The oldest known American flag, with 13 stripes for the 13 colonies, is linked to the Manchester militia in 1775. 

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The flag traces back to Samuel Forster, Manchester merchant and minuteman. On April 19, 1775, Forster and other men from Manchester, with the 6th Essex County Regiment, marched toward Lexington to engage the British. They only made it as far as Medford when told of the British retreat but, according to lore, carried this flag adapted from a British red ensign with the Union Jack removed and white stripes added (showing six on one side and seven on the other).

 

While much of its history rests on family accounts, its carrying is not documented, and the adaptation from the Union Jack to stripes has been suggested to have happened around the time of the Declaration of Independence, the flag is nevertheless considered likely the oldest of its kind symbolizing the thirteen united colonies that founded the United States. 

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The flag passed through the Forster family for the next 200 years. After Israel Forster, owner of the historic house at the corner of Pine and Central St., died in 1818, the Forster flag was loaned to the Massachusetts State House for display. In 1975, family member Constance (Knight) Hogdon sold it to the Flag Heritage Foundation. In 1999, the flag was commemorated as one of the 20 most important American flags and honored by the US Postal Service. 

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In 2014, the Forster flag was put up for auction and sold to private collectors. They loaned it to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia where it is currently on display.

 

Honoring America 250, the Manchester-by-the-Sea Museum commissioned a new replica of Forster Flag to more accurately represent the original’s unique construction.  This includes its creation from British red ensign elements and the ultimate patchwork of red fabric replacing the original canton, with the stripes of liberty overlaid.  Museum trustee Matthew Genta served as lead researcher, and artisan Jules Means led the sewing group.  The project, financially supported by the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts and Cape Ann Chapter, NSDAR, was based in large part on scholarship published in Doyle New York’s 2014 The Forster Flag.  Watch the short documentary below to learn more about the flag's recreation, and visit the Museum's summer exhibit "Manchester, The Revolution, and The War at Sea" (running now until September 19, 2026) to see it and other works of art inspired by the historic banner.