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Flag of the United States Army

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United States Army
Flag of the United States Army
UseOther
Proportion3:5
AdoptedJune 12, 1956[1]
DesignA blue replica of the War Office Seal set on a white field. Beneath the seal is a broad scarlet scroll bearing the inscription in white letters, "United States Army". Beneath the scroll, in blue Arabic numerals, is "1775".
Designed byUnited States Army

The flag of the United States Army displays a blue replica of the War Office Seal set on a white field. Beneath the seal is a broad scarlet scroll bearing the inscription in white letters, "United States Army". Beneath the scroll, in blue Arabic numerals, is "1775" the year in which the Continental Army was created with the appointment of General George Washington as Commander-in-Chief. All of this is on a white background.

The flag was officially adopted by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, on June 12, 1956, via Executive Order 10670.[1]

History

A U.S. Army flag with full battle streamers attached

Prior to 1956 the Army was the only armed service without a flag to represent the entire service. In 1955, prompted by the need for a flag to represent the U.S. Army in joint service ceremonies, Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker requested the creation of an army flag.

The U.S. Army flag was dedicated and unfurled to the general public on June 14, 1956 at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, on the 181st anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. Army by the Continental Congress. The original flag measured 4 feet 4 inches by 5 feet 6 inches, the flag is of white silk with a blue embroidered central design of the original War Office seal. "United States Army" is inscribed in white letters on a scarlet scroll, with the year "1775" in blue numerals below.

Streamers

The concept of campaign streamers began during the American Civil War, when the War Department instructed regiments to inscribe the names of their meritorious battles on their national colors. The Army has defined an official campaign as a particular combat action or series of actions that has historical significance or military importance to the Army and the nation. In 1890 the War Department directed that regimental honors be engraved on silver rings placed on the staffs of regimental flags. In 1920 the War Department ordered that each regimental color would bear streamers, in the colors of the campaign medal ribbon, for each campaign in which the regiment had fought. The creation of the Army Flag provided a means to display all the Army’s campaigns (175 in 2003).

The following campaign streamers are authorized for the U.S. Army colors, in order of precedence:[2][3]

Order Name Image Campaigns & Device(s)
1 Revolutionary War[4] Lexington 1775
Ticonderoga 1775
Boston 1775–1776
Quebec 1775, 1776
Charleston 1776, 1780
Long Island 1776
Trenton 1776
Princeton 1777
Saratoga 1777
Brandywine 1777
Germantown 1777
Monmouth 1778
Savannah 1778, 1779
Cowpens 1781
Guilford Court House 1781
Yorktown 1781
2 War of 1812[5] Canada 1812–1815
Chippewa 1814
Lundy's Lane 1814
Bladensburg 1814
McHenry 1814
New Orleans 1814
3 Mexican War[6] Palo Alto 1846
Resaca de la Palma 1846
Monterey 1846
Buena Vista 1847
Vera Cruz 1847
Cerro Gordo 1847
Contreras 1847
Churubusco 1847
Molina del Rey 1847
Chapultepec 1847
4 Civil War[7]
note: units that served in the Confederate States Army have their streamer colors reversed,
with grey above blue and may have different names for campaigns.

Sumter 1861
Bull Run / First Manassas 1861
Henry & Donelson 1862
Mississippi River 1862–1863
Peninsula 1862
Shiloh 1862
Valley 1862
Manassas / Second Manassas 1862
Antietam / Sharpsburg 1862
Fredericksburg 1862
Murfreesborough 1862–1863
Chancellorsville 1863
Gettysburg 1863
Vicksburg 1863
Chickamauga 1863
Chattanooga 1863
Wilderness 1864
Atlanta 1864
Spotsylvania 1864
Cold Harbor 1864
Petersburg 1864–1865
Shenandoah 1864
Franklin 1864
Nashville 1864
Appomattox 1865
5 Indian Wars[8] Miami 1790–1795
Tippecanoe 1811
Creeks 1813–1814, 1836–1837
Seminoles 1817–1818, 1835–1842, 1855–1858
Black Hawk 1832
Commanches 1867–1875
Modocs 1872–1873
Apaches 1873, 1885–1886
Little Big Horn 1876–1877
Nez Perces 1877
Bannocks 1878
Cheyennes 1878–1879
Utes 1879–1890
Pine Ridge 1890–1891
6 Spanish Campaign[9] Santiago 1898
Puerto Rico 1898
Manila 1898
7 China Relief Expedition[10] Tientsin 1900
Yang–Tsung 1900
Peking 1900
8 Philippine Campaign[11] Manila 1899
Iloilo 1899
Malolos 1899
Laguna de Bay 1899
San Isidro 1899
Zapote River 1899
Cavite 1899–1900
Tarlac 1899
San Fabian 1899
Mindanao 1902–1905
Jolo 1905, 1906, 1913
9 Mexican Service[12] Mexico 1916–1917
10 World War I Victory[13] Battle of Cambrai 1917
Somme Defensive 1918
Lys 1918
Aisne 1918
Montdidier-Noyon 1918
Champagne–Marne 1918
Aisne–Marne 1918
Somme Offensive 1918
Oise–Aisne 1918
Ypres–Lys 1918
St. Mihiel 1918
Meuse–Argonne 1918
Vittorio Veneto 1918
11 WWII American Campaign[14] Antisubmarine 1941–1945
12 WWII Asiatic-Pacific Campaign[15] Philippines 1941–1942
Burma 1941–1942
Central Pacific 1941–1943
East Indies 1942
India–Burma 1942–1945
Air Offensive, Japan 1942–1945
Aleutian Islands 1942–1943
China 1942–1945
Papua 1942–1943
Guadalcanal 1942–1943
New Guinea 1943–1944
Northern Solomons 1943–1944
Eastern Mandates 1944
Bismark Archipelago 1943–1944
Western Pacific 1944–1945
Leyete 1944–1945
Luzon 1944–1945
Central Burma 1944–1945
Southern Philippines 1945
Ryukyus 1945
China Offensive 1945
13 WWII European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign[16] Egypt–Libya 1942–1943
Air Offensive, Europe 1942–1944
Algeria–French Morocco 1942
Tunisia 1942–1943
Sicily 1943
Naples–Foggia 1943–1944
Anzio 1944
Rome–Arno 1944
Normandy 1944
Northern France 1944
Southern France 1944
Northern Apennines 1944–1945
Rhineland 1944–1945
Ardennes–Alsace 1944–1945
Central Europe 1945
Po Valley 1945
14 Korean Service[17] UN Offensive 1950
CCF Intervention 1950–1951
First UN Counteroffensive 1951
CCF Spring Offensive 1951
UN Summer–Fall Offensive 1951
Second Korean Winter 1951–1952
Korea Summer–Fall 1952
Third Korean Winter 1952–1953
Korea Summer 1953
15 Vietnam Service[18] Vietnam Advisory 1962–1965
Vietnam Defense 1965
Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase II 1966–1967
Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase III 1967–1968
Tet Counteroffensive 1968
Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase IV 1968
Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase V 1968
Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase VI 1968–1969
Tet 69/Counteroffensive 1969
Vietnam Summer–Fall 1969
Vietnam Winter–Spring 1970
Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase VI 1968–1969
Sanctuary Counteroffensive 1970
Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase VII 1970–1971
Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase VII 1970–1971
Consolidation I 1970
Consolidation II 1971–1972
Vietnam Cease–Fire 1972–1973
16 Armed Forces Expeditionary[19] Dominican Republic 1965–1966
Grenada 1983
Panama 1989–1990
17 Southwest Asia Service[20] Defense of Saudi Arabia 1990–1991
Liberation & Defense of Kuwait 1991
Southwest Asia Cease–Fire 1991–1995
18 Kosovo Campaign Kosovo Air Campaign 1999
Kosovo Defense Campaign
19 Afghanistan Campaign Liberation of Afghanistan 2001
Consolidation I 2001–2006
Consolidation II 2006–present
20 Iraq Campaign Liberation of Iraq 2003
Transition of Iraq 2003–2004
Iraqi Governance 2004–2005
National Resolution 2005–2007
Iraqi surge 2007–2008
21 Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Global War on Terrorism
22 Global War on Terrorism Service Global War on Terrorism

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Establishing a flag for the United States Army". Executive Order 10670. June 12, 1956. p. 324. Retrieved April 30, 2014. WHEREAS the Secretary of the Army has adopted, and has recommended that I approve, an official flag for the United States Army, the design of which accompanies and is hereby made a part of this order, and which is described as follows: UNITED STATES ARMY FLAG--The flag for the United States Army is 4 feet 4 inches hoist by 5 feet 6 inches fly, of white silk or rayon, with yellow fringe, 2½ inches wide. In the center of the flag is the central design of the seal of the Department of the Army (without the Roman numerals) in ultramarine blue, above a scarlet scroll with the designation "UNITED STATES ARMY" in white, and beneath the scroll are the Arabic numerals "1775"; AND WHEREAS it appears that such flag is of suitable design and appropriate for adoption as the official flag of the United States Army: NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, I hereby approve such flag as the official flag of the United States Army. On such official flags of the United States Army as the Secretary of the Army may designate, there shall be displayed below the spearhead of the flagstaff one streamer for each of the officially recognized campaigns in which the United States Army has participated. There shall be embroidered on each streamer the name of the campaign and the year in which it occurred.
  2. ^ Streamers, United States Army Institute of Heraldry
  3. ^ Streamers Documentation, Institute of Heraldry
  4. ^ Revolutionary War streamers
  5. ^ War of 1812 streamers
  6. ^ Mexican War streamers
  7. ^ Civil War streamers
  8. ^ Indian Wars streamers
  9. ^ Spanish American War streamers
  10. ^ China Relief Expedition streamers
  11. ^ Philippine Insurrection streamers
  12. ^ Mexican Expedition streamers
  13. ^ World War I streamers
  14. ^ WWII American Campaign streamers
  15. ^ WWII Asiatic-Pacific Campaign streamers
  16. ^ European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign streamers
  17. ^ Korean War streamers
  18. ^ Vietnam War streamers
  19. ^ Expeditionary streamers
  20. ^ Southwest Asian streamers
  21. ^ "United States Army Field Flag".

Further reading