In 1816, Kamehameha appointed his own flag to avoid problems. As a result, the current flag of Hawaii was born. There is debate as to the name of the officer: some traditions credit Alexander Adams, others George Beckley. The original flag was designed to feature stripes alternating in the order: red-white-blue. However, some have argued that the stripes were influenced by the flag of the United States. The flag used at the first official flying of the flag of Hawaii erroneously placed the stripes in the order: white-red-blue. The number of stripes also changed. Originally, the flag was designed with seven horizontal stripes. In 1845 it changed to have eight stripes (at one point, there were nine but later the number changed back to eight). The arrangement was adopted and is used today.