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About Albert Kirsch
Expertise
I am more-or-less expert in vexillology (the study of flags). My expertise is particularly strong in North America at the level of city and county, but if I don`t know the answer I know a dozen people who do. So if there`s a flag in the newspaper or on TV that you have trouble identifying, let me know. I`ll do my best. But PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO APPRAISE A FLAG'S VALUE: (1) I have no expertise in that area and (2) even if I did, I cannot appraise something I can't see. Take it to a museum which has a specialist in textiles and the like.

Experience
In this field, I designed the flag of Carroll County, Illinois, in 1974 (see http://www.internetni.com/~lanarklib/index.html). You can see my personal flag at http://www.nava.org/memflags.htm

You are here: Experts > Science > Geography > Flags > First American Flag

Flags - First American Flag

Expert: Albert Kirsch - 10/23/2009

Question
When was it Made? Who made the 13 Colony flag?

Answer
On 14 June 1777 Congress approved a design for the national flag. The wording was vague, not indicating whether the stripes were horizontal or vertical, nor whether the stars had 5 or 6 points. Many people made flags more-or-less corresponding to Congress's specifications, which means considerable variation in design. The only person to send Congress a bill for his work was Francis Hopkinson. He was turned down. As for Betsy Ross, she apparently did make "colors" for the navy but the legend that Washington visited her is absurd; he was not in Philadelphia at the time. The whole story about her comes from her grandson, and he was already old at the time he spoke of it. So the answer to your question is in a sense impossible; there is no "when" (many were made and nobody knows whose was the first) and there is no "who"; there were in fact many.

You might want to check http://flagspot.net/flags/us-1777.html for a more thorough discussion of this with links to all the various designs that were floating around in the years following the 1777 resolution. Click around and see what you can find.

Incidentally, the "13-colony" flag, one which flew before independence was declared, was 13 stripes and a union jack in the canton, indicating allegiance to Britain at the time. (The so-called "continental colors".) It too had no official status but was more of a regimental flag used by George Washington in his northern campaigns. But again, your use of the word "The" assumes there was a single flag design when in fact there was not. Most state militias fought under their separate regimental flags, many of which went on to become the state flags after the dust settled.

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