Flag Day Changes Name, Not Its Purpose

Flag Day began on June 14^th and has remained there for the past 237 years. The Second Continental Congress members established Flag Birthday in 1777 to have the same birthday as the U.S. Army. They wanted to encourage pride and loyalty for the new country in the new flag.

The first unofficial American flag was flown in January, 1776, above the headquarters of General George Washington in Boston. Washington called the flag The Grand Union and The Continental Colours. The flag had 13 alternating red and white stripes. It had the unusual addition of a British Union Flag in the upper corner. That section would eventually hold the state stars.

The reasons for the white and red stripes are lost to undocumented history. Many people have speculated about the red stripes representing the blood spilled during the American Revolution and the white stripes showing the purity of freedom from British rule.

In May, 1776, a Philadelphia seamstress named Betsy Ross was asked by George Washington and Continental Congress members to make a new American flag, or so the story goes. We have no documented evidence that Ross designed or sewed the first official flag.  It’s one of many stories engrained into our history, and we don’t know for sure who designed and made that first flag.

On June 14, 1777, the first official flag was named Stars and Stripes or Old Glory with approval from the Continental Congress: Resolved, that the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be 13 stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.  The layout of the stars was not set until many years later. This allowed for several unusual configurations of the stars. Thirteen stars in a circle were often used on the blue background.

September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key saw the American flag still flying over Ft. McHenry after an overnight bombardment by the British. He wrote the poem “The Defense of Fort McHenry” which was later set to music and renamed “The Star Spangled Banner.” By this time, the flag showed 15 stars for that many states and 15 stripes. Congress named Key’s song the official National Anthem in 1931.

By April 4, 1818, the flag showed 46 stars. That’s when Congress fixed the number of stripes to a permanent 13.

In 1912, the number of states and stars increased to 48, and President William Howard Taft issued an executive order establishing the proportions of the flag. Taft set the arrangement of stars into horizontal rows.

June 14^th was the designated date for Flag Day from its original beginning. However, President Woodrow Wilson decided to issue a proclamation in 1916 that redundantly established the 14^th day of June as Flag Day. President Harry Truman sent a bill to the U.S. Congress on August 3, 1949, to again make the day officially National Flag Day every June 14th. That finally settled any questions about the official date. It seems there was an abundance of political flag waving over the process of naming National Flag Day.

People are encouraged to celebrate National Flag Day by displaying the colors outside their homes and businesses. During times of war and military conflicts, the number of flags sold in our country goes up. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, resulted in a huge surge of flag sales that showed an unprecedented amount of flag waving. Driving through neighborhoods near military bases will reveal many homes showing their patriotism by displaying Old Glory throughout the year.

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