The 1777 Flag Resolution specified 13 stars for the first official U.S. flag.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution calling for thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars in a blue field. The stars represented the thirteen United States, meaning the former colonies that had declared independence from Great Britain.
The resolution did not prescribe the stars’ exact arrangement, number of points, or orientation. Flag makers therefore produced different thirteen-star designs, including circular and row-based arrangements. This flexibility is one reason the familiar Betsy Ross flag story cannot be treated as proof of a single universally mandated first design.
The number of stars later increased as new states joined the Union. The current flag has 50 stars, following the admission of Hawaii in 1959 and the adoption of the 50-star design in 1960. The thirteen stripes, however, remained a symbolic reminder of the original thirteen states.