Fly the Flag With Pride! It's Flag Day!

Today is Flag Day, a day to proudly fly the American flag in all it's glory. The American flag has gone through 26 permutations since the first red, white and blue was marched into battle by the colonists during the Revolution.

Issued in 2000 to commemorate America's bicentennial, this stamp set shows 20 different versions of Old Glory that have flown over our country. Click the post title to order from County Stamp Center, and visit our website to view other stamps honoring our flag.

It didn't take long for the fledgling country to settle on a flag design. The first flag, the Grand Union Flag, which flew from December 1775 to June 1777, featured a Union Jack where the stars now appear and 13 alternating red and white stripes, one for each colony. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which forever set the pattern of the United States' flag:

"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."

A popular story credits Betsy Ross with sewing the circular arrangement of 13 stars on the country's first official flag from a sketch drawn by George Washington. As the number of states grew, so did the number of stars, necessitating revisions to the arrangement of stars in the union (the blue square). New flags debuted on the first July 4 following admission of a new state. The 48-star flag was in use the longest, from 1912 to 1959. The current 50-star flag has flown over our country since July 4, 1960, following Hawaii's admittance to statehood.

We at County Stamp Center urge you to fly your flag today and honor all that it stands for.