Easton Flag-July 1776

On the 8th of July 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read on the courthouse steps at Easton Pennsylvania.  The local paper reported a Flag was flown on the occasion.  Some believe it was the Flag known as the Easton Flag.   The local militia was present, and likely carried their unit standard.  Standards bearing 13 stripes in the canton, or upper corner, were common at the time.  The Easton Flag can be seen in the background of Charles Polk’s 1790 painting “George Washington at Princeton”.

Nearly four decades later, the ladies of Easton created a Flag for the soldiers of Easton as they marched off to serve in the War of 1812.  Again, no description of the Flag was given, but many believe it had the same unique design of the Flag connected to the reading of the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776.

Following the War of 1812, the Flag was given to the Easton Library for safe keeping, where it has been kept ever since.  No detailed examination of the Flag has been made, but in the 1970’s a Smithsonian textile expert attested it could date to Revolutionary times.

Sources:

Condit, Uzal W. “The History of Easton” p 202 (1889) https://www.loc.gov/item/10025101/ 

Easton Area Public Library “Easton Flag” Retrieved 17 February 2024 from https://www.eastonpl.org/MREastonFlag.html

Furlong, William and McCandless, Byron “So Proudly We Hail, The History of the United States Flag” p. 113 (1981) Smithsonian Institution Press

Polk, Charles “George Washington at Princeton” (1790) Private collection.

Towne, Benjamin “Pennsylvania Evening Post, July 11, 1776” https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/file_media/PA%20Post%20July%2011%201776_OS.pdf

Special Thanks to Sharon Gothard of the Easton Area Public Library for the tip on the Polk painting.