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Show Revenue Marine Service Flag. The revenue marine service flag, authorized au-thorized by act of Congress March 2, 1799, was originally prescribed to "consist "con-sist of sixteen perpendicular stripes, alternate red and white, the union of the ensign bearing t he arms of the United States in dark blue on a white field." The sixteen stripes represented the number of states which had been admitted to the union at that time and no change has been made since. Prlc to 1871 it bore an eagle la the union of the pennant, which was then substituted substi-tuted by thirteen blue stars in a white field, but the eugle and stars are still retained in the fla,.'. ' |