If you forgot that June 14 was Flag Day and you didn’t display your United States flag, you’re probably not alone.
However, you can play catchup — like me — and proudly display the flag June 15.
Few people know the real history of the American flag, or what the colors, stripes and stars mean.
It might seem strange to some, but I have a bachelor’s degree in U.S. history from the University of South Florida for which I’m very proud. It only took eight years to get it.
Contrary to popular legend, the first official U.S. flag was not sewn by Betsy Ross on instructions from Gen. George Washington, at the time the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
Ross actually made a flag for Washington in early 1776, but that was before there was a United States of America. Ross used a design by Washington to make that flag.
It contained 13 alternate red and white stripes, but had the British Union Jack in the upper left corner.
Washington flew the flag at the Battle of Prospect Hill in Boston that January and at his headquarters. It was called the Grand Union Flag. Washington discontinued its use after the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, because the Union Jack represented Great Britain.
To the end of her life, Ross claimed she made the first American flag.
The first official U.S. flag was ordered by the Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress under a law passed June 14, 1777, which gave directions for making the U.S. flag and how it should appear.
Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, put in a claim to Congress in 1777 for designing the first official American flag as prescribed by that law. It had 13 stripes, alternating from red to white, and the upper left quadrant of the flag was blue with 13 five-pointed stars in a circle.
Hopkinson billed Congress for “A quarter cask of public wine,” but Congress rejected payment because he was already drawing a salary as a member of Congress.
At that time, no one, not even Ross, rejected Hopkinson’s claim.
Ross’ grandson, William Canby, claimed in 1877 that his grandmother made the first flag, but Mary Pickersgill, daughter of Rebecca Young of Boston, disputed that.
Pickersgill claimed her mother told her she had made the flag for Washington in 1776.
The dispute has never been settled, but popular history credits Betsy Ross as the first U.S. flag-maker.
In 1795, Congress authorized the addition of another stripe and star on the flag each time a new state entered the Union. It was a 15-star, 15-stripe flag that Francis Scott Key saw over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 that inspired him to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
After the war ended, Congress saw the flag was becoming too big with the addition of stripes for new states in the Union.
At the suggestion of Capt. Capt. Samuel Reid, U.S. Navy, Congress decided in April 1818 to add a new star when a territory became a state, and set the number of stripes at 13. Congress quickly agreed and new law specified that new stars would only be added after July 4 following the admission of a new state.
At various periods in American history, the stars were arranged in a circular pattern, and in the early 1820s, the stars were arranged to show a five-pointed star. The last circular star pattern was in 1890, when Colorado became a state.
The most recent stars added to the flag were Alaska after July 4, 1959, and Hawaii in 1960 after it was admitted as a state in August 1959. For about a year, the country had a 49-star flag.
No states have been admitted for 51 years, the longest period in American history without the addition of a new state.
Surprisingly, Congress has never officially established what the colors, stripes or stars signify.
The U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry has said that, unofficially, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies.
Each five-pointed star represents a different state in the Union. The white on the flag represents purity and innocence; the red signifies hardiness, courage and the blood shed by so many people to gain freedom. The blue traditionally has meant vigilance, perseverance and justice.
White stripes cutting through the red stripes represented a political statement in 1777, of America (in white stripes) cuttings its ties with Britain (represented by red stripes).
As there is no official meaning of the colors or stars, other interpretations have been offered, including one that says white represents heaven and red represents hell.
The heraldry institute has prepared designs for flags containing up to 56 stars, should additional territories become states.
The only possible candidates for statehood at present are Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., although Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific (Saipan and Tinian) are large enough to begin the long process for statehood.
And that’s all you need to know to remember to display the flag next year — on June 14.