On This Day In Alabama History: U.S. Flag Raised For First Time In What Is Now Alabama

Alabama News Center | May 5, 2017 @ 5:01 am

By Graydon Rust
Alabama 200

May 5, 1799

Lt. John McClary took control of Fort St. Stephens from the Spanish and raised the United States flag for the first time on soil in what is now Alabama. The Spanish built the fort, originally called San Esteban, in 1789 after assuming control of the region following the American Revolution. The 1795 Treaty of San Lorenzo, however, set the boundary between the United States and Spain at the 31st parallel and placed the town in American territory. Spain abandoned the fort peacefully after a survey by Andrew Ellicott. St. Stephens, located in Washington County, became the capital of the newly formed Alabama Territory in 1817.

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