On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress that would soon adopt the Articles of Confederation recessed from writing that early agreement between the 13 American colonies and declared: “That the flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field, representing the new constellation.”Less than three months later, that flag was carried into combat for the first time at the Battle of Brandywine. Although General George Washington and his men ultimately failed in their defense of Pennsylvania, their valiant stand at Brandywine Creek afforded the Continental Congress the time needed to make their escape from the city. The British occupied Philadelphia, but the flag-hailing army lived to fight another day. The red, white, and blue began its long journey toward synonymity with patriotism.That journey would eventually be memorialized in country star Johnny Cash’s “Ragged Old Flag,” in which he chronicled the noble and storied history of Old Glory.“She’s getting threadbare, and she’s wearin’ thin,” he apprised, “but she’s in good shape for the shape she’s in. Cause she’s been through the fire before and I believe she can take a whole lot more.”Indeed, for generations, our beloved flag has been shot at and hated by the enemies of freedom. Our honored dead’s blood has stained her stripes. Through the elation of victory and the horrors of defeat, Old Glory has been there for us. And we, like the heroes of Iwo Jima, have been there to ensure that she stands upright through it all. SEE ALSO: America Still is Exceptional Sadly, as Cash mourned in his song, hatred for the Star-Spangled Banner has now seeped into our own people. “In her own good land, she’s been abused,” he wrote. “She’s been burned, dishonored, denied, and refused.” If Cash lived today, he might add that our own entertainers kneel to shame her.In many ways, these attacks on our flag resemble the attack against Fort McHenry that prompted the writing of our national anthem. When a captured Francis Scott Key watched the nighttime bombing of the fort unfold from the deck of an attacking British ship, his only sign that the Americans had not surrendered or fallen was our American flag, glimpses of which could still be seen, though obscured by smoke. As the battle dragged on, however, the flag was soon completely enveloped. Key could only guess as to what its final fate had been. But by dawn’s early light, he could see that the flag, tattered and torn, still waved proudly on the distant shore—a sure sign that the battle was not lost, that the American cause had once again survived an attempt to exterminate it. An overjoyed Key quickly penned the words we now know as our national anthem, not merely a tribute to the flag itself but to everything she represents—a tribute to the land of the free and the home of the brave. SEE ALSO: We stand in the shadow of heroes. Let’s act worthy of them. Today, it may metaphorically feel as if America is living through an extended attack on Fort McHenry. Sometimes, it’s hard to see whether Old Glory will prevail. But this is our consolation: by dawn’s early light, we may find this nation to be just as free and just as brave as ever. Sure, some have turned their backs on that ragged old flag. But then there are those who still hail it proudly—those who still stand by its side. And for all of American history yet, it has been the latter who emerge victorious.So wave your flag with honor. “Raise her up every morning… bring her down every night… don’t let her touch the ground… fold her up right.” And as Francis Scott Key said, may it always be true of us:“Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall waveO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”Jakob Fay is a staff writer for the Convention of States Project, a project of Citizens for Self-Governance.
