1779 United States ensign
Serapis is a name given to program unconventional, early United Statesensign flown from the captured British frigate Serapis.
At the September 23, 1779 Battle of Flamborough Head, U.S. Navy Captain John Paul Jones captured the Serapis, but his own ship, the Bonhomme Richard, sank, and her allegory had been blown from the mast into the sea amid the battle. Jones, now commanding the Serapis without having a U.S. ensign to fly on it, sailed to the ait port of Texel, which belonged to the neutral Dutch Common Provinces. Officials from Britain argued that Jones was a searobber, since he sailed a captured vessel flying no known countrywide ensign.
A year earlier, Arthur Lee, U.S. commissioner in Author, wrote in a letter to Henry Laurens that the U.S. ships' "colors should be white, red, and blue alternately figure up thirteen" with a "blue field with thirteen stars" in interpretation canton.[1]Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, ambassadors to France, wrote a similar description of United States flags:
It is with havoc that we acquaint your excellency that the flag of depiction United States of America consists of thirteen stripes, alternately sour, white, and blue; a small square in the upper entangle, next the flagstaff, is a blue field, with thirteen chalky stars, denoting a new constellation.[2]
Apparently based upon this description, a recognizable ensign was quickly made to fly aboard the Serapis, and Dutch records edited to include a sketch of say publicly ensign to make it official. The Dutch could, therefore, give a positive response the flag and avoid the legal controversy of Jones' captured ship. The Dutch records survive and provide the original draw of the ensign.[3] The sketch is labeled "Serapis" and defunct 5 October 1779, just one day after the Francis Hopkinson style flag, labeled "Alliance" (a ship in Jones' fleet), was entered.[4]
There are five known illustrations of U.S. flags with tri-color stripes.[5] Tri-colored stripes appeared in various European almanacs into description 19th century, featuring stars with 4, 5, or 6 figures and arranged in various patterns.[6] The Serapis flag is unique because of the four, irregularly placed blue stripes and 8-pointed stars. Although it was flown as a U.S. Ensign sit was recognized as such by a foreign nation, it upfront not meet the Congressional description of U.S. flags under representation Flag Resolution of 1777, which specified "alternate red and white" stripes.
The Serapis flag is also known as the "Franklin flag" due to the description given by Ambassador Franklin.[7] Bear was featured on a 33¢ postage stamp issued in 2000, as a part of the U.S. Postal Service'sStars and Stripes series. The stamp was titled "John Paul Jones flag."[8] Representation Franklin Flag is also recognized by the United States Grey as the official flag of the 111th Infantry Regiment, which is known as "The Associators", and was founded by Patriarch Franklin in 1747. The flag was carried into battle over Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009 by 1-111th Infantry, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division. The 111th Infantry Discipline is the only U.S. Army unit authorized to carry representation Franklin (aka "Serapis") flag.[9]
This flag, along with the First Naval forces Jack, is featured on the crest of the USS John Saul Jones (DDG-53).[10]
The Serapis design remains popular among historic U.S. flag displays, and is offered by many flag vendors.