Learn More About the American Flag

One of the treasures of the Museum’s collection, the 15-star flag, is a symbol of America that stirs us to pursue patriotism and good citizenship.

Made between 1794 and 1818, this flag dates from the same era as the Star-Spangled Banner, which inspired our national anthem.

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library was founded in 1975 by the Scottish Rite Freemasons of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A.

The Pledge of AllegiAnceOn September 8, 1892 a Boston-based magazine, The Youth’s Companion, published a 23-word recitation for school children to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America.

I pledge allegiance to my Flag,And to the Republic for which it stands:One Nation indivisible,With Liberty and Justice for all.

Over the years, the words were changed to reflect a pledge of loyalty and devotion to not only the flag, but to a way of life—the American ideal. The last version, approved by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 14, 1954—Flag Day—reads:

I pledge allegiance to the FlagOf the United States of America,And to the Republic for which it stands:One Nation under God, indivisible,With Liberty and Justice for all.

How are the pledges different?

What does the pledge mean to you?

We see the U.S. flag everywhere—at schools, post offices, homes—even in front of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. The choice of size, shape, color, and design on the flag tells us about the United States—what it stands for, what it believes in.

The MuseuM’s 15-sTAr flAgAlthough the Museum’s 15-star flag looks like a flag, it is actually a banner, which means it was not intended to hang from a flagpole.

It is almost 200 years old, large (11 feet by 12¾ feet), and one of the Museum’s most valued treasures. It is made from wool bunting. The stars are made from linen.

Look carefully.

The sTAr-sPAngled BAnnerFrancis Scott Key wrote the lyrics or words of the Unites States’ national anthem on September 13, 1814, the morning after a battle at Fort McHenry near Baltimore, Maryland. Read the first verse:

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

PArTs of A flAgEach part of the flag has a specific name.

The hoist is the width of the flag.The fly is the length of the flag.A pole is the tall piece of metal or wood from which the flag is flown. The canton is the upper corner of the flag (next to the flagpole).The finial is the decorative ornament on top of the flagpole.

Draw a line from the word to where it is found on the flag.

The Flag: How to Respect It, How to Display It,1920s. Patriots Text Book Americanization Campaign. Courtesy of Warshaw Collection of Business Americana—Flags, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Behring Center, Smithsonian Institution

scottish rite masonic museum & Library 15-star FLag

WaveLong May She

What shape is it?

What are the colors?

How many stars do you see?

How many stripes?

How is this flag different from the ones you see every day?

Hoist

Fly

Pole

Canton

Finial

What would you like to ask Francis Scott Key about his lyrics?

Can you see some of the things he talks about in the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library’s 15-star flag?

What do the lyrics mean to you?

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Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

A large 15-star American flag is one of the Museum’smost valued treasures. Donated in 1995 by John E. Craver, it had been passed down in his family for generations. Makers sewed this flag, which measures ap-proximately 11 feet by 12¾ feet, to fly over a military fort (or garrison) or on a vessel, marking them as U.S. property. Unfortunately, we do not know who made it or where it flew.

The Museum’s 15-star flag is made of wool bunting, a lightweight, mildew- resistant, coarsely woven fabric. The blue section, called the canton, is colored with indigo. This dye, common during the late 1700s and early 1800s, provided a deep, permanent color that rarely faded. The red stripes are dyed with an un-known colorant. The stars are made out of linen. In 1996 and 1997, conservators worked 500 hours to stabilize the flag and prepare it for display. First, they vacu-umed it and then gently washed it to remove as many stains as possible. They next stabilized areas of fabric loss with patches, using material dyed as closely as possible to the flag’s colors. They also carefully removed old repairs that were pulling on the fabric. Finally, a supportive backing was sewn to the flag. A slightly angled backboard supports the flag in its specially constructed case, and the low lighting helps preserve it for generations to come.

Congress approved the first official U.S. flag in 1777,resolving that it have “13 stripes alternate red and white” and that there be “13 stars in a blue field representing a new constellation.” On January 13, 1794, President George Washington (1732–1799) signed the Second Flag Act. It man-dated 15 stars and 15 stripes—the number of American states at the time—but did not specify design details like the arrangement of the stars. You may notice that the Museum’s flag has only 14 stripes. One was removed before we received it, probably due to deterioration, or possibly by a souvenir seeker. The 15-star, 15-stripe design remained official until 1818, when legislators adopted the 20-star flag, choosing to add one star for each new state, while keeping the number of stripes at 13 to represent the original number of states. This same basic design is still used today.

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library’s 15-star flag is one of only a handful still in existence known to have been made between 1794 and 1818, based on their design, materials, and construction. The most famous 15-star flag is the Star-Spangled Banner, which flew at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key (1779–1843) to write the words to what is now the National Anthem. Initially made as a garrison flag to mark Fort McHenry as American property, the Star-Spangled Banner was stitched by Mrs. Mary Pickersgill (1776–1857) in 1813. A descendant of Fort McHenry’s commanding officer gave that flag to the Smithsonian Institution in 1912. It is now on view in Washington, D.C.

London composer John Stafford Smith (1750–1836) wrote the melody we know as our National Anthem in 1775 or 1776. Called “Anacreon in Heaven,” the British tune was popular in the United States. The first printing of Key’s poem noted that it should be sung to this tune. Despite its popularity as a patriotic song, “The Star-Spangled Banner” did not become the National Anthem until 1931. Prior to this, the United States did not have a national anthem.

Sometimes called the Second War of Independence, theWar of 1812 began after the British tried to prevent American ships from trading with France. At the time, Baltimore was the third largest U.S. city and an impor-tant port. In the summer of 1814, the British launched a campaign to destroy the nation’s capital and disrupt nearby Baltimore’s port activity. On August 24, 1814, the British burned Washington, D.C., setting fire to the White House and the Capitol, among other buildings.

The British commander, Sir Alexander Cochrane (1758–1832), wanted to silence the guns of Fort McHenry so he could bring his ships into Baltimore Harbor and bombard the Americans on land. British bombs began falling on the fort on September 13, 1814, at 6:30 a.m., and continued throughout the day, sometimes at a rate of nearly one per minute. According to Major George Armistead (1780–1818), Fort McHenry’s commander, 1,500 to 1,800 bombs were fired at the fort, but only 400 fell within its walls. The British finally gave up and retreated around 7 a.m. on September 14, ending almost 25 hours of bombardment. Only four Americans were killed, with an additional 24 wounded.

A peace treaty signed in Ghent, Belgium, ended the War of 1812 on December 24, 1814, but word of this treaty did not reach North America until February 1815.

Maryland attorney Francis Scott Key is best known asthe author of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Shortly before the Battle of Balti-more began, Key met with the British to negotiate the release of his acquain-tance, prisoner Dr. William Beanes (1749–1828). Although Key secured Beanes’s release prior to the battle, the British held the men for several days because they had learned of the British plan for an imminent attack.

Anchored on a vessel eight miles down the Patapsco River from Fort McHenry, the men watched the battle with a spyglass. Early on September 14, 1814, after the bombardment ended, Key looked for the flag at the fort. When he saw it, he began to write his poem on the back of a letter in his pocket. He later finished it in Baltimore and, in doing so, created the much-loved anthem we know today.

Star-Spangled Banner. Courtesy of Military History, Smithsonian Institution.

Portrait of Francis Scott Key, about 1825. Attributed to Joseph Wood. Courtesy of Walters Art Gallery.

A View of the Bombardment of Fort McHenry, 1816. Print by J. Bower, Philadelphia. Courtesy of Military History, Smithsonian Institution.

On the cover: Fifteen- Star Flag, 1794–1818. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, gift of John E. Craver, 95.021. Photo by David Bohl. Left: The flag in the Museum’s Farr Conference Center.

At dawn . . . our morning gun was fired, the flag hoisted, Yankee

Doodle played, and we all appeared in full view of a formidable

and mortified enemy, who calculated upon our surrender in

20 minutes after the commencement of the action.

American private Isaac Munroe, September 17, 1814

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library’s 15-Star Flag The Star-Spangled Banner The War of 1812’s Battle of Baltimore Francis Scott Key (1779–1843)