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Surviving
flags with 24 stars which date to the period from
1821-1836, are rarely encountered, with likely less than
ten examples currently known. Most of those that are
known, such as
IAS-00319 have star arrangements in row patterns,
but this beautiful example is one of the earliest known
examples of the Great Star pattern, also known as the
Grand Luminary pattern. In 1817, when Congress was
considering introducing new rules for how the American
Flag would be extended to represent additional states
being added to the Union, Representative Peter Wendover
asked Captain Samuel Chester Reid, a former privateer
captain in the American Navy during the War of 1812, for
his recommendations. Reid proposed the rule of adding a
star to the flag for each new state, but keeping the
stripe count at 13 to represent the original colonies.
Reid also provided sketches to Congress of some proposed
designs for the flag, including a design showing the
smaller stars of the canton arranged into a larger star
pattern, which became known as the Great Star pattern.
Congress incorporated Reid's proposal for the method of
adding stars for each state while keeping thirteen
stripes into the Flag Act of 1818, but they did not
adopt his recommendation for the Great Star arrangement.
Regardless, the pattern came into use in privately
commissioned flags (as well as a myriad of other unique
and interesting patterns of arranging the stars on 19th
century flags) and the Great Star pattern has become one
of the most beloved and sought after patterns for
collectors of early American flags. Although this flag
seems large at 11 feet on the fly and 9 feet on the
hoist, it is relatively modest in size compared to the
largest ship's flags, which could be over 20 feet by 30
feet in size. The fly end of the flag has been hemmed
back, and it likely was longer when it was constructed,
perhaps by four or five feet. This is the earliest
example of the Great Star flag that I'm aware of that
dates to this original early period. A similar example,
also without a center star but in a 25 star count, is in
the collection of the Huntingdon Historical Society,
Hundington, Long Island, and is pictured in the book
The Stars and Stripes by Boleslaw and Marie-Louise
D'Otrange Mastai. A handful of other examples in the 26
star count, perhaps between six and ten examples, which
tend to have center stars in addition to similar quirky
great stars made with curved arches of stars, are also
known. This example, being just 24 stars, could date to
as early as 1821, just a few years after Captain Reid's
suggestion for its design. It is a treasure of the earliest era of American Flag
making.
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