Our Flag

The Stars and Stripes, the emblem of our country, was born on June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress passed the Flag Act of 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, how the stars were to be arranged, or even how many points each star should have (interestingly, many favored a six-pointed star). This 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, including 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 in 1791 and 1792, respectively, Congress decided to modify our country’s emblem and, on January 13, 1794, 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. Interestingly, this design is the only one in our nation’s history that consisted of fifteen stripes; all others have had thirteen. This new design would be used for the next twenty four years, despite the addition of five more states to the Union (Tennessee (1796), Ohio (1803), Louisiana (1812), Indiana (1816), Mississippi (1817)). Importantly, this flag is the one that flew over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 and inspired Francis Scott Key to pen our national anthem.

Congress realized more states would soon join our growing nation and legislation was needed with an eye to the future. Consequently, 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.

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.