This 13 Star American flag is made from wool bunting and pieced together. The stars are arranged in a 3-2-3-2-3 grouping which is known as a Francis Hopkins pattern and stitched together using a zig-zag pattern, as would be expected for the era. The zig-zag stitch was patented in 1892 and became the most common stitching as its advantage is that the stars can be rough cut and the the rough cut edges are subsequently hidden by the stitches. The linen hoist has 5 brass grommets. During the 19th century, for its smaller-sized ensigns, the U.S. Navy used a 13-star flag which became known as the “boat flag” due to its predominant use on Naval boats . All ensigns were supposed to have the full complement of stars. This flag was purchased directly from Robert Lilly whos grandfather, Patrick Francis Fernan (1869-1958) served on the USS New York (ACR-2; Armored Cruiser) from 1901-1911. She was renamed USS Saratoga on February 16th, 1911 in order to make the name “New York” available for a new battleship, the USS New York (BB-34). When the USS New York was renamed, he kept the original flag from his ship, the USS New York. circa 1911.