The Army of Two Flags
Facing suspicion as an 'English institution,' the local Salvation Army embraced American patriotism to win the city's trust.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Salvation Army held a Christmas Eve meeting marked by both religious fervor and nationalistic pride. To counter persistent rumors that the Army was a foreign, anti-American organization, Staff Captain Morton presented a new United States flag to be flown alongside their own. Major Harry Wood, a Civil War veteran, addressed the crowd, declaring that the Army would now fight under two banners: one for the nation and one against sin. The meeting included the swearing-in of eight new recruits under the arch of the new flag, ensuring that onlookers understood the organization's alignment with American civic values.
“When the Salvation Army came to the United States it was sneered at as an English institution... The army would henceforth have these stars and stripes at the head of its columns.”
In the 1890s, the Salvation Army had to perform strenuous acts of 'Americanization' to shed its status as an outsider. This mirrors how many immigrant or activist organizations have had to navigate the pressure of patriotic performance to maintain their legitimacy in Seattle's public sphere.
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