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The American flag has 13 horizontal stripes — seven red and six white. The number is tied to the country’s beginnings and has remained meaningful even as the United States grew far beyond its original size.
That gives the flag two timelines in one familiar design: its stripes preserve an early part of the country’s history, while its stars reflect later growth.
The American Flag 13 Stripes Current Design
The striped part of the U.S. flag has stayed at 13 bands since 1818. Today, those stripes form a regular red-and-white pattern across the flag, with the blue union covering part of the upper section.
1. How Many Stripes Are on the American Flag Today?
The American flag has 13 horizontal stripes running from the top edge to the bottom. The current 50-star version has been in use since July 4, 1960, and its stripe count remains the same 13 established long before the modern star field.
The blue union covers the left side of the upper seven stripes, while the six lower stripes stretch across the full width of the flag. All 13 still belong to the same striped field; the upper bands are simply partly covered by the union.
When the flag is displayed vertically against a wall, the union remains at the top and appears on the observer’s left, as directed by the U.S. Flag Code.
2. How Many Red and White Stripes Are There?
There are seven red stripes and six white stripes. Red falls in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th positions, with white between them.
The sequence starts with red at the top and ends with red at the bottom. With 13 alternating bands in all, red appears once more than white.
The 1777 Flag Resolution specified alternating red-and-white stripes but did not explain what those colors meant. Later, in the 1782 explanation of the Great Seal of the United States, white was associated with purity and innocence and red with hardiness and valor. Those meanings come from the Great Seal explanation rather than the original flag resolution.
3. Are All 13 Stripes the Same Size?
Yes. In the standard federal design, all 13 stripes have the same height, with each stripe measuring 1/13 of the flag’s total height.
Those proportions are set out in Executive Order 10834, issued by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959 as part of the specifications for the modern 50-star flag.
For example, a flag that is 39 inches tall would have stripes 3 inches high. A larger or smaller flag keeps the same proportions, so the stripe height scales with the overall flag rather than following one fixed measurement.
How the Number of Stripes Changed Over Time
Thirteen stripes appeared on an American flag before Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes in 1777. The count later rose to 15, then returned to 13 in 1818, where it has remained ever since.
4. Were There 13 Stripes Before the U.S. Flag Had 13 Stars?
Yes. A 13-stripe flag was in use before the 13-star national flag was adopted in 1777.
The best-known example is the Grand Union Flag, also called the Continental Colors. It had 13 alternating red-and-white stripes, but its upper-left corner still carried the British Union flag rather than a field of stars. One was raised at Prospect Hill near George Washington’s headquarters on January 1, 1776.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a national flag with 13 stripes and 13 white stars on a blue field. The stripes were therefore already part of the developing American flag tradition before the familiar star field appeared.
5. Has the American Flag Ever Had More Than 13 Stripes?
Yes. The official U.S. flag had 15 stripes from 1795 to 1818.
Vermont joined the Union in 1791 and Kentucky followed in 1792. The next official flag recognized the two new states by increasing both parts of the design to 15 stars and 15 stripes.
The best-known flag from this period is the Star-Spangled Banner. Made by Baltimore flagmaker Mary Pickersgill in 1813, it had 15 stars and 15 stripes and flew over Fort McHenry during the British attack on Baltimore in September 1814. Francis Scott Key saw the flag afterward and wrote the poem that later became the national anthem.
The garrison flag was enormous — originally about 30 feet high and 42 feet long. Each of its 15 stripes was roughly two feet high, making it a particularly striking surviving example of the period when the American flag carried more than 13 stripes.
6. When Did the Flag Return to 13 Stripes?
Congress restored the flag to 13 stripes in 1818. By then, the Union had grown to 20 states, with more states expected to follow.
The law approved on April 4, 1818 kept 13 horizontal stripes but provided a star for every state. It also established the practice of adding new stars on July 4 following a state’s admission.
From then on, new states changed the star field rather than the stripe count.
Year |
Stripes |
What changed |
1776 |
13 |
Grand Union Flag used 13 red-and-white stripes without the familiar star field |
1777 |
13 |
Continental Congress adopted 13 stripes and 13 stars |
1795 |
15 |
The official flag expanded after Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union |
1818 |
13 |
Congress restored 13 stripes and shifted future state additions to the star field |
Across its history, the United States has had 27 official versions of the national flag. Only one of them used 15 stripes, so 26 of the 27 official designs have carried the familiar 13-stripe pattern.
Why the Flag Still Has 13 Stripes
The stripe count stayed at 13 after 1818, but the importance of that number reaches back to the country’s earliest years. It comes from the colonies represented by the first national flag and remains visible even though the Union eventually grew to 50 states.
7. Why Are There 13 Stripes on the American Flag?
The 13 stripes represent the original 13 British colonies that broke from Britain during the American Revolution and became the first states of the United States.
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
The stripes represent those colonies together. There is no official order assigning one particular stripe to New Hampshire, another to Massachusetts, and so on. The historical connection comes from the number 13, not from the position of any individual stripe.
The two important dates answer different parts of the question. The 1777 flag resolution explains why 13 stripes appeared on the national flag in the first place. The later return to 13 made that founding number a lasting part of the design.
8. Why Are There 50 Stars but Only 13 Stripes?
The flag has 50 stars but only 13 stripes because the two parts now track different things. The stripes keep the founding count of 13, while the star field reflects the number of states in the Union.
Each current state has a star, but new states do not add new stripes. If the Union ever gained a 51st state, the flag would eventually gain another star while the striped field would remain unchanged at 13.
That is how the same flag can preserve its original founding count while still reflecting the country as it exists today. The stripes are only one part of the flag’s broader symbolism, which also comes through its stars, colors, and overall design.
The country has changed enormously since the first American flags were raised, but the number 13 has stayed visible in the stripes. It remains one of the clearest links between the modern flag and the nation’s beginnings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still curious about the U.S. flag? These quick answers cover a few related questions that fall outside the main stripe discussion.
What does a black stripe on an American flag mean?
A black-and-white American flag with a single colored stripe (like the "Thin Blue Line" or "Thin Red Line") is a modern variant used to show support for law enforcement or firefighters. Conversely, a completely black American flag or a black ribbon attached to the staff is a traditional symbol of mourning used to honor fallen service members or national figures.
Are there 50 or 52 states in the United States?
There are exactly 50 states in the U.S. The widespread belief that there are 52 states is a common misconception, usually arising from confusing the 50 official states with Washington, D.C. (a federal district) and U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Does the U.S. flag currently have 51 stars?
No, the official American flag currently has 50 stars. While the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry has already drafted official 51-star flag prototypes for potential future states like Puerto Rico or Washington, D.C., those designs will not be officially adopted until Congress approves a 51st state.
What is the official way to dispose of a worn-out American flag?
According to the U.S. Flag Code, when an American flag becomes too worn, faded, or damaged to fly, it should be destroyed in a dignified manner, preferably by burning in a private ceremony. Local chapters of the American Legion, VFW, or Boy Scouts frequently collect aged flags to host respectful retirement ceremonies.
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