June 14 is Flag Day, which commemorates the official adoption of the American flag in 1777. Our nation’s first flag had 13 stars and 13 red and white stripes to represent the original 13 colonies that broke from British rule. The stars were arranged on a blue background to represent a ‘new constellation.’ In 1795, as Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union, two more stars and two stripes were added. It was this version that served as muse to poet Francis Scott Key, who penned the poem that would later serve as the lyrics for ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’ He wrote the words after watching the flag fly over the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. The flags in our image are rippling over Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Celebrating Flag Day: ‘O long may it wave’
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Cheers! It’s National Wine Day
-
Art in the chapel
-
An island oasis in the Indian Ocean
-
And they’re off!
-
Art in the high desert
-
Happy Boxing Day!
-
On this shore, history was made
-
International Womens Day
-
Porto Timoni beach, Greece
-
The moon rises for Mid-Autumn Festival
-
Life goes on at the Beatles Ashram
-
Fall Astronomy Week
-
Ceremony Hall at Sweden s Icehotel
-
Avatars of the Wolf Moon
-
A wonderland in winter
-
Veterans Day
-
Sunlight sets Iceland s Eyjafjallajökull aglow
-
Quilts as high art
-
One for the books
-
Fiddlehead fern fronds
-
Halfway Day
-
Hello, harbinger of spring
-
A misty morning in Brazil
-
Atlantic puffin, Iceland
-
Children at play for International Day of Friendship
-
Goliath heron in Kruger National Park, South Africa
-
An uncommon look at an American icon
-
I ll call for pen and ink…
-
Gray days ahead in Monterey
-
Rising up from the black sand like rock gods