Orchard, Chris (30 December 2013). "Research upholds traditional Prospect Hill flag story". Patch . Retrieved 3 July 2020. Union Flag (1606–1801), in which are combined the white-on-blue Cross of St. Andrew (for Scotland) and the red-on-white Cross of St. George (for England). (more) In April 1776, the Massachusetts Navy adopted, as its flag, a white field charged with a green pine tree and the motto "An Appeal to Heaven." In 1971 the motto was removed, and the flag was designated "the naval and maritime flag of the Commonwealth". [21] Merchant and Marine Flag of Maine DeLear, Byron (2014). "Revisiting the Flag at Prospect Hill: Grand Union or Just British?" (PDF). Raven: A Journal of Vexillology. 21: 19–70. doi: 10.5840/raven2014213. The Grand Union Flag was the de facto first U.S. naval ensign. It was first raised aboard Continental Navy Commodore Esek Hopkins' flagship Alfred on the Delaware River on December 3, 1775; John Paul Jones, then the ship's senior lieutenant, personally claimed this honor. [2]

The fact is that no one knows for sure who created the Grand Union Flag or who authorized its use. It is often considered to be the First American Flag because of its of 9 red and white vertical stripes flown by the Sons of Liberty in Boston from the Liberty Pole. The 9 stripes represented the 9 states that assembled at the Stamp Act Congress in 1765 to organize against the Stamp Act. 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] Similar to the current U.S. flag, the Grand Union Flag has 13 alternating red and white stripes, representative of the Thirteen Colonies. The upper inner corner, or canton, features the flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain, of which the colonies were subjects. 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.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. The combined crosses in the flag of Great Britain symbolized the union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. The symbolism of a union of equal parts was retained in the new U.S. flag, as described in the Flag Resolution of 14 June 1777 (later celebrated in U.S. culture and history as " Flag Day"). had the Grand Union Flag hoisted on Prospect Hill near his headquarters at Cambridge. This is why the History", Our Flag, Federal Citizen Information Center, archived from the original on 2015-02-28 , retrieved 2011-12-13 flag the Union or the Grand Union. Many historians agree they are all talking about the British Union Flag. One of these writers even says a second Sons of Liberty Flag was flying underneath it. If that is the case, the British Red Ensign and Sons of Liberty Flag may have simply gotten mixed together in popular folklore

Letters of delegates to Congress, 1774–1789, vol.2, University of Virginia Library, September–December 1775, archived from the original on 2011-01-12 A modification of the national flag and ensign but with a fouled anchor in a circle of thirteen stars in the canton, was created by Act of Congress in August 1848 as a flag to be used by licensed U.S. yachts. [11] [12] The design was recommended by the New York Yacht Club in 1849. [13] Yachts eligible for the license were initially 20 net tons and over (later reduced to 15 net tons) and otherwise eligible to be enrolled as a U.S. vessel; the license allowed the yacht to proceed from port to port without the formality of clearing customs. The 1848 act used the word 'signal' to describe the flag that a licensed yacht would use to identify herself, and use of this flag was required by all licensed yachts ("All such licensed yachts shall use a signal of the form, size, and colors prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy."). The Secretary of the Navy approved a modification of "the American Ensign" as the signal, and Treasury Decision No. 2727 (March 24, 1876) issued by the Treasury Department confirmed that the flag was to be used as an ensign ("Licensed yachts are required by law to use the American ensign prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy."), and its use as an ensign was reiterated in Treasury Decision 9426 of June 11, 1889 (referring to the "yacht ensign"). While formally licensed yachts were legally required to fly this modification of the national ensign, unlicensed U.S. yachts also started flying this flag as their ensign, too, and eventually the U.S. Navy confirmed that it recognized this practice for all U.S. yachts. In 1939, the Secretary of the Navy approved the ruling of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy "...that a ship of the Navy should return a dip made by a yacht flying the yacht ensign and that the yacht ensign may properly be made the object of a hand salute to be rendered on boarding or leaving a yacht." U.S. House Bill - H.R. 178". American Memory. P.L. 30-141 ~ 9 Stat. 274. U.S. Library of Congress. February 8, 1848.

Questions about the appearance of the Grand Union Flag

It is not known for certain when or by whom the design of the Continental Colours was created, but the flag could easily be produced by sewing white stripes onto the British Red Ensigns. [8] The "Alfred" flag has been credited to Margaret Manny. [12] When war broke out with Great Britain in 1775, the colonists realized they needed a new flag. The Grand Union Flag was first flown on the US Navy's first flagship, the USS Alfred on December 3, 1775. This is why it is sometimes called the "First Navy Ensign." salute to the American Flag. The USS Andrew Doria was on a mission to St. Eustatius to obtain military supplies and to deliver a copy of the Declaration of Independence to its governor, Johannes de Graaf. Isaiah Robinson, captain of the Andrew Doria, fired a salute from his guns when he approached Fort Orange. Fawcett, Charles (October 1937). "The Striped Flag of the East India Company, and its Connexion with the American 'Stars and Stripes' ". Mariner's Mirror. It was widely believed that the flag was raised by George Washington's army on the 2 January 1776, at Prospect Hill in Charlestown (now part of Somerville), near his headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts, (across the Charles River to the north from Boston), which was then surrounding and laying siege to the British forces then occupying the city. [5] It is also stated that the flag was interpreted by British military observers in the city under commanding General Thomas Gage, as a sign of surrender. [6] [7] However, some scholars dispute the traditional account and conclude that the flag raised at Prospect Hill was probably the flag of Great Britain, [8] though subsequent research supports the contrary. [9] [10]

Prior to being flown by the Colonial fleet, this flag was first raised by General George Washington on January 1, 1776, at Prospect Hill in Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay. Military ensigns [ edit ] The naval ensign and its first salute [ edit ] First official salute to the U.S. flag on board the U.S. warship Andrew Doria in a foreign port, at St. Eustatius in the West Indies, on November 16, 1776

First foreign salute to the Grand Union Flag

DeLear, Byron (2014). "Revisiting the Flag at Prospect Hill: Grand Union or Just British?" (PDF). Raven: A Journal of Vexillology. 21: 54. doi: 10.5840/raven2014213. By the end of 1775, during the first year of the American Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress operated as a de facto war government, who had authorized the creation of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, and even a small contingent of Continental Marines. A new flag was needed to represent both the Congress and the United Colonies, with a banner distinct from the British Red Ensign flown from civilian and merchant vessels, the White Ensign of the British Royal Navy, and the Flag of Great Britain carried on land by the British army. The emerging states had been using their own independent flags, with Massachusetts using the Taunton Flag, and New York using the George Rex Flag, prior to the adoption of united colors. [ citation needed] [3] Americans first hoisted the Grand Union Flag on the colonial warship Alfred, in the harbor on the western shore of the Delaware River at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 3 December 1775, under the command of the new appointed Lieutenant John Paul Jones of the formative Continental Navy. The event was documented in letters to Congress and eyewitness accounts. [4] The flag was also used by the Continental Army forces as both a naval ensign, and as a garrison flag throughout 1776 and early 1777. [ citation needed] The U.S. Yacht Ensign (a variation of the national ensign; see below) is often used in place of the national flag by U.S. pleasure craft when operating within U.S. waters; this flag was legally required for licensed yachts from 1848 to 1980, and the practice continues among all U.S. pleasure craft in U.S. waters by longstanding historical use and custom. Additionally, a few smaller pleasure craft operated by members of the United States Power Squadrons will fly the U.S. Power Squadrons flag as an ensign in inland waters in lieu of the national flag (see below). All vessels of U.S. national character should display the national ensign when operating in international and non-U.S. waters.

a year, citizens in Boston commemorate Washington's raising the Grand Union Flag on Prospect Hill. Watch a short video of the 232nd raising of the flag at Prospect Hill here. Boston. One popular legend has George Washington approaching Philadelphia flagmaker Rebecca Young some time in 1775 and asking her to make the flag that became known as the Grand Union Flag.

With the entrance of new states into the United States after independence, new stripes and stars were added to represent new additions to the Union. In 1818, however, Congress enacted a law stipulating that the 13 original stripes be restored and that only stars be added to represent new states.