Who Really Made The First American Flag?
The real question behind The Birth of Old Glory is did Betsy Ross truly make the first American flag. [23] It is possible that Betsy Ross did not make the first American flag, and instead made earlier flags for the colonies.[24] There are many suspicions that have arose because of Betsy Ross’s story.[25] Betsy’s story hadn’t reached the ears of her grandchildren, until General Washington had assumed his position as a well known American General. This raises suspicion, because she did not tell the story till George Washington was “famous”, so if she did make the flag, why did she not tell her grandchildren before? [26] With that in mind it is still possible that Mrs. Ross did in fact make the first American flag. Her grandsons claimed that the Committee of Congress asked her to make the flag and she agreed to it.[27] Betsy’s daughter said “I remember having heard my mother Elizabeth Claypoole say frequently that she, with her own hands, (while she was the widow of John Ross,) made the first Star-spangled Banner that ever was made.”[28] Her daughter also said “The committee on the same day carried the flag into the Congress sitting in the State House, and made a report presenting the flag and the drawing and that Congress unanimously approved and accepted the report. That the next day Col. Ross called upon my mother and informed her that her work had been approved and her flag adopted, and he gave orders for the purchase of all the materials and the manufacture of as many flags as she could make. And that from that time forward, for over fifty years she continued to make flags for the United States Government.” There are no public records on these events. There are affidavits of some Claypoole family members that support the story. While the affidavits are sworn to be true by the family there is no definite way to prove who truly made the iconic Stars and Stripes. [29]