I’ve put
together 3 posts that explore the width and breathe of this little
miscellaneous collection. These posts will be spread out over the next month. Hopefully,
readers will find these items to be of some interest…
The
Fireside Game Company (1895 – 1900) created a plethora of card games…with many
of them being historically interesting featuring people and places. Examples include “Strange People”, “Wild
Animals”, “Our Union” and “Flags”.
In this
instance, this old 1896 card game was called “White Squadron”. Its 52 cards depicts 52 warships of the US
Navy. The deck consisted of 13 different
sets of 4 for the making of ‘fleets’.
Each of the game’s cards includes a letter (A-M) with a number (1-4) and
the name of the featured ship as well as the other 3 ships in the deck which
would constitute a ‘fleet’…and victory for the first one to put their fleet
together. In this case, the USS Dolphin
belongs to ‘J Fleet’.
The
actual “White Squadron” was a transitional unit of the US Navy during the late
1800s. It initially consisted of 3
cruisers including the flagship, the USS Chicago plus the dispatch boats, USS
Dolphin and USS Yorktown. (Dispatch ships couriered messages between ships as
the radio had yet to be invented. Two
other dispatch boats joined the squadron in 1891. The steel ships in the squadron all had fully
rigged masts and steam engines…and they were among the forerunners of steel
shipbuilding in the USA.
I borrowed this photo of the USS
Dolphin from Wikipedia… She was quite an historical ship and served the US Navy
for many years. She was commissioned in
December of 1885. The Dolphin was the
first Navy ship to fly the Flag of the President of the United States during
President Chester A. Arthur’s administration. The ship participated in both the
Spanish-American War and World War I.
In addition to President Arthur, other
Presidents using the Dolphin included Grover Cleveland, William McKinley and
Theodore Roosevelt. As Assistant
Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt also traveled on the USS Dolphin. Of interest is the fact that the first song
ever broadcast via wireless radio signal was done from the deck of the
Dolphin. To view her entire history, go
to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Dolphin_(PG-24).
This
little booklet about The History of the American Flag measures 3.5” x
4.75”. It was published in 1912 as a
promotional piece by Chase and Sanborn – Tea and Coffee Importers. Back in those days, there were newspaper ads
and other paper based promotional ads for company’s products…no TV, radio or
Internet to use. The goal was to
establish goodwill while promoting their products.
Chase and
Sanborn Coffee was established in 1862 and it claims to be the first coffee
company that packed and shipped roasted coffee in sealed tins. The company has had 8 separate owners since
1929 and it’s currently owned by the Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group. Among others, that company also owns Chock Full
o’Nuts and Hills Bros. MZ products range
from espresso and coffee to tea and spices.
Onto the
flags inside the booklet. First is this version of the New England Colonial Flag that was in use in the late
1600s. Actually, there were several similar versions in use…but the majority of them included a pine tree somewhere in the
design. Actually, this is the naval Red
Ensign of the former Kingdom of England.
The early flags of New England were derived from this design which
includes St. George’s Cross in the canton.
One of the more common early New England flags had one of those ubiquitous pine trees in the
upper left white square…
Second...is the
Taunton Flag, aka. the Liberty and Union Flag. It is the city flag of Taunton
Massachusetts. It was first adopted in
1774 after the Sons of Liberty had forced out the American Loyalists from the
town. This flag had a double
meaning. While it was one of the first
rebel flags used in British North America to express dissension against the
British Crown, it also initially symbolized underlying loyalty to the Crown as
the Union Jack was viewed as the King’s Colors…
First... This
impression of the blue Bunker Hill Flag may be the result of an error in wood
engraving. The actual “Bunker Hill Flag”
may have been just like the first flag shown above with St. George’s Cross removed
and then replaced with a large green pine tree.
As for
the actual Battle of Bunker Hill, it was a tactical victory for the British in
the sense that they occupied the ground when the shooting stopped. It was a lesson learned for the King’s forces
as they lost 288 killed including 19 officers vs. the Colonies’ loss of 115
militia. The British learned that
inexperienced militia could indeed stand up to regular army troops in battle…
Second... The Pine
Tree Flag was also used during the American Revolution. Alternatively “An Appeal to Heaven” was
replaced with “An Appeal to God”. It was
first used by a squadron of small ships commissioned under George Washington’s
authority in October of 1775. Massachusetts
State naval vessels and privateers sailing from the state also used this flag.
The pine
tree was a long standing symbol of New England having been displayed by
colonial merchant ships dating back to 1686.
From 1652 until 1682, the Pine Tree Shilling was produced and used in
the Massachusetts Bay Colony. New
England’s eastern white pine trees, with heights exceeding 150 feet, were
highly desirable for ships masts. Due to
a lack of suitable trees in England, the English Crown actually reserved 24”
diameter trees under the Mast Preservation Clause in the Massachusetts Charter
of 1691. At one point, trees as small as
12” in diameter were ‘reserved’ for the crown, a real bone of contention for
the colonists!
First... The
rattlesnake had a history as an important symbol of resistance to the British
by the colonists. Ben Franklin’s
Pennsylvania Gazette published a political cartoon in 1754 showing a snake
severed into segments labeled with the names of the colonies…and the words
“Join, or Die”. The timber rattlesnake
is especially symbolic as regards the American Revolution. The rattle has 13 segments, signifying the
original 13 colonies. Also the snake
doesn’t strike unless it’s provoked.
The rattlesnake flag
is the traditional version of the First US Navy Jack. The flag for the US Marines uses a yellow
background with a coiled rattlesnake and the same wording. The Navy Jack design is associated with orders
given to the first ships of the Continental Navy by Commodore Esek Hopkins
where he’d instructed his ships to fly a striped Jack and Ensign at their
proper places.
Second... The ‘Crescent Flag’ is also known as the “Moultrie Flag” and the “Liberty
Flag”. It is a major symbol of the
South’s role in the American Revolution.
It was developed specifically for the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, a
short but important battle during the war.
Colonel William Moultrie wanted a flag that represented the new American
nation. He was in charge of the 2nd
South Carolina Regiment. The flag he
commissioned was based on the deep blue uniforms of his soldiers. Its speculated that the crescent moon may
have come from the caps of the soldiers.
The original message was “Liberty or Death” but it was eventually
simplified to “Liberty”.
The
Battle of Sullivan’s Island took place in 1776 when British forces attempted to
capture Charleston South Carolina. The
land assault failed when the British discovered that the channel between the
islands was too deep for their troops to wade across. Then the American forces were able to fend
off an amphibious landing. A naval
bombardment by the British fleet had little effect due to the sandy soil and
the spongy nature of the fort’s palmetto log construction. Americans killed in this action totaled 12
vs. the British total of 220. In
addition the British fleet lost a ship of the line (small frigate) and 2 others
were severely damaged. British forces
withdrew and they didn’t return to Charleston until 1780.
First... The Grand
Union Flag had several different names.
These included the “Continental Colors”, the “Congress Flag”, the
“Cambridge Flag” and the “First Navy Ensign”.
It is considered to be the first national flag of the United States of
America. This flag was first hoisted by
Lieutenant John Paul Jones on the colonial warship “Alfred” at Philadelphia on
12/3/1775.
This flag
was used by the Continental Army’s forces as both a naval ensign and garrison
flag for a couple of years. It isn’t
known when or by whom the flag was created but it could be easily produced by
sewing white stripes onto the British Red Ensigns. It did cause a bit of confusion though…as it was
very similar to the flag used by the British East India Company.
Second... We are
all familiar with the Betsy Ross Flag…and the early design named for this
American upholsterer and flag maker. The
flag’s distinguishing feature is 13 five-pointed stars arranged in a circle
representing the 13 colonies. There has
been a lot of controversy regarding Betsy Ross’s actual involvement in the
design of the flag…with her family offering evidence supporting her
participation and numerous vexillologists disputing those claims.
During
the Revolutionary War and into the 1800s, the “Rebellious Stripes” were
considered the most important element of the US flags. Stars appeared on colonial flags as early as
1676. Other early American flags
featured stars with various numbers of points, but the five-pointed star is a
defining feature of the Betsy Ross story.
In 1795,
the number of stars and stripes was increased to 15…reflecting the entry of
Vermont and Kentucky to the Union. For
some time the flag wasn’t changed when other states were admitted. It was the 15 star and stripe flag that
inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star Spangled Banner”, the American
national anthem…
The final
flag in the Chase and Sanborn advertising booklet is the American flag with 20
stars and 13 stripes. Realizing that the
addition of a new star and stripe for each new state was impossible, Congress
passed the Flag Act of 1818 which returned the design to 13 stripes for the
first 13 colonies and specified 20 stars for the then 20 states…additional
stars to be added as other states joined the Union. The last change to our flag took place in
1960 when the present design was authorized, included the new state of Hawaii.
A bit
more about Chase and Sanborn…the company behind this little flag booklet. While owned by Standard Brands beginning in
1929, the brand sponsored an NBC popular radio show called the Chase and
Sanborn Hour. Running until 1948, it
featured such stars as Nelson Eddy, Dorothy Lamour, W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen
and his sidekick Charlie McCarthy, Maurice Chevalier, Eddie Cantor and Jimmy
Durante. (Jimmy Durante then spun off and got his own show!)
Ask those
still living today about life on the Home Front during World War II and other than
loved ones serving in the armed forces, their strongest memories are likely to
be about rationing. The war brought
about all types of shortages…to included rubber, metal, fuel and clothing.
However,
it was the shortages of a variety of foods that impacted almost everyone every
day. Much of the processed and canned
foods were reserved for supplying our military and Allies overseas. In addition, transportation of fresh foods
was limited due to gas and tire rationing as well as the priority of moving
soldiers and war supplies. Also,
imported foods such as coffee and sugar were limited due to restrictions on
importation…
The
‘driving’ stamp shown above is an “A” sticker.
This meant that the vehicle’s owner had the lowest priority for gas
rationing and was only entitled to between 3 and 4 gallons of gas per week. “B” stickers were issued to workers in the
military industry…up to 8 gallons; “C” stickers were given to persons
considered very essential to the war effort such as doctors; “T” stickers were
for truckers, and; “X” stickers, the highest priority, were given to clergy,
police, firemen and civil defense workers.
No surprise…a scandal occurred when 200 Congressmen were given these
latter gas rationing stickers!
FYI…During
the War, the national speed limit was set at 35 miles per hour to save fuel and
tires.
Because
of the wartime shortages, the US government’s Office of Price Administration
established this rationing system. The
idea was to fairly distribute foods that were in short supply. Every American, including children, was
issued a series of rationing books during the war. The removable stamps were needed to purchase
items like sugar, meat, cooking oil and canned goods. Once the month’s stamps were used up, the
customer couldn’t buy any more of that product for the rest of the month. Shopping and planning a menu was a major
challenge. More than 8,000 ration boards
across the USA administered the program.
Ration
Book #2 was the most notorious of these books.
Points were assigned to each stamp.
A family of 4 would have had 4 books with pages worth 64 points each for
a given month. A #2 can of tomatoes was
14 points, a #2 can of peaches was 24 points and a lb. of dried peas was 4
points! If you had a can of tomatoes
from your Victory Garden it counted against your rations…if you reported it.
Other
items rationed during the war included coffee, tires, shoes, fuel oil, butter,
margarine, cheeses, canned fish, canned/dried/frozen fruits and vegetables,
fats, typewriters, bicycles, silk, nylons, stoves, firewood and coal. Other consumer items just weren’t manufactured
during the War. In addition to
automobiles, those included metal furniture, radios, phonographs, refrigerators,
vacuums, washing machines and sewing machines.
Life had to be a real challenge for the average family…
Sadly,
some things relating to our military veterans haven’t changed… This “Hello
Buddy – Facts of Service/Comics of War” booklet dates back to post World War I. Apparently it was sold on the streets by
unemployed or disabled veterans for whatever passersby would be willing to
pay. The veterans selling these
booklets carried credentials proving that they were legitimate… This form of
‘begging’ was frowned upon by many…
This is a
sample of 2 of the pages from inside my copy of “Hello Buddy”. Note that patriotic drawing with Uncle Sam
and the eagle. The “Negro” humor
displayed in 2 of the ‘jokes’ on the second page was apparently another sad
sign of the times when these booklets were being ‘sold’ on the streets.
That’s
about it for now. Just click on any of
the photos to enlarge them…
Thanks
for stopping by for a visit!
Take
Care, Big Daddy Dave
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