Which nation had the first flag?

The idea of a nation having a flag is fairly new, but flags have existed from earlier times. They were used in war to mark the positions of leaders.
In very ancient times, most of the flags were craved poles. The ancient Greek's flag was merely a piece of armor or single letters held aloft upon poles. The first cloth flag was the invention of the Romans and consisted of a square banner attached to a crossbar at the end of a spear.
When the United States adopted a national flag, the idea was still very new. Most European nations were then fighting under the flags of their kings. The French used the white falg of the Bourbon family. The original national flag of England was the banner of St. George. The present form of union flag was proclaimed January 1, 1801. Probably the two oldest national flags are those of Denmark, adopted in 1219, and of Switzerland, used as early as 1339.
After the United States had chosen a national flag, many other nations followed that example. After the French Revolution, the Tricolor was chosen to represent France. The green, white and red flag of the Italians was first established in 1805. In the 19th century, many South American republics designed flags for themselves and the idea of a national flag became universally accepted.
Did you know that in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War the Colonies had flags of their own? Massachusetts had a flag with a pine tree; South Caroline had a rattlesnake; New York had a white flag with a black beaver on it.
In designing America's falg it was first proposed that the English Union Jack be part of it. But this was rejected and it was decieded to substitute 13 stars from the Union Jack.
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