The United States has gone through many changes as a country since its inception, so the flag has been adjusted several times to represent that. In most cases, the gold fringe is a military tradition that relates to admiralty and martial law. Civilians aren’t required to have gold fringe on their flags. In 1895, it was added as a part of the flag for all regiments of the Army. The fringe was first added to select flags around 1835. If permanently displayed outside, the fringe will get damaged. They could also be carried outside for certain ceremonies and events. This fringe is considered “honorable enrichment only,” and flags with a gold fringe can only be used permanently indoors. Sometimes, you might see American Flags with gold fringes along the edges. George Washington What Does the American Flag Gold Fringe Mean? We take the stars from heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty. The colonies are shown as stripes to symbolize rays of light coming from the sun. These 13 states are represented in the stripes, based on when they became part of the union: These stripes represent the original 13 states, also known as the British Colonies. The American Flag has seven red stripes and six white stripes, which are all horizontal.
