250 years ago this month, the American 'Continental' Navy was born and a new flag, "The Grand Union" was created.
It was a normal red Royal Navy ensign, but with 6 new white stripes sewn onto it, which in turn made 7 red stripes, which together represented the 13 Colonies. Previously the Colonies had been separate, individual, commercial rivals and culturally different – but the oppressive London government policies of the Tory Party, eroding their liberties, had brought them together.
The visual message was one of self-defence, hope of reconciliation, but NOT independence – "The rebels declared their loyalty was to the king while asserting their independence from the British government." (source here). The East India Company used the same flag design.
The new navy's leaders were John Paul Jones (originally from Kirkbean on the south west coast of Scotland) and John Barry (originally from Wexford).
The first victory for the US Navy would take place in 1778, just off the Copeland Islands - in waters that Benjamin Franklin would have sailed across in 1771 on his way from Hillsborough, via Donaghadee, to Edinburgh (see page 169 here). Still today, US Naval Academy graduates revere Jones; his remains were interred in Annapolis.
In the intro to his book A Deeper Silence, ATQ Stewart described the 1778 battle between Jones's ship 'Ranger' and HMS 'Drake', and the aftermath –
"At sunset the gentlemen of Donaghadee watched the Ranger tow her prize through the still sound between the Great Copeland and Orlock Head, and the following day both ships were hove-to off Ballywalter. On that day Jones achieved two other feats of incidental significance. He gave his name to a dance in which you capture a new partner when the music stops. And he changed the course of Irish history."
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