History of Flag Day In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote a poem, "Defense of Fort McHenry," when he saw the flag still flying the morning after an attack by the British. Today, that poem is known by another name: "The Star-Spangled Banner." The Flag Act of 1818 states that a star be added for any new state on the Fourth of July following that state's admission. Flag Day was observed for the first time in 1877, the 100th anniversary of the adoption of our country's red-white-and-blue banner. Students first said the Pledge of Allegiance in 1892, the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson established Flag Day as an annual national celebration. Congress officially recognized Flag Day by passing the National Flag Day Bill in 1949, during President Harry Truman's administration. In 1983, the world's largest flag was displayed in Washington, D.C. The flag, which measured 411 feet by 210 feet, weighed 7 tons! Each star measured 13 feet across.