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1703-11 Queen Anne's, or Third Indian War. Settlements again ravaged.
1722-25 Lovewell's, or the Fourth Indian War.
1739 Line between Maine and New Hampshire fixed, after long dis- pute, by the king in council.
1741 George Whitfield visits Maine. A second visit in 1744-45.
1745 Capture of Louisburg by New England troops commanded by William Pepperell.
1745-56 Renewed Indian war.
1754-63 Seven Years' War, the last of the French and Indian Wars.
1760 Cumberland and Lincoln counties established.
1775 Capture of British schooner Margranetto at Machias. Falmouth burned by British. Arnold's expedition to Quebec.
1778 Maine constituted a district by the Continental Congress, and a maritime court established.
1779 Unsuccessful attempt to drive the British from the Penobscot.
1780 Constitution of Massachusetts.
1784 Establishment of the province of New Brunswick, and beginning of the long boundary dispute between the province and Maine.
1785 Falmouth Gazette, first newspaper in Maine, established to aid the agitation in favor of separation from Massachusetts. Con- vention at Falmouth to consider separation.
1786 Second convention for separation.
1789 Hancock and Washington counties established.
1794 Bowdoin College founded.
1799
Kennebec County established.
1801 First free public library established (at Castine).
1805 Oxford County established.
1809
Somerset County established.
1813 September 5, capture of the British brig Boxer by the American brig Enterprise off Portland.
1814 British control established on the Penobscot and elsewhere in . eastern Maine, continuing until end of war.
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CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD OF EVENTS
1816 Penobscot County established. Revival of agitation for separation. First separation law: not accepted. Great western emigration, or "Ohio fever." "Cold year."
Second separation act : accepted. State constitution formed. Maine admitted to the Union.
Waldo County established.
Removal of seat of government from Portland to Augusta. Franklin and Piscataquis counties established.
"Aroostook War." Aroostook County established.
Ashburton treaty, settling the disputed northeastern boundary. First prohibitory law: ineffective.
Prohibitory law, or "Maine Law."
Androscoggin and Sagadahoc counties established. Mob outbreak in Portland over liquor agency. Knox County established.
1863-64 Twice invaded by Confederates.
1870 1872 1875 1876 1879 1880
Summer visitors "discover" Maine.
New Sweden colony established.
Compulsory education bill passed.
Death penalty abolished.
"State Steal," disputed gubernatorial election.
Adoption of constitutional amendment providing for biennial elec- tions and biennial sessions of legislature.
1884 1891
Prohibitory constitutional amendment adopted.
Australian ballot system introduced.
1892
Adoption of constitutional amendment providing educational qual- ification of voters.
1907
Unsuccessful attempt to remove State Capitol to Portland.
Celebration of ter-centennial of American shipbuilding (at Bath).
1908 Direct initiative of legislation and optional referendum adopted. 1910 Final settlement of northeastern boundary controversy with Great Britain.
1911 Augusta declared seat of government by constitutional amend- ment.
Attempt to repeal prohibitory law defeated.
1912 Constitutional amendment adopted authorizing issue of highway bonds.
1913 Taxation of intangible personal property authorized.
1914 Public Utilities Commission created.
1915 Workmen's Compensation law adopted.
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1819 1820 1827 1832 1838 1838-39 1839 1842 1846 1851 1854 1855 1860
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THE MAINE BOOK
1916 Sieur de Monts National Monument established on Mount Desert. [Name changed by Congress in 1919 to Lafayette National Park. ] Largest vote ever cast in State election.
1917 Committee of One Hundred on Public Safety appointed by Gov- ernor.
Million dollar appropriation for war purposes.
National Guard mobilized at Augusta on July 5.
1919 103d Infantry demobilized at Camp Devens, April 26-28.
1920 Centennial celebration at Portland, June 28-July 5.
₭1
MAINE
THE CONSTITUTION IS THE BASIS OF ALL LAW AND THE FLAG IS ITS SYMBOL
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CHAPTER XIX
STATE FLAG
For many years the State of Maine had no flag established under the authority of law. At one time the "Stars and Stripes" with the seal and arms of the state in the center of the union was most in use. During the Civil War a blue silk flag, conforming in size and trimmings to the United States regulation colors, blazoned with the arms of the State in the center of its field, was carried by the Maine troops.
The present flag was established by the Maine Legislature of 1909, Public Laws, Chapter 19, which reads as follows :
"Section 1. The flag to be known as the official flag of the State of Maine shall be of blue, same color as the blue field in the flag of the United States, and of the following dimensions and designs; to wit, the length, or height, of the staff to be nine feet, including brass spear-head and ferule ; the fly of said flag to be five feet six inches, and to be four feet four inches on the staff ; in the center of the flag there shall be embroidered in silk the same on both sides of the flag the coat of arms of the State of Maine, in proportionate size; the edges to be trimmed with knotted fringe of yellow silk, two and one-half inches wide, a cord, with tassels, to be attached to the staff at the spear-head, to be eight feet six inches long and composed of white and blue silk strands.
"Section 2. The flag of the State of Maine to be carried by the regi- ments of the National Guard of Maine shall be the same as the flag de- scribed in the first section of this act, with the addition of two scrolls in red, one above and one below the coat of arms of the State; in the upper scroll the inscription Regiment Infantry, and in the lower scroll the inscription National Guard State of Maine."
Uniform "Sec. 1. The words flag, standard, color, ensign or shield, Flag as used in this act, shall include any flag, standard, color, ensign or shield, or copy, picture or representation thereof, Law made of any substance or represented or produced thereon, and of any size, evidently purporting to be such flag, standard, color, ensign or shield of the United States or of this state, or a copy, picture or repre- sentation thereof.
"Sec. 2. No person shall, in any manner, for exhibition or display : (a) place or cause to be placed any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement of any nature upon any flag, standard, color,
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THE MAINE BOOK
ensign or shield of the United States or of this state, or authorized by any law of the United States or of this state; or
(b) expose to public view any such flag, standard, color, ensign or shield upon which shall have been printed, painted or otherwise produced, or to which shall have been attached, appended, affixed or annexed any such word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement; or
(c) expose to public view for sale, manufacture, or otherwise, or to sell, give or have in possession for sale, for gift or for use for any pur- pose any substance, being an article of merchandise or receptacle, or thing for holding or carrying merchandise, upon or to which shall have been produced or attached any such flag, standard, color, ensign or shield, in order to advertise, call attention to, decorate, mark or distinguish such article or substance.
"Sec. 3. No person shall publicly mutilate, deface, defile, defy, trample upon, or by word or act cast contempt upon any such flag, standard, color, ensign or shield.
"Sec. 4. This statute shall not apply to any act permitted by the stat- utes of the United States or of this state), or by the United States Army and Navy regulations, nor shall it apply to any printed or written docu- ment or production, stationery, ornament, picture or jewelry whereon shall be depicted said flag, standard, color, ensign or shield with no design or words thereon and disconnected with any advertisement.
"Sec. 5. Any violation of section two of this act shall be a misde- meanor and punishable by a fine of not more than fifty dollars. Any vio- lation of section three of this act shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both fine and imprison ment, in the discretion of the court.
"Sec. 6. All laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
"Sec. 7. This act shall be construed as to effectuate its general pur- pose and to make uniform the laws of the states which enact it.
"Sec. 8. This act may be cited as the Uniform Flag Law."
(P. L. 1919, c. 158)
School Flags "Superintendents of schools shall see that the flag is dis- played from the public school buildings on appropriate occasions. They shall report annually to the towns the amount necessary to furnish the public schools with suitable flags and flagstaffs and towns shall annually appropriate a sufficient amount to defray the necessary cost of the display of the flag. The appropriation for this purpose shall be separate from and additional to all other appro- priations for schools. It shall be the duty of instructors to impress upon the youth by suitable references and observances the significance of the flag, to teach them the cost, the object and principles of our government,
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STATE FLAG
the great sacrifices of our forefathers, the important part taken by the Union Army in the war of eighteen hundred sixty-one to eighteen hun- dred sixty-five, and to teach them to love, honor and respect the flag of our country that cost so much and is so dear to every true American citizen."
(R. S. c. 16, s. 52)
Flag at "That the flag of our country shall be displayed in each Polling polling place at every election; there to serve as a symbol Places of that responsible liberty which finds expression in the suffrage of a free people, and as an inspiring challenge to the youth of America and foreign born citizen alike, who, in its pres- ence execute the serious duties of citizenship. The secretary of state is hereby directed to furnish a copy of this resolution to the municipal offi- cers of every city, town or plantation in the state."
(Res. 1919, c. 117)
CHAPTER XX
SEAL AND ARMS
DIRIGO
-
MAINE
The following resolve providing for the seal and arms of the state of Maine was adopted June 9, 1820, by the first Maine Legislature:
"A shield, argent charged with a Pine Tree; a Moose Deer, at the foot of it, recumbent. Supporters; on the dexter side, an Husbandman, rest- ing on a scythe; on sinister side, a Seaman, resting on an anchor. In the foreground, representing sea and land, and under the shield, the name of the State in large Roman Capitals, to wit :-
MAINE
The whole surmounted by a Crest, the North Star. The Motto, in small Roman Capitals, in a label interposed between the Shield and the Crest, viz :- DIRIGO."
Explanation "The Moose Deer (cervus alces) is a native of the forests of Maine. When full grown, it is scarcely inferior to a horse in size. It has a neck, short and thick, a large head, horns dilating almost immediately from the base into a broad, palmated form, a thick, heavy upper lip, hanging much over the lower, very high shoulders and long legs. The color is a dark greyish brown, much paler on the legs and under part of the body. The hair is coarse and strong and is much longer on the top of the shoulders, and ridge of the neck, than other parts. The eyes and ears are large, the hoofs broad and the tail extremely short. The greatest height of the Moose Deer is about seventeen hands, and the weight of such an animal about twelve hundred and twenty pounds. In deep snows they collect in numbers in pine forests.
"The Mast Pine (Americana, quinis ex uno folliculo setis) leaves five together, cones cylindrical, imbricated, smooth, longer than the leaves,
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SEAL AND ARMS
crest of the anthers of two minute, awl-shaped bristles. It is as well the staple of the commerce of Maine, as the pride of her forests. It is an evergreen of towering height, and enormous size. It is the largest and most useful of American Pines and the best timber for masts.
Name "The territory, embraced by the limits of the State, bears the name Maine.
Crest "As in the Arms of the United States, a cluster of stars represents the States, composing the Nation, the NORTH STAR may be considered particularly applicable to the most northern member of the confederacy, or as indicating the local situation of the most northern State in the Union.
Motto " 'Dirigo'": I Direct or I Guide. As the polar star has been considered the mariner's guide and director in conducting the ship over the pathless ocean to the desired haven, and the center of magnetic attraction; as it has been figuratively used to denote the point, to which all affections turn, and as it is here intended to represent the State, it may be considered the citizen's guide, and the object to which the patriot's best exertions should be directed."
THE SHIELD
Tree
The Pine "The stately Pine, with its straight body, erect head, and evergreen foliage, and whose beauty is exceeded only by its usefulness, while it represents the State, will excite the constant prayer of its citizens, semper viridis.
The Moose "A native animal of the State, which retires before the Deer approaching steps of human habitancy, in his recumbent posture and undisturbed situation, denotes the extent of unsettled lands, which future years may see the abodes of successive generations of men, whose spirit of independence shall be untamed as this emblem, and whose liberty shall be unrestricted as the range of the Moose Deer.
The Supporters of the Shield An Husbandman with a scythe represents Agriculture generally, and more particularly that of a grazing coun- try; while a Seaman resting on an anchor, represents Commerce and Fisheries; and both indicate that the State is supported by these primary vocations of its inhabitants."
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PINE CONE AND TASSEL
CHAPTER XXI
FLORAL EMBLEM-THE PINE CONE AND TASSEL (Pinus strobus L.)
The idea of a national garland of flowers instead of a single national flower originated at the Women's Congress at the World's Fair in Chicago : one country-but it is made up of many different and individual states ; one language but in it are vestiges of all the languages of the world; one flag, but that flag has thirteen stripes and forty-eight stars, so one floral emblem, a garland composed of the state flowers.
It was decided that each state should choose its own flower and that the legislature should be asked to make the choice legal. In our state the Maine Floral Emblem Society was immediately formed. Under its direction the Maine flower was chosen. Ballots were published in the newspapers during the months of November and December, 1894, and everyone was urged to register his choice. High school pupils, women's clubs, granges, and Maine people scattered all over the United States responded. The three flowers with the largest number of votes were the pine cone, the goldenrod, and the appleblossom, but the pine cone led by many thousand votes. In 1895 the pine cone and tassel were legally adopted by the sixty-seventh legislature as the floral emblem of the State of Maine.
It was particularly fitting that the flower of the "Pine Tree State," whose seal wears a pine tree in its heart, should be the pine cone and tassel. The pine of the seal is called in the old records the "mast pine, pinus, americana, quinis ex uno folliculo setis." We know it best as the white pine, but in England it is called the Weymouth pine because it is found in great quantity on the estate of Lord Weymouth of Kent. It is by far the most attractive of the six hundred varieties of pine, nearly forty of which are native to North America. It often reaches the height of one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet, with sometimes eighty or ninety feet without branches. The white pine is most adaptable. Some- one has said that it was frugal by nature and that it could stand poverty better than surfeit. You will find it growing everywhere in Maine, scat- tered among the other trees in the depths of the forest, clinging to the rocky soil of pasture land or coast and clustered in lovely groves on the hillsides. It once formed extensive, primeval forests, but these have long since disappeared under the axe of the settler and lumberman.
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THE MAINE BOOK
Always beneath the pine is a brown carpet of pine needles, overhead the whorled branches of evergreen, through which the wind soughs and murmurs its soft lullabies. The pine lives to a hale and hearty old age, growing from within outward. It has grace, elegance and dignity. Maine people do not have to be told of its manifold uses.
Although the pine lacks the legendary background of many trees, yet some pretty stories cling to it. The Japanese call it the New Year tree, and to them it typifies longevity, constancy and health. In other lands it is considered a sacred tree. It is the fir tree of the Norsemen. The scientific name, pinus strobus, is itself suggestive. Pinus comes from an old Celtic word meaning a rock, a mountain, and strobus is the name that Pliny gave in his Natural History, that storehouse of misinformation, to a tree of Persia that "yielded odiferous gum."
The tassel is the cluster of delicate, slender needle-like leaves which are in whorls of five. The flowers of the pine appear in the spring, first tiny stiff catkins, green and viscid. They grow slowly through the sum- mer and in the fall they are an inch or two long. It takes two seasons for the cones to ripen. They are then four to six inches in length, cylindrical in shape, and about an inch in diameter. They droop and curve inwards slightly. The scales are without prickles and have a whitish gum-like deposit on their tips. The mature cones begin to open early in September when the seeds blow out and are carried by the wind far and wide. There are two little winged seeds on each scale, and there may be eighty or even more seeds in a cone. Next year the seedling pines appear, the prom- ise of future forests. These far-blown seeds are like Maine's children who have left her fostering care to find new homes among the oaks and maples of other states and other countries, but still they keep their sturdy virtues and claim the Pine Tree State as their home.
The pine cone is no hothouse flower grown only under the most favor- able circumstances and available only in certain seasons. It is not.a deli- cate, fragile thing which fades and withers quickly. Its dull brown is the brown of the stubble in the autumn fields, or the earth turned up by the farmer's plough in long furrows. The pine cone lacks, of course, the lovely color of California's golden poppies, the sheer beauty of Connecti- cut's mountain laurel, and the exquisite fragrance of Florida's orange blossoms. Yet is it not typical of Maine and her people? Like Maine's hardy pioneers it is not without beauty of a useful sort. It suggests our stern climate, our rugged soil, our sober, sensible people.
But nothing is lovelier than a pine cone fire with its spicy penetrating odor, in the keen air of the early autumn twilight as it gleams and glows like a living thing. So Maine's sons touched by the spark of patriotism, caught in the conflagration of war, went singing to their death and left behind them a fragrance and a memory that will linger long.
THE RETURNED MAINE RATTLE FLACO IN STATE HOUSE
CHAPTER XXII
THE RETURNED MAINE BATTLE FLAGS
Moses Owen Born at Bath, Maine, July 21, 1838. Graduated at Bow-
doin, Class of 1861. Read law in the office of W. L. Put-
nam, Portland. Died at Augusta, Maine, November 11, 1878.
The Story The following letter of explanation from Major Augustus L. Smith is in reply to a request from the State Librarian for information concerning the circumstances which caused Mr. Owen to write "The Returned Maine Battle Flags".
"It was during the winter of 1865-66 that Moses Owen and myself were employed as clerks in the Secretary of State's office at the Maine Capitol. We boarded at the same place, having adjoining rooms.
"The flags of the Maine regiments that had returned from the War of the Rebellion had been turned over to the Adjutant General and had been grouped around the pillars in the rotunda of the State House.
"While returning from dinner, in passing through the rotunda to the Secretary's office, Mr. Owen chanced to overhear this con- versation between two young lady visitors who had just come into the rotunda ahead of him: One said, 'What are these', point- ing to the flags. The other remarked, 'Oh! they're nothing but flags, come on and let's look around'. This casual remark about those flags gave to Mr. Owen the theme and inspiration that pro- duced the beautiful poem: 'The Returned Maine Battle Flags'.
"A short time after this incident, perhaps the next morning, after we had entered the Secretary's office together, and had taken our seats at the large, double, flat top desk, which we occu- pied together, Mr. Owen commenced to write verses on a sheet of wrapping paper, such as we used for a desk pad. He, being a very rapid penman, soon had written four verses of poetry in pencil. Observing this, I became anxious to read it, but he was not inclined at first to show it to me, saying it was of no conse- quence and he would destroy it. I, however, prevailed upon him and read it and, against his protest, I immediately took it to Col. James H. Cochrane, then deputy secretary of state, to read, who
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THE RETURNED MAINE BATTLE FLAGS
pronounced it 'fine'. The result was, after making a copy, the poem appeared in the Kennebec Journal the next morning. This is the story.
"Please understand that I am giving you the foregoing solely from my memory, after a lapse of half a century. If it will serve you in any manner, I shall be glad."
The Flags "No Maine regiment lost its colors in dishonor, or brought them back with any other stain upon them than the life blood of their defenders. The State has no more precious possession than those returned Maine battleflags which are treasured at the State House at Augusta." Arranged in appropriate glass cases are the colors of all the Maine regiments and the colors of all the batteries-forty-three national colors, forty-one regimental colors and twenty-eight guidons. They are memorials of the glory and horrors of war and the energy, sacrifices and victory of a free people. The representatives of the people pass to their halls of deliberation beneath these tattered ensigns, which have been borne on many a bloody field and which will be a perpetual reminder of the cost and value of free institutions.
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THE MAINE BOOK
MOSES OWEN
Nothing but flags-but simple flag's, Tattered and torn and hanging in rags; And we walk beneath them with careless tread, Nor think of the hosts of the mighty dead That have marched beneath them in days gone by, With a burning cheek and a kindling eye, And have bathed their folds with their young life's tide, And, dying, blessed them, and, blessing, died.
Nothing but flags-yet, methinks, at night They tell each other their tales of fright; And dim spectres come, and their thin arms twine 'Round each standard torn as they stand in line, As the word is given,-they charge! they form! And the dim hall rings with the battle's storm! And once again, through the smoke and strife, Those colors lead to a nation's life.
Nothing but flags-yet they're bathed with tears, They tell of triumphs, of hopes, of fears ;- Of a mother's prayers, of a boy away, Of a serpent crushed, of the coming day! Silent, they speak, and the tear will start As we stand beneath them with throbbing heart, And think of those who are ne'er forgot; Their flags come home-why come they not ?
Nothing but flags-yet we hold our breath And gaze with awe at those types of death! Nothing but flags, yet the thought will come, The heart must pray though the lips be dumb! They are sacred, pure, and we see no stain On those dear loved flags at home again; Baptized in blood, our purest, best, Tattered and torn, they're now at rest.
STATE HOUSE
CHAPTER XXIII
STATE HOUSE
When Maine, by separation from Massachusetts, became a state in 1820, a number of cities and towns were very desirous of the honor of being the capital and having the new State House. The principal aspirants were Portland, Brunswick, Hallowell, Waterville, Belfast, Wiscasset and Augusta. The legislature, however, finally chose Augusta, the bill mak- ing Augusta the capital being signed by Governor Enoch Lincoln, Febru- ary 24, 1827. The lot now occupied by the State House and State Grounds, which contained thirty-four acres and extended from the old Hallowell Road to the Kennebec River, was conveyed to the state, the lot having been selected by the Governor and the Commissioners after a careful con- sideration of various sites on both sides of the river.
On the 4th of July, 1829, the corner stone was laid with impressive masonic ceremonies, but it was three years before the work of the con- struction of the new building was finally finished. The granite used was from Hallowell quarries. The building was designed by Charles Bulfinch of Boston.
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