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Dear sir i am doing some research on flags for a publication and on your site i...

Originally Posted by hehorrocks

Dear Sir
I am doing some research on flags for a publication and on your site I
read that the first flag included the Union Jack in the canton. This
would seem to suggest that the Founding Fathers originally intended to
be loyal to King George but wished for their independence as part of the
British Empire or Commonwealth. Is this correct and what made them
change their minds and opt for full independence?
I also read that Betsy Ross reported she had sewed the first American
Flag on May 1776 but the stars and stripes design which is basically as
is today was not ordered by Congress until June 1777, over a year later.
This being the case, which flag did the States fly under during this
year or so and which flag did Betsy Ross sew, the one with the Union
Jack in the canton or the one with the 13 stars in the canton?
I would be most obliged if you could reply to these queries.
Yours sincerely
Harold E Horrocks.

[sarahw]

Harold,

The Union Jack was indeed part of the first flag, known as the Grand Union flag, the Congress flag, the Continental Colors and some other names. (You can see a picture of it here.)

The 13 stripes represented the unity of the colonies, while the Union Jack (at that time make up of St. George's Cross and St. Andrew's Cross) was a nod to those who wanted to maintain close ties to England, though I wouldn't go so far as to say they didn't want to be independent). It was first flown in 1775, and was famously raised on Prospect Hill while a battle was raging in Boston on January 1, 1776.

This was the official flag at the beginning of the revolution and was the most common flag during that period.

According to legend, the Betsy Ross flag was based on a design of George Washington's, except she made the stars five-pointed instead of six-pointed because it was more efficient to cut that way.

Legend also has it that her flag was present when the Declaration of Independence was read, but between that time and the declaration in June 1777, there was no official American flag.

The other theory is that Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, designed the flag, but if that's true no one seems to know when he designed it. This is one of those historical arguments that isn't likely to be resolved.

Thanks for your questions!

Sarah