The original 1777 U.S. flag had 13 stars.
The Flag Resolution adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, called for thirteen white stars in a blue field and thirteen alternating red and white stripes. The stars and stripes represented the thirteen states that had declared independence from Great Britain.
The resolution did not prescribe the stars’ arrangement, so early flags could display them in different patterns. Some examples used a circle, while others used rows or irregular groupings. The familiar Betsy Ross circle is a later traditional design rather than a layout mandated by Congress.
The number of stars changed as new states joined the Union. Vermont and Kentucky brought the total to fifteen in 1795, and the flag temporarily had fifteen stripes as well. Congress later fixed the stripes at thirteen in 1818, while continuing to add one star for each new state. The modern flag has fifty stars for the fifty states.