Flag of the United States Army
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The flag of the United States Army consists of a blue replica of the official seal of the War Office. 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 Army was created with the appointment of General George Washington as Commander-in-Chief. All of this in on a white background.
The flag was officially adopted by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, on June 12, 1956.
[edit] History
Prior to 1956 the Army was the only armed service without a flag to represent the entire service. Prompted by the need for a flag to represent the Army in joint service ceremonies, in 1955 Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker requested the creation of the Army Flag. The design was a simplified version of the Army Seal placed on a white background that included a scroll designation United States Army with the numerals 1775 displayed below and the Army’s campaign streamers attached to the spearhead of the flagstaff.
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. The concept of campaign streamers began during the Civil War, when the War Department instructed regiments to inscribe the names of their meritorious battles on their national colors. 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).
