Trumbull Flag-1777

Sometimes remembered as the Painter of the Revolution, John Trumbull was an eyewitness to many of America’s founding events.  He was a veteran of the Battle of Bunker’s Hill.  Upon taking command of the Continental Army, General Washington took advantage of Trumbull’s talent, having him sketch Boston and the British positions.  After serving with Generals Schuyler and Gates, he resigned his commission and studied art.  He returned to the Continental Army as a supply officer in 1782.  Four of his best-known works hang in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington D.C.   

The Flag design bearing Trumbull’s name appears in several of his paintings.  The earliest being “The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton” painted in 1795.  A similar design appears on a brass artillery cap, dated to 1778, unearthed at an archeological dig in New Jersey. Some historians believe this to be the oldest image of the Stars and Stripes.

Given the attention to detail Trumbull gave his paintings and the variety of Flag designs in use during the American Revolution, there can be little doubt the Trumbull Flag was carried by the Continental Army during the war.

Sources:

Canby, George. “The Evolution of the American Flag” pp. 54-56, (1909) Ferris & Leach

Trumbull, John.  “Autobiography, Reminiscences, and Letters of John Trumbull, from 1756 to 1841” pp. 17-38, 64-147 (1841) New York & London, Wiley and Putnam; New Haven, B.L. Hamlen.

https://archive.org/details/autobiographyre00trumgoog/page/n12/mode/2up

Trumbull, John. “The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton” (1795) Oil on canvas. Yale University Art Gallery https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/101

Trumbull, John. “Surrender of Lord Cornwallis” (1819-20) Oil on canvas. Capitol Rotunda https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/surrender-lord-cornwallis

Trumbull, John. “Surrender of General Burgoyne” (1821) Oil on canvas. Capitol Rotunda https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/surrender-general-burgoyne#:~:text=Burgoyne's%20surrender%20followed%20battles%20with,he%20surrendered%20to%20General%20Gates.

Rossiter, Al “Earliest Stars and Stripes” (1988) NAVA News. https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/622278/documents/NAVANews_1988_v21no4_1368096884.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA6MYUE6DNNNCCDT4J&Expires=1713757988&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DNAVANews_1988_v21no4.pdf&Signature=cVtKopWFT%2BKzY0N9gP0cjNXfuyQ%3D

Weinman, Erin. “John Trumbull, Painter of the Revolution” (January 2019) New York Historical Society.https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/john-trumbull-painter-of-the-revolutio