History of the flags of the United States

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This article describes the evolution of the flag of the United States, as well as other flags used within the country. There are also separate flags for embassies and boats.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Flags of the United States

National flag [edit]

Main article: Flag of the United States

Historical progression of designs [edit]

Since 1818, a star for each new state has been added to the flag on the Fourth of July immediately following each state's admission. In years which multiple states were admitted, the number of stars on the flag jumped correspondingly; the most pronounced example of this is 1890, when five states were admitted within the span of a single year (North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington in November 1889 and Idaho on July 3, 1890). This change has typically been the only change made with each revision of the flag since 1777, with the exception of changes in 1795 and 1818, which increased the number of stripes to 15 and then returned it to 13, respectively.

As the exact pattern of stars was not specified prior to 1912, and the exact colors not specified prior to 1934, many of the historical U.S. national flags shown below are typical rather than official designs.

1960–present

1959–1960

1912–1959

1908–1912

1896–1908

1891–1896

1890–1891

1877–1890

1867–1877

1865–1867

1863–1865

1861–1863

1859–1861

1858–1859

1851–1858

1848–1851

1847–1848

1846–1847

1845–1846

1837–1845

1836–1837

1822–1836

1820–1822

1819–1820

1818–1819

1795–1818 (the Star Spangled Banner)

1777–1795

1775–1777 (the Grand Union Flag)

Other historical versions [edit]

US historical flags-United States of America oil painting 2.00m x 1.70m

Betsy Ross circular 13-star version

Battle of Bennington version

Proposed future designs [edit]

A possible United States 51-star flag

United States 51-star flag (proposed by New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico)

Other federal flags [edit]

The Flag of the President

The Flag of the Vice President

Flag of the Ambassadors of the United States

Flag of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Flag of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Military flags [edit]

Main article: Flags of the United States armed forces

Coast Guard ensign

First Navy Jack (naval jack, 2002–)

Union Jack (naval jack, 1960–2002)

State flags [edit]

Main article: Flags of the U.S. states

As examples, here are the six highest-rated flags in terms of design quality, according to a 2001 survey by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA).^[1]

Territory and commonwealth flags [edit]

Puerto Rico (territory with commonwealth status)

Guam (territory)

American Samoa (territory)

U.S. Virgin Islands (territory)

Northern Mariana Islands (commonwealth in political union)

Insular area flags [edit]

The U.S. national flag is the official flag for all islands, atolls, and reefs comprising the United States Minor Outlying Islands. However, unofficial flags are in use on five of these eleven insular areas:

Source:

United States Minor Outlying Islands at Flags of the World

City flags [edit]

Main article: Flags of the U.S. cities

In 2004, NAVA conducted a survey to rank 150 U.S. city flags in terms of design quality.^[2] Here are the top 8 city flags as ranked and their mean ratings on the survey's 10-point scale:

Flag of Washington, D.C.
(9.17)

Flag of Chicago, IL
(9.03)

Flag of Denver, CO
(8.86)

Flag of Phoenix, AZ
(8.65)

Flag of St. Louis, MO
(8.56)

Flag of Wichita, KS
(8.41)

Flag of Portland, OR
(8.38)

Flag of Indianapolis, IN
(8.35)

Maritime flags [edit]

Ensigns [edit]

Main article: Ensign of the United States

National [edit]

Since 1777, the national ensign of the United States has been its national flag. The current version is shown below; for previous versions, please see the section Historical progression of designs above.

Ensign of the United States (1960–)

Grand Union Flag (naval ensign, 1775–1777)