Happy Birthday, US Army...and Happy Flag Day!

Let us always remember our history. No matter how difficult it gets, let us never forget our exceptional and providential place...

WashingtonTimes: June 14th is a very special day in the history of the United States. On this date in 1775, the Second Continental Congress formally adopted the rag-tag band of men and boys who had started shooting at the King’s troops in Massachusetts. In addition, on June 14, 1777, the Stars and Stripes, the official flag of the U.S. was born. In each case, an official act of the Second Continental Congress established two powerful foundations for the future nation.

On June 14th, John Adams rose to formalize the appeal of the Massachusetts assembly and address delegates of Congress with the urgency to avoid a disaster should the British troops manage to break out of Boston and “spread desolation as far as they could go.” Adam’s resolution was for the Congress to take charge of the band of amateur troops, and to appoint someone to be a commanding general to take charge of the troops in the field.

Some of what Adams recommended has been recorded with regard to who should lead such a “Continental Army” and he proclaimed that he “had but one Gentleman in… Mind for that important command, and that was a Gentleman from Virginia who was among Us … a Gentleman whose Skill and Experience as an Officer, whose independent fortune, great Talents and excellent universal Character, would command the Approbation of all of America, and unite the cordial Exertions of all the Colonies better than any other person in the Union.” After Adams finished, Congress voted to affirm his resolutions and the Army was born and a Commander-in-Chief appointed. And as it is said, the rest was history.

With respect to the flag, George Washington is also at the center of the legend. After he assumed command of the troops near Boston on July of 1775, Washington began the most challenging task of defeating the most powerful army in the world. However, after fighting the British with his troops trying to rally around various regional banners, or worse, a flag bearing the Union Jack emblem in the upper corner, Washington must have requested a respectable flag that would represent the infant nation.

Official Congressional records indicate that the delegates passed an official resolution on June 14, 1777...

Thus, the official flag of the United States, the Stars and Stripes, was born on that day in 1777. The design of the flag is recognized as a symbol of the people: the red and white stripes represent the original thirteen colonies and the stars represent each new state that entered the Union. Fundamentally, the flag represented the organization of each of the populations in their respective geographic regions. The flag essentially represented the unity of the people in their genuine desire for freedom.

In other words, while the chronology may seem inconsequential, it may represent a deeper significance. The flag was intended to be a symbol of the unity of people and not just a representation of the government of the United States. In actuality, at the time the design for the flag was adopted, there was no U.S. government. The birth of the flag, reflective of the unity of the people in their desire for freedom from tyranny, was eventually followed by the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, the initial guiding principles of the first U.S. government.

Ironically, these two resolutions of Congress that created the Continental Army and the official U. S. flag, were generated before the U.S. government came into existence. These two cornerstones of America actually needed to exist before the country could be. With no support of the military, the nation could not have been born. And the flag was the fitting symbol of the unity and of a free people and the Union became the symbol of a free people. Throughout our country’s history, the flag represented hope and the symbol of freedom from tyranny. Long may “that Star-spangled Banner wave… O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!”