By presidential proclamation or by law, these sites are authorized to fly the flag 24 hours a day: Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Baltimore, Maryland. There are many other places where the flag is flown at night as a patriotic gesture. |
In
1831, a flag which had been given to Captain Stephen Driver, a shipmaster of Salem,
Massachusetts, was named "Old Glory" by him. He took his flag
to Nashville, Tennessee, when he retired there in 1837. Tennessee seceded during the Civil War and the flag was hidden from Confederate troops. When Union forces took Nashville, Capt. Driver's "Old Glory" was flown over the capital. |
In
September 1892, Francis Bellamy, of Rome, New York, wrote the Pledge to
be recited by school children on Columbus Day that year. In the years following, the Pledge was recited in schools and at public gatherings. It was not
until 1942 that Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance. One year later, in June 1943, the Supreme Court ruled that school children could not be forced to recite it. |
In
1885 BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher in Fredonia, Wisconsin, arranged a
program for his pupils on the 108th anniversary of the official adoption
of the Stars and Stripes. The idea of celebrating our flag's birthday
was enthusiastically received. Over the next thirty years, many local
and state governments observed June 14 with special ceremonies. In 1916 by Presidential Proclamation, Woodrow Wilson established June 14 as Flag Day. In 1949, President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14 of each year as National Flag Day. |