The coat of arms of George Washington, President of the United States of America from 1789 to 1797, were first used to identify the family in the twelfth century, when one of Washington's ancestors took possession of Washington Old Hall, then in County Durham, in North East England. (John Wessington (also Washington) (died 1451) was an English Benedictine who became prior of Durham Abbey.)
The design (three red stars over two horizontal red bars on a white field) is often said to have inspired the Stars and Stripes flag, and has been used since 1938 as the coat of arms and flag of the District of Columbia. It is also found on the Purple Heart.
The idea that it inspired the design of the American flag dates to the celebratory and patriotic climate of the year 1876, which saw the publication of Washington: A Drama in Five Acts, a drama in verse by the popular English poet Martin Farquhar Tupper. In it, Benjamin Franklin proclaims that the design of the Stars and Stripes was based on the coat of arms of George Washington. "We, and not he—it was unknown to him," Franklin says, "took up his coat of arms, and multiplied and magnified it every way to this, our glorious national banner." The play was widely performed, and its message resonated with the American public. The story was repeated many times, including regularly in the popular children's magazine St. Nicholas.
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