The Continental Congress approved the first official United States flag design on June 14, 1777.
The Flag Resolution stated that the flag should have thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field. It described the stars as representing a new constellation. The thirteen symbols corresponded to the thirteen states that had declared independence from Great Britain.
The resolution did not specify the precise arrangement of the stars. Later designs commonly placed them in rows, a circle, or other patterns. The familiar Betsy Ross story claims that she made the first flag, but historians have not found conclusive evidence that she designed or sewed the official flag adopted in 1777.
The flag changed as new states joined the Union. Congress added stars for new states while retaining thirteen stripes, and the modern flag has fifty stars. June 14 is commemorated annually in the United States as Flag Day.