In 1707 Queen Anne adopted a new flag for England and her colonies. The Kings Colors were placed on a field of red. This was called the British Red Ensign. Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown under this flag.
The St. George cross was the first English flag used in North America. It was flown by John Cabot in 1497 under the reign of King Henry VII. Its use can be traced back to 1277 in Britain.
In 1620, when the Mayflower landed in America, a new flag was used for the colonies. King James I took the Cross of St. George and superimposed it onto the Scottish flag of St. Andrew and called it the Kings Colors.
During the Revolutionary War the colonists began unfurling new flags; among them was the popular Continental Flag. They replaced the Kings Colors with a Pine Tree, symbolic of the New England way of life. Historians believe this banner was carried during the famous battle of Bunker Hill.
Colonel Gadsden of South Carolina devised one of the first Rattlesnake flags. It was claimed to be flown by Esek Hopkins, first Commander of the Continental fleet. The inscription was intended as a warning to the British – meaning it was as dangerous to tread on the colonies, as it would be to step on a rattlesnake.
In 1776 the colonies adopted the thirteen stripes representing the thirteen colonies and kept the Kings Colors in the Canton, illustrating their allegiance to England, but their willingness to fight for their rights and justice. This flag was raised at Cambridge by General Washington and was called the Grand Union Flag or Cambridge Flag.
The original Betsy Ross Flag was officially adopted by an Act of Congress on June 14, 1777. It is generally believed that General George Washington was instrumental in designing the Betsy Ross Flag.
This unusual variation of the Stars and Stripes inspired General John Stark’s militia in a successful defense of the military stores at Bennington (VT) on August 16, 1777. Two months later, Burgoyne’s weakened army was captured by the Americans at Saratoga.
Shortly before the War of 1812, two new states were added to the Union and the flag was changed from 13 to 15 Stars and Stripes. This Star Spangled Banner was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key to write our National Anthem.
As the United States expanded and more states entered the Union, it became necessary to adopt a practical design to represent each new state. April 4, 1818, Congress passed legislation establishing the number of stripes at seven red and six white and an additional star for every new state joining the Union.
