History of the American Flag

by David A. Hall
This information is excerpted from the U.S. Flag Historical Timeline in the appendix of the book, Threads of Honor: The True Story of a Boy Scout Troop, Perseverance, Triumph, and an American Flag. To read more about this book, including the amazing story of the American flag that was involved in the Challenger disaster, click here.

January 1, 1776 – George Washington orders that the Grand Union flag be flown above his base on Prospect Hill near Cambridge, Massachusetts. On that New Year’s Day, the Continental Army was laying siege to Boston which had been taken over by the British Army.

May or June 1776 – This is when reports claim Betsy Ross sewed the first stars and stripes American flag, one month prior to the Declaration of Independence. These reports were made in 1870 (see attached paper, “The First American Flag and Who Made It” and accompanying affidavits). Many historians question whether she actually made the first stars and stripes. It is, however, generally acknowledged that she made flags for the Pennsylvania State Navy in 1777, and she continued to make American flags for fifty years.

One of her grandsons, William J. Canby, in 1870, in a paper he read before the meeting of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, stated:

“It is not tradition, it is report from the lips of the principal participator in the transaction, directly told not to one or two, but a dozen or more living witnesses, of which I myself am one, though but a little boy when I heard it . . . . Colonel Ross with Robert Morris and General Washington, called on Mrs. Ross and told her they were a committee of Congress, and wanted her to make a flag from the drawing, a rough one, which, upon her suggestions, was redrawn by General Washington in pencil in her back parlor. This was prior to the Declaration of Independence. I fix the date to be during Washington’s visit to Congress from New York in June, 1776, when he came to confer upon the affairs of the Army, the flag being no doubt, one of these affairs.”

July 4, 1776 – The Declaration of Independence. The Grand Union Flag, pictured above, is our unofficial national flag.

June 14, 1777 – The Continental Congress first authorizes an official flag for the new nation. The resolution read: “Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

The resolution gave no instruction as to how many points the stars should have, nor how the stars should be arranged on the blue union. Consequently, some flags had stars scattered on the blue field without any specific design, some arranged the stars in rows, and some in a circle. This practice continued until 1912 when the design of the flag was fixed by executive order.

There is no universally agreed-upon symbolism in the colors of the flag. One common interpretation is that the red symbolizes valor, zeal and fervency; the white symbolizes hope and purity; and the blue symbolizes reverence to God, loyalty, sincerity, justice and truth. The star is taken by many to symbolize dominion and sovereignty, as well as lofty aspirations. The constellation of the stars within the union, one star for each state, is considered to be emblematic of our federal constitution, which reserves to the states their individual sovereignty except as to the rights delegated to the federal government.

George Washington explained his interpretation of the symbolism of the flag as follows: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty.”

The thirteen stars and the thirteen stripes represented the first thirteen states: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.

A tradition developed to fold the flag into a triangular shape, symbolizing the shape of the cocked hats worn by soldiers of the American Revolution.

The flag appears to have been designed by Francis Hopkinson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence who was also a lawyer, a poet, and an artist who then became a Congressman from New Jersey. He later attempted to be paid for his services, but his pay was blocked by his political opponents. Hopkinson’s design had the stars arranged in staggered rows.

June 14 later came to be celebrated as “Flag Day.”

August 3, 1777 – The new American flag is first flown from Fort Stanwix, on the site of the present city of Rome, New York.

August 6, 1777 – The new American flag first comes under fire in the Battle of Oriskany.

September 11, 1777 – The flag is first carried into battle at the Brandywine.

January 28, 1778 – The American flag first flies over foreign territory at Nassau, Bahama Islands. Fort Nassau was captured by the Americans in the course of the War for Independence.

1787 – Captain Robert Gray carries the flag around the world on his sailing vessel (around the tip of South America, to China, and beyond). He discovered a great river and named it after his boat, The Columbia. His discovery was the basis of America's claim to the Oregon Territory.

January 13, 1794 – Vermont had been admitted to the union in 1791 and Kentucky in 1792, making a total of 15 states. On this date in 1794, Congress adopts a resolution increasing the number of stars and stripes to 15 each.

June 1, 1795 – Tennessee is admitted to the Union as the 16th state, but the flag design remains the same.

March 1, 1803 – Ohio is admitted as the 17th state.

April 30, 1812 – Louisiana becomes the 18th state. We still have 15 stars and 15 stripes in the flag.

September 14, 1814 – During the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner." The flag at the time has fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. The Star-Spangled Banner didn’t officially become the national anthem until 1931.

The flag that flew over Ft. McHenry was made by Mary Young Pickersgill. Her home in Baltimore was later enshrined as the “Flag House.” Situated on the corner of Albemarle and Pratt streets in Baltimore, it is preserved as a National Historic Landmark.

1816-1817 – Indiana and Mississippi are admitted to the union, bringing the number of states to 20.

December 10, 1817 – With the continual growth of the Union, President Monroe signs an act of Congress requiring that the flag of the United States have a union of twenty stars, white on a blue field, and that upon admission of each new State into the Union, one star be added to the union of the flag on the fourth of July following its date of admission. The number of stripes was reduced by this law to always be thirteen, representing the original thirteen states. This law went into effect on April 4, 1818, and is the current law in effect regulating the design of the flag. Again, it makes no specifications as to the dimensions of the flag or the arrangements of the stars, those details being left to flag manufacturers. There were some who continued to arrange the stars in a circle. Other variations in design occurred, and it was common during the Civil War for the stars and stripes to display gold stars.

In 1912 the design was finally fixed by executive order of President Taft. It was changed in 1959 upon the admission of more states, by President Eisenhower.

The exact wording of the Flag Act is as follows: "That from and after the fourth day of July next, the flag of the United States be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be twenty stars, white in a blue field. And be it further enacted, that on the admission of every state into the Union, one star be added to the union of the flag; and that such addition shall take effect on the fourth of July next succeeding such admission."

July 4, 1819 – With the admission of Illinois to the Union on December 3, 1818, the twenty-first star is automatically added to the flag, under the new law.

July 4, 1820 – Two stars added after the admission of Alabama and Maine.

1820 -- First flag on Pikes Peak, Colorado.

July 4, 1822 – Admission of Missouri brings the number of stars to 24.

August 10, 1831 – The name “Old Glory” is given to our flag by Captain William Driver of the brig Charles Doggett.

July 4, 1836 – Flag with 25 stars (Arkansas)

July 4, 1837 – Flag with 26 stars (Michigan)

July 4, 1845 – Flag with 27 stars (Florida)

July 4, 1846 – Flag with 28 stars (Texas)

July 4, 1847 – Flag with 29 stars (Iowa)

July 4, 1848 – Flag with 30 stars (Wisconsin)

July 4, 1851 – Flag with 31 stars (California)

July 4, 1858 – Flag with 32 stars (Minnesota)

July 4, 1859 – Flag with 33 stars (Oregon)

June 14, 1861 – The first Flag Day celebration occurs in Hartford, Connecticut, during the first summer of the Civil War. The flag continues to have 33 stars, even though the southern states have seceded from the Union.

July 4, 1861 – Flag with 34 stars; (Kansas).

The first Confederate Flag (Stars and Bars) is adopted in Montgomery, Alabama.

June 20, 1863 – The 40 western counties of Virginia, not wanting to be separated from the Union with the rest of Virginia, had met and formed their own government. On this day, West Virginia was formally admitted into the Union as the 35th state.

July 4, 1863 – Flag with 35 stars (West Virginia)

July 4, 1865 – Flag with 36 stars (Nevada)

July 4, 1867 – Flag with 37 stars (Nebraska)

1869 – The American flag is printed on a postage stamp for the first time.

June 14, 1877 – The first national observance of Flag Day occurs on the 100th anniversary of the original flag resolution by the Continental Congress.

July 4, 1877 – Flag with 38 stars (Colorado)

July 4, 1890 – Flag with 43 stars (North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho)

July 4, 1891 – Flag with 44 stars (Wyoming)

October 12, 1892 – The "Pledge of Allegiance" is first used in public schools to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. It was published in a magazine called The Youth's Companion, and written by Francis Bellamy. The original version pledged allegiance to “my flag.” In 1923, the National Flag Conference changed that wording to “the flag of the United States of America.” The words, "under God" were added on June 14, 1954.

July 4, 1896 – Flag with 45 stars (Utah)

1890’s – While Flag Day is still not an official celebration, its observance becomes more and more popular. Numerous patriotic societies and veterans groups become identified with the Flag Day movement. Schools, in particular, promote Flag Day as a means of “Americanizing” immigrant children and stimulating patriotism.

July 4, 1908 – Flag with 46 stars (Oklahoma)

1909 – Robert Peary places the flag his wife sewed atop the North Pole. He leaves pieces of another flag along the way. While the action was controversial, he was never censured for this. 

June 24, 1912 – An executive order from President Taft finally uniformly establishes the proportions of the flag and fixes the pattern of stars. With the new states of New Mexico and Arizona being added to the union, it is decreed that the 48 stars would be in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward. Prior to this time, the proportions of the stripes and the positions of the stars were left to the flag manufacturers. This executive order establishes a precedent for fixing the design of the flag, and, when the 49th and 50th stars were added in 1959 and 1960, the arrangement of the stars is fixed again by executive order, this time from President Eisenhower.

July 4, 1912 – Flag with 48 stars (New Mexico, Arizona)

June 14, 1916 – Flag Day becomes an official national observance by virtue of a proclamation from President Woodrow Wilson. 

1917 – The Valley Forge Flag Company begins making American flags.

March 3, 1931 – By act of Congress “The Star-Spangled Banner” becomes our national anthem.

February 23, 1945 – Photographer Joe Rosenthal snaps the famous photograph of United States Marines risking their lives to raise the American flag on Mount Suribachi on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, four days after the beginning of the American invasion of that island. Fighting there continues for 31 more days, with heavy casualties, before the island finally falls to the Americans.

When the photograph is shown in the United States, it causes an immediate sensation. Members of the United States Senate call for the erection of a national monument modeled after the photograph.

August 14, 1945 – The tattered flag that flew over Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, is flown over the White House when the Japanese accept surrender terms.

September 28, 1945 – The American flag that flew on the Battleship Missouri during Japanese surrender ceremonies is hoisted at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in celebration of the American victory.

August 3, 1949 – Congress passes a law, and President Harry Truman signs it, permanently making June 14th to be Flag Day. However, it is not a legal holiday except in Pennsylvania.

June 14, 1954 – On Flag Day, 1954, The United States Congress adds the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. Of this action, President Dwight D. Eisenhower says, “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.”

November 10, 1954 – The Iwo Jima memorial, formally known as the Marine Corps War Memorial, constructed by sculptor Felix DeWeldon,  is dedicated by President Eisenhower in Arlington National Cemetery.

July 4, 1959 Flag with 49 stars (Alaska)

July 4, 1960 – Flag with 50 stars (Hawaii)

1963 – The American flag is placed on top of Mount Everest by Barry Bishop.

1968 – The National Flag Foundation (NFF) is established in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. NFF is America’s leading non-profit patriotic educational organization promoting respect for the American flag.

July 20, 1969 – The American flag is posted on the moon in the Sea of Tranquility  by Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edward “Buzz” Aldrin.

February 22, 1980 – Mike Eruzione scores 3 goals, including the winning goal, as the U.S. Hockey team beats the unbeatable Soviet team 4-3 in a stunning upset, in front of a boisterous, flag-waving crowd. Eruzione skates around the arena after the victory wrapped in an American flag. The Americans had been defeated by the Soviets 10-3 in an exhibition match only a week before the Olympics.

1984 – The Challenger flag is manufactured by the Valley Forge Flag Company.

January 25, 1985 – The Challenger flag flies briefly over the United States Capitol.

February 1985 – The Challenger flag is presented to its boy scout troop, Troop 514 of Monument, Colorado.

January 28, 1986 at 11:38 a.m. EST – The Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, with an American flag from Troop 514 of Monument Colorado carried in the official flight kit.

January 28, 1986 at 11:40 a.m. EST – 70 seconds after launch, the Challenger Shuttle explodes, killing all seven crew members. The Challenger flag is lost among the wreckage.

December 18, 1986 – The "Challenger Flag" is returned from the wreckage to Troop 514 by Eagle Scout/Astronaut/Colonel Guy Bluford, at a special ceremony at Falcon Air Force Station, Colorado.

December 19, 1986 – The Challenger Flag is designated the official flag of the Bi-Centennial of the Constitution of the United States by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Warren Burger.

September 17, 1987 – Boy Scout Troop 514 displays the Challenger Flag to 14,000 guests as part of the opening ceremony of the Bicentennial Gala Event. To read about the book that tells the amazing story of this flag, click here.

September 18, 1987 – The Challenger Flag is reflown over the United States Capitol—completing an amazing journey from the Capitol, to a Boy Scout Troop in Colorado, to Johnson Space Center, to Kennedy Space Center, to the official flight kit of the Space Shuttle Challenger, to the edge of space, to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean—and all the way back.

September 19, 1987 – Boy Scout Troop 514 unfurls the Challenger Flag at the gravesite of the Challenger Astronauts in Arlington National Cemetery—honoring those who gave it flight.

April 20, 1988 – In a surprise ruling, the Texas court of criminal appeals, by a 5-4 vote, overturns the conviction of Gregory Lee Johnson. In 1984, Gregory Lee Johnson had joined a group of anti-Reagan protesters to oppose “the American exploitation of third world countries” by burning an American flag. He was convicted under Texas’ venerated objects law. The appeals court rules that his conviction violated Johnson’s first amendment right of freedom of expression.

June 21, 1989 – In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court rules in the case of Texas v. Johnson, and holds that burning or otherwise desecrating the American flag is protected free speech.

September 1989 – The United States Congress approves the Flag Protection Act of 1989. The vote in the House of Representatives was 380-38; in the Senate it was 91-9. President George H.W. Bush allows it to become law without his signature, saying that he believes that the legislation would require a constitutional amendment.

October 30, 1989 – The day the Flag Protection Act of 1989 takes effect, hundreds of protesters burn American Flags.

June 11, 1990 – In the cases of U.S. v Haggerty and U.S. v Eichman, the United States Supreme Court rules that the Flag Protection Act of 1989 is unconstitutional.

December 12, 1995 – The Flag Desecration Constitutional Amendment passes the House of Representatives by a vote of 312 to 120. In the Senate, however, the vote is 63-36, 3 votes short of the required 2/3 majority. This Amendment to the Constitution would have allowed Congress to make laws prohibiting flag burning or other activities that desecrate the flag.

September 11, 2001 – Hijacked commercial airliners destroy the twin towers of the World Trade Center and strike the Pentagon, killing thousands of people. Within minutes, the Valley Forge Flag Company is flooded with calls to buy American flags. While Americans purchase about 2 million house flags annually, on this one day an estimated 25 to 30 million people wanted flags right away.

February 1, 2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates in flames over Texas, minutes prior to its scheduled landing after an otherwise successful 16-day mission. All seven astronauts aboard are killed.