Flag Day at WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News
JACKSON, Tenn. — It is Flag Day!
According to the White House, the day is a way to celebrate “the enduring strength and promise that the stars and stripes on our flag have always embodied.”
Flag Day is also a day to, as the White House shared, to learn our nation’s history.
The flag of our nation has always been evolving, and we here at WBBJ 7 Eyewitness wanted to share just a portion of that history by sharing the flags we have in the station right now!
The Grand Union Flag — Before there were stars, there was the the Flag of the British Union. The flag saw use during the Revolution, but unfortunately caused confusion when mistaken as a sign of surrender at Prospect Hill. The idea of the flag was to show sign of colonial allegiance to the crown while maintaining the rights of colonists.
13-Star “Betsy Ross” Flag — First flown on September 3, 1777 in Maryland, the 13-star flag would eventually become the first national flag after being adopted on June 14, 1777. It would, however, be in rows and not in a circle.
The Bennington Flag — Named after Nathaniel Fillmore at the Battle of Bennington, features big differences than what we see today. Differences include 13, seven-point stars around “76.” But you will also notice that there are 13 stripes, but they begin and end with white, rather than red. Read more about its story here.
Four-Five-Four Pattern — A variation of the 13-star flag. Read more here.
34-Star Flag — This flag was adopted in the 1860s after Kansas achieving statehood. There were several designs for this flag.
Civil War Guidon — These types of flags were used by the US Cavalry in the 1800s. The stars in this replica are gold, rather than white/silver and the ends where the stripes are have a swallow-tail.
50-Star Flag — The flag we see everyday, representing all 50 states. It was adopted August 21, 1959.
Not all of the above were the country’s national flag, but still show that since the American Revolutionary War, it has taken on many variations.
And if you want to see history flying for Flag Day, head to Triangle Park in downtown Jackson.
Our local Daughters of the American Revolution have set up a display honoring those who fought during the Revolution.
Flag Day was also marked in conjunction with the US Army’s birthday in Jackson as well. Read more about it here.
And don’t miss these Flag Day facts, which were compiled in our very own Creative Services Department:
The flags were brought to the station by our very own Digital Media Director, Tristyn Stoop.
You can find more national news here.