George Washington’s Flag Awaits Museum Opening

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Not far from where Betsy Ross is believed to have sewn the nation's first flag, another historic banner eventually will be on display.

George Washington's flag is among thousands of objects waiting for a permanent home at the Museum of the American Revolution. It's scheduled to open in downtown Philadelphia in late 2016.

Conservators recently finished preserving the banner, which flew to denote Washington's presence as commander in chief during the War of Independence.

The now fragile and faded silk standard has a plain blue field with 13 white, six-pointed stars. Museum officials say it's among the first generation of flags to use stars to represent the colonies.

Saturday is Flag Day, marking the date in 1777 when Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes design credited to Ross.