The Flag Resolution of 1777 specified 13 stars for the first official United States flag.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress resolved that the flag should have 13 alternating red and white stripes and a blue union containing 13 white stars. The stars represented the original thirteen states as a new constellation.
The resolution did not specify the stars' arrangement, size, or number of points. Flag makers therefore produced several designs, including rows, circles, and other layouts. The familiar Betsy Ross circle is traditional, but the resolution itself did not require it.
Later flag laws added stars as new states joined the Union. The Flag Act of 1794 temporarily called for 15 stars and 15 stripes, while the Flag Act of 1818 returned the design to 13 stripes and made the star count match the number of states.