12/9/2023 0 Comments A flag with red and white stripesIt flew for over a year after the signing of the Declaration of Independence! An Anonymous individual of European descent known only as the ‘Professor’ recommended the BEI Company flag to Ben Franklin and the flag committee. The first official flag of the American Revolution was the “Grand Union” flag first flown by General Washington on January 2nd 1776 at Cambridge Massachusetts.Ĭoincidentally it was also the same EXACT flag as the BRITISH-EAST INDIA COMPANY. Was the flag with vertical stripes a way of rebelling against the British East India Company? The British-East India Company flag had red and white horizontal stripes with the Union Jack in the upper left-hand corner. Why did they choose red and white vertical stripes as their symbol? The "rebellious stripes", as the flag came to be called, was the original flag used by the Sons of Liberty, and it had 9 red and white vertical stripes! So, the original “common law flag” was first raised over the Liberty Tree in Boston. The petition asserted that extending the courts of ADMIRALTY, the law of the seas, in order to prosecute the Act undermined "the rights and liberties" of the colonists. A petition of rights and grievances was drawn up declaring that the colonists "were entitled to all the inherent rights and liberties of natural born subjects." The colonies also declared that "no taxes ever have been, or can be constitutionally imposed upon them, but by their respective legislatures," and that it “was unreasonable and inconsistent for the people of Great Britain to grant to His Majesty the property of the colonists." The Stamp Act rebellion initiated the Stamp Act Congress, which gathered representatives from nine of the thirteen colonies. The Elm tree Oliver was hung on became known as the "Liberty Tree". Eventually, Oliver resigned, his home looted, and the stamps destroyed. The Stamp Act created great unrest in America, especially in Boston, where an effigy of the local stamp agent, Andrew Oliver, was hanged and burned. The Stamp Act was imposed by the British Parliament to tax all forms of legal documents within their American colonies. In Boston, the Sons of Liberty were the original revolutionary group who sparked the initial rebellion against the British in 1765. Why did Wolcott choose to turn the horizontal stripes of Old Glory ninety degrees? We need to return to the beginnings of the American Revolution to satisfy this query. Where did Wolcott get the idea of using vertical stripes from? Richardson required all customhouses to display the Civil Flag. The practice of using the Customs Flag as a Civil Flag became encoded law in 1874 when Treasury Secretary William. By the Law of the Flag, the vertical striped design denoted Roman Civil jurisdiction within Federal territories rather than Military jurisdiction under Admiralty law. The Civil Flag had red and white vertical stripes with blue stars on a white background. The use of the Civilian Flag also spread to Merchants and Common citizens to symbolize their Constitutional rights. In the early days of our nation, horizontal stripes became the accepted practice for use over military posts, and vertical stripes were used over civilian establishments. The Revenue Cutter ensign had vertical stripes to denote civilian authority under the Treasury Department rather than military authority under the War Department. The original purpose of the Revenue Cutter was to collect tariffs and other taxes that were imposed on foreign goods. This new flag was actively flown on Revenue Cutters, what we now call Coast Guard Cutters. This was done so that non-military ships would be easily recognized and not fired upon as they tried to hail and board foreign vessels. It is significant that Wolcott’s new civilian flag had vertical stripes, not horizontal. Wolcott's proposal featured: An ensign, consisting of sixteen alternating red and white stripes representing the number of states that had joined the Union by 1799 and the Union, represented by the small rectangle in the upper left corner, with its Arms (an Eagle) of the United States in dark blue on a white field. the Secretary of the Treasury under John Adams. Flag, which denoted civilian versus military purposes, was designed in 1799 by Oliver Wolcott Jr.
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