The American flag is a
source of American history, legend, unity and respect.
Through the years the number of stars in the canton has
increased with the addition of new states, and the
meaning of the flag has expanded to unimaginable
heights. From its unofficial beginning as the
Continental Colors or Grand Union flag to the long
serving 50-star American Flag, Americans have been on a
quest to protect, preserve and serve the flag. Today the
flag flies everywhere from classrooms to federal
buildings to homes and even cars. It’s internationally
recognized in every country and city around the world.
Number of Stars |
Design |
Information |
Dates in Use |
0 Stars |
 |
Continental Colors
Also known as the Grand Union flag, the Union flag, the Continental
flag, the Somerville flag and the
Great Union
Designed with a British Union
Jack in the canton and 13
alternating red and white stripes
Considered to the be the first
American flag, but it was never
official
The Maritime Committee of
Continental Congress considered it
the official flag of the American
naval forces
More Information on the
Continental Colors
Purchase a Continental Colors
flag
|
1775-1777 |
13 Stars |
 |
Betsy Ross Flag
First official flag of the United States
Designed with 13 stars and 13
stripes to represent the 13 colonies
(Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts,
Maryland, South Carolina, New
Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North
Carolina, Rhode Island)
Since Congress did not specify
dimensions, proportions, shapes or
star patterns, flags varied
dramatically
Legend says that Betsy Ross
designed and sewed the first
American flag, but most historians
disagree
The person who sewed the first
flag is unknown, but the designer is
thought to be Francis Hopkinson
The Second Continental Congress
passed the Flag Resolution of 1777
on June 14, 1777 making the Betsy
Ross flag official
This date is now celebrated
annually as Flag Day
The only president to serve
under this flag was George
Washington
More Information on the Betsy
Ross flag
Purchase a Betsy Ross flag
|
1777-1795 |
15 Stars |
|
Star Spangled Banner Flag
Designed with 15 stars and 15 stripes to represent the 13 original
states plus Kentucky and Vermont
Made by Mary Pickersgill and her
daughter
In 1812 the flag was flown over
Fort McHenry, which inspired Francis
Scott Key to write the Star Spangled
Banner poem, which was put to music
to become America’s national anthem
The Star Spangled Banner is on
display at the Smithsonian
Institution’s National Museum of
American History
George Washington, John Adams,
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and
James Monroe all served under this
flag
More Information on the Star
Spangled Banner
Purchase a Star Spangled Banner
flag
|
1795-1818 |
20 Stars |
 |
20-Star American Flag
Also known as the Great Star Flag and the Flag of 1818
Congress passed the Flag Act of
1818, adding five new stars to the
flag and reducing the number of
stripes from 15 to 13
The five additional stars
represented Tennessee, Ohio,
Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi
This flag was designed by Navy
Captain Samuel Reid
James Monroe was the only
president to serve under this flag
|
1818-1819 |
21 Stars |
 |
21-Star American Flag
One star was added with the admission of Illinois to the Union
James Monroe was the only
president to service under this flag
|
1819-1820 |
23 Stars |
 |
23-Star American Flag
Two stars were added to the flag for the admission of Alabama and
Maine
When Alabama was admitted in
1819, the free and slave states were
balanced, but with the addition of
Maine, the Union held a majority of
free states
James Monroe was the only
president to serve under this flag
|
1820-1822 |
24 Stars |
 |
24-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag for the admission of Missouri
The name "Old Glory" spawned
from a 24-star flag flown by
shipmaster Captain William Driver
The flag, which was given to him
by his mother and friends, became
famous by the time of the Civil War
Driver, who lived in Tennessee,
was afraid the flag would be seized
by Confederate forces, so he hid the
flag between layers of his comforter
In 1860 ten more stars were
added to the flag for the admission
of new states
Today Old Glory is one of
America's greatest treasures
James Monroe, John Quincy Adams
and Andrew Jackson served under the
24-star flag
|
1822-1836 |
25 Stars |
 |
25-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag for the admission of Arkansas
Andrew Jackson and Martin Van
Buren served under this flag
|
1836-1837 |
26 Stars |
 |
26-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Michigan
Sailing under a 26-star American
flag, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Charles
Wilkes led the first American
expedition to explore Antarctica
Martin Van Buren, William Henry
Harrison, John Tyler and James Polk
served under this flag
|
1837-1845 |
27 Stars |
 |
27-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Florida
James Polk was the only
president to serve under this flag
|
1845-1846 |
28 Stars |
 |
28-Star American Flag
The 28th star was added to the
flag when the United States annexed
Texas; an action that would spawn
the Mexican-American War
This was the first war in which
American troops carried the flag
into battle
The United States defeated
Mexico and gained land that would
become New Mexico, Utah, Nevada,
Arizona, California and most of
western Colorado
James Polk was the only
president to serve under this flag
|
1846-1847 |
29 Stars |
 |
29-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Iowa
James Polk was the only
president to serve under this flag
|
1847-1848 |
30 Stars |
 |
30-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Wisconsin
James Polk, Zachary Taylor and
Millard Fillmore served under this
flag
|
1848-1851 |
31 Stars |
 |
31-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of California
Millard Fillmore, Franklin
Pierce and James Buchanan served
under this flag
|
1851-1858 |
32 Stars |
 |
32-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Minnesota
James Buchanan was the only
president to serve under this flag
|
1858-1859 |
33 Stars |
 |
33-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Oregon
The Civil War began on April 12,
1861, under this flag
James Buchanan and Abraham
Lincoln served under this flag
|
1859-1861 |
34 Stars |
 |
34-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Kansas
South Carolina, Mississippi,
Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas,
Tennessee, North Carolina, and
Virginia seceded from the Union in
1861
President Lincoln did not remove
stars from the flag because he
believed the Southern states were
still part of the government
In protest some Northeners cut
11 stars out of their personal flags
Abraham Lincoln was the only
president to serve under this flag
|
1861-1863 |
35 Stars |
 |
35-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of West Virginia
Virginia split into two separate
states because parts supported the
Confederacy and other parts
supported the Union (the section
that would become West Virginia
supported the Union)
This was the first time that a
new state formed out of rebellion of
the original state
The Civil War ended on April 9,
1865, under this flag
Abraham Lincoln and Andrew
Johnson served under this flag
|
1863-1865 |
36 Stars |
 |
36-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Nevada
3 months before the flag became
official, a 36-star flag was used to
cushion President Lincoln's head the
evening of his assassination at
Ford's Theatre
"The Lincoln Flag" is currently
on display at the Columns Museum of
the Pike County Historical Society
in Milford, PA
Andrew Johnson was the only
president to serve under this flag
|
1865-1867 |
37 Stars |
 |
37-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Nebraska
Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant
and Rutherford B. Hayes served under
this flag
|
1867-1877 |
38 Stars |
 |
38-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Colorado
Rutherford B. Hayes, James A.
Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover
Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison all
served under this flag
|
1877-1890 |
43 Stars |
 |
43-Star American Flag
Five stars were added to the
flag for the admission of North
Dakota, South Dakota, Montana,
Washington and Idaho
Benjamin Harrison was the only
president to serve under this flag
|
1890-1891 |
44 Stars |
 |
44-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Wyoming
Benjamin Harrison and Grover
Cleveland served under this flag
|
1891-1896 |
45 Stars |
 |
45-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Utah
Grover Cleveland, William
McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt
served under this flag
Purchase a 45-star American Stick
Flag
|
1896-1908 |
46 Stars |
 |
46-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Oklahoma
William H. Taft was the only
president to serve under this flag
|
1908-1912 |
48 Stars |
 |
48-Star American Flag
Two stars were added to the flag
for the admission of New Mexico and
Arizona
President Taft passed an
Executive Order in 1912 establishing
proportions for the flag and
arranging the stars in six
horizontal rows of eight, with each
star pointing upward
This flag was in service for 47
years, lasting through two World
Wars and making it the longest
serving flag until July 4, 2007,
when it will be succeeded by the
50-star American flag
William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson,
Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge,
Herbert Hoover, Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and
Dwight D. Eisenhower served under
this flag
Purchase a 48-star American Stick
Flag
|
1912-1959 |
49 Stars |
 |
49-Star American Flag
One Star was added for the
admission of Alaska
President Eisenhower passed an
Executive Order in 1959 to have the
stars arranged in 7 rows with 7
stars in each row, staggered
horizontally and vertically
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the
only president to serve under this
flag
|
1959-1960 |
50 Stars |
 |
50-Star American Flag
One star was added to the flag
for the admission of Hawaii
17-year-old Bob Heft predicted
that Hawaii would gain statehood
after Alaska, and designed a 50-star
flag for his high school history
class
After Hawaii had been added,
President Eisenhower selected Heft's
design to become the national emblem
As of July 4, 2007, the 50-star
flag will be America's longest
serving flag
Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F.
Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard
M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy
Carter, Ronald W. Reagan, George
Bush, William J. Clinton, and George
W. Bush served under this flag
More Information on the 50-star
American Flag
Purchase a 50-star American Flag
|
1960-Present |
|