Congress adopted the first U.S. flag design remembered in America250 history on June 14, 1777.
The Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution during the Revolutionary War. It described a flag with thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field, symbolizing the new union of thirteen states.
The resolution did not specify the arrangement of the stars, so early flags used different patterns, including circles and rows. The familiar fifty-star arrangement developed much later as states entered the Union.
June 14 is now observed as Flag Day in the United States. The date is distinct from July 4, Independence Day, and from September 17, Constitution Day. The first flag resolution came nearly a year after independence was declared and while the war against Britain was still underway.