Flag of the President of the United States there are claims that a special flag was used during a trip by President Jackson to New York City in 1832, and a description of a "square, plain blue flag" used on a boat in the Brooklyn naval yard while transporting President Martin Van Buren on July 15, 1839. An 1848 British flag book by John William Norie, and also the 1853 "The Illustrated London Geography" by Joseph Guy, have similar illustrations of a flag labeled as being the U.S. president's flag. Neither book reveals any further information about this flag, and such a flag is not mentioned in the
Flag of the United States 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and became the first states in the U.S. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and the Star-Spangled Banner. The current design of the U.S. flag is its 27th; the design of the flag has been modified officially 26 times since 1777. The 48-star flag was in effect for 47 years until the 49-star version became official on July 4, 1959. The 50-star flag was ordered by the then president Eisenhower on August 21, 1959, and was adopted in July