<P> On April 4 , 1818 , a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid in which the flag was changed to have 20 stars , with a new star to be added when each new state was admitted , but the number of stripes would be reduced to 13 so as to honor the original colonies . The act specified that new flag designs should become official on the first July 4 ( Independence Day ) following admission of one or more new states . The most recent change , from 49 stars to 50 , occurred in 1960 when the present design was chosen , after Hawaii gained statehood in August 1959 . Before that , the admission of Alaska in January 1959 prompted the debut of a short - lived 49 - star flag . </P>
<P> On April 4 , 1818 , a plan was passed by Congress at the suggestion of U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid in which the flag was changed to have 20 stars , with a new star to be added when each new state was admitted , but the number of stripes would be reduced to 13 so as to honor the original colonies . The act specified that new flag designs should become official on the first July 4 ( Independence Day ) following admission of one or more new states . The most recent change , from 49 stars to 50 , occurred in 1960 when the present design was chosen , after Hawaii gained statehood in August 1959 . Before that , the admission of Alaska in January 1959 prompted the debut of a short - lived 49 - star flag . </P>
when did the us flag change from 13 stars
when did the us flag change from 13 stars
April 4 , 1818
April 4 , 1818