Thread by @MarkJWestpfahl

Thread 🧵 (no pun intended)
"Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."
~ Second Continental Congress, June 14, 1777.
#FlagDay

Pictured is the first known photograph of the Star-Spangled Banner, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem "The Defence of Fort McHenry", photographed in 1873 at the Boston Navy Yard.
#FlagDay

Maj. George Armistead commissioned Mary Young Pickersgill, a professional flag maker from Baltimore, Maryland, to make a garrison flag measuring 30 by 42 feet with 15 stars and 15 stripes in 1813. She would make a smaller 17 by 25 foot flag as well.
#FlagDay

Before I go any further, I would be remiss if I didn't say to learn more about the conservation effort of the flag, visit amhistory.si.edu/starspangledba…
#FlagDay @amhistorymuseum, @smithsonian, @SmithsonianMag

For more than 50 years, the Star-Spangled Banner was on display in the Arts and Industries Building but was removed by President Franklin Roosevelt as he feared Germany might bomb the National Mall. It was sent to Shenandoah National Park in 1942.
#FlagDay

The Committee on Conservation of Cultural Resources identified "important scientific and irreplaceable historic materials" deemed vital to America's legacy and heritage to be stored in the 86,000 cubic feet of storage space Shenandoah National Park could offer.
#FlagDay

According to @smithsonian Archives: "The headquarters area of the United States National Museum storage facility in Luray, Virginia, near Shenandoah National Park."On the back of photograph it states: "Nat. Museum collections stored in building having dormer windows."
#FlagDay

In 1964, the Star-Spangled Banner was put on display in the Museum of History and Technology, later renamed @amhistorymuseum. The flag remained covered for most of the time, but was revealed periodically throughout the day during the playing of the National Anthem.
#FlagDay

Temperature, light, humidity, dust & other pollutants started to damage the Star-Spangled Banner. It's vertical hanging also put additional strain on the flag's fibers. Do you remember when it hung at the @amhistorymuseum until 1998? Do you have any pictures of that?
#FlagDay

The Abstract Flag accentuates the entrance into the Star-Spangled Banner Gallery at @amhistorymuseum & sits at the same spot the Star-Spangled Banner once hung for 30+ years. The Abstract Flag is 40 by 19 foot flag is made up of 960 pieces of mirrored polycarbonate.
#FlagDay

In 1914, the Star-Spangled Banner underwent restoration. Amelia Bold Fowler & a team of 10 skilled seamstresses were hired by the @smithsonian to sew more than 1.7 million stitches into the flag and a linen backing, in an attempt to strengthen the flag's integrity.
#FlagDay

In 1998, the latest restoration of the Star-Spangled Banner took place. The 1.7 million stitches were removed. The conservation took 6 years and was viewable by the public throughout the process.
#FlagDay
@smithsonian

The Star-Spangled Banner now resides in a special climate and light-controlled, low-oxygen chamber designed by @smithsonian architects, engineers, & conservators. The flag is displayed on an adjustable, angled table so it could be displayed without stressing the fabric.
#FlagDay

What are some of your favorite flag pictures &/or do you have a favorite/meaningful flag? What is the story behind them? For example, I had these American flags I had flown over the @uscapitol in honor of my #CHCougars #HistoryDay students arrived. #USA #FlagDay

In addition to raising an American flag on the USS Constitution in 2018 in honor of Jack McCorkell's great great grandfather, who worked on the ship in the 1930s, we raised a 2nd flag in honor of @CapitolHillSPPS #CHCougars. Thanks Lauren, Maren & Erik for hoisting it. #FlagDay

These flags were inside Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul Minnesota when President @BarackObama delivered a transportation speech on February 26, 2014. #FlagDay

This American Flag was flying at sunset over Interstate 494 in South Saint Paul, Minnesota on #PatriotDay, September 11, 2018. #FlagDay

A shadow of an American flag creating a ghost image on the Washington Monument on July 24, 2017. #FlagDay

American flags waiving in front of the Washington Monument June 13, 2017. #FlagDay

American flag in the breeze at the base of the Washington Monument on July 22, 2015. #FlagDay

An American flag at the doorstep of a home in Georgetown on July 20, 2015. #FlagDay

Assortment of American flags at the FBI building on July 18, 2015. #FlagDay

Inside the #Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota on it's last day before the roof was deflated the final time. Speakers & American flag still hanging from roof on January 17, 2014. #FlagDay

Artifact analysis on September 14, 2015 in #CHCougars & #MNstudies classes. Ss are trying to figure out what makes this flag different from the current flag. #FlagDay

Flags fly at half staff at the Washington Monument during sunset on July 22, 2015. #FlagDay

American flags at the grace of former President and Supreme Court Justice William Howard Taft, July 26, 2019 in Arlington National Cemetery. #FlagDay

The American flag draped over the casket of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens inside the Supreme Court. #FlagDay

Inside the White House with some of my #CHCougars students April 3, 2019. #FlagDay

My youngest daughter going to vote with me. #FlagDay

Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA on October 14, 2018. #FlagDay

An American flag waves at one of the points on Liberty Island in New York City on April 2, 2018. #FlagDay

Two of my former #CHCougars students at the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018. #FlagDay

Inside my #CHCougars classroom creating a special video of my students reading "The New Colossus" in the languages that their families speak with the American Flag as a backdrop. #FlagDay

American flag near the Golden Gate Bridge across from San Francisco, CA. #FlagDay

American flag on a tour boat along the coast of Long Beach, CA. #FlagDay

American Flag on the Live 9/11 Memorial at the Inver Grove Heights Days parade on September 11, 2021 #FlagDay

American flag at the South Dakota Capitol on August 28, 2021. #FlagDay

American flag flies over the west end of the Minnesota Capitol on May 17, 2021. #FlagDay

American Flag flies at the Kansas State Capitol on March 27, 2021. #FlagDay

American flag inside the historic Furber Farm in Cottage Grove, MN on October 24, 2020. #FlagDay

American Flag at the Marine Corps War Memorial in July 2015. #FlagDay

American flag being parachuted in to Lambeau Field during a snow storm on November 10, 2019. #FlagDay

American Flag inside the Tennessee State Capitol on October 17, 2019. #FlagDay

The sun shining behind the American flag at Mammoth Cave National Park on October 16, 2019. #FlagDay

3 American flags outside the White House. #FlagDay

American Flag on the tugboat Bayfield next to the Lift Bridge in Duluth, MN. #FlagDay

American flags flank the stage prior to the Amy Klobuchar Presidential bid announcement on February 10, 2019. #FlagDay

American flags inside Ellis Island. #FlagDay

An American flag flies in the background of the African American Civil War Memorial ("The Spirit of Freedom") #FlagDay

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