To-day the Red Man slowly yields to the ever-advancing march of the dominant and civilizing white; his means of sustenance by the chase, or of livelihood by his skill as a trapper, have been destroyed. The Indian tribes are, under the Indian treaties, required to remain within large blocks of territory called "Reserves," so that now in his poverty he is maintained upon these "reservations" solely by the dole of the peoples by whom his native country has been absorbed; yet, though so changed in their circumstances, his descendants still cling with resolute fortitude and pathetic eagerness to these ancient insignia of their native worth. These rudely-formed emblems, in outline and shape mainly taken from the animals and birds of the plain and forest, are the memorials in his decadence of the long past days when his forefathers were the undisputed monarchs of all the wilds and possessors of its widest domains. They are the Indian patents of nobility, and thus are clung to with all the pride of ancient race.

This Instinct in man to attach a national meaning to some vital emblem, and to display it as evidence of his patriotic fervour, is thus found to be all-pervading. The accuracy of its form may not be exact—it may, indeed, be well-nigh indistinguishable in its outlines—but whenever it be raised aloft, the halo of patriotic meaning, with which memory has illumined it, is answered by the flutterings of the bearer's heart; self is lost in inspiring recollection; clanship, absorbing the individual, enfolds him as one of a mighty whole, and the race-blood that is deep within him springs quick into action, obedient to the stirring call.

The fervour of this manifestation was eloquently expressed by Lord Dufferin in narrating some incidents which had occurred during one of his official tours through Canada, when Governor-General of the country, the greatest daughter-nation among the children of the Union Jack:

Of all emblems, a Flag is the one which is universally accepted among men as the incarnation of their intensest sentiment, and when uplifted above them, concentrates in itself the annals of a nation and all the traditions of an empire.

A country's flag becomes, therefore, of additional value to its people in proportion as its symbolism is better understood and its story is more fully known. Its combinations should be studied, its story unfolded—for in itself a flag is nothing, but in its meaning it is everything.

So long, then, as pride of race and nation exists among men, so long will a waving flag command all that is strongest within them, and stir their national instincts to their utmost heights.

CHAPTER II.

THE ORIGINS OF NATIONAL FLAGS.

With such natural emotions stirring within the breasts of its people, one can appreciate the fervid interest taken by each nation in its own national flag, and understand how it comes that the associations which cluster about its folds are so ardently treasured up.

Flags would at first sight appear to be but gaudy things, displaying contrasts of colour or variations of shape or design, according to the mood or the fancy of some enterprising flagmaker. This, no doubt, is the case with many signalling or mercantile flags. On the other hand, there is, in not a few of the flags known as "national flags," some particular combination of form or of colourings which, if they were but known, indicates the reason for their origin, or which marks some historic memory. There has been, perhaps, some notable occasion on which they were first displayed, or they may have been formed by the joining together of separate designs united at some eventful epoch, to signalize a victorious cause, or to perpetuate the memory of a great event. These great stories of the past are thus brought to mind and told anew by the coloured folds each time they are spread open by the breeze; for of most national flags it can be said, as was said by an American orator[3] of his own, "It is a piece of bunting lifted in the air, but it speaks sublimity, and every part has a voice." It is to see these colours and hear these voices in the British national flags that is our present undertaking.

Before tracing the history of our British Union Jack, some instances may be briefly mentioned in which associations connected with the history of some other nations are displayed in the designs of their national flags.

The colours of the German national banner are black, white and red (Pl. II., fig. 1). Since 1870, when, at the conclusion of the French war, the united German Empire was formed, this has been the general Standard for all the states and principalities that were then brought into imperial union; although each of these lesser states continues to have, in addition, its own particular flag. This banner of United Germany introduced once more the old German colours, which had been displayed from 1184 until the time when, in 1806, the empire was broken up by Napoleon I. Tradition is extant that these colours had their origin as a national emblem at the time of the crowning of Frederic I. (Barbarossa) in 1152, as ruler of the countries which are now largely included in Germany. On this occasion the pathway to the cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle was laid with a carpeting of black, gold and red, and the story goes that after the ceremony this carpet was cut by the people into strips which they then displayed as flags. Thus by the repetition of these historic colours in their ensign the present union of the German Empire is connected with the early history of more than seven centuries before.

PLATE II.

The national ensign of United Italy (Pl. II. , fig. 2) is a flag having three parallel vertical stripes, green, white and red, the green being next the flagstaff. Upon the central white stripe there is shown a red shield, having upon it a white cross. This national flag was adopted in 1870, after the Italian peoples had risen against their separate rulers, and the previously separated principalities and kingdoms had, under the leadership of Garibaldi, been consolidated into one united kingdom under Victor Emmanuel, the then reigning king of Sardinia. The red shield here displayed on the centre of the Italian flag designates the arms of the House of Savoy, to which the Royal House of Sardinia belonged, and which had been gained by the following ancient and honourable event:

The island of Rhodes, an Italian colony in the Eastern Mediterranean, had, in 1311, been in deadly peril from the attacks of the Turks. In their extremity the then Duke of Savoy came to the aid of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John, who were defending the island, and with his help they were able to make a successful resistance. In record and acknowledgment of this great service the Knights of St. John granted to the House of Savoy the privilege of wearing upon their royal arms the white cross on a red shield, which was the badge of their order of St. John.

So it happened when, nearly six centuries afterwards, the Sardinians again came to the aid of their southern brethren, and the King of Sardinia was crowned as ruler over the new united Italian kingdom, the old emblem won in defence of ancient liberties was further perpetuated on the banner of the new kingdom of liberated and united Italy.

The colours of the Greek flag preserve the memory of a dynasty. In 1828, the Greeks, after rising in successful rebellion, had freed their land from Mohammedan domination and the power of the Sultan of Turkey. The several States formed themselves into one united kingdom, and seeking a king from among the royal houses of Europe, obtained, in 1832, Otho I., a scion of the ruling house of Bavaria. The dynasty at that time set upon the throne of Greece has since been changed, the Bavarian having parted company with the kingdom in 1861. The throne was then offered to Prince Alfred of England, but declined by him. The present king, chosen in 1863, after the withdrawal of his predecessor, is a member of the Royal House of Denmark; yet, notwithstanding this change in the reigning family, the white Greek Cross upon a light blue ground in the upper quarter, and the four alternate stripes of white on a light blue ground in the field, which form the national flag of Greece (Pl. II. , fig. 3), still preserve the blue and white colours of Bavaria, from whence the Greeks had obtained their first king.

The Tri-colour as displayed by the present Republic in France (Pl. II. II., fig. 6) has been credited with widely differing explanations of its origin, as its plain colours of blue, white and red admit of many different interpretations.

One story of its origin is, that its colours represent those of the three flags which had been carried in succession in the early centuries of the nation. The early kings of France carried the plain blue banner of St. Martin. To this succeeded, in A.D. 1124, the flaming red flag, or Oriflamme, of St. Denis, to be afterwards superseded, in the fifteenth century, by the white "Cornette Blanche," the personal banner of the heroic Joan of Arc.

It was under this royal white flag (Pl. II., fig. 5), bearing upon it the lilies of ancient France, that Cartier, in 1534, had sailed up the St. Lawrence, and Champlain, in 1608, had founded Quebec. Under this flag Canada was colonized; to it belonged the glories of the Jesuit Fathers and Dollard; with it La Salle and Marquette explored the far West, planting three fleur-de-lis as the sign of their discoveries. Under it Frontenac, Montcalm and Levis[4] achieved their renown, and all the annals of early Canada are contained under its régime until, in 1759, after the assault by Wolfe, it was exchanged, at the cession of Quebec, for the British Union Flag.

The tri-colour of Republican France was never carried by the forefathers of the French Canadians of the Province of Quebec, nor has it any connection with the French history of Canada. In fact, it did not make its appearance as an emblem until the time of the revolution in France in 1789, or thirty years after the original French régime in Canada had closed its eventful period.

More detailed evidence of the origin of this flag states that the creation of the tri-colour arose from the incident that, when the revolutionary militia were first assembled in the city of Paris, at the revolution of 1789, they had adopted blue and red, which were the ancient colours of the city of Paris, for the colours of their cockade; between these they placed the white of the soldiery of the Bourbon régime, who afterwards joined their forces, and thus they had combined the blue, white and red in the "tri-colour" as their revolutionary signal.[5]

Whether or not its colours record those of the three ancient monarchical periods, or those of the revolution, the tri-colour as a French ensign for use by the people of France, as their national flag both on land and sea, was not regularly established until a still later period, in 1794. Then it was that the Republican Convention passed the first decree[6] authorizing an ensign and directing that the French national flag (Pl. II. , fig. 6) shall be formed of the three colours placed vertically in equal bands—that next the staff being blue, the centre white, and the fly red.

This was the flag under which Napoleon I. won his greatest victories, both as General and Emperor; but whatever glories may have been won for it by France, yet many years before it had been even designed, or the prowess of Napoleon's armies had created its renown, the French Canadian had been fighting under the Union Jack as his patriotic ensign and adding to the history of its valiant glory by victory won by himself in defence of his own Canadian home.[7] When in Canada the tri-colour is seen flying it is raised solely out of compliment and courtesy to the French-speaking friends in modern France. The fact that the tri-colour has received any acceptance with the French-speaking Canadian may have arisen from the reason that, side by side with the Union Jack, it had participated in all the struggles and glories of the Crimea, when the two flags, the tri-colour and the Union Jack, were raised together above Sebastopol.

It is interesting to note how it is stated to have first arrived.[8] The Canadiens-Français being, by lineage and temperament, Monarchists, had shown no regard or liking for the early Revolutionary and Republican emblem, and had never raised it in Canada.

In 1853, under Victoria and Napoleon III., an entente cordiale had been established between England and France, and in that same year arrangements had been completed with the Allan Line to build new steamers and perform a regular service direct between Liverpool and Montreal. Actuated, no doubt, by the prevailing fervour, they had selected as the distinguishing, or "house," flag of their line one of the same shape and colours as the French flag, but with the broad bands reversed, the red being next the mast instead of the blue as in the French ensign.

In the spring of 1854, as their first steamer was seen entering the St. Lawrence, this flag so nearly resembled the French ensign as to cause surprise to be expressed. "What," said the older heads, "the flag of the Revolution on an English ship!" It was a novel sight, but great were the rejoicings over the establishment of the new line.

Their second ship came in dressed with many French and English flags, for war had been declared by the alliance of England and France against Russia, this being the first announcement in Canada, for there were no telegraph cables in those days.

Following this came the exploits of the allied armies in the Crimea, bringing with them the consequent profusion and intertwining of the English and French flags with which ships and business buildings were decorated to celebrate their combined victories.

Such was the entry of the tri-colour into Canada, not being introduced by the Canadians, speaking French, but by their English friends.

A quaint suggestion has been made to the writer by no less an authority than Sir James Le Moine, the historian of Quebec: "The French Canadian is very partial to display, but is primarily economical. While the simple colours of the tri-colour can be conveniently made by the most inexperienced, the details of the Union Jack are very difficult to cut and to correctly sew together. The bonne mère can easily provide out of her household treasures the materials for the one, but she must purchase the other, and this, therefore, is the reason why the tri-colour is so frequently seen in French-speaking Quebec."

The tri-colour, having never been the flag of his forefathers, carries neither allegiance nor loyalty to the French Canadian. His people have never fought under it, while many a gallant French Canadian son has poured out his blood for the Union Jack at home in defence of Canada or upon foreign shores in service in the British armies. It has never brought him liberty or protection as has his Union Jack, which has been his British flag for a century and a half, and for more than a quarter of a century before the tri-colour of the European French ever came into existence.

Another flag—although it has ceased to be a national flag, and is now the flag of a possession of the United States—should yet be mentioned by reason of the history which was told in its folds.

The Hawaiian national ensign (5) was at first composed of nine horizontal stripes of equal width, alternating white, red and blue, the top stripe being white and the bottom blue.[9]

Afterwards the lowest stripe was taken off and the new flag (Pl. II. , fig. 4) adopted, in which there are eight stripes, the bottom stripe being red and the British Union Jack placed in the upper corner.

The Sandwich Islands, made known to the world mainly by the tragic death of Captain Cook, in 1778, and now known as the Hawaiian Islands, had been fused into a single monarchy by the impetuous valour of King Kamehama, who, in 1794, admitted Christian missionaries to his kingdom. Its existence as an independent monarchy was thereafter maintained and was recognized by the great powers.

Internal difficulties having arisen in the kingdom and an insult been given to a British consul, the islands were ceded and the sovereignty offered to Great Britain in 1843, when, on 12th February, the Union Jack was raised on all the islands, the understanding being that the natives were to be under the protection of the flag of Great Britain, and internal order to be guaranteed pending the final disposition which might be arrived at in England between the representatives of the Hawaiians and the British Government.[10]

The British did not accept the proffered transfer of the islands, but returned the sovereignty to the native government, which was thereafter to continue as an independent monarchy under the protection of Great Britain; and by an accompanying treaty all British manufactures and produce were to be admitted duty free. On July 31st, 1843, the British flag was lowered and the new Hawaiian ensign raised in its place.[11] It was in recognition of this event that the Union Jack was placed in the Hawaiian ensign.

In the same year France and England agreed never to take possession of the islands either by protectorate or in any other form.

The natives steadily decreased in number and in power, and the trade and commerce of the islands had passed almost entirely into American hands.

Dissensions had afterwards arisen under the subsequent native sovereigns, and in 1893 the Queen, Liliuokalani, was deposed by a revolution, and a republican government formed under President Dole, an American citizen.

Cession of the islands was offered in 1896 to the American Government and was refused, but in 1898 the islands were finally annexed to the United States and the American ensign raised; but the Hawaiian flag, with its Union Jack in the upper corner, continued as a local flag, and was so displayed on June 14th, 1900, at the inauguration of President Dole as Governor of the new-formed "Territory of Hawaii," among the Territories of the United States.

These instances of the origin of some of the national flags of other nations show how history is interwoven in their folds, and how they perpetuate the memories of past days or of the men who have dominated vital occasions. A singularly similar origin is associated with the creation of the Stars and Stripes, the ensign of the United States of North America (Pl. VI. , fig. 3), which is treated of in Chapter XVI.

CHAPTER III.

THE ORIGIN OF THE JACKS.

It is quite evident, then, that national flags are not merely a haphazard patchwork of coloured bunting, nor by any means "meaningless things." Their combinations have a history, and, in many cases, tell a story; but of all the national flags there is none that bears upon its folds so interesting a story, nor has its history so plainly written in its parts and colourings, as has our British "Union Jack."

Our present enterprise is to search out whence it got its name, how it was built up into its present form, and what is the meaning of each of its several parts. This is not only an enquiry of deepest interest, but is of practical and educational value, for to trace the story of the successive combinations of our national flags is to follow the history of the British race.

The flags of other nations have mostly derived their origin from association with some dominant personage, or with a particular epoch. They are, as a rule, the signal of a dynasty or the record of some revolution; but our British Union Jack records in its folds the steady and continuous growth of a great nation, and traces, by the changes made in it during centuries of adventure and progress, and by the flags in which it has been successively combined, the gradual extension of its union and methods of Constitutional Government over a world-wide Empire.

The origin of the name "Union Jack" has given rise to considerable conjecture and much interesting surmise; in the proclamation of Charles I., 1634, it is called the "Union Flagge"; in the treaty of peace made with the Dutch in 1674, in the reign of Charles II., it is mentioned as "His Majesty of Great Britain's flag or Jack," and in the proclamation of Queen Anne, in 1707, as "Our Jack, commonly called the Union Jack."

The most generally quoted suggestion given for the origin of the name is that it was acquired from the fact that the first proclamation which authorized a flag, in which the national crosses of England and Scotland were for the first time combined, was issued by James VI. of Scotland, after he had become James I. of England, and that as King James frequently signed his name in the French manner as "Jacques," this was abbreviated into "Jac," and thus his new flag came to be called a "Jack."

The derivation suggested is ingenious and interesting, but cannot be accepted as correct, for the simple reason that there were "Jacks" long before the time and reign of James I., and that their prior origin may be clearly traced.

In the earliest days of chivalry, long before the time of the Norman conquest of England, both the knights on horseback and the men on foot of the armies in the field wore a surcoat or "Jacque" (whence our word "Jacket"), extending over the body from the neck to the thighs, bearing upon it the blazon or sign either of their lord or of their nationality. Numberless examples of these are to be seen in early illuminated manuscripts, or on monuments erected in many cathedrals and sanctuaries.

In the time of the Crusaders, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when the Christian nations of Europe were combined together to rescue Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the rule of the Mohammedan, the warrior pilgrims, recruited from the different countries, wore crosses of different shapes and colours upon their surcoats, to indicate the nationalities to which they belonged, and to evidence the holy cause in which they were engaged. It was from wearing these crosses that they gained their name of "Crusaders," or cross-bearers.

The cross worn by each of the nationalities was of a different colour—that of France being red; Flanders, green; Germany, black, and Italy, yellow.

In the earlier crusades the cross worn by the English was white, but in later expeditions the red cross of St. George was adopted and worn upon the Jacque as the sign of the English, in the same way as shown in the accompanying knightly figure (6).

The continuing use of this St. George cross, and the reason for wearing it as an identification of English forces is well shown in the following extracts from the "Ordnaunces," issued to the army with which Richard II. of England invaded Scotland in 1386:

A fuller understanding is afforded of the character of this "parell," as also of the early adoption of its name by references to it given in 1415:

The sailors of the "Cinque Ports" of Hastings, Sandwich, Hythe, Romney and Dover, on the east of England, to which Winchelsea and Rye were subsequently added, and by whose municipalities, in consideration of certain privileges granted them, the royal navies were in early days principally manned, are recorded to have worn as their uniform, in 1513, "a cote of whyte cotyn, with a red crosse and the armes of ye Ports underneathe."

In the time of Queen Mary the continuation of the custom is further evidenced by entries in a contemporary diary of 1588:

These "surcoats" or "Jacques" came in time to be known as the "Jacks" of the various nationalities they represented, and it was from the raising of one of these upon a lance or staff at the bow of a ship, in order that the nationality of those on board might be made known, that a single flag bearing on it only the cross of St. George, or the cross of St. Andrew, came to be known as a "Jack." From this origin, too, the small flag-pole at the bow of a ship is still called the "Jack-staff," and similarly the short flag-pole at the stern of vessels, upon which the distinguishing Ensign of the nationality of the ship is displayed, is called the "Ensign-staff."

This custom of wearing the national Jack at the bow had not only been early established by usage, but had also been officially recognized. On the great seal of the first Lord Admiral of England, in 1409, under Henry IV., a one-masted galley is shown.[15] At the stern of the ship is the Royal Standard of the King, and at the bow a staff bearing on it the square banner or Jack of St. George, the sign of England.

Another instance of the use of these national Jacks as a sign of national union is to be noted.

During the feudal period of European history, when armed forces were called into the field, each of the nobles and leaders, as in duty bound, furnished to the cause his quota of men equipped with complete armament. These troops bore upon their arms and banners the heraldic device or coat-of-arms of their own liege lord, as a sign of "the company to which they belonged"; and in such way the particular locality from which they came, and the leadership under which they were marshalled could at once be recognized.

The Sovereigns also in their turn displayed the banner of the kingdom over which each reigned, such as the fleur-de-lis for France, the cross of St. George for England, the cross of St. Andrew for Scotland; and this banner of the king formed the ensign under which the combined forces of the royal adherents and their supporters served.

As the forces collected together came to be more the national army of the nation and less the personal adherents of their chief, it was provided in England that the liege lord of each local force should bear on his banner the cross of St. George, as well as his own coat-of-arms, the ordinance being:

An excellent example of this is given in the standard or ensign of the forces of the Earls of Percy in the sixteenth century (Pl. III. , fig. 1). In the chief is the red cross of St. George, as the sign of allegiance to King and nation; in the fly is the crest of the Percys, a blue lion with other insignia, and their motto, "Esperance en Dieu," the signs of their liege lord and local country.

This flag declared its bearers to be the men of the Percy contingent, Englishmen, and soldiers of the King.

A survival of this ancient custom exists to this day in our British military service, both in the Colonial and Imperial forces. Rifle regiments do not carry "colours," but all infantry regiments are entitled, upon receiving the royal warrant, to carry two flags, which are called "Colours" (7).

The "First," or "King's Colour," is the plain "Union Jack," in sign of allegiance to the Sovereign, and upon this, in the centre, is the number or designation of the regiment, surmounted by a royal crown. The "Second," or "Regimental Colour," has a small Union Jack in the upper corner. The body of the flag is of the local colour of the facings of the regiment. If the facings are blue, as in all "Royal" regiments, the flag is blue; if they are white, then the flag is white, having on it a large St. George's cross in addition to the small Union Jack in the upper corner. On the body of this colour are embroidered the regimental badge, the names of actions in which it has taken part, and any distinctive emblems indicating the special history of the regiment itself, and in territorial regiments the locality from which they are recruited. In this way both the national and local methods of distinction are to-day preserved and displayed in the same way as they were in original times; the Union Jack of the present day having been substituted for the St. George's cross of the first period.

Such, then, was the origin of the name Jack, and it is from the combination of the three national "Jacks" of England, Scotland and Ireland, at successive periods in their history, into one flag, that the well-known "Union Jack" of our British nation has gradually grown into its present form.

CHAPTER IV.

THE ENGLISH JACK.

A.D. 1194-1606.

The original leader and dominant partner in the three kingdoms, which have been the cradle of the British race throughout the world, was England, and it is her flag which forms the groundwork upon which our Union Flag has been built up.

The English Jack (Pl I. , fig. 1) is described in simple language as a white flag having upon it a plain red cross.

This is the banner of St. George (8), the patron saint of England, and in heraldic language is described as "Argent, a cross gules" (on silver-white a plain red cross).

The great Christian hero, St. George, is stated by those who have made most intimate search into his legend and history[17] to have been descended from a noble Cappadocian Christian family, and to have been beheaded for his faith on the 23rd April, A.D. 303, during the persecution of the Christians by the Emperor Diocletian. The anniversary of that day is for that reason celebrated as St. George's Day. He was a soldier of highest renown, a knight of purest honour, and many exploits of his heroism and courage are narrated in ancient prose and poetry.

About three miles north along the shore of the Mediterranean, from the city of Beyrut (Beyrout), there was in the time of the Crusaders, and still remains, an ancient grotto cut into the rock, and famous as being the traditional place where the gallant knight St. George,

was reputed to have performed one of his most doughty deeds, and had "redeemed the King's daughter out of the fiery jaws of a dreadful dragon.[19]

The memory of St. George has always been greatly revered in the East, particularly by the Christian Greek Church, by which he was acclaimed as the "Victorious One," the "Champion Knight of Christendom," and early accepted as the protector saint of soldiers and sailors. One of the first churches erected by Constantine the Great, about A.D. 313, and many other Eastern churches, were dedicated to him.

It is to be noted, however, that St. George has never been canonized by the Roman Church, nor his name placed in her calendar of sacred saints. His name, like those of St. Christopher, St. Sebastian and St. Nicholas, was only included in a list issued in A.D. 494, by Pope Gelasius, as being among those "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God.[20]

The form of his cross is that known as the Greek Cross, the four arms being at right angles to each other, and in this form is displayed in the upper corner of the national Greek ensign, in this case as a white cross on a blue ground. (Pl II., fig. 3.)

This Greek religious connection has also caused the adoption of the cross of St. George in the insignia of other nations. The Czar of Russia is not only the "Autocrat of the People of the Empire of all the Russias," but he is also the "Supreme Head of the Orthodox Faith," which in Russia is represented by the Greek Church. His Imperial Standard is a yellow flag upon which is displayed a black two-headed eagle bearing upon its breast a red shield on which is emblazoned in white the figure of St. George slaying a dragon. This same colouring, white on red, is followed in the decoration of the Order of St. George, which is the second order of knighthood in Russia, and in the white cross of St. George, as shown in the official flags of the Russian ambassadors.

On the royal arms of Austria the black two-headed eagle bears on its breast a shield with a red ground having on it a white St. George's cross.

The insignia of eight nations bear the Greek cross of the St. George shape, but in four different colours on grounds of three different colours:

England is, however, the only nation which has adopted the Red cross of St. George as its special national ensign.

The cry of "St. George for Merrie England" has re-echoed through so many centuries that his place as the patron saint of the kingdom is firmly established. Wherever ships have sailed, there the red cross of St. George has been carried by the sailor-nation who chose him as their hero.

The incident from which came his adoption as patron saint is thus narrated in the early chronicles. In 1190, Richard I., Cœur de Lion, of England, had joined the French, Germans and Franks in the third great crusade to the Holy Land; but while the other nations proceeded overland to the seat of war, Richard built and engaged a great fleet, in which he conveyed his English troops to Palestine by sea. His armament consisted of "254 talle shippes and about three score galliots." Sailing down the eastern shore with these and arriving off the coast, he won a gallant sea-fight over the Saracens near Beyrut, and the grotto of St. George, and by this victory intercepted the reinforcements which their ships were carrying to the relief of Acre, at that time being besieged by the combined armies of the Crusaders.

St. George, the redresser of wrongs, the protector of women, the model of Christian chivalry, and the tutelary saint of England, was not a seafaring hero, nor himself connected with the sea, but it was after and in memory of their sailors' victory near the scene of his exploits that the seafaring nation adopted him as their patron saint.

The red cross emblem of St. George is stated by the chroniclers to have been at once thereafter adopted by Richard I., who immediately placed himself and his army under the especial protection of the Saint, raised his banner at their head, and is reported to have introduced the emblem into England itself after his return in 1194. Further evidence of its introduction and its continued use is given by the record that in 1222 St. George's Day was ordered to be kept as a holiday in England.[21]

Some aver that the emblem was not generally accepted until under Edward I., in 1274. This prince, before his accession to the throne, had served in the last Crusades, and during that time had visited the scene of the victory and the grotto of the Saint. It is pointed out that this visit of Prince Edward to Palestine coincided with the change made in their badge by the English Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem from an eight-pointed Maltese cross to a straight white Greek cross, and that at the time of this change came the appearance upon the English banners of the St. George's cross, but of the English national colour red,[22] therefore they deduce that the further employment of the emblem as the national flag was then additionally authorized by Edward I.