As I put out my flag this morning (seen at left), I recalled this interesting story in the WSJ the other day about vexillology – the study of flags, and a controversy over an image carved into a Revolutionary War era gunpowder horn. Seeing that the 4th and gunpowder and flags go together, it seemed like a natural topic to share. There’s poll at the WSJ also on the topic. Looking at the image on the powder horn in that article, I think he was representing the 8 cardinal compass points, rather than stars. What do you think?
From the Wall Street Journal
Seeing Stars: Innkeeper’s View of Powder Horn Carving Unfurls Flag Debate
History Buffs Disagree on When Stars Showed Up With Stripes; Some Wave Off Claim
Barnabas Webb has been dead for nearly two centuries. But the Revolutionary War soldier—or, at least, the powder horn he used to carry gunpowder—is vexing the world of vexillologists, or flag researchers.
A Virginia innkeeper and history buff claims the engravings decorating Mr. Webb’s powder horn, which depict the end of the Siege of Boston in March 1776, contain the earliest known representation of the stars and stripes together on an American flag.
Image: Catherine MillarInnkeeper John Millar flies this modern interpretation of the horn’s flag.
If correct, it could mean that Colonial Americans united stars and stripes more than a year before the 1777 Flag Act declared that the national flag should contain 13 stripes and 13 stars, potentially rewriting the early history of the Grand Old Flag.
But the claim is raising red flags among some historians of early America, who call it a star-spangled misstep.
John Millar, a Williamsburg, Va., innkeeper by day and architectural and tall-ships historian in his spare time, was perusing an issue of Early American Life, a magazine for enthusiasts of the era, last summer when he came across a photo of an 18th-century powder horn. Studying the images on the powder horn, which bears the date March 17-April 1776, he says he made a surprising discovery: A fingernail-size flag he believes depicts stars.
Balderdash, says Dave Martucci, an early American flag expert and past president of the North American Vexillological Association. “This is not a stars-and-stripes flag,” says Mr. Martucci, a 59-year-old tax assessor and flag appraiser from Washington, Maine. Stars were “in the future.”
Read the entire article and view the image: Seeing Stars: Innkeeper’s View of Powder Horn Carving Unfurls Flag Debate
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As I said earlier, I think he was representing the 8 cardinal compass points, rather than stars. See this image to understand what I’m seeing:
The image on the powder horn (at left) doesn’t contain the 5 extra stars on the flag they have created (at right), only the 8 dots:
Note: I don’t know if you all have the same video advertisement displayed as I do, but it looks worth trying today:
Theduke says (July 4, 2012 at 12:29 pm)
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Hehe. And belated congratulations to your esteemed and brave ancestors.
One niggle: “taxation without representation”, Yes, but now in the US and the UK we have “representation without taxation” on a huge scale. People who have been on state benefits all their lives have a vote and a say in how my money is spent. The vote is handed out to 18-year olds as though it was a worthless trifle, rather than the power of life and death (as it can be sometimes).
I’m with Heinlein (Starship Troopers). Give the vote only to those who have earned it.
How to earn it I happily leave as an exercise to the reader. 🙂
It’s wonderful see the support of our cousins and more! (Certain unenlightened individuals notwithstanding.) The U.S. Independence was a gift from God and the world. And, our independence was a gift back to the world. Please excuse the length……
As most of you know, today, the 4th of July, is the day we Americans celebrate our independence and the birth of our nation. I had thought to write about some of our glorious victories and extoll our men and women in the armed forces; to look back at some of our history and revel in the accomplishments of our forefathers. Surely, these are notions worthy of poem, prose, songs and speeches. But, as I worked through these thoughts, I found that they were inadequate expressions.
The guardians of our nation only tell part of the story. Indeed, it is their purpose to jealously guard the notion and idea we’ve come to know as the United States of America. You see, the U.S. isn’t simply some piece of land. It isn’t simply some population. It isn’t just military conquest or a bit of history or the sacrifices many have paid for it.
It is an idea. It is a cause, a notion, which makes all of the things I can mention worthy of the sacrifices. The history, victories, defeat; the people and the land and the words and many more things which go well beyond the eloquence I possess to articulate.
While many people would say that this notion, this cause is uniquely American, it is not. America is one of many manifestations of the cause and we see that the seeds of the cause were planted centuries before the birth of this nation. So, while Americans celebrate our independence from British rule, we should also celebrate the idea passed to us by our bonds with the British. The Magna Carta Libertatum is perhaps one of the larger wells from which we draw this cause, this idea. The water from that spring is as pure and sweet as any other idea in the history of mankind. This common gift to humanity is part of our heritage. The legacy of such a notion lives to this day and for eternity, God willing.
But, this isn’t the only well of the spring from which we drink . Great people throughout the world and it’s history has brought us to this cause. Indeed, myself and millions others today and before us understand this nation came to be through Providence, the spring of life itself. His guiding hand surely is the one which brought Baron von Steuben and Lafayette together for the same cause. Of course, before and after our independence, we see that it wasn’t simply a bunch of generals and aristocrats which compromise the agents of this idea. Before and after independence, they came here. They came here to freely practice their worship of God, they came here to escape tyranny, poverty, despair. They came here for the promise of prosperity. The came here for the notion, the idea, the cause. To this day, they still come, millions come hoping to drink from this spring.
This notion hasn’t been easy to maintain. But, it is the struggle to maintain it which makes us secure in our knowledge that it is worth guarding. It is worth even the ultimate sacrifice which so many have paid. Our forefathers knew and understood this. Their admonishments towards diligence and vigilance has been frequent. The warnings of the cost has been loud and clearly stated, and most of all, it has been demonstrated. Indeed, the greatest threat we’ve ever seen to this notion and cause sprung form the question of how best to keep this cause. The cost of that terrible question was great and the legacy of that question still lingers 150 years later. Even still, they came hoping to drink from the spring.
It is that they came which brands this nation, this hope, this idea, as unique. Peoples of all nations have come to drink from this well. Like the various metals merged to make steel, people of all persuasions merge to make the metal of the people of this country.
The beginning of the last century marked a new recognition in the consciousness of this nation. While our path to this cause had been chosen so long ago, other people and nations were choosing different paths. We recognized our duties to help the peoples pursue this cause outside the confines of our borders. The efforts have been difficult and clumsy, often executed improperly and with little forethought, but the idea, the notion, the cause remains clear.
While we Americans jealously guard this notion, this idea, this cause, we see that it isn’t ours and ours alone. It is all of mankind’s cause. It wasn’t ours to begin with, we simply embraced it, as did millions of others throughout the world! From every corner of the world this cause is proclaimed as the ultimate cause of mankind! Sometimes it is only thought, sometimes only whispered, sometimes shouted, often, still, even to the judgment seat of God. Yet, it is still proclaimed around the world.
Today, we find that some of us have been less than diligent. The enemies of this cause are gathering from within and without. Our tensile will always be tested. Our emblem is threadbare and worn, the colors have become faded a bit. But, we’ve been forged in the fires which sloth, tyranny, hopelessness and despair brings. And we’ve walked through it before. Each time making the colors and the stars sharper, the golden tassels shine brighter. The dross is scraped off and discarded to the trash heap of history.
We shall renew our commitment to vigilance and continue to prepare against the enemies of our cause. Be secure in the knowledge that this is the righteous path, for free will is the Will of God!
Our cause: The right for all men to walk in dignity without the chains of servitude, to be free from tyranny, despotism, and the malevolent passions of others, to be at liberty to govern ourselves and freely conduct our affairs; to determine our own goals and to be the captains of our own destiny. This is the spring from which we all drink. The spring is eternal! So draw deep and fill our cups, go out give sup to the ones who thirst. Lead them back to the well of freedom and liberty!
I’ll borrow is this thought; where freedom lives, there are our countries. So, if you are of this nation or not, please join with us in this anniversary celebration. It isn’t just our celebration, it is a unique manifestation of this notion, this idea, this cause!
God Bless all and God Bless America,
James
Our emblems and a couple of videos with songs which always blur my vision can be seen with this inadequate articulation here.
Barnabas Webb??? Hey, wasn’t that the guy in that “Dark Shadows” movie? See, “Webb”, perfect for some cheesy horror flick. I bet he comes back to haunt all those who dare oppose his claim.
Fly your flag, but also remember the Loyalists.
Any country will eventually be corrupted when clever people figure out how to game the system. The problem lies in having a mechanism to clean up that corruption. It could be bloody revolution but that usually turns out badly. The USSR and Cuba are sobering examples of how that can go wrong.
The only thing that works is that the citizens, individually and as a group, value their freedom and care about the freedom and welfare of their fellow citizens. Anything else leads to tyranny and failed states.
Right now my favorite model for a country is Switzerland. There’s almost no crime, most people have a decent income and everyone has a machine gun in the closet. In spite of the fact that the country is made up of several distinct language groups, there is remarkable social cohesion. The country succeeds because of its people.
Some folks have figured out how to turn us against each other in a rather nasty way. I’m not sure how to fix that, but I am sure it doesn’t bode well for the future of the country.
Whenever considering a historic artifact (and a great many other things), one must always consider the provenance to fully understand the significance of the artifact.
Given that, let’s look at what is under discussion. A powder horn owned by a soldier. Carved on the horn is a scene and a year that apparently made a significant impression on the owner. How long it took the soldier to carve the scene is unknown. This isn’t a photograph.
I can’t tell if the exterior the carving is on is wood, or even perhaps ivory. That it hasn’t yellowed may not be significant. The carving however, is most likely done with the owner’s belt knife. Other tools might have been awls and needles. All three are treasured items to colonists. I don’t know how most armchair carvers do their work, but I’d like to watch them use a several inch long belt knife carving wood, horn or whatever.
The owner, like most soldiers and sailors, had spare time during which he carved the horn. However, it is most unlikely he did all of the carving in one sitting. Instead it is likely that he carved the horn over time. A flag, whether company, fort, town, regional or union, representing defense of liberty would have been viewed with pride, especially if someone already made a carving along those lines.
Flag history consensus non-withstanding, I see no reason the flag could not have been carved in later. Unless, the carver died during the war.
I concur with Mark’s opinion. There are plenty of wind-vanes in evidence in the carving and they traditionally have the cardinal points, just because people like to know which way the wind blows. The flags all appear to be different and I wonder if the ship flags are accurate for the time period and fleet in question. Looks like a full research paper worth of study in this one powder horn. Until then I’ll agree with the innkeeper.
As for as the owners spelling; remember they were taught by the English… :> They got better with time.
Happy Birthday America!
I doubt the compass rose angle because the dots aren’t on the compass points. You can’t really get into too much detail when carving ivory, so using dots to represent stars would be understandable. But I think it’s unlikely that the stars and stripes symbolized the 13 states. theduke had a point when he wrote that it might have been a regimental flag or something similar since there were several other different flags depicted on the powder horn..
Huzzah to James Sexton for the eloquent exposition of the event we are celebrating today. I have seldom read a more profound elucidation of what makes has made this country a shining beacon to the oppressed & downtrodden of this world. Thank you
I’ll assume I’m in time to wish happy birthday America.
Robin says:
July 4, 2012 at 9:38 am
Cool quote from Coolidge.
Perhaps it’s time for us to reverse the Greenpi$$ quote. In fact, we be many and you are few. We don’t know where you live and it doesn’t matter We will defeat your evil intents!
DaveE.
PeterPeter says:
July 4, 2012 at 6:31 pm
Huzzah
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Thank you.
Thank you James Sexton.
commieBob says:
July 4, 2012 at 2:41 pm
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Wiki is not a substitute for life experience.
“theduke says:
July 4, 2012 at 12:12 pm I look at the overall illustration and see what appears to be a depiction, symbolic of course, of the siege and the city. ”
Nailed it, or at least I think so.
The siege of Boston included a couple of specific incidents that might connect to the depictions on the powder horn. A British party trying to raid hay from the islands for their horses was foiled by the militia burning down a barn with the hay inside, the flag at the far right appears to be coming from a barn. The large flag at the far left coming from the island may be depicting an American raid on and British held island where they burned down the lighthouse.
Or maybe he was just doodling…..
Are you “reverent of individual liberty?“ Are you ”suspicious of centralized federal authority?“ Do you think there is a ”grave threat to national sovereignty and/or personal liberty?”
Well, then you fall into the category of “extreme right-wing” terrorist, according to a new study out of the University of Maryland, which was funded in part by the Department of Homeland Security.
theduke says:
July 4, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Boston itself was nearly an island at that time, joined to the mainland only by the narrow Boston Neck.
According to David Hackett Fischer (Washington’s Crossing), George Washington in December 1776 used a command flag of 13 white stars on a blue field. Was this the origin of the canton (or “union”) of the United States flag? The union was the only element of the flag not already in place.