Congress adopted the 13-star flag on June 14, 1777, a date connected with the United States’ America250 heritage.
The Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution after independence had been declared. It specified 13 alternating red and white stripes and a union containing 13 white stars on a blue field. The stars and stripes represented the thirteen United States that had broken from British rule.
June 14 is now observed annually as Flag Day. The resolution did not prescribe a precise arrangement for the stars, their number of points, or which color began the stripe sequence. Those details developed through later designs and practice.
The flag in use at the time of the Declaration was not yet the familiar star-spangled design. The Continental Union Flag, used from 1775, retained the British Union in its canton. The 1777 resolution therefore marks the formal adoption of the first United States flag with stars in the blue field.