The original U.S. flag resolution specified 13 stripes.
The Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution on June 14, 1777. It described a flag with 13 alternating red and white stripes and 13 white stars on a blue field, representing the 13 states then united in the rebellion against Great Britain.
The resolution did not prescribe the precise arrangement or shape of the stars. That detail allowed early flags to display stars in different patterns, including rows and circles. The familiar 50-star design came much later as states joined the Union.
The number of stripes remained 13 even after the country expanded. In 1795, Congress temporarily increased the flag to 15 stars and 15 stripes for Vermont and Kentucky, but the 1818 Flag Act restored 13 stripes while allowing the star count to grow with new states.