Gallantly Streaming
Did you know that there have been 27 official versions of the flag of the United States of America throughout our 250-year history? The first flag had thirteen stars and thirteen stripes representing the 13 original colonies. In 1795, the flag was changed to 15 stars and 15 stripes (adding Vermont and Kentucky as states) and it was this version of the flag that Francis Scott Key saw after the bombardment by the British of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, during the War of 1812, inspiring him to pen the poem that became our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The Flag Act of 1818 enshrined that the 13 stripes would forever represent the 13 original colonies, and determined that stars would be added to the flag each July 4th for years when new states were granted statehood. The current 50-star flag, added in 1960, is the version of our flag that has officially flown the longest.
