great Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden. "That colony will be
the jewel of my kingdom," he said; but the "Lion of the North" was
slain in battle, and his twelve-year-old daughter Christina had become
queen. That is why the loyal Swedes named their little fortification
Fort Christiana, and over it they raised the flag of their country, a
blue banner with a yellow cross.

In course of time the Swedes were overpowered by the Dutch, and then
the Dutch by the English; so that before many years had passed, the
only flag that floated over the "Old Thirteen" colonies was that of
England. This was brought across the sea by the settlers of our first
English colony, Jamestown, in Virginia. Moreover, they had the honor
of sailing away from England in all the glories of a brand-new flag
made in a brand-new design. The flag of England had been white with a
red upright cross known as "St. George's Cross"; but a new king, James
I, had come to the throne, and the flag as well as many other things
had met with a change. James was King of Scotland by birth, and the
Scotch flag was blue with the white diagonal cross of St. Andrew. When
James became King of England, he united the two flags by placing on a
blue background the upright cross of St. George over the diagonal
cross of St. Andrew; and he was so well pleased with the result that
he commanded every English vessel to bear in its maintop this flag,
"joined together according to the form made by our own heralds," the
King declared with satisfaction. It was the custom at that time to
call "ancient" whatever was not perfectly new, and therefore the flag
used before James became king was spoken of as the "ancient flag,"
while the new one became the "King's Flag" or the "Union Jack." This
change was made in the very year when the grant for Virginia was
obtained, and therefore the little company of settlers probably sailed
for America with the "King's Flag" in the maintop and the "ancient
flag" in the foretop.

On land, among the colonists, sometimes one flag was floated and
sometimes the other. In Massachusetts the red cross of St. George seems
to have been much in use; but before long that red cross began to hurt
the consciences of the Puritans most grievously. To them the cross was
the badge of the Roman Catholic Church. Still, it was on the flag of
their mother country, the flag that floated over their forts and their
ships. The Puritan conscience was a stern master, however, and when