Editing Flag of the United States (section)

=== Revolutionary War ===
* '''Forster Flag''' (1775) – Historians believe the Manchester Company of the First Essex County Militia Regiment carried this flag during the battles of [[Battles of Lexington and Concord|Lexington and Concord]] on April 19, 1775. The militia unit was activated but was not involved in the day's fighting. This flag is historic because it is the oldest surviving flag depicting the 13 colonies. This flag may have been a British ensign flag that had its Union Jack removed and replaced with 13 white stripes before or after the battles of [[Battles of Lexington and Concord|Lexington and Concord]]. The slight variation in the canton area suggests something else might have been sewn into place before.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Studio|first=Inside The Conservator's|date=April 2, 2014|title=The Forster Flag, and the conservation of a Revolutionary War textile|url=http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-forster-flag.html|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=Inside the Conservator's Studio}}</ref> The flag gets its name from Samuel Forster, a First Lieutenant in the Manchester Company. He took possession of the flag, and his descendants passed it down until donating it to the American Flag Heritage Foundation in 1975, two hundred years later.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Historic Forster Flag Auction in New York |url=https://doyle.com/auctions/14ff01-forster-flag/historic-forster-flag|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=Doyle Auction House }}</ref> In April 2014, the foundation sold the flag at auction.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Forster Flag sold |url=https://www.flagheritagefoundation.org/news/forster-flag-sold/|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=The Flag Heritage Foundation }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Forster Flag |website=Manchester Historical Museum|url=https://manchesterhistoricalmuseum.org/forsters-flag/|access-date=October 8, 2021|language=en-US|archive-date=April 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423013345/https://manchesterhistoricalmuseum.org/forsters-flag/}}</ref>
* '''Westmoreland Flag''' (1775?) – Flag used by the 1st Battalion of [[Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania]]. In 1774 the town of Hanna, the county seat of Westmoreland County, began preparations for a conflict with the mother country as tensions between the two sides began to heat up. The town decided in May 1775, following the battles of Lexington and Concord, to create two battalions. The town sheriff, John Proctor, would have command over the 1st, and the unit would see action at Trenton and Princeton. Due to the flag's remarkable condition, it is speculated that it never flew in many battles, if at all. The flag is said to have been made in the fall of 1775 from a standard British red ensign. This flag is one of two surviving revolutionary flags that feature a coiled rattlesnake, along with the flag of the United Company of the Train of Artillery. After the war in 1810, Alexander Craig, a captain in the 2nd battalion, was given the flag. It would stay with the Craig family until donated to the Pennsylvania State Library in 1914.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Burke|first=Mike|date=June 14, 2018|title=Don't Tread on Me: The Flag of Colonel John Proctor's 1st Battalion of Westmoreland County, Pa.|url=https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/blog/fort-pitt-museum/dont-tread-on-me|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=Home|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=July 23, 2015|title=Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania (U.S.) Colonel John Proctor's 1st Battalion Flag 1791–1793|url=https://americanrelichysteries.wordpress.com/westmoreland-county-pennsylvania-u-s-colonel-john-proctors-1st-battalion-flag-1791-1793/|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=American Relic Hysteries|language=en}}</ref>
* '''[[Brandywine flag]]''' (1777) – This flag is stated in most research as being the flag of the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment. However, the [[Independence National Historical Park]], which currently owns the flag, states it is the flag of the Chester County Militia.<ref>{{Cite web|title=In honor of #FlagDay|work=X (formerly Twitter) |url=https://mobile.twitter.com/independencenhp/status/1270763620960534543|access-date=October 8, 2021|via=Twitter|language=en}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=April 2025}} The flags gets its name for being used at the [[Battle of Brandywine]] which took place on September 11, 1777, less than three months after the passage of the first [[Flag Acts|flag act]] making it one of the earliest stars and stripes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Brandywine flag used by the Chester County Militia|url=https://mobile.twitter.com/independencenhp/status/776074784329326592|access-date=October 8, 2021|via=Twitter|language=en}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=April 2025}}<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 4, 2012|title=Textile Conservation of the Brandywine Flag|url=http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2012/07/red-white-and-not-blue.html|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=Inside the Conservator's Studio}}</ref>
* '''Dansey Flag''' (1777) – Flag used by a Delaware militia early in the war. Before the Battle of Brandywine, a soldier with the British 33rd Regiment of foote named William Dansey captured the militia's flag during a skirmish in Newark, Delaware. Dansey would take the flag back to England as a war trophy. It would remain in his family until 1927, after being auctioned off to the Delaware Historical Society. This flag would have been one of the earliest to use 13 stripes to represent the united colonies. Another interesting note about this flag is that it was most likely a Division color instead of being used by one militia regiment.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Byrne|first=Tom|title=Enlighten Me: Reuniting pieces of the First State's Revolutionary history|url=https://www.delawarepublic.org/post/enlighten-me-reuniting-pieces-first-state-s-revolutionary-history|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=delawarepublic.org|date=August 30, 2019|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Object Record|url=https://dehistory.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/D72D47FD-4FA1-4FEA-AED8-711438271400 |website=Delaware Historical Society}}</ref>
* '''First Pennsylvania Rifles Flag''' (1776?) – Battle colors for the First Pennsylvania Regiment This regiment, also known as the First Pennsylvania Rifles, was formed in 1775 following an act passed by the Continental Congress calling for ten companies of marksmen. The regiment would participate in many significant battles during the Revolution, such as the siege of Boston, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Monmouth. They would be dissolved in November 1783 following the treaty of Paris. The earliest mention of this flag was mentioned in a 1776 letter by one of its soldiers. The flag would be with the unit until the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Weathered Revolutionary War flag to unfold its story {{!}} The State Museum of Pennsylvania|url=http://statemuseumpa.org/pennsylvania-icons-revolutionary-war-flag/|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=statemuseumpa.org|archive-date=October 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009001441/http://statemuseumpa.org/pennsylvania-icons-revolutionary-war-flag/}}</ref>
* '''Third New York Regiment Flag''' (1779) – The Third New York was formed in 1775 on five-month enlistments that expired later that year. In 1776 however, the regiment would be re-established twice, once in January and the other in December. During the war, the Third New York saw action in Canada, White Plains, and New York, during which it participated in the [[Siege of Fort Stanwix|defense of Fort Stanwix]]. In 1780 the soldiers of the third were transferred over to the 1st New York Regiment. While not the most famous of regiments in turns of battles fought, it does leave behind a legacy that can be seen in the flag of New York. In 1778 New York adopted a [[Coat of arms of New York|coat of arms]] for the state. The following year, the regiment's colonel [[Peter Gansevoort]] gifted the unit a blue regimental flag bearing the newly adopted arms. This flag would serve as the basis of the current [[Flag of New York (state)|flag of New York]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The 3rd New York Regiment of the Continental Line 1777–1781 – Fort Stanwix National Monument |url=https://www.nps.gov/fost/learn/historyculture/the-3rd-new-york-regiment-of-the-continental-line-1777-1781.htm|access-date=October 8, 2021|website= U.S. National Park Service |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The 3rd New York Regiment of the Continental Line 1777–1781 (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-3rd-new-york-regiment-of-the-continental-line-1777-1781.htm|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=nps.gov|language=en}}</ref>