<P> The United States Flag Code says: </P> <P> The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag--"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all ."--should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart . When not in uniform men should remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart . Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute . Members of the Armed Forces not in uniform and veterans may render the military salute in the manner provided for persons in uniform . </P> <P> The Pledge of Allegiance, as it exists in its current form, was composed in August 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855--1931), who was a Baptist minister, a Christian socialist, and the cousin of socialist utopian novelist Edward Bellamy (1850--1898). There did exist a previous version created by Captain George T. Balch, a veteran of the Civil War, who later became auditor of the New York Board of Education . Balch's pledge, which existed contemporaneously with the Bellamy version until the 1923 National Flag Conference, read: </P> <P> We give our heads and hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag! </P>

When was the pledge of allegiance written and by whom