Flag History
Many different flags have represented the United States at one time or another. But all the flags and what they represent lead up to the current flag, which was adopted in 1960 with the addition of a star representing Hawaii, the nation's 50th State. Read about each of the flags that at one time or another have flown to represent the United States, our country and our heritage.
"Official" U.S. Flags
Also known as the Continental flag, The Grand Union Flag is the first true U.S. Flag. It combined the British King's Colors and the thirteen stripes signifying Colonial unity. George Washington liked this design so well that he chose it to be flown to celebrate the formation of the Continental Army on New Years Day, 1776. On that day the Grand Union Flag was proudly raised on Prospect Hill in Somerville, near his headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Griscom Ross (1752-1836), a Philadelphia seamstress, has been credited with creating the first Stars and Stripes, although there is a great amount of controversy surrounding the accuracy of this claim. As legend goes, George Washington, a frequent visitor to the home of Mrs. Ross before receiving command of the army, appeared on Mrs. Ross' doorstep around the first of June 1776, with two representatives of Congress, Colonel Ross and Robert Morris. They asked that she make a flag according to a rough drawing they carried with them. At Mrs. Ross' suggestion, Washington redrew the flag design in pencil in her back parlor to employ stars of five points instead of six.
Since there was no official flag during the first year of the United States, there were a great number of homespun flag designs. The Betsy Ross Flag is without question the most well known of those, but the United States did not choose its first official flag until June 14, 1777 with the passing of the first Flag Act.
This 13-Star Flag became the Official United States Flag on June14th, 1777 and is the result of the congressional action that took place on that date. Much evidence exists pointing to Congressman Francis Hopkinson as the person responsible for its design. The only President to serve under this flag was George Washington (1789-1797). This Flag was to last for a period of 18 years.
Each star and stripe represented the 13 Colonies, which were united nearly one year earlier by the Declaration of Independence. The thirteen Colonies and the date that each ratified the Constitution and became a State are: (1st) Delaware December 7th, 1787; (2nd) Pennsylvania December 12th, 1787; (3rd) New Jersey December18th, 1787; (4th) Georgia January 2nd, 1788; (5th) Connecticut January 9th, 1788; (6th) Massachusetts February 6th, 1788; (7th) Maryland April 28th, 1788; (8th) South Carolina May 23rd, 1788; (9th) New Hampshire June 21st, 1788; (10th) Virginia June 25th, 1788; (11th) New York July 25th, 1788; (12th) North Carolina November 21st, 1789; and (13th) Rhode Island May 29th, 1790.
The 15-star, 15-stripe flag was authorized by the Flag Act of January 13, 1794, adding 2 stripes and 2 stars for the admission of Vermont (the 14th State on March 4th, 1791) and Kentucky (the 15th State on June 1st, 1792). The Star Spangled Banner became the Official United States Flag on May 1,1795 and was the only U.S. Flag to have more than 13 stripes. It was immortalized by Francis Scott Key during the bombardment of Fort McHenry, Sept 13, 1814.
This flag is representative of the actual flag that flew over Fort McHenry on that day and which is now preserved in the Smithsonian Museum. You can notice the "tilt" in some of the stars just as in the original Star Spangled Banner. The five Presidents who served under this flag were George Washington (1789-1797), John Adams (1797-1801), Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809), James Madison (1809-1817), and James Monroe (1817-1825).
Realizing that the addition of a new star and new stripe for each new State was impractical, Congress passed the Flag Act of 1818 which returned the flag design to 13 stripes and specified one star be added for each state. This became the standard that is still used today. On July 4, 1912, the U.S. flag grew to 48 stars. Executive Order of President Taft dated June 24, 1912 established the proportions of the flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward.
This flag was official for 47 years, longer than any other flag, through two World Wars and the emergence of the United States of America as the leading nation of the world. Eight Presidents served under this flag: William H. Taft (1909-1913), Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921), Warren Harding (1921-1923), Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929), Herbert Hoover (1929-1933), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945), Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1960). Eisenhower saw the addition of Alaska in 1959 and Hawaii in 1960, which gave us our current 50-star, 13-stripe banner.
Historic U.S. Battle Flags
This was the personal flag of the Commander-In-Chief during the Revolutionary War. A reproduction of this flag flies today at Washington's Headquarters, Valley Forge.
The Bennington Flag was used in the Battle of Bennington, August 16, 1777, by Vermont militia. This flag is the first to lead American armed forces on land. The original is preserved in the museum at Bennington, Vermont.
Designed with 13 stripes alternating red, white and blue, the Serapis flag was raised by Captain John Paul Jones on the British frigate Serapis during the most famous Revolutionary naval battle. After conducting sea raids on the coast of Britain, Jones took command in 1779 of a rebuilt French merchant ship, renamed the U.S.S.Bonhomme Richard to honor Benjamin Franklin.
On September 23, 1779, Jones engaged the British frigate Serapis in the North Sea, daringly sailing in close, lashing his vessel to the British ship, and fighting the battle at point-blank range. During the fight two of his cannon burst, and the British captain asked Jones if he was ready to surrender. Replied Jones: "Sir, I have not yet begun to fight." The American crew finally boarded the Serapis after the British had struck her colors, and from the deck of the Serapis they watched the U.S.S.Bonhomme Richard sink into the North Sea.
This unusual flag was made with thirteen 8-pointed blue stars in a white field. Historical records report this flag carried by North Carolina militiamen at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, March 17,1781.
The First Official Flag of the Confederacy: Although less well known than the "Confederate Battle Flags", the Stars and Bars was used as the official flag of the Confederacy from March 1861 to May of 1863. The pattern and colors of this flag did not distinguish it sharply from the Stars and Stripes of the Union. Consequently, considerable confusion was caused on the battlefield.
The seven stars represent the original Confederate States: South Carolina (December 20, 1860), Mississippi (January 9, 1861), Florida (January 10,1861), Alabama (January 11, 1861), Georgia (January 19, 1861), Louisiana (January 26, 1861), and Texas (February 1, 1861).
