The 1814 Star-Spangled Banner had 15 stars.
The flag flew over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. It was made for the fort by Baltimore flag maker Mary Pickersgill and her assistants, including Grace Wisher. The enormous flag measured about 30 by 42 feet and was intended to be visible from a great distance.
Its 15 stars represented the 15 states in the Union in 1814. The flag also had 15 stripes, because the Flag Act of 1794 had added two stars and two stripes when Vermont and Kentucky joined the United States. Later legislation restored the number of stripes to 13 while continuing to add stars for new states.
Francis Scott Key saw the flag after the bombardment of Fort McHenry and wrote the poem that became the national anthem. The original flag is now preserved at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.