Civil War Facts |
Colonial Wars |
American Wars |
Link To This Page — Contact Us —
Union First National Flag Civil War Facts
On July 4, 1859, this flag became the offical flag of the United States after the admission of Oregon on February 14, 1859. The canton contained 4 rows of 7 stars each, separated in the middle by a single row of 5 stars, making a total of 33 stars.
This was the flag in use when when the southern states began to secede from the Union. South Carolina was the first to do so on December 20, 1860.
A new state, Kansas, was admitted to the Union before Fort Sumpter was fired upon April 12-14, 1861, but the flag incorporating a star to represent Kansas had not yet become official.
Thus, the 33-star flag was the first one fired upon by Confederate forces.
