Today is Flag Day in the United States, commemorating the adoption of the U. S. flag on June 14, 1777. President Woodrow Wilson declared this day by proclamation in 1916, and in 1949 an Act of Congress created National Flag Day. Here are some vintage postcards honoring the flag.
Elizabeth Griscom Ross Ashburn Claypoole ("Betsy" to her friends) is credited with making the first American flag, supposedly advising George Washington as to the design. This story is not substantiated by any historical record but comes from the writings of her grandson 100 years after the fact. We do know for certain that Betsy Ross was in the upholstery business, and she did make flags for the Pennsylvania Navy for use on ships during the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Franklin oversaw the committee for this endeavor. Those flags incorporated red and white stripes and blue spaces.