What Would America Be Without Courageous Heartfelt Leaders?

By Deb Boelkes

As a heartfelt leader who cares about this nation, have you ever considered what Flag Day in America really represents or how it came to be?  

Candidly, even though my ancestors fought as patriots in the American Revolution, and while an American flag perpetually flies in front of my home, Flag Day (June 14^th) usually comes and goes without much fanfare at my house. But this year, as our country celebrates its 250^th year of independence, it’s fitting to honor Flag Day and recognize the colonial Grande Dame credited with making the first American flag, Betsy Ross.

My research surprisingly uncovered little written about Betsy Ross until 1870 (decades after her death), when her last surviving grandson, William Canby, wrote and presented a paper to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania entitled “The History of the Flag of the United States”.  In his presentation, Canby even admitted he had found little evidence beyond family lore to prove that Betsy Ross had created the first American flag.

One might think Betsy Ross may have kept a journal of her travails, although it’s easy to understand why she wouldn’t. Would you keep a dairy detailing your daily goings-on given the likelihood that prying eyes loyal to the British crown could, at any moment, invade your home and abscond with your chronicles? In the wrong hands, such writings could be used as evidence of treason.

Fortunately, Betsy’s grandson, William, believed in “the importance of preserving every item of history relating to the origin of our beautiful national standard.” Because of his efforts to preserve and sustain the traditions and recollections of his family, all of us can continue to honor the memory of the courageous heartfelt leader credited with making the first American flag, Betsy Ross. May you enjoy the anecdotes below.

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Born as Elizabeth (Betsy) Griscom on January 1, 1752, Betsy Ross was the 8^th of 17 children born to Samuel Griscom—who helped build the bell tower at the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall)—and Rebecca James, daughter of a prominent Quaker merchant family. 

After Betsy completed her schooling, her father apprenticed her to a local upholsterer. In those times, upholsters performed all types of sewing jobs, including flag-making. It was at her job that Betsy fell in love with another apprentice, John Ross, the son of an Episcopal assistant rector at Philadelphia’s Christ Church.  On a November night in 1773, the 21-year-old Betsy eloped with John Ross. Because she married a man outside her faith, she was “read out” (i.e. cut off emotionally and economically) of the Quaker community.

Thereafter, Betsy could be found on Sundays at Philadelphia’s Christ Church sitting in pew 12 with her husband. Some Sundays, George Washington, America's new commander in chief, could be found sitting in an adjacent pew. Historians at Mt. Vernon recently discovered documents that showed in 1774, Betsy made bed hangings for George and Martha Washington.

Less than two years after their marriage, Betsy and John started an upholstery business. But due to the impacts of the war, the fabrics needed for that line of work became increasingly hard to come by. To make ends meet, upholsterers commonly took on other forms of work.  Many earned money by making tents, uniforms, and flags for soldiers.

Having no children at the time and with the business being slow, John Ross joined the Pennsylvania militia. While guarding an ammunitions cache in mid-January 1776, John was mortally wounded in an explosion. After John’s death, Betsy supported herself doing the “women’s work” of the upholstery trade. She supplemented her income by sewing flags and military banners.

According to oral history, in late May or early June of 1776, before the American colonies had declared their independence from England, and knowing of Betsy’s allegiance to the Revolutionary cause, a small band of colonial patriots referred to as The Committee of Three–George Washington, Robert Morris (one of the wealthiest men in Philadelphia), and George Ross (an uncle of Betsy’s late husband)—paid a visit to Betsy in her upholstery shop.

After she escorted them to her parlor where they could meet in private, the Committee of Three showed Betsy a roughly executed drawing of a proposed flag they wished to have made.

As drawn, the flag was square with thirteen red and white stripes and thirteen six-pointed stars scattered promiscuously over the field. The stars were intended to represent the colonies of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.

When Washington asked Betsy if she could make such a flag, she responded, "I do not know, but I will try."

As legend has it, Betsy perceived defects with the flag’s proportions and its arrangement and shape of stars. So, she “boldly” made a few suggestions:

• A flag should be one third longer than its width
• The stars should either be in lines or in some “adopted form” such as a circle, and
• Five-pointed stars would be much easier to make than six-pointed stars.

Betsy then showed The Committee of Three how—by folding a small piece of the fabric in half and then thrice again—with just one snip of her scissors on an angle, five-pointed stars could be made quite easily and simply. Based on her demonstration, The Committee of Three agreed to change the design of the flag and use five-pointed stars.

Although the Continental Congress left no records indicating why it chose the colors of the flag, or the meaning of the colors, legend has it that George Washington himself interpreted the elements of the flag this way: the stars were taken from the sky, the red was taken from the British colors, the white stripes signified the secession from the home country, and the stars were laid out in a circle so that no one colony would be viewed as being above another.

The making of such a flag in 1776 would have been considered an act against the King of England, and therefore an act of treason. Because Betsy didn’t want anyone to know what she was working on, she made the flag in secret, in the upstairs bedchamber of her home.

A year later, on May 29, 1777, an American sailor named John Claypool paid the then-25-year-old Betsy Ross a large sum of money from the Pennsylvania State Navy Board for the making of flags.

On June 14, 1777, less than a year after Betsy Ross had received the order from General Washington to make the first flag, the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the Stars and Stripes as our nation’s flag by passing a flag resolution stating:

Resolved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.

In June 1777, Betsy married a sea captain named Joseph Ashburn. It was in the winter of that year—when the Continental Army suffered the historic battle at Valley Forge—that Betsy was forced to share her home with the British soldiers whose army occupied Philadelphia. Betsy and Joseph Ashburn eventually had two daughters.

Captain Ashburn was eventually captured by the British and sent to Old Mill Prison in England where he died in March 1782, several months after the last major battle of the Revolutionary War and the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. Betsy learned of her husband’s death from her old friend, John Claypool, who as a sailor was also imprisoned at the brutal Old Mill.  

In May 1783, Betsy married for a third time—this time to John Claypool. When she finally convinced him to abandon his life at sea, John Claypool initially worked in her upholstery business and then at the US Custom’s house in Philadelphia. The couple had five daughters. After years in poor health, Claypool died in 1817.

Betsy continued working in her upholstery business with her remaining immediate family members until she retired in 1827. Many receipts still exist for her work during those first two decades of the 19th century. While no actual flag exists that is alleged to have been the first flag Betsy Ross created in 1776, she continued to make flags for over 50 years, many of which were through government contracts.

After retiring, Betsy lived with one of her daughters. She passed away at the age of 84 on January 30, 1836.

The first national observance of Flag Day was on June 14, 1877, 100 years after the flag resolution was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.

Flag Day has been celebrated every year since 1911, although the Colonial Dames and the Sons of the American Revolution spent years trying to convince Congress to make Flag Day official. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation stating that June 14 shall be National Flag Day. Flag Day was finally made an official Act of Congress in 1949.

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After learning about Betsy Ross—who like me, studied to become a seamstress at a tender age, was married at 21, and never seemed to shirk when presented with a challenging opportunity—it was easy for me to put myself in her shoes.  That said, I’m not so sure I would have the courage to undertake some of the assignments that she did—which could land one in prison or result in execution for treason. I’d like to think I would be so courageous and honorably dedicated to my country. 

Would you have the courage to do the kinds of things that she did during the American Revolution if you found yourself in the position to “do or die” to save your community or our country?

It truly could happen, so seriously think about this and resolve to be ready.

While Betsy Ross may have willingly faded into the background as the years went by, the American flag she helped to design and create ultimately became the beacon of hope that inspired American soldiers to pursue our freedom, regardless of the cost. To this day, the American flag is an important symbol of our national identity, unity, and pride, wherever it waves in the world.

May God grant each of us the heartfelt courage to leave such remarkable legacies—in our own unique ways—for future generations to revere.