This familiar flag is one of the many "rattlesnake" flags from
about 1775. The native rattlesnake was a warning to the British lion that
Americans were willing to stand up and fight for their rights. Flags such
as this were carried by many of the militia units and flown on many ships
during the Revolutionary War.
After the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Americans realized
they needed a national flag. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress
adopted the following brief resolution: "Resolved, that the flag of
the 13 United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that
the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."
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