The many faces of the American flag

According to Suffolk County Historical Society, Capt. John Hulbert carried the Hulbert Flag from Fort Ticonderoga to Philadelphia in 1775. It’s believed to have influenced the design of the American flag. It sports 13 stars in a heraldic cross configuraton.

This is the Third Maryland pattern, in which 12 stars are arranged in an oval around a central star. It was first flown at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina on January 17, 1781.

This flag, which flew atop Fort Independence in Boston, was the first flag to receive a 13-gun salute by a British warship in 1791.This was a signal of recognition of the legitimacy of the new nation.

Based on the Maryland pattern, this version of the flag came into existence in 1796 and has 15 stars.

This banner with 15 stripes and 15 stars flew during the War of 1812 at Fort Hill, Maine.

This is the remains of the 30-by-42-foot Star Spangled Banner that inspired Francis Scott Key’s national anthem. It hung at Fort McHenry in 1812.

This homemade flag has untraditional crosses instead of stars, as well as 15 stripes. It flew from 1861 to 1865.

The Act to Establish the Flag created a national standard that set the design of 13 stripes and as many stars as there are states. This flag from 1818 is one of the rare 20-star flags in existance.

This flag was made in 1821 with 24 stars. Fifteen years later, an additional star was added in honor of the newly admitted state of Arkansas.

This design was known as the Trumbull Pattern, in which 12 stars form a box around one larger star in the center. It’s named for John Trumbull, second aide to George Washington during the Revolution. This flag dates to approximately 1845-1860.

Diamond pattern flags flew over Fort Sumter when the Civil War began. This version is the 29-star design with 4 added at later dates.

This “Parenthesis Flag” has 33 stars and predates the Civil War. An image of a similar flag was the cover illustration of the inaugural program for President William McKinley in 1897.

This flag was likely made in 1861, prior to the admission of Kansas as a state. It has 33 stars.

This 34-star flag has an unusual wrap-around of stars on the right side with a gap in the center left side. This particular flag’s length indicates it was probably used by the Navy.

This Civil War-era flag has a rare design with 34 stars arranged in two longer rows and three shorter ones.

This 34-star Great Luminary design was made during the first years of the Civil War, around 1861-1863. The configuartion symbolizes unity and the ideal of “e pluribus unum,” which translates to “our of many, one.’’

A homemade flag in the Great Star pattern. On this flag, 34 stars total form one large star, with three stars around it and one in its center.

This Civil War era flag has 35 stars arranged in five groupings, plus an additional four stars placed in the arrangement of a cross.

Flags with 36 stars first appeared on July 4, 1865 following the admission of Nevada into the union.

This homemade flag from Lancaster, Pennsylvania dates back to the Civil War period. It has 36 stars.

This well-known design is known as the Medallion pattern. The 37 stars form a concentric circle around a larger formation of a star. It dates around 1867-1876.

The Hourglass design dates back to 1877 and has 37 stars.

This flag would have been atop a Navy small boat during the Civil War. At this point in history, this flag has a curiously low number of stars (16), but this enabled the stars to be larger and therefore more visible from long range.

This homemade flag was first made in 1889 with 42 stars. Between 1896-1908 it was updated to 45.

The “Open Center” flag may have been designed with the soon-to-be-added state of West Virginia in mind. The gap left in the center would allow for the addition of a 45th star.

This is a regulation flag of 44 stars, which became official on July 4, 1891.

The well-known Betsy Ross design became popularized at the tail-end of the 19th century. Though paperwork indicates Betsy Ross did make flags during the Revolution, it’s likely a legend that she made the very first one. The peak in popularity corresponded with the American centennial.

The Whipple Flag of 1910 has 48 stars and recalls the Great Medallion design with increased complexity.

In 1959, Hawaii joined the United States, bringing the total number of stars on the flag to 50.