Part 2: Where the “Backwards” Flag Tradition Actually Started
Hey there, it’s Kevin again.
In Part 1 we talked about why the American flag on the right shoulder looks reversed — and why that orientation is actually correct. The stars face forward so the flag appears to be flying as the wearer moves ahead. It’s not a mistake. It’s intentional.
But where did that idea come from?
It goes back further than most people realize.
In the early days of the U.S. Army, especially during the Civil War, units didn’t just march under the national colors — they fought under them. Every regiment had color-bearers, soldiers whose job was to carry the flag into battle. Those men were often targeted because capturing an enemy’s colors was a huge prize, and losing your own was a serious disgrace. The flag wasn’t just symbolism. It was a rallying point. If the line started to break, men looked for the colors and moved toward them.
When a color-bearer charged, the stars stayed forward and the stripes streamed behind.
When a color-bearer charged forward, the flag streamed back in the wind. Because the blue field of stars (the union) is attached closest to the staff, that part of the flag stayed forward while the red and white stripes flowed behind. The stars led the way. The flag looked like it was advancing, not retreating.
The union stays nearest the staff. The stripes follow.
Modern Army regulations still reflect it. When the U.S. flag patch is worn on the right shoulder, it is deliberately made as a reverse flag so the star field faces forward. The regulation language even talks about giving “the effect of the flag flying in the breeze as the wearer moves forward.” Combat troops later started calling it “assaulting forward.” Same idea, just updated language.
The modern reverse patch still follows the old color-bearer look — stars lead.
The actual cloth flag patches on uniforms came much later. During World War II, some paratroopers wore flag patches so they could identify each other after dropping behind enemy lines. But the widespread, standardized use of the full-color (and subdued) U.S. flag on Army uniforms — with the reverse version on the right shoulder — didn’t become the norm until the early 2000s. After 9/11, the Army made the flag a permanent part of the uniform. By 2005 it was required across the force.
So the tradition has two layers. The meaning and the orientation come from the old color-bearer days of the 19th century. The modern patch itself is relatively recent. Put together, they still carry the same message: the flag, and the people wearing it, move forward.
That’s the history behind the “backwards” flag. It isn’t backwards at all. It’s the way the flag has looked when Americans were advancing for a very long time.
Next up we’ll get into how the flag is properly folded and what those 13 folds are supposed to mean. A lot of people have seen the ceremony. Fewer know the full story behind it.
Thanks for reading.
Kevin Laughrin
Medically retired LSSN, VFA-103 “The Jolly Rogers”
Marketing and Communications Director
www.veteranvalorcoffee.com
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