American Revolution Flags

Learn about the history and background of the most popular American Revolution Flags, including the Betsy Ross Flag, Cowpens Flag, Bennington Flag, Gadsden Flag and many others, as well as the Star Spangled Banner Flag. You will learn the historical background of each flag and how it came to be used during the Revolution and you may also order your own American Revolution Flags.

Betsy Ross Flag

Betsy Ross Flag

The Betsy Ross Flag is one of the most well known American Revolution Flags. The commonly believed history is most likely not accurate however. The legend goes that George Washington, Robert Morris and George Ross came to Betsy's store one day and asked if she could make a flag fashioned after the one drawn on a piece of paper taken from Ross' coat pocket...

Read more about the Betsy Ross Flag here.

Read more about Betsy's personal life at our Betsy Ross Facts page.

13 Star Flag

13 Star Flag

The 13 Star Flag, with 13 stars on a blue field and 13 red and white stripes was officially chosen by the Congress of the United States as the first official flag of the United States on June 14, 1777. You may not know though, that Congress did not specify the layout of the stars on the first flag, so there were many variations of the design...

Read more about the 13 Star Flag here.


Bedford Flag
The Oldest Flag in North America

Bedford Flag

One of the oldest American Revolution Flags is the Bedford Flag. It may be the oldest still existing flag in North America. It was probably carried by a Massachusetts Bay Militia company in the French and Indian War and passed down through the years in the possession of the Nathaniel Page family. Tradition says Page carried the Bedford Flag into battle at the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775...

Read more about the Bedford Flag here.


Bennington Flag

Bennington Flag

Family tradition states that the Bennington Flag was taken from the Battle of Bennington, Vermont by Nathaniel Filmore and passed on down to members of the Fillmore family over many years, including at one time, President Millard Fillmore. The flag has the usual 13 stars and stripes, but is unique because the stars have seven points and the stripes are white on the outer edges instead of the familiar red. The Bennington Flag is one of the more popular American Revolution Flags, but it may not have even been at the battle it is named for...

Read more about the Bennington Flag here.


British Red Ensign Flag

British Red Ensign Flag

The British Red Ensign Flag, also known as the Queen Anne Flag was the first official flag of the British colonies from 1707 when Queen Anne designated this flag as the new flag of Great Britain and her colonies. The flag became best known as the maritime ensign (the name for flags on ships) of British and colonial ships from 1707 to 1801. Many American Revolution Flags were variations of the British Red Ensign with the Union Jack in the upper left corner upon a field of red, white or blue...

Read more about the British Red Ensign Flag here.


Bunker Hill Flag

Bunker Hill Flag

The Bunker Hill Flag is a variation of the British Red Ensign that was commonly flown on American colonial ships before 1707. The pine tree was often added to traditional British flags by colonists as a symbol of freedom. Although the commonly seen version has a blue field, this was an early printer's mistake that "stuck." The actual background was red...

Read more about the Bunker Hill Flag here.


Continental Flag

Continental Flag

This Continental Flag is one of many American Revolution Flags with the Pine Tree used in the New England colonies. The Pine Tree was a commonly used symbol to represent freedom in the early colonies. It was often added to British flags to indicate the ship was from New England. It is also sometimes called the New England Flag...

Read more about the Continental Flag here.


Cowpens Flag

Cowpens Flag

The Battle of Cowpens has been called the most impressive battle victory ever on American soil. The Cowpens Flag was allegedly carried by William Batchelor of the 3rd Maryland Regiment at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781. The flag meets the standards set forth in the Flag Resolution of 1777 and is similar to the Betsy Ross Flag, but with twelve stars in the circle and the thirteenth in the center...

Read more about the Cowpens Flag here.


Culpeper Flag

Culpeper Flag

The Culpeper Flag was carried by Minutemen from Culpeper County, Virginia who were part of Colonel Patrick Henry's First Virginia Regiment, into the Battle of the Great Bridge at Norfolk, Virginia on December 9, 1775. This is one of several American Revolution Flags that contain the familiar rattle snake symbol of the colonies. It also features Christopher Gadsden's words "Don't Tread on Me," as well as the famous words from Patrick Henry's speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses pressing for independence, give me "Liberty or Death!"...

Read more about the Culpeper Flag here.

First Navy Jack Flag

First Navy Jack Flag

The First Navy Jack Flag is one of the most well-known American Revolution Flags. It features 13 red and white horizontal stripes, the colonial snake emblem, which was a symbol of unity since the French and Indian War and the phrase "Don't Tread On Me," a popular phrase during the Revolutionary War...

Read more about the First Navy Jack Flag here.


Fort Moultrie Flag

Fort Moultrie Flag

One of the earliest American Revolution Flags was the Fort Moultrie Flag. It was carried by Colonel William Moultrie's South Carolina Militia at the Battle of Fort Moultrie in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. The flag was adopted by the Minutemen of South Carolina and is the basis for the modern flag of the State of South Carolina. The version currently accepted as the Fort Moultrie Flag is however, not entirely accurate...

Read more about the Fort Moultrie Flag here.


Gadsden Flag

Gadsden Flag

The Gadsden Flag was created by South Carolina congressman Christopher Gadsden to be flown on the flagship of the American Navy. It has become one of the most popular American Revolution Flags. It was first flown on the ship of Commodore Esek Hopkins, first commander of the US Navy. It was the first flag carried into battle by US Marines. The flag has come to be adopted as a symbol of disagreement with the government and has been widely adopted by the Tea Party movement in the United States...

Read more about the Gadsden Flag here.


Grand Union Flag

Grand Union Flag

The Grand Union Flag, also known as the Continental Flag was the first (unofficial) flag of the United States and remained so until June 14, 1777 when the Union Jack was removed and the stars were added. The flag was first hoisted by John Paul Jones on the Delaware River and was later flown on Prospect Hill in Massachusetts by George Washington during the Siege of Boston...

Read more about the Grand Union Flag here.


Green Mountain Boys Flag

Green Mountain Boys Flag

Another of the most popular American Revolution Flags is the Green Mountain Boys Flag. It was flown by part of the New Hampshire militia known as the Green Mountain Boys from an area of the New Hampshire land grant that would later become Vermont. The Green Mountain Boys fought under Ethan Allen and Seth Warner to take Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point and under General John Stark at the Battle of Bennington. A piece of the silk flag actually carried by General Stark into the Battle of Bennington still resides today at the Bennington Historical Museum...

Read more about the Green Mountain Boys Flag here.

Guilford Courthouse Flag

Guilford Courthouse Flag

According to Major Edward Bullock, the Guilford Courthouse Flag was carried by his father, Macajah Bullock, into the Battle of Guilford Courthouse as a member of the Granville County, North Carolina militia. It is one of the most unique American Revolution Flags due to its elongated canton (the white part), 8 pointed stars and red and blue stripes. The original flag is now in the possession of the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, NC and is the oldest still existing example of an American flag containing stars with 8 points...

Read more about the Guilford Courthouse Flag here.

Serapis Flag

Serapis Flag

The Serapis Flag was originally flown by Captain John Paul Jones after he captured the HMS Serapis. Jones captured the Serapis and sailed it into the Dutch port of Texel. The British Ambassador demanded that Jones be turned over to Britain as a pirate because he was not sailing under a known flag (Jones' flag had gone down with his ship USS Richard Bonhomme). The US Ambassador to France was Ben Franklin who quickly made up a description of an American flag, even though he wasn't aware of the official design already voted on by Congress. A drawing was made up from his description and sent to the Dutch government which officially recognized the flag. Jones had this flag created from the drawing and the Dutch were legally able to deny turning over Jones as a pirate because he now had a recognized flag...

Read more about the Serapis Flag here.

Sons of Liberty Flag

Sons of Liberty Flag

The Sons of Liberty Flag had it's start at the time of the Stamp Act protests. It is probably the basis for several other American Revolution Flags. The Sons of Liberty met under the Liberty Tree in Boston to protest the Stamp Act. The British had the tree cut down and the colonists put up a "Liberty Pole" in its place, with a flag flying from it that had 9 vertical red and white stripes known as the "Rebellious Stripes." Nine stripes were for the 9 colonies that attended the Stamp Act Congress. After the British outlawed the Rebellious Stripes. The colonists changed the stripes to horizontal and flew it again. The 9 stripes eventually grew to 13 to represent all 13 colonies...

Read more about the Sons of Liberty Flag here.

Taunton Flag

Taunton Flag

The Taunton Flag was one of the earliest of the American Revolution Flags. It was simply a Queen Anne Flag with the words "Liberty and Union" added to the red field. It was first flown at Taunton, Massachusetts in 1774. The Boston Evening Post reported the flag and the idea caught on around the colonies. Soon colonists everywhere were flying flags with the word "Liberty" added to them, often flying them from Liberty poles...

Read more about the Taunton Flag here.


Washington's Commander-in-Chief Flag

Washington's Commander-in-Chief Flag

Read more about Washington's Commander-in-Chief Flag

Washington's Commander-in-Chief Flag was personally designed by George Washington and was flown at his headquarters no matter where he was during the entire Revolutionary War. For this reason it is also known as the Washington's Headquarters Flag. Notice that the flag has six-pointed stars, which Washington is known to have favored. This fact is one reason that many historians discount the Betsy Ross Flag story, because the stars in her story had five points...

Read more about the Washington's Commander-in-Chief Flag here.


Washington Cruisers Flag

Washington Cruisers Flag

The Washington Cruisers Flag was flown on a squadron of 6 ships commissioned and personally outfitted by George Washington before the creation of the Continental Navy, in the fall of 1775 to patrol Massachusetts Bay. It is one of the earliest American Revolution Flags. The pine tree was a commonly used symbol to represent freedom in New England, while the phrase "An Appeal to Heaven" represented the colonists reliance on God in the face of the strongest military power on earth...

Read more about the Washington Cruisers Flag here.


Star Spangled Banner Flag

Star Spangled Banner Flag

The Star Spangled Banner Flag was the official flag of the United States from 1793 to 1815. It has fifteen stripes and fifteen stars after the first two new states, Vermont and Kentucky, were added to the union. This is the only official version of the United States flag to ever have more than 13 stripes. This is the flag that flew at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key's song "The Star Spangled Banner..."

Read more about the Star Spangled Banner Flag here.


Published October 10/18/11

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