A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: The Flags of The American Adventure

By Dave Shute

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

THE FLAGS OF THE AMERICAN ADVENTURE

By Jim Korkis

The flag flying over the American Adventure pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase has fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. It was this version of the flag that writer Francis Scott Key wrote about in the poem The Star Spangled Banner in 1814. The song became the national anthem in 1931 by an Act of Congress.

The original Star Spangled Banner that flew over Fort McHenry that Key saw proudly waving after an all-night bombardment by the British during the War of 1812 was given to the fort’s commandant, and is currently on display at the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of American History.

This version of the flag became the official flag of the United States in 1795 replacing the original thirteen stars, thirteen stripes flag adopted in 1777. The original plan was that an additional star and stripe would be added for each new state entered into the union. This remained the official U.S. flag until 1818.

It quickly became apparent that if this continued, the number of stripes would not be appealing. So, the decision was made to just add a star to the star field and keep thirteen stripes to recognize the original thirteen colonies.

By the way, the 14th and 15th stars and stripes represented the states of Kentucky and Vermont.

From the main lobby in Epcot’s World Showcase, guests proceed to the American Adventure theater by going up escalators or climbing up stairs through what is referred to as the Hall of Flags (and sometimes called by Disney the Corridor of Flags). Hanging above the guests in rows of three as they make their journey to the upper floor is a collection of over forty flags that have flown over the United States over two centuries.

This collection of flags include Revolutionary War flags, Colonial flags, and even foreign flags of countries that once had claim to some sections of the land.

In July 2015, one of the flags was removed. It was the third and last official flag of the Confederate States of America. It was a white flag with a red stripe on one end and a small representation in the opposite corner of the most familiar battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia that people normally associate with the Confederate flag that is generally used in opposition to the civil rights movement.

This was a reaction to various businesses and state governments removing the battle flag as it has come under recent scrutiny as a symbol of racism.

The following is an alphabetical listing of the flags originally displayed, and their date of adoption:

Alamo Flag – 1824
Appomattox Courthouse Flag – 1865
Army Commander in Chief’s Flag – 1775
Bedford Flag – 1690
Betsy Ross Flag – 1777
Bucks of America – 1777
California Republic – 1846
Centennial Flag – 1876
Colonial Jack – 1701
Connecticut Second Regiment – 1776
Continental Colors – 1776
Dutch West India Company – 1655
The 50 Star Flag – 1960
First Navy Flag – 1777
Fort Moultrie Flag – 1776
Fort Sumter Flag – 1865
48 Star Flag – 1896
45 Star Flag – 1896
Frémont Flag – 1856
French Ensign – 1700
Green Mountain Boys – 1776
Hawaiian Royal Flag – 1800
Hayes Flag – 1860
King George III’s Flag – 1607
Massachusetts Navy Flag – 1776
Mexico – 1800
Navy Commander in Chief’s Flag – 1776
New Hampshire Second Regiment – 1777
New Sweden – 1638
New York Third Regiment – 1777
Old Glory – 1865
Perry Flag – 1813
Russian-American Company – 1700
Spanish Bourbon Flag – 1513
Stamp Act Protest Flag – 1774
Star-Spangled Banner – 1795
Stars and Bars – 1861
Taunton Flag – 1774
Texas Flag – 1836
Tricolor – 1789
The U.S. Flag – 1959
Washington’s Life Guards Flag – 1776
Whiskey Rebellion Flag – 1794
White Plains Flag – 1776

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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

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