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Principal's Perspective October 2009 |
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Written by Leslie Whaley
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Friday, 16 October 2009 |
Principal’s Perspective
Flags have been a big part of every nation’s tradition. Flags indicate who nations are and what they stand for. A quick look back at flags in the United States tells a lot about our history. In the fall of 1775, the United States Navy was established. Their main job was to intercept British ships attempting to deliver supplies to the British troops in the colonies. To support the Navy, five companies of Marines were mustered to accompany them on their first mission. These first Marines originated from Philadelphia and carried drums painted yellow with a coiled rattlesnake with thirteen rattles. These thirteen rattles represented the original thirteen colonies. The motto painted on these drums was "Don't Tread On Me.” This is the first recorded telling of what the future Gadsden flag would symbolize. This flag was designed and named after American patriot Christopher Gadsden.
In June 1776, Betsy Ross was a widow struggling to run her own upholstery business. Upholsterers in colonial America not only worked on furniture and did all manner of sewing work, which for some included making flags. According to Betsy Ross, General Washington showed her a rough design of the flag that included a six-pointed star. Betsy, a standout with the scissors, demonstrated how to cut a five-pointed star in a single snip. Impressed, the committee entrusted Betsy with making our first American flag.
The British were bombarding the American Fort McHenry in 1841. When the smoke cleared the next morning, Francis Scott Key was able to see the U.S. flag still flying at the fort (the specially-made flag was 30 feet high and 42 feet wide). Inspired by the sight, Key scribbled down a few poetic lines, which later became the words to our national anthem.
Besides being symbols of our nation, flags called guidons served a purpose in battle. Rallying around a flag in the chaos of battle enables battlefield commanders to control troops and channel forces, thus, the name guidon or “guide on.” The Army, Marines, and Air Force, for example, use a guidon is a military standard that company or platoon-sized elements carry to signify their unit designation and corps affiliation or the title of the individual who carries it.
November 10, 2009, Hugh Fleet will be here for Elger Bay Elementary’s Veterans Day Program. Hugh will take us through a journey in history by describing the flags that America flew since they were a young nation to the present. Mr. Fleet will show how flags have evolved and tell how certain flags came to represent the values and freedoms that we enjoy as a nation. Join us for an entertaining journey through American history told by a display of our flags on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. in Elger Bay’s Gymnasium during our Veterans Day Assembly. You’ll see why the symbol of our flag is such a huge part of our story as a nation.
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