In general, however, straight rows of stars and proportions similar to those later adopted officially were used. The principal acts affecting the flag of the United States are the following: ...

The United States flag represents 33 states, with Oregon the latest to join the union in 1859. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln refused to remove the stars ...

But exactly 130 years before that, in 1861, another superpower ... While the United States fought the war under the Stars and Stripes flag, also known as the Star-Spangled Banner, which at ...