contrary. The flag has had several names, at least five of which have been popularly remembered. The more recent moniker, "Grand Union Flag", was first applied in the 19th-century Reconstruction era by George Henry Preble, in his 1872 History of the American Flag. The Grand Union Flag became obsolete following the passing of the Flag Act of 1777 by the Continental Congress. The new national flag replaced the Union Jack in the canton with thirteen stars (representing the thirteen States) on a field of blue. The resolution describes only a "new constellation" for the arrangement of the white stars in the blue canton, so overall designs were later interpreted and made with rows, columns, a square with one star in the center, a circle, and various other designs. Design and analysis It is not known for certain when or by whom the design of the Continental Colours was created, but the flag could easily be produced by sewing white stripes onto the British Red Ensigns. The "Alfred" flag has been credited to Margaret Manny. The design of the Colours is strikingly similar to the flag of the British East India Company (EIC). Indeed, certain EIC designs in use since 1707 (when the canton was changed from the flag of England to that of the flag of Great Britain) were nearly identical. However, the number of stripes varied from 9 to 15. One theory on the origin of the design is that the American colonists would have known and been familiar with the existing EIC flags and that this may have influenced the design. The combined crosses in the flag of Great Britain symbolized the union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. The symbolism of a union of equal parts was retained in the new U.S. flag, as described in the Flag Resolution of 14 June 1777 (later celebrated in U.S. culture and history as "Flag Day"). According to the vexillologist Nick Groom, the use of the flag of Great Britain in the canton component of the flag, suggests that George Washington's army adopted it, not as a protest against the rule of the British Parliament, but instead as a profession of continued loyalty towards King George III. This view is shared by Laurie Calkhoven, a biographer of George Washington, who suggests that the flag was designed to reflect the colonists hope for justice from King George