Betsy Ross: Revolutionary War Patriot
What controversy surrounds the life of this very colorful woman who is reputed to have sewn the very first flag for The United States of America?
Perhaps no other woman of this tempestuous time in the history of the new republic more symbolizes its spirit, pride and purpose than Betsy Ross. One of eight children born to a Quaker Philadelphia family in 1752, her acquaintance with George Washington through a mutual place of worship would place her in the forefront of the American struggle for independence from Great Britain. She was thrust into immortality one day in June of 1776, when, as the legend goes, George Washington and two other members of the Continental Congress knocked on her door. They announced they were a "Committee of Three" and brought a pencil-drawn design for a flag with six-pointed stars that was drawn by Washington himself. Betsy suggested a five-pointed star because it could be made in one snip.
Every American schoolbook depicts Betsy Ross sewing the flag in her own parlor, but the truth is that no contemporary record of this event or her meeting with Washington exists. They did know each other and she had sewn some buttons for him previously. Information on this important meeting, however, comes down through history via oral affidavits from Betsy's daughters and her grandson, William J. Canby, in a paper he presented to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1870.
Betsy Ross was a true patriot and despite her Quaker beliefs, supported the war effort by joining a group called "The Fighting Quakers." Some historians believe that it was not Betsy who designed the official first flag of the United States, but a man named Francis Hopkinson, who was a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Whatever be the truth, come read about this fascinatingl woman who left her own unique mark on the country that she loved so well.
