What was the first official flag used by the Continental Army during the American Revolution?

The Grand Union flag was the first official flag used by the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

It combined thirteen alternating red and white stripes with the British Union Flag in the canton. The stripes represented the thirteen American colonies, while the Union Flag reflected the colonies’ continuing constitutional connection to Britain at the time.

The flag was raised over George Washington’s headquarters near Boston on January 1, 1776. It is sometimes called the Continental Colours or the Cambridge Flag. Its design resembled the British Red Ensign with the Union Flag added, rather than the later stars-and-stripes design.

The Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes on June 14, 1777. That flag replaced the Grand Union flag’s British canton with a blue field containing white stars. The Grand Union flag therefore belongs to the transitional period before independence was fully expressed through the national flag.