Stars and Stripes Flag 

‘On 11th August 1796, Claudius embarked at Portsmouth for his voyage to Calcutta. For this period his home was the Busbridge. It was a purpose built East Indiaman with 3 masts, 3 decks and 12 guns. This was its 7th voyage to the east and it flew the flag of the East India Company. The flag was the same as America’s Grand Union Flag: red and white stripes with a Union Jack in the canton. It sailed in a convoy of twenty ships for protection during the French Revolutionary War. Captain John Dobrée held letters of marque, permitting him to plunder French shipping at will.’ This is a quote from The Claudians: gardens, landscapes, reason and faith: John Claudius Loudon and Claudius Buchanan, Tom Turner (Kindle, 2024). 

More about the Stars and Stripes flag

The British East India Company (EIC) flag appears to have influenced the design of the early American flag. Both have red and white stripes. The EIC flag had a blue canton (top left corner) containing the St. George's Cross. The early American flag (Grand Union Flag) had used a blue canton containing the British Union Jack. The Stars and Stripes replaced the canton with stars, symbolising the newly united states (with 13 stars to represent the original colonies). It still has 13 stripes but there are now 50 stars.

The name 'American East India Company' was a reminder of the company's origin in the East India trade. This also influenced the design of the American flag, which became the Stars and Strips.  The HMS Busbridge, as an East Indiaman ship operating under the British East India Company, would have used the flag of the East India Company during its voyages. Claudius Buchanan therefore sailed under a flag with stars and stripes.