Flag Day

Today is Flag Day.

So, perhaps a little history is in order.

On this day, June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved the design of a national flag.

Resolved, that the Flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.

According to legend, in 1776, George Washington commissioned Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross to create a flag for the new nation. The American flag, in its current form, first flew over the Capitol on April 12, 1818. The flag has been altered twenty-seven times over the years. The current version dates to July 4, 1960, when Hawaii became the 50th state.

Since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation declaring June 14 Flag Day, Americans have commemorated the adoption of the Stars and Stripes by celebrating June 14 as Flag Day.

Continued expansion of the Union meant Congress soon again faced the prospect of adding to the number of the flag's stars and stripes. Thus, in 1818, Congress settled on the expediency of altering the flag according to its present formula whereby stripes represent the original thirteen colonies, and stars are coincident with the number of states in the Union. The Independence Day following the admission of a State was set as the occasion for adding new stars to the flag. With the admission of Hawaii, the fiftieth star was added to the flag on July 4, 1960.

American Flag History via the Library of Congress.

Other Flag Day Information:
The National Flag Day Foundation, Inc.
The Flag of the United States of America.
Annie's Flag Day Welcome Page.
Betsy Ross Homepage.
American Flag Timeline.
Wikepedia
Google Search Results.

So, to continue this, I found the words to a Johnny Cash Classic, Ragged Old Flag, and thought it appropriate to post here.

Display you Flag. Be Proud. These colors are more than just sewn cloth. They represent everything the United States is. Many have died to defend the freedoms it represents. The least I can do is post this Blog, display my Flag, and be PROUD I AM AN AMERICAN.

Ragged Old Flag
By John R. Cash, © 1974 House of Cash, Inc

I walked through a county courthouse square,
On a park bench an old man was sitting there.
I said, "Your old courthouse is kinda run down."
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town."
I said, "Your old flagpole has leaned a little bit,
And that's a Ragged Old Flag you got hanging on it."

He said, "Have a seat," and I sat down.
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town?"
I said, "I think it is." He said, "I don't like to brag,
But we're kinda proud of that Ragged Old Flag.

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there when
Washington took it across the Delaware.
And it got powder-burned the night Francis Scott Key
Sat watching it writing Say Can You See.
And it got a bad rip in New Orleans
With Packingham and Jackson tuggin' at its seems.

"And it almost fell at the Alamo
Beside the Texas flag, but she waved on though.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on that Ragged Old Flag.

"On Flanders Field in World War I
She got a big hole from a Bertha gun.
She turned blood red in World War II.
She hung limp and low by the time it was through.
She was in Korea and Vietnam.
She was sent where she was by her Uncle Sam.

"She waved from our ships upon the briny foam,
And now they've about quit waving her back here at home.
In her own good land here she's been abused --
She's been burned, dishonored, denied, and refused.

"And the government for which she stands
Is scandalized throughout the land.
And she's getting threadbare and wearing thin,
But she's in good shape for the shape she's in.
'Cause she's been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more.

"So we raise her up every morning, take her
down every night.
We don't let her touch the ground and we fold
her up right.
On second thought, I do like to brag,
'Cause I'm mighty proud of the Ragged Old Flag."

Johnny Cash Lyrics can be found here.