USS Enterprise

[tamariki]

I have been looking into American Naval History, and whilst looking into the origins of the Rattlesnake Flag,came upon some interesting facts about the name Enterprise.

1775 - Benedict Arnold captures aBritish sloop and renames her,Enterprise, first of many famous ships with that name.
In the fall of 1775, as the first ships of theContinental Navy readied in the Delaware River, CommodoreEsek Hopkins issued, in a set of fleet signals, an instruction directing his vessels to fly a striped Jackand Ensign. In retrospect this has been taken as the first U.S. Navy Jack and has traditionally been shown as consisting of thirteen red and white stripes with a superimposed Rattlesnakeand the motto "Don't Tread on Me." No representation or example of the ensign survives: patriotic historians have inferred the design from Hopkins' message and a color plate depicting a "Don't Tread Upon Me" ensign in AdmiralGeorge Henry Preble's History of the Flag of the United States, 1880.

The rattlesnake had long been a symbol of resistance to the BritishColonial America. The phrase ?Don't tread on me? was coined during the "American RevolutionaryWar.

In 1980,Edward Hidalgo Secretary of the Navydirected that the ship with the longest active status shall display the First Navy Jack until decommissioned or transferred to inactive service. Then the flag will be passed to the next ship in line. This honor was conferred on the following U.S. Navy vessels:

1981 - 1982: Destroyer tender USS Dixie (AD 14), commissioned 1940
1982 - 1993: Destroyer tender USS Prairie (AD 15), commissioned 1940
1993 - 1993: Submarine tender USS Orion (AS 18), commissioned 1943
1993 - 1995: Repair Ship USS Jason (AR 8), commissioned 1944
1995 - 1995: Ammunition ship USS Mauna Kea (AE 22), commissioned 1957
1995 - 1998: Aircraft carrier USS Independence (CV 62), commissioned 1959.
On September 30, 1998, the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), commissioned in 1961, became the oldest active-status ship in the United States Navy upon the decommissioning of Independence.
SECNAV Instruction 10520.6The Secretary of the Navy issued Instruction 10520.6, dated 31 May 2002, directing all United States Navy ships to fly this flag in honor of those killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, and it will be flown for the duration of the War on Terrorism.

Assuming the War on Terrorism is ended by Kitty Hawk's expected decommissioning date of 2009, Kitty Hawk will pass the First Navy Jack to USS Enterprise (CVN-65) on her decommissioning.

What a marvellous tradition.

Jim [/list][/list]

[Boats]

The Rattlesnake as a Symbol of America
I observed on one of the drums belonging to the marines now raising, there was painted a Rattle-Snake, with this modest motto under it, "Don't tread on me." As I know it is the custom to have some device on the arms of every country, I supposed this may have been intended for the arms of America; and as I have nothing to do with public affairs, and as my time is perfectly my own, in order to divert an idle hour, I sat down to guess what could have been intended by this uncommon device ? I took care, however, to consult on this occasion a person who is acquainted with heraldry, from whom I learned, that it is a rule among the learned of that science "That the worthy properties of the animal, in the crest-born, shall be considered," and, "That the base ones cannot have been intended;" he likewise informed me that the ancients considered the serpent as an emblem of wisdom, and in a certain attitude of endless duration ? both which circumstances I suppose may have been had in view. Having gained this intelligence, and recollecting that countries are sometimes represented by animals peculiar to them, it occurred to me that the Rattle-Snake is found in no other quarter of the world besides America, and may therefore have been chosen, on that account, to represent her.

But then "the worldly properties" of a Snake I judged would be hard to point out. This rather raised than suppressed my curiosity, and having frequently seen the Rattle-Snake, I ran over in my mind every property by which she was distinguished, not only from other animals, but from those of the same genus or class of animals, endeavoring to fix some meaning to each, not wholly inconsistent with common sense.

I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids. She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage. As if anxious to prevent all pretensions of quarreling with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most defenseless animal; and even when those weapons are shown and extended for her defense, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal. Conscious of this, she never wounds 'till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her.

Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America? The poison of her teeth is the necessary means of digesting her food, and at the same time is certain destruction to her enemies. This may be understood to intimate that those things which are destructive to our enemies, may be to us not only harmless, but absolutely necessary to our existence. I confess I was wholly at a loss what to make of the rattles, 'till I went back and counted them and found them just thirteen, exactly the number of the Colonies united in America; and I recollected too that this was the only part of the Snake which increased in numbers. Perhaps it might be only fancy, but, I conceited the painter had shown a half formed additional rattle, which, I suppose, may have been intended to represent the province of Canada.

'Tis curious and amazing to observe how distinct and independent of each other the rattles of this animal are, and yet how firmly they are united together, so as never to be separated but by breaking them to pieces. One of those rattles singly, is incapable of producing sound, but the ringing of thirteen together, is sufficient to alarm the boldest man living.

The Rattle-Snake is solitary, and associates with her kind only when it is necessary for their preservation. In winter, the warmth of a number together will preserve their lives, while singly, they would probably perish. The power of fascination attributed to her, by a generous construction, may be understood to mean, that those who consider the liberty and blessings which America affords, and once come over to her, never afterwards leave her, but spend their lives with her. She strongly resembles America in this, that she is beautiful in youth and her beauty increaseth with her age, "her tongue also is blue and forked as the lightning, and her abode is among impenetrable rocks."

An American Guesser




In a 1784 letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin compared
the eagle with the turkey as a symbol for America.

[Boats]

Evolution of the United States Flag

No one knows with absolute certainty who designed the first stars and stripes or who made it. Congressman Francis Hopkinson seems most likely to have designed it, and few historians believe that Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress, made the first one.

Until the Executive Order of June 24, 1912, neither the order of the stars nor the proportions of the flag was prescribed. Consequently, flags dating before this period sometimes show unusual arrangements of the stars and odd proportions, these features being left to the discretion of the flag maker. In general, however, straight rows of stars and proportions similar to those later adopted officially were used. The principal acts affecting the flag of the United States are the following:


On June 14, 1777, in order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."
Act of January 13, 1794 - provided for 15 stripes and 15 stars after May 1795.
Act of April 4, 1818 - provided for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added to the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state, signed by President Monroe.
Executive Order of President Taft dated June 24, 1912 - established proportions of the flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward.
Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated January 3, 1959 - provided for the arrangement of the stars in seven rows of seven stars each, staggered horizontally and vertically.
Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated August 21, 1959 - provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizon tally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.

[Boats]

The Eagle Standard

[Boats]

Here's one more I found

[Boats]

This was a great project

[Boats]

Much of the data is now getting repetitive

Man all the different standard to come up with our present stars and stripes. I did like the Eagle Standard.

[SparrowHawk62]

On 30 June 1995, the 36-year-old INDEPENDENCE became the
oldest ship in the Navy's active fleet. With that distinction, Indy, the first aircraft carrier to hold the honor, became entitled to fly theRevolution-era "First Navy Jack", commonly called the "Don't Tread On Me", flag from her bow.

[Boats]

The carrier's Bon Homme Richard CV31 and CVA31 also carried that distinction I know I have the ship patches.