Betsy Ross Day?

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Every year on June 14th the United States celebrates Flag Day. Flag Day commemorates the day our national flag was officially adopted on June 14th, 1777 by the Second Continental Congress. So we fly our flag, have parades, play the Stars and Stripes Forever, feel patriotic, and honor the memory of those who defended old glory.

Of all our holidays Flag Day is probably less well known. It isn’t even an official federal holiday, even though it’s on all the calendars.

So I ask you, how much do we know about the history of our flag and the day we set aside to honor it? How many of us even realize that establishing Flag Day was first proposed in 1861 to support the Union during the Civil War? And what role did Betsy Ross play in creating the first flag? That’s a lot of questions. Take your time to answer. No rush. I’ll wait.

Okay, that’s long enough. Let’s take up the Betsy Ross question first, starting with a brief bio of the old girl herself courtesy of the National Women’s History Museum.

Betsy Ross was born Elizabeth Griscom on January 1, 1752. She was the eighth of seventeen children. Her father owned an old farmhouse and was a successful carpenter in New Jersey. When Betsy was only three years old, her parents Samuel and Rebecca Griscom moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Upon finishing her schooling, Betsy became an apprentice for the popular upholsterer, John Webster, learning how to make and repair many items, including curtains, tablecloths, bedcovers, and rugs.

She became a very skilled seamstress and upholsterer. While working for Webster, she fell in love with another apprentice named John Ross. Betsy’s family did not approve of her relationship with John, but being strong willed and determined, Betsy and John ran to Hugg’s Tavern in Gloucester, New Jersey and eloped. She was only 21-years old.

Betsy and John Ross started their own upholstery business in Philadelphia and became quite successful. It is reported that they even made bed hangings for George Washington in 1774. After three years of marriage, John Ross passed away. At 24-years-old, Betsy Ross became a widow. She continued to run the upholstery business and worked on uniforms, tents, and flags for the Continental Army.

So far so good, but now the story drifts into historical debate, with some historians disputing the claim that Betsy actually sewed the first flag at all. Family members are adamant that she did. Shortly after her first husband’s death, Ross claimed she was recruited for a very important job. According to a speech her grandson gave to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania years after her death, George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross, visited Ross’ upholstery shop in the summer of 1776.

Washington and the two other members of the Continental Congress brought a rough sketch of a flag with thirteen red and white stripes and thirteen six-pointed stars. Ross suggested that the six-pointed stars be changed to five-pointed stars because they were easier to make. Allegedly, she showed them how to make the new stars by folding a piece of paper into triangles and with a “single snip of the scissors” she made a perfect star. The men agreed to change the design. Ross is said to have made the first American flag shortly after that meeting.

That’s the story. Betsy eventually married two more times and gave birth to seven children. She died at the age of 84 in 1836. In 1870 her grandson, William Canby, brought his grandmother’s story of making the first American flag to the public. He presented a paper to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania recalling the story his grandmother told him.

No historical records or documentation could be found to verify his claims, but Canby got family members to sign legal documents stating that Ross also told them this important story.

His presentation brought Ross’ life into the spotlight and she became a national icon. On January 2, 1952, the Betsy Ross stamp was issued to celebrate the 200-year anniversary of her birth. It featured an image of Ross and the flag on her lap.

True or not so true, it makes for a terrific patriotic story. Since the Post Office, an official branch of the United States government, saw to it to issue a stamp in her honor, I submit to the court that the Betsy Ross story is true.

In that spirit we should change the name of Flag Day, to Betsy Ross Day and make it a national holiday. So there. .

(COMMENT, BELOW)