Short History of the United States Flag". American Battlefield Trust. 2019-11-06 . Retrieved 2023-11-01. The design of the Colours is strikingly similar to the flag of the British East India Company (EIC). Indeed, certain EIC designs in use since 1707 (when the canton was changed from the flag of England to that of the flag of Great Britain) were nearly identical. However, the number of stripes varied from 9 to 15. One theory on the origin of the design is that the American colonists would have known and been familiar with the existing EIC flags and that this may have influenced the design. [13] decided to fire off the guns of Fort Orange in salute to the Andrew Doria. This was the first salute to the United States flag by a foreign government. The first salute by a foreign power to the Stars and Stripes did not come until In the 19th century the ensigns were quite large; the biggest ensign in 1870 measured 19 by 36 feet (5.8 by 11.0m). By the early 20th century, as warships took on distinctive forms and could no longer be easily mistaken for merchantmen at a distance, ensigns began to shrink and today are a fraction of their earlier size — the largest ensign for daily use on ships is now 5 by 9.5 feet (1.5 by 2.9m). [6]

The body of the flag consisted of thirteen red and white alternating stripes. These stripes represented the thirteen original colonies. As the official British flag, the British Red Ensign Flag was the first flag of the American colonies, since they were in fact British colonies. The Grand Union Flag was easy for the colonists to make. All they had to do was take an already existing British Red Ensign, which would have been easily obtainable as it was the official flag of the colonies, and sew 6 strips of white cloth to it. buy tea only from the BEIC. This is what angered the colonists and led to the Boston Tea Party when the colonists boarded BEIC ships and threw a b Calkhoven, Laurie (2007). George Washington. An American Life. Sterling Publishing Company. p.47. ISBN 978-1-4027-3546-2 . Retrieved July 1, 2023.The U.S. Coast Guard inherited the "badged" version of the ensign when the Coast Guard came into being in 1915, and in 1927 the cutter badge was updated to use the Coast Guard's own emblem. The Coast Guard badge was slightly modified in 1966. The Coast Guard continues to use the "badged" or "defaced" version of the ensign, although it is now flown by Coast Guard cutters and facilities in conjunction with the U.S. national ensign, and not as a stand-alone ensign. The design of both flags' (Customs and Coast Guard) cantons (i.e., the eagle and stars) was altered in 1951 to make them conform to " the arms of the United States," as was specified in Wolcott's original design statement in 1799. Ansoff, Peter (2006). "The Flag on Prospect Hill". Raven: A Journal of Vexillology. 13: 77–100. doi: 10.5840/raven2006134. ISSN 1071-0043. LCCN 94642220. Hamilton, Schuyler (1853). History of the National Flag of the United States of America. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co. documentary evidence of James Wharton, a Philadelphia merchant, supplying Margaret with material to create flags for the Alfred, with the bill being charged to the Alfred's account on December 2, 1775. This is probably when the Grand Union Flag hoisted by John Paul Jones

U.S. House Bill - H.R. 178". American Memory. P.L. 30-141 ~ 9 Stat. 274. U.S. Library of Congress. February 8, 1848.

First foreign salute to the Grand Union Flag

had the Grand Union Flag hoisted on Prospect Hill near his headquarters at Cambridge. This is why the Maine also has a separate ensign, which is rarely seen. It features symbols from the current flag and the older one, with a white field and green pine tree. The green pine tree has the seaman's anchor, and the words "MAINE" and "DIRIGO" around it. Dirigo ( Latin "I direct" or "I lead") is the state motto of Maine.