06/02/2026
Hi all! As it is now June we have our next flag out at 909 Washington. This month we are flying the Continental Union Flag.
The Continental Union Flag
Also know as the Grand Union Flag, the Cambridge Flag, or the
American Flag, this design is the first in our series that starts
pointing to what will eventually become the Stars and Stripes.
This flag, created in late 1775 by act of the Continental
Congress, filled the need for a separate American flag. By the
end of the first year of the Revolutionary War, it became clear to
the emergent U.S. government that a flag, distinct from the
various British banners then common in the colonies, would be
needed for their new army and navy. While not a national flag
per se, being adopted several months prior to the formal
declaration of independence, this was the first flag to serve as a
banner of the thirteen colonies united in resistance to British
rule. However, despite its role as a proto-national flag, the
Continental Union Flag owes much to British design. The flag is
based on the red ensign flag changing only the solid red field of
the British flag and replacing it with the red stripes representing
the thirteen colonies while retaining the British union flag in the
canton. It is also likely that this design took inspiration from the
Liberty Stripes used by the Sons of Liberty from a decade or so
prior.
