The Flags That Joined Andover in Revolution

Andover Celebrates America 250

May 21, 2026

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Today, we welcome new History Buzz contributor Chris Klein and the Andover Celebrates America 250 Committee.

The Flags That Joined Andover in Revolution

Through cannon smoke, winter snows, and campfire haze, handmade banners accompanied Andover’s patriots as they fought in the Revolutionary War. Over the course of the American Revolution, hundreds of fluttering flags offered inspiration and provided identification to soldiers and sailors as they marched into battle or sailed the waves.

A number of these colorful banners would have been familiar to the boys and men of Andover serving in provincial militias and Continental Army regiments, including these six flags temporarily installed at the Revolutionary War Memorial at Bicentennial Park.

Betsy Ross Flag

The Flag Resolution adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, established the newly born country’s first official flag: “Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” While the resolution remained silent on their arrangement, the stars were eventually placed in a circular pattern. Although the banner became known as the “Betsy Ross Flag,” there’s no proof that the Philadelphia seamstress stitched the first official Stars and Stripes. (The story was first told by her grandson nearly a century later—in 1870.)

Grand Union Flag

It might be jarring to see a British Union Jack on what is sometimes called the first flag of the United States, but the patriots were not yet undertaking a fight for independence when the banner was thought to have been raised over Prospect Hill in present-day Somerville for the first time on January 1, 1776. Washington had requested a banner for the Continental Army during the Siege of Boston—in which many Andover residents participated. With 13 alternating red and white stripes representing the colonies, the “Continental Colors” flew until 1777, and a version of it flew at sea.

Sons of Liberty Flag

Emerging in 1765 Boston to protest the Stamp Act, the secretive Sons of Liberty ignited the first sparks of revolution. Acts of property destruction—such as the Boston Tea Party—and tarring and feathering of tax collectors and customs officials by the rebels struck many Andover residents as too radical. Sarah Loring Bailey noted in Historical Sketches of Andover that the town declared its “utter detestation and abhorrence of all such violent and extravagant proceedings” and directed its representative to the General Court to seek compensation for Loyalists who sustained losses at the hands of the Sons of Liberty. Nonetheless, any rebellious townsfolk who joined their brethren in Boston may have recognized the Sons of Liberty flag—a banner of nine red and white vertical stripes that some historians theorize symbolized the nine colonies that participated in the Stamp Act Congress.

Continental Flag

With lumber a mainstay of the region’s economy, the ubiquitous pine tree represented colonial New England and symbolized local resistance after the Crown restricted the harvesting of the largest trees, reserving them for the Royal Navy. Also known as the “New England Flag,” the red ensign with a pine tree in its upper-left corner (known as the canton) once featured an English St. George’s Cross before its elimination. Provincials likely flew a flag like this at the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill that took the lives of four Andover privates—Philip Abbot, Samuel Bailey Jr., Joseph Chandler, and William Hagget.

Bunker Hill Flag

Traditional lore holds that provincial militias flew this flag in the redoubt attacked by the British during the Battle of Bunker Hill. The blue banner features a red St. George’s Cross in the canton with a pine tree in the upper left corner. This blue banner has also been sometimes referred to as a version of the “New England Flag,” which evolved out of the Royal Navy ensigns.

Commander in Chief Standard

This blue banner was George Washington’s constant companion for most of the American Revolution. Marking Washington’s headquarters or battlefield location, the smaller standard, also known as “George Washington’s Headquarters Flag,” featured 13 white, six-pointed stars with elongated rays, representing the 13 states, perhaps inspired by those on Washington’s epaulettes. Whenever the Andover residents who endured the harsh winters at Valley Forge and Morristown or followed the general into battle saw this flag, they knew the “father of the country” was near.

Watch for more Andover Celebrates Revolution 250 posts coming up! Leave a comment. Ask a question. We look forward to connecting with you.
Thanks for reading!
~Chris

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