British Red Ensign Nylon Flag
$64.95
British Red Ensign Nylon Flag – The British Red Ensign Flag is a red flag with what is known as a Union in the upper left corner. In order to understand the purpose of the British Red Ensign Flag, it will be helpful to understand a few terms commonly used in heraldry. Heraldry is the art of making flags. This will also help you understand how the American flag developed.
About Our British Red Ensign Nylon Flag
From 1707 then, until the Revolutionary War era, the British Red Ensign Flag was the official British flag. Since the American colonies were British colonies, this was also the flag of the colonies. In 1776 when George Washington and the Continental Army were encamped around Boston, Washington had the British Red Ensign Flag raised at Cambridge, but modified by adding strips of white cloth to make white stripes on the red field. He was raising the flag to show that the colonists were still loyal to the king. Remember, this was several months before the Declaration of Independence. This modified British Red Ensign Flag became known as the Grand Union Flag. The British soldiers misunderstood the raising of the flag and thought it was meant as an act of submission. This amused George Washington and may have been part of the reason for creating a new American flag. The British Red Ensign Flag is the basis for the United States flag. White stripes were added around the time of the Stamp Act to many colonial flags and naval flags. One tradition has the first US naval flag using red and white stripes with a serpent in the middle representing the colonies ability to strike back and the words "Don't Tread On Me." This flag is called the First Navy Jack Flag and is still in use by the US Navy today, even though its historic origin is in question. Finally, the British Union was removed and replaced with 13 Stars representing each new state.
