Making the Star-Spangled Banner

Mary Pickersgill’s American Flag

Jan 1, 2007 Mary Trotter Kion

Some 350,000 hand-sewn stitches were used in making the wool bunting flag that would fly over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.

Fifteen Stars on a Field of Blue

The American flag, commissioned in 1813 by Major George Armistead during the War of 1812, and constructed by Mary Pickersgill, was to be flown over Fort McHenry outside of Baltimore, Maryland.

This flag consisted, in part, of fifteen white cotton stars, each were two feet wide from point to point. Interestingly, these stars are not each of one solid piece of cloth but rather made from several pieces sewn together. Uniquely, these stars can be seen from either side of the flag. They were first sewn on one side of the flag. The flag was then turned over and the blue field behind each star was cut away, then sewn to the blue field again in a reverse applique method. It is estimated that some 350,000 hand-sewn stitches were used in the flags making.

Fifteen Stripes for Fifteen States

Unlike the original flag, the flag commissioned to fly over Fort McHenry contains eight red and seven white stripes that are also two feet wide. And, like the pieced together stars, the stripes are also constructed of numerous smaller pieces sewn together. The fifteen stripes of the Fort McHenry flag denoted thirteen stripes for the original thirteen colonies plus two additional stripes. The two stripes are for Vermont, which became the fourteenth state in 1791, and for Kentucky, which was made the fifteenth state in 1792.

The wool bunting used for the flag may have been purchased by Mary Pickersgill from her brother-in-law, Captain Jesse Fearson. Fearson owned a dry-goods store in Baltimore, Maryland. Wool was the usual material used for making flags in America up until the American Civil War. Until the invention of the cotton gin, cotton material was considered a luxury item. Also, wool is considered good for making flags as it is elastic as well as durable under wear and tear. As to the term "bunting," this describes the type of wool used and refers to an open-weave fabric.

Making the Star Spangled Banner continues with: A Flag to Inspire a Poet: The Star Spangled Banner.

Previous: Mary Pickersgill's American Flag: The Star-Spangled Banner.

Recommended Reading:

Women of Jamestown

Source:

Molotsky, Irvin. The Flag, The Poet and The Song. Penguin Putnam, Inc., London, England, 2001.

The copyright of the article Making the Star-Spangled Banner in American History is owned by Mary Trotter Kion. Permission to republish Making the Star-Spangled Banner in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.