Our Flag

Our nation’s flag, the beautiful emblem of our country, was born with the Flag Act, passed by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The act read,” Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

The statute did not specify if there were to be more red or white stripes or how the stars were to be arranged. The lack of clarity led to numerous designs being used during the American Revolution, as well as several people who claimed to have created our first flag. 

These claimants include Betsy Ross and her flag of thirteen stars in a circle and Francis Hopkinson’s flag with thirteen stars in a 3-2-3-2-3 pattern. Both flags met the loose design specifications of the Flag Act.

When Vermont and Kentucky were added to the Union, we needed to modify our country’s emblem. Consequently, on January 13, 1794, the United States Congress passed the Flag Act of 1794. This law specified that our national flag would now consist of fifteen red and white alternating stripes and fifteen stars in a field of blue.

This new design would continue to be our standard for the next 24 years, despite the addition of five more states (Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi) to our union. Importantly, this flag is the one that flew over Fort McHenry and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner, our nation’s wonderful anthem.

Congress realized more states would soon join our growing nation and we needed to pass legislation with an eye to the future. As a result, on April 4, 1818, Congress enacted the Flag Act of 1818 which reduced the number of stripes back to thirteen alternating red and white stripes to represent the original thirteen colonies and called for one star for every state in the Union. Congress further stipulated new stars would be added on the Fourth of July in the year following a state’s admission to the Union. 

So why should our flag matter to us today? Quite simply, it is the primary symbol of America to the rest of the world. We should all be proud of it and the wonderful history of our nation that it represents.

Since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson declared June 14 to be Flag Day in America, we have proudly displayed the Stars and Stripes. Please let us all remember this great tradition and fly Old Glory today.             

Until next time, may your motto be “Ducit Amor Patriae”, Love of country leads me.