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Sinclair, Catherine : Flag Presentation Speech

Original typescript. The typescript is for "Flag Presentation Speech" by Catherine Sinclair. No date, circa 1853. 7 3/4" x 9 3/4." Two pages for each typescript, complete. Pages are very clean and intact with slight rust stains from a paper clip. This speech likely refers to an 1853 Fourth of July celebration in San Francisco that honored General John Sutter (1803-1880). The celebration featured a parade of several military companies including the Sutter Rifles, the First California Guard, and the San Francisco Blues. The companies passed in review before Sutter and made their way to the "Camp Ground," where they stood in battle formation and the presentation of colors and the presentation of the American flag was carried out by Catherine Sinclair, the granddaughter of a soldier who had fought in the Revolutionary War. Excerpt from Sinclair's speech: "Soldiers of the First California Battalion: Seventy-seven years ago this day your Patriot Fathers of the Thirteen Colonies unfurled from Independence Hall in Philadelphia the flag of this Union .... I tender you this flag. It tells of the energy and sublime courage of the men who established your independence; it tells of the sufferings and trials of the heroes of 1812; it tells of those brilliant achievements of American arms which have added California as one of the brightest stars in your constellation. ... To you, Sir, (to General Sutter) I tender this flag: you who have so long been familiar with the country, who have so well performed all the duties of life, won all men's admiration by your energy and courage, and their gratitude by your generous kindness to all around you as well as to 'the stranger at your gates'--to you and through you to the First California Battalion, I now present it.". Manuscript. Book Condition: Collectible-Very Good. Binding: No Binding