Kerby Anderson

Today is Flag Day, and it’s worth taking a moment to document its history. This holiday commemorates the date when the United States approved the design for its first national flag.

When the American Revolution began, the colonists weren’t fighting united under a single flag. Most regiments fought under their own flags. The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to create a unified fighting force (the Continental Army) that would fight under the first US flag (the Continental Colors).

The flag they created didn’t last long. It was comprised of 13 red and white alternating stripes and a Union Jack in the corner. It was too similar to that of the British flag. George Washington realized that flying a flag that looked like the British flag was not a good idea. Then two years later, the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States should be 13 stripes, alternate red and white,” and that “the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

There are many claims to the first official observance of Flag Day. One took place in Connecticut, another in New York, and another in Philadelphia. The latter claim is often given the most attention because the citizens there worked to get Pennsylvania to be the first state to establish the June 14 Flag Day as a legal holiday. Although Flag Day is a national observance, Pennsylvania is the only state that recognizes it as a legal holiday.

Both Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge issued proclamations asking for June 14 to be observed as National Flag Day. But it wasn’t until August 1949, that Congress approved the national observance.

I am so glad that today we can honor the US flag and American history.