| Flag of United States (1795-1818) | |
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| Adopted | May 1, 1795 [1] |
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| Designed by | (unknown) |
| Proportions | 19:10 |
The 1795 flag of the United States, also called the Star-Spangled Banner, was one of the most famous flags in American history. It was the same design as the current flag of the United States, except that it had fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, instead of the current fifty stars and thirteen stripes. The stars are arranged in a 3 x 3 grid with a 2 x 3 grid in between the other nine stars.
Symbolism[]
The fifteen stars and the fifteen stripes both represent the fifteen states of the United States at the time: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Kentucky.
Flag History
1848-1851
1795-1818
The Star-Spangled Banner[]
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A digital reproduction of the Star-Spangled Banner flag that was flown over Fort McHenry.
During the American War of 1812, Francis Scott Key was taken as prisoner by a British ship while the nearby Fort McHenry was under attack. The next morning, Francis was concerned as to whether or not the fort was still under American control. When he saw the American flag being flown over the fort, Francis was deeply moved. He wrote the following poem, called "The Star Spangled Banner", which has since been put to music and made the national anthem of the United States.
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O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bomb bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there, O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? |
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And where is that band who so vauntingly swore, That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a Country should leave us no more? Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation! Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n rescued land Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto - "In God is our trust," And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. |
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