It was way back in June of 1777 that the design of the American flag was first officially designated by the Second Continental Congress as having a specific number of white stars on a blue field and as having alternating stripes of red and white — this is the first of three Flag Acts, and the origin of Flag Day in the United States.
But the Flag Act of 1794 is the first time we saw significant changes to the design of the national flag of the United States due to the admission of new states into the Union. When Vermont and Kentucky were admitted as the 14th and 15th states, a new design was needed in order for them to be represented on the flag.
As such, The Flag Act of 1794 provided for the inclusion of fifteen stars and fifteen stripes in the official design. This is the only version of the United States flag to have fifteen stripes — every other version of the U.S. flag has thirteen stripes.
The text of the act reads as follows:
Statute One, Chapter One
An Act making an Alteration in the Flag of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, That from and after the first day of May, Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, the flag of the United States, be fifteen stripes alternate red and white. That the Union be fifteen stars, white in a blue field.
APPROVED, January 13, 1794
This Flag Act was still in effect when Mary Young Pickersgill and her family sewed the 30' x 42' Great Garrison Flag for Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812.
When Francis Scott Key was negotiating the release of prisoners during the Battle of Baltimore, it was this 15-star and 15-stripe variation of the American flag that inspired his poem, "Defence of Fort M'Henry."
Of course, this poem was later set to music, was renamed, "The Star Spangled Banner," and is our national anthem. While all variations of the U.S. flag are thought of as star-spangled banners, the 1794 variation is the first to bear that moniker.
The Flag Act of 1794 is the second of three Flag Acts in the United States. You can read about the Flag Act of 1818 here.
Celebrate the Flag of the United States!
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Have a great day, from your friends at LIBERTY FLAGS, The American Wave®.
