Fun Flag facts for the Fourth

The American flag has evolved over time along with the nation. The first official red, white and blue flag bearing 13 stars and 13 stripes debuted in 1777.

Stars were added as states were admitted to the union. Today's familiar 50-star flag dates to 1960, the year after Alaska and Hawaii became states. Legends and misconceptions about the flag have also evolved over time. Here's a closer look at nine myths about the American flag and the truth behind each of them.

Myth #1: Betsy Ross created the first American flag

The familiar story of George Washington walking into a shop and asking Betsy Ross to sew a flag originated with William Canby, a grandson of Ross, said Peter Ansoff, president of the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), a group devoted to the study of flags. Canby presented his tale with little supporting evidence to the Pennsylvania Historical Society in 1870, nearly a century after the original flag was created. He claimed Ross told him the story right before her death in 1836, when he would have been around 11 years old.

"Obviously, he was still a youngster at the time, and he was writing this much later than that," Ansoff said. "There are many discrepancies in the story - some things that just don't make sense."

Since Washington was out in the field commanding the army, for example, he didn't spend much time in Philadelphia, where Ross' upholstery shop was located. Additionally, flags were first made not for ground troops but for naval forces, which Washington had little to do with, Ansoff said. The true creator of the first American flag is likely lost to history.

What is the Flag Code?

The Flag Code is a set of flag etiquette guidelines developed in 1923 by the American Legion and other organizations. It instructs when the flag should be displayed, manners and methods of displaying it, and buildings where it should be raised. There are detailed specifications for displaying the flag at half-staff and even how to deliver the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Flag Code was adopted as law by Congress in 1942. However, it does not have an enforcement mechanism, and there is no flag police. States have attempted to punish people who disrespect the flag. However, their efforts were struck down by the Supreme Court as free speech violations.  

Sources: The American Legion and the Congressional Research Service

Myth #2: The flag has always had stars and stripes

America's earliest flags did not have stars and stripes. A flag used in 1775, for example, did have stripes, but it displayed the British Union Jack crosses in the canton, the top left corner of the flag that's also known as the union. The primary use of a national flag at that time was for naval ships to be able to recognize each other.

Congress didn't adopt the flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes as the official U.S. flag until 1777.

Myth #3: Americans have always flown the flag

Prior to the Civil War, flags were primarily flown in an official capacity on ships, forts and government buildings. "In the antebellum period, if a citizen had flown his flag on his house or carriage, people would have thought that was strange. Why is he doing that? He's not the government," Ansoff said.

"At the beginning of the Civil War there was an outburst of patriotism," Ansoff said, "and very soon, you saw people flying flags everywhere to show their support for the Union cause."

Myth #4: Red, white, and blue have official meanings

The colors of the flag were not assigned any official meaning when the first flag was adopted in 1777. The origin of the red-white-and-blue color scheme was most likely dude to the British flag bearing the same three colors.

Myth #5: It's against the law to burn the American flag

In the landmark case Texas v. Johnson in 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that desecrating the American flag is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment.

Myth #6: It's illegal to wear clothing bearing the flag

Wearing clothing made from an actual American flag would be a breach of etiquette, according to the American Legion, but it said you wouldn't be breaking the law by wearing clothing bearing a flag design.

Myth #7: A flag that touches the ground must be destroyed

According to the Flag Code, the American flag should never touch anything beneath it, including the ground, the floor, or the water.

"People have taken that to mean that if it ever does that, then it should be destroyed," said Jeff Hendricks, deputy director of Americanism at the American Legion.

However, that is not the case. Flags should be destroyed only when they are no longer in good enough condition to be displayed. Once a flag is unfit for display, burning it is the preferred method of destruction.

Myth #8: The flag should never be flown at night

Although it's customary to display the American flag from sunrise to sunset, the flag can be displayed 24 hours a day if it is illuminated through the night, according to the Flag Code.

Myth #9: The flag must always be folded into a triangle for storage

Folding a flag into a triangle for storage, with only the blue union and stars visible, is part of tradition, said Hendricks, not a requirement of the Flag Code. Flags on a staff can be rolled around the staff and covered with cloth for storage