31 Star Flag - (1851-1858) (U.S.)

Last modified: 2002-10-26 by rick wyatt
Keywords: thirty-one | united states |
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by Rick Wyatt, 5 April 1998

• 1853 Commodore Perry in Japan
• Description of the flag

See also:

• History of the Stars and Stripes
• U.S. Historical flags
• United States of America

In 1851, one star was added, representing California, bringing the total number of stars to 31. There were thirteen stripes representing the thirteen original colonies.
Rick Wyatt, 5 April 1998

by Matthew White, 6 March 2002

In the book _Jumbo's Hide, Elvis's Ride, and the Tooth of Buddha_ by Harvey Rachlin (a history of artifacts), I saw a photo of the 31-star flag flown by Commodore Perry in Japan in 1853. The flag is in the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, and it measures 41x64 inches. There's a smaller photo of it on navy website.
Matthew White, 6 March 2002