The Continental Army used the Grand Union Flag before the Stars and Stripes in the history featured by America250.
The Grand Union Flag combined thirteen alternating red and white stripes with the British Union Jack in the canton. It was associated with the American colonies’ military forces in 1775 and early 1776, before the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes on June 14, 1777.
The design reflected the colonies’ complicated political position at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The stripes represented the colonies, while the Union Jack showed that the colonies had not yet fully separated from Britain when the flag came into use.
The flag is often confused with the Betsy Ross story or with later revolutionary flags. It is not the same as the national flag adopted in 1777, whose canton used white stars on a blue field.