Union Jack

Circa: 1603 A.D.

Red cross, white cross on blue field. (C5)

This flag came into being in 1603. For many years England and Scotland had been at war. Under James I, who had been King James VI (Stuart) of Scotland, the flag of England and the flag of Scotland were combined.

The Scottish flag had a blue background with the diagonal cross of St. Andrew in white. The English flag displayed the red cross of St. George. The red cross is laid over the white. Thus the first permanent flag to fly over an English colony in America was red, white and blue.

The flag flew over the British colonies of Jamestown in 1607 and Plymouth in 1620 and continued in service until the beginning of the Revolutionary war.