Product Description
The cotton Betsy Ross flag is the one to choose when the flag should look like it belongs to the period. It is 100% cotton with 13 embroidered white stars in a circle and 13 red and white stripes, with a cotton heading and two brass grommets. It comes in 2 FT x 3 FT, 3 FT x 5 FT, and 4 FT x 6 FT, and it is made in the USA.
Cotton has the matte finish and heavy drape of the flags of the 1770s. It is the right choice for a reenactment, a museum, a historic house, or an indoor display. For a flag that flies outdoors all season, the embroidered nylon Betsy Ross flag will last longer.
Cotton Betsy Ross Flag Features
- 100% cotton – the matte look and weight of a period flag.
- 13 embroidered stars – stitched in dense white thread in the traditional circle.
- Cotton heading with brass grommets – two brass grommets for a halyard, a bracket pole, or wall hooks.
- Lock-stitched hems – double-needle lock stitching on the side hems and heading join.
- Three sizes – 2 FT x 3 FT, 3 FT x 5 FT, 4 FT x 6 FT.
- Made in the USA – sewn here.
Historical Background
The 13-star circle flag is tied by tradition to Betsy Ross, the Philadelphia upholsterer who, according to a story her grandson told in 1870, sewed the first Stars and Stripes at George Washington’s request in 1776. Historians have never found a period record that confirms the story, and the Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777 did not specify how the 13 stars should be arranged, so several star patterns were in use at the same time. The circle became the best known of them.
Flags of the Revolutionary period were sewn from wool bunting, linen, or cotton, and cotton is the closest modern match for a flag that will be seen up close. Whatever its origin, the circle of 13 stars is now the accepted way to show the flag of the Revolutionary period. It is flown for July 4, for reenactments and living history events, and alongside the 50-star flag on historic properties. The United States Flag Code applies to historical versions of the flag as well as the current one.
Symbolism at a Glance
- Thirteen stars in a circle: the original colonies, arranged so that no colony ranks above another.
- Thirteen stripes: the same colonies, seven red and six white.
- Red, white, and blue: hardiness and valor, purity and innocence, and vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
