In that case, though, the "Betsy Ross" flag was not the United States flag, since they were not states. Anyway, when the number of stripes was set at 13, it co

In that case, though, the "Betsy Ross" flag was not the United States flag, since they were not states. Anyway, when the number of stripes was set at 13, it could very well be because of the 13 original states. After all, it was replacing a flag with 15 stripes. (When Vermont and Kentucky became states, both stars and stripes were added, so the flag -- of "Star Spangled Banner" fame --had 15 stripes.)