Forster Flag - 1775
Responding to the alarm at Lexington on 19 April 1775, minutemen from the Manchester militia carried the Forster Flag with them. By the time they arrived, the British were in full retreat. The company did however make history by carrying the flag named for their 1st Lt. Samuel Forster. It is the oldest known existing flag to have 13 stripes.
Originally a Red Ensign, probably made in 1774, the Union was cut out and red cloth sewn in its place. 13 white stripes were attached to the red union, six on one side, seven on the other.
The Forster Flag is one of a few known Revolutionary War era flags not owned by a public institution. It was sold at auction in 2014 and is now part of the collection of Brian and Barbara Hendelson .
Sources
Doyle. “The Historic Forster Flag” (April 2014) https://doyle.com/auctions/14ff01-forster-flag/historic-forster-flag
Mead, Philip. “American Flag’s Origins: A Symbol of Unity or Dissent?” (June 2020) Museum of the American Revolution https://www.amrevmuseum.org/american-flag-s-origins-a-symbol-of-unity-or-dissent
Owens, Barbra. “The Forster Flag, and the conservation of a Revolutionary War textile” (April 2014) http://insidetheconservatorsstudio.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-forster-flag.html
Smith, Whitney. “The Forster Flag, The First American Flag Ever Made” The Flag Bulletin pp.81-118 (May/June 2002)
Special thank you to Kirby Baker of the Flag Heritage Foundation for sending me in the right direction.
The Battle of Lexington, 19April1775
Oil on canvas by William Barns Wollen
National Army Museum
Samuel Forster, and Corresponding Flag
Committees of correspondence provided a means of communication for colonial legislatures from the early 1700’s. As tensions between Great Britain and the colonies grew, committees were organized in many towns and villages. Committees shared information, confirmed mutual support, and organized resistance. Samuel Forster was elected to the Manchester Massachusetts Committee of Correspondence in 1775.
In the fall of 1774 General Thomas Gage, the royal governor of Massachusetts, dismissed the colony’s representative legislator. The group reconvened in Salem and voted to strengthen colonial militias. Forster was made 1st LT of the Manchester Company, Essex County Regiment.
Early on the morning of April 19th 1775, word reached Manchester that British troops had marched on the towns of Lexington and Concord. Lt. Forster and his company began marching to join the battle, carrying their red flag, with 13 white stripes.
By the time the company reached Medford, 10 miles from Lexington, the British were in headlong retreat. Some of the company joined in chasing the British back to Boston. Lt. Forster returned to Manchester to help prepare against possible attack. He kept the Forster Flag with him, and it remained a cherished family heirloom for generations.
Sources
American Battlefield Trust. “Lexington and Concord” Retrieved 27 April 2023 from https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/lexington-and-concord
Smith, Whitney. “The Forster Flag, The First American Flag Ever Made” The Flag Bulletin pp.82-118 (May/June 2002)
Treesh, Catharine. “Committees of Correspondence” Washington Library, Digital Encyclopedia. Retrieved 29 April 2023 from https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/committees-of-correspondence/#:~:text=Committees%20of%20correspondence%20were%20longstanding,their%20own%20committees%20of%20correspondence.