Samuel Chester Reid was a naval officer and hero of the War of 1812. In 1818 he collaborated with New York Congressman Peter H. Wendover to steer a bill through Congress that established uniformity in the design of the United States flag. Although the number of stripes was congressionally mandated to remain thirteen in 1777, designs varied wildly. Reid suggested that stars be added as new states were admitted into the Union. On the final page of a 1850 letter to his son, Reid drew three other flag designs as well as the image of the "national cockade" or rosette.