“Did Charles Stewart design the Lone Star Flag? Though it cannot be said that he did not, the evidence presented so far to support this claim is certainly not persuasive.”—Charles A. Spain, Jr.

Drs. Robert Maberry and Whitney Smith, both preeminent vexillologists who have studied the origins of the Texas flag, provided expert opinion letters in Spring 2009 flatly refuting the claim by Stewart’s partisans that he was the flag’s designer. The letters were provided in response to claims made by supporters of legislation to designate Feb. 6 as an annual “recognition day” for Stewart that would “be regularly observed by appropriate and patriotic programs in the public schools and other places[.]” In 2013, a panel of Texas vexillologists considered all known historical evidence; “[a]fter reviewing the existing historical records, the Commission finds that no primary evidence has been brought forth to substantiate the claim that the Lone Star Flag was designed by Charles B. Stewart.”

To read the letters, the expert report, and other information debunking the Stewart myth, click on the links below:

• Letter from Dr. Robert Maberry, Jr., to Hon. Brandon Creighton, Tex. H. of Rep., Opposing House Bill 1624 (Creation of a Recognition Day Honoring Charles B. Stewart) (Apr. 9, 2009).
• Letter from Dr. Whitney Smith to Charles A. Spain, Jr., Correcting Statement in The Flag Book of the United States (May 19, 2009).
• Charles A. Spain, Jr., Who Designed the Lone Star Flag?, 18 Heritage 16 (2000).
• Report on the Design of the Lone Star Flag (Tex. Vexillo. Commn. May 4, 2013).