50 Fun Facts About The American Flag

How many stripes has the U.S. flag had since the Flag Act of 1818?

The stripes stand for the thirteen colonies, while the stars (50 since 1960) stand for the states.

On what date does the United States observe Flag Day?

It marks the day in 1777 when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes; the U.S. Army also celebrates its birthday on June 14.

Which state's admission prompted the 50-star flag design adopted in 1960?

Alaska's admission in January 1959 produced a short-lived 49-star flag first; the 50-star flag followed in 1960.

How many stars has the U.S. flag carried since July 4, 1960?

The stars are arranged in nine offset rows, alternating rows of six and five.

How many times has the flag's design been officially modified since 1777?

That makes the current 50-star flag the 27th design and, since 2007, the longest-used of them all.

Which president ordered the 50-star flag by executive order in 1959?

Executive Order 10834 was signed on August 21, 1959, and the flag became official the following July 4.

What filled the canton of the Continental Colours flag of 1775–77?

It kept the Union Jack alongside 13 red-and-white stripes, and closely resembled the flag of the East India Company.

Who first flew the Continental Union Flag aboard the ship Alfred on December 3, 1775?

The future naval hero was then a Continental Navy lieutenant on Captain Esek Hopkins' flagship on the Delaware River.

What did the 1777 Flag Resolution say the stars represented?

The resolution said nothing about how the stars should be arranged, so early flag makers used circles, rows and even one big star.

Who was the only person to claim in his lifetime that he designed the U.S. flag?

The New Jersey signer of the Declaration initially asked to be paid with a quarter cask of public wine; Congress never paid him.

What payment did the flag's self-proclaimed designer first request from Congress in 1780?

His later bills asked for cash instead, and Congress declined on the grounds that he already drew a salary as a member.

Who first publicly told the story that Betsy Ross sewed the first flag, and when?

William Canby's 1870 account came nearly a century after the supposed visit, and he admitted he could find no corroborating record.

Per Ross family lore, what did Betsy Ross persuade Washington to change about the stars?

She is said to have shown that five-pointed stars were faster to cut, though no archival evidence supports the story.

What was Betsy Ross's trade?

Her shop did make flags for the Pennsylvania Navy; a May 1777 Navy Board record orders payment for her work.

Where was the first official U.S. flag flown in battle, on August 3, 1777?

Soldiers cut up shirts for the white stripes and used officers' wives' red flannel petticoats for the red.

Which two states' admission raised the count to 15 stars and 15 stripes in 1795?

It remains the only official U.S. flag that did not have thirteen stripes.

The Flag Act of 1818 restored 13 stripes and set new stars to be added on which date?

The act was passed at the suggestion of naval captain Samuel C. Reid and returned the flag to 13 stripes to honor the original colonies.

Which star counts never appeared on an official flag, since no Flag Act passed 1794–1818?

The 1818 act jumped straight to twenty stars, so Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana and Indiana never got a flag of their own.

The 1912 act for the 48-star flag was the first to specify what?

Six rows of eight stars, each pointing upward; before that, rectangular and circular star patterns were both common.

On July 4, 2007, the current design surpassed which earlier version as the longest-used?

The 48-star flag served 47 years, from 1912 through both world wars until Alaska's 49th star in 1959.

An Ohio teenager is popularly credited with designing the 50-star flag as a school project. Who?

No official record supports the story, and a biographer who investigated it concluded the main details seem fabricated.

What nickname did the Stars and Stripes acquire in Canton, China, after arriving in 1784?

The name stuck: American ginseng and Citibank are still called 'flower flag' ginseng and 'Flower Flag Bank' in Chinese.

Which 1861 event turned the banner into a popular national symbol, sparking 'Flagmania'?

Before the Civil War, the flag was rarely seen outside forts, government buildings and ships.

During the Civil War, what did Lincoln refuse to do with the stars of the seceded states?

He believed removing them would lend legitimacy to the Confederacy, so the star count never dropped.

Who sewed the 15-star garrison flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814?

She was paid $405.90 in 1813 and was helped by her daughter, two nieces and a 13-year-old indentured servant, Grace Wisher.

What were the original dimensions of the Fort McHenry garrison flag?

Major Armistead wanted a flag so large the British could not miss it; it weighed about 50 pounds and each star was about two feet across.

How many stars remain on the surviving Star-Spangled Banner flag?

One star was cut out and given away as a gift, and its whereabouts are unknown; several feet of the fly end were also snipped for souvenirs.

Who wrote the poem 'Defence of Fort M'Henry' after watching the 1814 bombardment?

He was aboard a British vessel negotiating a prisoner's release; his words were set to an English club song, 'The Anacreontic Song'.

In what year did Congress make 'The Star-Spangled Banner' the official national anthem?

The Navy had used it officially since 1889; Herbert Hoover signed the joint resolution.

Which sea captain coined the nickname 'Old Glory' for his own flag in 1824?

He later hid the flag inside a coverlet in Nashville so Confederates could not seize it, and produced it when Union troops took the city in 1862.

What small symbol did Old Glory's owner sew into the flag's corner in 1860?

It marked his maritime career; the family also added ten more stars during the same repair.

What large numeral appears in the canton of the Bennington flag?

Its stars have seven points, and the museum that holds it has dated the fabric to the 19th century, not the Revolution.

Which Wisconsin schoolteacher held the first recognized formal Flag Day observance in 1885?

He taught at Stony Hill School in Waubeka, then spent decades campaigning for the holiday, including a 1894 Chicago celebration with 300,000 children.

Which president issued the 1916 proclamation designating June 14 as Flag Day?

Congress did not establish National Flag Day by law until August 3, 1949, and it is still not a federal holiday.

Which was the first state to make Flag Day a state holiday, in 1937?

It began in the town of Rennerdale; New York observes a state Flag Day on the second Sunday in June instead.

Who wrote the 1892 version of the Pledge of Allegiance for a magazine promotion?

He was circulation manager of The Youth's Companion; on October 21, 1892, more than 10,000 children recited it for the Columbus quadricentennial.

In what year were the words 'under God' added to the Pledge of Allegiance?

The change was signed on Flag Day by Eisenhower; the Knights of Columbus had been adding the phrase at their meetings since 1951.

Why did Congress replace the straight-arm Pledge salute with the hand over the heart in WWII?

Bellamy created his salute in 1892; unlike the German version, it ended with the palm turned up.

According to the Flag Code, what is the preferred way to dispose of a flag too tattered to serve?

The American Legion runs retirement ceremonies, often on Flag Day; the Boy Scouts suggest recycling nylon flags because of the fumes.

At which Olympics did the U.S. flag bearer famously refuse to dip the flag to a king?

Team captain Martin Sheridan is quoted as saying 'this flag dips to no earthly king', though the quote's provenance is unclear.

What does flying the U.S. flag upside down originally signal?

Rage Against the Machine hung two inverted flags from their amps on Saturday Night Live in 1996 and were asked to leave the building.

How many triangular folds are usually made when the flag is folded for storage?

The finished bundle shows only the blue field; the folding ritual is military custom, not part of the Flag Code, and the folds have no official meanings.

What is the official width-to-height ratio of a government-specification U.S. flag?

Most flags sold to the public use 3x5 or 4x6 proportions instead; 1.9-ratio flags are called 'G-spec'.

Who explained in 1782 that the white meant purity, red valor and blue vigilance?

The Secretary of the Continental Congress was describing the Great Seal; the 1777 resolution gave the colors no meaning at all.

Which federal holiday calls for the flag to fly at half-staff only until noon?

Eisenhower issued the first proclamation standardizing half-staff periods in 1954; a president's death brings 30 days.

Who took the Pulitzer-winning 1945 photograph of Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi?

It captured the second, larger flag raised that afternoon on Iwo Jima and became the model for the Marine Corps War Memorial.

How many U.S. flag assemblies were planted on the Moon during the Apollo program?

The kit was designed by NASA's Jack Kinzler; the Apollo 11 flag was knocked over by the exhaust of the lunar module's ascent.

In Texas v. Johnson (1989), what did the Supreme Court rule about burning the U.S. flag?

The 5–4 ruling voided desecration laws in 48 states; Congress responded with the Flag Protection Act, struck down in turn in U.S. v. Eichman.

Gregory Lee Johnson burned a flag outside which 1984 event, leading to the landmark case?

He was fined $2,000 and sentenced to a year in jail under Texas law before the Supreme Court overturned the conviction.

Why does a flag patch on a uniform's right shoulder appear reversed?

The same convention applies to vehicles and aircraft: the canton goes toward the front, as though the flag were flying from a pole on a charging horse.