How many stars and stripes did the original Star-Spangled Banner flag have?

The original Star-Spangled Banner flag had 15 stars and 15 stripes.

The enormous garrison flag flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814, part of the War of 1812. Its 15 stars and 15 stripes represented the 15 states in the Union at the time: the original 13 states plus Vermont and Kentucky.

The flag inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” after witnessing the bombardment. The poem was later set to the tune of “Anacreon in Heaven” and became the United States national anthem in 1931.

The Flag Act of 1818 established the lasting design rule of one star per state and 13 alternating stripes for the original colonies. The Star-Spangled Banner is therefore unusual: it is the only official American flag to have had more than 13 stripes. The surviving flag is preserved at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.