Grand Union Flag
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Grand Union Flag, also known as the Congress flag, the First Navy Ensign, The Cambridge Flag, and The Continental Colors is the first true Flag of the United States. This flag consisted of 13 red and white stripes, signifying the "uniqueness and unity" of the Thirteen Colonies, with the British Union Flag in the canton, as a symbol of many colonial leaders' wishes to keep close ties with Great Britain. The form of the Union Flag used is the version from before the union with Ireland, becoming obsolete in 1801. This version contains only St. George's cross of England and St. Andrew's cross of Scotland, but not St. Patrick's cross of Ireland.
The flag was authorized by the Second Continental Congress, and was first flown on December 3, 1775 by the then Colonial Navy lieutenant John Paul Jones on the ship Alfred [1]. The flag was most famously flown by George Washington and is recorded as being first raised by Washington's troops on New Year's Day in 1776 at Prospect Hill in Charlestown (now part of Somerville), near his headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Washington preferred the name the Grand Union Flag.
At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, this was the most commonly flown flag, and was present at the naming of the country, "the United States of America," on September 9, 1776. The flag was the official flag for the beginning of the American Revolution. The Grand Union Flag formed the basis of the Stars and Stripes, which would adopt stars for independent states instead of British colours for British colonies.
The Grand Union Flag was also used on North Carolina currency printed in 1776.
The design of the Grand Union Flag was most probably inspired by the flag of the British East India Company. Indeed, the design in use since 1707 when the canton was changed from the flag of England to that of Great Britain, was identical, save for the fact that the number of stripes varied from 9 to 15. Thus that flag was potentially well known by the American colonists.
Today the Grand Union Flag is often included as the "first flag" in displays of U.S. flag history, such as on the backdrop of Presidential inaugurations. It was replaced by a 13-star flag (sometimes known as the Betsy Ross or Francis Hopkinson flag), representing the original thirteen colonies which became states of the infant republic.
