3 SEPTEMBER 1776 – The American flag is flown in battle for the first time, during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Coochâs Bridge, Delaware. Patriot General William Maxwell ordered the stars and stripes banner raised as a detachment of his infantry and cavalry met an advance guard of British and Hessian troops. The rebels were defeated and forced to retreat to General George Washingtonâs main force near Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania.
Three months before, on June 14, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating that âthe flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and whiteâ and that âthe Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.â The national flag, which became known as the âStars and Stripes,â was based on the âGrand Unionâ flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross designed the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which consisted of a circle of 13 stars and a blue background, at the request of General George Washington. Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend.
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