An Army was Born. On May 10, 1775, nearly a month after the battles of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress convened with delegates representing the original thirteen colonies. One month later, on June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress voted to create a united force to fight British land forces. The Continental Army was born.
Over 231,000 men served in the Continental Army from 1775 until the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783. George Washington was commander-in-chief of an initial ragtag force willing to take on a better-trained, better-equipped, and well-financed British force. Following the young Nation’s independence from Great Britain and amid concerns about maintaining an Army outside of times of war, Congress officially disbanded the Continental Army in June 1784. Only a small force was authorized to safeguard military arms and stores.
Until 1956, the Army was the only armed service branch without a flag to represent it. That changed with President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Executive Order 10670, signed on June 12, 1956, which authorized the official Army flag in use today. On Flag Day, June 14, 1956, the flag was unfurled during a ceremony at Independence Hall, Philadelphia.
During the wars that followed the Nation’s independence, fluctuations in manpower reflected the need to meet both domestic and external demands for peacekeeping and warfighting. Today, Army personnel number nearly 450,000 men and women and are a well-trained and technologically superior force. This year, we celebrate June 14, 2025, as the Army’s 250th birthday.
A National Flag was Declared. The first official flag under which the Continental Army fought until 1777 was the “Continental Colors,” also known as the “Grand Union Flag.” It consisted of thirteen red and white stripes and the United Kingdom’s flag in the upper left-hand corner. In a show of patriotism and independence from the British, other flags flown included Christopher Gadsden’s “DONT TREAD ON ME,” depicting a disturbed rattlesnake in a field of yellow. The flag is still popular today.
Popular lore is that Elizabeth Griscom, a Philadelphia flag maker also known as Betsy Ross, sewed the first “official” flag in June 1776. According to the legend attributed to William J. Canby, Ross’ grandson, George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross came to Betsy Ross’s house to discuss the design of a national flag. The original design had six-sided stars representing the thirteen colonies on a field of blue with red and white stripes. She suggested a five-pointed star. The men accepted her design and assigned her to sew the flag. No conclusive evidence exists to support or deny this claim.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress declared the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States. The Congressional resolution stated: “Resolved That the Flag of the united states be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the Union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation.”
Today’s flag of 50 stars and 13 bars is the longest-running rendition of America’s national flag. It has remained unchanged since Alaska and Hawaii entered the union in 1959. It’s worth noting that it was not until August 3, 1949, that Congress approved and President Truman signed into law Flag Day as a national day of observance.
In an event to commemorate Flag Day, on June 14, 2025, the John E. Jacobs American Legion Post 68 will host a Flag Day Picnic at Belville’s Riverwalk Park (580 River Road). The event, scheduled from 12 noon to 5 pm, is open to all veterans and their families in the area. To learn more about Post 68’s activities in the greater Leland community, visit https://ncpost68.org/.