One of the most interesting flags from the Revolutionary War is the flag made in Huntington, NY. Huntington is in Suffolk County on Long Island. The history of the flag and how it came to be made is a history of the time: from loyal subjects of the crown to rebels and patriots. The pdf below is a very good description of how the flag came to be. Of note is the style of the word "LIBERTY". I believe that the simple block style in this description is more accurate than what some companies are selling on their commercial versions. Those flags have the word "LIBERTY" in a very stylized form similar to "Times New Roman" and in italics. Unless those early people had a printer and MS Word, I doubt they would have gone through all the trouble of making such and intricate rendition of the word. More than likely, simple block lettering would have been cut out of white cloth and sewn on the red flag. Could the lettering have been painted? Then the words might have been fancy. No, I don't believe so and this is why - look at how the flag evolved. The original flag was a simple British Red Ensign. Then "LIBERTY" and "GEORGE III" was added to each side. When news of the Declaration of Independence reached Huntington, they removed the British canton and the "GEORGE III" from the flag. If the words had been painted they could not have removed the letters! They could have painted over the words with some red paint but evidence states that the cloth from the words and the canton was later burned. So, it makes more sense that the words were sewn on and therefore more than likely they sewed on simple block letters. Have you ever tired to cut out Times New Roman letters in italics? Not easy! But, if you disagree, feel free to put your comments below. I always like to hear from others on historical flags. In addition to CRW Flags (see link here), you can purchase flags from the Huntington Historical Society. I purchased a 2' x 3 ' flag from them and it is made very well. Also, the flag reads "LIBERTY" on only one side (flag is double sided), which is more historic than silk screening "LIBERTY" directly through the flag. Here is the link to purchase their flags.
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On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress established the American Flag. It was a simple resolution made after declaring that the Marine Committee has control over war ships in the Delaware River and before declaring that Captain John Roach (commander of the RANGER) "is a person of doubtful character". The flag resolution was very vague: "Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." This vagueness is what led to so many variations of U.S. Flags until Congress finally declared the official arrangements of stars and stripes in 1912. We will bring up some of these arrangements and some famous flags later on. For now, here is what the page from the Journal of the Continental Congress looked like for that day.
![]() On June 14, 1775, the American Army was organized and founded during the Revolution. However, the Army did not get its own flag until 1956 - the last of the 5 services! It was only after they needed a flag during joint services ceremonies. Individual Army organizations and units had flags for years but not the service as a whole. The picture of the flag you see here is the first flag made for the Army and dedicated at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA. The flag is still in Philadelphia in the Military Museum as part of Independence NHP. Here is some good information about the flag. I'll post later on about the symbol on the Army flag and how there is a "violation" of the US Flag Code on their flag - its an interesting explanation!! Here is the actual resolution from June 14th. Here is some information and history of some of the flags flying in Old Town, San Diego. It is a good description of flags that flew or were seen in the Southern California area.
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