| Betsy Ross Flag | |
| Proportion: | 10:19 |
| Design: | Thirteen alternating red and white stripes, a blue canton with thirteen five-pointed stars arranged in a circle |
| Designer: | Various |
| Adoption: | 1777 |
The Betsy Ross flag is an early design for the flag of the United States, which is conformant to the Flag Act of 1777 and has red stripes outermost and stars arranged in a circle. These details elaborate on the 1777 act, passed early in the American Revolutionary War, which specified 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes and 13 white stars in a blue canton. Its name stems from the story, once widely believed, that shortly after the 1777 act, upholsterer and flag maker Betsy Ross produced a flag of this design.
Betsy Ross (1752–1836) was an upholsterer in Philadelphia who produced uniforms, tents, and flags for Continental forces. Although her manufacturing contributions are documented, a popular story evolved in which Ross was hired by a group of Founding Fathers to make a new U.S. flag. According to the legend, she deviated from the six-pointed stars in the design and produced a flag with five-pointed stars, instead. George Washington was a member of the Masonic Lodge, and their use of the six-pointed star may have influenced Washington's choice of six-pointed stars for his headquarters flag. [1]