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Made for the 250thOn this day › June 14
What happened on June 14 in American history
June 14 is the 165th day of the year (the 166th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 9 stories from June 14 spanning 1775 to 1954. Among them: in 1775, Congress creates a Continental Army; thirteen colonies, one command at last; and in 1777, Congress sets the flag: thirteen stripes, thirteen stars, "a new constellation".
1775
Congress creates a Continental Army; thirteen colonies, one command at last
Six weeks after Lexington and Concord, the patchwork of local militias gets a shared structure, a common supply, and a single authority over the fight against Britain.
1777
Congress sets the flag: thirteen stripes, thirteen stars, "a new constellation"
The Flag Resolution names no designer, specifies no arrangement, and says nothing about which stripe color comes first.
1846
Thirty-three armed settlers seize Sonoma before dawn; California declares itself a republic
General Vallejo is taken prisoner in his own home, 170 government horses are seized, and a hand-sewn bear flag now flies over the barracks.
1863Member story · 1776 Club
Ewell's flanking columns crush Milroy at Winchester; Lee's road to Pennsylvania is open
In three days, Early and Johnson overwhelm ten Union forts, taking 4,000 prisoners, 23 guns, and 300 wagons at a cost of only 269 Confederate casualties.
1863Member story · 1776 Club
Banks orders a second assault at Port Hudson; men drop into a seven-foot ditch and a twelve-foot wall stops them cold
Casualties run higher than the first attack three weeks ago, leaving Banks no path forward but the trenches and a long wait on Gardner's 7,500 defenders.
1937Member story · 1776 Club
Roosevelt signs the Marihuana Tax Act; cannabis sales now a federal matter
A $1-per-ounce levy takes effect over the AMA's objections, and unregistered possession becomes a federal offense for the first time.
1937Member story · 1776 Club
Pennsylvania is the first state to make Flag Day a legal holiday
The June 14 date has carried a presidential proclamation for twenty years, but no state had put it on the books until Harrisburg acts today.
1951Member story · 1776 Club
Census Bureau dedicates UNIVAC I; the eight-ton machine took half an hour just to turn on
Designed by Eckert and Mauchly, the first general-purpose electronic computer built for U.S. business use consumes 125 kilowatts and arrives on the heels of the 1950 count.
1954Member story · 1776 Club
Eisenhower signs "under God" into the Pledge; Flag Day becomes the moment the nation's creed changes
Congress moved fast: a pastor preached the idea in February, a bill landed the next morning, and U.S. Flag Code Section 4 is now rewritten.
Read the full June 14 edition →
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