Today is Flag Day which commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777.
Flag Day
Picture of the Day for June 14, 2022
On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution stating the design of the flag. In 1885, Bernard Cigrand, a small-town Wisconsin teacher, held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day at Stony Hill School in Waubeka and is credited with being the “Father of Flag Day” and President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day in 1916.
Flag Day
Picture of the Day for June 14, 2015
The earliest reference to the suggestion of a “Flag Day” was by Victor Morris of Connecticut, where the city of Hartford observed that day in 1861 but it did not become a tradition.
Bernard J. Cigrand generally is credited with being the “Father of Flag Day,” with the Chicago Tribune noting that he “almost singlehandedly” established the holiday. A grade school teacher in Waubeka, in eastern Wisconsin, Cigrand held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day at the Stony Hill School in 1885. From the late 1880s on, Cigrand spoke on the need for the annual observance of a flag day on June 14, the day in 1777 that the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes.
In 1916, inspired by Cigrand’s actions, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 to be Flag Day, but the day was not officially established by an Act of Congress until 1949.
Flag Day
Picture of the Day for June 14, 2014
In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. Any date can have many events or memories associated with it, since also on June 14 in 1775, the U.S. Army was founded and in 1900, Hawaii becomes a United States territory. And for those who like Bourbon, on June 14, 1789, whiskey distilled from maize is first produced by American clergyman the Rev Elijah Craig. It is named Bourbon because Rev Craig lived in Bourbon County, Kentucky.
Each date also has notable (and not so famous) births, deaths, and anniversaries. For June 14, Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and activist was born in 1811 and Burl Ives, American actor and singer was born in 1909 and I have sung many of his songs over the years. In 1926, Mary Cassatt, American painter, died at the age of 82 and is remembered for Impressionist paintings of women and intimate bonds between mothers and children. Other deaths on June 14 are remembered, but the name might not be remembered fondly, like Benedict Arnold, who died in 1801 and his name is associated with a traitor.
And besides being Flag Day for the United States flag, another flag was first raised on June 14, 1846 in the birthplace of American California, since a group of U.S. settlers in Sonoma proclaimed the Republic of California where the Bear Flag Revolt took place and a Bear Flag was first raised, proclaiming independence from Mexican rule. Sonoma served as the capital of the short-lived California Republic until the United States Stars and Stripes flag was raised during the Mexican-American war.
So June 14, like any day, holds many memories; past, present and future ones for everyone. For me, June 14 is the anniversary of my grandfather’s death, the wedding anniversary of dear friends, and a wedding ceremony today for my cousin.
Flag Day
