Bennington Flag - Historic Flag Series - 6c 1968 issue U

The Bennington flag is a version of the

U.S. flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-point ...

associated with the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on the John Green farm in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. An American ...

, from which it derives its name. Its distinguishing feature is the inclusion of a large '76' in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

, a reference to the year 1776 when the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

was signed.

Description

Like many Revolutionary War-era flags, the Bennington features 13 stars and 13 stripes, symbolic of the 13 North American colonies that were in a state of rebellion against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. The Bennington version is easily identified by a large '76' in the canton, recalling the year 1776, when the

was signed. Another distinctive feature of the Bennington flag is the arrangement of the 13 stripes, with white being outermost (rather than red being outermost as in most U.S. flags). Also, its stars have seven points each (instead of the now-standard five points) and the blue canton is taller than on other flags, spanning nine instead of seven of the thirteen stripes. The Bennington flag is a popular variant of the U.S. flag, and many historic flag dealers carry it. The large '76' makes it easily identifiable as banner from the American Revolution, evoking Spirit of '76 nostalgia.

History

One legend claims that the original Bennington flag, which is , was carried off the field by Nathaniel Fillmore and passed down through the Fillmore family, and was, at one time, in the possession of President Millard Fillmore, Nathaniel's grandson. Philetus P. Fillmore flew a Bennington flag in 1877, to commemorate the Battle of Bennington. Mrs. Maude Fillmore Wilson donated the family flag to the

Bennington Museum The Bennington Museum is an accredited museum with notable collections of art and regional history. It is located at 75 Main Street, Bennington, Vermont, USA. The museum's history dates to 1852 when the Bennington Historical Association was fir ...

. Because of the family association, the flag is also referred to as the "Fillmore flag". Many doubt the actual use of the Fillmore flag at the Battle of Bennington. A

Green Mountain Boys The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization established in 1770 in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants and later in 1777 as the Vermont Republic (which later be ...

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

belonging to

John Stark Major-General John Stark (August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822) was an American military officer who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. He became known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Ba ...

is generally accepted to have been there, but the Bennington flag has become more strongly associated with the event. Both Stark's flag and the Fillmore flag are held in a collection at the Bennington Museum, but the Stark flag is accepted as an 18th-century regimental banner, while the museum has dated the Bennington flag from the 19th century based on the nature of the machine-woven fabric it is made from. The flag may have been made to evoke revolutionary sentiment during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

(fought against the United Kingdom), or to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1826. The curator of textiles in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

's National Museum of History and Technology speculated that the flag may even have been a centennial banner, made c. 1876.

Gallery

File:Bennington flag at Founding Fathers Pub, Buffalo, New York - 20230119.jpg, A replica of the flag flying in Buffalo, New York File:Bennington-Battle-Flag.jpg, Bennington flag flying outside

San Francisco City Hall San Francisco City Hall is the seat of government for the City and County of San Francisco, California. Re-opened in 1915 in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, it is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epito ...

, in San Francisco, California File:A Flag’s Journey (7400696).jpg, Bennington flag flying at Camp Nothing Hill,

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, August 31, 2022

References

External links

A60 Flag
at the Bennington Museum, with dating details. * Sites describing the older history: *

at HomeOfHeroes.com *

by the Independence Hall Association, at UShistory.org. *
Bennington Flag History
*
Bennington Flag
A grouping of ten historical U.S. flags including the Bennington. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennington Flag Flags of the American Revolution Flags with stars