PART 1.

A.D. 85-1777.

THE EARLY DISCOVERIS OF AMFR.

BANNERS HANTED ON 12

A.D. 880-1631.

COLONIAL AND PROVINCIAL FLACS,

1634-1766.

-AlS OF T” PRE-REVOLUTIONARY AND REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD, PRECITING THE STARS AND STRIPES,

1716

RAC 1737

PART II.

A.D. 860-1777.

THE EARLY DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA, AND THE FIRST BANNERS PLANTED ON ITS SHORES,

A.D. 860-1634.

COLONIAL AND PROVINCIAL FLAGS,

1634-1766.

FLAGS OF THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY AND REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD, PRECEDING THE STARS AND STRIPES,

1766-1776.

THE GRAND UNION OR CONTINENTAL FLAG OF THE

UNITED COLONIES,

1776-1777.

"Far o'er yon azure main thy view extend,

Where seas and skies in blue confusion blend:
Lo! there a mighty realm, by Heaven designed
The last retreat for poor oppress'd mankind;
Formed with that pomp which marks the hand divine,
And clothes yon vault where worlds unnumbered shine.
Here spacious plains in solemn grandeur spread,
Here cloudy forests cast eternal shade;
Rich valleys wind, the sky tall mountains brave,
And inland seas for commerce spread the wave.
With noble floods, the sea-like rivers roll,
And fairer lustre purples round the pole.
Here, warmed by happy suns gay mines unfold
The useful iron and the lasting gold;
Pure, changing gems in silence learn to glow,
And mock the splendors of the covenant bow.

Far from all realms this world imperial lies,
Seas roll between, and threat'ning tempests rise,
Alike removed beyond ambition's pale,
And the bold pinions of the venturous sail;
Till circling years the destined period bring,
And a new Moses lift the daring wing.

On yon fair strand behold that little train
Ascending venturous o'er the unmeasured main;
No dangers fright, no ills the course delay;
'Tis virtue prompts, and God directs the way.

Here empire's last and brightest throne shall rise,
And peace and right and freedom greet the skies;
To morn's fair realms her trading ships shall sail
Or lift their canvas to the evening gale:
In wisdom's walks her sons ambitious soar,
Tread starry fields, and untried scenes explore ;

And hark! what strange, what solemn breaking strain

Swells, wildly murmuring o'er the far, far main!

Down time's long lessening vale the notes decay,

And lost in distant ages roll away."

Timothy Dwight's Prophecy of America, written 1771-1774.

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PART II.

THE EARLY DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA, AND THE FIRST BANNERS PLANTED ON ITS SHORES,

A.D. 860-1636.

"And then the blue-eyed Norseman told
A saga of the days of old.

'There is,' said he, 'a wondrous book
Of legends in the old Norse tongue,
Of the dead kings of Norroway,
Legends that once were told or sung
In many a smoky fire-side nook.

And he who looks may find therein
The story that I now begin.'"-Longfellow.

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