FLAGS AND THE FLAG ROOM
A number of people have asked about the replica flags flying on the dock and in the flag room.
The flags on the dock are from the Revolutionary War era and were flown by the Americans,
British and French.
At the beginning of the Revolution, there was no “American” flag just as there was no United
States of America. Many States and militias carried their own colors. As the war went on
attempts were made by many, including George Washington, to design a National flag. Among
them are some that are familiar like the Betsy Ross flag and the Bennington flag, while others are
less familiar like the Green Mountain Boys and Guilford Courthouse flags.
Some of the flags that you can see on the dock include:
AMERICAN FLAGS
1st Navy Jack: Rattlesnake and “Don’t Tread on Me” inscription on red and white
striped field. This flag is still in use by the US Navy.
Bunker Hill: Red cross with pine tree on white canton with blue field.
Continental: Pine tree on white canton on red field. This may have been the real flag
flown at Bunker Hill even though the actual battle was fought on nearby Breed’s Hill.
Ft. Moultrie: Crescent moon and liberty on blue field.
Green Mountain Boys: White stars on blue canton on green field.
Gadsden: Rattlesnake and “Don’t Tread on Me” inscription on yellow field. This flag
was recently adopted as the symbol of the Tea Party.
Guilford Courthouse: Blue stars on oversized white canton on blue and red striped
field.
Join: Dismembered snake with “Join or Die” inscription on white field. This was first
flown during the French and Indian War.
Rhode Island: Yellow stars on blue canton on white field with anchor.
Grand Union: Union Jack canton on red and white striped field.
Culpepper Minutemen: Rattlesnake and “Don’t Tread on Me” and “Liberty or
Death” inscription on white field.
Bedford: Armored arm with sword on red field with inscription “Vince Aut Morire”.
This French and Indian War era flag is reputed to have been carried by the Massachusetts
Bay Militia at the Battle of Concord.
Veterans Exempt: Black stars on white canton with black field with skull and
crossbones.
Washington’s Standard: White stars on blue field.
Taunton: British red ensign with “Liberty and Union” inscription.
Serapis: White stars on blue canton with red, white and blue stripes. This flag was
flown by John Paul Jones.
Philadelphia Light Horse: Striped canton with coat of arms on yellow field.
Betsy Ross: Circle of 13 stars on blue canton with 13 red and white stripes on field.
The story of Betsey Ross making the first flag is considered to be a legend.
Bennington: arc of stars and 76 on blue canton with 13 red and white stripes on field.
BRITISH FLAGS
King’s Colours: Union Jack without the red cross of St. Patrick (Ireland).
Naval Ensign: Union Jack on canton with cross of St. George on white field.
British Red Ensign: Union Jack on canton with red field. This flag was in wide use
during the Colonial period and was the first National flag of the 13 colonies.
FRENCH FLAGS
Royal Standard: Yellow Fleur de Lis on white field. This was the French flag during
the American Revolution.
Tri-Colour: Red, white and blue field. This was the French flag after the French
Revolution of 1789.
Quebec: White cross and Fleur de Lis on blue field.
FLAG ROOM
Star Spangled Banner: In the Flag Room itself you will find a replica of the “Star
Spangled Banner” from the War of 1812 which has 15 stars and 15 stripes. Later the
number of stripes was reduced to the original 13 and only additional stars were added as
new States joined the Union.
Perry’s Ensign: Also in the Flag Room you will find a flag with a blue field and the
inscription “Don’t Give Up the Ship”. This is Perry’s Ensign which flew over his
flagship, the Lawrence, in the Battle of Lake Erie near what is now Put-in-Bay, Ohio.
For more pictures and histories of these and many other famous flags visit,
twww.loeser.us/flag/revolution.html
Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry
You may notice a small portrait of a dashing young naval officer in the Flag Room. It is a copy
of a portrait of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry painted by Gilbert Stuart shortly after the Battle
of Lake Erie. The original portrait which was completed by Stuart’s talented daughter Jane now
hangs in the Toledo Museum.
Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (age 27) commanded his small squadron of nine ships
against the British squadron on September 10th, 1813. In nearly becalmed conditions the two
squadrons slugged it out at pistol range until nearly all of the officers on both sides were killed.
The British Commander Robert Barclay, who had lost an arm at Trafalgar, was severely
wounded in his other arm and thigh. Perry’s ship suffered 80% casualties and was a floating
wreck. Perry was forced to abandon his flagship the Lawrence and transfer his flag in a rowboat
while under heavy fire to the Brig Niagara.
“Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie” by Thomas Birch
Perry is the only person in history to have ever captured an entire British Squadron and wrote to
his superiors after the battle, “We have met the enemy and they are ours”. Perry’s victory forced
the British to abandon Detroit.
After repairs were made to his ships, Perry ferried the forces of General William Henry Harrison
to Detroit and then into Ontario where the British and their Indian allies were completely
defeated at the Battle of the Thames, near present day Chatham, Ontario. The Great Shawnee
Chief Tecumseh was killed in this battle fighting on the side of the British.
Perry and Harrison’s victories secured the Northwest Territories for the United States at the end
of the War of 1812.
Perry died of yellow fever while commanding an expedition to Venezuela in 1819. You can visit
the impressive Monument to Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie at Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island,
Ohio.
LIGHTNING CHAMPIONSHIP BANNERS
Rounding out the Flags in our Flag Room are the Lightning Championship Banners lining the
wall around the room. These original flags are just a few of more than 40 Championships
Banners won by our Fleet 31 and are mounted in archival frames to honor and preserve the
legacy of our Fleet.
While we have no pictures of the original room, the décor of the Flag Room was designed to
reflect the Victorian style of the original building while meeting the Club’s needs today and in
the future.
We worked hard to preserve the few original details that remained in the lobby and Flag Room
including the Black Walnut newel post and handrail on the stairway, the French doors leading
into the Flag Room and the posts and beams supporting the ceiling.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Clark