it paraded 
 with unusual display as at Philadelphia in 1781 in honor of Con- 
 gress, then at the surrender of Cornwallis in Yorktown, and through 
 Boston in 1782. The French regiments were superbly uniformed 
 and equipped. The Soissonnais wore white coats with rose-colored 
 facings, and grenadier caps with white and rose-colored plumes. 
 The Royal Deux-Ponts, the largest of the French regiments, wore 
 white; the Bourbonnais, red and black; the Saintonge, green and 
 white. The artillery were dressed in blue coats with red facings, 
 long white leggings, and red pompons. Officers wore white, faced 
 with red, green or blue, high military boots, and two-cornered 
 chapeaux with white cockades. 
 
 The company at the head (or right) of each regiment carried 
 the colonel's flag, his drapeau blanc, not a national flag like our 
 stars and stripes or the French tri-color of today, but a flag neverthe- 
 less representing delegated royal authority. 9 Nearly all of the col- 
 onels' flags of the French troops in America were plain white with 
 large central crosses stitched in outline upon them, white on white; 
 the lines of the canton triangles of the company flags of the regiment 
 being also similarly shown. The Deux-Ponts colonel's flag, how- 
 ever, had a crown and other heraldic devices colored or gilded upon 
 its white field, together with fleurs-de-lis; and for the two artillery 
 regiments there were also fleurs-de-lis. 10 These colonels' flags gave 
 an impression of brilliant whiteness. A Hessian sergeant at York- 
 town, one of the very few contemporaries who recorded his obser- 
 
 9. Felix Pernet (see note 14, infra) states that these "colonel flags" once symbolized 
 the authority of the colonel-general of all the French infantry. This rank was 
 abolished early in the 18th century, the king thus becoming colonel-general of 
 his infantry: the personal leader of one company in each regiment. 
 10. The colonel's flag of the Dillon regiment also had devices upon it, in red, black 
 and gold on the white field; and the flag of the colonel of the Walsh regiment was 
 likewise ornate. 
 
 [109] 
 
THE FRENCH REGIMENTAL FLAGS 
 
 vations, said: "On the right wing of each French regiment was 
 gorgeously paraded a rich standard of white silk. 11 . . . The French 
 troops were all tall, handsome men. . . ." 
 
 Then along the regimental ranks, at intervals, were the com- 
 pany flags, vari-colored, simple, yet strangely beautiful: reminiscent, 
 it may be, of centuries of Old France, when the chape de St. Martin 
 marched before the army like some later ark of the covenant, or 
 when, behind the oriflamme, unwilling chivalry and wavering 
 men-at-arms came rallying forth to save a half-lost cause. 
 
 The drapeaux de couleurs, company flags, were the same 
 throughout each regiment. 12 They were the true regimental flags, 
 and each bore the large central white cross. In the four angles of 
 this cross (with few exceptions) were squares or cantons, some- 
 times of one solid color, sometimes of two, three or four triangles 
 differing in color, exotic colors often, but harmonious in their 
 tints, always blending a wonderful artistry. The white crosses in a 
 few regiments bore golden fleurs-de-lis. The flags were usually of 
 damask, the damask design enhancing the richness of the silk. The 
 colors of the triangles and squares were probably painted on. The 
 flags measured about four feet square. Each flag had a white scarf 
 (a badge of royal service) attached to the spearhead of its staff, and 
 short cords and tassels of white silk interwoven with threads of the 
 colors of the flag cantons. The spearheads were small and pierced 
 with fleurs-de-lis. The flags had gold fringe on three edges. 
 
 Nineteen French regiments or parts of regiments (infantry, 
 cavalry and artillery) are mentioned by one or more of the three 
 principal authorities consulted, Davis, Balch and "Les Combat- 
 tants" (see note 13 on page 1 1 1) , as having served on our soil in the 
 American Revolution: a total of over 10,000 officers and men. 
 "Les Combattants," in many cases, gives the names of even the 
 
 11. The words omitted here are: "with three golden fleurs-de-lis embroidered upon 
 it." But this could not have been. The sergeant saw the white flags of the colonels, 
 and he saw fleurs-de-lis on some of them, but he did not see three on each flag. 
 The entire passage will be found in Kapp's biography of Steuben, translated from 
 the original manuscript diary of this sergeant, in Kapp's own library (1859) . 
 
 12. Davis says that each company did not have a flag, as the number was reduced 
 "just before the Revolution" to two for each battalion. Lerondeau's "Au 
 Drapeau," page 81, says that in 1786 there was a new regulation with regard to the 
 flags in the French army. But this, of course, was after our American Revolution, 
 although before the French Revolution. Perhaps Davis was in error here. M. 
 Harot (see Note 3) stated in a letter to Mr. Chapin, in August, 1939: "I would 
 particularly insist that in each regiment there were as many flags as there were 
 companies (or captains, if you will) . One company had the drapeau blanc with 
 the white cross, which was not a national flag but the flag of the king. The other 
 companies had flags with the white cross standing out in a field of divers colors, 
 very variable at first, more standardized toward the end of the regime." 
 
 [110] 
 
THE FRENCH REGIMENTAL FLAGS 
 
 enlisted men. There were also detachments of French engineers, 
 sappers, miners and workmen; and the French brought with them 
 their own siege and field artillery. As to thirteen of the nineteen 
 regiments mentioned, all three authorities agree; four are men- 
 tioned by only two (Auxerrois, Champagne, Armagnac and Walsh 
 regiments) ; and the remaining two (Belzunce and Grenoble regi- 
 ments) by only one of these authorities. 
 
 There were about 7500 French army troops at Yorktown in 
 1781; and there must have been at least 3500 at Savannah in 1779, 
 over 2800 of whom were in the assaulting columns, where they lost 
 nearly one-fourth of their number. Except for the Corsican cam- 
 paign of 1768-1769, the younger men of these regiments were not 
 veterans of much land-fighting. The older men, of course, could 
 have served through part of the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) . 
 
 On the next succeeding pages will be shown or described the 
 distinctive company flags (drapeaux de couleurs) of the regiments 
 of Louis XVI who were or may have been, wholly or partly, in 
 America, between 1778 and 1783. 
 
 Under the caption of each regiment will be given: 
 
 (A) The story of the regiment with especial reference to its 
 service in the American Revolution, stated very briefly, taken from 
 Davis, Stone, Balch, Forbes and others; 13 
 
 (B) A short description, taken from Desjardins or Davis, of 
 the company flag special to that regiment (never duplicated in any 
 other regiment) , each of these company flags, unless otherwise 
 stated, having a large, central, white Greek cross, extending from 
 side to side and from top to bottom of the flag; the squares or can- 
 tons formed by the angles of the cross being designated in heraldic 
 order, as follows: 1st canton, at upper left-hand corner next to 
 the staff; 2nd canton, to the right of the 1st; 3rd canton, next to 
 the staff, under the 1st canton; 4th canton, under the 2nd canton. 
 
 13. On these succeeding pages: 
 
 Balch means "The French in America," by Thomas Balch (1895) ; 
 
 Davis means "Regimental Colors in the War of the Revolution," by Gherardi 
 Davis, 1907; with Supplements in 1908 and 1910; 
 
 Desjardins means "Les Drapeaux Francais," by Gustave Desjardins (1874) ; 
 copy in the library of William Davis Miller, and in the library of 
 Historical Society of Pennsylvania; 
 
 Forbes means "France and New England," by Allan Forbes and Paul F. 
 Cadman (1925) ; 
 
 Les Combattants means "Les Combattants de la Guerre Americaine," com- 
 piled by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1903) ; 
 
 Stone means "Our French Allies," by Edwin Martin Stone (1884) . 
 
 [Ill] 
 
Bourbonnais Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 8) 
 
 THIS regiment was organized in 1597 from the garrisons of 
 Provence, and received the name of "Bourbonnais" in 1673. 
 It served in Corsica, and was sent to America with Rocham- 
 beau in 1780. On March 16, 1781, it participated, on the ships 
 Ardent and Jason, in the naval battle between the squadrons of 
 Arbuthnot and D'Estouches at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. 
 At that time it was common for land troops to be "garrisoned" on 
 ships of war, to fight side by side with the sailors. There were casu- 
 alties on both of these ships. The British admiral succeeded in 
 blocking off the French, thus frustrating a plan to trap Arnold, 
 with the aid of Lafayette's forces, on the James River. 
 
 With the other regiments of Rochambeau, the Bourbonnais 
 made the overland journey from Newport to the lines of Washing- 
 ton on the Hudson River near Dobbs* Ferry, marching later to 
 Annapolis, and boarding there the frigates and transports of De 
 Grasse, for the James River. After the march from Williamsburg 
 on September 28, 1781, it occupied Pigeon Hill on September 30, 
 in the course of reconnoitering, but the British had deserted the 
 strong redoubt which they had erected there. From that time until 
 the two parallels had been completed, about October 14, and 
 the French and American guns and mortars had been mounted, the 
 Bourbonnais served its turn in the trenches, more or less dangerous 
 work, with the rest of the Army. Some of its chasseurs, also, were 
 in the famous attack on the two British redoubts on the night of 
 October 14-15. 
 
 This regiment was the seventh from the French left, being 
 brigaded with the Deux-Ponts regiment, under Major-General the 
 Baron de Viomenil. 
 
 After the Yorktown siege was over, the Bourbonnais returned 
 to New England in the long marching column of Rochambeau's 
 
 [112] 
 
AGENOIS REGIMENT 
 
 COLOR PLATE 8 
 
BOURBONNAIS REGIMENT 
 
 army, with its slow artillery and wagon train, and by the end of 
 1782 had left our shores again. 
 
 From 1776 to 1783 the regiment was commanded by Colonel 
 the Marquis de Laval de Montmorenci, with the Viscount de 
 Rochambeau, son of the Count de Rochambeau, as Colonel en 
 second until November, 1782. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. 1st and 4th can- 
 tons, purple; 2nd and 3rd cantons, blue. 
 
 [113] 
 
Deux-Ponts Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 8) 
 
 THE principal adventures at the Siege of Yorktown were the 
 fight at Gloucester, across the York River, and the storming 
 of the two redoubts, below the town and three hundred yards 
 in front of the British inner fortifications. The siege began with 
 the march of the Allies, from Williamsburg, on September 28, 
 1781. Believing that they would soon be relieved from New York 
 by Clinton, the British, upon the approach of the Allies, evacuated 
 their outer lines, except these two forts guarding the left flank, 
 called No. 9 and No. 10 (the latter being nearest to the river bank) . 
 The Allies began work on their first siege parallel, about 600 
 yards from the British inner works, on the dark and stormy night 
 of October 6. Four days later they opened up their batteries on 
 the enemy camp and the vessels in the river below, the French 
 using red hot cannon balls on the ships and transports, destroying 
 several of them. On the night of October 11a second parallel 
 was begun, 200 to 300 yards from the British. This task was com- 
 pleted on the 14th, but the British artillery fire had become more 
 effective than at first, the two river redoubts causing especial annoy- 
 ance. Washington and Rochambeau, having little time to spare, 
 resolved to storm these two redoubts on the night of October 14- 
 15. The Rock Redoubt, No. 10, on the river bank, was assigned 
 to the Americans, led by Alexander Hamilton under the direction 
 of Lafayette. The stronger fort, to the left, No. 9, was assigned to 
 the French, under Major-General le Baron Viomenil. The French 
 column, numbering about 400, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Viscount 
 William de Deux-Ponts, was made up of men from the Gatinois 
 Regiment in the van and rear-guard, with the main body, the centre, 
 from the Deux-Ponts Regiment. Selected men from the Bourbon- 
 nais and Agenois regiments were also included. The French won 
 their redoubt in about half an hour, first cutting down the abatis 
 and filling the ditch in places with fascines, in the approved 
 
 [114] 
 
DEUX-PONTS REGIMENT 
 
 European fashion. The attack was made at about eight o'clock in the 
 evening of October 14. The Americans gained their No. 10 
 redoubt in somewhat less time, as they crawled under or hacked 
 their way through the tree-entanglements and then rushed the ditch 
 in front of them. Both parties had heavy losses from the cannon 
 and musket fire, the French losing one-fourth of their number, in- 
 cluding their leader, Lieutenant-Colonel de Deux-Ponts, who was 
 painfully wounded. Count Charles de Lameth, of Rochambeau's 
 staff, was shot in both knees, but recovered without amputation. 
 The two forts were immediately included in the second parallel 
 and by the afternoon of the 15th were bombarding the enemy. 
 
 The Deux-Ponts, Agenois and Gatinois regiments were espe- 
 cially applauded at the French court for this achievement, and 
 received pensions and other favors. Washington presented to Roch- 
 ambeau three of the English cannon captured at Yorktown. Roch- 
 ambeau gave one of these to the Deux-Ponts regiment. 
 
 Coming from Zweibruecken, in the Saar Basin, near Alsace, 
 and named after the Dukes of Deux-Ponts, this regiment was made 
 up principally of Bavarians. It entered the service of France, how- 
 ever, in 1758, and made a splendid record for itself, on the French 
 side, in the Seven Years' War in Germany, being called at that time 
 the Regiment du Palatinat. Felix Pernet explains the presence of 
 this regiment among the French troops as follows: "This is due to 
 the fact that, till the end of the XVIIIth century, the people of 
 these regions of the left bank of the Rhine, looked exclusively to- 
 ward the west and the south, toward Versailles and Strasbourg. The 
 Princes of Deux-Ponts, who were colonels of French regiments, did 
 not know the way to Berlin, and if their subjects after having 
 crossed the Rhine, ever met Prussians, it was on the battlefield, 
 separated from them by the length of a French rifle and a good 
 bayonet." 14 
 
 The Deux-Ponts Regiment, or as it was often called, the Royal 
 Deux-Ponts, was the largest of Rochambeau's four infantry regi- 
 ments, noted for its splendid white uniform and for the fineness of 
 its equipment. It sailed from Brest with the French expeditionary 
 army, arriving at Newport on June 11, 1780, after 72 days at sea. 
 In the summer of 1781 it made the long march from Newport to 
 Yorktown, and finally back to Boston. 
 
 14. "Ceux de Yorktown" ("The Men of Yorktown") ; by "Servan Malo" (Felix 
 Pernet) ; published in France, in both French and English, in 1918; copy received 
 through the courtesy of the author, and of M. Girodie, curator of the Franco- 
 American Co-operation Museum in Bierancourt, through the French Information 
 Center, of New York and Paris. (See note 8, supra.) 
 
 [115] 
 
DEUX-PONTS REGIMENT 
 
 Count Christian de Forbach de Deux-Ponts was its colonel 
 until 1782. 
 
 Later, as the 99th Regiment of the French Army, it received 
 the praise of Marshal Ney. 
 
 Flag Description. White diagonal cross, each arm bearing 
 gold fleurs-de-lis, while a crown holds the centre. There are 
 also the arms of the Dukes of Deux-Ponts, over red and blue 
 wavy stripes, 6 white and 5 red stripes, in the upper and lower 
 triangles, and 6 white and 5 blue, in the right and left tri- 
 angles. Davis shows a photographic copy of an original of 
 this flag, from which the elaborate details can be obtained. 
 
 [116] 
 
Saintonge Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 8) 
 
 THIS was one of the four infantry regiments sent to America 
 in 1780 under the command of Lieutenant-General the Count 
 of Rochambeau. Its colonel, 1780-1782, was the Comte de 
 Custine, a distinguished officer, who was afterwards guillotined 
 during the French Revolution. The Vicomte de Rochambeau, son 
 of the General, became colonel on November 11, 1782. Until then 
 he had been lieutenant-colonel of the Bourbonnais regiment. 
 
 The history of the Saintonge Regiment dated from 1684, or 
 perhaps earlier, as it was formed from the Navarre Regiment of 
 1563. It was named after that ancient French province, near the 
 Bay of Biscay, north of Bordeaux, from which Champlain and the 
 Sieur de Monts set sail for their American explorations, and which 
 later sent some of its best Huguenot families to settle in New Eng- 
 land. In 1775 the regiment was enlarged by including in it the 
 regiment of Cambr£sis. 
 
 The Saintonge Regiment did not participate in the storming 
 of Stony Point in 1779, although it has been so stated; the regiment 
 did not reach America until 1780. But one of its officers, the Mar- 
 quis de Fleury, did participate. He was the first of Wayne's force 
 to enter the fort, and carried off the British colors with his own 
 hand. For this he was awarded a medal by Congress. 
 
 De Fleury entered the French Army in 1768 when he was 19 
 years old, served in the Corsican campaign, obtained a leave of 
 absence with the French rank of captain of engineers in 1776, and 
 joined the American Army as a volunteer. He was at Brandywine 
 and Germantown, and as engineer-in-chief at Fort Mifflin, on Mud 
 Island below Philadelphia, he remained at his post during the en- 
 tire six weeks' siege, although the other defenders were several times 
 relieved, and was severely wounded on the last day. He was ap- 
 pointed lieutenant-colonel by Congress in 1777, and fought at 
 Monmouth in 1778. From 1780 to 1782 De Fleury served under 
 Rochambeau, as a major in the Saintonge Regiment. For his brav- 
 
 [117] 
 
SAINTONGE REGIMENT 
 
 ery at Yorktown he was made a Chevalier of St. Louis. Later he 
 became a field-marshal in the French Army. 
 
 At Yorktown the Saintonge Regiment was brigaded with the 
 Soissonnais Regiment in the centre of the French line, under Major- 
 General Viscount Viomenil. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. Each of the 4 can- 
 tons is divided by diagonals into 4 triangles, colored blue, 
 yellow, green and red. Davis says that the sequence of these 
 colors does not seem to be determined, and the flag is there- 
 fore differently colored in different books. The colored plates 
 of Desjardins show the following arrangement (beginning in 
 each canton with the upper triangle, then the left, then the 
 right, and finally the lower triangle) , viz: 1st canton, yellow, 
 red, blue, green; 2nd canton, green, red, blue, yellow; 3rd can- 
 ton, red, green, yellow, blue; 4th canton, green, red, yellow, 
 blue. 
 
 [118] 
 
Soissonnais Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 8) 
 
 THIS was another of the four infantry regiments which Roch- 
 ambeau brought with him from France in 1780, and which 
 served with him all through his American campaign. Some 
 of the companies of the Soissonnais Regiment had to be left at 
 Brest owing to lack of transports, but were probably brought over 
 later, in the early part of 1 7 8 1 . 
 
 This regiment was formed in 1598, taking its name from an 
 old province of France. It had served in the Seven Years' War, and 
 distinguished itself at the battle of Langfeld. At Yorktown it was 
 brigaded with the Saintonge Regiment, under Major-General the 
 Viscount Viomenil. 
 
 With the other regiments of Rochambeau it was taken on small 
 boats from Newport to Providence, in 1781, marching from there 
 to Dobbs' Ferry, New York, to join with Washington's forces; 
 crossing the Hudson River; thence down through Ramapo, the 
 Hackensack Valley, Newark, Perth Amboy, Trenton, Philadelphia 
 and Elkton, to Baltimore or Annapolis; sailing then through Chesa- 
 peake Bay to the James River near Williamsburg, Virginia, on 
 frigates or transports sent from the squadron of Admiral de Barras 
 after it had slipped past the British to join De Grasse's fleet in Lynn 
 Haven Bay at the entrance to the Chesapeake. 
 
 The colonel of this regiment was the Comte de Saint Maisme. 
 The brother-in-law of Lafayette, the Vicomte de Noailles, was 
 second in command. It was he who led, at dawn, the French counter- 
 charge at Yorktown, with the cry of "Vive le Roi," after a British 
 sortie on October 16 had captured two unfinished French re- 
 doubts, spiking a number of their cannon. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. Each of the 4 can- 
 tons is divided into two triangles by diagonals of the flag. 
 1st canton: upper triangle, black; lower, red. 2nd canton: 
 upper triangle, red; lower, black. 3rd canton: upper triangle, 
 black; lower, red. 4th canton: upper triangle, red; lower, 
 black. (Davis shows a photographic copy of an original of 
 this flag.) 
 
 [119] 
 
Gatinois Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 8) 
 
 IN 1776 the Royal Auvergne Regiment was divided into two, 
 one-half retaining the old name and the other half becoming 
 the Gatinois Regiment. The Royal Auvergne was organized 
 in 1608 under Henry IV, as the Regiment du Bourg. In 1626 it 
 was chosen to hold the dike which Richelieu had built in his block- 
 ade of La Rochelle. In 1635 it was given the name of "Auvergne." 
 From 1756 to 1763 it was engaged in the war against Frederick the 
 Great in Germany. Its motto was "Sans tache." 
 
 In 1779 the Gatinois Regiment fought valiantly and suffered 
 severely in the assault on Savannah, retreating in perfect order after 
 D'Estaing's ill-advised exploit had failed. 
 
 In 1781 the regiment was brought from the West Indies again 
 for the siege of Yorktown, where it gained lasting fame for its lead- 
 ing part (with the Deux-Ponts Regiment) in the night attack, 
 October 14-15, on the No. 9 British redoubt near the York 
 River. Before this dangerous enterprise the soldiers of the Gatinois 
 had offered to fight until the last one was killed if Rochambeau 
 would give them back their old name. Rochambeau himself had 
 been an officer of the Royal Auvergne Regiment. They did fight 
 well, and the reward which they had asked was granted them by the 
 King. When the news reached Rochambeau it is said that he held 
 a solemn review of the regiment at Gloucester, opposite York- 
 town. 15 
 
 Colonel the Marquis de Rostaign commanded the regiment 
 at Yorktown, and probably also at Savannah. He was made a briga- 
 dier in December, 1781. 
 
 15. During the World War of 1914-1919 some American soldiers were conversing in 
 camp with a group of Frenchmen. The Americans asked to what regiment the 
 French soldiers belonged. "To the old Royal Auvergne, sans tache," was the 
 rejoinder. (This incident is narrated in "France and New England," volume 2, 
 page 123, as having been told by a Boston colonel. The ancient regiment had 
 become the 18th Infantry Regiment of this later French Army.) 
 
 [120] 
 
GATINOIS REGIMENT 
 
 The Gatinois was an ancient government of France, with its 
 capital at Nemours. Auvergne was also an old French province, 
 in central France. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. Each of the 4 can- 
 tons is divided into two triangles by lines joining the outer 
 edges of the cross. 1st canton: upper triangle, purple; lower, 
 black. 2nd canton: upper triangle, black; lower, purple. 3rd 
 canton: upper triangle, purple; lower, black. 4th canton: 
 upper triangle, black; lower, purple. (The old Royal 
 Auvergne flag is given by Desjardins as having had four can- 
 tons: red, blue, blue, red.) 
 
 [121] 
 
Agenois Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 8) 
 
 THIS regiment was organized after 1771, taking the name of a 
 province in southwestern France, formerly part of Guienne. 
 At Savannah, October 9, 1779, it lost six officers and many 
 of its enlisted men in the strong French attack on the British forti- 
 fications, in which the American forces cooperated, also losing 
 heavily. 
 
 In 1781, its 1st and 2nd battalions again crossed from the West 
 Indies, this time with the Gatinois and Touraine Regiments, under 
 Major-General the Marquis de St. Simon. After marching from 
 Williamsburg to Yorktown on September 28 with the other 
 French regiments, its grenadier and chasseur companies took part 
 on October 3 in the driving in of the British pickets along the 
 French front, and later participated in the fighting connected with 
 the construction of the two parallels. It was the third regiment 
 from the left on the French front. 
 
 In the night engagement of October 14-15, some of its 
 chasseurs formed part of the centre of the French column which 
 attacked and captured the No. 9 redoubt on the British left. 
 
 At Savannah the Agenois Regiment was led by its colonel- 
 commandant, the Baron de Cadignan, and at Yorktown its com- 
 mander was Comte d'Autichamp. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. The 1st and 4th 
 cantons are divided into triangles by lines joining the outer 
 edges of the cross. 1st canton: upper triangle, green; lower, 
 yellow. 2nd canton: purple. 3rd canton: purple. 4th canton: 
 upper triangle, yellow; lower, green. 
 
 [122] 
 
Touraine Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 9) 
 
 THE name of this regiment brings to mind the glories of the 
 famous city of Tours, capital of ancient Touraine in the 
 western central part of France. 
 The regiment itself dates back to 1625. It was at the siege of 
 La Rochelle, and also at Minden, 1759, where Lafayette's father 
 was killed. 
 
 Coming from the West Indies on De Grasse's ships, it was 
 brigaded on the left of the French line at Yorktown, between the 
 Gatinois and Agenois Regiments, under Major-General the Mar- 
 quis de St. Simon. This brigade or division of three regiments built 
 a strong battery equipped with fourteen or more of the cannon 
 and mortars which they had brought from St. Domingo. It faced 
 the British right, on the high bluff along the York River, where the 
 so-called British Fusileers Fort was located, across a swampy stream. 
 This battery, supported often by the Touraine Regiment, and 
 sometimes called the Touraine Battery, was the one which fired 
 upon and destroyed several British warships and transports in the 
 river below. It also made a feint or false demonstration, under 
 orders, on the night of October 14-15, 1781, during the storm- 
 ing of the two redoubts, No. 9 and No. 10, opposite the British left. 
 Balch finds that the regiment was at that time probably com- 
 manded by the Baron de St. Simon, brother of the General, but 
 "Les Combattants" says that the Vicomte de Poudeux (born 1748) 
 was colonel from April 13, 1780. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. 1st canton, aurora 
 (a yellowish red) ; 2nd, blue; 4th, red; 3rd, green. 
 
 [123] 
 
Metz Artillery Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 9) 
 
 A LL of this regiment (organized in 1765) served with Roch- 
 l\ ambeau in America, 1780 to 1783, under the command of 
 •L jL Colonel the Count d'Aboville. Davis says that it was also at 
 Savannah in 1779. 
 
 The artillery was extremely well managed at Yorktown (see 
 Cornwallis' letter to Clinton, October 15, 1781; quoted by Balch, 
 volume 2, page 39) . Doubtless much of the credit for this was 
 due to d'Aboville, especially as the French provided most, if not 
 all, of the heavy siege guns and mortars which were used. 
 
 According to Stone (page 464) , d'Aboville was in command 
 of all the French artillery at Yorktown. Later he became a 
 lieutenant-general of artillery in the army of the French Revolu- 
 tion, 1792; and under the Empire he became inspector-general of 
 the artillery, a senator and an officer of the Legion of Honor. The 
 old Metz Regiment is known as the 19th Artillery Regiment in the 
 present French Army. 
 
 The French official records of the period are quite incomplete 
 as to the artillery and engineer regiments, or parts of regiments, 
 which came to America in 1778-1783, although Balch finds (volume 
 2, page 12) that Rochambeau brought with him in 1780 some of 
 the Royal Corps of Engineers (under Colonel Desandrouins) , also 
 six companies of cannoneers, one company of bombardiers, and de- 
 tachments of workmen, miners and sappers. Other detachments 
 were sent to him later from France. 
 
 The field artillery followed the French infantry by land from 
 Rhode Island all of the way to Annapolis, where it was taken on 
 ships to Jamestown, near Williamsburg. The siege artillery re- 
 mained at Newport, embarking there for the Chesapeake, on 
 August 21, 1781, on the squadron of De Barras. It was finally 
 dragged six miles, over very bad roads, from Trebell's Landing, 
 on the James River, to Yorktown. 
 
 [124] 
 
COLOR PLATE 9 
 
METZ ARTILLERY REGIMENT 
 
 Metz was one of the three ancient bishoprics which were an- 
 nexed to France in 1552. In 1871 part of this Metz region went to 
 Germany, but was recovered again by France in 1919. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. 1st and 4th can- 
 tons, yellow; 2nd and 3rd cantons, gorge de pigeon (an irides- 
 cent green and reddish purple) . There are golden fleurs-de-lis 
 on each arm of the white cross. 
 
 [125] 
 
Auxonne Artillery Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 9) 
 
 THE second battalion of this regiment was in America, as a 
 part of Rochambeau's army, and, of course, was with him at 
 Yorktown. It is mentioned in an official list of the French 
 regiments quartered in Newport, 1780-1781, according to Stone. 
 Two chiefs of brigade, Nadal and De Buzelet, were its prin- 
 cipal officers. Nadal was Rochambeau's director of artillery trains. 
 After the French had left Newport and had joined forces with 
 the American army in the summer of 1781, De Neuris, a captain 
 in this regiment, set up a battery of cannon and mortars on the Hud- 
 son River where it narrows above Peekskill, New York. On July 
 18, 1781, he succeeded in damaging a British naval squadron which 
 was attempting to sail past, and thus effectively discouraged the 
 British from venturing too far up the river for the safety of the 
 Allies. 
 
 The regiment was formed in 1765. 
 
 Auxonne was an old fortified city, restored by Vauban in the 
 17th century, and once belonged to the dukes of Burgundy. It is 
 situated in the Cote d'Or section of eastern France, on the Saone 
 River. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. 1st and 4th can- 
 tons, gorge de pigeon (an iridescent green and reddish 
 purple) ; 2nd and 3rd cantons, yellow. There are golden 
 fleurs-de-lis on each arm of the white cross. 
 
 [126] 
 
Lauzun's Legion 
 
 THE flag of this organization cannot be pictured. To this day 
 not even a description of it is available. 
 Lauzun's Legion, however, had its importance in American 
 history. 
 
 It was created by royal decree in 1780, and the Due de Lauzun 
 was appointed to command it, with the rank of brigadier. 
 
 "Les Combattants" says that Rochambeau arrived at Newport, 
 July 13, 1780, with four regiments of infantry, 700 artillery and 
 engineers, and 600 infantry and 300 cavalry under Lauzun; else- 
 where stating that Lauzun brought with him two companies of 
 lancers and two companies of hussars. Blanchard says that there 
 were "about 500 artillerists and 600 men of Lauzun's Legion, 
 300 of whom were intended to form a troop of horse." 16 Balch 
 states that altogether about 600 men were under Lauzun in 1781, 
 flanking Rochambeau on his southward march; also that the 2nd 
 battalion of the Dillon Regiment joined Rochambeau in March, 
 1780, on the same ship with Lauzun's Legion, and that they "did 
 not leave one another" during the entire campaign, even reaching 
 the Head of Elk together for the Yorktown siege, and being to- 
 gether in the fight at Gloucester, October 3, 1781, across the river 
 from Yorktown. 
 
 The Legion wintered, from November, 1780 to June, 1781, at 
 Lebanon, Connecticut, as an outpost for Rochambeau's army at 
 Newport, Rhode Island. Then it proceeded, in a southwesterly 
 direction toward the Hudson River, following a separate route, 
 to protect the left flank of Rochambeau's column. Some of its men 
 were left in Lebanon to guard a French military hospital which had 
 been established there. The Legion patrolled and reconnoitered 
 constantly, toward New York City, after the French had united 
 with Washington's army near Dobbs Ferry. This reconnoitering 
 was arduous, often dangerous work, but it was carried out with 
 
 16. Page 2 of "Journal of Claude Blanchard, Commissary of the French Auxiliary 
 Army sent to the United States during the American Revolution"; translated; 
 published at Albany, N. Y., 1876. 
 
 [127] 
 
LAUZUN S LEGION 
 
 great daring and thoroughness by both the French and the Ameri- 
 cans. During a reconnaissance in force undertaken by several 
 thousand of the Allied troops, July 22 and 23, 1781, Wash- 
 ington and Rochambeau rode together in person for two days with 
 scarcely any rest, viewing at close range the outer defenses of the 
 British on Manhattan and Long Islands, frequently under enemy 
 fire. They were covered by American light infantry and French 
 grenadiers and chasseurs, but more particularly by Lauzun's hussars 
 and Sheldon's American cavalry. Rochambeau remarks in his 
 "Memoirs" about the novelty of swimming the horses in droves 
 across the streams and narrow tidewaters, in the American manner. 
 Altogether, Clinton became thoroughly convinced that a major 
 attack was being prepared against New York City. 
 
 Later, Lauzun's Legion marched with the Allied army to 
 Williamsburg, Virginia, his cavalry taking the land route with the 
 baggage, the field artillery and some of the army stores, his infantry 
 embarking at Head of Elk (near Elkton, Maryland) with De 
 Custine. The Legion united before Gloucester as a part of the 
 Allied force which had been sent across the York River to oppose 
 the British infantry of Dundas and the cavalry of Tarleton, who 
 had entrenched there for foraging purposes and to protect the 
 British left flank; but probably also to provide an avenue of escape 
 for Cornwallis if Yorktown proved untenable. Washington feared 
 the latter motive and wished Lauzun to command a retaining force 
 there. The command, however, was given to De Choisy, a very 
 capable French officer who was Lauzun's senior, but who, like 
 Weedon, whom he affected to scorn for over-cautiousness, was far 
 back with the reserves when the cavalry fight took place. 
 
 While Lauzun, who spoke English readily, was approaching 
 Gloucester from the land side, on October 3, 1781, with about half 
 of the mounted portion of his Legion, he made inquiries "of a 
 pretty woman at the door of a small house on the high road." She 
 said that Colonel Tarleton had just left her house, expressing a 
 wish "to shake hands with the French duke." Lauzun laughingly 
 replied that he had come on purpose to give that satisfaction to the 
 Colonel. Lauzun then dashed forward, but had not gone a hundred 
 paces when he heard his advance guard firing pistol shots. He im- 
 mediately sought ground on which to draw up his force, and had 
 hardly arrived when he saw the British cavalry coming toward 
 him, much outnumbering his own. But he charged, nevertheless, 
 and without halting. Reckless it was, perhaps, but that was the 
 way of the cavalry. And we think of our own William Washington 
 
 [128] 
 
LAUZUN S LEGION 
 
 at the Cowpens: reckless too, but successful, fighting and wounding 
 this same fierce Tarleton, hand to hand and face to face. Lauzun 
 and Tarleton rode toward each other with pistols raised, but Tarle- 
 ton was unhorsed by a British trooper who was fleeing from a French 
 lancer. Disabled, he was rescued by some of his own men who rode 
 between the two combatants. Lauzun kept Tarleton's horse, how- 
 ever. Tarleton's command, although somewhat disorganized, 
 charged Lauzun again, but without breaking the French ranks. 
 Then Lauzun, having been joined by the rest of his cavalry (under 
 Count Dillon) , drove Tarleton's mounted force back to the British 
 entrenchments, partly routing it. 17 The British infantry now ad- 
 vanced in support, but their commander was killed, and they were 
 finally obliged to retreat by the prompt action of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel John Mercer, of General Weedon's militia, who had under 
 him a strong and capable battalion of old soldiers. Lauzun's infan- 
 try, the 800 marines, and the rest of Weedon's force, with De Choisy, 
 did not begin to arrive upon the scene until thirty or forty minutes 
 after the British had retired. 18 
 
 The British never stirred from their redoubts on Gloucester 
 Point, after that, during the remainder of the siege, although fatal 
 it might have been for our cause, at Yorktown, if Cornwallis had 
 
 17. As to this fight at Gloucester, Virginia, October 3, 1781, see: "Memoirs of the Due 
 de Lauzun," p. 325 etc., translated, published in New York, 1912; "Memoirs of 
 the War," by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lee, edition of 1812, vol. 2, p. 330 etc., or 
 edition of 1827, p. 355 etc.; also "Battles of the American Revolution," by 
 H. B. Carrington, p. 636, giving Tarleton's version (published in 1876) . 
 
 18. It would seem rather evident that the 2nd Dillon battalion must have made up, 
 in whole or in part, the infantry portion of the Due de Lauzun's Legion, espe- 
 cially as neither the Dillon Regiment nor either of its battalions is mentioned 
 anywhere, separately, in connection with Newport or Yorktown. Balch says that 
 the 1st battalion was commanded by Count Arthur Dillon and the 2nd battalion 
 by his brother, Robert Dillon. A French manuscript list of the principal "Officers 
 of the French Army in America under the Count de Rochambeau," at Newport 
 
 (see Balch, vol. 1, p. 101; and Stone, p. 220) , recites the following: "Legion de 
 Lauzun: MM. Le Due de Lauzun; Count Arthur Dillon." It was this same Arthur 
 Dillon who was wounded at Gloucester, in association with Lauzun. Stone also 
 quotes, however, from a French manuscript containing a list of the regiments 
 and the higher army and navy officers quartered in the town. On this list we find: 
 "Volontaires de Lauzun: Le Due de Lauzun, Col., pp'd; Hugan, Lieut.-Col'el; de 
 Scheldon." There was a sub-lieutenant Sheldon in the Dillon Regiment, accord- 
 ing to Balch; but apparently he found no mention of a Lieutenant-Colonel Hugan. 
 Balch further says (vol. 1, p. 104) that on board the Provence, one of the ships 
 which brought over Rochambeau's expedition in 1778, were: "de Lauzun, Robert 
 Dillon, Chevalier d'Arrot, and a part of the Legion." Count Arthur Dillon is not 
 included. In his 2nd volume, page 43, however, he says, referring to the "Memoirs 
 of Due de Lauzun," that Viscount d'Arrot "was on board the Provence to cross to 
 America with Count de Dillon, under the orders of de Lauzun. But Balch remarks 
 elsewhere that the French Archives of War and of the Navy, and the "Annuaires 
 Militaires," are often inaccurate as well as incomplete: "For instance," he says, 
 "they make no mention of the Duke of Lauzun, nor his legion, which rendered 
 such important service to the expeditionary corps." 
 
 [129] 
 
LAUZUNS LEGION 
 
 succeeded in his bold plan to transfer his entire army (except his 
 ineffectives) across York River on the night of October 16. Prob- 
 ably our seemingly large force facing Gloucester, numbering 3500 
 French and Americans, could not have stopped him. His first divi- 
 sion was landed on the Gloucester shore unmolested; but when the 
 boats were sent back for the next division they became scattered 
 in a sudden, very violent storm of wind and rain. Next morning 
 the first division had to be brought back to Yorktown. 
 
 Dr. Ezra Stiles, then president of Yale College, says in his 
 diary on June 26, 1781: "This afternoon arrived and encamped 
 here the Duke de Lauzun with his Legion consisting of 300 Horse 
 and 300 foot Light Infantry. . . . De Lauzun, with his legion of 
 600 men, cavalry, hussars, grenadiers and lancers, passed through 
 New Haven." Another writer says that next day they trailed down 
 into the valley, and took the steep road up the west bank, "finding 
 it necessary at times to improve the road with a double corduroy 
 for the passage of the heavy wagons. . . . Weary as the army was 
 with the ascent, an array of 600 men with all the splendor of gold 
 lace and nodding plumes, the horses bravely caparisoned . . . was 
 a rare sight." (See Forbes, vol. l,page 153.) 
 
 The Due de Lauzun, born in 1747, became in 1788 the Due de 
 Biron, upon the death of his uncle. In 1781 he was promoted to 
 marechale de camp, but having lost favor at court through the 
 death of his friend and patron, De Maurepas, in October, 1781, 
 he received very little credit and no other reward for his distin- 
 guished service in America, the rewards and pensions going prin- 
 cipally to the Deux-Ponts, Agenois and Gatinois Regiments. In 
 1789 he attached himself to the cause of the French Revolution, 
 commanded one of its armies in the field with considerable success. 
 but was nevertheless guillotined, on December 31, 1793. 
 
 [130] 
 
Dillon Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 9) 
 
 THE Dillon Regiment is somewhat of a mystery, as to its serv- 
 ice in America. But it did serve, and bravely. 
 Although the French records are full of contradictions, the 
 truth of the matter is, perhaps, that Count Arthur Dillon went to 
 the West Indies with his 1st battalion, in 1777. He participated 
 there with distinction in the various battles between the French 
 and the British, helping to win the Islands for France. In the fight 
 for Grenada, for instance, he led the third storming party. Later 
 he became governor of Tobago and St. Christopher. In 1779 he 
 and at least his 1st battalion accompanied D'Estaing to the siege 
 of Savannah. Again he was among the foremost. Balch and Stone 
 both say that his regiment lost two officers killed and four wounded; 
 the number of his other casualties not being ascertainable. 
 
 In 1781, apparently, he went to Yorktown with St. Simon's 
 troops. Whether or not his 1st battalion went to Gloucester and 
 was in action there, probably will never be known, but he went 
 there himself, led a squadron of Lauzun's cavalry, and was seri- 
 ously wounded. He returned to the West Indies with De Grasse 
 after the surrender of Cornwallis. His brother Robert seems to 
 have commanded the Lauzun Legion on the return march toward 
 Boston in 1782. 
 
 Some of the story of the Dillon Regiment has been told in the 
 preceding chapter on Lauzun's Legion. As to Count Arthur Dillon, 
 "Les Combattants" says that he was colonel in command of the 
 regiment, two battalions of which were on the American continent 
 between 1778 and 1783. According to Balch, Davis and also "Les 
 Combattants," a part at least of the Dillon Regiment accompanied 
 Rochambeau from Newport to Yorktown, and then back to Boston. 
 Most of those who have written about the Gloucester engagement 
 agree in mentioning, on the side of the Allies, under De Choisy, 
 only Weedon's 1800 to 2000 American militia, Lauzun's Legion 
 
 [131] 
 
DILLON REGIMENT 
 
 and the 800 men drawn from the vessels of De Grasse. No mention 
 is made of a Dillon battalion. 
 
 The Dillon Regiment originated in the happenings of 1690 
 in England, as Balch explains. When James II was driven from 
 the throne and went to France, to the court of Louis XIV, Count 
 Arthur Dillon, grandfather of the Count Arthur Dillon who served 
 in the American Revolution, followed him, along with ten or twelve 
 thousand other Irishmen, most of them from the best people of 
 Ireland. Dillon received permission to form a regiment in his own 
 name, which later distinguished itself, as a part of the French 
 Army, in Spain, Germany, Italy and elsewhere, before going to 
 America. It has been continued even into the French Army of 
 today, as the 87 th Infantry Regiment. 
 
 "Les Combattants" mentions in connection with the Dillon 
 Regiment in America: Count Arthur Dillon, Colonel; Le Chevalier 
 Theobald Dillon, Colonel en seconde; and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Barthelemy Dillon; but does not mention Robert Dillon. 
 
 The Count and his brother Robert were evidently able and 
 distinguished men, or they would not have been honored, both of 
 them, by the guillotine, in 1793, along with their friend and mili- 
 tary associate, the Due de Biron (Lauzun) . 
 
 Flag Description. Davis describes the flag thus: On a 
 white field a broad red cross which does not touch the edges of 
 the flag, and bearing the motto, in black letters, IN HOC 
 SIGNO VINCES (arrangement of lettering uncertain) ; in 
 the centre of the cross is a golden harp; 1st and 4th cantons 
 are red; 2nd and 3rd cantons, black; each charged with a large 
 crown, the cross of which is directed toward a corner of the 
 flag. Desjardins, in his colored plates of 1771, adds a crown 
 in the upper arm of the cross, near the upper edge of the flag; 
 he also shows part of the motto on each of the four arms of the 
 cross. 
 
 [132] 
 
Champagne Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 9) 
 
 THIS regiment, organized in 1563, was one of the oldest in the 
 French Army. It was named from a province of France which 
 was attached to the kingdom in 1314. Davis says that this 
 was one of six French regiments called " Vieux." 
 
 In the brilliant but unsuccessful assault at Savannah on Octo- 
 ber 9, 1779, Balch says that it performed many deeds of valor, and 
 suffered many casualties. 
 
 It had a detachment in 1780 on the ships of the French ad- 
 miral, De Guichen, whose squadron, maneuvering, threatening, in 
 the Caribbean, kept the British fleets from our shores. The French 
 were, of course, protecting and extending their West Indian pos- 
 sessions, but, secondarily, in effect at least, they were aiding the 
 purposes of the French Alliance, safeguarding our American con- 
 tinent, particularly the New England coast, which had suffered 
 almost exhausting losses, from the British sea-power, in the previous 
 years of the War. 
 
 The whole Champagne Regiment, says Balch, was later on 
 the fleet of De Grasse, April 9 to 12, 1782, when De Grasse was 
 signally defeated off the coast of Martinique, losing six ships and 
 being himself taken prisoner. 
 
 The Champagne Regiment, however, is not listed in "Les 
 Combattants" as having served in America. 
 
 Flag Description. White diagonal cross. All four tri- 
 angles are light green. 
 
 [133] 
 
Foix Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 9) 
 
 BALCH says of this regiment that "according to the archives 
 of the French War Department it was sent to the West Indies 
 in 1777, fought at Savannah under D'Estaing, and returned 
 to France in 1783." He cites General Suzane's "Histoire de 
 l'lnfanterie." Davis also says that the Foix Regiment was at Savan- 
 nah in 1779. "Les Combattants" states that one battalion of this 
 regiment (four companies, one of which was the grenadier com- 
 pany) was at Savannah. Not even the names of its officers are given, 
 however. 
 
 The Foix Regiment was organized in 1684, and later became 
 the 83rd Regiment of the French Army. In the 13th and 14th 
 centuries the Counts of Foix were among the most powerful of 
 the feudal nobles of France, their lands defending the southwest 
 border of the kingdom. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. Each of the 4 can- 
 tons is divided into two triangles by diagonals of the flag. 
 1st canton: lower triangle, green; upper, brown. 2nd canton: 
 upper triangle, green; lower, brown. 3rd canton: lower tri- 
 angle, green; upper, brown. 4th canton: upper triangle, 
 green; lower, brown. 
 
 [134] 
 
Hainault Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 10) 
 
 ACCORDING to Balch, this regiment had gone to the French 
 IJk colonies in the West Indies in 1775, and in 1779 crossed with 
 J. A-D'Estaing to Savannah in 1779. Davis also says that it was 
 at Savannah. 
 
 "Les Combattants" says it was formed in 1651 as the Vendome 
 Regiment; that in 1762 it took the name Hainault; and that in 1779 
 one of its battalions (four companies) was at the siege of Savannah. 
 
 The French archives, so meticulously studied by Balch, and 
 no doubt by others, contain little about this regiment during the 
 period of the American Revolution. 
 
 The Hainault name was a distinguished one from the very days 
 of the Crusaders. Hainault was once a part of the duchy of Lor- 
 raine, later becoming a province of Belgium. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. 1st canton, brown; 
 2nd, blue; 4th, green; 3rd, purple. 
 
 [135] 
 
Auxerrois Regiment 
 
 (see color plate 10) 
 
 DAVIS tells us that this regiment was at the siege of Savannah 
 in 1779, and so does Charles C. Jones in his exhaustive 
 "History of Georgia" (volume 2, page 404) . Balch says, on 
 the other hand, that it did not leave France until 1780, but that it 
 crossed from the West Indies, under St. Simon, and served at York- 
 town in 178 1. 19 Its colonel, in 1778, Balch states, was the Vicomte 
 de Damas, although "he did not set foot on the continent." "Les 
 Combattants" does not include this regiment at all in the list of 
 French troops in America, 1778-1783. 
 
 The Auxerrois Regiment, Davis says, was originally organized 
 out of a part of the ancient La Marine Regiment (1635) , whose 
 flag also had blue and green cantons, symbolic of water and earth. 
 
 The Auxerrois does not appear among the regiments on the 
 French front directly facing Yorktown. But the authorities agree 
 that 800 men taken from the "marines" of De Grasse were included 
 in the force under De Choisy which successfully attacked Glouces- 
 ter, opposite Yorktown, defeating Tarleton, and thus playing an 
 important part in the siege. These "marines" may have been partly 
 at least from the Auxerrois Regiment, although this has not been 
 verified. Lauzun, who was in command before De Choisy arrived, 
 says in his "Memoirs" that some artillery was sent to Gloucester 
 at his suggestion, and 800 men "drawn from the garrisons of the 
 vessels." This was after St. Simon's infantry had left the ships of 
 De Grasse and had reached Williamsburg. Infantry in those days 
 was often "garrisoned" on the ships of war, 100 to 150 on each ship, 
 
 19. The famous Marquis de Montcalm was wounded in 1746 while colonel of this 
 regiment, in the war against Austria: "Montcalm at the Battle of Carillon 
 (Ticonderoga) ," page 10, by Captain Maurice Sautai, of the Historical Section 
 of the General Staff of the French Army (killed in the first German advance in 
 1914) . For a copy of this 91-page essay, translated and published by the Fort 
 Ticonderoga Museum, see "Flag Book Sources," Volume B, referred to in Preface, 
 supra. 
 
 [136] 
 
AUXERROIS REGIMENT 
 
 ROCHAMBEAU HEADQUARTERS FLAG 
 
 COLOR PLATE 10 
 
AUXERROIS REGIMENT 
 
 for fighting at close quarters or in hand-to-hand conflict on the 
 decks when the opposing ships drew together. 
 
 On the contrary, however, these "marines" may have been 
 sailors ("matelots") from De Grasse's fleet (as a recent French 
 writer assumes) , 1500 of whom had rowed or sailed the boats which 
 landed St. Simon's troops at Jamestown on September 2, 1781. In 
 the French dictionaries "marin" has two principal meanings: 1, a 
 sailor (synonymous with "matelot") ; 2, a soldier serving on a war- 
 vessel (known in England and America as a "marine") . "Les Com- 
 battants," throughout, in its long catalogue of the French war 
 ships and those who manned and commanded them in their various 
 sea-fights and maneuvers bearing on the American Revolution, 
 mentions only gabiers (topmen) , timoniers (steersmen) , matelots 
 
 (sailors) , novices, surnumeraires (supernumeraries) , mousses (cab- 
 in boys) , and domestiques. The sailors are called matelots, not 
 marins. "Les Combattants," speaking on page X of the infantry 
 troops "garrisoned" on the various ships, says that they assisted 
 "aux memes combats que les marins"; the word "marins" and not 
 "matelots" being used. 
 
 It is possible that there were French regiments of true "mar- 
 ines" on some at least of the French navy ships. Balch states (vol- 
 ume 1, page 179) that when De Grasse and St. Simon were entreat- 
 ing Lafayette at Williamsburg, before the arrival of Washington 
 and Rochambeau, to attack the British suddenly with the 5000 
 French and Americans assembled there, De Grasse offered to give 
 Lafayette as an additional force not only "the marines on his ships, 
 but also as many sailors as he should ask for." 
 
 Auxerre, in central France, was an ancient bishopric dating 
 from the 3rd century. Charles V acquired the countship after Crecy 
 
 (1346) . 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. Each of the 4 can- 
 tons is divided into two triangles by lines joining the outer 
 edges of the cross. 1st canton: upper triangle, blue; lower, 
 green. 2nd canton: lower triangle, blue; upper, green. 3rd 
 canton: upper triangle, blue; lower, green. 4th canton: lower 
 triangle, blue; upper, green. 
 
 [137] 
 
Walsh Regiment 
 
 DAVIS and "Les Combattants" mention this regiment (one 
 battalion only) as having been at Savannah in 1779. The 
 French records are lacking and disclose only the names of 
 a few of its officers, including Colonel Count de Walsh-Serrant and 
 Major Thadee O'Brien. The names of none of its enlisted men 
 have been preserved. Like the Dillon Regiment, it was an Irish 
 regiment in the French service, organized in France in 1697. Balch 
 says, however, that only the 2nd battalion was sent to the West 
 Indies during the period of the French Alliance, and that was not 
 until 1780, too late for the siege of Savannah; he says also that it 
 did not go to Yorktown. 
 
 Flag Description. Even the flag of this regiment is not 
 definitely known. Desjardins, in his plates of 1771, shows a 
 simple flag with the usual white cross, the 1st and 4th cantons, 
 red, and the 2nd and 3rd, a lighter color, perhaps yellow, 
 whereas Davis (following Mouillard) describes and shows a 
 photographic copy of an original Walsh flag, perhaps of an 
 earlier period, with a red Greek cross which does not touch 
 the edges of the flag and around which an edging of white is 
 indicated by stitching, and with 4 white cantons. Davis shows 
 in the centre of this cross the royal crest of Great Britain: on a 
 royal crown a crowned lion, statant, guardant. 
 
 [138] 
 
Armagnac Regiment 
 
 DAVIS says that this regiment served in America, at the siege 
 of Savannah in 1779, and that it was formed in 1776 from 
 part of the very old Navarre Regiment of 1563. Stone says 
 that one of its officers was killed and two were wounded at Savannah. 
 Balch says, however, that it was sent to the West Indies in 1777, 
 but did not cross to America. "Les Combattants" does not mention 
 the regiment at all. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. All 4 cantons are 
 yellowish-brown (feuille morte) . 
 
 [139] 
 
Grenoble Artillery Regiment 
 
 ""I " ES Combattants" states that one company of this artillery 
 regiment served in America under Rochambeau. But 
 _1_J neither Balch nor Davis mentions it. 
 
 Grenoble was the capital of one of the old provinces in south- 
 eastern France. It is strongly fortified and stands over 700 feet 
 above both banks of the River Isere. 
 
 Flag Description. White Greek cross. 1st canton, green; 
 2nd, yellow; 4th, green; 3rd, yellow. There are gold fleurs-de- 
 lis on each arm of the white cross. 
 
 [140] 
 
The 
 Rochambeau Headquarters Flag 
 
 (see color plate 10) 
 
 IN the absence of any positive information, it has been suggested 
 that perhaps the plain white, oblong flag of the French navy 
 was also the headquarters flag of Rochambeau at Yorktown and 
 elsewhere. But it is well known that "in all European countries at 
 this time the naval (and maritime) flags, and the military flags, 
 were distinct subjects and systems." 20 
 
 That Marshal Rochambeau had a headquarters flag, repre- 
 senting the royal authority of Louis XVI over the French army 
 in America, can hardly be doubted. According to all of the paint- 
 ings of Yorktown showing the flag of Rochambeau, it was a white 
 flag, but so also were the colonel-flags of the French regiments ex- 
 cept for stitched white crosses, and small, colored, heraldic devices, 
 fleurs-de-lis, etc., on some of them. 
 
 What then is the argument or the evidence, if any, for a Roch- 
 ambeau flag in America, 1778 to 1783, white of field, but with rela- 
 tively inconspicuous devices upon it, remembering always that 
 Rochambeau was the king's lieutenant, the chief of his expedition- 
 ary army, and according to the imagination of that period more or 
 less personifying him in America? 
 
 1. Desjardins, the great authority on French flags of the 17th 
 and 18th centuries, says: "Under Louis XVI, in conformity with 
 the ordinance of 1661, all French warships displayed the plain, 
 entirely white pavilion . . . and were under the command of the 
 admiral of France. Like the colonels-general of the French army, 
 
 20. From a letter of Mr. Chapin, November 14, 1939 (see Note 3 to chapter on the 
 Royal Flags of Louis XVI, supra) , to which Mr. Chapin adds the following: 
 "I do not think Rochambeau by any chance would have used the naval pavilion 
 blanc at his headquarters." Even in America, in our Revolution, 1775-1783, we 
 followed the flag-precedents of Europe, our navy more or less adopting and flying 
 the stars and stripes, after the flag "resolve" of Congress, June 14, 1777; but with 
 our army evading the subject, or adopting substitutes, until at last, in 1834, our 
 field artillery regiments were permitted to carry the stars and stripes, and in 
 1841 our infantry regiments. 
 
 [141] 
 
THE ROCHAMBEAU HEADQUARTERS FLAG 
 
 the admiral of the fleet bore this plain white flag, which was hoisted 
 to the top of his main-mast." 21 But, apparently, the flags of the 
 colonels-general of the army were not just plain white flags. Des- 
 jardins himself shows one, of the year 1635, on which, in the middle 
 of the white field, was painted a blue sun, of fair size although 
 not large enough to be well defined or perhaps even visible a short 
 distance away on a flag waving in the wind. 22 
 
 2. While it is true, broadly speaking, that, in the 18th cen- 
 tury, flags bearing the royal arms of France, or the strictly royal 
 flags like the blue banner and the cornette blanche, 23 were not 
 carried except when the king was personally present, yet, as indi- 
 cated by Desjardins, 24 an exception was sometimes made, permit- 
 ting the royal emblems to be borne in the field, in the absence of 
 the king, by a commander-in-chief of the King's forces. This was 
 Rochambeau's position in America, 1778-1783. 
 
 3. We must, therefore, seek a flag with a white field. And, 
 seemingly, this white flag should have devices painted upon it, to 
 distinguish it from the admiral's flag of the French navy. 
 
 4. In 1939, after long research, Henry D. Valentine, of the 
 Color Guard of the Society of the Sons of the Revolution in the 
 State of New York, finally discovered in the Metropolitan Museum 
 of Art in New York City a French flag, theretofore unnoticed in 
 this connection, of which Stephen V. Grancsay, Curator of Armor 
 at the Museum, says: "The flag is an original made of white silk 
 painted with a gold fleur-de-lis in each corner, and an ornamental 
 cartouche of the royal arms of France (gold fleurs-de-lis on a blue 
 field) surrounded by palm branches and surmounted by a crown, 
 in the center. It dates in the late eighteenth century and was pur- 
 chased from the dealer Kahlert of Berlin, Germany, in 1913." 25 
 Can this possibly have been a facsimile of Marshal Rochambeau's 
 flag? It is undoubtedly the type of headquarters flag which he might 
 have displayed, as the commander of the King's expeditionary 
 army. 26 That it was Rochambeau's actual flag in the campaign can 
 
 21. "Les Drapeaux Francais," by Gustave Desjardins; 1874; page 84. 
 
 22. Same; Plate XXXIV. 
 
 23. See chapter on the Royal Flags of Louis XVI; supra. 
 
 24. See same chapter; supra. Also "Les Drapeaux Francais," by Gustave Desjardins; 
 1874; footnote on page 51. 
 
 25. Letter dated March 28, 1941 (in "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra) . 
 
 26. Mr. Valentine describes this flag more in detail, as follows (letter of June 10, 1940, 
 with enclosure, including a photograph of the Museum flag itself) : Heavy white 
 silk; 130 by 158.7 centimeters; in the centre a blue shield about 9 inches high 
 edged with gold, charged with 3 gold fleurs-de-lis arranged two above and one 
 below; around the shield gold palm branches, making a fringe; above the shield 
 a gold crown with a red cap or lining; in each corner of flag a gold fleur-de-lis 
 about 5 inches high the stem or base of which points toward the corner of flag. 
 (This letter is in "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 [142] 
 
THE ROCHAMBEAU HEADQUARTERS FLAG 
 
 hardly be assumed, owing to the small size of the fold or hem pro- 
 vided on one side for receiving the staff. No such staff as would 
 have been required for a flag of that size in the field could have 
 been fitted into this narrow fold or pocket. Attention must also be 
 directed to the position, with relation to the staff, of the heraldic 
 device painted in the centre of the flag. It is found to be at right 
 angles to the staff, thus suggesting that the staff was fixed or held 
 or carried in a horizontal position. If we examine, however, those 
 of the "colonel-flags*' which have devices upon them, as shown on 
 the plates of 1771 of Desjardins, we find that they were invariably 
 (crowns, harps, etc.) parallel with the staff. Either we must con- 
 clude, therefore, that this original flag in the Metropolitan Museum 
 of Art was carried in the field with its staff horizontal instead of 
 vertical, or that it was for indoor or pageant use. A number of the 
 flags shown in the colored plates of 1771 of Desjardins were clearly 
 pageant or tableau flags or decorations and nothing more, although 
 quite surely they were faithful replicas of the field flags themselves. 
 5. What do the artists suggest: those who painted the historic 
 scene at Yorktown in 1781 and who placed a flag near or behind 
 the figure of Rochambeau? 
 
 (a) Trumbull, who was an American officer, in our War 
 of the Revolution, although not present at Yorktown, shows in his 
 famous painting in the capitol at Washington, on the right of the 
 French line, a waving, rather hazy white flag (which might, how- 
 ever, have had insignia upon it) , with cords and a gold scarf from 
 the spearhead of the staff. 
 
 (b) August Couder's painting, shown at the Paris Salon of 
 1837, of "The Taking of Yorktown; Generals Rochambeau and 
 Washington Giving their Final Orders for the Attack," shows the 
 Rochambeau flag as white, but with no details discernible. 27 
 
 (c) The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a 
 print of the Couder painting. It has also a print, "Capitulation 
 of Cornwallis at Yorktown," engraved by Torley after Vernier 
 
 (1831-1887). "This," says Mr. Grancsay of the Museum staff, 
 "is from an unidentified French book antedating 1883, and shows 
 the flag of France, plain white, with the French royal arms crowned 
 in the centre." 28 Whence this artist derived his information we do 
 
 27. Mr. Grancsay of the Metropolitan Museum (see paragraph 4, above) , says in 
 a letter, dated April 12, 1941, that there is an engraved print of this painting in 
 the Print Department of the Museum. There is one also in the Art Division of 
 New York Public Library. 
 
 28. Letters of Mr. Grancsay: April 12, August 8, 1941 (in "Flag Book Sources," see 
 Preface, supra) . 
 
 [143] 
 
THE ROCHAMBEAU HEADQUARTERS FLAG 
 
 not know, but nevertheless he paints a flag which is practically a 
 copy of the one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He may have 
 drawn entirely from his own imagination, but the chances are that 
 he went to some authority or some scholar in some French museum 
 for his flag details. He may even have had access to the Rochambeau 
 flag itself, or to some now-forgotten description of it. 
 
 (d) Paul North Rice, Chief of the Reference Department, 
 New York Public Library, says: "The American History Room 
 finds an illustration called 'Surrender at Yorktown.' The right 
 background is apparently a white flag with fleurs-de-lis. The source 
 is given as 'an old print,' opp. p. 328 in Sir George MacMunn's 
 The American War of Independence in Perspective (London: G. 
 Bell & Sons Ltd., 1939) ."29 
 
 (e) Dumaresq's famous painting of "The Surrender of 
 Cornwallis at Yorktown," shows, back of Rochambeau, a large 
 white flag, fluttering in the breeze, with one fleur-de-lis showing 
 distinctly in the lower corner next to the staff, and one other, not 
 quite so plainly visible, on the upper corner of the flag next to 
 the staff. The rest of the field might have devices upon it or it might 
 not, this and the other flags in the picture being very illusively 
 shown. 30 
 
 6. In conclusion may we not decide that the flag picture in 
 connection with this article is, for present purposes, until we can 
 find something better, the most likely representation of Marshal 
 Rochambeau's headquarters flag of 1778-1783? It is a copy of the 
 original unidentified French flag of the 18th century on exhibition 
 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; and agrees also, 
 in its white field and its ornamentation, with the conceptions, so 
 far as discernible, of the artists who portrayed the Yorktown sur- 
 render, during the century or half-century following the event. 
 
 29. See his letters dated April 1 and August 11, 1941. (Also in "Flag Book Sources"; 
 see Preface, supra.) 
 
 30. An uncolored newspaper print of this painting, which was exhibited in the Paris 
 salon of 1875, appeared on page five of the Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine 
 Section, of Sunday, October 18, 1931. Charles Edouard Armand Dumaresq lived 
 1826-1895. (Copy in "Flag Book Sources"; see Preface, supra.) 
 
 [144] 
 
INDEX 
 
 (CP means Color Plate) 
 
 Agenois regiment, 122, CP 8. 
 
 Armagnac regiment, 139. 
 
 Associators of Pennsylvania, regiments, etc., origin of, 99. 
 
 First Regiment, Pennsylvania Line, 51, CP 4. 
 
 Hanover Associators, Lancaster County, 98, CP 7. 
 
 Proctor's Independent Battalion of Westmoreland County, 99, CP 7. 
 Auxerrois regiment, 136, CP 10. 
 Auxonne regiment, 126, CP 9. 
 
 B 
 
 Barry, Captain John, 18. 
 Bedford Minute Men, 25, CP 2. 
 Bennington flag, battle, etc., 45, CP 3. 
 Betsy Ross flag, General Schuyler's, 21, CP 2. 
 Betsy Ross flag, so-called, 11, 19, 20, CP 2. 
 Bourbonnais regiment, 112, CP 8. 
 Bunker Hill flag, 27, CP 2. 
 
 Cambridge or Continental flag, 16, CP 1. 
 
 Camden, battle of, (South Carolina) , 85. 
 
 Carolina, North Carolina Militia (Guilford flag) , 83, CP 6. 
 
 Carolina, South, Crescent flag of, 40, CP 3. 
 
 First Regiment, 40, CP 3 (same as Crescent flag) 
 Second Regiment, 42, CP 3. 
 Cavalry, Colonel Washington's, 80, CP 6. 
 
 First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, 38, CP 3. 
 
 Second Regiment Light Dragoons, 75, CP 6 (two flags) . 
 
 Second Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, 39. 
 Champagne regiment, 133, CP 9. 
 Colonel-flags, of French regiments, 109. 
 Color Guard, Pennsylvania, replicas carried by, 6. 
 Commander-in-Chief's Guard, 35, CP 3. 
 Committee on Publication (of this book) , 7. 
 Concord, Massachusetts, battle of, 26. 
 Connecticut, Second Regiment, 70, CP 5. 
 
 Webb's regiment (Third) , 101, CP 7. 
 Continental "Army" (of 1775) , 51, 52. 
 Continental "Line" (of 1777) , 52. 
 Continental Navy, flag of, 29, CP 2. 
 Continental or Grand Union flag, 16, CP 1. 
 Cowpens, battle of, 67. 
 Crescent flag of South Carolina (First Regiment) , 40, CP 3. 
 
 [145] 
 
INDEX 
 
 D 
 
 Deux-Ponts regiment, 114, CP 8. 
 
 Dillon, Count Arthur, 131. 
 
 Dillon regiment, 131, CP 9. 
 
 Dragoons, Second Regiment Light, 75, CP 6. 
 
 Dragoons, Tallmadge's (See Second Regiment Light Dragoons) , 76, CP 6. 
 
 £ 
 
 Eutaw Flag of Colonel Washington's Cavalry, 80, CP 6. 
 
 First Pennsylvania Regiment, Continental Line, 51, CP 4. 
 
 First Rhode Island Regiment, 59, CP 4. 
 
 First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, 38, CP 3. 
 
 "Flag Book Sources," (see Preface) , 6. 
 
 Flag-books published by Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution in 1903 
 
 and 1913,6. 
 Flag replicas owned by Society, 6. 
 Fleury, Marquis de, at Stony Point, 117. 
 Floating Batteries, flag of the, 31, CP 3. 
 Foix regiment, 134, CP 9. 
 Fort McHenry flag, 15. 
 Fort Mercer, battle of, 59. 
 Fort Ticonderoga, and Museum, 21. 
 
 France (in America) , colonel-flags of French regiments, 109. 
 Franklin Flag (so-called) , 92, CP 7. 
 French Army Headquarters (Rochambeau) , 141. 
 French land forces in America, 1778-1783, number of, 110. 
 French Navy co-operating with us, 1778-1783, number of, 107. 
 French Navy, flag of, 107. 
 French regimental and company flags in America, 1778-1783; 109 and 112 to 140; 
 
 also CP 8, 9 and 10. 
 
 G 
 
 Gansevoort, Colonel Peter, 57. 
 
 Gates, General Horatio, 28, 85. 
 
 Gatinois regiment, 120, CP 8. 
 
 Grand Union (or Cambridge or Continental) flag, 16, CP 1. 
 
 Green Mountain Boys, flag of, 48, CP 4. 
 
 Grenoble regiment, 140. 
 
 Guilford or North Carolina Militia flag, 83, CP 6. 
 
 H 
 
 Hainault regiment, 135, CP 10. 
 Hanover Associators, 98, CP 7. 
 Headquarters Flag, Rochambeau's, 141, CP 10. 
 Headquarters Flag, Washington's, 32, CP 3. 
 Howard, Colonel John Eager, 68, 69. 
 
 Jasper, Sergeant William, 40, 43. 
 Jones, John Paul, 12, 92. 
 
 [146] 
 
INDEX 
 
 King's Mountain, battle of, 84. 
 
 L 
 
 Lafayette, and his brother-in-law, de Noailles, at Yorktown, 114, 119. 
 
 Lauzun's Legion, 127. 
 
 Light Dragoons, Second Regiment, 75, CP 6. 
 
 Louisburg Camp Colour, 36. 
 
 Louis XVI of France, royal flags of, 1778-1783, 105. 
 
 M 
 
 Marion, Francis, Lieutenant-Colonel, 42, 43. 
 Maryland, Third Regiment, 67, CP 5. 
 Massachusetts regiments, flags of, 5, 25, 30, CP 2. 
 Metz regiment, 124, CP 9. 
 Morgan, General Daniel, 53, 68. 
 Morgan's Rifle Corps, 53, CP 4. 
 Moultrie, Colonel William, 40, 42. 
 
 N 
 
 Naval Privateer Flag, 95, CP 7. 
 
 Navy, Continental, 29, CP 2. 
 
 Navy, French (in American waters) , 107. 
 
 New Hampshire, Second Regiment, 64, CP 5 (two flags) . 
 
 New Jersey regiments, flags of, 5. 
 
 New York, Third Regiment, 56, CP 4. 
 
 North Carolina Militia, 83, CP 6. 
 
 Peale, Charles Willson, 19, 33. 
 
 Pell Family of New York and Fort Ticonderoga, 21. 
 
 Pennsylvania Associators, companies, regiments, etc., 99. 
 
 Pennsylvania, First Regiment, Continental Line, 51, CP 4. 
 
 Pennsylvania, Hanover Associators, 98, CP 7. 
 
 Pennsvlvania, Proctor's Independent Battalion of Westmoreland Countv, 99 ; CP 7. 
 
 Pine rree Flag, 30, CP 2. 
 
 Preface, 5. 
 
 Privateer, Naval, flag of, 95, CP 7. 
 
 Publication Committee (for this book) , list of, 7. 
 
 Pulaski's Legion, 74, CP 5. 
 
 Rattlesnake Flag, 73, CP 5. 
 
 Rhode Island, First Regiment, 59, CP 4. 
 
 Rhode Island, Second Regiment, 62, CP 4. 
 
 Rochambeau and Washington, 128. 
 
 Rochambeau Headquarters Flag, 141, CP 10. 
 
 Ross, Betsy, house, flag, etc., 11, 19, CP 2. (See "Betsy Ross") . 
 
 Ross, George, Colonel, 11. 
 
 Royal Flags of Louis XVI of France, 1778-1783, 105. 
 
 [ 147 ] 
 
INDEX 
 
 Saintonge regiment, 117, CP 8. 
 
 Schuyler Flag of Old Congress Hall, 96, CP 7. 
 
 Schuyler, General, 22, 23, 97. 
 
 Schuyler's Betsy Ross Flag, 21, CP 2. 
 
 Seal of United States, 36. 
 
 Second Connecticut Regiment, 70, CP 5. 
 
 Second New Hampshire Regiment, 64, CP 5 (two flags) . 
 
 Second Regiment Light Dragoons, 75, CP 6 (two flags) . 
 
 Second Rhode Island Regiment, 60, 62, CP 4. 
 
 Second South Carolina Regiment, 42, CP 3. 
 
 Soissonnais regiment, 119, CP 8. 
 
 South Carolina, Crescent Flag of First South Carolina Regiment, 40, CP 3. 
 
 South Carolina, Second Regiment, 42, CP 3. 
 
 Spargo, John, 45, 47. 
 
 Stark, John, 48. 
 
 Stars and Stripes, The, 11 to 15, CP 1; on high seas, 12; "Flag Resolve," 15. 
 
 Tallmadge, Colonel, 76 to 78, CP 6. 
 Ticonderoga, Fort, and Museum, 21. 
 Touraine regiment, 123, CP 9. 
 Trumbull, John, 19, 27, 28. 
 
 U 
 
 United Train of Artillery of Providence, 88, CP 6. 
 
 Virginia, Eleventh Regiment, 53, CP 4. 
 
 V 
 
 w 
 
 Walsh Regiment, 138. 
 
 Washington and Rochambeau, 128. 
 
 Washington's Cavalry, Colonel William Washington's, 80, CP 6. 
 
 Washington's Headquarters Flag, 32, CP 3. 
 
 Webb, Colonel Samuel B., 102. 
 
 Webb, Francis Parsons, 102. 
 
 Webb's Connecticut Regiment, 101, CP 7. 
 
 White Plains Flag, 90, CP 6. 
 
 Whiteway, Stanley Edwards, 6. 
 
 [148] 
 

 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS- URBANA 
 929 9SCH28A C001 
 
 AMERICAN AND FRENCH FLAGS OF THE REVOLUT 
 
 3 0112 025354686 
 
 
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