Pictured above is the original Bedford Flag which can be viewed in the Bedford Free Public Library in Massachusetts. 1
It is one of the oldest flags in the U.S. It was made in the early 1700s and was carried in battle against the British when the Minutemen gathered at Concord Bridge on April 19, 1775. 2
It measures 27" x 29 " without the fringe which has been lost. The small square size with a fringe is typical of the type of flag carried by an officer on a horse and known as a cornet. 3
The Beford Flag is a mailed arm extending from a cloud — the arm clasping a sword — on the scroll are inscribed the words — “Vince Aut Morire” — Conquer or Die. The three discs are though to represent cannon balls. However, English regiment flags were ordered to be alike and company flags to have a distinguishing mark such as a unique number of balls, bullets, stars or sunlike rays. But this type of marking was used by foot companies, but not required for cornets. 4
When was the flag made, where and by whom? The silk is believed to have come from China, perhaps purchased from the East India Company. Looms in Europe during the early 1700s were not wide enough to weave 29" in width. In the late 1990s during construction of the Bedford Library, the flag was removed from the glass case it had been in since 1907 and paint samples were obtained by Deirdre Windsor, Director and Chief Conservator of the Textile Conservation Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Analysis of the paint samples was done by Shirin Fozi, an undergraduate at the Williams College Chemistry Department. She found the gold and silver paints were composed of gold and silver metal. In a bit of dark green paint taken from the shadowing on the arm on the reverse side, the Prussian blue pigment was found. Prussian blue was discovered in 1704 by a man in Berlin. The formula remained a secret for 20 years and was reproduced in England in 1724 and would take years before commonly available.
The flag could not have been painted prior to 1704 and 1740-1750 seems reasonable unless the artist knew someone who painted in Berlin. 5
The flag was given to the Town of Bedford on October 19, 1885 by Cyrus Page, grandson of Nathaniel Page Jr. who carried the flag on the 19th of April, 1775. He said, "I have decided to give this flag to the Town of Bedford, with the understanding that is shall be in custody of the trustees of the Library and be so placed within the building, that all may look upon it." 6
What happened to the fringe originally on the flag? At the age of 92, Ruhamah Page, Nathaniel's youngest daughter recalled for Abram English Brown's Beneath Old Roof Trees, p. 200, "I took that silver fringe from that old flag when I was a giddy girl, and trimmed a dress for a military ball. I was never more sorry for anything than that which resulted in the loss of the fringe." 7
Concord dedicated a monument on July 4, 1837 on the site of the Old North Bridge to remember the opening day of the Revolution. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the Concord Hymn which was read and sung to the tune of "Old Hundred." His grandfather, Rev. William Emerson had witnessed the battle. The poem is in the public domain.
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
Old Hundred is associated with Psalm 100 and is sung in many Churches as the Doxology.
The site today is the Minute Man National Historical Park.
https://www.nps.gov/mima/learn/historyculture/april-19-1775.htm
Minute Man National Historical Park in Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord, Massachusetts, preserves and interprets the sites, structures, and landscapes that became the field of battle during the first armed conflict of the American Revolution on April 19, 1775. It was here that British colonists risked their lives and property, defending their ideals of liberty and self-determination. The events of that day have been popularized by succeeding generations as the "shot heard 'round the world." Often referred to as the "Battles of Lexington, and Concord," the fighting on April 19, 1775 raged over 16 miles along the Bay Road from Boston to Concord, and included some 1,700 British regulars and over 4,000 Colonial militia.
British Casualties totaled 273; 73 Killed, 174 wounded, 26 missing.
Colonial casualties totaled 95; 49 killed, 41 wounded, and 5 missing.
Sources:
1. Lawrence McDonald, Sharon. The Bedford Flag Unfurled. Revised copyright 2000, copyright 1996. Electronic version 2010. p. iii. https://www.bedfordlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BedfordFlagUnfurled.pdf
2. Lawrence McDonald, Sharon. The Bedford Flag Unfurled. Revised copyright 2000, copyright 1996. Electronic version 2010. p. iii. https://www.bedfordlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BedfordFlagUnfurled.pdf
3. Lawrence McDonald, Sharon. The Bedford Flag Unfurled. Revised copyright 2000, copyright 1996. Electronic version 2010. p. 1. https://www.bedfordlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BedfordFlagUnfurled.pdf
4. Lawrence McDonald, Sharon. The Bedford Flag Unfurled. Revised copyright 2000, copyright 1996. Electronic version 2010. p. 2. https://www.bedfordlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BedfordFlagUnfurled.pdf
5. Lawrence McDonald, Sharon. The Bedford Flag Unfurled. Revised copyright 2000, copyright 1996. Electronic version 2010. pp. 10-11. https://www.bedfordlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BedfordFlagUnfurled.pdf
6. Lawrence McDonald, Sharon. The Bedford Flag Unfurled. Revised copyright 2000, copyright 1996. Electronic version 2010. p. 14. https://www.bedfordlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BedfordFlagUnfurled.pdf
7. Lawrence McDonald, Sharon. The Bedford Flag Unfurled. Revised copyright 2000, copyright 1996. Electronic version 2010. p. 59. https://www.bedfordlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BedfordFlagUnfurled.pdf
Troop 7 has a reproduction of this flag.
