The Betsy Ross flag: documented history, the 1870 legend, and 13-star designs

Documented history vs. the 1870 family legend

For nearly a century after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, American history textbooks, congressional records, and biographies of George Washington made no mention of Betsy Ross sewing the first Stars and Stripes. The story entered public consciousness in March 1870, as the nation prepared to celebrate the 1876 Centennial of American independence in Philadelphia.

On March 14, 1870, Betsy Ross’s grandson, William J. Canby, read a paper titled The History of the Flag of the United States before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Canby stated that he was eleven years old when his grandmother died in 1836 and that he had heard the account from her and other family members. To support his presentation, Canby produced sworn affidavits signed in 1870 by Ross’s daughter Rachel Fletcher, her niece Margaret Boggs, and her granddaughter Sophia Hildebrandt.

According to Canby’s 1870 account:

• The secret committee visit: In late May or early June 1776, a three-man committee consisting of General George Washington, financier Robert Morris, and Colonel George Ross (uncle of Betsy’s late husband, John Ross) visited her upholstery shop on Arch Street in Philadelphia.
• The rough sketch: Washington allegedly showed Ross a rough pencil drawing of a flag featuring thirteen stripes and thirteen six-pointed stars.
• The five-pointed star alteration: Ross purportedly suggested arranging the stars in a circle or lines and demonstrated how to fold a square of cloth and cut a symmetrical five-pointed star with a single clip of her scissors.
• The prototype flag: The committee agreed to her modifications, and Ross sewed the sample banner that Congress later adopted.

When researchers examined primary documents from the 1770s, however, several chronological and evidentiary problems emerged. First, the Continental Congress did not consider or adopt a starry national flag in June 1776; throughout 1776, Washington’s army and the Continental Navy used the Continental Colors (also known as the Grand Union Flag), which paired thirteen red and white stripes with the British Union Jack in the canton. Second, no records in the journals of the Continental Congress, George Washington’s correspondence, or the papers of Robert Morris mention a June 1776 flag committee. Third, Washington was in New York preparing defenses before arriving in Philadelphia on May 23, 1776, for urgent military strategy sessions, and none of his meticulous expense ledgers or diaries reference a flag commission.

What primary records verify about Betsy Ross

Although archival records do not support the story that Betsy Ross designed the first Stars and Stripes in 1776, primary documents prove that she was an accomplished artisan and a genuine Revolutionary War flag maker.

Born Elizabeth Griscom on January 1, 1752, to a Quaker family in Philadelphia, she apprenticed with prominent upholsterer William Webster. In the 18th century, upholsterers did far more than cover furniture: they crafted bed hangings, military tents, uniform trimmings, and maritime signal flags. In November 1773, Elizabeth eloped with John Ross, a fellow upholsterer and the nephew of Declaration of Independence signer George Ross, which resulted in her disownment by the Quaker meeting.

After John Ross died in January 1776 while serving in the Pennsylvania militia, Betsy continued operating their upholstery business and took contracts for the Patriot war effort. Later married to mariner Joseph Ashburn (who died in Great Britain’s Old Mill Prison in 1782) and subsequently to John Claypoole, she maintained a thriving Philadelphia workshop for decades.

The earliest documented proof of Betsy Ross making flags dates to 1777, when historical records show she made flags for the Pennsylvania State Navy:

• She worked as a Philadelphia flag maker who sewed flags for the Pennsylvania State Navy in 1777.
• Historical accounts note that she made flags for 50 years, continuing to sew banners well into the early 19th century.

In short, Betsy Ross was an enterprising wartime widow and patriotic craftswoman who sewed military banners during the Revolution, even if she did not originate the national flag design.

The Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777

The documented birth of the Stars and Stripes occurred on June 14, 1777, at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. Preparing naval vessels for sea and seeking a distinctive emblem separate from British heraldry, the Marine Committee presented a resolution to the Second Continental Congress.

Inserted among routine naval business in the Journals of the Continental Congress, the thirty-word statute declared:

“Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.”

The brevity of the June 14, 1777 Flag Resolution explains why Revolutionary War flags varied so widely in appearance. Congress established the essential symbols, including thirteen alternating red and white stripes for the rebellious colonies and thirteen white stars on a blue canton representing a sovereign “new constellation,” but left the geometric details open:

• No specified star arrangement: The resolution did not state whether the thirteen stars should form a circle, horizontal rows, staggered lines, or an arch.
• No specified number of points: It did not mandate five-pointed, six-pointed, or eight-pointed stars.
• No fixed flag proportions: Exact height-to-width ratios and stripe order (whether seven red and six white, or seven white and six red) were left to individual ship chandlers, regimental tailors, and upholsterers.

Today, Americans commemorate the passage of this resolution every year on June 14. You can read more about the history of the observance in our guide to Flag Day.

Francis Hopkinson and the Continental Admiralty Board request

While the 1870 Canby account credited Betsy Ross, historical records cited by the National Archives and the U.S. Congress point to Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey as the designer responsible for the stars in the U.S. flag. Hopkinson was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and served as Chairman of the Continental Navy Board’s Middle Department when the 1777 Flag Resolution was adopted.

Hopkinson’s role is documented through his correspondence with the Continental Admiralty Board:

1. The Admiralty Board letter: Having helped design the U.S. flag as well as other devices for the government, including the Great Seal of the United States, Hopkinson submitted a letter to the Continental Admiralty Board asking “whether a Quarter Cask of the public Wine will not be a proper & reasonable Reward for these Labours of Fancy and a suitable Encouragement to future Exertions of a like Nature.”
2. The congressional response: Congress did not dispute Hopkinson’s role in designing the flag, turning down his request for compensation because it regarded him as a public servant who already drew a government salary.

Comparing the 13-star flag designs of the Revolution

Because the 1777 Flag Resolution allowed creative flexibility, several distinct 13-star flag patterns emerged during the Revolutionary War and the early republic. Collectors, historians, and citizens celebrating the founding era, including those browsing our 1776 collection, often encounter four classic variations:

1. The Betsy Ross circular pattern (13 five-pointed stars in a ring)

The traditional Betsy Ross layout arranges thirteen five-pointed stars in a single continuous circle on the blue canton, with the star points typically oriented outward or upright. Although artistic depictions such as Charles H. Weisgerber’s 1893 painting Birth of Our Nation’s Flag popularized this design as a 1776 creation, surviving physical flags and maritime paintings indicate that the single circular star pattern became widespread slightly later, in the early 1790s. The circle quickly became a beloved motif because it placed every state on equal footing.

2. The Francis Hopkinson pattern (3-2-3-2-3 staggered rows)

The design associated with Francis Hopkinson features thirteen six-pointed white stars arranged in five horizontal, staggered rows of 3-2-3-2-3 inside the blue canton, paired with seven red stripes and six white stripes. Six-pointed stars followed traditional English heraldic conventions for representing celestial stars (mullets or estoiles) and appear in early Continental currency engravings and portraits from the late 1770s.

3. The Cowpens / 3rd Maryland Regiment pattern (12 stars in a circle with 1 in the center)

Another famous circular variation places twelve five-pointed stars in a ring around a single thirteenth star in the center of the blue field. Traditionally linked with the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781 and the 3rd Maryland Regiment, this layout was also painted by artist John Trumbull in several of his famous Revolutionary War canvases depicting the battles of Princeton, Trenton, and Saratoga.

4. The Bennington pattern (arch of 11 stars with 2 corner stars and “76”)

Associated with the August 1777 Battle of Bennington, this distinctive banner features thirteen stripes beginning and ending with white stripes, a tall blue canton spanning nine stripes, and large white numerals “76” beneath an arch of eleven seven-pointed stars with two additional stars in the upper corners. While museum curators at the Smithsonian note that its machine-spun cotton fabric points to a 19th-century commemoration (likely made for the 1826 Jubilee or 1876 Centennial), it remains one of the best-known historic 13-star variations.

How to display the Betsy Ross flag respectfully

Many Americans fly the 13-star Betsy Ross flag on their porches during Fourth of July celebrations, Memorial Day, and Flag Day, or celebrate American heritage with 1776 thirteen-star apparel, American flag shirts, and American flag hats.

Under federal flag customs codified in Title 4 of the United States Code, historic designs of the American flag never become obsolete. When flying a 13-star flag at home:

• Follow standard Flag Code courtesies: Treat the 13-star banner with the same dignity as the modern 50-star flag. Raise it briskly, lower it ceremoniously, illuminate it if flown after sunset, and never let it touch the ground. Review our complete guide to the U.S. Flag Code for statutory details.
• Flying alongside the 50-star flag: If you display both the modern 50-star flag and the 13-star Betsy Ross flag together, place the current 50-star national flag in the primary position of honor, either at the top of a shared staff or to the observer’s far left when mounted on separate poles of equal height. See our guide on flag etiquette for diagrams and mounting rules.
• Wearing 13-star apparel: While 4 U.S.C. § 8(d) and § 8(j) advise against cutting a physical flag into clothing or costumes, wearing printed or embroidered 13-star garments is a time-honored way to celebrate the founding generation.