The first official Stars and Stripes flag adopted by the Continental Congress had 13 stars.
On June 14, 1777, Congress passed the Flag Resolution stating that the flag should have thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field. The stars represented the thirteen states united in a new constellation. The resolution did not specify the stars’ exact arrangement, so early flags used several patterns.
The design replaced the earlier Continental Union Flag, which had thirteen stripes but retained the British Union Flag in its canton. The new star field gave the revolutionary nation a clearer visual identity and removed the British emblem from the flag.
The number of stars later increased as new states joined the Union. In 1795, Vermont and Kentucky brought the total to 15, and the flag temporarily had 15 stripes as well. A later law returned the stripes to 13 while continuing to add stars for new states. The present flag has 50 stars, but its 13 stripes still recall the original colonies.