Which law established the first official U.S. flag, adopted by Congress on June 14, 1777?

The Flag Act of 1777 established the first official United States flag, adopted by Congress on June 14, 1777.

The law specified 13 alternating red and white stripes and 13 white stars on a blue field, representing the original thirteen states. It did not dictate the stars’ arrangement, so early flags displayed them in several patterns.

The act was passed during the American Revolutionary War, when the new nation needed a recognizable national symbol for military and diplomatic use. June 14 is now observed annually in the United States as Flag Day.

A common mix-up is attributing the flag’s design entirely to Betsy Ross. The Betsy Ross story is famous, but historians have not established that she made the first flag. The Flag Act itself identified the design’s elements without naming a designer.