Americas First Flag Officer

Admiral (United States)

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The star flag was in effect for 47 years until the star version became official on July 4, The star flag was ordered by the then president Eisenhower on August 21, , and was adopted in July It is the longest-used version of the U. Flag of the British East India Company , — At the time of the Declaration of Independence in July , the Continental Congress would not legally adopt flags with "stars, white in a blue field" for another year.

The flag contemporaneously known as "the Continental Colors " has historically been referred to as the first national flag. The Continental Navy raised the Colors as the ensign of the fledgling nation in the American War for Independence —likely with the expedient of transforming their previous British red ensigns by adding white stripes—and would use this flag until , when it would form the basis for the subsequent de jure designs. The flag closely resembles the British East India Company flag of the era, and Sir Charles Fawcett argued in that the company flag inspired the design.

However, an East India Company flag could have from nine to 13 stripes, and was not allowed to be flown outside the Indian Ocean. He said to George Washington , "While the field of your flag must be new in the details of its design, it need not be entirely new in its elements. There is already in use a flag, I refer to the flag of the East India Company. Some colonists also felt that the Company could be a powerful ally in the American War of Independence , as they shared similar aims and grievances against the British government tax policies.

Colonists therefore flew the Company's flag, to endorse the Company. However, the theory that the Grand Union Flag was a direct descendant of the flag of the East India Company has been criticised as lacking written evidence. Mullets were comparatively rare in early modern heraldry, but an example of mullets representing territorial divisions predating the U.

While scholars still argue about this, tradition holds that the new flag was first hoisted in June by the Continental Army at the Middlebrook encampment. The first official U. Massachusetts reinforcements brought news of the adoption by Congress of the official flag to Fort Schuyler.

Soldiers cut up their shirts to make the white stripes; scarlet material to form the red was secured from red flannel petticoats of officers' wives, while material for the blue union was secured from Capt. Abraham Swartwout's blue cloth coat. A voucher is extant that Capt. Swartwout of Dutchess County was paid by Congress for his coat for the flag. The resolution was most probably meant to define a naval ensign.

In the late 18th century, the notion of a national flag did not yet exist, or was only nascent. The flag resolution appears between other resolutions from the Marine Committee. Each regiment was to carry the national standard in addition to its regimental standard. The national standard was not a reference to the national or naval flag. The Flag Resolution did not specify any particular arrangement, number of points, nor orientation for the stars and the arrangement or whether the flag had to have seven red stripes and six white ones or vice versa.

Some flag makers arranged the stars into one big star, in a circle or in rows and some replaced a state's star with its initial. This flag, however, is more likely a flag used for celebrations of anniversaries of the nation's birthday. Experts have dated the earliest known example of this flag to be in a painting by John Trumbull. Despite the resolution, the early years of American independence featured many different flags.

Most were individually crafted rather than mass-produced. While there are many examples of star arrangements, some of those flags included blue stripes [20] as well as red and white.

Benjamin Franklin and John Adams , in a letter dated October 3, , to Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies , described the American flag as consisting 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.

Navy ships including the well-documented flags of the Serapis and the Alliance. The Serapis flag had three rows of eight-pointed stars with stripes that were red, white, and blue.

Vice Chief of Naval Operations

The flag for the Alliance , however, had five rows of eight-pointed stars with 13 red and white stripes, and the white stripes were on the outer edges. Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey , a naval flag designer, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence , designed the flag [24] while he was the Chairman of the Continental Navy Board's Middle Department, sometime between his appointment to that position in November and the time that the flag resolution was adopted in June Hopkinson was the only person to have made such a claim during his own lifetime, when he sent a letter and several bills to Congress for his work.

Hopkinson initially wrote a letter to Congress, via the Continental Board of Admiralty, on May 25, However, in three subsequent bills to Congress, Hopkinson asked to be paid in cash, but he did not list his U. Instead, he asked to be paid for designing the "great Naval Flag of the United States" in the first bill; the "Naval Flag of the United States" in the second bill; and "the Naval Flag of the States" in the third, along with the other items.

The flag references were generic terms for the naval ensign that Hopkinson had designed, that is, a flag of seven red stripes and six white ones. The predominance of red stripes made the naval flag more visible against the sky on a ship at sea. By contrast, Hopkinson's flag for the United States had seven white stripes, and six red ones — in reality, six red stripes laid on a white background.

His Admiralty Seal had seven red stripes; [28] whereas, his second U. Seal proposal had seven white ones. Remnants of Hopkinson's U. The origin of the stars and stripes design has been muddled by a story disseminated by the descendants of Betsy Ross. The apocryphal story credits Betsy Ross for sewing the first flag from a pencil sketch handed to her by George Washington. No evidence for this exists either in the diaries of George Washington nor in the records of the Continental Congress. Indeed, nearly a century passed before Ross' grandson, William Canby, first publicly suggested the story in The family of Rebecca Young claimed that she sewed the first flag.

In , the number of stars and stripes was increased from 13 to 15 to reflect the entry of Vermont and Kentucky as states of the Union. For a time the flag was not changed when subsequent states were admitted, probably because it was thought that this would cause too much clutter.

The flag is currently on display in the exhibition, "The Star-Spangled Banner: On April 4, , a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid [45] in which the flag was changed to have 20 stars, with a new star to be added when each new state was admitted, but the number of stripes would be reduced to 13 so as to honor the original colonies. The act specified that new flag designs should become official on the first July 4 Independence Day following admission of one or more new states.

The most recent change, from 49 stars to 50, occurred in when the present design was chosen, after Hawaii gained statehood in August Before that, the admission of Alaska in January prompted the debut of a short-lived star flag. Prior to the adoption of the star flag in , there was no official arrangement of the stars in the canton, although the U.

Navy used standardized designs. Throughout the 19th century there was an abundance of different star patterns, rectangular and circular. On July 4, , the star flag became the version of the flag in longest use, surpassing the star flag that was used from to When the thirteen stripes and stars first appeared at Canton, much curiosity was excited among the people. News was circulated that a strange ship had arrived from the further end of the world, bearing a flag "as beautiful as a flower".

In the above quote, the Chinese words are written phonetically based on spoken Cantonese. The names given were common usage in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chinese now refer to the United States as simplified Chinese: However, the "flower flag" terminology persists in some places today: In the following table depicting the 28 various designs of the United States flag, the star patterns for the flags are merely the usual patterns, often associated with the United States Navy.

Canton designs, prior to the proclamation of the star flag, had no official arrangement of the stars. Furthermore, the exact colors of the flag were not standardized until In the November U. However, the legitimacy of the result of this election was disputed. If a new U. The flag of the United States is one of the nation's most widely recognized symbols.

Within the United States, flags are frequently displayed not only on public buildings but on private residences. The flag is a common motif on decals for car windows, and on clothing ornamentation such as badges and lapel pins.

Chief of Naval Operations

Throughout the world the flag has been used in public discourse to refer to the United States. The flag has become a powerful symbol of Americanism , and is flown on many occasions, with giant outdoor flags used by retail outlets to draw customers. Reverence for the flag has at times reached religion-like fervor: Despite a number of attempts to ban the practice, desecration of the flag remains protected as free speech.

Scholars have noted the irony that "[t]he flag is so revered because it represents the land of the free, and that freedom includes the ability to use or abuse that flag in protest". This nationalist attitude around the flag is a shift from earlier sentiments; the US flag was largely a "military ensign or a convenient marking of American territory" that rarely appeared outside of forts, embassies, and the like until the opening of the American Civil War in April , when Major Robert Anderson was forced to surrender Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor to Confederates.

Anderson was celebrated in the North as a hero [63] and U. For the first time American flags were mass-produced rather than individually stitched and even so, manufacturers could not keep up with demand. As the long winter of turned into spring, that old flag meant something new. The abstraction of the Union cause was transfigured into a physical thing: The basic design of the current flag is specified by 4 U. The specification gives the following values:.

These specifications are contained in an executive order which, strictly speaking, governs only flags made for or by the U. Even flags flown over the U. Capitol for sale to the public through Representatives or Senators are provided in these sizes. The exact red, white, and blue colors to be used in the flag are specified with reference to the CAUS Standard Color Reference of America , 10th edition. The "relative" coordinates in the following table were found by scaling the luminous reflectance relative to the flag's "white".

As with the design, the official colors are only officially required for flags produced for the U. The practice of using more saturated colors than the official cloth is not new. As Taylor, Knoche, and Granville wrote in One set was given on the website of the U. Government Printing Office preferred a different set.

A third red was suggested by a California Military Department document in When Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood in the s, more than 1, designs were submitted to President Dwight D. Although some of them were star versions, the vast majority were star proposals. At least three of these designs were identical to the present design of the star flag.

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Of these proposals, one created by year-old Robert G. Heft in as a school project received the most publicity. His mother was a seamstress, but refused to do any of the work for him. He originally received a B— for the project. After discussing the grade with his teacher, it was agreed somewhat jokingly that if the flag was accepted by Congress, the grade would be reconsidered.

Flag of the United States

Heft's flag design was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation after Alaska and before Hawaii was admitted into the Union in Traditionally, the flag may be decorated with golden fringe surrounding the perimeter of the flag as long as it does not deface the flag proper.

Ceremonial displays of the flag, such as those in parades or on indoor posts, often use fringe to enhance the appearance of the flag. The first recorded use of fringe on a flag dates from , and the Army used it officially in No specific law governs the legality of fringe, but a opinion of the attorney general addresses the use of fringe and the number of stars " However, according to the Army Institute of Heraldry, which has official custody of the flag designs and makes any change ordered, there are no implications of symbolism in the use of fringe.

Drew , a Colorado Court of Appeals judgment that was released in May The flag is customarily flown year-round at most public buildings, and it is not unusual to find private houses flying full-size 3 by 5 feet 0. On Memorial Day it is common to place small flags by war memorials and next to the graves of U. Also on Memorial Day it is common to fly the flag at half staff, until noon, in remembrance of those who lost their lives fighting in U.

The United States Flag Code outlines certain guidelines for the use, display, and disposal of the flag. For example, the flag should never be dipped to any person or thing, unless it is the ensign responding to a salute from a ship of a foreign nation. Team captain Martin Sheridan is famously quoted as saying "this flag dips to no earthly king", though the true provenance of this quotation is unclear.

The flag should never be allowed to touch the ground and, if flown at night, must be illuminated. Forces Korea , and the deputy commander of U. European Command but only if the commander of that command is also the Supreme Allied Commander , Europe. Four-star grades go hand-in-hand with the positions of office they are linked to, so these ranks are temporary.

Officers may only achieve four-star grade if they are appointed to positions that require the officer to hold such a rank. Some statutory limits under the U. Code can be waived in times of national emergency or war. Admiral ranks may also be given by act of Congress but this is extremely rare. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Four-star officers must retire after 40 years of service unless reappointed to grade to serve longer. Flag officers typically retire well in advance of the statutory age and service limits, so as not to impede the upward career mobility of their juniors.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other countries that use an admiral rank, see Admiral. The stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a U. Public Health Service admiral. United States Navy portal. Archived from the original on Archived copy as title link History. Distribution of commissioned officers on active duty in general officer and flag officer grades. Grades, ranks, and titles of commissioned corps.

Officers serving in certain intelligence positions: Authority to suspend sections , , and Positions of importance and responsibility: Commanders of combatant commands: Retirement for years of service: Retirement of Admiral Leighton W. United States uniformed services commissioned officer and officer candidate ranks.

United States warrant officer ranks. Retrieved from " https: Archived copy as title All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September Articles with unsourced statements from January Views Read Edit View history. This page was last edited on 20 June , at

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