The "Grand Union Flag" (also known as the "Continental Colors", the "Congress Flag", the "Cambridge Flag", and the "First Navy Ensign") is considered to be the first national flag of the United States of America. Like the current U.S. Flag, the Grand Union Flag has 13 alternating red and white stripes, representative of the Thirteen Colonies. The upper inner corner, or canton, featured the flag of the mother country, the Kingdom of Great Britain, of which the colonies were subjects.

By the end of 1775, during the first year of the American Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress operated as a de facto war government authorizing the creation of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, and even a small contingent of Continental Marines. A new flag was needed to represent the Congress and the United Colonies with a banner distinct from the British Red Ensign flown from civilian and merchant vessels, the White Ensign of the British Royal Navy, and the Flag of Great Britain carried on land by the British army. The emerging states had been using their own independent flags, with Massachusetts using the Taunton Flag, and New York using the George Rex Flag, prior to the adoption of united colors.

Americans first hoisted the Colors on the colonial warship Alfred, in the harbor on the western shore of the Delaware River at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 3, 1775, by newly appointed Lieutenant John Paul Jones of the formative Continental Navy. The event had been documented in letters to Congress and in eyewitness accounts. The flag was used by the Continental Army forces as both a naval ensign and garrison flag throughout 1776 and early 1777.

It is not known for certain when or by whom the design of the Continental Colors was created, but the flag could easily be produced by sewing white stripes onto the British Red Ensigns. The "Alfred" flag has been credited to Margaret Manny.

It was widely believed that the flag was raised by George Washington's army on New Year's Day, 1776, at Prospect Hill in Charlestown (now part of Somerville), near his headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts, (across the Charles River to the north from Boston), which was then surrounding and laying siege to the British forces then occupying the city under commanding General Thomas Gage.

The design of the Colors is strikingly similar to the flag of the British East India Company (EIC). That EIC flags could have been known by the American colonists has been the basis of a theory of the origin of the national flag's design.

Use of the flag of Great Britain in the canton has led to the popular belief that the Grand Union was adopted by George Washington's army as a protest against the rule of the British Parliament but a profession of continued loyalty towards King George III.

The Grand Union became obsolete following the passing of the Flag Act of 1777 by the Continental Congress which authorized a new official national flag of a design similar to that of the Colors, with thirteen stars (representing the thirteen States) on a field of blue replacing the flag of Great Britain in the canton. The resolution describes only "a new constellation" for the arrangement of the white stars in the blue canton so a number of designs were later interpreted and made with a circle of equal stars, another circle with one star in the center, and various designs of even or alternate horizontal rows of stars, even the "Bennington flag" from Bennington, Vermont which had the number "76" surmounted by an arch of 13 stars, later also becoming known in 1976 as the "Bicentennial Flag".

The combined crosses in the flag of Great Britain symbolized the union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. The symbolism of a union of equal parts was retained in the new U.S. flag, as described in the Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777 (later celebrated in U.S. culture and history as "Flag Day").





Who designed the original "Stars and Stripes" flag of the United States is a point never definitely confirmed. Was it Betsy Ross, expert Philadelphia seamstress, or New Jersey's Congressman Francis Hopkinson?

The traditional story that Betsy Ross designed the original flag in 1776 has caught the popular fancy but no official record substantiates the story. Some historians claim that in June 1776, Gen. George Washington, Robert Morris and Betsy's uncle, George Ross, went to her Philadelphia upholstery shop. The men told her they were members of a congressional committee. They showed her a rough design of a stars and stripes flag and asked her if she would make the emblem. She said yes and recommended making the stars five-pointed instead of six. The change was approved.

George Washington drew another design, and Betsy Ross sewed the emblem. On June 14, 1777, Congress adopted it as the official U.S. flag. That is the Betsy Ross story as it is related. However, some sources claim there is no official record of a congressional flag committee. The only documented evidence naming Mrs. Ross is said to be a voucher dated May 29, 1777, showing that she was paid 14 pounds and some shillings for flags she made for the Pennsylvania Navy.

Note: Recent historic research indicates Francis Hopkinson, a consultant to the Second Continental Congress is responsible for designing the original Stars and Stripes.





The Star-Spangled Banner, or the Great Garrison Flag, was the garrison flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor during the naval portion of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. Seeing the flag flying over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814, after the battle ended, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry". These words were written by Key and set to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven" by John Stafford Smith, a popular song at the time. It was not until 1931 that the song became the \national anthem of the United States.

With fifteen stripes, the Star-Spangled Banner remains the only official American flag to bear more than thirteen stripes.

In Baltimore's preparation for an expected attack on the city, Fort McHenry was made ready to defend the city's harbor. When Major George Armistead expressed the desire for a very large flag to fly over the fort, General John S. Stricker and Commodore Joshua Barney placed an order with a prominent Baltimorean flagmaker for two oversized American Flags. The larger of the two flags would be the Great Garrison Flag, the largest battle flag ever flown at the time.

Available documentation shows that this flag was sewn by local flagmaker Mary Young Pickersgill under a government commission in 1813 at a cost of $405.90 (equivalent to $5,443 in 2020). George Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry, specified "a flag so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a distance".

Mary Pickersgill stitched the flag from a combination of cotton and dyed English wool bunting. The flag has fifteen horizontal red and white stripes, as well as fifteen white stars in the blue field. The two additional stars and stripes, approved by the United States Congress's Flag Act of 1794, represent Vermont and Kentucky's entrance into the Union. The stars are arranged in vertical rows, with five horizontal rows of stars, offset, each containing three stars. At the time, the practice of adding stripes (in addition to stars) with the induction of a new state had not yet been discontinued.

The flag originally measured 30 by 42 feet (9.1 by 12.8 m). Each of the fifteen stripes is 2 feet (0.61 m) wide, and each of the stars measures about 2 feet (0.61 m) in diameter. After the battle, the Armistead family occasionally gave away pieces of the flag as souvenirs and gifts;[11] this cutting, along with deterioration from continued use, removed several feet of fabric from the flag's fly end, and it now measures 30 by 34 feet (9.1 by 10.4 m). The flag currently has only fourteen stars—the fifteenth star was similarly given as a gift, but its recipient and current whereabouts are unknown.

The Flag was flown over the fort when 5,000 British soldiers and a fleet of 19 ships attacked Baltimore on September 12, 1814. The bombardment turned to Fort McHenry on the evening of September 13, and continuous shelling occurred for 25 hours under heavy rain. When the British ships were unable to pass the fort and penetrate the harbor, the attack was ended, and on the morning of September 14, when the battered flag still flew above the ramparts, it was clear that Fort McHenry remained in American hands. This revelation was famously captured in poetry by Key, an American lawyer, and amateur poet. Being held by the British on a truce ship in the Patapsco River, Key observed the battle from afar. When he saw the Garrison Flag still flying at the dawn of the morning of the 14th, he composed a poem he originally titled "Defence of Fort McHenry". The poem would be put to the music of a common tune, retitled "The Star-Spangled Banner", and a portion of it would later be adopted as the United States National Anthem. Since its arrival at the Smithsonian, the flag has undergone multiple preservation efforts.

The flag that flew during that episode in history became a significant artifact. It remained in the possession of Major Armistead, who was promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel, and his family for many years. Ebenezer Appleton, Colonel Armistead's grandson, inherited the flag in 1878. In 1907, he lent it to the Smithsonian Institution, and in 1912 it was made a formal gift. Today it is permanently housed in the National Museum of American History, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The flag was given to the museum in 1912, and has undergone multiple restoration efforts after being originally restored by Amelia Fowler in 1914. The most recent restoration was completed in 2008 at a total cost in excess of $21 million.

The flag is now on display in a two-story display chamber that allows it to lie at a 10-degree angle in dim light. The Smithsonian has created a permanent exhibition to document the flag's history and significance, called "The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem". Visitors are allowed a clear view of the flag, while it remains protected in a controlled environment.



For more than a century the "Star Spangled Banner," written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, was sung as a popular patriotic air. From time to time Army and Navy leaders designated it as the national anthem for official occasions. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed it the national anthem. Continuous lobbying by the Veterans of Foreign Wars led to Congress designating the song as the official national anthem of the United States on March 3, 1931.

Francis Scott Key practiced law in Baltimore during the War of 1812. In 1814 one of Key's friends, Dr. Beanes, was held prisoner by the British aboard the ship Minden in Baltimore harbor. Key decided he would try to obtain his friend's release. Carrying a flag of truce and a letter from President James Madison, Key rowed out to the ship. His request for the friend's freedom was granted, but both men were detained onboard because the British were about to bombard Fort McHenry.

During the bombardment, Key watched the Stars and Stripes flying over the fort. Darkness fell, and he no longer could see the flag. But the fort kept on firing back at the British, so Key knew the American stronghold had not surrendered.

When daylight returned Key was overjoyed to see that "the flag was still there." Taking an old envelope from his pocket he wrote the stirring opening words," O say, can you see by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?"

After he returned ashore, Key completed the verse, which was later published in the Baltimore American, September 21, 1814. It became popular immediately. Later the words were set to the English "Anacreon in Heaven," which is the tune we sing today.





The attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina in April 1861 launched the nation into civil war and brought about lasting changes in how Americans viewed and used the Star-Spangled Banner. Through Key’s song, an earlier generation had come to appreciate the flag’s value as an inspiring and unifying national symbol. The Civil War not only revived that patriotic attachment to the flag, but expanded and intensified it, fostering a spirit of reverence and devotion that would endure for generations to come. Entwined with a war to redefine the United States and what it should stand for, the flag became the primary icon of national identity and ideals, infused with meanings and memories from all sides of the conflict.

For Northerners who were called on to defend the Union created by the founding fathers, the flag became the sacred emblem of that cause, consecrated in battle by the blood of Union soldiers. With the abolition of slavery and the opening of the Union ranks to black soldiers, many African Americans saw the flag in a new light, as a symbol of freedom and the promise of citizenship. For members of the Southern Confederacy, meanwhile, the “old flag” they had once loved had come to stand for a federal government that did not respect their rights and threatened their way of life.

On both the north and the south side though prior to the war it was commonplace for people to think of their state first and their nation second as evidenced by Robert E Lee. He was a US Army officer and Lincoln wanted him to command the Union Army however he declined that offer in order to remain loyal to his home State of Virginia. This was a common occurrence prior to the war and the after effects of the war fostered a new national identity where most people began to think of themselves as Americans primarily and their individual State held a secondary role in their loyalties. This was in effect a similar situation to what occurred in the War of 1812 but magnified to a much greater extent.

The Civil War Union Flag is not remarkably different from our current American Flag, with the exception of the number of stars. It, too, had 13 red and white stripes to represent the original 13 colonies and a dark blue Stanton in the upper left corner. The difference is that the original garrison flag that flew over Fort Sumter and is sometimes called “the flag that started a war”, had only 33 stars. Throughout the war the flag retained all of its stars as President Lincoln refused to remove the stars representing those states which seceded from the Union.

In the first three months of the war an additional star was added to honor the admission of the State of Kansas in 1861 and it remained at 34 stars for the next two years. President Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) was the only President to serve under this flag as the Civil War raged.

The flag grew to 35 stars in 1863, when Virginians, who wished to remain part of the Union, formed the State of West Virginia. The 36th star was added in 1865 upon the admission of the State of Nevada from the Nevada Territory.





The name "Old Glory" was first applied to the U.S. flag by a young sea captain who lived in Salem, Mass. On his 21st birthday, March 17, 1824, Capt. William Driver was presented a beautiful flag by his mother and a group of Salem girls. Driver was delighted with the gift and named the flag "Old Glory." Old Glory accompanied the captain on his many sea voyages. In 1837 he quit sailing and settled in Nashville. On patriotic days he displayed Old Glory proudly from a rope extending from his house to a tree across the street.

After Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861, Captain Driver hid Old Glory, sewing it inside a comforter. When the Union soldiers entered Nashville on February 25, 1862, Driver removed Old Glory from its hiding place. He carried the flag to the capitol building and raised it above the state capitol. Shortly before his death, the old sea captain placed a small bundle into the arms of his daughter. He said to her: "Mary Jane, this is my ship's flag, Old Glory. It has been my constant companion. I love it as a mother loves her child. Cherish it as I have cherished it."

The flag remained as a precious heirloom in the Driver family until 1922. It was then sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., where it is carefully preserved under glass.



The flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, is the national flag of the United States. It consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton (referred to specifically as the "union") bearing fifty white stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states of the United States of America, and the 13 stripes represent the original thirteen British colonies that declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and became the first states in the U.S. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and the Star-Spangled Banner.

The current design of the U.S. flag is its 27th; the design of the flag has been modified officially 26 times since 1777. The 48-star flag was in effect for 47 years until the 49-star version became official on July 4, 1959. The 50-star flag was ordered by then President Eisenhower on August 21, 1959, and was adopted in July 1960. It is the longest-used version of the U.S. flag and has been in use for over 61 years.

When Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood in the 1950s, more than 1,500 designs were submitted to President Dwight D Eisenhower. Although some of them were 49-star versions, the vast majority were 50-star proposals. At least three of these designs were identical to the present design of the 50-star flag.

Of these proposals, one created by 17-year-old Robert G. Heft in 1958 as a school project received the most publicity. His mother was a seamstress, but refused to do any of the work for him. He originally received a B– for the project. After discussing the grade with his teacher, it was agreed (somewhat jokingly) that if the flag were accepted by Congress, the grade would be reconsidered. Heft's flag design was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation after Alaska and before Hawaii was admitted into the Union in 1959. According to Heft, his teacher did keep to their agreement and changed his grade to an A for the project. The 49- and 50-star flags were each flown for the first time at Fort McHenry on Independence Day, in 1959 and 1960 respectively.