<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> 1954 (current version) 4 U.S.C. § 4 </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> "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 ." </Td> </Tr> <P> The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of allegiance to the Flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America . It was originally composed by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army Officer during the Civil War and later a teacher of patriotism in New York City schools . The form of the pledge used today was largely devised by Francis Bellamy in 1892, and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942 . The official name of The Pledge of Allegiance was adopted in 1945 . The most recent alteration of its wording came on Flag Day in 1954, when the words "under God" were added . </P> <P> Congressional sessions open with the recital of the Pledge, as do many government meetings at local levels, and meetings held by many private organizations . All states except Hawaii, Iowa, Vermont and Wyoming require a regularly - scheduled recitation of the pledge in the public schools, although the Supreme Court has ruled in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette that students cannot be compelled to recite the Pledge, nor can they be punished for not doing so . In a number of states, state flag pledges of allegiance are required to be recited after this . </P>

Who wrote the first version of the pledge