The Stars and Stripes Over the Years

The American flag has a colorful history and it has undergone several changes before becoming the 'stars and stripes' that flies from every public building and many homes in the nation today.

How it began
The American flag underwent as many changes as there were in the political and historical arena of the United States. However, the stars and stripes we know today was the result of incidents that occurred on January 1, 1776. Boston at the time was taken over by the British Army and the Continental Army was laying siege on the town under George Washington.

Washington ordered his men to fly the Grand Union flag at Prospect Hill, where his base was. This flag had 13 red and white stripes with the British Union Jack on the upper left corner. The Union Jack bears the white cross of St. Andrew of Scotland and the red cross of St. George of England. This is the same Union Jack that flies prominently in the flag of Great Britain.

This flag was also referred to as the First Navy Ensign, the Congress Colors or the Cambridge Flag. It is also interesting to note that the Grand Union flag was also the flag of the British East India Company. When the Colonies totally separated from Great Britain, the British Union Jack was later changed into stars, to represent the states.

Where the stars came from
There is strong evidence that it was Francis Hopkinson, a congressman from New Jersey and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who designed the first American flag with stars. At the time he was the Chairman of the Middle Department of the Continental Navy Board. Incidentally, Hopkinson is also responsible for designing other things, such as the Great Seal of the United States.

For his efforts, Hopkinson wrote the Continental Admiralty Board asking for a 'quarter cask of the public wine' and a 'reasonable reward'. His request was turned down because he was considered a public servant.

The Star-Spangled Banner
After the admission of Kentucky and Vermont to the Union, a new resolution was issued in January of 1794. It called for a flag with 15 stripes and 15 stars. This design became the official flag from 1795 until 1818 and was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key's 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. This flag flew in many significant historic events in the United States, including during the Battle of Lake Erie, in Tripoli in April 1805 and it was also flown in New Orleans by General Jackson in 1815.

Thirteen Stripes
Capt. Samuel Reid of the US Navy realized that if another stripe was added in the flag for every new state that was admitted, it would later on be overwhelmed. He suggested that there should remain 13 stripes which would represent the 13 colonies and that stars will be added to the flag with every state that joined the Union.

President Monroe signed a bill on April 4, 1818, establishing 20 white stars on a blue background with 13 alternating stripes of red and white. As the U.S. territory expanded, the flag now required 48 stars after Arizona and New Mexico were admitted in 1912. Alaska became the 49th star in 1959 and Hawaii became the 50th in 1960.

President Eisenhower signed into officialdom the American flag with 50 stars and 13 flags. This flag was raised on July 4, 1960 at 12:01 a.m. at Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore… for the first time.

What the American flag means
The flag has 13 horizontal stripes with seven red stripes alternating with six white stripes. These stripes represent the 13 original colonies and each of the 50 stars represents the states that make up the Union. Red stands for valor and hardiness, blue stands for perseverance, vigilance and justice and white stands for innocence and purity.

"Old Glory"
This famous moniker was first uttered by Capt. William Driver in 1831. Driver was a shipmaster from Salem, Massachusetts. After he rescued the mutineers of the Bounty and welcomed them aboard the Charles Doggett, he was presented with a flag with 24 stars. The banner was opened and as they watched it flap in the ocean breeze, Driver was reported to have exclaimed, "Old Glory!"

Driver retired in 1837 and took the flag with him to Nashville. After the Civil War broke, Driver hid the flag so well that rebel forces were unable to find it. When the Union captured Nashville, they raised a small American flag. It obviously was not up to par, so when people started asking for "Old Glory", Capt. Driver happily tore open his bedcover and there, between the quilted fabrics, was the beloved flag.

Capt. Driver himself rode with the soldiers to the capitol and replaced the smaller flag with Old Glory. He is now buried in the old cemetery in Nashville City, where the American flag flies 24 hours a day – one of only three places where it's allowed by Congress to do so. And the original Old Glory? Capt. Driver's descendant later gave it to the Smithsonian.