A FRENCH UNITY FLAG

Dennis had a collection of state and national flags. During the first Gulf War we flew three flags daily— the flags of the US, the UN and the ally of the day. Whenever we had house guests, we made a point of getting a flag from the state or country of the guests and fly it during their visit.

Dennis designed a Spizzwink(?) standard when we hosted a party back in 1989. It was a red ‘S’ with a superimposed ‘?’. (You may have wondered why I generally include a parenthetical question mark after the name Spizzwink(?) That’s because the name is so weird that most people question its accuracy.)

Dennis also designed a new French flag. It’s really splendid both from a design standpoint and an historical basis. Today’s French tricolore had its origin in the first French Revolution. Napoleon continued to use it with a superimposed ‘N’ and laurel wreath, or with Napoleonic bees, or various regimental insignia. The white Bourbon ensign with fleur-de-lis returned at the Restoration. Then the tricolore came back with the Second Republic and remained with the Second Empire. After 1870 and the fall of Napoleon III, there was a chance that France would become a monarchy again. The pretender, le Comte de Chambord, refused however to retain the tricolore and insisted on restoration of the Bourbon ensign with its fleur-de-lis. As a result, France then became a Republic again. Le Comte de Chambord would have been wiser to have followed the example of his ancestor Henry IV.

My nephew Sheridan was married in Nantes on July 6th, 2007. The Edict of Nantes was issued by Henry IV of France, who was willing to become Catholic in order to become King. “Paris is worth a Mass” was his famous alleged remark. The Edict granted religious toleration to Protestants (until revoked by Louis XIV.) Similarly, le Comte de Chambord could have said: “Paris is worth a flag,” but he didn’t. On the other hand, Dennis’ design would have been a suitable compromise.

Dennis was fond of saying that the French tricolore is a strong image, but reflects barely two hundred years of French history. Yet within its colors lies the entire spectrum of French history for a millennium and a half. The Red is symbolic of Charlemagne and the Capetian dynasty, the Blue of Valois, and the White of the Bourbon. As Napoleon had superimposed his ‘N’, so le Comte de Chambord could have accepted the tricolore with three superimposed fleur-de-lis in a chevron pattern as Dennis designed it – to make a French Unity flag.

BASTILLE DAY ~ July 14, 1789

Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is called Fête Nationale ("National Celebration") in official parlance, or more commonly le quatorze juillet ("14 July"). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.

Festivities are held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic.

The parade opens with many cadets from the École Polytechnique, Saint-Cyr, École Navale, and so forth, then other infantry troops, then motorised troops; aviation of the Patrouille de France flies above. In recent times, it has become customary to invite units from France's allies to the parade; in 2004 during the centenary of the Entente Cordiale, British troops (the band of the Royal Marines, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, Grenadier Guards and King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery) led the Bastille Day parade in Paris for the first time, with the Red Arrows flying overhead.

The president used to give an interview to members of the press, discussing the situation of the country, recent events and projects for the future. Nicolas Sarkozy, elected president in 2007, has chosen not to give it. The President also holds a garden party at the Palais de l'Elysée.

Bastille Day falls during the Tour de France and is traditionally a day when French riders try to take a stage victory for France, working harder than they might on other days.

Article 17 of the Constitution of France gives the President the authority to pardon offenders, and since 1991 the President has pardoned many petty offenders (mainly traffic offences) on 14 July. In 2007, President Sarkozy declined to continue the practice.

On 5 May 1789, Louis XVI convened the Estates-General to hear their grievances. The deputies of the Third Estate representing the common people (the two others were the church and nobility) decided to break away and form a National Assembly. On 20 June the deputies of the Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath, swearing not to separate until a constitution had been established. They were gradually joined by delegates of the other estates; Louis started to recognize their validity on 27 June. The assembly re-named itself the National Constituent Assembly on 9 July, and began to function as a legislature and to draft a constitution.

In the wake of the 11 July dismissal of Jacques Necker, the people of Paris, fearful that they and their representatives would be attacked by the royal military, and seeking to gain ammunition and gunpowder for the general populace, stormed the Bastille, a fortress-prison in Paris which had often held people jailed on the basis of lettres de cachet, arbitrary royal indictments that could not be appealed. Besides holding a large cache of ammunition and gunpowder, the Bastille had been known for holding political prisoners whose writings had displeased the royal government, and was thus a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy. As it happened, at the time of the siege in July 1789 there were only seven inmates, none of great political significance.

When the crowd — eventually reinforced by mutinous gardes françaises — proved a fair match for the fort's defenders, Governor de Launay, the commander of the Bastille, capitulated and opened the gates to avoid a mutual massacre. However, possibly because of a misunderstanding, fighting resumed. Ninety-eight attackers and just one defender died in the actual fighting, but in the aftermath, de Launay and seven other defenders were killed, as was the 'prévôt des marchands' (roughly, mayor) Jacques de Flesselles.

The storming of the Bastille was more important as a rallying point and symbolic act of rebellion than a practical act of defiance.

Shortly after the storming of the Bastille, on 4 August feudalism was abolished and on 26 August, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen proclaimed.

Image & Text:wikipedia.com

Dennis and I watched the Bastille Day Parade from the steps of the Madeleine with my sister-in-law Sallie Bell and niece Morgan in 1987. I smiled when Morgan caught the souvenir vendor in the church attempting to cheat her when giving change. He didn't expect a pretty little American girl to speak such perfect French!

HOLLYWOOD SIGN ~ July 13, 1923

1923 – The Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles. It originally read "Hollywoodland " but the four last letters were dropped after renovation in 1949.

Photo & text:wikipedia.com

JULIUS CAESAR ~ July 13, 100 BCE ~ March 15, 44 BCE

Gaius Julius Caesar (13 July 100 BCE 15 March 44 BCE), was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. (The month of July is named in his honor.)

A politician of the populares tradition, he formed an unofficial triumvirate with Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus which dominated Roman politics for several years, opposed in the Roman Senate by optimates including Marcus Porcius Cato and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus. His conquest of Gaul extended the Roman world to the North Sea, and he also conducted the first Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BCE.

The collapse of the triumvirate, however, led to a stand-off with Pompey and the Senate. Leading his legions across the Rubicon, Caesar began a civil war in 49 BCE from which he became the master of the Roman world.

After assuming control of government, he began extensive reforms of Roman society and government. He heavily centralized the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity" A group of senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus, assassinated the dictator on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BCE, hoping to restore the normal running of the Republic. However, the result was another Roman civil war, which ultimately led to the establishment of a permanent autocracy by Caesar's adopted heir, Gaius Octavianus. In 42 BCE, two years after his assassination, the Senate officially sanctified Caesar as one of the Roman deities.

Much of Caesar's life is known from his own Commentaries (Commentarii) on his military campaigns, and other contemporary sources such as the letters and speeches of his political rival Cicero, the historical writings of Sallust, and the poetry of Catullus. Many more details of his life are recorded by later historians, such as Appian, Suetonius, Plutarch, Cassius Dio and Strabo.

Photo & text:wikipedia.com

ALEXANDER HAMILTON ~ January 11, 1755 or 1757 ~ July 12, 1804

Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, a Founding Father, economist, and political philosopher. He led calls for the Philadelphia Convention, was one of America's first Constitutional lawyers, and cowrote the Federalist Papers, a primary source for Constitutional interpretation.

Born on the British West Indian island of Nevis, Hamilton was educated in the Thirteen Colonies. During the American Revolutionary War, he joined the New York militia and was chosen artillery captain. Hamilton became senior aide-de-camp and confidant to General George Washington, and led three battalions at the Siege of Yorktown. He was elected to the Continental Congress, but resigned to practice law and to found the Bank of New York. He served in the New York Legislature, and was the only New Yorker who signed the Constitution. As Washington's Treasury Secretary, he influenced formative government policy widely. An admirer of British political systems, Hamilton emphasized strong central government and implied powers, under which the new U.S. Congress funded the national debt, assumed state debts, created a national bank, and established an import tariff and whiskey tax.

By 1792, a Hamilton coalition and a Jefferson–Madison coalition had arisen (the formative Federalist and Democratic-Republican Parties), which differed strongly over Hamilton's domestic fiscal goals and his foreign policy of extensive trade and friendly relations with Britain. Exposed in an affair with Maria Reynolds, Hamilton resigned from the Treasury in 1795 to return to Constitutional law and advocacy of strong federalism. In 1798, the Quasi-War with France led Hamilton to argue for, organize, and become de facto commander of a national army.

Hamilton's opposition to fellow Federalist John Adams contributed to the success of Democratic-Republicans Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr in the uniquely deadlocked election of 1800. With his party's defeat, Hamilton's nationalist and industrializing ideas lost their former national prominence. In 1801, Hamilton founded the New York Post as the Federalist broadsheet New-York Evening Post. His intense rivalry with Vice President Burr eventually resulted in a duel, in which Hamilton was mortally wounded, dying the following day.

Image and text:wikipedia.com.

Burr-Hamilton Duel ~ July 11, 1804

The Burr-Hamilton duel was a duel between two prominent American politicians, the former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and sitting Vice President Aaron Burr, on July 11, 1804. At the Heights of Weehawken in New Jersey Burr shot and mortally wounded Hamilton. Hamilton was carried to the home of William Bayard on the Manhattan shore, where he died at 2 p.m. the next day. (More details tomorrow)

Image & text:wikipedia.com

Gore Vidal wrote a marvelous novel entitled "Burr." It gives a fascinating account of the founding of the American Republic. I think it's more accurate than a lot of history books.

HADRIAN ~ January 24, 76 CE – July 10, 138 CE

Photos:wikipedia.com

The Roman Emperor Hadrian showed a love of architecture. He rebuilt the Pantheon in Rome with its marvelous dome. There's even a possibility that he had contributed to its design. His tomb on the Tiber is now Castel Sant'Angelo, a fortress for the medieval popes and the setting for the final scene in Puccini's Tosca. Someday I hope to visit the ruins of his extensive villa (Villa Adriana in Italian) a large Roman archaeological complex at Tivoli, a half day from Rome. Then, of course, he's famous for the wall protecting Roman England from the barabaric Scottish Celts. Hadrian's appreciation of beauty extended to his beloved Antinous, whom he adored even after the youth's tragic drowning in the Nile. He built a splendid city in his honor.

Memoirs of Hadrian, the novel by French writer Marguerite Yourcenar, concerns the life and death of Roman Emperor Hadrian. The book was first published in France in French in 1951 as Mémoires d'Hadrien, and was an immediate success, meeting with enormous critical acclaim. The historical Hadrian did write an autobiography, but it has been lost.