What date is celebrated as the adoption of the first U.S. national flag?

June 14, 1777, is celebrated as the adoption date of the first U.S. national flag. On that day, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution establishing a design with thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field.

The resolution stated that the stars represented a new constellation. It did not specify the precise arrangement of the stars, so early flags could display them in different patterns, including circles or rows.

The flag’s thirteen stripes represented the thirteen original states. As new states joined the Union, Congress later changed the design by adding stars and, at first, additional stripes. The Flag Act of 1818 fixed the number of stripes at thirteen and provided for one star per state.

June 14 is now observed as Flag Day. It is distinct from Independence Day, which commemorates the Declaration of Independence, and from military anniversaries associated with individual U.S. branches.