This Day in History: , Congress Adopts the <br />Stars and Stripes.<br />June 14, 1777.<br />The basic design for the <br />American flag was adopted <br />at the Continental Congress <br />during the American Revolution.<br />Legend has it seamstress <br />Betsy Ross sewed the <br />first flag at the request of <br />General George Washington.<br />The flag had thirteen <br />alternating red and white <br />stripes and thirteen stars set <br />in a circle against a blue field.<br />As new states declared <br />their statehood, the flag <br />added both stars and stripes.<br />Congress restored the <br />original 13 stripes in the <br />early 1800s to represent <br />the original 13 colonies.<br />The inaugural Flag Day <br />was held on June 14, 1877, <br />and was designated officially <br />by Congress in 1949
