Flag of Easton, Pennsylvania

The Easton flag is an early American flag used in modern times to represent Easton, Pennsylvania.

City of Easton
AdoptedJuly 8, 1776 (according to legend)
DesignA blue field with 13 alternating red and white stripes in the canton and 12 white 8-pointed stars circling another white 8-pointed star to the right of the design in the canton

Flag

The flag is designed differently from more common flags of the United States in that it has 13 (8-pointed) stars in a blue field, with 13 stripes in the canton.[1] The flag's design is consistent with the 1777 Flag Act, which does not specify the location of the stars and stripes: "That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."

History

According to local legend,[2] the flag was hoisted when the Declaration of Independence was publicly read in Easton, Pennsylvania by Robert Levers on July 8, 1776, two days before a copy of the Declaration reached New York City.[3]

The flag was used as a company flag under Captain Abraham Horn in the War of 1812, and some suspect that the design may only date from this era.[4][nb 1] This is considered unlikely by some, as flags would have had 15 stars and stripes in 1814. The flag was given in 1821 to the Easton library for safe-keeping when the company returned. The Easton Area Public Library still holds the flag.[5]

Notes
  1. US flags of this era had 15 stars and 15 stripes.

References
  1. Mastai, Boleslaw; D'Otrange, Marie-Louise (1973). The Stars and the Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the Republic to the Present. New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-3944-7217-1. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  2. Landauer, Bill (June 13, 2015). "Did Betsy Ross rip off Easton?". The Morning Call. Allentown, Penn. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  3. "Easton Flag". Easton Area Public Library. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  4. It was presented to the infantry by Rosanna (Rosina) Beidleman Wagener (1775-1848).
  5. Jones, Kyle M. (28 June 2013). "A Short History of Easton's Flag (Retyped)". Easton Patch. Retrieved 28 May 2022.

Sources


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