The President’s March was composed by Professor Pfyle, and was played at Trenton Bridge when Washington passed over on his way to New York to his inauguration. An old writer, speaking upon this subject, says, “I have also reason to believe that the Washington’s March generally known by that title—I mean the one in the key of G major—was composed by the Hon. Francis Hopkinson, Senior, having seen it in a manuscript book of his, in his own handwriting, among other of his known compositions.”
Was written by Francis S. Key, while on board one of the vessels composing the British fleet. He was an agent for the exchange of prisoners, and witnessed in the distance the bombardment of Fort McHenry. The tune was originally set to the song “To Anacreon in Heaven,” by Dr. Arnold.
The first flag adopted by the colonial army before Boston was a red flag, with the mottoes, “An appeal to Heaven,” and “Qui transtulit sustinet,” which was construed by the colonists thus:—“God, who transplanted us hither, will sustain us.” About this time also the floating batteries, which were the germ of the navy subsequently organized, bore a flag with the motto, “Appeal to Heaven.” These flags were adopted before the union of the colonies was effected. After that union, and upon the organization of the army and fleet, these flags were supplanted by one calculated to show to the world the union of the North American colonies among themselves and as an integral part of the British empire, and as such demanding the rights and liberties of British subjects. And for this purpose a flag combining the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew united (the distinctive emblem of Great Britain), with a field composed of thirteen stripes alternate red and white, the combination of the flags previously used in the camps and on the cruises, and the floating batteries of the colonists, was adopted, and called the _Great Union flag_. The union implied both the union of the colonies represented in the striped field, which was dependent upon it, and the nationality of those colonies. The thirteen stripes alternate red and white, constituting the field of the flag, represented the body of that union, the numbers that composed it, as well as the union of the flags which had preceded this Great Union flag. The colors of these stripes, alternate red and white, indicated on the part of the colonies thus represented as united the defiance to oppression, symbolized by the red color of the flag of the army and the red field of the Continental cruisers, with the purity implied by the white flag of the floating batteries, of which the motto was, “Appeal to Heaven.”[36] These flags of the colonies and this Great Union flag gave place in turn to the flag of the United States, which is thus described in the following resolution of Congress, passed June 14, 1777:—