The 1777 Flag Resolution specified 13 stars for the United States’ first official flag.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress resolved that the flag should have 13 alternating red-and-white stripes and 13 white stars on a blue field. The stars represented the thirteen United States, which had declared independence from Great Britain the previous year.
The resolution did not prescribe the stars’ arrangement, so early flags used several patterns, including circles, rows, and other layouts. The popular Betsy Ross story is not firmly supported by contemporary evidence, and no single designer is definitively known.
The number of stars later increased as new states joined the Union. The flag briefly had 15 stars and 15 stripes after Vermont and Kentucky became states, but Congress returned the stripes to 13 in 1818. The current flag has 50 stars and still retains 13 stripes.