Question about US flags at Capitol

[Alex Franke]

Every so often, on days like today, there are five US flags hanging at the US Capitol (currently back behind the podium), from what looks to be three different times in the flag's history. Given that the flag design has evolved about a zillion times, does anyone happen to know the significance of those particular versions?

A couple interesting facts that I learned while (unsuccessfully) googling to try to find the answer: (1) The United States Army Institute of Heraldry has plans for flags with up to 56 stars, using a similar staggered star arrangement should additional states accede. (from here) (2) The Capitol flag program flies about 100,000 flags a year over the Capitol (from here)

[LCHIEN]

i can't quite see the details to count the stars but one looks like the original flag of 13 states (circular pattern), one has more states (rectangular pattern but far fewer than 50) and I'm going to guess that was the flag during Lincoln's presidency (and he symbolically refused to have stars removed for the seceeded states during that Civil war period) because of Obama's professed inspiration from Lincoln and the historical significance to blacks, and finally the center one is the current 50-star flag.

found a better pic. the two outside flags have 13 stars and the two either side of center have 21 stars and the center looks to be 50 stars. I think 21 stars was too few for the civil war era...

I think i figured it out!
The circular star field pattern (left and right) is a 13-star flag and was the first of the new United States.
The 21 star flag (left center and right center) That would coincide with the 1820 introduction of Illinois (Obama's home state) into the union! how about that! (this is my interpretation-LC)
The fifty-star flag (center) is the current flag.

factoid: As of July 4, 2004, the 50-star flag has been the longest-used US flag in history.

[LCHIEN]

on third thought maybe the 50-star flag was for Hawaii, Obama's other home state, and the 50-star flag was introduced when Alaska and Hawaii joined the union.

[Alex Franke]

Yeah, that sounds good, but I don't know. It seems like I've seen that configuration before, too. Or maybe the change out the middle one to match the occasion. (not the one in the center, of course, but the one in the middle chronologically)

[Alex Franke]

Here's a picture where the middle one has 25 stars (second image)...
http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masoni...us_capitol.htm

[LCHIEN]

you don't know the occassion of that picture so the significance of the 25-star flag is unknown.

this explains the 21 star flags, as I had suggested:
www.freep.com/article/20090120/MISC03/90120003/PDF

[Alex Franke]

Perfect! That's excellent internet sleuthing! Thanks!

[khf314]

More info than you need to know....

I remember when I was a kid that my family had a 49-star flag....must have bought it sometime in the seven months between Alaska & Hawaii being admitted to the Union.