American Legion Post 48
Chesnee, SC 29323

All photos by Jack D Smith, Jr

National Commander Charles E Schmidt, Post 48 Commander Terry Brown, Dept. of SC Commander Bob Scherer


National Commander Charles E Schmidt, Post 48 Commander Terry Brown,
Post 48 Historian Jack D Smith, Jr, Dept. of SC Commander Bob Scherer


Post Historian Jack D Smith, Jr, Post Commander Terry Brown, National Commander Charles E Schmidt


The 100% Award Received by Post 48 Chesnee

 

Bunker Hill Flag
Some controversy exists concerning which flag flew at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, at the onset of the American Revolutionary War. An officer of the Royal Marines reported that no flags were used by the rebels. John Trumbull, known for his paintings of the war, used a red flag with a pine tree in his 1786 painting The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775. However, he later painted another version of this painting for the family of the fallen general, which depicts a blue flag. (Another flag commonly used to represent the battle has a blue flag with a white canton, the canton quartered with cross of St. George (the symbol of England) with a tree in the first quarter of the canton.) Although possibly inspired by the Blue Ensign of the Royal Navy, the blue field is said to have been due to an error in a wood engraving, causing confusion among painters. (This could have been caused by incorrect "hatching", whereby parallel lines represent heraldic "tinctures" or colors: horizontal lines represent "blue," while vertical ones represent "red.") However, Benson John Lossing writes in Field Book of the Revolution that he interviewed the daughter of a Bunker Hill veteran who told her that he hoisted a blue flag on Breed's Hill prior to the battle. Regardless of its authenticity, the blue variation has become a symbol of the Battle of Bunker Hill and as such Charlestown (the neighborhood encompassing Bunker and Breed's hills) and was featured on a 1968 US Postage Stamp.

copyright A L Post 48 Chesnee 2017
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