Thirteen "Star Flag. 
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SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY • NUMBER 21 

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Thlrtora-Sfar Flags 

KEYS TO IDENTIFICATION 

Grace Rogers Cooper 

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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS 

City of Washington 

1973 

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SERIA L PUBLICATION S OF TH E SMITHSONIA N INSTITUTIO N 

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Smithsonian Institution 

Official publication date is handstamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recorded 

in the Institution 's annual report, Smithsonian Year. 

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 

Cooper, Grace Rogers 

Thirteen-star flags: Keys to identification 

(Smithsonian studies in history and technology, no. 21) 

Bibliography: p. 

1. Flags-United States. I. Title. II. Series: Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian studies in history 

and technology, no. 21. 

GR113.072 929.9'0973 72-8229 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, 

Washington, D.C. 20402 Price $3.00 domestic postpaid or $2.75 GPO Bookstore 

Stock Number 4700-0232 

iv 
Contents 

Page 

Preface vii 

Introduction 1 

Parti 

Thirteen-Star Flag Design in the Eighteenth Century 3 

Part II 

Fabrics and Stitching Methods 13 

Part III 

Documented Flags: Technical Examination and Description 26 

Fourteen- through Thirty-seven-Star Flags: Comparative Analysis through 

the Centennial Period 32 

Part IV 

Identifying Unknown Flags 41 

Thirteen-Star Flags of Unknown Origin: Technical Examination, 

Description, and Estimated Date 44 

Notes 54 

Appendix: Facts about the United States Flag 57 

Glossary 58 

Bibliography 59 

Index 61 
TO SANFORD LEE COOPER 
Preface 

The first time I had reason to question the date of a thirteen-star flag was in 1947. 

The one examined was stitched by machine and, because of that, obviously was not an 

eighteenth-century flag. The stars were arranged in a 3-2-3-2-3 arrangement. Knowing 

very little about documenting flags at that time, I questioned the then curator of history, 

Theodore T. Belote, whether a flag could be dated by the star arrangement. In discussing 

the more popular arrangements, Mr. Belote stated that the "thirteen-star flag was used as 

a small boat ensign from 1795 to about 1916." Currently, in trying to document his 

statement for publication, I found that this was one of those facts that is "known," but 

difficult to establish positively. In 1970, Captain Edmund A. Crenshaw, Jr., vice president 

of the Germantown Historical Society and curator of its museum in Philadelphia, wrote 

in answer to my query: "That type [thirteen-star flag] was used for smaller vessels, 

torpedo boats, submarines and ships boats as far back as I can remember." In his letter of 

December 3, 1970, when Captain Cranshaw was seventy-nine years old, he continued, 

". . . it was stopped by Franklin Roosevelt for some reason." Since Franklin Roosevelt 

was assistant secretary of the navy in 1916, the year may be fairly accurate; however, the 

observation of Dr. Harold Langley, present curator of naval history in the Smithsonian 

Institution's National Museum of History and Technology, is that individual captains may 

have continued to use the thirteen-star flag. Dr. Langley also pointed out that 

manufacturers who had filled navy contracts may have continued to manufacture these 

flags after 1916. The United States Navy, however, considers that officially it has 

followed each Flag Act using the number of stars representing the number of states in the 

Union, and cites a regulation issued in 1890 reaffirming this. Nevertheless, there is an 

Executive Order (number 1637) issued by President William Howard Taft and dated 

October 29, 1912, which states: 

Boat Flags: In order that the identity of the stars in flags when carried by small boats 

belonging to the Government may be preserved, the custom holding in the Navy for 

many years, of thirteen (13) stars for boat flags, is hereby approved. 

This confirms that the thirteen-star flag was in use through 1912 and probably longer. 

vn 

Thirteen*Star Flags 

KEYS TO IDENTIFICATION 

Tliirteen-star flags are not rare. Although these flags were the official banner only 

from 1 777 to 1 795, they continued to be made throughout the nineteenth and into the 

twentieth century. They were used by the navy and, on occasion, by the military 

regiments as well as by patriotic Americans for early commemorative celebrations and as 

centennial souvenirs. The natural changes that occurred in the manufactured components 

and the methods of making the flags offer important keys to their dating. 

The Author: Grace Rogers Cooper is the curator of textiles in the Smithsonian 

Institution 's National Museum of History and Technology. 

Introduction 

American flags are very special to most American citizens. For this reason, no one seems to 

question the age of a family-treasured, thirteenstar flag handed down from a previous generation 

and said to be an original eighteenth-century 

artifact. In truth, it may have been saved only as a 

commemorative souvenir. Certainly, there was no 

original intent to defraud when a grandfather 

reported that his father had given him "his flag" 

and told him it was "like the one" under which his 

forefathers had fought for independence. In two 

generations, however, this story frequently 

changes and the flag becomes an original 

Revolutionary War flag which was carried by a 

specific ancestor in a specific battle. All of this 

seems to be the result of a natural eagerness to 

own a part of the physical evidence of our national 

heritage. 

Contrary to popular belief, thirteen-star flags 

are not rare. They were made over a longer period 

of time than any of the starry ensigns that were 

ever used as our national insignia. Although the 

thirteen-star flag was officially the national banner 

from the Flag Act of 1777 until 1795 (Appendix 

1), it continued to be manufactured for many 

years for several good and acceptable reasons. 

Small boats of the United States Navy used it as an 

ensign from 1795 until about 1916. Also, thirteenstar flags continued to be made for many commemorative events during the nineteenth and 

twentieth centuries. This practice may have 

commenced as early as the time of George 

Washington's death in 1799. It was certainly true 

at the time of the Marquis de Lafayette's visit in 

1824-1825, for the centennial of Washington's 

birth in 1832, and for the many later centennials 

and commemorative occasions. 

Before attempting to establish the date of a 

thirteen-star flag, it is wise to have some background information about the history of this flag. 

The best single source is The History of the United 

States Flag from the Revolution to the Present, 

Including a Guide to its Use and Display by Milo 

M. Quaife, Melvin J. Weig, and Roy E. Appleman, 

which was published in 1961. This book, of 

necessity, discounts a few myths. Unfortunately, 

much of our American history was clouded by 

zealous, nineteenth-century imaginations. 
Figure 1. The thirteen-star flag became a popular design feature on a number of 

commemorative fabrics printed in France for the United States market. In the 

English-produced commemoratives the thirteen-star flag is not used, but rather the earlier 

thirteen-stripe flag or the rattlesnake flag. 

This detail is from a furniture cover, circa 1790, made of a French block-printed 

cotton, the design of which is an adaptation of the Jouy (France) copperplate-printed 

cotton produced by the Oberkampf factory entitled "L'Hommage de l'Amerique a la 

France" first produced in 1786. The flags of the United States and France are 

prominently displayed. In the copperplate design, there are thirteen stripes (red and 

white); in the block-printed version the flipped corner would suggest more than thirteen, 

although hopefully this was poor perspective on the part of the designer. In the one 

illustrated here, the stripes are printed in two shades of red plus the white indicating a 

tricolor design. The stars in the copperplate fabric of this design appear to be in rows of 

4-5-4, while in this version there are twelve in a square—one is hidden by the overturned 

corner—with the thirteenth in the center. It is presumed that both flag designs, 

representing the new American states, were known to French fabric designers. (In the 

collections of the Division of Textiles, T. 11578. Smithsonian photo 77780.) 

Although the authors of this book refute the Betsy 

Ross story, they nevertheless label an illustration 

of the thirteen-star-circle flag as the "Popular or 

Betsy Ross Version of the United States Flag, 

Revolutionary War Period." This writer believes 

that by doing this, they weaken their documented 

evidence against the story; however, the most 

significant illustrations in their book are of flags in 

documented renderings. 

The first Flag Act of June 14, 1777, only 

provided "that the flag of the thirteen United 

States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: 

that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue 

field, representing a new constellation ... " The 

specific intent, if there was one, in just how these 

stars were to be arranged is unknown. The 

members of Congress probably had no thought or 

desire to regulate this feature. The design, how the 

flag is put together, and the fabrics to be used were 

not provided by this Flag Act. 
""©PART I®* 

Thirteen-Star Flag Design in the 

Eighteenth Century 

The arrangement of the stars is basically the 

only design feature that can be considered in a 

thirteen-star flag. There are differences in the 

arrangement of the colors of the stripes, but these 

offer relatively few possibilities. From the early 

illustrations extant, one can see just how varied 

the star arrangements were. In a number of ways, 

the stars themselves are shown differently. Of the 

variety of arrangements of stars, the two most 

commonly found are the 4-5-4 and the 3-2-3-2-3. 

Interestingly, the earliest artist renderings of 

American flags show one of each of the two types. 

These drawings were made by a Dutchman in 

1779. They are of navy ensigns on the ships of 

John Paul Jones, the Alliance and the captured 

Serapis. The drawings were preserved in the 

shipping offices at the harbor of Texel in Holland. 

These drawings, now preserved by the Chicago 

Historical Society, came to light in 1921 as the 

result of tlie work of Commander Byron McCandless, U.S.N. Both illustrations are in the 

Quaife, Weig, and Appleman book, and a careful 

account of the drawings and their discovery can be 

found in Frank Earl Schermerhorn's American and 

French Flags of the Revolution, 1775-1783. 

Lafayette had sailed to Holland on the Alliance 

early in the year 1779 and was about to return to 

America. The flag which was flown on this 

American vessel had thirteen eight-pointed stars in 

a 3-2-3-2-3 arrangement, with thirteen alternate 

red-and-white stripes. It can be assumed that the 

flag she flew would be more typical of those in 

use. The flag sketched as flying from the Serapis 

also had thirteen eight-pointed stars, but these 

were in a 4-5-4 arrangement. The union is smaller, 

being only the width of five stripes with eight 

stripes below. The thirteen stripes are red, white, 

and blue, irregularly arranged: blue, red, white, 

red, white, blue, red, white, red, blue, white, blue, 

and red. Although the Flag Act specified stripes of 

red and white, this use of blue as a third color in 

the stripes was not an isolated example. Two 

eminent Americans of the period described the 

flag with such stripes. In a letter dated October 9, 

1778, signed by Benjamin Franklin and John 

Adams and sent from Paris to the King of Two 

Sicilies, they wrote: 

It is with pleasure that we acquaint Your 

Excellency that the flag of the United States of 

America consists of 13 stripes, alternately red, 

white, and blue; a small square in the upper 

angle, next the flag staff, is a blue field, with 13 

white stars, denoting a new Constellation. Some 

of the States have vessels of war distinct from 

those of the United States. For example, the 

vessels of war of the State of Massachusetts Bay 

have sometimes a pine tree; and those of South 

Carolina a rattlesnake, in the middle of the 13 

stripes; but the Flag of the United States, 

ordained by Congress, is the 13 stripes and 13 

stars above described.1 

The fact that these earliest examples of thirteenstar flags were used by the navy is not surprising. 

Even George Washington repeatedly requested 

national colors, but there is no record that he ever 

received them.2 America followed the flag 

precedents of Europe with the navy more or less 

adopting and flying the Stars and Stripes shortly 

after the Flag Act. The army, however, used 

regimental or state banners evading the national 

standard or using substitutes. It was not until 1834 

that the army field artillery was permitted to carry 

the Stars and Stripes, and it was not until 1841 

that the infantry regiments did so.3 

In addition to the drawings made at Texel, 

Holland, there are a number of known illustrations 

of the American flag that were produced in the 

early 1780s. Of these, three printed flag sheets, 
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNO LOG Y 

I/L\< Efatj ///If.' 

(/c Z^Tmeriqin 

Figure 2. Mondhare flag sheet, 1781: a, flag of the American Congress; b, merchant flag 

of the United States of America; c, pendant of the United States of America; and 

d, another pendant of the United States of America. (Courtesy John Carter Brown 

Library.) 

two maps, and an almanac were executed before 

the end of the Revolutionary War. The first is the 

Mondhare flag sheet (Figure 2), whose title is 

"Tableau de tous les Pavilions que Ion arbore sur 

les Vaisseaux dans Quatre Parties du Monde avec 

une Explication de tous les Agres et Manoeuvres 

des Vaisseaux 1781." This sheet, preserved in the 

John Carter Brown Library at Brown University, is 

quite large, two feet one inch by three feet. 

Following the illustrations of the other flags of the 

world appears the emblem of the newest among 

the nations, the Stars and Stripes—designated the 

flag of the American Congress. The stars are 

five-pointed ones and are arranged 1-3-3-3-3. When 

the original print was colored, the illuminator 

painted a fleur-de-lis over the single star on the 

first row. This prerogative seems permissible since 

the French Alliance brought about the addition of 

the American flag to the flags of the world. There 

are three other American flags also illustrated on 

this sheet: a mercantile flag of thirteen stripes 

only, a pennant of a single red and a single white 

stripe captioned "Flamme des Etats unis 

d'Amerique," and a second pennant with a blue 

field on which appears a fleur-de-lis and twelve 

stars with an indeterminable number of vertical 

red and white stripes and ending in the single red 

and single white horizontal stripes of the previous 

pennant. This second pennant is captioned 

"Autres Flamme des Etats unis de L'Amerique," 

possibly inferring that it was the less common of 

the two. 

Another flag sheet in the John Carter Brown 

Library, attributed to publication shortly after 

1781, was the "Flaggen aller Seefahrenden 

Potensen und Nationen in der gantzen 

Welt. . . (vorgestellt von Matthaeus Seutter in 

Augspurg [sic])" published by Tobias Conrad 

Lotter (Figure 3). The American flag illustrated 

has thirteen six-pointed stars arranged in a 

3-3-3-3-1 design and, in addition, has a fleur-de-lis 

at the top. The third flag sheet published in 

London in 1783, entitled "Bowles Universal Display of Naval Flags," shows the American flag 

with thirteen five-pointed stars in a 3-2-3-2-3 plan. 

The Town and Country Almanack published by 

Abraham Weatherwise in 1782 shows the fivepointed stars in an unusual 3-5-5 arrangement. 

Both the Sebastian Bauman map of 1782, "This 

Plan of the investment of York," copies of which 

are in the Phelps Stokes Collection in the New 

York Public Library and in the John Carter Brown 

Library, and the John Wallis 1783 map of the 

"United States of America" have the more 

common 3-2-3-2-3 arrangement of stars, the former with six-pointed ones and the latter blurred.4 

There are a number of additional documented 

publications of the late eighteenth century which 

include illustrations of the American flag. One 

important one is in the manuscript collection of 

the Library of Congress. It is the original drawing 

by Major L'Enfant for The Society of the Cincinnati diploma, adopted by them on June 10, 1783. 

As can be seen in Figure 4, the thirteen stars in the 

field are in an oval, which may have been an 

interpretation of the circle of stars. The engraved 

diploma, however, was to have a flag of a different 

design.5 Other designs of the 1780s which are in 
NUMBER 21 

the John Carter Brown Library include an illustration of the flag in Lady Harriet's Ackland, an 

aquatint published in London in 1784 in which 

the stars are too obscure to determine the arrangement; Abel Buell's A New and Correct Map of the 

United States, published in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1784, which illustrates thirteen fivepointed stars in a 3-2-3-2-3 plan; and M. C. 

Sprengel's Allgemeines historisches Taschenbuch . . . enhaltend fur 1784 die Geschichte der 

Revolution von Nord-America, published in Berlin 

in late 1783 or early 1784, which shows the same 

type of stars and arrangement; while Francis 

Bailey's Pocket Almanack of 17846 shows the 

4-5-4 star layout. 

Figure 3. Lotter flag sheet, circa 1782, showing 

the flag of the province of America. (Courtesy 

John Carter Brown Library.) 

anal 

T 

! 

Figure 4. Detail from an original drawing by Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant for the 

diploma adopted by The Society of the Cincinnati on June 10, 1783. The drawing is in 

the Library of Congress. (Photograph courtesy of the owner, The Society of the 

Cincinnati.) 
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

Contemporary paintings also offer some clues 

to the types and varieties of thirteen-star flags of 

the late eighteenth century. In Gustav Eisen's 

Portraits of Washington, the Peale portrait of 

Washington in the Battle of Trenton in The 

Metropolitan Museum of Art collection is used as 

the frontispiece for volume two. It is attributed to 

the period 1779-1782, and it shows the familiar 

circlet of thirteen stars on the blue field of a white 

banner. There are no stripes. Since this was 

classified as a "small size for a larger canvas," the 

artist may not have felt it necessary to include the 

red and white stripes. Interestingly, the full-size 

canvases of this painting of Washington at Trenton 

show the flag without the white banner; the circlet 

of thirteen stars is on a blue banner. To what 

extent Peale was exercising artistic license is not 

known. Eisen also describes the Peale portrait of 

Washington (Nassau Hall collection), which was 

painted between December 10, 1783, and September 30, 1784. This, he claims to be "the first 

introduction by Peale of the stripes standards in 

his Washington portraits." The painting is pictured 

and further described as "the United States 

standard, the thirteen red and white stripes, but 

with an eagle in the canton of blue." Although not 

mentioned in Eisen's description, the viewer will 

also note an indeterminable number of stars in the 

blue field. 

This design, with the eagle and stars in the 

canton or union together with the alternate red 

and white stripes making up the main body of the 

flag, may well have been one of the more common 

early designs for national flags. It continued in use 

in the nineteenth century as late as the 1840s. 

Without the red and white stripes, it was used as a 

regiment flag. Peale used it again in his painting of 

Washington at Yorktown, now housed in the State 

House in Annapolis. In the catalog description of 

Peale's Portrait Exhibition at the Pennsylvania 

Figure 5. The "Schuyler Flag," a silk flag possibly dating as early as 1784, exhibited in 

the Army-Navy Museum at Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia. This flag 

may well be the earliest example of a thirteen-star, thirteen-stripe flag in existence and 

represents the style with the eagle in the field that is frequently found in early art 

renderings. (Courtesy Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia.) 
Academy of the Fine Arts held in Philadelphia in 

1923, the flag is described as a regimental standard; however, there is no flag that approaches this 

description in the Gherardi Davis work Regimental 

Colors in the War of the Revolution. Just how the 

adoption in 1782 of the Seal of the United States, 

with the spread eagle and stars, and the use of the 

eagle in the union or canton in 1784 correlate, is not 

known. The proximity of dates is too close to have 

been mere chance. The same thirteen star flagactually the number of stars in such a flag is not 

discernable—with the eagle in the union and 

thirteen red and white stripes appears in the 

Charles Willson Peale portrait of Samuel Smith 

(1752-1839). The specific date of this painting in 

the Independence Hall collection in Philadelphia 

has not been established. This arrangement was 

also used on the engraved version of the diploma 

of The Society of the Cincinnati, although as 

previously mentioned the original drawing had 

shown only stars in the union.7 The eagle and stars 

also appear in a flag on exhibit in the Army-Navy 

Museum, Independence National Historical Park in 

Philadelphia (Figure 5), and in the flag held by 

C y\t Y/WY/,.,. 

Figure 6. Miss Liberty, circa 1815, a water col or 

on paper, painted as a tribute to "Liberty and 

Independence Ever Glorious Memory, United 

States of America 1776," with a representation of 

the stars and stripes with the eagle in the union. 

(Courtesy of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk 

Art Collection, Williamsburg, Virginia.) 

Figure 7. Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777, painted 

by John Trumbull (American, 1756-1843), showing two American flags with twelve stars 

in a square and the thirteenth in the center. (Courtesy of the Yale University Art 

Gallery.) 
SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOGY 

Figure 8. An American primitive painting of the early nineteenth century, The 

American War Horse, from the Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch collection, 

showing the American flag with twelve stars in a square and the thirteenth in the center. 

(Courtesy of the Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Collection, The Columbus Gallery of 

Fine Arts.) 
NUMBER 21 

"Miss Liberty" (Figure 6). The latter is a watercolor on paper in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller 

Folk Art Collection, Colonial Williamsburg, which 

was drawn about 1815. The painting is a tribute to 

"Liberty and Independence. Ever Glorious 

Memory, United States America 1776." Although 

painted in the early nineteenth century, it is 

intended to represent an eighteenth-century flag. 

In John Trumbull's paintings, the battle of 

Princeton (Figure 7) and the surrender at Saratoga, 

of the 1780s, and also in his Capitol rotunda 

paintings (1816-1824), the stars are arranged as 

twelve in a square with the thirteenth in the 

center. This design, which seems to have been 

forgotten in the annals of history, may well have 

been a common one. Twelve stars in a square 

would certainly be a logical arrangement and 

would be easy for the seamstress to plan and 

execute. There is an oil-on-wood painting on 

permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution of the Revolutionary War privateer Hazard of 

Salem (date unknown) which shows twelve stars in 

a square with the thirteenth at a distorted angle 

on the uppermost side of the union. An actual flag 

like this would have been unlikely. While it is 

logical to put twelve stars in a square, it would not 

be logical to put the thirteenth outside the square. 

The artist, who is unidentified as to period, 

probably misinterpreted an earlier drawing. Folk 

artists of the early nineteenth century, who were 

inclined to paint what they saw, continued to 

paint twelve stars in a square with one in the 

center. One in the Edgar William and Bernice 

Chrysler Garbisch collection in The Columbus 

Gallery of Fine Arts in Columbus, Ohio, is entitled 

The American War Horse (Figure 8). It is attributed to the first quarter of the nineteenth 

century and shows the square of twelve with a 

large star in the center. This is the design that may 

have led to the painting of the stars in a circle. 

There is certainly an illusion of a circle when one 

looks at twelve stars in a square, especially on a 

piece of fabric not held taut. Once the stars are in 

a circle, there is no need to allow for the extra one 

in the center—a design which came into limited use 

in the nineteenth century. 

In 1792, Trumbull painted thirteen stars in a 

circle in his General George Washington at 

Trenton in the Yale University Art Gallery. In his 

unfinished rendition of the Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown,&

 date not established, the 

circle of stars is suggested and one star shows six 

points while the thirteen stripes are of red, white, 

and blue. How accurately the artist depicted the 

star design that he saw is not known. At times, he 

may have offered a poetic version of the flag he 

was interpreting which was later copied by the flag 

maker. The flag sheets and the artists do not agree. 

Figure 9. Scotti Flag Sheet, 1796, showing seven flags of the United States of America 

and one pendant: a, small pendant at top, note similarity to Mondhare pendant;/!), a 4-5-4 

star arrangement, but with the fifth star in the second row set to the right and thirteen 

red and white stripes; c, the "Appeal to Heaven" flag; d, the stars in a 4-2-1-2-4 

(horizontal) arrangement with thirteen red, white, and blue stripes; e, thirteen red and 

white stripes; /, a single vertical row of thirteen stars alternating in small individual fields 

of blue and white opposite each of the thirteen red and white stripes; g, similar to the 

Grand Union Flag, with the red cross, and with the thirteen stars forming the white cross; 

h, two vertical rows of stars, with seven in the first and six in the second. (Courtesy of the 

John Carter Brown Library.) 

-Yb;:, 

tff-*^ 

[ 

mmmm 
10 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOGY 

Summary of Eighteenth-Century Flag Design 

Star arra 

* * * 

* * 

* * * 

* * 

* * * 

* * * * 

**** * 

* * * * 

* 

* * * 

* * * 

* * * 

• * * 

* * * 

* * * 

* * * 

* * * 

* 

**** * 

* * * * 

* * * * 

* * * 

**** * 

**** * 

* * * * 

* * * 

* * 

* * * * 

ngement 

3-2-3-2-3 

3-2-3-2-3 

3-2-3-2-3 

3-2-3-2-3 

4-5-4 

4-5-4 

1-3-3-3-3 

3-3-3-3-1 

Thirteen stars 

and 

eagle 

3-5-5 

(vertical) 

Number of 

star points 

8 

6 

5 

6 

8 

4 

5 

6 

5 

6 

Colors of 

stripe 

red, white 

red, white 

red, white 

red, white, blue 

red, white, blue 

red, white 

red, white 

red, white 

red, white 

red, white 

red, white 

Earliest 

usage 

1779 

1782 

1783 

1793 

1779 

1796 

1781 

1781 

1784 

1782 

1780s 
NUMBER 21 11 

Star arrangement 

* * 4.2-I-2-4 

* *^* * (horizontal) 

* * * * 

* * 

% 13 in a 

* vertical row 

i 

i * * * * * 

* * modified 

* * Union-Jack 

* * 

* 

* * 

* * 

* * 

* * 7-6 

* (horizontal) 

* 

* * 

* * 

* * * 

* * 

* * 

* * 

* * * * * * * 

Number of 

star points 

4 

4 

4 

4 

not visible 

6 

Colors of 

stripe 

red, white 

alternating blue and 

white fields 

red, white stripes 

red, white 

red, white 

red, white 

red, white, blue 

Earliest 

usage 

1796 

1796 

1796 

1796 

1792 

179[?] 
12 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

The thirteen-star flags depicted by the eighteenthcentury artists are not shown on the flag sheets, 

and the United States flags imprinted on the 

eighteenth-century flag sheets are not found in the 

eighteenth-century paintings. The documented 

illustrations of the 1790s repeat the arrangements 

of the previous decade and introduce new ones. 

Another flag sheet published in 1793 at Augsburg, 

Germany, this time by Mathieu Alber and George 

F. Lotter—under a title quite like that of the 

Mondhare sheet9—shows three American flags. 

Although these are labeled like those on the 

Mondhare sheet, the flags illustrated differ in 

several respects. The one captioned "P. du Congres 

Americain" has thirteen six-pointed stars in a 

3-2-3-2-3, while in place of red and white stripes 

there appears in regular order red, blue, white, red, 

blue, white, red, blue, white, red, blue, white, and 

a final red stripe to make the thirteen. The 

mercantile flag of stripes only repeats the same 

red, blue, and white arrangement. While the third 

is labeled "Autres Flamme des Etats unis de 

L'Amerique," it is not another pennant as in the 

Mondhare sheet, but the only one shown; however, it is of interest. In addition to the thirteen 

six-pointed stars in a 3-2-3-2-3 arrangement, it also 

has thirteen vertical stripes in red, blue, and white, 

and ends in a tricolor horizontal band, with the 

blue stopping and ending in tails of red and white. 

The flag sheet that offers the greatest variety of 

designs of the American flag of the period is in the 

Brown University Library. Published in 1796, it is 

entitled. "Tavola delle piu esatte, edusitate 

Bandiere . . . Vinco. Scotti di Livonno l'Anno 

1796" (Figure 9). Five different designs of thirteenstar and thirteen-stripe flags, all with four-pointed 

stars, are illustrated. One is a variation of the more 

common 4-5-4. Four are new designs which, to 

date, have not been found in any early publications. One is a 4-2-1-2-4 (horizontal), another is of 

thirteen stars in a vertical row in alternating blue 

and white fields. The third is a modification of the 

Union Jack with one star in the center and three 

stars radiating out to each corner of the field, 

while the fourth has only two vertical rows of 

stars—the first with seven and the second with six. 
«•<© PAR T ll@e» 

Fabrics and Stitching Methods 

Contemporary references to die types of fabrics 

used in the making of flags in the eighteenth 

century are meager. There is scarcely any specific 

information about how they were put together, 

the types of seams used, or any of the other details 

that would help in identifying unknowns. Since 

there are very few, if any, thirteen-star flags 

surviving from the Revolutionary War period—and 

not many from the very late eighteenth centuryknowledge of the details are necessarily limited to 

general information about the fabrics, thread, and 

sewing techniques that are known to have been in 

use and applicable to this type of article. 

The specific fabric references that can be cited 

relate to the silk regimental banners. Gherardi 

Davis reports in his Regimental Colors in the War 

of the Revolution that, without exception, these 

flags seem to have been of silk. He states that 

although these flags sometimes had thirteen stars, 

they usually did not have thirteen stripes and were 

not the result of the national Flag Act. They were 

not national banners, but were state or local 

regimental colors. Despite the fact that such flags 

are not being considered in this study, mention 

will be made of a few for they do offer some idea 

of the fabrics of the period from which these types 

of flags were made. 

First R. I. Regiment. .. thirteen gold stars 

(5-pointed) .. . in the center of the flag is a 

blue anchor sewed on the silk. 

Second R. I. Regiment 

This flag is also of white silk, with thirteen 

small white stars (5-pointed) arranged .. . on 

a blue canton. 

Second Battalion, 2nd Conn. Regiment 

The flag is of dark red silk. 

Third Webb's Regiment 

The flag is of yellow silk. 

Tallmadge's Dragoons 

The Pink Standard is about 2Vz feet square 

and is of thin, fine silk. The Blue Standard . . . gold stripes painted on the blue silk. 

Third New York Regiment 

The flag, which was made in 1778 or 1779, 

is about six feet square and is of dark blue 

silk. 

The Westmoreland County Battalion (Pennsylvania) 

The flag. which was raised by John 

Proctor in 1775 . . . measures six feet four 

inches by five feet ten inches and is of red 

silk. 

The Pulaski Standard (Maryland) 

This, the only existing Maryland color, is a 

small embroidered standard ... . This little 

standard is a trifle over eighteen inches 

square, and is of double silk, originally red, 

now faded to brownish red. The embroidery 

is in yellow silk. 

The Eutaw Standard (South Carolina) 

. .. belonged to Colonel William Washington's Cavalry troop. It is a small square of 

red damask. 

Second New Hampshire Regiment 

. . . (one of which is of light grey blue silk, 

the other being buff).10 

There is also a separately printed supplement to 

the section "New York in the Revolution" from 

Davis' book, which was published by the state of 

New York in 1910. In it is reprinted a bill dated 

June 1776 for considerable quantities of yellow, 

blue, green, and pink silk used in making flags for 

regiments in the New York Line.11 

John H. Fow reports in The True Story of the 

American Flag that "On the 8th day of February, 

1776, one of the committee on Naval affairs, Mr. 

Gadsden, who represented South Carolina in the 

General Congress, presented that body with a flag 

that was made of yellow silk with a ratdesnake 

upon it." Since silk was commonly used in making 

regimental and state banners, there appears to be 

no reason why the "stars and stripes flag," the 

13 
14 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNO LOG Y 

national emblem, might not also have been made 

of this fabric. 

The silk flag known as the "Schuyler Flag," 

now displayed in the Army-Navy Museum at 

Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia may represent an example of the silk 

presentation flag. It is a stitched silk flag with the 

eagle and thirteen stars painted on the blue 

canton. It has seven white stripes and six red ones. 

Although originally credited as a "Regimental 

Flag," Frank Earle Schermerhorn in his American 

and French Flags of The Revolution points out 

that "General Schuyler did not have troops under 

him during the latter part of the Revolutionary 

War, nor in fact after August 1777 .. . the canton 

of the flag could not, seemingly, have originated 

prior to 1782 .. . being perhaps a presentation 

flag...." 

We see further use of this eagle-and-star canton 

in later flags. Rather than as an example of a 

regimental banner, this Schuyler flag may well 

represent one of the earliest national thirteen-star, 

thirteen-stripe flags in existence. The use of die 

eagle in the field design—discovered in contemporary paintings—was not uncommon; however, due to the difficulty of incorporating an 

eagle stitched into a bunting field of appliqued 

work, its use might be interpreted as having been 

limited to those where painting or embroidery 

would be suitable. This was not true. An example 

from the nineteenth century has a well-executed 

design of an eagle of cotton set into the bunting. 

(See "Twenty-nine-Star Flags" on page 35.) 

In Spargo's account of The Stars and Stripes in 

1777, he refers to the Fort Schuyler flag described 

by Colonel Willett in an original manuscript 

written in 1830: 

The Fort had never been supplied with a Flagg. 

The importance of having one on the arrival of 

the Enemy had set our Inginuity to work, and a 

respectable one was formed. The white stripes 

were cut out of Ammunition Shirts the blue 

strips out of the Cloak Formarly mentioned 

taken from the Enemy at Peeks-kill [Described 

earlier in the account as "a blue Camblet 

Cloake here afterwards sewed to enable us to 

use it for the blue strips of a Flagg . . ."] The 

red stripes out of different pieces of Stuff 

collected from sundry persons. The Flagg was 

sufficiently large and a general Exhilaration of 

Spirits appeared on beholding it wave the 

morning after the arrival of the enemy.12 

Although this description is not complete in every 

detail, it offers considerable information. Noticeably lacking, however, is any mention of stars. 

This, then, was obviously the Grand Union flag 

with the field a combination of the crosses of St. 

George and St. Andrew, in place of the starry 

constellation. Verification of this is the John 

McGraw powder horn, showing a view of Fort 

Schuyler with a flag representing a version of the 

Grand Union design and dated December 25, 

1777, which is pictured in the Quaife book. The 

powder horn is in The New-York Historical 

Society's collection. The blue "strips" in Colonel 

Willett's account would adequately describe the 

triangular pieces of blue necessary to make up the 

field. The specific mention of fabric-white stripes 

cut from "Ammunition Shirts"-is quite interesting. An ammunition shirt was a military-issue 

shirt, usually of medium-weight linen. For the 

"blue strips" from a "blue Camblet Cloake," the 

blue used for a "cloake" would probably have 

been indigo, a very dark blue, while camblet at this 

time was a generic name for a variety of plain, 

woven, wool fabrics. 

In the statement "red stripes out of different 

pieces of Stuff collected from sundry persons," 

the word "stuff means fabrics. The fact that the 

word "different" is used would indicate that the 

fabrics were possibly of various weights, weaves, 

finishes, fiber content, and even of different 

shades of red. Thus, in this early account of the 

construction of an American flag, the use of a 

variety of fabrics is evident as is the clue diat at 

this period a flag might be made out of anything at 

hand. 

The use of wool or linen—as opposed to 

silk—for flags was neither new nor novel. British 

flags had been made of worsted for centuries. The 

immediate implication, in using the word worsted 

as opposed to wool, is that the long fibers and 

method of preparing the yarns for a worsted fabric 

permit the weaving of a lighter weight fabric that 

would unfurl in the breeze as contrasted to a 

banner which is hung vertically and does not need 

to be unfurled. Britain's long use of worsted is 

recorded in a fourteenth-century description of 

die materials used by the British to construct flags. 

The following are mentioned: "in addition to 

sendal, was worsted, sindon and cloth of 

Aylsham."13 In The Draper's Dictionary, "sendal" 

is defined under the later spelling of "cendal," 
NUMBER 21 15 

which is described in Chaucer's words as 

"thynne . . . lyke sarcenett and of a raw kynde of 

sylke . . but coarser and narrower than the 

sarcenett"; "sindon" is described as a fine linen.14 

Interestingly, "roll worsted" in the fifteenth 

century was noted to be one-half-yard wide. This 

practice of weaving a light-weight worsted fabric in 

an eighteen-inch width persisted through the 

nineteenth century. All of the fabrics noted are 

specifically described as thin or light in weight. 

The use of a light-weight worsted fabric for 

flags was well adapted to inclement weather on 

land and sea. The wool fibers were less affected by 

moist air and the worsted spinning permitted the 

weaving of a strong, but light, fabric. In Observations on Wool and the Woollen Manufacture 

published by a manufacturer of Northamptonshire 

in 1739,15 "bunting" is listed as one of the classes 

of fabrics made of combing wool, another name 

for a worsted spun yarn. In that report, it is 

specifically mentioned that "Bunting is a stuff of 

which the colours and signals of ships are usually 

made."16 

Technical descriptions of bunting (also spelled 

"buntine") in the eighteenth century are meager. 

It was not a glamorous trade such as the weaving 

of patterned silks or the printing of cottons. There 

is a limited description in an 1826 English book on 

manufactures.17 Under the chapter title of 

"Buntine and Shrouds—Sudbury," is the comment: "Many a time is the loom employed on silks 

and satins, the delicate muslin or the warm broad 

cloth. Such manufactures will be esteemed, 

without doubt. There is one manufacture, however, not very splendid in itself, but important in 

its use; such as the buntine, woven at Sudbury; 

important because of it are formed the colours and 

flags which lead our troops to batde, or which 

electrify our jolly tars with enthusiasm. Buntine is 

a thin sort of woolen stuff, very pliable, though 

strong; it is wove in strips, blue, white, red, etc. 

which strips are afterwards strongly sewed together, into the form needed for the specific flag; 

their different shapes having decidedly different 

meanings."18 This description of the British bunting is important as this fabric was not manufactured in the United States until after the American 

Civil War in 1865. Except for inexpensive holiday 

or special-occasion decorations, wool bunting was 

the predominant fabric used for the United States 

flag in the nineteenth century. 

To date, the earliest specific documentation of 

the construction of an American flag found by this 

writer is from the early nineteenth century, and 

does not, unfortunately, mention the name of the 

basic fabric; however, because of the use of linen 

for the stars, it can safely be assumed that this flag 

was not made of silk. Linen would have been too 

heavy for stars on a silk flag. Quite likely, the flag 

was made of bunting. The only information 

available is in a receipt of payment to Ann Hoskin, 

a seamstress, from the United States Military 

Department, Philadelphia, dated 1801. 

. . making 1 American 

Ensign 3/4 feet hoist by 

6 feet fly containing 6 

yards 

VA yd linnen for heading 

12V2 cents . . .

 J/4 D° for 

stars Who. 

thread 5 cents and rope 3 

cents 

Doll. 

Dollar Cents 

1 

25 

.33 

The receipt further indicates that the "United 

States Arsenal July 17, 1801, received of Israel 

Whelan Esq. per Ann Hoskin's the above specified 

flag."1 9 A second notation of record from the 

same flag maker, although not dated, can be 

placed in the 1802-1812 period. In it, Mrs. 

Hoskin offers an interesting alternative: 

One flag 6 yards hoist by 12 yards fly will 

consisting of 17 stripes take the following 

number of yards of 20 inch bunting, viz—Blue 

40 yds Red 83 and white 76 total 199 

yards or a flag of the same dimensions with 15 

stripes will take of Blue 35 Red 76 

and white 64 total 175 yards. . . . 

Because of the mention of seventeen stripes, it 

seems obvious that the flag was being constructed 

after Ohio, the seventeenth state, entered the 

Union, and before Louisiana became the 

eighteenth state in 1812. It is very interesting to 

note that Mrs. Hoskin offered the choice of fifteen 

stripes. Despite the second Flag Act of 1794, there 

apparently was a choice. In further describing the 

materials to be used, Ann Hoskin offered "Russia 

sheeting [a linen fabric] for Heading; . . .Linnen 

for stars . . . thread, binding, etc " 2 0 

In searching for more specific information 

about the use of bunting in the making of flags in 

the early nineteenth century, two interesting 1803 
16 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

references of the use of the seventeen-star, 

seventeen-stripe flag were found. The first letter is 

to the War Department from Fort Dearborn, dated 

December 20, 1803, delivered in person six days 

later by General William Irvine. It stated: "I have 

to request that you will have Five Flags of about 9 

feet by 6 with the Eagle, 17 stars by 17 stripes 

made of buntin delivered to W. Brashing on his 

return to this place for the use of the Indian 

Dept." The second, in reference to the same 

matter, is signed by William Irvine, Indian Department, December 26, 1803, and addressed to 

Tench Coxe Esq., stated: "Be pleased to purchase 

on account of the Indian Department five flags 

Nine feet by six, with the Eagle, seventeen Stars & 

seventeen stripes made of bunting." This is the 

same use of the eagle with the stars and stripes as 

was noted in the Charles Willson Peale paintings 

and the Schuyler silk flag. In 1806, the estimated 

cost of flags was reported to Tench Coxe Esq. by a 

Mr. Young.2 J The quotes are for three large flags 

of varying sizes, one as large as 30 feet by 90 feet; 

however, it was noted that "this size color was 

proposed for Fort Mifflin but it was concluded to 

be too large." Of interest is the mention of "broad 

bunting," but unfortunately, no width is recorded. 

From the yardage indicated, it certainly could not 

have been more than the 20 inches found in the 

earlier reference. This would indicate that buntings 

of more than one width were woven. The fabric 

"Ravens Duck" is listed and was probably used for 

the heading, because it was a heavy-duty, stout 

fabric. "Seventeen stripes" are also mentioned in 

figuring the amount of bunting required. Although 

there were no "official" changes in the flag from 

the second Flag Act of 1794 until the third Flag 

Act of 1818, obviously there were changes in the 

flag and at official levels. A seventeen-star flag was 

not the result of the patriotism of an isolated Ohio 

frontiersman, as one might have imagined. An 

order for "Seven Regimental Standards and an 

equal number of Regimental colors . . ." received 

by the secretary of war on May 8, 1808, provides a 

comparison of these seventeen-star flags with the 

national flag. The request specifies that "The 

Standards should have a deep blue field with a full 

spread eagle in the center surrounded by seventeen 

stars handsomely wrought in needlework with 

yellow silk for the artillery and white silk for the 

infantry, under the eagle should be the number of 

the infantry . . ."22 There were no stripes 

specified in these regimental flags as had been 

requested for the flags ordered for the Indian 

Department in 1803. 

Another request, this time for a "Garrison Flag, 

30 by 40 feet, .. . for Fort Columbus," was sent 

to the Philadelphia Superintendent's Office in 

1810. This specified that the fabric be 

"Bunting."23 

The most detailed information concerning the 

materials of a flag of this period accompanied a 

letter to the Commissary General of Purchases in 

Philadelphia. This came from the Major Inspector 

General's Office and is dated September 12, 1818. 

Herewith enclosed you will receive a drawing of 

the Standard flag of the United States, approved by the President, for all Military Garrisons and Public Arsenals, not to exceed Forty 

feet fly and twenty feet hoist. 

In addition to the drawing are the following list of 

specifications:24 

For a Garrison Flag of 40 feet by 20 feet, will 

be required 

37 yards of blue bunting for the field 7 

stripes wide & 15 feet long 

55 yards of red bunting for the seven stripes 

50 yards of white bunting for the six stripes 

4 yards of cotton for stars 

3 hanks of cotton thread 

1V2 yds, canvas for heading 

22 feet of rope " 

Commissary Generals Office 

Philadelphia August 19, 1818 

The power loom for weaving plain cotton goods 

was successfully introduced into the United States 

from England by 1814. Until this mechanization 

took place, linen—either imported or domestic— 

for the stars was cheaper than cotton. By 1818, 

however, cotton was the cheaper and more logical 

fabric to use. Cotton was also lighter in weight, a 

major consideration for a flag mat would furl in 

the breeze. The use of cotton thread is also of 

interest. This was a new commodity in the early 

nineteenth century and until the 1820s was always 

sold in hanks.25 The types of thread available 

prior to the nineteenth century were linen and 

silk. The use of 22 feet of rope for the heading of 

a 20-foot hoist points out that there were no 

grommets, such as were commonly used on later 

flags. Unfortunately, there are no specific details 

about the type of bunting that was used; however, 

it was English—it had to be. As mentioned earlier, 
NUMBER 21 17 

no bunting was made in America at that time. 

There was very little, if any, worsted goods 

manufactured. British goods continued to be 

imported, because an act of 1844 required that all 

provisions and materials for the United States 

government had to be purchased from the lowest 

bidder. This did not encourage manufacturers in 

the United States to compete with their more 

experienced British counterparts. 

Although domestic manufactures were privately 

encouraged, most people in the United States—like 

the government itself—continued to buy imported 

goods, especially if these were either better or 

cheaper or both. The manufacture of worsted 

fabric was well established in England. Although 

some woolen goods and worsted manufacture was 

carried on in the United States, bunting—a fabric 

of limited demand—was a highly specialized 

product, as was noted in the account of the 

weaving at Sudbury. It was cheaper to buy British 

bunting than to attempt to manufacture the 

limited quantities of the fabric needed in America. 

The patriotic fervor of the pre-Revolutionary days 

did not continue into the nineteenth century, 

especially in economic matters. Although there 

might be a tendency to credit patriotic feelings, 

profit may also have played a part in the origin of 

the first company to manufacture American bunting. 

By law, it was the practice of the army and 

navy of the United States to purchase fabrics, as 

well as other materials and supplies, from the 

lowest bidder—regardless of country of manufacture. On March 3, 1865, Abraham Lincoln signed a 

bill that made it "lawful for the Secretary of War, 

the Secretary of the Treasury, to enter into 

contract for Bunting of American manufacture as 

their respective services require for a period not 

exceeding one year, and at a price not exceeding 

that at which an article of equal quality can be 

imported."26 One of the men responsible for this 

first "buy America" law was General Benjamin F. 

Butler. It is possible, and even probable, that his 

interest was primarily a patriotic one;however, he 

had bought both an interest in a water-power site 

on the upper falls on the Concord River in Lowell, 

Massachusetts, and some small manufacturing 

buildings. On December 1, 1865, Butler wrote to 

the Gerks of the House of Representatives and the 

Senate offering to furnish flags that had been 

made from American bunting by the United States 

Bunting Company, a partnership which he had 

withD.W.C. Farrington.2 7 

At this time, two factors made it possible for 

this country to commence competing with the 

British in the manufacture of bunting. First, there 

were improvements in the combing machines 

which were used to prepare the long wool fibers 

for the worsted spinning; second, the condition of 

the tariff made it profitable to begin the manufacture of light-worsted fabric.28

 There was a tariff 

on the raw wool needed for the worsted goods 

which had to be imported; however, this tariff was 

not as high as that on finished goods. 

As a result of the act that President Lincoln had 

signed in 1865, his secretary of the navy attempted to solicite the help of the secretary of war 

to consolidate their bunting needs into one 

contract. This consolidation made the order large 

enough to interest a manufacturer in the United 

States. The navy had been engaged in making their 

own flags for a number of years. As far back as 

1835, and for many years after that, ensigns were 

made at the Norfolk, Virginia, navy yard. As 

described by Harrison the flags made at Norfolk 

always had "the canton rested on a red stripe,"2 9 

while in most flags it rests on a white stripe. Later, 

the Brooklyn navy yard was used to repair flags 

and, finally, it became the manufacturing site.30 

In his letter of May 10, 1865, the secretary of the 

navy stated that "this Department has made 

repeated efforts to procure the manufacture of 

good American bunting and has constandy met by 

the objection on the part of the manufacturers 

that the order for the bunting was not sufficiendy 

large to justify the expense of importing a particular wool suited to this manufacture and of 

making the requisite changes in the machinery .. . . Without this joint action [ordering on 

one contract] it is probable that the employment 

of American bunting in the manufacture of 

American ensigns, flags and penants, as contemplated by Congress, will be indefinitely postponed." Apparently, Butier's efforts to reach the 

government for purchases of the American bunting 

he was already manufacturing had not yet reached 

the navy. The War Department did not agree to 

the navy's proposal. The following message, dated 

May 15, 1865, was returned to the secretary of the 

navy: "Judging from the number of flags on hand 
18 SMTIHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOGY 

and the probable falling off of the demand for 

them, the quantity of bunting that may be 

required for the Military Service will be comparatively small ... " G.H. Thomas who wrote this 

directive also made the point that "the law does 

not appear to require the purchase of American 

bunting... . For the present .. . no contract 

[will] be entered into on the part of the War 

Dept." 3 1 

The navy, however, began to use the American 

bunting within a year. By 1867, the military was 

also using it. Several letters relating to the initial 

purchases of bunting for the military are in the 

files of the Quartermaster General's Office and 

provide interesting details concerning the fabric 

and the fabric changes that occurred during the 

next few years. The bunting manufacturers, 

Farrington or Butler, or both, must have approached the War Department, as the quartermaster general wrote to the secretary of war on 

April 17, 1867, requesting his decision about the 

purchase of bunting under the 1865 act. The 

quartermaster general mentioned "Parties representing the American Bunting Co. [this is the 

United States Bunting Company] call attention to 

this act . . . upon investigation it is found that the 

American bunting is a good article, Gen'l Crosman 

reports it to be stronger than the English bunting 

and in an experiment made by the Navy Dept., it 

was found that the flag made of American bunting 

was the most durable." Several copies of the 

printed navy report on this flag test are on file.32 

On the back of one copy is an inked notation: 

Hon. Benj. F. Butler 

Presents copy of Official Report made by 

Navy, merits of Bunting by U.S. Bunting 

with a statement of Army Flags and samples 

of Bunting 

1 encl. & 1 roll or samples 

Rec'd April 23/'67 

A second note, in different ink, says: 

Part of the samples ref. to Gen'l G.H. Crosman 

Q.M.GenlMav 6/67 

In the same ink as the second notation is written: 

Q18 B91 

Rm 20 

Rm 20 

$64.00 

12.00 

$76.00 

20.00 

6.00 

26.00 

4.40 

2.60 

$7.00 

$36.50 

A handwritten listing of the costs of army flags 

appears on a folded sheet of paper with the 

relative costs of bunting on the overleaf. The sheet 

of paper bears the same file number as the note 

above and must be Butler's statement, although 

the list is not signed or dated. It reads: 

Cost of Army Flags 

Garrison 36 x 20 ft. 

160 yds 18 inch 

bunting 40 cts. 

Cost making and 

trimming 

Price paid by War 

Dept. Jan 1865 $125.00 

Storm 20 x 10 ft. 

50 yds 18 inch 

bunting 40 cts 

Cost making and 

Trimming 

Price paid by War 

Dept. Jan 1865 

Recruiting 9 ft. 9 x 

4 ft. 4 " 

11 yds 18 inch 

bunting 40 cts. 

cost of making 

and trimming 

Price paid by War 

Dept. Jan 1865 $10.00 

On the overleaf is found: 

The cost of English Bunting according to prices 

furnished me by Mr. Winter, in Bradford, 

England, imported under the present tariff 

will be as follows, reckoning exchange 145 

and Gold at 135 viz: 

Low grade single warp 15 shillings $13.16 

Good article double warp 24 shillings 17.00 

We have thought best to put our prices at 

present as follows viz: 

"Standard" quality Double Warps (samples herewith) 

By the case smaller 

48 pes. V2 case quantity 

$14.00 $15.00 $16.50 

Eagle Quality Single Warps 

$12.00 $13.00 $14.50 

This information is quite valuable.33 It is 

documentary evidence that the English manufactured both single-warp bunting and doublewarp bunting. It also shows that the United States 

Bunting Company manufactured both; however, 

the "Standard" quality of double-warp bunting manufactured by the United States Bunting 

Company was not the one sold to the government, 

as will be seen later. It will also be noted in reading 

the technical analysis made of the bunting samples 

included in the National Archives file that only the 

English single-warp bunting (so called "Low 

Grade" by Butler) seems to have been tested and. 
NUMBER 21 19 

indeed, seems to be the only type ever bought by 

the United States from the British.34 The purchase 

of single-warp English bunting may have been due 

to the lowest bidder principle of purchasing. In 

competition, however, the company in the United 

States was able to furnish their best quality, 

double-warp bunting at a price below that of the 

double-warp English, and is reported in the 

correspondence that ensued. The first letter, from 

Brigadier General Alexander J. Perry of the 

quartermaster station in New York, to Major 

General Daniel H. Rucker, acting quartermaster 

general, is dated May 4, 1867. 

I have been to Philadelphia and New York and 

have examined several samples of English bunting and the standard samples of such as has 

been used in making Army flags— 

I have found that none of equal quality to 

that offered by the American bunting company 

would be imported at a less rate than the piece 

at which they proposed to furnish theirs. I 

invited the Office of Messrs. Naylor & Co., a 

large importing house, whose offer submitted 

some two weeks since to import at $11.00 and 

$ 12.00 per bolt, I ascertained was made upon a 

gold basis. The price would on National 

currency be equivalent to $16.26 for bunting of 

quality not superior to the American. 

In view of these facts I recommend that 

Gen'l G.H. Crosman, that Q.M. General in 

charge of the clothing Depot in Philadelphia be 

authorized to contract with the American 

Bunting Co. [again the United States Bunting 

Company is the one he meant] for the delivery 

of a sufficient quantity of their bunting for one 

year's supply to be equal in all respects to the 

samples submitted by their agent, and at a rate 

not to exceed $14.00 per bolt, as proposed on 

their tariff of prices herewith enclosed. 

The number of flags to be provided is as 

follows: 

Three hundred (300) Garrison flags 

Six hundred (600) Storm flags 

No recruiting or other flags will be wanted 

for the coming year, as the supply on hand is 

sufficient to meet all probable demands that 

will be made upon the department. 

I recommend that the flags be manufactured, as before the war, at the Sckuylkill [sic] 

Arsenal. 

Enclosed herewith will be found the several 

lists of the pieces at which the several parties 

named have proposed to deliver, or at which it 

was ascertained English bunting could be 

procured, also the tariff of the American 

Bunting Co. [again, he means the United States 

Bunting Company]. 

Crosman wrote to the United States Bunting 

Company about this for, on May 27, 1867, D.W.C. 

Farrington answered: 

In answer to your favor of the 15 inst. . . 

the United States Bunting Co. will furnish the 

Q.M. dept. 845 pieces Scarlet, 750 pieces white 

& 355 pieces of Blue of the "Navy" quality at 

the rate of sixteen (16.00) dollars per piece. Of 

the "Standard" quality at the rate of fourteen 

dollars (14.00) per piece. The quality to be 

equal to the sample sent herewith, averaging 40 

yards in length and 18 inches in width, being 

the same price paid by the Navy Dept. during 

the past year. 

The Shade of color can be changed to suit 

the requirements of the Dept. The colors of the 

sample are those adopted by other Departments 

of the Government and we adhere to them as 

nearly as possible. 

We prefer to deliver about 300 pieces per 

month commencing June 1 or July 1 but if 

required could deliver 400 pieces per month. 

Our bunting is all made from the long 

Canada wool and we beg leave to call your 

attention to the superior selvage and brilliant 

colors of the goods. 

Our "Navy" goods are selected pes. from 

selected stock and any pieces having the 

smallest imperfection are put into the next 

lower grade. Our business being substantially 

confined to Government we intend by the 

manufacture of a superior fabric of uniform 

quality to merit and receive it patronage. 

Crosman then wrote to Neal Campbell, the chief 

inspector in Philadelphia, and sent the samples of 

the bunting he had received from Farrington. 

Campbell replied on May 25, 1867. 

I have examined several pieces of bunting 

sent to you by the U.S. Bunting Manufacturing 

Co. and have the honor to report that the three 

pieces marked "Navy" are the best quality and 

are precisely the same quality of bunting as 

General Perry sent to your office from Washington. The pieces marked "Standard" are inferior 

and will not compare with the samples sent by 

General Perry. Although they are less in price, 

by two dollars per piece, In my opinion that 

marked "Navy" will be the cheapest, as it will 

give more wear than the "Standard." 

P.S. Enclosed are samples of each. 

Crosman referred the matter to Brigadier General 

D.H. Rucker, who wrote to the United States 

Bunting Company. Farrington answered from 

Lowell on June 1, 1867, giving a further explanation of the types of bunting which were being 

made bv his company. 

Your letter of May 28th is received and 

content noted. As an explanation of the 

apparent change in prices refered to therein we 

have the honor to say that the United States 

Bunting Company manufacture three grades of 

Bunting to which we apply the brands of 

"Navy" "Standard" and "Eagle." The Navy 
20 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOGY 

brand (which we propose to change to Army & 

Navy) is manufactured from selected wool and 

great care is used in coloring and finishing to 

insure the production of uniform and durable 

goods. Any pieces failing in any respect is put 

into the next lower grade. This brand we sell 

only to the Government. The "Standard" brand 

is the next lower grade and is intended for the 

general market and although a good quality is 

not equal to the "Army & Navy" brand. The 

"Eagle" is a still lower grade and is intended for 

interior decorations. Our prices for the several 

brands are as follows: 

"Army & Navy" per pc. of 40 yds. $16.00 

"Standard" per pc. of 40 yds. 14.00 

"Eagle" per pc. of 40 yds. 12.00 

The samples of Bunting submitted to the 

Quartermasters Dept. on the 23rd of April by 

General Butler were of the best quality viz. the 

"Army & Navy" brand and as we had never 

made any sales of this brand except to the 

Government the Clerk gave only the pieces of 

the "Standard" and "Eagle" qualities. 

Sixteen dollars per piece is the lowest price 

at which we have furnished any bunting to the 

Government—the Navy Dept. having paid us 

that price for a large quantity and as that is 

lower than as good a quality of English Bunting 

can be furnished we hope—the Dept. will 

according to the Act of Congress be justified in 

giving 

ture.' 

preference to that of American manufacThe mistake of furnishing samples of the topquality bunting and quoting the prices of the 

middle and low grade may have been an honest 

one, as explained by Farrington. It does seem 

strange, however, that the Eagle-quality bunting 

was quoted and no samples of it seem to have been 

submitted. At least none are mentioned, and none 

have survived with the other quartermaster 

records. 

There are five groups of bunting samples in the 

files at the National Archives. They are marked as 

follows: 

1. English Bunting from U.S. Navy Yard 

Washington. [Two samples of this, one of red 

and one of white.] 

2. "Navy" Bunting received from United States 

Bunting Company, Lowell, Massachusetts. 

[Tagged with a red wax seal. There are three 

samples, red, white, and blue.] 

3. "Standard" Bunting received from United 

States Bunting Company, Lowell, Massachusetts. [Tagged with a red wax seal. There are 

two samples, red and white.] 

4. Samples of Bunting received from Quartermaster General's Office May 8, 1967. [Tagged 

with a red wax seal. There are three samples, 

red, white, and blue.] 

In the fifth group are three pieces of bunting, 

red, white, and blue, with no information. A small 

paper tag reads "B 91 Rm 20." This is the same 

notation as is on the copy of die official navy 

report on the flag study along with the note that 

samples of bunting were received from Benjamin 

Butler, April 23, 1867. 

The samples of bunting were analyzed as 

follows: 

1. English Red 12Vi inches, selvedge to selvedge 

Single-ply, Z-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft (not as tightly twisted as warp) 

Thread count (from average of three) 3 1 (warp) x 29 (weft) 

Six pairs of warps make up one selvedge, seven pairs make up the other 

Very well dyed, no evidence of white fibers 

White 12 inches, selvedge to selvedge 

Single-ply, Z-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft (not as tightly twisted as warp) 

Thread count 34 x 28 

Five pairs of warps make up one selvedge, six pairs make up the other. 

This English bunting is made of very long wool fibers; the yarns are fine, but strong and wiry. Some loose, 

long fibers are found at the selvedges, which are not compact. 

2. "Navy" Red 1 %VA inches, selvedge to selvedge 

2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft 

Thread count 32 x 32 

Seven pairs of warps make up each selvedge 

Evidence of piece dyeing, some white fibers show in selvedge 
NUMBER 21 21 

White 18% inches, selvedge to selvedge 

2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist filling 

Thread count 32 x 31 

Seven pairs of warps make up each selvedge 

Blue 18% inches, selvedge to selvedge 

2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft 

Thread count 32x3 1 

Very well dyed, no evidence of white fibers. 

The "Navy" bunting has a very firm selvedge. The fabric is not as light, crisp, and wiry as the English. 

3. "Standard"Red 18% inches, selvedge to selvedge 

2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft 

Thread count 31x3 0 

Seven pairs of warps make up each selvedge 

Evidence of piece dyeing, more white fibers than in "Navy" red 

White 18% inches, selvedge to selvedge 

2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft 

Thread count 31x3 0 

Six pairs of warps in each selvedge. 

The "Standard" bunting looks spongier than that of the "Navy." There is slight difference in the thread 

count, but the primary difference is in the yarns. The yams are softer, spun from shorter wool, that give 

the bunting an opaque look. It is not as crisp as the "Navy." 

4. Samples Red 17 3/8 inches, selvedge to selvedge 

of bunting 2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft 

Thread count 33x3 1 

Seven pairs of warps make up each selvedge 

Evidence of piece dyeing, some white fibers in selvedge 

White 18 7/8 inches, selvedge to selvedge 

2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft 

Thread count 32x31 , seven pairs of warps make up each selvedge 

Blue 18% inches, selvedge to selvedge 

2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft 

Thread count 32x3 1 

Seven pairs of warps make up each selvedge 

Very well dyed, no evidence of white fibers. 

Although there is some variation in width, these samples appear to be the "Navy" quality bunting. 

5. Samples of bunting, probably received from General Butler 

Red 1 T/i inches, selvedge to selvedge 

2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft 

Thread count 33 x 30 

Seven pairs of warps make up each selvedge 

Evidence of piece dyeing, some white fibers in selvedge. 

White 18% inches, selvedge to selvedge 

2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft 

Thread count 31x3 1 

Seven pairs of warps make up each selvedge 

Blue 18 3/8 inches, selvedge to selvedge 

2-ply, S-twist warp 

Single-ply, Z-twist weft 

Thread count 32x3 1 

Very well dyed, no evidence of white fibers. 
22 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOGY 

Although there is a slight variation in width and 

thread count, the fifth group of samples appears to 

be the United States bunting "Navy" quality. 

There is no reason to doubt that tiiese are the 

samples submitted to the Quartermaster Department on April 23, 1867.36 

While the United States Bunting Company was 

not the only American manufacturer that ever 

supplied bunting to the United States government, 

they apparently produced the best and furnished 

most of the government's need. In a letter from 

George Sparrow to General Perry on March 2, 

1867, Mr. Sparrow referred to the fact that he had 

supplied American bunting to the government 

earlier under the name of W. Wilson37 and wished 

to furnish the same again. A notation on the back 

of the letter states that the earlier contract with W. 

Wilson was not satisfactorily filled, and that there 

was little reason to believe that Sparrow could 

furnish as good a bunting as the Lowell Company. 

It would be interesting to compare samples of this 

bunting with that of United States Bunting 

Company, but none of the W. Wilson samples were 

kept in the file. 

Muslin continued to be used for the stars. A 

letter of February 5, 1867, ordering supplies for 

the construction of flags specifically states that 

"bleached muslin will be necessary for the purpose 

of making the stars." This was to change very 

soon; at least, for some of the official flags. Before 

describing the new process of manufacturing flags, 

introduced in 1869, it might be enlightening to 

quote the cost of manufacturing the two large 

types of military flags—the Garrison Flag and the 

Storm Flag. Fortunately, the following itemized 

materials used and their costs are available in a 

letter to the Schuykill Arsenal dated February 8, 

1869. 

Production Costs 

Garrison Flag 

150 yd. Bunting 

6 yd. Bleached Muslin 

1 yd. Duck 

20 yd. Bolt Rope 

5 Spool Cotton 

2 Flag Thimbles 

Cutting and Making 

Storm Flag 

$51.66 

.96 

.40 

.20 

.25 

.05 

7.25 

44 yd. 

3 " 

% " 

10 " 

2% 

2 

— 

$14.30 

.48 

.20 

.10 

.12 

.05 

4.12 

$60.77 $19.37 

There are several items in this list which are of 

special interest. First, it shows that duck instead of 

canvas was being used for the heading-duck was a 

cotton fabric at this time. These materials agree 

with the ones used in the military flags of known 

origin and date that have been checked. The term 

"spool cotton" refers to cotton thread on a spool 

and probably was of the type described as 3/2 ply 

(three 2-ply yarns twisted together, a cabled 

construction.)38 The third item of note is the 

"flag thimbles." This would mean that part, or all, 

of the flag was stitched by hand. Although sewing 

machines were used by the Quartermaster Depot 

in Philadelphia as early as 1851,39 they obviously 

were not used to do all the stitching for flags-even 

as late as 1869. 

In addition to manufacturing bunting, the 

United States Bunting Company proposed to 

manufacture the flags. Farrington wrote to the 

quartermaster general, Montgomery Meigs, about 

this idea in January 1869. Meigs, in turn, wrote to 

the secretary of war on February 26, 1869, about 

Farrington's proposal and describes the flags as 

follows: 

Each flag to be made up complete of the 

American Bunting; the Stars being left white in 

the process of dyeing the bunting for the field; 

not made as has heretofore been usual by 

sewing pieces of white cotton cloth. This mode 

of making the stars has great advantage and as it 

is patented40 there can be no competition 

secured in its use by advertisement [for bids]. 

The military decided to go ahead with this new 

type of flag. Neal Campbell, the inspector, wrote 

to General Perry on March 25, 1869, about the 

specifications for the Garrison and Storm flags. 

The size of Garrison Flag, 36 feet, clear of 

heading and 20 feet wide or the width that 13 

stripes of bunting 18 to 19 inches wide. 37 stars 

on both sides of field . . . the heading to be of 8 

oz cotton duck, the heading rope to be like 

sample enclosed [heavy flat braided hemp rope 

of 2-ply coarse strand] . . also two corner 

pieces at the head of flag . . . the heading to be 

2Vi inches wide when on flag. 

In further developing his new system of manufacturing flags, Farrington wrote in April to Meigs 

about another improvement in the Storm flags. 

. . . The specifications are the same for the 

regulation Flags with the exception that the 

stars are printed [actually resist dyed] on the 

bunting in the process of dyeing and on the 

storm flag the stripes are also printed in the 

same manner thus avoiding the necessity of 

splitting the 18-inch bunting 

•4 1 
NUMBER 21 23 

But the United States Bunting Company did not 

stop there. It was almost as if they had become 

obsessed with developing ways by which the 

manufacture of the flag could be improved. By 

June 1869, Farrington had other ideas. He wrote 

the following to General Perry: 

Your letter of the 8th is received. I propose to 

make the Union of the Garrison Flag of 25-inch 

Bunting so that five widths of it will equal the 

seven widths [ 18-inch bunting] to which it is 

attached. 

I propose also to use for the union of the Storm 

flag two widths of the 25-inch and one width of 

MVi-mch. Bunting if practical otherwise I shall 

use all 12%-inch. 

Despite all of Farrington's efforts, 1870 was 

not a good year. When he tried to sell more flags 

to the quartermaster in Washington, D.C, he was 

told that they had a year's supply. Farrington's 

efficiency during the previous year before was 

working against him. Even his threats that 

combing wool was getting scarce, his promises that 

"I am also erecting exciting new and improved 

machinery by which I shall be able to produce 

flags of superior quality," and his offer "to 

discount $1.00 per flag" did not change General 

Perry's mind. In view of the supply the Quartermaster Depot had on hand, they were definitely 

not going to order any more flags at that time. 

Nevertheless, the United States Bunting 

Company was well established by the 1870s. They 

were prominendy mentioned both by John L. 

Hayes in his report Wool and Silk Fabrics at the 

Philadelphia Centennial in 1876 and in the 

specific-item list: 

Before the late war (1861-1865), English bunting, made like lastings of long-combing 

wools, formed the sole material for our 

national flags. The United States Bunting 

Company, of Lowell, first successfully 

achieved the manufacture of bunting. Its 

exhibits at Philadelphia showed not only 

excellent fabrics in bunting and moreens, 

but a marked improvement in the construction of the national flags.42 

400. United States Bunting Co., Lowell, Mass., 

U.S. Woolen Bunting, Moreens and Damasks 

Report. Commended for an excellent show 

of bunting made of English and Canadian 

wool, and for originality of process of 

striping and forming design and 

pattern . . . .

4 3 

The new process for making flags that Farrington had introduced to the government and 

which was lauded at the centennial exhibition in 

Philadelphia became known as "clamp dyeing."4 

This process did eliminate the need of stitching the 

stars into position, and on the smaller flags it 

eliminated the sewing of the stripes; however, the 

increased efficiency of die sewing machine and the 

many specialized attachments invented to further 

improve its usefulness counterbalanced the time 

saved in clamp dyeing over hand sewing. The 

perfection of the zigzag attachment replaced hand 

stitching the stars into position. By 1894, Cole's 

Dictionary of Dry Goods reports that "as it is both 

tedious and expensive, clamp-dyed bunting plays 

only a small part in flag making." 

It would not be impossible, therefore, to find 

thirteen-star flags of the centennial period that 

were manufactured by the clamp-dyeing method; 

however, they would not be common. Clampdyeing was expensive and, for the most part, the 

thirteen-star flags were commemorative and 

decorative. Only the navy small-boat flags would 

have been "official" in any sense of the meaning 

of the word. 

As has been noted, bunting was not the only 

fabric used in the construction of the flag. Except 

for the clamp-dyed flags, the stars were always of a 

fabric other than bunting. Although linen was used 

on the eighteenth-century flags, by die second 

decade of the nineteenth century die stars of a 

standard bunting flag were always cut from 

muslin. The heading changed too, from heavy 

linen to cotton duck. There is no real cut-off date 

that can be observed because linen headings 

continued to be used on flags of the latenineteenth century. In dating, all the components 

of a flag must be constandy weighed with and 

against each other. 

This same precaution concerning the time 

limitation must be used in dating the type of 

grommet used in the heading. Hand-worked 

grommets or rope support were used, as would be 

expected, in the early part of the nineteenth 

century; however, they too continued to be used 

long after metal grommets had been introduced. 

Metal grommets were used in navy flags of the 

Civil War period. These may have been used even 

earlier as there are five patents recorded for metal 

grommets between 1848 and 1869

 4 5

 Whether the 

earlier ones were confined only to their use on 

ship sails has not been established; however, there 
24 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND Tt "HNOLOG Y 

is a record of a documented ship flag,46 used in an 

1864-1869 expedition, which was equipped with 

metal grommets. Metal grommets are commonly 

found on flags of the 1870s47 and, sometimes, 

these even bear a patent date. Care must be used in 

dating by patent—it only limits the date in one 

direction, no earlier than the date of the patent. 

Various references have been made to the 

thread used in making the flags. This item can be 

of great assistance in determining some further 

limitations of the date of a thirteen-star flag. Both 

the thread and the stitching are clues. Since the 

method of stitching is the more obvious, this will 

be considered first. Basically, the flag is either 

stitched by hand or by machine, or a combination 

of both. If any part of it is stitched by machineoriginal construction and not later repairs—this 

would place the date of manufacture after 1850. 

Although some sewing machines were patented in 

die 1840s and a few offered for sale by 1849, the 

type of continuous feed needed to make it 

practical to stitch even the stripes of the flag by 

machine was not available until the early 1850s.48 

The variety of stitches that could be made by 

various sewing machines can also be helpful in 

dating. Since this variety was developed within a 

few years, this information can only be used with 

a full understanding of the capabilities of the 

machine and the commercial use of the particular 

invention.49 For example, although a chainstitch 

machine was manufactured in France in 1830 and 

one was patented and marketed in the United 

States in 1849, there was no practical chainstitch 

machine available in this country before the late 

1850s. There is no evidence that the French 

machine appeared in this country in the earlier 

years, and the 1849 chainstitch machine patented 

in this country was incapable of stitching the 

flat-fell seams of a flag. As it happens, one rarely 

finds a flag constructed on a chainstitch machine. 

All the ones that are seem to have been made in 

this century. 

It is interesting that the original purpose of a 

sewing-machine stitch has changed with time — 

from decorative to utilitarian to decorative. For 

example, if one looks for the earlier use of the 

zigzag stitch, evidence that this stitch was in use as 

early as the 1850s can be found; however, at this 

time the stitch was limited to decorative purposes. 

In flag manufacture, the zigzag stitch was used to 

applique the cotton star to the bunting field. 

Sometimes, the star from both sides was stitched 

in one operation. This change in manufacturing 

technique cannot be dated before the turn of the 

century, which was the forty-five-star flag period. 

The zigzag machine for factory use and machine 

trimmers, which would be necessary to trim the 

muslin stars, both date from the mid-1880s, but 

these do not seem to have been applied to flag 

manufacture that early. A flag must always be 

examined carefully for details of manufacture 

before a final dating judgment can be made. Flags 

that use a combination of hand and machine 

stitching must be judged for dating by the limitations of the latest type of machine stitching. 

The handstitched flags provide the most difficult dating problem. The characteristics of hand 

stitching are individual and need not vary from 

one period to another. The type of thread used to 

make the hand stitches offers more information 

than the stitches themselves. As in judging fabric 

components of a flag, one item alone does not 

establish a date, but when a specific item is 

introduced at a given time, again it allows a date 

limit in one direction. There are a few milestones 

in the manufacture of sewing thread that are 

important to keep in mind. 

In the eighteenth century and earlier, there 

were two types of thread in common use, silk 

thread and linen thread. These were usually 2-ply. 

There are exceptions, and examples can be found 

of articles stitched with yarns manufactured for 

the warp of a woven fabric. This is sometimes true 

in the seams of coverlets, where even wool was 

used as a sewing thread. Wool was also used to sew 

bunting, but this was an exception. Cotton was 

spun and used as a weft in fabrics of the 

Revolutionary War period, but it was not strong 

enough to be used as the warp and certainly not 

strong enough to be used in sewing. Again, 

fine-spun India cotton might have been plied for 

sewing, but we have no record that it was 

manufactured for this purpose. After cotton was 

spun by machine, and fine, strong yarns could be 

spun for the warps of fabrics, one might expect that 

cotton sewing thread was soon manufactured—it 

was not. In America, the wife of Samuel Slater, 

the man who introduced the Arkwright system of 

spinning cotton by machine, is frequently credited 

with making the first cotton sewing thread from 
NUMBER 21 25 

warp yarns spun at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 

about 1794. If she did, it was only for her use, as 

sewing thread did not become a manufactured 

item of Almy and Brown, partners and distributors 

for Slater, until early in the nineteenth century.50 

As a matter of interest, the general manufacture 

of cotton thread as an industry originated in 

Scotland. Early in the nineteenth century, 

Napoleon's blockade curtailed the British importation of silk. This importation was needed not only 

to weave fabrics, but also for making the string 

heddles for looms. James and Patrick Clark, 

manufacturers of these heddles in Paisley, Scotland, attempted to substitute cotton-then being 

spun by machine-when they were unable to get 

silk. When they were successful, they decided to 

try using cotton to manufacture sewing threadthe result is history. The manufacture of thread 

had been an industry in Paisley for many years. As 

were the earlier types of thread, cotton thread was 

sold in hanks until 1820 when the manufacturers 

began to wind it onto small wooden spools for 

which they charged an extra halfpenny. The 

charge was refunded when the empty spool was 

returned. The popular cotton thread of this period 

was the 3-ply variety; however, both 2-ply and 

4-ply cotton threads were also made.51 The 

increase in the number of ply made the yam more 

cylindrical. A few years after the Clark company 

began to manufacture cotton thread another 

Paisley family became interested in producing the 

same product. James Coats came from a family of 

Paisley weavers and gained his knowledge of the 

twisting of yarn from the manufacture of crepe 

shawls. He began to make Coats' thread at 

Ferguslie, Scotland, in 1826. Upon his retirement, 

his two sons, James and Peter, took over the 

business and established the firm of J. and P. 

Coats. Their thread was first imported into the 

United States about 1840. The earliest record of a 

6-ply variety was also in 1840.52 This type, 

manufactured by C.E. Bennett of Portsmouth, 

New Hampshire, received a gold medal at the Fair 

of the American Institute in 1850.53 

The cotton thread, and the silk and linen thread 

still being manufactured, was quite good when 

used by a hand sewer, but the minor imperfections 

caused havoc in the sewing machine, which was 

just coming into use at this time. Inexpensive 

types of silk thread were weak and frequently 

broke due to abrasion at the eye of the needle. 

Most of the linen thread was too coarse to use in 

the sewing machine. Finer quality linen and silk 

machine twist were manufactured, but they were 

very expensive. Considering the quantity of thread 

that the sewing machine used—two to four times 

as much as sewing by hand—a new type of 

inexpensive thread was needed. The obvious 

answer was in the improvement of cotton thread. 

The continuing demand for good cotton thread 

brought George A. Clark and William Clark 

(descendents of the earlier Scottish manufacturers) 

to Newark, New Jersey, where the third generation 

of thread manufacturers built a large mill in 1866. 

The needs of the sewing machine were met when 

George Clark decided that a new construction and 

softer finish were needed in the cotton thread. He 

produced a cabled thread made up of three 2-ply 

yarns twisted together. The thread was called 

Clark's "Our New Thread," which was later simply 

referred to as "O.N.T." The construction was 

adopted by other thread manufacturers and 6-cord 

machine thread became a standard cotton variety. 

The importance of this information is that any 

thirteen-star flag stitched with this type of 6-ply, 

cabled cotton thread cannot be dated before the 

1860s. It does not mean, however, that a thirteenstar flag stitched with thread of fewer ply could 

not have been made after this date, as the earlier 

types of thread continued to be manufactured and 

still are. 

Thus, with this information, the design, the 

fabrics, the thread, the construction, how can a 

thirteen-star flag of unknown origin be identified? 

First, there are a number of specific identifications 

for the various periods. With these, the check 

chart, careful observation, and some examination 

equipment, it should be possible to limit the date 

of any thirteen-star flag. It should be remembered, 

however, that it is not always possible to give a 

specific date, even within a quarter of a century.54 
«•<© PAR T III® * 

Documented Flags: Technical 

Examination and Description 

The best way to learn to recognize the slight 

differences in the wool buntings and other flag 

characteristics is to examine as many flags as 

possible. The flags that will be of most help are the 

contemporary ones of known date. Unfortunately, 

fliere are very few eighteenth-century flags that fit 

this criteria. For this reason, the later flags—those 

with more than thirteen stars—offer the best help 

for comparative study. There would be little 

reason, for example, for anyone to have manufactured a twenty-four-star flag in 1876. Therefore, 

studying such a flag helps one to learn the 

characteristics of any thirteen-star flag that might 

have been made during the twenty-four-star period 

of 1822-1836. The later manufacture of thirteenstar flags was not, as a rule, an attempt at fraud or 

deception; therefore, the same fabrics and 

methods would be used to manufacture a thirteenstar flag as the contemporary flag of the same 

period. 

For this study, concern will be with the 

characteristics of flags through die third quarter of 

the nineteenth century, the centennial period. 

Although an example of each of the flag changes 

of the nineteenth century was not available for 

this study, enough flags were examined to make 

die needed comparisons. There were nineteen 

official flag styles from the first Flag Act of 1777 

until the period of the centennial; the nineteenth 

having been adopted in 1867 and lasting until the 

thirty-eighth state—Colorado-was admitted to the 

Union on August 1, 1876, and a new thirty-eightstar flag was adopted in July 1877. 

Thirteen-Star Flags 

Of the thirteen-star flags in private and public 

collections that are heralded as Revolutionary War 

or eighteenth-century examples of thirteen-stars 

flags, the following have been examined: Guilford 

Battle Flag, State Department of Archives and 

History, Raleigh, North Carolina; Flag of 

Cowpens, Maryland State House, Annapolis, Maryland; Bennington Battie Flag, Bennington 

Historical Museum, Bennington, Vermont; and the 

Navy Ensign of 1780 (date question), Germantown Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Most of these rely heavfly on family history 

for their documentation. Family history can be 

very interesting and reliable sometimes, and sometimes not. 

GUILFORD BATTLE FLAG (Figure 10). This 

thirteen-star flag in a 4-34 design with two stars 

offset at the right of the field—making an almost 

5-3-5 arrangement—is quite unique in many respects. Its history was recorded in 1909 as 

follows: 

It is there stated that the flag was brought back 

from 'the battlefields of North and South 

Carolina about the close of the War of the 

Revolution.' It was in the possession of one 

Micajah Bullock of Granville County, and 

remained in his possession, according to family 

tradition, until 1854. In that year it was carried 

by a son of Micajah, one Edward Bullock, who 

the record states was then 81, and by him 

presented to Mt. Energy Lodge, and then 

deposited in the lodge hall where it remained 

until 1904. In the latter year Mt. Energy Lodge 

was moved to Creedmore, (and presumably the 

flag was carried with other lodge property) and 

in 1909 it was presented to the North Carolina 

Grand Lodge by the eldest male descendents of 

Micajah Bullock.5 5 

In 1914 the flag was presented to the North 

Carolina Museum of History by the Grand Lodge 

of Masons of North Carolina.56 The year 1854 is 

the earliest that this flag can be documented. 

26 
NUMBER 21 27 

Figure 10. The "Guilford Courthouse Battle" 

Flag, exhibited in the Museum of History, State 

Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, 

North Carolina. Eight-pointed stars are the earliest 

type used in the 1779 drawings of the flags of the 

United States. Stars with this number of points 

were the type used in woven and other textile 

work; they were the easiest to plan and execute. 

Although this flag probably does not date from 

the Revolutionary War period, it may date from 

the last few years of the eighteenth century and 

represents the oldest surviving example of the use 

of the eight-pointed star in an American flag. 

(Courtesy of the North Carolina State Department 

of Archives and History.) 

Information can be gained from a technical examination. 

Size: There is an 8%-foot fly (incomplete) by 

3%-foot hoist (incomplete). The union is unusually 

long and narrow, 6% feet by 2 feet, 1 inch. 

Fabric: The union is a white cotton field. Blue, 

cotton, eight-pointed stars are set into the field, 

with the stars being about 8 inches in diameter. 

There are six complete or fairly complete blue 

cotton stripes, and six complete or fairly complete 

red worsted stripes (a small-warp patterned fabric). 

Although this flag is usually illustrated as having 

thirteen stripes, there is positive evidence of two 

more stripes stitched to the bottom, staff side of 

die flag. This would mean an original total of 

fourteen stripes or more. The fragments are in the 

original fabric and stitching. It appears that the 

missing part may have been removed deliberately 

for the edge is too even to have been caused by 

wear or torn accidentally. There is no record as to 

when, why, or by whom the stripes were removed; 

it was done before 1914 when the flag was 

received.5 7 

Heading: There is none. The edges are all cut 

on the staff side. There is evidence that in its 

present size, die flag had been nailed to a staff. 

Sewing thread: This is 2-ply linen. 

Stitching: This is by hand, with flat-fell 

seams for the stripes and main part of the flag. 

Grommets: There are none. 

Date: Since this flag positively had more than 

thirteen stripes and possibly more than thirteen 

stars at the time of its origin, it was made after 

1791. It is this writer's conjecture that it may have 

been a fifteen-star, fifteen-stripe flag possibly made 

as early as the 1795-1800 period (Figure 11). The 

technical identifications verify that it could have 

12'6" 

8'6" •H 

— l/l 

CL. 

^ * * • • A 

* * * 

***** * 

n 

Conjecture of author's suggested original design and size of the Guilford 

tJOn o f th e flap- as it pyicte tnHa v ic inHircitprl Th p floo if pnmnlota/ 1 TM 

Figure 11. 

flag. The portion oi tne tlag as it exists today is indicated. The flag, if completed as 

suggested, would measure approximately 12 feet 6 inches by 3 feet 9 inches. With or 

without the suggested additions, the proportions are very long and narrow by modern 

standards. 

ic ii . ^uiijeciure oi aurnor s suggested original aesign ana size ot tne (juiltord 

flag. The portion of the flag as it exists today is indicated. The flag, if completed as 

ested. would measure annrnvimatelv 19 fppt f> inrhpc hv 1 fpftt Q inrVifc Witt, nr 
28 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

been made during that period. It may have been 

carried during die War of 1812. If it was, it would 

have been old by 1854 and if Micajah Bullock was 

81, an understandable confusion of history could 

have resulted. 

FLAG OF COWPENS. This thirteen-star flag, 

twelve in a circle with one in the center, was 

reportedly 

carried by Color Sergent William Batchelor of 

the Maryland Light Infantry, . . at the battle 

of Cowpens, S.C., January 17, 1781. Wounded 

in the engagement, Batchelor returned with the 

flag to his Baltimore home; and in the War of 

1812 his son, Ensign Joshua F. Batchelor of the 

27th Maryland Militia, carried it in the North 

Point phase of the Battle of Baltimore, September 12, 1814. For years, the younger Batchelor 

carried the flag on commemorative occasions; 

but in August, 1843, he deposited it with the 

Old Defenders' association, a veterans organization formed shortly after the successful defense 

of Baltimore. On moving to New Jersey, however, he reclaimed the flag and kept it until his 

death in Newark about 1855. Years later it was 

returned to Dr. Albert Kimberly Hadel of 

Baltimore, a member of the Old Defenders 

group and an officer in its successor organization, the Society of the War of 1812. On 

October 19, 1907, that group presented it to 

the State.58 

The earliest date of record for this flag is 1843. A 

technical examination provided the following information: 

Size: It is approximately 30 inches by 61 

inches (width and lengdi vary from one area to 

another). 

Fabric: The union is a blue bunting field of 

single-ply worsted yarns. Cotton, five-pointed stars 

are appliqued to both sides of the flag, twelve in a 

circle, one in the center. There are thirteen 

bunting stripes, seven red and six white of singleply worsted yarns. 

Heading: There is none; however, a rope 

support with loops at top and bottom are whipped 

into a bunting hem in place of a heading. 

Sewing thread: The 2-ply linen thread was 

used to stitch bunting. Plied cotton thread was 

used to stitch stars, and although the number of 

ply cannot be determined, it is not a cabled 

thread. 

Stitching: It is by hand and with flat-fell 

seams. 

Grommets: There are none. 

Date: The cotton stars and die cotton mread 

used to stitch the stars would date this flag from 

the nineteenth century rather than the Revolutionary War. There is no reason to doubt that it 

was in existence in 1843. The flag is very similar to 

one in the collection of the Division of Military 

History in the Smithsonian Institution's National 

Museum of History and Technology, which dates 

from the period of the Mexican War and is 

described with the twenty-nine star flags-the 

period in which it was made (Figure 12). 

The Smithsonian Institution received two 

requests for the dating of other flags widi twelve 

stars in a circle and the diirteenth in the center. 

One, in a private collection in Indiana, was not 

submitted for examination. The other is described 

as a hand-stitched thirteen-star flag ("A-12" on 

page 47). It should be noted for comparison. 

The Flag of Cowpens, originally deposited with 

the Old Defender's Association in 1843, may have 

been a Revolutionary War flag; however, the flag 

turned over to the state of Maryland in 1907 is not 

the same flag. The circle of stars with one in the 

center does not date earlier than the nineteenth 

century. The earliest Ulustration found thus far is 

that of a fourteen-star flag in a canvas dating about 

1815. The painting, the United States Frigate 

Washington, is in the Bertram K. and Nina 

Fletcher Little collection and was exhibited at the 

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, 

Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1969. This painting is 

attributed to John Samuel Blunt (1798-1835) and 

dated about 1815. The flag pictured on the 

shiphouse appears to be one with thirteen stars in 

a circle and a fourteenth in the center. The flag has 

only twelve stripes. Irregularity in the number of 

stripes at any given time apparently was not 

uncommon. In their history of the United States 

flag, Quaife, Weig, and Appleman quote an 1817 

report to Congress which states that flags flying at 

the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C, and over the 

buildings in which Congress sat had as few as nine 

stripes on one and as many as eighteen on the 

other. In the Blunt painting, the frigate Washington flies a flag with fourteen stripes, and there are 

fourteen stars in a circle with an eagle in the 

center. The second vessel in the painting is the 

Congress, which also has a circle of stars, but the 

number of stars is not discernable. Another painting in the Williamsburg folk art coUection is of the 

Pilot Boat in New York Bay painted by Thomas 

Chambers (1808-?) credited as being painted about 
NUMBER 21 29 

Figure 12. Flag carried by the Maryland and District of Columbia Battalion of 

Volunteers in the Mexican War, 1846-1848, exhibited in the National Museum of History 

and Technology, gift of the National Society Dames of 1846. 

1835. The flag in this painting shows the stars 

arranged in a square with one in the center, but an 

illusion of a circle appears at the top of the canton 

as the flag droops slightly with the fluttering 

breeze. 

BENNINGTON BATTLE FLAG, or 

FILLMORE FLAG as it is sometimes called. This 

thirteen-star flag has eleven stars arranged in a 

generous semicircle with the numerals "76" in the 

center and two stars in the upper corners of the 

union. The history of this flag was first recorded 

by John Spargo.60 It was reported to have been 

used by the Bennington militia and first raised by 

Nathaniel Fillmore, grandfather of President 

Millard Fillmore, at the Batde of Bennington in 

August 1777. Septa Fillmore, the nephew of 

Nathaniel, is alleged to have acquired the flag in 

1812. The Spargo report continued that the flag 

then passed to Philetus P. Fillmore, nephew of 

Septa. This information cannot be documented 

beyond the ownership by Philetus P. Fillmore, the 

third owner. 

As Spargo records it: 

As a boy [born 1803] Philetus had been 

tremendously stirred by the War of 1812 and as 

a result of it had acquired a passion for 

collecting relics of that struggle. A somewhat 

eccentric man in later life he was the one 

Fillmore who devoted himself seriously to the 

collection and preservation of family records 

and relics. He had long desired to possess the 

flag and after receiving it from his uncle 

cherished it for many years . . . during the last 

years of his life when his mental powers were 

weakened and the eccentricities which he had 

long manifested were intensified, Mr. Fillmore 

insisted that the flag had been carried by his 

father. 

61 

From the donor, or some other source, Spargo also 

states that the flag from Fillmore "was displayed 

on the front of a house on the corner of Central 

Avenue and Grand Street, Aurora, Illinois" in 

1877.62 The flag was later exhibited in the Grand 

Army of the Republic's Room of the Chicago 

Public Library and in 1926 was presented to the 

Bennington Battie Monument and Historical Association by the last Fillmore owner, Mrs. Henry 

G. Wilson. Spargo concludes: "Obviously, therefore, we have to do with a relic which does not 
30 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

r63 depend on vague legend or conjecture. 

There can be no reasonable doubt that the flag is a 

genuine relic of the Revolution.... Every 

portion of it is hand spun, hand woven, and hand 

sewn linen."64 Unfortunately, this writer believes 

that there is a reasonable doubt. The following 

information is from observation while the flag was 

on exhibition in a sealed glass case. 

Size: 10-foot fly by 5%-foot hoist. 

Fabric: The flag appears to be of cotton 

rather than linen. The odd, or white stripes prove 

this point. The bottom or thirteenth stripe shows 

a selvedge along die full width of the flag. This 

definitely appears to be the selvedge of a cotton 

woven on a power loom. The union is made of 

three pieces of blue fabric which are stitched 

together. The upper piece appears to be a full 

width of fabric. Judging from the width of the flag 

and the width of union, it can be concluded that 

die upper part of the union is approximately 27 

inches. This was a fairly common power-woven 

cotton width during the nineteenth century. 

Heading: Appears to be heavy-weight cotton. 

Sewing thread: No determination could be 

made. 

Stitching: All was done by hand. 

Grommets: None. 

Date: It is not of the Revolutionary War 

period, but dates to sometime in the nineteenm 

century. Without a technical analysis, an approximate date cannot be set. With a technical 

analysis, a limiting date could probably be given; 

however, this type of power-woven cotton means 

that the flag could not have been made before the 

nineteenth century. The use of the numerals "76" 

and the recorded information that it was flown by 

Philetus P. Fillmore in 1877 would tend to make 

one suspect that it was probably made as a centennial or commemorative item. (The "Old 76" 

painted on a regimental color carried by Francis 

William Headman during the Revolution and now 

in the Smithsonian collection was added at a much 

later time when the flag was carried in commemorative ceremonies.) The stars are sevenpointed, which, although not conclusive, is not 

recorded as ever having been used in the 

eighteenth century. The "76" on the Bennington 

flag is stitched to die flag, an integral part of the 

design, and would not have been added later. 

STARK BENNINGTON FLAG. This flag, 

also preserved by the Bennington Museum, 

although not a bunting flag, may well have been a 

Revolutionary War flag. It was also described by 

Spargo, but since it was still in private hands at the 

time his book was written it was not regarded as 

highly as the Bennington Battle Flag (also known 

as the Fillmore Flag). Spargo states: 

Among the numerous relics brought to 

Bennington [in 1877] and displayed was the 

remnant of a flag, which, according to the 

granddaughters, General Stark had cherished to 

the end of his days with particular affection 

because it had been carried in the thick of the 

fight on the sixteenth of August 1777. The 

remnant consisted of little more than the 

canton. That was of blue silk, much faded and 

cracked, bearing the thirteen white stars 

painted on it. Almost all the rest of the flag had 

disappeared, but a strip was left which showed 

that the body of the flag was green, either 

wholly or in part ... . 

Spargo's information came from the Vermont 

Centennial of August 30 and September 4, 1877, 

and from the Bennington Daily Banner of August 

15 and 17 of the same year. The portion of the 

flag that remains is die union of light-blue silk 

with thirteen stars painted on and scattered 

irregularly. There are narrow remnants of green 

silk with cut edges on three sides of the piece, and 

a single piece of silk is attached to one side and 

hemmed. Although this examination was also 

made while die piece was behind glass, there is 

nothing about it that would refute the story. It is 

most likely one of the very few ensigns of the 

period still in existence, even though it is more 

properly classified as a regiment flag than as a 

national banner.65 

NAVY ENSIGN OF 1780 (date in question) in 

The Germantown Historical Society. Unfortunately, the early history of this flag has been lost. 

The label credits the donor as being a Mrs. 

Woodruff, and the name "woodruff is written in 

ink on one of the stars. The present curator 

reports that the early list of accessions has been 

lost. There is no record as to when the flag was 

received or of the family association. The flag is 

exhibited as a "U.S. Navy Ensign 1780," based on 

the acceptance of the dating by the donor, which 

was on the museum label, and the style of the flag. 

Although on exhibition and behind a protective 

barrier, an examination of the flag revealed certain 

characteristics that would make one question that 
NUMBER 21 31 

it could have been made as early as the eighteenth 

century. 

Type: Thirteen-star arrangement 3-2-3-2-3. 

Size: Approximately 2% by 5 feet. 

Fabric: The union seems to be of an allworsted bunting without a seam. Judging from the 

general size of the flag, this could have been an 

18-inch bunting; however, it was not possible to 

make a positive identification because of the 

height at which the flag was hung. The fabrics in 

the stripes could be examined at close hand. Both 

the red and the white stripes were of a fabric with 

a cotton warp and a wool weft. The five-pointed 

stars appear to be cotton and appliqued from each 

side. 

Heading: A twill fabric, which appeared to be 

cotton, and which could be classified as drill. 

Sewing thread: This appears to be cotton. 

Grommets: Two, which were hand worked in 

what appeared to be linen. 

Date: The type of cotton-warp wool fabric 

used in the stripes would not have been used in die 

eighteenth century. It has only been found in flags 

of the 1860s, aldiough it may date back to the 

1850s-see thirty-four-star flag, third example, on 

page 37. 
Fourteen- through Thirty-seven-Star 

Flags: Comparative Analysis 

through the Centennial Period 

Fourteen-Star Flags 

There were no official fourteen-star flags, 

although Vermont became the fourteendi state, on 

March 4, 1791. Two different fourteen-star flags 

are illustrated in the painting United States Frigate 

Washington. This painting, dated about 1815, has 

been attributed to John Samuel Blunt, and these 

flags have been described previously. Since one of 

the flags also has fourteen stripes, it does not 

appear to be a matter of careless chance on the 

part of the artist. The significance of the use of the 

"fourteen" symbol in a painting, obviously done 

in the nineteenth century of a ship that was not 

related to the 1791-1792 period, has not been 

determined. 

Fifteen-Star Flags 

The fifteenth state was Kentucky, and it 

became a part of die United States of America in 

June 1792. Two years later on January 13, 1794, 

the second Flag Act was passed. It provided for 

fifteen stars and fifteen stripes for all official flags 

made after May 1795. This act remained in effect 

until April 4, 1818. One might assume mat all 

official flags of this period followed die prescribed 

regulation, but diis was not true. 

Before discussing the exceptions, however, the 

most famous of the fifteen-star, fifteen-stripe flags 

will be considered. This is the Star-Spangled 

Banner that was the garrison flag at Fort McHenry 

at Baltimore, Maryland, during the War of 1812 

that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words 

of our National Anthem. It now hangs in the 

Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of 

History and Technology. 

The Star-Spangled Banner was "made in 

Baltimore by Mrs. Mary Pickersgill, a 'maker of 

ship's banners and flags,' assisted by her daughter, 

Mrs. Caroline Purdy, under contract to the United 

States Government for the sum of $405.90. She 

had been asked to do the work by Commodore 

Joshua Barney, of the U.S. Navy, and General 

John Strieker, of die Maryland Militia. Made of 

'first quality' long-fibered English wool bunting, 

die flag was started in July 1813 and completed 

August 19."66 Further details concerning the 

technical aspects of the Star-Spangled Banner, 

which are not included in the Smithsonian 

brochure on it, have been made by this writer and 

are given here for purposes of comparative study. 

The term "first quality" from the official records 

is important in light of the information supplied 

by a Mr. Winter of Bradford, England, to General 

Butler discussed earlier, which states that "single 

warp" was classified as low grade. All of the 

bunting used in the Star-Spangled Banner is of 

single-ply warp. From this, it can be concluded 

that in the early part of the nineteenth century, 

die single-warp bunting was not considered low 

grade but rather "first quality." When this 

changed, if it did, or if the Americans always 

considered the single warp as a "first-quality" 

bunting, cannot be positively established;however, 

it continued to be the type of bunting used until 

American manufacture began in die middle of the 

nineteenth century. 

Star-Spangled Banner: 

Size: 42 feet by 30 feet originally (only 34 

feet of the fly dimension remains). 

Fabric: The union is a blue-bunting field of 

single-ply worsted yarns. Cotton five-pointed stars 

are set into die field, and the stars are approximately two feet in diameter. There are fifteen 

32 
NUMBER 21 33 

stripes of bunting, eight red and seven white of 

single-ply worsted yarns. The width of the stripes 

varies from 23% inches to 23% inches plus 

approximately three-eighths of an inch for the 

flat-fell seams between the stripes. Each stripe is 

stitched vertically, being made of one width of 

bunting plus approximately one-third width of a 

second piece of 18-inch bunting. 

Heading: None remains. 

Sewing thread: Linen. 

Stitching: By hand, inset stars. 

Grommets: None. 

Date: 1813. The flag is we'll documented and 

there is nothing about the identification of the 

component parts to question any of the information. 

There is a second fifteen-star flag in the 

Division of Military History collection in the 

Smithsonian's National Museum of History and 

Technology, presented by L.J. Blount in 1942. 

Size: 88 by 84 inches. 

Fabric: Single-ply warp and weft worsted 

bunting is used for both the union and the stripes. 

The stars are of cotton muslin. 

Heading: Linen. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply cotton primarily; 2-ply 

linen to stitch heading to flag. 

Stitching: By hand. 

Grommets: Hand worked. 

Date: The component parts of this flag 

would lead one to date it from the late fifteen-star 

period, which was the second decade of the 

nineteenth century. 

Sixteen-Star Flags 

The sixteen-star style was not adopted as 

official. There are no known surviving sixteen-star 

flags contemporary with the period of sixteen 

states, June 1, 1796 to March 1, 1803. At least, 

that is, none of this period have come to light. 

There were, however, sixteen-star flags. One 

appears in a ship painting, oil on wood, in the 

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection in 

Williamsburg, Virginia, which is lettered "M. Corne 

pinxit John of Salem Anno 1802." The flag has 

sixteen stars and sixteen stripes. Fifteen of the 

stars are arranged in a square with the sixteenth in 

the center. The artist, Michele Felice Come, lived 

from 1751 to 1845. Since it is easier to arrange 

sixteen stars in rows of 4-4-4-4, it would seem a 

logical deduction that diis primitive or folk artist 

was painting what he saw. 

As stated, there are no known sixteen-star flags 

from the period of the sixteen states; however, 

there are sixteen-star flags in existence. All of 

these seem to be navy boat ensigns, the earliest 

dating from 1861. The use of the sixteen-star flag 

as a navy ensign was probably due to the establishment of the navy in 1798, the period during which 

there were sixteen states. There may well have 

been sixteen-star flags used by the navy earlier 

than 1861; if so, none have been found. 

Type: 16-star, 4-4-4-4 in the collection of the 

EHvision of Naval History, National Museum of 

History and Technology. 

Size: 523/8 inches by 29% inches (including 

1%-inch heading). It has been rehemmed and is not 

the original length. Stamped on the heading is "7 

ft Boat Ensign." 

Fabric: Worsted bunting, single-ply warp in 

all three colors of red, white, and blue. The union 

of blue bunting is 18 inches, selvedge to selvedge, 

with side pieces added to make the full size. The 

white stripes, selvedge to selvedge, measure 

4

5

/8 inches; red stripes, selvedge to selvedge, 

measure 4% inches.67 The stars are of cotton with 

a turned edge, appliqued from each side by hand. 

Heading: Heavy linen, plain weave. The bunting flag was turned under and hemmed before the 

heading was stitched on. 

Sewing thread: 2-ply linen stitching stripes 

and union. Two strands of 5-ply coarse cotton 

stitching heading. 3/2 cabled cotton stitching stars 

(Z-twist singles paired to make slight Z-twist 

doubles, three pairs in S-twist). 

Stitching: By hand. 

Grommets: Two, hand worked. 

Date: Stamped on heading, "NYC 1861." 

There is no reason to question that 1861 is the 

date. 

Another sixteen-star flag quite similar to the 

one just described is in the collection of The Flag 

House, Baltimore, Maryland. Aldiough it is not 

stamped with a date, it seems to be of the same 

period and is stamped "6 ft Boat Ensign NYC." 

The bunting is the same single-ply warp type. 

There are two selvedge to selvedge widths in the 

blue; one is 9% inches and the other is 12% inches, 

the size suggested by Farrington in his letter of 
34 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

1869 to the brigadier general of the quartermaster station in New York City. The other 

component parts are the same as the flag just 

described. 

The third sixteen-star flag, privately owned, is 

similar in general appearance, but differs considerably in make up. 

Size: 80 inches by 44 inches. 

Fabric: Worsted bunting, 2-ply warp in all 

diree colors, single-ply weft. The blue bunting in 

the union measures 18 inches, selvedge to selvedge, 

and is die only piece with both selvedges. An 

additional piece is stitched on to complete the size 

of the union. The stars are of cotton with a turned 

edge, applique'd on both sides by hand. 

Heading: Heavy cotton, plain weave. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply cotton is used to stitch 

the stripes and union; 3/2-ply cotton is used for 

stitching stars; and 6-ply coarse cotton is used to 

stitch heading. 

Stitching: All by hand. 

Grommets: Two, metal, not marked. 

Date: Probably later than the first two 

sixteen-star flags described. The use of the 2-ply 

warp bunting would indicate an American-made 

bunting and place the date after the Civil War, 

probably 1866 or a little later. This technical 

discussion of mid-nineteenth-century flags may 

seem a little out of order, but the owner of a 

sixteen-star flag always feels he has an early 

nineteenth-century artifact. Therefore, it seems 

best to put them in their "numerical" star order. 

Seventeen-Star Flags 

Like die sixteen-star flag, by law there was no 

official seventeen-star flag in the period of the 

seventeenth state — Ohio — March 1,1803, to April 

30, 1812. From the request of Fort Dearborn to 

die War Department on December 20, 1803, and 

the compliance with that request, it is known mat 

there were seventeen-star, seventeen-stripe, eagle 

flags furnished by the United States government. 

Unfortunately, none of these flags seem to have 

survived. 

Eighteen- and Nineteen-Star Flags 

It is doubtful that there were any eighteen-star 

or nineteen-star flags. Louisiana and Indiana entered the Union in 1812 and 1816, respectively. 

With the War of 1812 raging, one would not 

expect the national flag to be changed while it was 

under fire. There is an 1817 reference to the 

eighteen-stripe flag flying over the buildings in 

which Congress sat. Officially, the fifteen-star flag 

reigned until 1818. 

Twenty-Star Flags 

The twenty-star flag was adopted on July 4, 

1818, and remained legal for only one year. The 

third Flag Act passed that year established the 

general design for all future flags of the United 

States. 

That from and after the fourth day of July 

next, the flag of the United States be thirteen 

horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; that 

the union have twenty stars, white in a blue 

field. And be it further enacted, That on the 

admission of every new state into the Union, 

one star be added to the union of the flag; and 

that such addition shall take effect on the 

fourth of July next succeeding such admission. 

Since twenty-star flags were made for such a short 

time, it is extremely fortunate that one has 

survived.

 6 8 

Size: 103 inches by 56% inches. 

Type: 5-5-5-5 arrangement of stars. 

Fabric: Worsted bunting, single-ply, Z-twist 

warp bunting in the union with a mread count 40 

by 28; red and white stripes are of single-ply warp, 

Z-twist bunting, diread count 38 by 30. The stars 

are of plain cotton weave, set into field. 

Heading: Plain-woven linen. 

Grommets: Three, hand-worked. 

Sewing thread: 2-ply, S-twist linen for stitching both stripes and stars. 

Stitching: All by hand. 

Date: There is nothing about die component 

parts of this flag to question it having been made 

in 1818-1819. 

Twenty-one- and Twenty-threeStar Flags 

Both of diese were obviously made and used. 

The first was used from 1819 to 1820 and the 

second from 1820 to 1822. There were no official 

twenty-two star flags since Alabama and Maine 

entered the Union in die same month. Almough 

actual flags of twenty-one- and twenty-three-stars 

are unknown to this writer and dius have not been 
NUMBER 21 35 

examined, their component parts and mediod of 

construction would be comparable to eidier the 

twenty-star flag or the twenty-four-star flag or 

both. There is, however, a pictorial representation 

of a twenty-one-star flag in the pen and watercolor 

rendition of the ship Macon. The art work is 

inscribed in the lower left, "Nivelet," and across 

the bottom "Ship Macon Newyork & Savannah 

packet Cap. D. L. Porter." The watercolor, in the 

Edgar Williams and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch 

collection in the National Gallery of Art, shows 

the twenty-one stars arranged in die design of one 

large star. The twenty stars form the oudine widi 

the slightly larger, twenty-first star in the center. 

Although the work is attributed as having been 

done in 1827 or 1834, diere is no reason why the 

flag depicted might not be assumed to be a 

contemporary one from the 1819-1820 period. 

Twenty-four-Star Flags 

Flags with twenty-four stars were the official 

standard from 1822 to 1836. One is in the 

collection of the Division of Military History.69 

This flag is of the now familiar eagle-type. The 

twenty-four, five-pointed stars, together with the 

eagle and shield, are painted on the blue-bunting 

union. 

Size: 78 inches by 44 inches. 

Fabric: Single-ply, Z-twist warp and weft, 

blue worsted bunting is used for the union with a 

thread count of 60 by 52. The selvedge to selvedge 

width of this bunting is 19 inches, and the selvedge 

is unusual in that it has two 3-ply cotton flireads 

woven into it. Both the red and the white stripes 

are of a single-ply, Z-twist warp and weft, worsted 

bunting with a thread count of only 30 by 25. 

Heading: Medium-weight, plain-woven cotton. 

Grommets: None. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply, S-twist cotton in all 

areas tested—stripes, union to stripes, heading to 

flag, and hem. 

Stitching: By hand. 

Date: The technical information verifies that 

this flag could be of the 1822-1836 period. 

Twenty-five-Star Flags 

Anodier flag style that was legal for only one 

year-July 4, 1836, to July 3, 1837-was the 

addition of the twenty-fifth star when Arkansas 

entered die Union. There are no known examples 

of diis type. 

Twenty-six-Star Flags 

The addition of Michigan as the twenty-sixdi 

state in 1837 held the flag at diis number of stars 

until 1845. Although the official bunting flags of 

this period were certainly manufactured and used, 

two other types of twenty-six-star flags have 

survived. One type is a block-printed cotton flag 

and die other is a printed silk.70 This printed 

technique, which was much cheaper to manufacture, was intended for patriotic use at home and in 

political and domestic demonstrations. The cotton 

flag is a 27-inch power-woven cotton, probably of 

American manufacture; the silk flag is a 29-inch 

fabric with die stars arranged to form one large 

star, reminiscent of the earlier twenty-one-star 

flag. 

Twenty-seven- and 

Twenty-eight-Star Flags 

The admittance of Florida to the Union in 

1845 changed die flag to twenty-seven stars for 

one year, and of Texas in 1846 to twenty-eight 

stars for one year. There may be examples of mese 

flags in state historical collections, but neither 

type was examined for this study. 

Twenty-nine-Star Flags 

Two flags of very special interest were donated 

to die Smidisonian Institution many years ago by 

the National Society of Dames of 1846.71 The 

first is important because it is a twenty-nine-star 

flag known to have been carried by Company I, 

Fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers in die Mexican War. The war was fought from the last week 

of April 1846 to February 1848. Since the 

twenty-nine-star flag was adopted July 4, 1847, it 

can be assumed that diis flag was made during the 

seven-monm period from July 1847 to February 

1848. The technical information is, therefore, of 

major importance, as die possible period of manufacture is so short. 

Type: Twenty-nine stars and spread eagle 

painted on a cotton field. 

Size: Incomplete; almost full dimension in 

hoist, but die width of the last stripe is not 
36 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

complete; fly length, not determinable; would 

have measured 63 inches by ? (present amount 

measures 69 inches); the union is 27 inches by 43 

inches. 

Fabric: Union is of fine, plain-woven cotton, 

single-ply, Z-twist yarns. The stripes are red and 

white of worsted bunting woven of single-ply, 

Z-twist yams (very little twist); thread count 29 

by 29. 

Heading: Not original. 

Sewing thread: 2-ply, S-twist linen in all areas 

tested, stripes to each other and stripes to the 

union. 

Stitching: Original stitching is hand stitching. 

Grommets: None. 

Date: The technical information agrees widi 

die documentation diat this flag was made in 

1847-1848. 

The second flag is a thirteen-star flag that the 

National Society of Dames of 1846 reported was 

also carried in the Mexican War. It has twelve stars 

in a circle with one in the center.72 The thirteenstar flag, documented as being from this same 

period, provides a comparison of the components 

of these two knowns. It is, after all, the technical 

information gained from the flags with "more than 

thirteen stars" that can be used to date undocumented thirteen-star flags. Although die two flags 

are not alike in the use of all materials, mere are 

two very interesting comparisons. First, die technical data on the thirteen-star flag is as follows: 

Type: Twelve stars in a circle with one in die 

center. 

Size: 37% inches by 66 inches. 

Fabric: Union is of blue worsted bunting, 

single-ply, Z-twist warp, weft the same, but with 

less twist; bunting width, selvedge to selvedge, is 

17 inches, thread count 28 by 27. The bunting in 

the red and white stripes is the same as the blue in 

me union widi die same thread count. The stars 

are of plain-woven cotton appliqued on both sides. 

Heading: None. The bunting is rolled around 

a rope widi loops at each end of the rope to serve 

as grommets. 

Sewing thread: 2-ply, S-twist linen thread 

was used to stitch the stripes and the two pieces in 

the union together. 6-ply (3-ply, S-twist of pairs of 

Z-twist singles—not cabled) cotton thread is used 

to stitch the stars. 

Stitching: By hand. 

Grommets: None. 

Date: The flag most likely does date from the 

1840s; there is no record of the manufacture of 

6-ply cotton thread before 1840.73 

The unions of the two flags are of completely 

different fabrics, so no comparison of these can be 

made. The buntings are quite similar, the difference of the thread count of 29 by 29 to 28 by 27 

is very little, since both are the result of averaging 

three sets of figures. The same kind of sewing 

dire ad was used in both, with die addition of a 

second type in die diirteen-star flag that is not 

found before 1840 and seldom after the 1850s. 

Thirty-Star Flags 

The diirtiedi star was added when Wisconsin 

joined the Union in 1848. This design was in effect 

from July 4, 1848, until July 4, 1850. No flag of 

this type was available for diis study. 

Thirty-one-Star Flags 

California entered the Union on September 9, 

1850. The flag was changed the following July and 

remained until 1858. There is a diirty-one-star flag 

in a private collection in which a large central star 

is surrounded by a double rectangular border of 

smaller stars. 

Thirty-two-Star Flags 

This flag design was in effect for only one year, 

July 4, 1858, until July 4, 1859, for during that 

time Minnesota had become the fliirty-second 

state. 

7hirty-three-Star Flags 

Oregon became the diirty-third state in 1859, 

and the star was added diat July. The design 

remained until 1861. 

Thirty-four-Star Flags 

The variety of star arrangements seems to 

increase with die addition of each new state. Even 

diough the "official" flags seemed to continue to 

be made of bunting, or sometimes silk or cotton, 

the variety of materials can best be explored when 

several flags of the same era can be examined and 

compared. The thirty-fourth state was Kansas, 

added in 1861. Aldiough a split in die Union 

occurred diat year, die flag of the United States 
NUMBER 21 37 

continued to include all the states. Flags in private 

collections show the stars again arranged in the 

shape of one large star and in clusters of five 

six-star rosettes with a rosette in each corner, one 

in the center, and four single stars placed in the 

center of each side of the field. Described in detail 

below are two thirty-four-star flags in the Division 

of Military History in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of History and Technology. 

Type: Thirty-four-star arrangement. 

****** * 

****** * 

* * * ** * 

****** * 

****** * 

Size: 31 % inches by 50% inches. 

Fabric: Union, single-ply warp and weft wool 

bunting, not as long staple nor as wiry as regular 

bunting, more closely woven, not as open weave. 

Stripes of the same fabric. Stars, cotton, set into 

bunting but the raw edges not turned under, as 

customary. 

Heading: Medium-weight cotton twill; corners of bunting adjacent and under heading reinforced with the same bunting. 

Grommets: None. 

Sewing thread: Cotton, three pairs of singles; 

Z-twist singles, S-twist thread. 

Stitching: By hand. 

Date: Thirty-four-star flags were official from 

1861-1863; none of the component parts of this 

flag would cause one to doubt that it was made at 

that time. 

The other thirty-four-star flag in the same 

collection is "Old Glory." 

Type: Thirty-four-star arrangement with anchor. 

Size: 9 feet, 5 inches by 17 feet. 

Fabric: The bunting in the field and in the 

stripes is of single-ply warp, single-ply weft, 

worsted yarns. The cotton stars are appliqued on 

both sides, as is the anchor. 

Heading: Linen. 

Sewing thread: Most of the flag is stitched 

with 3/2-ply cotton diread; there is some 4-ply 

cotton thread. 

Stitching: The major seams of the flag are 

stitched by machine; the stars are stitched by 

machine on one side, but by hand on the other. 

The anchor is stitched into position by hand. 

Grommets: None, rope inserted. 

Date: This flag, in its present state, would 

date from the 1861-1863 period, as indicated by 

the number of stars and the type of thread used. 

This flag, however, has an involved history. It 

reportedly dates from the 1820s and was repaired 

and new stars were added in 1861. The details of 

this are given in Mrs. Mary Roland's book, Old 

Glory, the True Story. 

Another thirty-four-star flag is the property of The 

Flag House, Baltimore, Maryland. (No. M.F. 

1969.13.1) 

Type: Thirty-four-stars with thirty-two 

printed74 on the field and two additional printed 

ones which are set in by hand. 

******* * 

******** * 

******** * 

******* * 

Size: AWi inches by 76% inches plus a 

1%-inch heading. 

Fabric: The union is a 22%-inch fabric of 

single-ply, Z-twist cotton warp, and single-ply, 

slight Z-twist worsted weft. The thread count is 59 

by 38. The stars are printed four to the width to a 

depth of eight rows. Two additional stars were cut 

from the same type of fabric and are set into the 

blue portion of the union, thus making a total of 

thirty-four stars. The stripes are of 23%-inch 

fabric, printed vertically, and there are seven to 

one width. The second piece has one stripe 

removed to make a total of thirteen stripes. The 

same single-ply, Z-twist cotton warp and slight 

Z-twist worsted weft that is used in the union is 

also used here. The thread count is 56 by 37. This 

is probably the same fabric as the union, but the 

thread count and width would indicate that there 

was less shrinkage in the printing. 

Heading: Heavy-weight, plain cotton. 

Sewing thread: Heading and hem of the flag 

and the three middle grommets use 6-cord, S-twist 

cotton thread made up of three pairs of slight 

Z-twist; 3-ply, S-twist cotton thread used for hand 

stitching. The grommets at each end are worked in 

2-ply, S-twist linen. 

Stitching: Heading and hem are machine 

stitched. Two sections of the stripes fabric and the 
38 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOGY 

union have been positioned by hand. Two added 

stars have been stitched in place by hand. 

Grommets: Five, handworked. 

Date: 1861-1863. Because the two added 

stars are from the same type of fabric, as 

evidenced by die blue edge visible on the reverse 

side, this writer would judge that the stars were 

part of the original manufacture and not added by 

the owner to a thirty-two-star flag he already had. 

It is very probable that this cotton and wool fabric 

was first used for thirty-two star flags and that it 

represents an early attempt by American fabric 

manufacturers to produce a flag fabric that could 

compete with die imported English bunting.75 

Thirty-five-Star Flags 

West Virginia joined the Union on June 20, 

1863. Within two weeks the thirty-fifth star was 

officially added, but this flag remained in effect 

for only two years. Such a flag is in the collections 

of the Division of Textiles in the Smithsonian 

Institution's National Museum of History and 

Technology. 

Type: Thirty-five-star arrangement. 

****** * 

****** * 

****** * 

****** * 

****** * 

Size: 84 by 125 inches. 

Fabric: Union is 18%-inch worsted bunting; 

single-ply, Z-twist weft. The thread count is 34 by 

32. Stripes of the same fabric, with a slight 

variation in thread count, average 34 by 30. The 

stars are of plain-woven cotton, light weight, and 

they are inset into the union. 

Heading: Coarse, plain-woven linen. 

Sewing thread: 3/2 ply, S-twist cotton thread 

used for hand stitching die blue bunting. 3/2-ply, 

S-twist cotton used for machine stitching the 

stripes. 3/2-ply, S-twist cotton used for hand 

stitching the stars. 3-ply, S-twist cotton used to 

hand-stitch hem the flag. 2-ply, S-twist linen used 

for grommets. 

Stitching: Hand and machine. 

Grommets: Two, handworked. 

Date: 1863-1865. None of the component 

parts would cause one to doubt that it was made 

at that time. 

A second thirty-five-star flag, privately owned, 

represents a type of printed flag that was produced 

by the thousands for many patriotic occasions. 

Size: 14% by 19 inches. 

Fabric: Cotton muslin, block printed as a 

unit. 

Date: 1863-1865. It is possible that flags of 

this type with die appropriate number of stars 

were produced throughout the last three quarters 

of the nineteenth century. 

Thirty-five-star flags also were made in the 

unlikely arrangement of 6-6-6-5-6-6. 

Thirty-six-Star Flags 

Although Nevada became the thirty-sixth state 

in October 1864, the flag was not changed 

officially until the following July. Thus, there was 

another star-type that was only in official use for 

two years. One of these is in the collections of the 

Division of Military History in the Smitiisonian 

Institution's National Museum of History and 

Technology. 

Type: Thirty-six-star arrangement. 

****** 

****** 

****** 

****** 

****** 

****** 

Size: 69 by 136 inches. 

Fabric: The union is of 18-inch worsted 

bunting of 2-ply warp, single-ply weft, the same 

type of bunting that is used for the stripes. Stars 

of plain-woven cotton are appliqued on both sides 

of the flag. 

Heading: Medium-heavy, plain-woven cotton. 

There is a double row of machine stitching and a 

reinforcement of small-diameter rope along the 

edge. 

Grommets: There is evidence that there were 

three grommets, probably of metal, that were 

pulled out in use for only raw, ragged edges 

remain. Tack holes along the edge of the heading 

indicate nailing for suspension at a later time. 

Sewing thread: Cotton, three pairs of singles. 

Z-twist singles, S-twist thread. 

Stitching: Machine stitching with the exception of the stars, which were stitched in position 

by hand. 
NUMBER 21 39 

Date: 1865-1867. None of the component 

parts would indicate that the flag was made at a 

time other than that suggested by the number of 

stars. 

Although thirty-six stars lend themselves to an 

organized and balanced arrangement, flags with 

this number were made with the stars in the 

pattern of a large star with a star in the center of 

each point and a larger one in the center of the 

overall star. Another arrangement, even less plausible, has a circle of eleven stars, a larger one in the 

center, with the remaining twenty-four stars scattered on the union. 

Thirty-seven-Star Flags 

Nebraska entered the Union on March 1, 1867, 

and the authorized flag changed to thirty-seven 

stars on the Fourth of July of that year. This flag 

change was to have the longest period of official 

use since the first and second Flag Acts. Colorado, 

the thirty-eighth state was not admitted until 

August 1, 1876. Thus, the flag did not change 

until July 1877, an entire decade after the 

thirty-seven-star flag design was adopted. This is a 

most important period in flag analysis for 

comparative purposes. 

The first flags to be considered are two thirteen-star flags documented from this period and 

made by sisters, Emma Dean and Nellie Powell for 

Powell's Colorado River Expedition. The first of the 

two reportedly was made in 1870-1871 and the second in 1872-1874. Since the flags are documented 

and are made of materials not usually associated 

with diis period, it seemed best to describe them 

here, rather than with the thirteen-star flags. Both 

of tiiese flags use die same materials, and it is 

assumed that the sisters shared the same supplies. 

The red and blue buntings used are about the 

same with a slight difference in thread count, 

which might be due to the different dyeing 

process. Both are woven of single-ply, Z-twist 

yarns—the thread count for the blue is 61 by 61 

and for the red, 58 by 61. The white "bunting" (?) 

is of wool on a cotton warp and both are Z-twist, 

single-ply yarns with a thread count of 66 by 63. 

Sewing thread: The flags are stitched with 

2-ply, S-twist silk. The earlier flag used some 

purple silk thread also. The cotton stars are 

attached with 5-ply, S-twist cotton thread. 

Each name is embroidered on the reverse side 

of the union of the respective flags. Single-ply, 

warp buntings were not used by the navy or army, 

although they were not unusual for civilian use 

according to the correspondence with the United 

States Bunting Company. The use of silk thread to 

stitch wool would not have been uncommon for 

the home seamstress. The use of 5-ply cotton 

thread is unusual, for it was never a common 

sewing thread. 

There are two, thirty-seven-star, bunting flags in 

the collections of the Division of Military History 

in the Smithsonian's National Museum of History 

and Technology. These differ from each other in 

materials and methods of construction. 

Type: Thirty-seven-star arrangement of 

6-6-7-6-6-6. (Smithsonian ace. no. 86270, cat. no. 

34937.) 

***** * 

***** * 

* * *** * * 

***** * 

***** * 

***** * 

Size: 90 by 141 inches. 

Fabric: The union is 18%-inch, worsted bunting in a two-ply, S-twist warp; with a single-ply, 

Z-twist weft of a medium shade of blue which is 

badly faded. The uiread count is 36 by 32. Both 

red and white stripes are of a single-ply, Z-twist 

warp, and a single-ply Z-twist weft. Their thread 

count is 35 by 30. The stars are of a plain-woven 

cotton set into the bunting. 

Heading: Plain-woven, medium-weight linen. 

Sewing thread: The union is hand stitched 

with 2-ply, S-twist linen; 3/2 cabled-cotton was 

used to stitch stripes, stars, and heading. 

Stitching: Machine stitching was used in die 

stripes, hem, and heading. The stars were set in by 

hand. Seams in the union were made by hand, and 

the union is attached to the stripe ends by hand 

stitching. 

Grommets: Two metal (3-part) grommets. 

One is at each end of the heading with evidence 

that there was a third originally in the center. The 

remaining hole has been handworked with 3/2 

cabled-cotton thread. 

Date: 1867-1877. 
40 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

Type: Thirty-seven-star arrangement of 

8-7-7-7-8. (Smithsonian ace. no. 26913, cat. no. 

202288.) 

******* * 

****** * 

****** * 

****** * 

******* * 

Size: Approximately 9 feet (105 inches) by 

approximately 18 feet (227 inches) plus 1% inches 

heading. 

Fabric: Union is 18%-inch worsted bunting in 

a 2-ply, S-twist warp, single Z-twist weft. The 

dire ad count is 34 by 37 of indigo blue. Both red 

and white stripes are of 2-ply, S-twist warp, and 

single-ply, Z-twist weft. The tiiread count is 31 by 

31. Cotton-muslin stars are appliqued on the front 

and reverse sides of the flag. 

Heading: Cotton duck. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply, S-twist, brown cotton 

thread used to stitch the blue bunting and 3-ply, 

S-twist, white-cotton thread used to stitch the 

stripes, stars, and heading. 

Stitching: Hand stitching was used to applique die stars, and machine stitching was used 

for all the seams. 

Grommets: None. There is rope through the 

heading with iron rings in the rope-end loops. 

Date: 1867-1877. 

There are two other star arrangements during 

the thirty-seven-state period that should be mentioned. One is of two concentric circles of stars, 

the inner circle of thirteen and the outer of 

twenty-four, totaling thirty-seven. A more unusual 

arrangement was specifically for the centennial 

year; eighty-one stars are used to make up the 

numerals 1776 and 1876 in the union of the flag 

with die latter placed below the former. This was 

obviously for commemorative rather than official 

purposes. 
«*© PART IV ®* 

Identifying Unknown Flags 

The information presented in the preceeding 

pages can be used, to a limited extent, in 

determining the significance of the component 

parts of an "unknown" thirteen-star flag and thus 

help in establishing a date for it. The following 

charts can be used as a guide in identifying and 

dating a flag, but it is not usually possible to 

establish a specific date. Sometimes the 

combination of materials used will narrow the 

period of probable manufacture to one decade. 

The dating of the flag is always limited to no 

earlier than the first use of the latest datable 

component. 

Materials 

EXAMPLES OF BUNTING 

Warp 

ply 

1 

single 

single 

single 

single 

single 

single 

single 

single 

single 

double 

double 

double 

double 

double 

double 

double 

double 

double 

Warp 

twist 

? 

Z 

Z 

z 

z 

z 

z 

z 

z 

z 

S 

S 

S 

S 

S 

S 

S 

S 

s 

Width 

in inches 

20 

18 

? 

19 

17 

4%-45/8 

18% 

9% 

12% 

12 

18 

173/ 8 

17% 

18% 

183/ 8 

183/4 

187/ 8 

25 

12% 

Earliest reference 

or flag examined 

1802-1812 

1813 

1818-1819 

1822-1836 

1847-1848 

1861 

1863-1865 

1860s 

1867 (and probably 

earlier) 

1867 (and probably 

earlier) 

1865-1867 

1867 

1867 

1867 

1867 

1867 

1867 

1869 

1869 

The earliest use of 2-ply warp bunting in an 

American flag of known date that has been 

examined is of the thirty-six-star period, 

1865-1867. Therefore, the use of a 2-ply warp 

bunting in a thirteen-star flag immediately 

indicates diat the flag was probably made after 

1865. The use of single-ply warp bunting in a 

tiiirteen-star flag does not mean that it was 

necessarily made before 1865, as this type of 

bunting continued to be woven and used into the 

twentieth century. Although of interest and use in 

comparative study, die same thread count would 

not necessarily mean the same bunting or bunting 

of the same period. The size of the yarns can vary. 

A low thread-count bunting can look more 

compact than a high one if the yarns in the latter 

are finer. A number of very small fragments of 

bunting, with reputed historical association, were 

presented to the Smithsonian Institution in 

1919.76 They were not accompanied by any 

documentation, but an "association" was given in 

a hand-written label. Whether or not these pieces 

of bunting were from flags of the period inferred 

cannot be verified. There was, however, nothing 

found in the technical examination that would 

indicate that they were not. Because of their 

possible interest in future studies of flags, the 

information that could be derived from each is 

given. The bunting samples are all of Z-single yarns 

in warp and weft (see analysis on page 42). 

Although the thread count of the Serapis and 

the Macedonian are the same, the fabrics do not 

look alike. There is more irregularity in the yarn 

size in the Serapis. The selvedges of the Guerriere 

are not as compact as the blue Macedonian. 

Stars: Linen was commonly used for the stars 

of the bunting flags during the first decade of the 

nineteenth century. Dated flags from the StarSpangled Banner of 1813 throughout the nineteenth century used cotton for the stars, although 

linen continued to be used in some examples. 

41 
42 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOGY 

ANALYSIS OF BUNTING SAMPLES 

Donor's 

association 

Serapis 

Little Belt 

Guerriere 

Java 

Mexican flag 

captured at 

Monterey 

Commodore 

Perry's flag 

Detroit 

Macedonian 

High Flyer 

Chippewa 

Royal Standard 

captured at 

"Lerento" 

Association 

date 

1779 

1811 

1812 

1812 

1840s 

1812 

1812 

1812 

1812 

1812 

? 

Thread 

count 

28x28 

too small 

too small 

30x24 

36x36 

48x45 

too small 

28x28 

too small 

too small 

30x26 

28x24 

Color 

blue 

white 

blue and 

white 

red 

white 

blue 

white 

red and 

blue 

blue 

white 

blue 

quite discolored, 

probably white 

Other 

remarks 

no selvedge 

some traces of red 

bunting fibers and 

a seam stitched 

with 2/2 ply, Stwist wool thread 

11111 1 

selvedge 

no selvedge 

2-2-2-2-2 selvedge 

no selvedge 

part of a selvedge, 

-7-3-3-3-1-1 . . . 

selvedge on blue 

1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 

Figure 13. A thirteen-star flag flies from the staff in the lithograph, Bay of New York, 

Taken From the Battery, 1851. The accepted use of the thirteen-star flag at this time is 

evidenced by its appearance in this typical mid-nineteenth-century scene. As can be noted 

the arrangement of the stars takes the form of a large six-pointed star, or a 1-4-3-4-1 

arrangement. (The Edward W.C. Arnold Collection, lent by The Metropolitan Museum of 

Art. Photograph courtesy Museum of the City of New York.) 
NUMBER 21 43 

Heading: The use of linen or other bast-fiber 

fabrics for the heading continued throughout the 

nineteenth century. To date, cotton for the 

heading has not been found earlier than the second 

decade of the nineteentii century; however, during 

die middle- and late-nineteenth century, it was the 

more common fabric used for the heading and was 

a standard, heavy-weight fabric, usually duck. 

Grommets: Many of die earlier bunting flags 

do not have grommets. If the heading is original 

and intact, it acts as a casing for a rope with loops 

at each end of the fly lengtii. When there are 

grommets in the flags of the first half of the 

nineteenth century, they are handworked. Metal 

grommets have not been found in a flag of known 

origin dating earlier than die 1860s. 

Thread: Eighteentii-century bunting flags, 

and those of the very early nineteenth century, are 

stitched with linen dire ad. Silk might also have 

been used, and it was certainly used to stitch the 

silk flags. Wool thread, although difficult to sew 

with and probably used infrequently, may also 

have been utilized. Cotton thread does not seem to 

have been used for stitching bunting flags prior to 

the 1820s. Its initial use was to stitch the cotton 

stars into position. It was later used to stitch the 

entire flag. The 3/2-cabled cotton thread was not 

used before the 1860s. There is, however, a type 

of 3-ply, cotton thread widi each ply of a pair of 

single yarns that dates to as early as the 1840s; this 

type might be confused with the 3/2-cabled cotton 

of the 1860s. Careful examination of the sewing 

thread is necessary. A 3-ply, Z-twist silk thread 

was developed for machine stitching by 1852; it 

was known as machine twist. A 3-ply cotton 

thread was very common during the middle and 

third quarter of the nineteenth century. The use of 

mercerized cotton thread would indicate a flag of 

twentieth-century manufacture. 

Stitching: If the flag is ma chine-stitched in 

any part, it would have to date after 1850. Hand 

stitching of flags, however, remained common 

through the third quarter of the nineteenth 

century, especially for stitching the stars. The use 

of the zigzag machine stitch to sew the stars dates 

from about 1900. 
Thirteen-Star Flags of Unknown Origin: 

Technical Examination, Description, 

and Estimated Date 

Every unknown flag that has been examined 

has not been described, for many bore the same 

characteristics; however, any flag that has a variation in technical content even though the major 

components are the same has been included. It A-3. 

should not be assumed that any flag that has 

characteristics not included in this group is in itself 

rare or unusual. 

The group will be divided into two main 

categories. The "A" series are those stitched by 

hand, and the "B" series are those stitched by 

machine. If any part of the flag has machine 

stitching as part of its original construction, it will 

be included in the second category. 

Unless otherwise indicated, more than one of 

each type has been examined. A-4. 

A. Hand Stitched 

A-l. Type: 3-2-3-2-3 

Fabrics: Single-ply warp and weft worsted 

bunting used for field and stripes. Stars of 

cotton muslin. 

Heading: Linen warp and tow or other 

short bast weft. 

Grommets: Not recorded. 

Sewing thread: 2-ply linen to stitch all 

bunting. 2/2 cotton to stitch stars. 

Date: First quarter of the nineteenth 

century, possibly quite early. Only one of 

this type has been examined. 

A-2. Type: Arrangement of stars not recorded. 

Fabrics: Single-ply warp and weft worsted A-5. 

bunting used for field and stripes. Stars of 

cotton muslin. 

Heading: Linen. 

Grommets: Not recorded. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply cotton primarily. 

2-ply linen to stitch heading to flag. 

Date: First half of the nineteenth century, 

possibly quite early. 

Type: Arrangement of stars not recorded. 

Fabrics: Single-ply warp and weft worsted 

bunting used for field and stripes. Stars of 

plain-woven cotton. 

Heading: Cotton twill. 

Grommets: Not recorded. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply cotton primarily. 

3-ply of paired singles to stitch stars. 

Date: Mid-nineteenth-century, 1840-1860. 

Only one of this type has been 

examined. 

Type: 3-2-3-2-3 

Fabric: 2-ply warp, single-ply weft, worsted bunting for field and stripes; full width 

of blue bunting, 18 inches. Stars of plainwoven cotton. 

Heading: Warp, bleached Z-twist linen. 

Weft, unbleached Z-twist coarse fabric. 

Grommets: None, cord run through hem in 

heading. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply, Z-twist linen stitching bunting. 3-ply of paired Z-twist cotton singles thread S-twist to stitch stars. 

Date: Mid-1860s-based on the 

combination of the 2-ply bunting and the 

type of cotton thread. Only one of this 

type has been examined. 

Type: 4-54 

Fabrics: 2-ply warp, single-ply weft, worsted 

bunting for field and white stripes, 

single-ply warp and weft worsted bunting 

for red stripes; no full width of bunting. 

44 
NUMBER 21 45 

Figure 14. Illustration of a thirteen-star flag, example of Type A.7, variation; type: 

4-5-4. The size is 29 inches by 50% inches with a 1%-inch heading. The fabrics are 2-ply, 

S-twist warp (largest area measures 16% inches, but is not a full width), single-ply weft, 

worsted bunting for field and stripes. Stars of medium-weight linen are applied to each 

side. The heading is plain-woven coarse linen. Grommets are one-piece, metal-eyelet type. 

The sewing is all by hand, and the sewing thread is 3-ply, S-twist cotton thread for all 

stitching. The dating is probably the late 1860s. (Cat. No. T. 14401, Smithsonian photo 

77128-A.) 

A-6. 

Stars of cotton appliqued to each side. 

Height of field is eight rather than the 

more common seven-stripe high, making 

it rest on a red stripe. 

Heading: Coarse plain-woven linen and bast 

fiber (possibly jute). 

Grommets: None, coarse twine through 

heading, which acts as a casing. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply, S-twist linen to stitch A-7. 

bunting and heading. 2-ply, S-twist cotton to stitch stars. 

Date: Based on the use of the 2-ply warp 

bunting this flag must be judged to be of 

the mid-1860s. All of the other materials 

could be of any earlier period. Only one 

of this type has been examined. 

Type: 4-5-4 

Fabric: 2-ply warp, single-ply weft, worsted 

bunting for field and stripes; full width of 

blue bunting, 19 inches. A-8. 

Heading: Plain-woven heavy cotton. 

Grommets: Two, hand-worked. 

Sewing thread: 2-ply linen stitching 

bunting. 3-ply of paired cotton singles 

stitching stars. 3-ply cotton stitching 

heading. 

Date: Mid-1860s; based on the combination 

of 2-ply bunting and the type of cotton 

used. Only one of this type has been 

examined. 

Type: Various 

Fabrics: 2-ply S-twist warp, single-ply weft, 

worsted bunting for field and red stripes, 

single Z-twist warp and single weft for 

white stripes. Stars of cotton. 

Heading: Linen. 

Grommets: Two, hand-worked. 

Sewing thread: 2-ply, S-twist linen stitching 

bunting. 3-ply S-twist stitching stars. 

Date: Probably third quarter of the 

nineteenth century. 

Type: 4-54 

Fabrics: 2-ply S-twist warp, single-ply 

Z-twist weft, worsted bunting; two types 
46 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

of blue used in the field—darker blue, 

9-inch selvedge to selvedge, thread count 

39 x 35, and a lighter blue, only one 

selvedge (therefore no width determinable), thread count 35 x 30. Red stripes 

in a 2-ply S-twist warp, weft of single 

Z-twist worsted bunting, thread count 36 

x 35; white stripes in a single-ply Z-twist 

warp and a single-ply Z-twist weft worsted bunting, thread count 36 x 32. Stars 

of plain-woven cotton applinued from 

each side. 

Heading: Coarse plain-woven linen. 

Grommets: Two, hand worked. 

Sewing thread: 2-ply S-twist linen stitching 

bunting and heading. 3/2 Z-twist cotton 

stitching stars. 

Date: Mid-1860s to end of the third quarter 

nineteenth century. This 9-inch blue 

bunting is of a 2-ply warp while the 

9%-inch bunting in the sixteen-star flag 

was on a single-ply warp. Only one of this 

type has been examined. 

A-9. Type: Arrangement not noted. 

Fabrics: Two types of blue bunting, both 

single-ply warp and weft, one a full width 

of 20 inches; red and white worsted 

bunting of 2-ply warp and single weft. 

Stars of plain-woven cotton. 

Heading: linen. 

Grommets: Not noted. 

Sewing thread: 2-ply linen for bunting. 

3-ply cotton for stitching stars. 2-ply 

worsted thread for hem (could have been 

warp of white bunting). 

Date: Because of the 2-ply warp in the 

bunting, it would date from the 

mid-1860s. Only one of this type has 

been examined. 

A-10. Type: Arrangement not noted. 

Fabrics: 2-ply warp, single-ply weft worsted 

bunting in field and stripes. Stars of plainwoven cotton. 

Heading: Heavy plain-woven cotton. 

Grommets: Not noted. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply cotton for bunting 

and stitching stars. 4-ply cotton (heavy) 

stitching heading to flag. 

Date: 1860s to 1870s. 

There are several variations to the group of 

Figure 15. Detail of flag in Figure 14 showing 

hand-stitched flat-fell seams of stripes and joining 

field. With X 3.5 power magnification, the 2-ply 

warps in the field and stripes can be easily 

spotted. (Smithsonian photo 77128.) 

hand-stitched flags that included 2-ply warp 

bunting and have some stitching with 3/2 cabled 

cotton thread. Both of these factors limit the 

dating of the flag from the mid-1860s. The use and 

variety of other materials adds to their interest. 

A-l 1. Type: Arrangement not noted. 

Fabrics: 2-ply warp, single-ply weft, worsted 

bunting in both the blue field and the red 

stripes; single-ply warp and single-ply weft 

worsted bunting for the white stripes. 

Stars of plain-woven cotton. 

Heading: Linen. 

Grommets: Hand worked (number not 

noted). 

Sewing thread: 2-ply linen for bunting. 3/2 

cabled cotton for stitching stars. 

Date: Mid-1860s or later. Flags of this type 

with all bunting of the 2-ply warp are also 

found. 
NUMBER 21 47 

A-12. Type: Twelve stars in a circle with the 

thirteenth in the center. 

Fabrics: 2-ply warp, single-ply weft, worsted 

bunting in both the red and white stripes; 

single-ply warp, single-ply weft, worsted 

bunting with a full selvedge to selvedge 

width of 19 inches is used in the union, 

which is eight stripes wide, rather than 

the more usual seven stripes wide. Stars 

are of plain-woven cotton. 

Heading: Cotton duck. 

Grommets: Metal (two-part), one at each 

end. 

Sewing thread: Blue bunting seams and 

stars with 3-ply, S-twist cotton. Stripes, 

hem, and heading with 3/2 cabled cotton. 

Date: Although the metal grommets might 

lead one to believe this flag was even 

later, it may date as early as the 1860s. 

Only one of this type has been examined. 

A-13. Type: Star arrangement not noted. 

Fabrics: 2-ply warp, single-weft, worsted 

bunting. Stars of plain-woven cotton. 

Heading: Not noted. 

Grommets: Not noted. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply cotton to stitch 

bunting. 3/2 cabled cotton to stitch stars. 

3-ply linen thread (heavy) to stitch 

heading. 

Date: Mid-1860s or later. 

A-14. Type: Star arrangement not noted. 

Fabrics: 2-ply warp, single-ply weft, in all 

worsted bunting; blue bunting shows an 

18-inch width, selvedge to selvedge. Stars 

of plain-woven cotton. 

Heading: Heavy linen of bleached (warp) 

and unbleached (weft) yams. 

Grommets: None, rope through hem in 

binding. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply silk used to stitch 

bunting. 3/2 cabled cotton to stitch stars. 

4 strands of 3-ply linen to stitch heading. 

Date: Mid-1860s or later. 

The use of clamp-dyeing to produce a 

thirteen-star flag has been noted in one example 

submitted for identification. 

A-15. Type: Star arrangement not noted. 

Fabric: 2-ply warp, single-ply weft, in an 

all-worsted 21-inch bunting; the stars are 

resist-dyed in the clamp-dyeing method; 

stripes stitched. 

Heading: Cotton twill, stamped "CED," 

probably the name of the manufacturer, 

but the initials have not been identified. 

Grommets: None. 

Sewing thread: 3-ply cotton. 

Date: Probably a small boat ensign of the 

period of the late 1860s (after 1867) to 

the middle 1870s (when improved 

sewing-machine construction guides made 

clamp-dyeing too expensive.) 

A-16. A number of thirteen-star flags constructed 

of clothing fabrics have been referred to the 

Smithsonian Institution for examination. All of 

these were stitched totally or in part with 

3/2-cabled cotton thread and date from the 

mid-1860s or later. These are believed to be 

products of home manufacture produced for 

commemorative reasons at the time of the 1876 

centennial. Most of them are constructed of a 

variety of cotton goods of the period. One 

presented the following assortment. 

Fabrics: Blue cotton dimity for the field 

with plain cotton stars. Red stripe of 

cotton-warp, wool-weft, dress fabric 

known as nun's veiling. White stripe of 

cotton-warp, wool-weft fabric known as 

Shaker flannel and typically used for 

underclothes. 

B. Machine Stitched 

With few exceptions, thirteen-star bunting flags 

that have been examined which are stitched, all or 

in part, by machine use the 2-ply warp bunting. 

Most of these flags are stitched with 3/2-cabled 

cotton thread, especially for the machine stitching. 

There are a few exceptions. Whenever a record of 

the star arrangement was kept, it usually is the 

3-2-3-2-3 style. One exception is noted. If 

grommets were noted in the report, they were 

always the metal type. Most of the machinestitched flags fall into the first class. 

B-l. Type: 3-2-3-2-3 star arrangement. 

Fabrics: 2-ply w a ip, single-ply weft, worsted 

bunting (many of die flags are small and 

the full width of the bunting was not 

required for the field). 

Heading: Heavy cotton in a basket weave or 

its variation, sometimes a cotton twill. 

Grommets: Always metal, sometimes 

2-part, sometimes 3-part. The 2-part is 
Figure 16. Detail of construction technique of a thirty-five-star flag (1863-1865). 

Although this flag was constructed in the same general period as the one illustrated in 

Figure 14, a great variation in materials used will be noted. The fabrics are single-ply, 

Z-twist warp and weft worsted bunting. The heading is plain-woven coarse linen. Sewing 

is by hand and machine with the machine-stitched flat-fell seam and heading stitched by 

machine. The hand-stitched reinforcement piece is part of the original flag. (Smithsonian 

photo 77127-B.) 

Figure 17. Second detail of construction technique of a thirty-five-star flag, 

(1863-1865). Stars of light-weight muslin are set into the bunting, showing the 

appearance from each side. Cotton thread, 3/2 S-twist, was used to stitch the stars in by 

hand. (Smithsonian photo 77129-C.) 
NUMBER 21 49 

Figure 18. Detail of stars from Figure 14, a thirteen-star flag of the late 1860s. Stars of 

medium-weight linen are appliqued from each side, showing the appearance from each 

side. Cotton thread, 3-ply S-twist, was used to hand stitch the stars. (Smithsonian photo 

77127-C.) 

Figure 19. Detail of the construction of a forty-five-star flag (1896-1908). Stars of 

medium-weight muslin are appliqued to each side with the same row of stitching. Cotton 

thread, 3/2 S-twist, was used to machine stitch (zigzag) the stars and are shown from each 

side. The bunting of this flag is of the 2-ply warp type. The forty-five-star flag is the 

earliest of the multi-starred flags that this writer has found with zigzag machine stitching. 

(Smithsonian photo 77129.) 
50 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOGY 

Figure 20. Detail from the heading of the 

thirty-five-star flag showing hand-worked grommet, buttonhole stitch with 2-ply, S-twist linen 

thread. (Smithsonian photo 77129-B.) 

Figure 21. Detail of the heading of the thirteenstar flag, Figure 14, showing a one-part, metaleyelet grommet, one of three that were at each 

end. (Smithsonian photo 77128-B.) 

the earlier type, but does not necessarily 

mean it is an earlier flag. 

Sewing thread: 3/2 cabled cotton and 3-ply 

cotton in the same flag. 

Stitching: The basic construction of the flag 

is using the lockstitch machine. A zigzag 

machine is used for appliqueing the stars, 

one from each side with the same row of 

stitching. 

Date: The use of the zigzag would limit the 

date of the flag to 1900 or later. 

Although some of these flags may be 

navy small-boat ensigns, many are 

twentieth-century special events or 

commemoratives. 

B-2. 

B-3. 

B-4. 

An exception of B-l is that of a slightly 

larger flag, 42 by 66 inches, with all the 

same technical identifications except the 

arrangement of the stars. In this one, the 

thirteen stars are arranged in a circle, with 

an anchor in the center. The field is large 

enough to give a full width of bunting, 

which measures 25 inches. This style is a 

yacht ensign and was manufactured in the 

twentieth century and as late as 1931 by 

Annin & Company, New York. 

Another exception to B-l is in the use of 

2-ply cotton thread for all machine 

stitching. Other characteristics are the same. 

A third exception is the use of 3-ply cotton 
51 

Figure 22. Detail of the heading of the fortyfive-star flag showing both sides of a two-part 

metal (brass) grommet of the type used extensively in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. 

The heading is of 2/1 cotton twill that could be 

classified as a drill, machine stitched with 3/2 

cabled cotton thread. (Smithsonian photo 

77129-A.) 

Figure 23. Illustration of the field of a 13-star 

flag in the 3-2-3-2-3 arrangement. The field is 

pieced. One is a 2-ply warp, single-ply weft, 

worsted bunting in full width (selvedge to selvedge) 18 inches wide, and a second piece is of 

single-ply warp bunting. The cotton-muslin stars 

are appliqued from each side; all the stitching is by 

hand. The heading of cotton duck has no grommets, but employs the use of a braided linen rope 

to serve their purpose. The bunting is stitched with 

2-ply, S-twist linen thread while the stars are 

stitched with 3/2 S-twist cotton thread. The flag 

dates from the late 1860s to the 1870s. (Smithsonian photo 77130.) 

Figure 24. Detail of illustration 23 shows the 

plain-weave structure of the cotton-duck heading 

and the use of both stitched and printed stripes. 

The stripes are of red, 2-ply warp bunting and 

white, 2-ply warp bunting and also of some 

clamp-dyed bunting stripes of red and white, a 

2-ply warp bunting. (Smithsonian photo 

77127-A.) 

m^^i^s^^^^B. 
52 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

thread for all the machine stitching. Other 

characteristics are the same. This example is 

stamped "6" on the heading. The flag 

measures 39% by 81% inches. The use of 

3-ply cotton thread is not uncommon in the 

twentieth century. 

B-5. Basically the same as B-l, but using both 

the lockstitch machine and a double chainstitch machine (Grover and Baker stitch) 

for the construction of the flag. This would 

date from the nineteenth century, as the 

use of the double chainstitch machine for 

straight stitching was discontinued. 

B-6. Similar to B-l, but using the double chainstitch machine for the entire construction 

of the flag. This particular flag was probably made in the home, as opposed to 

commercial manufacture. The double chainstitch used three times as much thread as 

the lockstitch and would probably not have 

been used for the commercial production of 

flags. The stars, also stitched by the twothread, double chainstitch, would not have 

been a feasible method of construction on a 

contract basis. It was not until the stars 

were attached by the zigzag stitch, which 

did not require the fabric to be turned 

under, that machine stitching was used 

commercially for this part of the manufacture. 

B-7. Rags that combine both machine and hand 

stitching most frequently used the 3/2-cable 

cotton thread for the machine stitching and 

any of a variety of threads for hand 

stitching the stars. Sometimes the handstitching was with the same cabled thread, 

but more frequently a 3-ply cotton variety 

was used. The other characteristics, including the metal grommets, are usually the 

same. The practical use of the zigzag machine to attach the stars was later than the 

introduction of metal grommets. This 

would date this type to 1900. 

Although the navy reportedly discontinued 

their use of the thirteen-star flag as a small-boat 

ensign by 1916, these flags continued to be made 

in the twentieth century for patriotic or commemorative purposes. The Annin & Company of New 

York illustrates in their "1931 Wholesale Catalog" 

a number of flags that might easily be assumed, by 

Figure 25. A spool of 3/2 S-twist cotton thread, 

called "Best Six Cord" with a drawing to the right 

showing the construction detail as it might appear 

under magnification. The Z-twist of the pairs of 

yarns and the S-twist of the thread produce the 

3/2 cabled thread. "John J. Clark's" is the branch 

of the company that remained in Scotland. George 

and William Clark came to Newark, New Jersey, in 

1866 to form the American firm of Clark Thread 

Company. The company was absorbed by J. and P. 

Coats in 1899, but spools marked with the Clark 

name continued to be made. (Smithsonian photo 

77130-A.) 

the unwary, to be earlier flags. Advertised was a 

"Printed Silk Flag of 1777" that has thirteen stars 

in a circle. It was produced in a variety of sizes. 

Also available was the "Printed Silk Flag of 1812" 

with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, as well as 

thirteen-star flags in the 3-2-3-2-3 arrangement. In 
NUMBER 21 53 

printed silk, especially when machine stitched, the 

flags would probably not be mistaken for early 

ones, but these same styles were also available "in 

all wool bunting." The machine stitching would 

not be as obvious in a bunting flag. After flags are 

used and become soiled, they "age" quickly. In 

addition to "Yacht Ensigns," thirteen stars in a 

circle with an anchor in the center, a "Private 

signal" using twenty stars to form a large star on a 

blue ground was advertised together with an 

"American pennant" of thirteen stars, arranged in 

one horizontal row, with two long stripes-one of 

red and one of white—all in wool bunting. 

Therefore, it is well to keep in mind that 

thirteen-star flags are not rare. Although they were 

the official banner only from 1777 to 1795, they 

continued to be made throughout the nineteenth 

and into the twentieth century. 
Notes 

1. Schermerhorn, American and French Flags of the 

Revolution 1775-1783. 

2. Balderston cites a number of examples of Washington's requests for national colors. Since supplies of food 

and clothing were in short supply, it is not surprising that 

national flags were not forthcoming. State regiments 

brought their own colors. 

3. Op. cit. (note 1), p. 141. 

4. Correspondence, John Carter Brown Library. 

5. In the manuscript collection of the Library of 

Congress. 

6. In the collection of the Library of Congress. 

7. For additional information on the design using the 

eagle and thirteen stars, see Alexander J. Wall, "The Flag 

with an Eagle in the Canton" in The New-York Historical 

Society Quarterly Bulletin, vol. 27, no. 3 (October 1933). 

8. This unfinished Trumbull painting is in the 

collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. In it only nine 

stars are sketchily indicated in the flag. Although 

Theodore Sizer, in his The Works of Colonel John 

Trumbull (Yale University Press, 1967), suggests that this 

painting was done about 1786. The Detroit Institute of 

Arts reports in a letter to this writer that "from our 

records, this [date] is not known for certain." 

9. An example of the Mondhare sheet is in the 

Mariners Museum, Newport News, Virginia. 

10. Davis (1907), pp. 8-18. 

11. Davis (1910 Supplement), p. 14. 

12. Spargo, p. 22. 

13. Penin's British Flags, p. 43. 

14. Draper's Dictionary, pp. 61 and 313. 

15. Cited in John James, History of the Worsted 

Manufacture from the Earliest Time (London: Longman, 

Brown, Green, Longmans, and Roberts, 1857), pp. 

225-226. 

16. Ibid., p. 228. 

17. Taylor, Scenes of Wealth or Views & Illustrations 

of Trade, Manufactures, Produce and Commerce. 

18. Ibid., p. 74. 

19. Consolidated Correspondence File 1794-1915, 

Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, 

Box 304, National Archives. 

20. Letters received, Coxe-Irvine (circa 1797-1842), 

Record Group 92, Box 47, National Archives. 

21. Ibid. 

22. Op. cit. (note 19), Box 302. 

23. Op. cit. (note 19). 

24. Op. cit. (note 19), in folder marked "Flag of the 

United States, 1818." 

25. Cooper, Invention of the Sewing Machine, p. 135. 

26. Op. cit. (note 19), Box 122. 

27. Unfortunately the early company records have 

been lost. The information was furnished by Mr. Ames 

Stevens, chairman of the board, Ames Textile Corporation (an outgrowth of the United States Bunting 

Company and other companies) and in the company's 

centennial booklet published in 1965. 

28. William S.Cole, The American Wool Manufacture, 

vol.2 (1926 edition), p. 155. 

29. The Stars and Stripes and Other American Flags, 

p. 260. This remark should not be interpreted to mean 

that all flags with the union or canton resting on a red 

stripe were made at Norfolk. Obviously, they were not. 

The Star-Spangled Banner, which is too early and which is 

known to have been made in Baltimore, has the union 

resting on a red stripe. 

30. Ibid. 

31. Op. cit. (note 19), Box 122. 

32. Op. cit. (note 19), Box 122. S. Nicholson who 

made the report summarized it as follows: ". . . the 

English binding gave way first, fagged out and was torn 

more than the American . . . the colors in both buntings 

stood well." Although the only samples marked "English 

bunting" with this file are single-ply warps and the only 

samples of the United States Bunting Company are 

double-ply warps, it is not known for certain that these 

were the specific fabrics that were used to make the flags 

in the navy test, but it can be assumed that they were. 

33. Op. cit. (note 19), Box 122. 

34. The documentation of the Star-Spangled Banner 

states that it was made of "first quality" bunting. It is a 

single-ply warp bunting of English manufacture. 

35. Op. cit. (note 19), Box 122. 

36. The bunting samples described are in Box 122 in 

the National Archives. The examination was made using a 

3.5X double-lens magnifier, a thread counter, and a metal 

tape measure. The slight variations in width could be due 

to the sharp folds in the bunting. 

37. No documents relating to the contract with W. 

Wilson were uncovered by this writer. Peleg Dennis 

Harrison in The Stars and Stripes and Other American 

Flags, p. 263, states "The first bunting made in the 

United States was manufactured by the New England 

Worsted Co. of Saxonville, Mass.; one of the first woolen 

mills established ... . Experiments in weaving bunting 

began in the Fall of 1837, or in the following Spring, and 

this fabric was placed on sale as early as 1840. For more 

than twenty years bunting composed the larger part of 

the product of this factory, which continued to manufacture it until sometime in the sixties. This company is 

now known as the Saxonville Mills. The bunting made at 

this factory was not suitable for flag making, the first 

54 
NUMBER 21 55 

American product used for that purpose . . . U.S. Bunting 

Co. ... " Unfortunately, there is no description of this 

bunting. If it could not be used for the purpose for which 

the fabric is generally used, one wonders what it was like, 

what it was used for during those twenty-some years, and 

whether one could or should consider it "bunting"? 

38. Op. cit. (note 25). 

39. Ibid., p. 59. 

40. The inference is that Farrington held the patent in 

question. He did not. "Press Dyeing," as it was termed in 

the patents, was introduced by Edward Brierly of Lowell, 

Massachusetts, and patent 6,932 was granted to him on 

December 11, 1849. This patent was primarily intended 

for stripe and plaid fabrics. In 1867, John Holt was 

granted a patent for the "method of making dies for 

figures in press-dyed fabrics." Since John Holt was also 

from Lowell, this technique of dyeing was obviously in 

use there. On April 26, 1870, Holt was granted patent 

102,267 for the use of press-dyeing in "signal and other 

flags." This must have been what was meant by the 

statement: "it is patented." Farrington did apply for and 

receive two patents related to this process. He reportedly 

improved the apparatus used, which he stated "is 

especially valuable when applied to the manufacture of 

flags and signals." His patent 124,427, issued March 12, 

1872, states that ". . . by the use of my improved 

apparatus the stripes of the 'American Flag' are produced 

with more cleanly-cut edges, and with less trouble, loss of 

material and expense of making than by use of the 

apparatus commonly employed for press-dyeing ... . By 

the press-dyeing method commonly in use I have found it 

impossible to produce a stripe wider than five or six 

inches with clean cut edges. This is owing to the fact that 

the dies used are not hollow, but solid; and it is a practical 

impossibility to clamp solid dies of a greater width ... . 

By my improved method the frame-dies, being hollow and 

light, yield, adjust and fit themselves to each other and to 

the clamp-plates with a comparatively light pressure . . . ." 

A second patent was issued to him on the same day; it 

covered the forming of the stars in a similar manner. A 

third patent related to the die for press-dyeing was issued 

to Farrington on October 3, 1876. 

41. Op. cit. (note 19). Letter of April 19, 1869, 

Farrington to Meigs. This meant that there was one red 

and one white stripe per width of bunting. 

42. Reports and Awards, International Exhibition 

1876, vol. 5, Groups 8-14, edited by Francis A. Walker 

CWashington: Government Printing Office, 1880), p. 65; 

Group 9, Wool and Silk Fabrics by John L. Hayes. 

43. Ibid., p. 159. 

44. George S. Cole, Dictionary of Dry Goods (revised 

edition, Chicago, 1894), p. 142: "It is an expensive 

process, for in order to prevent the part of the piece not 

intended to be colored from taking the dye, it is covered 

up and squeezed by two pieces of wood." 

45. Grommet patents: 

E.H. Penfield Sept. 19, 1848 Pat. No. 5,779 

J. Allender June 20, 1854 Pat. No. 11,108 

W. Brown July 2, 1867 Pat. No. 66,296 

J.W. Norcross Dec. 15, 1868 Pat. No. 84,900 

J. Mair July 6, 1869 Pat. No. 92,199 

In the specifications for Penfield's patent 5,779, the 

inventor only claims an improvement on existing grommets of the type. Mair's patent 92,199 is the only one of 

the five that is a 3-part grommet. 

46. Division of Naval History in the Smithsonian 

Institution's National Museum of History and Technology, accession 2157, catalog number 47. Naval Ship Flag, 

owned by Captain Hall, Expedition 1864-1869, marked 

"Annin & Co. Makers, N.Y."; this company had been in 

business since 1847. Made with 2-ply warp bunting, 3-ply 

cotton thread stitching cotton stars, 2-ply linen thread 

stitching bunting and heading (end binding), heading 

cotton with 2-part metal grommets. 

47. National Archives, Quartermaster correspondence, 

1794-1905, Box 302. Letter from War Department dated 

December 31, 1877: ". . . made of bunting .. . 8 ounce 

cotton duck, 4 inches wide, 2 when complete, galvanized 

iron staples and ring at each end of flag faceted with 3 

copper rivets. Acting Quartermaster General." 

48. Op. cit. (note 25), chapter 2, pp. 17-38. 

49. Op cit. (note 25), figure 132, pp. 122-123. 

50. Op. cit. (note 25), p. 135. 

51. Edward Baines, History of the Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain, (London, 1835), p. 346. 

52. The Story of Cotton Thread, The Spool Cotton 

Company, p. 8. 

53. Scientific American, vol. 6, no. 7 (November 2, 

1850), p. 50. 

54. The limiting factors set by the methods of 

manufacturing the fabric, thread, and type of stitching, as 

has been noted, do not change frequently. Usually, the 

same technique was used over a long period of time and, 

therefore, does not enable one to limit the dating to 

within a few years. Sometimes the combination of factors 

does permit the assignment of a limited date. 

55. Grand Lodge Proceedings, 121st Annual Communication for 1909, p. 124 et seq. 

56. Mimeographed sheet, "The Guilford Battle Flag," 

dated September 1968, distributed by the State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina. 

57. It is the author's conjecture that the stripes might 

have been removed to the count of twelve at the time of 

the Civil War. Since the stars are set into the field, one 

more of these could not be removed. 

58. Guide Book and Descriptive Manual of Battle 

Flags in the Flag Room of the State House at Annapolis, 

Md. by Lt. Gen. Milton A. Reckord, The Adjutant 

General, State of Maryland, January 1965. 

59. My sincere thanks to Mr. Gilbert A. Crandall, 

chief, Travel Development, Department of Economic 

Development of the State of Maryland for arranging to 

have Mrs. Matina Luff, Chief of the State House 

Hostesses, assist me in making a personal examination of 

the flag. 

60. Spargo, The Stars and Stripes in 1777, published in 1928 by the Bennington Battle Monument and 

Historical Association, Bennington, Vermont. John 

Spargo was director of the association at this time and 

most likely was instrumental in acquiring the flag. 
56 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOGY 

61. Ibid., pp. 44^5 . 

62. Ibid., pp. 34 and 37. 

63. Ibid., p. 38. 

64. Ibid., p. 46. 

65. Most of the regiment flags described by Gherardi 

Davis in his Regimental Colors in the War of the 

Revolution (New York, 1907) supplement of 1910, were 

of silk, with embroidered or painted designs, and frequently were square rather than rectangular. See pp. 8-10, 

12-14, and 16-18. In the 1910 supplement, p. 14, is 

printed a bill (June 1776) for considerable quantities of 

yellow, blue, green, and pink silk used in making flags for 

regiments in the New York Line. 

66. The Star-Spangled Banner, Washington, D.C: 

Smithsonian Institution. Special Publication 4529. 

67. The width of these buntings seems incredibly 

narrow, but the selvedges are quite evident. Since it is 

known that the English were producing 12-and 12%-inch 

buntings in the mid-1860s and that the United States 

Bunting Company was producing a 12%-inch bunting in 

1869, there is no reason to question the 4y2-inch bunting. 

Such a width could have been produced on a ribbon-type 

loom with several widths being woven at a time. 

68. Private collection of Mr. and Mrs. Boleslaw Mastai 

of New York. 

69. Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of 

History and Technology, accession number 143646. 

70. Op. cit. (note 68). 

71. The twenty-nine-star flag, accession number 

10242, catalog number 185, and the thirteen-star flag, 

accession number 10664, catalog number 3964. 

72. The use of this thirteen-star design on an army 

flag of the 1840s carried into battle would suggest that 

neither the arrangement of the stars nor the use of a 

thirteen-star flag was uncommon in the second quarter of 

the nineteenth century. The particular arrangement of 

twelve stars in a circle with the thirteenth in the center 

seems to date from the 1840s, while the earliest 

illustration is about 1835. See Flag of Cowpens. 

73. Op. cit. (note 25), p. 64. 

74. The print of this fabric has the fuzzy edge along 

the pattern on the wrong side that is a characteristic of a 

printed-resist. The press (or clamp) dyeing is alike on both 

sides. The size of the repeat of the stars, with the 

unprinted area allowing for the two additional stars to be 

set in, would suggest block rather than roller-printed 

fabric. 

75. Whether or not this is the "bunting" manufactured by the New England Worsted Company of 

Saxonville, Massachusetts, referred to by Harrison, is not 

known. Harrison's statement that "it was not suitable for 

flag making" may have meant that it was not durable and 

not used by the military or navy. It may have been used 

for flags for civilian users. This, of course, is pure 

conjecture. 

76. The gift was from Mrs. Allen McLane through 

Andrew Hussey Allen, accession number 63786, catalog 

number H. 3 3946. 
Appendix 

Facts about the United States Flag 

[Adapted from Smithsonian Information Leaflet 262, Facts about the United States Flag, 

Department of Armed Forces History, National Museum of History and Technology, 

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560.] 

Until the Executive Order of June 24, 1912, neither the order of the stars nor the 

proportions of the flag were prescribed. Consequently, flags dating before this period 

sometimes show unusual arrangements of the stars and odd proportions, these features 

being left to the discretion of the flag maker. In general, however, straight rows of stars and 

proportions similar to those later adopted officially were used. The principal acts affecting 

the flag of the United States are: 

First Flag Act, June 14, 1777, provided for 13 stripes and 13 stars, white in a blue field, 

representing a new constellation. 

Act of January 13, 1794, provided for 15 stripes and 15 stars after May 1795. 

Act of April 4, 1818, provided for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added to 

the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state. 

Executive Order of President Taft dated June 24, 1912, established proportions of the 

flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a 

single point of each star to be upward. 

Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated January 3, 1959, provided for the 

arrangement of the stars in seven rows of seven stars each staggered horizontally and 

vertically. 

Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated August 21, 1959, provided for the 

arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizontally and eleven rows 

of stars staggered vertically. 

Official Number of Stars in the U.S. Flag, 1787 to Present 

13 Stars 

15 Stars 

20 Stars 

21 Stars 

23 Stars 

24 Stars 

25 Stars 

26 Stars 

27 Stars 

28 Stars 

29 Stars 

30 Stars 

31 Stars 

32 Stars 

First Flag Act 

1795 

July 4, 

1819 

1820 

1822 

1836 

1837 

1845 

1846 

1847 

1848 

1851 

1858 

1818 

to 1795 

to 1818 

to July 3, 1819 

1820 

1822 

1836 

1837 

1845 

1846 

1847 

1848 

1851 

1858 

1859 

33 Stars 

34 Stars 

35 Stars 

36 Stars 

37 Stars 

38 Stars 

43 Stars 

44 Stars 

45 Stars 

46 Stars 

48 Stars 

49 Stars 

50 Stars 

1859 

1861 

1863 

1865 

1867 

1877 

1890 

1891 

1896 

1908 

1912 

1959 

1960 

1861 

1863 

1865 

1867 

1877 

1890 

1891 

1896 

1908 

1912 

1959 

1960 

Present 

57 
Glossary 

Canton. The top inner quarter of a flag. See 

"Union." 

Color. See "Flag." 

Drill. A durable cotton fabric in a twill weave. 

Field. The ground of each division in a flag. 

Flag. A piece of fabric of distinctive design used 

as a symbol. 

Flag sheet. A broad piece of paper printed with 

the flags as designated by the title of the sheet. 

Flat-fell seam. The descriptive term is taken 

from the verb fell meaning to sew by folding 

one raw edge under the other and sewing flat. 

In making this seam, there are two rows of 

stitches. The first row joins the raw edges on 

the right side; the second completes the fell by 

turning one raw edge under the other and sewn 

flat by a second row of stitches. 

Fly. The length of an extended flag as measured 

from its staff or support. 

Grommet. An eyelet of firm material used to 

strengthen or protect a small opening in a fabric 

such as a sail, tent, or flag. 

Heading. The extra cloth binding or support 

stitched to the hoist of the flag. 

Heddle. One of the set of parallel strings or 

wires that with their mounting compose the 

loom harness, which is used to control the warp 

yarns in a loom. 

Hoist. The height of the flag when flying; the 

width of the flag as opposed to the length or 

fly. 

Selvedge or Selvage. The self edge at either side 

of a woven fabric is formed as the weft yarn, 

carried in the shuttle, loops back to form each 

succeeding row. 

Standard. A conspicuous object, such as a flag, 

formerly used on die top of a pole to mark a 

rallying point, or to serve as an emblem. 

Thread. When used in a technical description the 

term implies a compound cord made up of 

more than one ply, line, or yarn. A 3-ply 

thread, therefore, means three single yarns 

twisted together. When fibers are twisted to 

form a yarn, or when yarns are twisted together 

to form a thread, the twist can be either from 

right to left or from left to right. If the twist is 

from left to right, the angle of the twist is \ and 

termed S-twist. If the twist is from right to left, 

the angle of the twist is / and termed Z-twist. 

Thread, cabled. If several threads are twisted 

togedier, the product is considered to be a 

cabled thread. In sewing thread this was limited 

to twisting together three threads, each of 

which was made up of two yarns twisted 

together. The term used is 3/2-ply thread, tiiree 

of two. If the thread is made up of three pairs 

of yarns, each pair of which has not been 

twisted, it is not a cabled thread. This distinction is indicated in the technical analysis. 

Union. A symbol emblematic of a union, as used 

on a national flag and placed in the upper inner 

corner (canton) of a flag. 

Yarn. A single strand of spun fibers. 

58 
Bibliography 

Annin & Company. Wholesale Trade Catalog. New York, 1913 and 1931. 

Balderston, Lloyd. The Evolution of the American Flag. Philadelphia: Ferris & Leach, 

1909. [From materials collected by the late George Canby.] 

Beck, S. William. The Draper's Dictionary. London: The Warehousemen & Drapers' 

Journal Office, 1882. 

Bowron, Elizabeth Moore. Our Mag. New York: The G.A. Powers Printing Co., 1908. 

Brown, James LaSalle. The Flag of the United States. Washington, D.C: Government 

Printing Office, 1941. 

Champion, Sarah Elizabeth. Our Flag. New Haven, Connecticut: The Mary Clap Wooster 

Chapter, D.A.R., 1896. 

Chapin, Howard M. The Artistic Motives in the United States Flag. Providence: Roger 

Williams Press for the Pavilion Club, 1930. 

Cole, George S. Dictionary of Dry Goods, Chicago: J.B. Herring Publishing Co., 1894. 

Cole, William S. The American Wool Manufacture. 2 vols. Cambridge: Harvard University 

Press, 1926. Reprinted by Harper & Row, New York, 1969. 

Consolidated Correspondence File, 1794-1915, of the Office of the Quartermaster 

General. Box 122, Record Group 92, National Archives. 

Cooper, Grace Rogers. "The Invention of the Sewing Machine." United States National 

Museum Bulletin 254. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968. 

Davis, Gherardi. Regimental Colors in the War of the Revolution. New York: Privately 

printed at the Gilliss Press, 1907. [Supplements: January, 1908; 1910.] 

Eggenberger, David. Flags of the U.S.A. Slew York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1959 and 

1964. 

Fow, John H. The True Story of the American Flag. Philadelphia: William J. Campbell, 

1908. 

Griswold, Frank Gray. The House of Flags of the Merchants of New York, 1800-1860. 

Norwood, Massachusetts: The Plimpton Press, 1926. 

Harrison, Peleg Dennis. The Stars and Stripes and Other American Flags. Boston: Little, 

Brown & Company, 1918. 

Holden, Edward Singleton. Our Country's Flag and the Flags of Foreign Countries. New 

York: D. Appleton & Company, 1916. 

Hounsell, George C. Flags and Signals of All Nations. London: Field and Tuer, 1874. 

Johnson, Willis Fletcher. The National Flag, A History. Boston and New York: Houghton 

Mifflin Company, 1930. 

Kerrick, Harrison Summers. The Flag of the United States, Your Flag and Mine. Chicago: 

The White House, 1931. 

Manakee, Harold R., and Colonel Roger S. Whiteford. The Regimental Colors of the 175th 

Infantry (Fifth Maryland). State of Maryland: The Military Department, 1959. 

McCandless, Byron. Flags of the World. Washington, D.C: The National Geographic 

Society, 1917. 

Moss, James Alfred. The Flags of our United States. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, 

1935. 

59 
60 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTOR Y AND TECHNOLOG Y 

Patent Office Fdes. U.S. Patent Office, Crystal Plaza, Virginia. 

Perrin, W. G.British Flags. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1922. 

Preble, George Henry. Our Flag, Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of 

America. Albany: JoelMunsell, 1872. 

Quaife, Milo Milton. The Flag of the United States. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1942. 

Quaife, Milo M., Melvin J. Weig, and Roy E. Appleman. The History of the United States 

Flag from the Revolution to the Present, Including a Guide to Its Use and Display. 

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1961. 

Roland, Mary Jane. Old Glory, the True Story. New York: privately printed, 1918. 

Schermerhorn, Frank Earle. American and French Flags of the Revolution 1775-1783. 

Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Society of Sons of The Revolution, 1948. 

Spargo, John. The Stars and Stripes in 1777. Bennington, Vermont: Bennington Battle 

Monument and Historical Association, 1928. 

Smith, Whitney. The Flag Book of the United States. New York: Morrow, 1970. 

The Story of Cotton Thread. New York: Educational Bureau, Spool Cotton Company, 

1933. 

Taylor, the Reverend Isaac. Scenes of Wealth or Views & Illustrations of Trade, 

Manufactures, Produce and Commerce. London: Harris & Son (date unknown). 

[Republished in Hartford: Oliver D. Cook & Co., 1826.] 

Thruston, R.C Ballard. The Origin and Evolution of the United States Flag. House 

Document No. 258, 69th Congress, 1st session. Washington, D.C: Government 

Printing Office, 1926. 

Waldron, William Henry. Flags of America. Huntington, West Virginia: Standard Printing 

and Publishing Co., 1935. 

Wescher, H. "Flags." Ciba Review (Basle, Switzerland), no. 77 (December 1949), pp. 

2806-2830. 
Index 

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, 7, 9 

Adams, John, 3 

Alliance, 3 

Arkansas, twenty-fifth star, 35 

Army, United States. See Flags 

Army-Navy Museum, Independence National Historical 

Park, 7 

Bennington Battle Flag (Fillmore Flag), 29,30 

Bennington Flag, Stark. See Stark Bennington Flag 

Brooklyn Navy Yard, 17 

Bunting, general reference to, 14-16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 41 

American manufacture of, 17, 18, 56 

"Army & Navy," 20 

"Eagle," 19,20 

use of English and Canadian wool in, 23 

"Navy," 19-21 

"Standard," 18-21 

United States Bunting Company, 17-19, 22, 23 

Butler, General Benjamin F., 17, 20 

California, thirty-first star, 36 

Camblet (wool fabric), 14 

Canvas, 16 

Chippewa, 42 

Cotton, 16,41 

Cowpens, Flag of, 27, 28 

Damask, 13 

Detroit, 42 

Duck, 22, 23 

Dyeing. See Flags 

Fillmore Flag. See Bennington Battle Flag 

Fabrics. See also Bunting 

from "Ammunition Shirts," 14 

camblet, 14 

canvas, 16 

cotton, 16,41 

damask, 13 

duck, 22, 23 

linen, 14-16, 23, 41,43 

muslin, 22 

"Ravens Duck" (linen), 16 

Russia sheeting (linen), 15 

silk, 13-15 

stuff, 14 

wool, 14 

worsted, 14, 15, 17 

Farrington, D.W.C., 19,22,23 

Flag 

Act, 1-3, 15,16 

cost of manufacture, 15,18, 22 

Garrison, 22 

Storm, 22 

Flags 

clamp-dyeing, 23,47,55,56 

printed, 37 

resist-dyeing, 22 

seventy-six, numeral, on, 29, 30 

United States Army, 3 

United States Navy, 1, 13, 18,23,30,31,52 

Florida, twenty-seventh star, 35 

Folk Art Collection. See Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk 

Art Collection 

Franklin, Benjamin, 3 

Garbisch Collection, Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler, 

8,9 

Germantown Historical Society, "Navy Ensign" in collection, 30, 31 

Grommets, metal, 23, 24 

Guerriere, 42 

Guilford Battle Flag, 26, 27 

Hand stitching, 24 

High Flyer, 42 

Hoskin, Ann, flag maker, 15 

Java, 42 

Independence National Historical Park, Army-Navy 

Museum, 7 

Iowa, twenty-ninth star, 35, 36 

John Carter Brown Library, 4, 5, 9 

Kansas, thirty-fourth star, 37 

Kentucky, fifteenth star, 32, 33 

Little Belt, 42 

Lincoln, Abraham, 17 

Linen, 14-16,23,41,43 

Macedonian, 42 

Machine stitching 

chainstitch, 24 

zigzag, 24, 29 

Michigan, twenty-sixth star, 35 

Minnesota, thirty-second star, 36 

Missouri, twenty-fourth, 35 

Muslin, 22 

Navy Ensign of 1780 (date in question), 30, 31 

Navy, United States. See also Flags 

small-boat ensign, 1, 23, 30, 52 

61 
62 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 

Nebraska, thirty-seventh star, 39, 40 

Nevada, thirty-sixth star, 38 

Norfolk Navy Yard, 17 

Old Glory, thirty-four-star arrangement, 37 

Oregon, thirty-third star, 37 

Powell's (John Wesley) Colorado River Expedition flags, 

39 

Powell, Emma Dean, 39 

Powell, Nellie, 39 

Printed flags, 37 

Regiment colors, 13 

Rockefeller, Abby Aldrich, Folk Art Collection, 7, 9 

Ross, Betsy, 2 

Russia sheeting, 15 

Schuyler (General Philip) Flag, 6, 14 

Schuylkill Arsenal, 19 

Serapis, 3, 42 

Seventy-six, numeral, on flags, 29, 30 

Silk (fabric), 13-15 

Society of Cincinnati, The 5, 6 

Sparrow, George, 22 

Stark Bennington Flag, 30 

Stars (number arrangement) 

thirteen 

in a circle, 6, 9 

with eagle in canton, 6, 7, 14 

4-5-4 arrangement, 3, 5 

miscellaneous, 4, 9, 12 

in an oval, 4, 5 

3-2-3-2-3 arrangement, 3, 4, 12 

twelve in a circle and one in the center, 27, 29, 56 

twelve in a square and one in the center, 2, 7-9, 29 

fourteen, 32 

fifteen, 32, 33 

sixteen, 33 

seventeen, 16, 34 

eighteen, 34 

nineteen, 34 

twenty,34 

twenty-one, 35 

twenty-two, 35 

twenty-three, 35 

twenty-four, 35 

twenty-five, 35 

twenty-six, 35 

twenty-seven, 35 

twenty-eight, 35 

twenty-nine, 35, 36 

thirty, 36 

thirty-one, 36 

thirty-two, 36 

thirty-three, 37 

thirty-four, 37 

thirty-five, 38 

thirty-six, 38 

thirty-seven, 22, 39,40 

Stars, number of points 

four, 12 

five, 4,5 , 13 

six, 4, 9, 12 

seven, 30 

eight, 3, 27 

Star-Spangled Banner, fifteen-star arrangement, 32, 33 

Stitching. See Hand Stitching, Machine Stitching 

Stripes, number of, other than thirteen 

nine, 28 

twelve, 28 

fourteen, 32 

fifteen, 15, 32,33 

sixteen, 33 

seventeen, 15, 16, 34 

eighteen, 34 

Stripes, tricolor, 3, 12 

Stuff (fabric), 14 

Texas, twenty-eighth star, 35 

Thread, 15, 16,24,25,43 

cotton (also referred to as "Spool" cotton), 16, 22, 

24,25 

Vermont, fourteenth star, 32 

Washington, George, 3, 6, 9 

West Virginia, thirty-fifth star, 38 

Wilson, W. See Sparrow, George 

Wisconsin, thirtieth star, 36 

Wool, 14 

Worsted, 14, 15,17 

Yale University Art Gallery, 7 

* U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1973 O - 469-798