On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that the flag of the United States would have 13 alternating red and white stripes and 13 white stars on a blue field. At the time, the American colonies were in the middle of the Revolutionary War against Britain. They needed a flag that would represent the new nation on battlefields and on ships at sea. The 13 stripes and 13 stars stood for the original 13 colonies. The Congress did not specify the arrangement of the stars, so early flags had many different designs. Some placed the stars in a circle. Others arranged them in rows. The popular story that Betsy Ross sewed the first flag has never been confirmed by historians. As new states joined the Union, stars were added. In 1818, Congress decided the flag would always keep 13 stripes for the original colonies but would add a new star for each new state. The most recent star, the 50th, was added in 1960 when Hawaii became a state. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson declared June 14 as Flag Day, and it remains a national observance today.