The Paul Jones claim rests upon not that his was the first vessel to hoist an American flag, but that the Alfred was the first commissioned United States war vessel to hoist the Grand Union Flag; but there is no record anywhere of the date, and as no naval commission was issued to Jones until December 7, 1775, the Manley claim made by Adams stands alone as regards the first American flag distinct from the English standard as changed by the Colonists; and it is also corroborated by a letter sent by General Howe on December 13, 1775, while he was besieged in Boston to Lord Davenport, complaining about Manley's capture of the Nancy with four thousand stands of arms. Now, I claim that Adams could not have meant the Grand Union Flag, as it was not agreed upon until December, 1775, but the one I have described as having a blue union with white stars, a white ground with an anchor and the word "Hope" over the anchor (see Fig. 1). The Lee was an armed privateer. In a letter to Robert Morris, October, 1783, Jones, in speaking of the flag, made the claim that "the flag of America" was displayed on a war vessel for the first time by him, he then being a lieutenant on the Alfred; but there is no record as to whether it was a Continental or Grand Union Flag, or some other device; yet there are reasons to suppose it was the Grand Union Flag--first, because the Alfred was in the port of Philadelphia, and we find from the record (American Archives, Vol. IV, page 179) that the day signal of the fleets on February 17, 1776, at the Capes of the Delaware were to be made by using the "Grand Union Flag at the mizzen peak," which was to be lowered or hoisted according to the information intended to be given under the code of signals furnished. In the _Ladies' Magazine_, published in London, May 13, 1776, the writer states that the colors of the American navy were "first a flag with a union and thirteen stripes, and the commander's flag a yellow flag with a rattlesnake upon it." [Illustration: Figs. 12, 13, 14 and 15]