The Bennnington Flag is one of those flags that have been embraced by many people as an American Revolutionary War flag, but which is probably from a later time period. The flag itself is constructed of thirteen alternating white and red stripes, with the top and bottom stripes of white. The canton, which is a bit longer in the hoist than most other flags, spanning nine rather than seven stripes, consists of a blue background with eleven white seven-point stars in a 'horseshoe' pattern around white numerals "7" and "6", and with two white seven-point stars in the two upper quarters.
The Bennnington Flag's numerals, spelling out "76", presumably for the year 1776, have been variously described as symbolizing "7" white stripes and "6" red stripes. Nostalgia has made this flag one of the most revered American Revolutionary War flags because of the "76" numerals on its canton.
It has been claimed that on 16 August 1777, Colonel John Stark's Green Mountain Boys carried this flag into battle at Bennington, Vermont.
The problem with this flag is that the frabric of which it is made has been proven to have been made by machine, and therefore would have had to have been made later than the 1770s. It has been suggested that it might have been made to be flown during the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1826, or possibly to celebrate the nation's Centennial in 1876.
