Samuel Chester Reid was born on Aug. 24, 1783 to John Reid and Rebecca Chester.
Samuel went into the Navy in 1794 at the age of 11. He served aboard the Constellation with Commodore Thomas Truxton until becoming the master of the brig Merchant in 1803.
During the War of 1812, he commanded the privateer General Armstrong. At the Battle of Fayal, Reid gained fame by inflicting severe casualties to the British for en route to Jamaica and New Orleans, Louisiana. Andrew Jackson credited Reid for aiding his defense of New Orleans.
Samuel married Mary Jennings at the Trinity Church Parish in New York City on Jan. 13, 1815.[1]
In January 1817, Samuel Chester Reid aided Rep. Peter H. Wendover to design a new U. S. flag, which had not been altered since 1795. They decided that the best way to honor all twenty states at that time was to restore the number of stripes to the original thirteen colonies with a star for each state on the canton with a new star added each time a new state joined the union. Reid's flag became the official flag of the United States signed into law as the Flag Act of 1818 by President James Monroe on Apr. 4, 1818.
Samuel was appointed master in the Navy in 1844.
Samuel died on Jan. 28, 1861 at the age of 77 years. He is buried at the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.[2]