MANY VOICES, ONE FLAG

Utah will celebrate Pioneer Day this Saturday.  It is a state holiday in Utah and celebrated each year on July 24 to commemorate the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into Utah’s Salt Lake Valley in the year 1847.  Pioneer Day remembers and celebrates the bravery of these pioneers and their strength of character and physical endurance.

Mormon pioneer families migrating west.

Interestingly, the Mormon pioneers viewed their arrival as the founding of a “Mormon homeland,” hence Pioneer Day.  The Mormons, as they were commonly known, left various settlements and journeyed west seeking refuge from religious persecution.

Determined to settle in an isolated region, the pioneers made their way across the plains and then over the Rocky Mountains to Utah.  During their trek, they lost many to illnesses during the harsh winter months.  By the time that they reached Utah, the desolate valley was a welcoming sight.

"Entering the Great Salt Lake Valley" by C.C.A. Christensen.

Soon after their arrival and with solemn ceremonies, the settlers consecrated the two-square-mile city, and sent back word that the “promised land” was found.  By the end of the year 1847, nearly 2,000 Mormons settled in the Salt Lake Valley.

The second flag pictured below is a rare unofficial Forty-seven Star Flag that was converted into an unofficial variant Forty-eight Star flag.  The flag maker produced the flag believing that either Arizona or New Mexico would enter the Union alone which would have created an official Forty-seven Star flag.  Instead, both states entered the Union in the same year.  The stars in the canton of U.S. flags increased from forty-six to forty-eight without an intervening Forty-seven Star Flag.

Union showing added forty-eighth star in lower left hand corner.

Union showing the original forty-seven stars without added star.

The manufacturer apparently also believed that the pattern for Forty-seven and perhaps an even later Forty-eight star flags would follow a staggered pattern of stars as seen on the forty-five and forty-six star flags.  Perhaps the maker intended a flag that could be updated when the forty-eighth state would eventually enter the Union.  If this was indeed the logic, the manufacturer was wrong on all counts.

Detail showing added crudely sewn forty-eighth star on the left.

A crudely appliquéd Forty-eighth star was added, but the pattern of stars was still incorrect making the flag a double oddity.  There are few Forty-seven star flags in existence.  This is perhaps the only Forty-seven—Forty-eight star flag.

While this flag’s design has never been official, it gives us insight into how the United States flag has evolved as new states joined the Union.  If a fifty-first state joins the Union in the future, we can expect that flags will be made anticipating a new pattern of stars.  Flag makers that guess wrongly will have unofficial variants that may one day be rare considered flag oddities.

Between the years 1795 and 1818 is the only time when the U.S. flag had more than thirteen stripes. Recognizing the addition of Kentucky and Vermont, the new flag enlarged to fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. This was the flag of a newly independent nation struggling to keep it newly won freedom.

The Star Spangled Banner Flag.

The battleship USS Constitution flew this flag defending American vessels and asserting U.S. sovereignty in battles against the Barbary pirates. Ultimately, the Constitution defeated several British warships during the War of 1812. She earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” when British shells seemed to bounce of her hull. Today, the USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned battleship afloat. She may be visited at Charlestown Navy Yard at the end of Boston’s Freedom Trail. United States Flags may be flown for individuals from the ships riggings. Make requests to the ship’s Flag Coordinator found on the USS Constitution’s official Web site.  A certificate signed by the ship’s commander to record the event will be returned with the flag.

During the Battle of Baltimore in the same war, the flag gained its endearing name, “The Star Spangled Banner.” Poet Francis Scott Key coined the name as he penned our national anthem, “and the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!”  Key saw the huge flag flying over Fort McHenry on the morning after the battle.  He knew the fortress had not surrendered, and he found inspiration to write the beloved poem.  Fort McHenry may be visited today in Baltimore’s harbor. A reproduction of the Star Spangled Banner flies over the star shaped fortress.

Sailors aboard USS Constitution raise 15 star & 15 stripe U.S. flag.

The original flag, which flew over Baltimore’s Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore, has become the nation’s most cherished artifact.  Torn and tattered by battle and years of neglect, having suffered the removal of souvenir patches, and having deteriorated through the passage of time—the banner has been the subject of several preservation projects.  At a cost of two million dollars, the latest monumental preservation effort has secured the flag for future generations.  The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is home to the conserved flag.  When visiting Washington, D.C. don’t miss a visit to view the Star Spangled Banner.

If you are not planning a visit to Washington, visit the Smithsonian’s official Web site (http://americanhistory.si.edu/ssb) for the Star Spangled Banner’s.  It will amaze and inspire you.