Product Description
The Serapis Flag has a unique history. It was flown by American naval Captain John Paul Jones from the captured British frigate HMS Serapis after a dispute between the Dutch and British governments erupted when Jones sailed the captured frigate into a Dutch port. The flag is unique because of its 8-pointed stars and the irregular pattern of red, white and blue stripes. It may have been designed by Benjamin Franklin when he was America's first Ambassador to Paris.
The Serapis Flag is unique because of its 8-pointed stars and because its red, white and blue stripes are organized in a pattern not found on other American historical flags. The 13 8-pointed stars are arranged in 3 rows of 4, 5 and 4 on a blue field. The flag is also more square shaped than rectangular.
The Serapis Flag, also known as the John Paul Jones Flag, had its origin in a famous Revolutionary War sea battle called the Battle of Flamborough Head, which was fought just off the east coast of England on September 23, 1779. In the battle, Jones' small fleet of ships challenged the HMS Serapis, a 44 gun British warship that was protecting a massive merchant convoy of 50 ships returning to England from the Baltic Sea.
