Some colonists also felt that the company could be a powerful ally in the American War of Independence, as they shared similar aims and grievances against the British government's tax policies. There is already in use a flag, I refer to the flag of the East India Company." This was a way of symbolizing American loyalty to the Crown as well as the United States' aspirations to be self-governing, as was the East India Company. He said to George Washington, "While the field of your flag must be new in the details of its design, it need not be entirely new in its elements. Benjamin Franklin once gave a speech endorsing the adoption of the company's flag by the United States as their national flag. However, the East India Company flag could have from nine to 13 stripes and was not allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean. Both flags could easily have been constructed by adding white stripes to a British Red Ensign, one of the three maritime flags used throughout the British Empire at the time. Sir Charles Fawcett argued in 1937 that the company flag inspired the design of the U.S. The flag very closely resembles the flag of the British East India Company in that era. The name "Grand Union" was first applied to the Continental Colors by George Henry Preble in his 1872 book known as History of the American Flag. The Continental Navy raised the Colors as the ensign of the fledgling nation in the American War for Independence – likely by the expedient of transforming their previous British red ensign by adding white stripes. The "Grand Union Flag" has historically been referred to as the first national flag of the United States. At the time of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, there were no flags with any stars on them the Second Continental Congress did not adopt flags with "stars, white in a blue field" for another year. It remained the national flag until June 14, 1777. It first appeared on December 3, 1775, when Continental Navy Lieutenant John Paul Jones flew it aboard Captain Esek Hopkin's flagship Alfred in the Delaware River. It consisted of 13 red-and-white stripes, with the Union Jack in the upper left-hand-corner. The first flag resembling the modern stars and stripes was an unofficial flag sometimes called the Grand Union Flag, or "the Continental Colors". Main article: Grand Union Flag The flag of the East India Company, introduced in 1707 and flown at sea in the Indian Ocean The Grand Union Flag, also known as the Continental Colors, used between 17 Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and The Star-Spangled Banner. Credit for the term "Stars and Stripes" has been given to the Marquis de Lafayette, a French soldier who volunteered his aid to the Continental Army, led by George Washington, in the Revolutionary War against Britain. The "Stripes and Stars" was a popular phrase into the 19th century. ĭuring the Revolutionary War era, the "Rebellious Stripes" were considered as the most important element of United States flag designs, and were always mentioned before the stars. states, and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from Great Britain, which they obtained in their victory in the American Revolutionary War. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. flag, consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton, referred to as the union and bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternate with rows of five stars. The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. Thirteen horizontal stripes alternating red and white in the canton, 50 white stars of alternating numbers of six and five per horizontal row on a blue field
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