An intriguing item of flag
folklore revolves around the
presence of the "blood
stripe" or "war stripe" on an American Flag.
Traditionally and most
commonly, the canton of a
flag spans seven stripes
(R-W-R-W-R-W-R) and comes to
rest upon the fourth white
stripe. In some rare
cases, flags span fewer
stripes, sometimes six,
sometimes five, or even in
rarer cases, fewer than five
or more than seven. In
any case, when the canton of
the flag rests on a red
stripe, the stripe is
traditionally referred to as
the "blood stripe".
The presence of this trait
is often said to indicate
that the flag was made
during wartime, whereas a
canton resting on a white
stripe indicates peacetime.
In my experience, I am
personally skeptical that
this is, in fact, accurate,
or that Americans
consciously and collectively
altered their flag making
style in times of peace and
war. The idea of the
blood stripe doesn't appear
to be a fixture of popular
culture and is not widely
documented in our written
history. Within the Rare
Flags collection, there are
several "blood stripe"
flags, some of which are
clearly made during wartime,
and others which are not.
Regardless of whether or not
the "blood stripe" is
intentional and in fact does
symbolize a state of war,
the concept will forever
remain a symbolic and
debatable element of
American Flag lore.
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Star Count: 16,
Small Boat Ensign
Date: 1861-1865
War Affiliation:
American Civil War |
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Star Count: 33
Date: 1859-1861
War Affiliation:
American Civil War |
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Star Count:
34 Date:
1861-1863
War Affiliation:
American Civil War |
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Star Count:
35 Date:
1863-1865
War Affiliation:
American Civil War |
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Star Count: 36
Date: 1865
War Affiliation:
American Civil War |
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Star Count: 38
Date: 1876-1889
War Affiliation:
None |
|
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Star Count:
41 Date:
1944-1945
War Affiliation:
World War II
(French Made
Liberation Flag) |
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Star Count:
39 Date: 1889
War Affiliation:
None at the time the
flag was produced,
though it was
carried in World War
I by Francis Judkins. |
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Star Count: 15
Date: 1941-1945
War Affiliation:
World War II
(Foreign Made
Liberation Flag,
Pacific Theater) |
|
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Star Count: 25
Date: 1944-1945
War Affiliation:
World War II
(French-Made
Liberation Flag) |
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Star Count: 49
Date: 1944-1945
War Affiliation:
World War II
(French-Made
Liberation Flag) |
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Star Count: 38
Date: 1883
War Affiliation:
None |
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Star Count:
13 Date: 1876
War Affiliation:
None |
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