<Li> <P> Flag of the British East India Company, 1707--1801 </P> </Li> <P> Flag of the British East India Company, 1707--1801 </P> <P> At the time of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the Continental Congress would not legally adopt flags with "stars, white in a blue field" for another year . The flag contemporaneously known as "the Continental Colors" has historically been referred to as the first national flag . </P> <P> The Continental Navy raised the Colors as the ensign of the fledgling nation in the American War for Independence--likely with the expedient of transforming their previous British red ensigns by adding white stripes--and would use this flag until 1777, when it would form the basis for the subsequent de jure designs . </P>

How many stars did the american flag start with
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