How many different versions of the American flag have there been?

Question

Please include links.

Answer 1

as the people above have touched upon the the number of stars on the American flag have changed 27 times from the beginning of 13 to the current 50.

but nobody above me here has included that there are alot more than 27 designs!

before 1912 the was no set pattern for which the stars had to be sewn.
the stars could be sewn in any number of different patterns- some of which are more famous than others
as long as the flag had the RIGHT number of stars there was no problem with it.

for example. the 13 star flag.
most people are farmillier with the so called 'Betsy Ross' design of the 13 stars in a circle. now in that circle the stars could either all point north or point inward towards eachother or all higgledy-piggledy
besides the circle design there were others- such as the one the US Navy used of a 3-2-3-2-3 pattern in lines - again these stars could either all point north or south or some rows north and some south or tipped at angles etc etc

another popular design was a 4-5-4 pattern

some links for pictures of some examples of 13 star flags.

betsy ross ring with stars pointing outward
http://www.sevenbros.com/images/flagusa13.jpg

3-2-3-2-3 with lines of 3 stars pointing north lines of 2 stars pointing south (flag is displayed vertically)
an absolutley wonderful example of a 13 star flag... id pay alot of money to have that!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26781832@N00/70088215/

3-2-3-2-3 higgldy piggledy directions of stars
http://www.bancroftcyberfair.com/flag/images/good13.jpg

3-2-3-2-3 all stars pointing north
http://www.colonialflag.com/product_images/13_star.jpg

11 stars and a circle and 2 larger stars in the middle i never even saw this design before!!
http://www.jeffbridgman.com/images/13m-905-flag-72.jpg

4-5-4 pattern stars face north
http://www.nostalg66.com/EBay/Flags/USPoly/13StarFortIndependence.jpg

the famous 'Bennington flag' the stars in an arch shape (2 stars in top corners) and number 76 sewn
http://www.fotw.us/images/u/us-1777a.gif

the Cowpens flag with 12 stars in a circle and one in center - again either stars could face inward or north these are facing north
http://www.fotw.us/images/u/us-1777m.gif

large star shape with 13 stars
http://www.fotw.us/images/u/us-1777e.gif

4-5-4 these stars all have 8 points!
http://www.fotw.us/images/u/us-1777t.gif

large diamond 13 stars
http://www.fotw.us/images/u/us-1777i.gif


cross pattern
http://www.fotw.us/images/u/us-1778c.gif

Trumbull flag- stars in a square round edge of cantonand one in center
http://www.fotw.us/images/u/us-13tr.gif

phew... spent 10 minute to look just for 13 star flags and came up with all those!

13 designs!

there probably more than 100 designs for the US flag if u count all the designs there is together!
alot of people made their own flags or had them made to personal specifications by a flag maker (rather than now all the flag companies do it for us)
so there is literally loads of ways to have sewn the stars on

a couple of cool designs i particularly like and would like to have as part of my collection are these -

34 star double wreath
http://www.usflagballoon.com/images/flagchanges/1861.jpg

filled in circle
http://www.usflagballoon.com/images/flagchanges/1865.jpg

ahhh!! here a site with quite alot of different star patterns showing actual flags all on 2 or 3 pages

http://www.piedmontflag.com/Starpattern.html


hope thats enough links for you!! i enjoy searching round for flag pics and stuff anyway... literally loads of designs...






here a flag 'timeline ' i found whilst browsing u might find useful
http://www.usflagballoon.com/usflagthrutime.htm

Answer 2

Different American Flags

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

The last star, representing Hawaii was added was in 1960, and it became the 27th version of the American flag.

The current American flag was adopted on July 4, 1960. The American flag originated in the mid-18th century from flags used at the time of the American War of Independence with Britain. Congress officially set the design of the American flag in June 1777, stating that it should be 13 alternating red and white stripes, with 13 white stars on a blue field as there were 13 original member states in the newly formed Union. As new states joined the country a new star and stripe were added to the American flag. In 1818, the American flag's design was changed to the original one of 13 stripes. Any new states were now represented by a white star only and would be added to the American flag on July 4th of the year they joined. Up until 1818, there was no specific pattern for the stars to follow and this led to a few different designs until the president stated they should be placed in parallel rows. Like many of the worlds other old flags, there are many legends and myths that surround the flag of the United States of America.

Answer 5

There have been 28 versions of American Flag. The first one was The Grand Union Flag which has historically been referred to as the "First National Flag"; although it has never had any official status it was used throughout the American Revolutionary War by George Washington and formed the basis for the design of the first official US flag (The Betsy Ross Flag).

There have been 27 consecutive versions of the American Flag after The Grand Union Flag; each has stars that represent the number of American states of its time.

The last one is the 50-star flag, which has become the longest rendition in use (from July 4, 1960 to now)

An American 51 star flag has been designed in case of a 51st state actually joining the United States. The flag has been used as a symbol by supporters of statehood in various areas.

The United States Army Institute of Heraldry has plans for flags with up to 56 stars, using a similar staggered star arrangement should additional states accede. Moreover, there are continuing political movements supporting statehood in Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

Answer 6

The number of stars represents the number of states, so each time another state got added, after the original 13, there was a need to do a redesign ... not it might not be 50 states minus 13 because there may have been times when several states joined at the same time.

Wikipedia says it got changed 26 times after the original, and charts which states got added, when, and how that changed the appearance of the flag.

There are various movements to make Puerto Rico a state, District of Columbia, other places ... and the US government has designs for up to 56 states if need be.

Key Words in searches
* Old Glory
* Stars and Stripes

America also has flags for the various military outfits, different states, territories, cities, etc. There's the yellow ribbon support for our troops. Wear red shirt on Friday.

Prior to the American Revolution, there was a flag for America the colony of Britain, which had the Union Jack in the corner where we now have the stars representing the 50 states. There was also heraldry associated with the founding fathers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States
http://www.eflagstore.com/

Answer 7

If you are counting the flags that we've had as an independent Republic, there were 27 according to this site I found (attached). It changes as new states are added. In the War for Independence, there were others: the rattlesnake flag, the pine tree flag, the Betsy Ross flag and others.

The illustrations in the second link are nice, check out our 15 stripe flag for instance.

Answer 8

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How many different versions of the American flag have there been?
Please include links.

Answer 9

well, if you count the betsy ross flag and all the times it changed i'd say 27 flags altogether!! WELL, for example the more states the more stars like there were 48 stars on there before alaska and hawaii were states which made 50 states, SO 50 STARS!!! BYE TOM!!

Answer 10

About 6,618,505,431 (plus about a hundred billion) as every single spirit in this world has a slightly different American Flag.