The Cowpens flag, or 3rd Maryland

3rd Maryland Regiment

-Summary:The 3rd Maryland Regiment was organized on 27 March 1776 of eight companies from Anne Arundel, Prince George's, Talbot, Harford and Somerset counties of the colony of Maryland. The regiment was authorized on 16 September 1776 for service with the Continental Army and was assigned on 27...

 flag, is an early version of the United States Flag that meets the congressional requirements of the Flag Resolution of 1777. Like the Betsy Ross flag

Betsy Ross flag

The Betsy Ross flag is an early design of the flag of the United States, popularly attributed to Betsy Ross, using the common motifs of alternating red-and-white striped field with five-pointed stars in a blue canton. The flag was designed during the American Revolution and features 13 stars to...

, the white stars are arranged in a circle on a blue field; but the circle consists of just 12 stars, with the 13th star in the center.

This version of the US flag was said to have been carried by William Batchelor of the 3rd Maryland Regiment at the Battle of Cowpens

Battle of Cowpens

The Battle of Cowpens was a decisive victory by Patriot Revolutionary forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War...

, January 17, 1781, and this arrangement of stars has come to be known as the "3rd Maryland design." The Batchelor family donated their original flag, known as the Batchelor Flag, to the 'Society of the War of 1812' in 1894. After William N. Batchelor challenged the authenticity of the flag, however, the Baltimore Society of the War of 1812 appointed J. Appleton Wilson to research the history. Wilson determined that the flag was actually carried by Joshua F. Batchelor at the Battle of North Point

Battle of North Point

The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although tactically a British victory, the battle delayed the British advance against Baltimore, buying valuable time for the defense of...

 during the War of 1812, where it acquired its many bullet holes. The society had later used the flag to mark the anniversary of the Battle of North Point, but had also used the flag for ceremonies regarding the American Revolution, including a parade for Lafayette when he visited Maryland in 1824.

The Batchelor Flag was on display in the Maryland Statehouse flag room until the 1980s, when older flags were moved to storage for preservation. It is currently held at the Maryland Archives. A 1970s study conducted by the Maryland State Archivist and the Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

, however, concluded that the preserved flag was of 19th century origin. Among the reasons for this conclusion are:

• The 3rd Maryland Regiment was not at the Battle of Cowpens.
• No American regiment was officially authorized to carry Stars and Stripes flags.
• The first Stars and Stripes flag constructed in Maryland was made in 1782, at least a year after the Battle of Cowpens.
• The fabric and construction technique match other 19th century flags.

A Smithsonian publication acknowledges that the Cowpens design may date to the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, but the actual flag held at Maryland dates no earlier than 1843.

The flag of Easton, Pennsylvania

Easton Flag

The Easton Flag is a banner used to represent Easton, Pennsylvania. It is designed differently from more common Flags of the United States in that it has 13 stars in a blue field, with 13 stripes in the canton...

 reverses the 3rd Maryland design, with the star wreath on the field of the flag, and the 13 red and white stripes in the canton.

The star pattern was popular enough to see continued use in 15-star flags as the nation began to grow. A surviving military commission signed by Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 in 1808 shows a 15-star flag and a 15-star Navy jack, both using the 3rd Maryland star arrangement (14 star circle with the 15th star in the center).

The crest of the Navy cruiser USS Cowpens (CG-63)

USS Cowpens (CG-63)

USS Cowpens is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser currently in service with the United States Navy.-Overview:The USS Cowpens is currently forward-deployed and is homeported at United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Yokosuka, Japan...

features the 3rd Maryland star pattern in the foreground, as well as two Cowpens flags in the background.

Sources

• Cooper, Grace Rogers Thirteen Star Flags 1973. Smithsonian Institution Press. Available online (21.7 MB).
• Leepson, Marc Flag: An American Biography 2004. ISBN 0-312-32308-5
• Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange The Stars and the Stripes. The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the Republic to the Present ©1973. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0-394-47217-9

External links

• Cowpens Flag at CRW Flags.
• Historical flags at USHistory.org
• Maryland State Archives list (dated 1940-1941) of flags in collection