nd that appeals to the senses. Every nation has a flag that represents
the country--every army a common banner, which, to the soldier, stands
for that army. It speaks to him in the din of battle, cheers him in the
long and tedious march, and pleads with him on the disastrous retreat.

Standards were originally carried on a pole or lance. It matters little
what they may be, for the symbol is the same.

In ancient times the Hebrew tribes had each its own standard--that of
Ephraim, for instance, was a steer; of Benjamin, a wolf. Among the
Greeks, the Athenians had an owl, and the Thebans a sphynx. The standard
of Romulus was a bundle of hay tied to a pole, afterwards a human hand,
and finally an eagle. Eagles were at first made of wood, then of
silver, with thunderbolts of gold. Under Caesar they were all gold,
without thunderbolts, and were carried on a long pike. The Germans
formerly fastened a streamer to a lance, which the duke carried in front
of the army. Russia and Austria adopted the double headed eagle. The
ancient national flag of England, all know, was the banner of St.
George, a white field with a red cross. This was at first used in the
Colonies, but several changes were afterwards made.

Of course, when they separated from the mother country, it was necessary
to have a distinct flag of their own, and the Continental Congress
appointed Dr. Franklin, Mr. Lynch, and Mr. Harrison, a committee to take
the subject into consideration. They repaired to the American army, a
little over 9,000 strong, then assembled at Cambridge, and after due
consideration, adopted one composed of seven white and seven red
stripes, with the red and white crosses of St. George and St. Andrew,
conjoined on a blue field in the corner, and named it "The Great Union
Flag." The crosses of St. George and St. Andrew were retained to show
the willingness of the colonies to return to their allegiance to the
British crown, if their rights were secured. This flag was first hoisted
on the first day of January, 1776. In the meantime, the various colonies
had adopted distinctive badges, so that the different bodies of troops,
that flocked to the army, had each its own banner. In Connecticut, each
regiment had its own peculiar standard, on which were represented the
arms of the colony, with the motto, "Qui transtulit sustinet"--(he who
transplanted us will sustain us.) The one that Putnam gave to the breeze
on Prospect Hill on the 18th of July, 1775,