But, in the Confederacy, there was an entirely different design with a cross and a different arrangement of stars. A few designs were flown with thirteen stripes and various stars during the Civil War as more states were admitted. This applies to all the flags that were official flags of the United States of America and the Union. However, the Great Star Flag of 1818 arranged the white stars in the shape of a bigger five-pointed star. Most of the time, they are in symmetrical rows for a nice ordered effect. The main difference in all of these designs is the layout of the stars on the blue background. The designer has since passed on, but the flag is still in place and will be until a 51st state is admitted to the Union. Before being submitted for consideration, this modern flag was designed as an assignment by a high-school student. There have been 27 designs in total, including the current one that came into effect in 1960. Different Designs but 13 Stripes Remainīeyond the more extravagant Star-Spangled Banner, all subsequent designs have had thirteen stripes. The British Red Ensign also had this symbol in the top corner of a red background. Up until independence following the Revolutionary War, the Union Jack would have been a common sight. Instead, the flags represented Great Britain and its control over the colonies. She also switched the shape of the stars from six-pointed stars to five-pointed ones.īefore this, there was nothing on the flags flown in the thirteen colonies to represent the make-up of the emerging nation. Ross adapted a draft to create the thirteen stripes and the blue corner with thirteen stars in a circle.
The flag was commissioned in 1777 so that the newly independent nation had something of its own. The first national flag of the United States and the first to carry this design with the thirteen stripes was the one created by Betsy Ross. Were There 13 Stripes on the American Flag Before 1777? There is a nice symmetry to the design, but it is probably a good thing that the number of stripes didn’t continue to grow in line with the current 50 states. The second flag, therefore, is a bit of an anomaly, which is odd when we consider that this is the infamous Star-Spangled Banner that inspired the song of the same name. However, in addition to adding two more stars, they also added two more stripes. They were Vermont in 1791 and Kentucky in 1792. The aim was to incorporate two additional states that joined after the original 13. The Second Flag Act was approved by Congress on January 13, 1794, to allow for a new flag design. However, there was one design that went against this trend. This has been in place on the majority of flag designs over the last 250 years or so.
The original design of the American flag is a long way from the one that we use today, but it does have the same pattern of red and white stripes. Have There Always Been Thirteen Stripes on the United States Flag? Delaware was the first to do so, and Rhode Island the thirteenth. Once a colony ratified the constitution, they officially became a state. Leading figures across the colonies met to draw up the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and then again at the Constitutional Convention to draft the constitution.
And the Pilgrims that arrived on the Mayflower in Massachusetts in 1620.īy the time of the Revolutionary War, there were thirteen distinct colonies with their own state governments and representatives. Some stretch back to the 1600s, such as Virginia and the 1607 settlement of Jamestown. They were as follows.Įach of these thirteen colonies has its own history and a very different story to tell. Over time, these developed and we ended up with thirteen colonies. Here, European settlers landed on American shores and set up their first colonies. The Eastern Seaboard of the United States is home to some of the oldest states in the Union. Different Designs but 13 Stripes Remain.Were There 13 Stripes on the American Flag Before 1777?.Have There Always Been Thirteen Stripes on the United States Flag?.