I truly enjoyed reading Dan Aubrey’s June 8 article on New Jersey’s Flag Day connections, not only for the story that he tells but for the spot-on facts that he reveals, such as the penultimate sentence:
“Preferences also led to variations of the flag, including the circle of stars representing the original 13 colonies.
The end of the War for Independence saw stars in U.S. flags assume artistic patterns, including a ring of 13 stars. (Source: Cooper, Grace Rogers. “Thirteen-Star Flags: Keys to identification.” Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology. No. 21. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. 1973. pp. 10 and 11.)
William Barton, the consultant to the third committee to design the Great Seal of the United States, incorporated a U.S. flag with 13 stars in a ring in his proposal. This is how he described his flag, verbatim:
“The thirteen pieces, barways [the stripes], which fill up the Field of the Arms, may represent the several States; and the same Number of Stars upon a blue Canton [the union], diposed in a Circle, represent a new Constellation, which alludes to the new Empire, formed in the World by the Confederation of those States — Their Disposition, in the form of a Circle, denotes the Perpetuity of it’s Continuance, the Ring being the Symbol of Eternity.”
(Source: Patterson, Richard S. and Richardson Dougall. “The Eagle and the Shield: A History of the Great Seal of the United States.” Department of State, under the auspices of the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. Department of State Publication 8900. Department and Foreign Service Series 161. [Released 1978]. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1976. p. 61.)
Earl P. Williams, Jr.
U.S. flag historian (paleovexillologist)
P.S. Incidentally, creating the Great Seal of the United States had a higher congressional priority than creating the U.S. flag. Congress created the first of three U.S. Great Seal committees on July 4, 1776, to denote America’s sovereignty. (Source: “The Great Seal of the United States.” February 1986.)
To the contrary, Congress never created a so-called “U.S. Flag Committee.” Congress’ Continental Marine (maritime) Commitee entertained the U.S. Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777. (Source: “Our Flag.” Joint Committee on Printing. 1989.)
Francis Hopkinson joined the Marine Committee in mid-July 1776. (Source: Hastings, George E. “The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson,” 1926.) He then stepped down in mid-November 1776 to run the U.S. Navy, which was under the Marine Committee. (Source: Hastings. p. 218.) He stepped down as the Navy Board’s chairman in mid-August 1778. (Source: Hastings. p. 234.) Hence, he was running the Navy on June 14, 1777— Flag Day.
Francis Hopkinson designed two flags — one for the United States and one for the U.S. Navy, but the latter flag became the preferred National flag. (Source: Williams, Jr., Earl P. “Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags?” 2012.)
