The 1777 Flag Resolution specified thirteen stars for the United States flag.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress resolved that the flag should have thirteen alternating red and white stripes and a union of thirteen white stars in a blue field. The stars represented the thirteen United States, meaning the former colonies that had declared independence. The resolution did not specify the stars’ exact arrangement.
That omission allowed early flag makers to use different layouts, including circles, rows, and other patterns. The familiar Betsy Ross design with thirteen stars in a circle is a later traditional arrangement, but the congressional resolution itself only required thirteen stars in a blue field.
The number of stars changed as new states joined the Union. A 1795 law added two stars and two stripes for Vermont and Kentucky, creating a fifteen-star, fifteen-stripe flag. In 1818, Congress returned the stripes to thirteen and kept the stars increasing with each new state.