When the flag was hoisted, it was misinterpreted by British observersĪs a sign of surrender from the colonists. Watch a short video of the 232nd raising of the flag at Prospect Hill here. OnceĪ year, citizens in Boston commemorate Washington's raising the Grand Union Flag on Prospect Hill. So the flag was hoisted here so it could be seen for miles around. Prospect Hill is the high point in the area, The area is now called Somerville, so the flag is also sometimesĬalled the Somerville Flag. (even though it was not flown at Cambridge, but at nearby Prospect Grand Union Flag is sometimes called the Cambridge Flag Had the Grand Union Flag hoisted on Prospect Hill near his headquarters at Cambridge. The Continental Army was reorganized under George The second known flying of the Grand Union Flag happened at the Siege of Boston The Alfred's First Lieutenant, John Paul Jones, raised the Grand Union Flag aboard the Alfred, as well as the Gadsden Flag, which was the standard of the Navy's first Commodore, Esek Hopkins. Second Continental Congress sailed from Philadelphia on the Delaware ![]() (An ensign is a flag.) The first fleet of ships commissioned by the This is why it is sometimes called the "First Navy Ensign." The Grand Union Flag was first flown on the US Navy's first flagship, the USS Alfred on December 3, 1775. When war broke out with Great Britain in 1775, the colonists realized they needed a new flag. Their Declaration of Independence which was soon to come. Looked at purely as an act of defiance and maybe even as a harbinger of They point out that the British Red Ensign was an official navyįlag and that's its use by anyone else was illegal! The colonists wereĮxpressly breaking the law by raising this flag, so the act should be Other historians disagree with the idea that the Grand Union Flag had anything to do with an expression of loyalty to the Crown. By including the Union Jack and including 13 stripes, the colonists were expressing two messages, loyalty to Great Britain and colonial unity and their willingness to resist. Historians seem to agree though, that byĪdding the white stripes, the colonists were saying that even though we are British and we are brothers, we are not going to have our rights violated. ![]() They were British citizens and were expressing In light of this, some historians say it is absolutely understandable Protesting would eventually cause the King and Parliament to see the They considered themselvesīritish citizens and were loyal to the King. Still wanted to reconcile with Great Britain. This flag was first used around the fall of 1775, so theĬolonists had not yet declared independence. ![]() On their flag if they were angry with Great Britain and wanted Some have wondered why the colonists would include the symbol of the British Union Jack All they had to do was take an already existing British Red Ensign, which would have been easily obtainable as it was the official flag of the colonies, and sew 6 strips of white cloth to it. The Grand Union Flag was easy for the colonists to make. Patrick'sĬross, a red X on a white field, was added to the Union, the same Union Jack we are familiar with today.Īs the official British flag, the British Red Ensign Flag was the first flag of the American colonies, since they were in fact British colonies. ![]() Later, when Ireland joined Great Britain, the Irish St. The two flags were joined to form the Union. White X on a blue field, while England's flag was a St. To their union in 1707, Scotland's flag was a St. The Union Jack represented the union of England and
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