In general, however, straight rows of stars and proportions similar to those later adopted officially were used. The principal acts affecting the flag of the United States are the following: ...

people became aware of nine stars on American flags on official government websites. This is, of course, in stark contrast to the actual American flag, which features 50 stars and 13 stripes.

It was, of course, the huge American flag that flew over Baltimore's Fort McHenry on a hot summer night in 1814. "Was," because this object at hand, the original Star-Spangled Banner, is no longer ...