In 1777, the Continental Congress made the flag an official national symbol on June 14. Over a century later a teacher at Stony Hill School in a small Wisconsin town placed a small United States flag on his desk on June 14 and asked his students to write about what the flag meant to them, thus beginning the first celebration of Flag Day in the US. President Woodrow Wilson officially designated June 14 as Flag Day with the issuance of a proclamation. Later in 1949 Flag Day was officially designated by Congress.
Interestingly enough, June 14 is also the birthday of the United States Army. Founded on June 14, 1775 when the Continental Congress authorized the “enlistment of expert riflemen to serve the United Colonies for one year”, the US Army will celebrate its 247th birthday next week. Both the US flag and the US Army were created during the American Revolution and remain today, symbols of the country born out of that revolution, the United States of America.
Next week, on June 14, take a few moments and like the school teacher from Wisconsin long ago, ask yourself what the flag and the country mean to you. At Fredericksburg Farms, our US flag will be proudly flying!