June 14, 2025 is Flag Day. 

So what does that mean to us? 

Do we Americans really know anything at all about the history of our flag? 

You know; we didn’t always have “Old Glory.” 

OTHER FLAGS BEFORE OLD GLORY 

In 1775 the Continental Navy had a red and white striped flag with a snake in the middle that said “Don’t tread on me.”  There were many other flags being flaunted by many different groups all over the country.  The Sons of Liberty flew a red and white striped flag. 

The New England flag could be seen in certain areas of the country.  It displayed a green pine tree in the upper left corner (this area of the flag is called the canton) with red white and blue stripes. The Forster flag displayed six small white stripes for a canton on a solid red background.

In January of 1776 the Grand Union flag, in Continental colors, was displayed on Prospect Hill.  The British Union Jack was in the canton.  There were 13 alternate red and white stripes.  It is said that George Washington replaced this flag with the one commissioned to Betsy Ross at a later date. 

Prospect Hill, dominated the road from Charlestown.  This location was strategically important in the Revolutionary War.   The place was known as the “Citadel”  A castle there, dedicated in 1903, is a monument commemorating the fortifications on top of this hill.  A tablet inside reads:  “This tablet is erected in memory of the soldiers of the Revolution and of the Civil War who encamped on Prospect Hill and of the banners under which they valiantly fought.”

TOO MANY FLAGS

Too many flags were being flown by the American colonies.  It was confusing and dividing.  This fact, and that it was recognized so early in our history gave me pause.  I couldn’t help but to think of how disrespectfully some treat our flag today.  This disrespect for our nation makes me sad. 

The flag honors all who gave us the right to express our opinions.  Because of their bravery we all may now  take whatever stand we think is right.  It stands for all the freedom that so many gave their lives to bring to us. 

Our flag should always be used to unite our people; not to divide them.

DISHONORING THE FLAG DISHONORS YOUR OWN RIGHTS

If you must make a protest, that is your privilege.  However, please make it somewhere other than the mounting of our flag and the singing of our national anthem.  By protesting at a time when we show honor to the flag, you dishonor all of those who defended your right to do so. 

No workable solution ever happens by further division. 

Please have more respect for our country’s flag as well as our anthem. If you must protest something, please have enough respect to take your political statements to a more appropriate arena.

Why not take your protests to the places where they originated? 

I can guarantee you one thing.  Whatever troubles you are speaking about were not caused by those who fought and died for your freedom.  Our flag honors them and so should you.

If you have a political statement to make; make it in the political arena.  There are surely enough other and more appropriate places to take your public stand. 

The sports fields of America, the flying of our flag there, and the honoring of our national anthem have done nothing to cause your problems.  If anything (considering that you might be a player who makes use of such venues in America) they have given you a better life.  Do you not appreciate the ability to achieve a wealthy livelihood from our nation?  Are you not enjoying a great blessing and a way to support your family?  

PROTEST YOUR PROBLEM, NOT FLAG DAY

Certainly all are free to express their personal opinions. However, such expressions should not be done to dishonor the very people who have helped you to be where you are today.   So, please do not hold the sports fans (who simply came to watch a ballgame) hostage while you make a point to people who can’t do one thing to change anything. 

Take it to Washington, take it to your state capitol, vote your changes.  Take your opinions to your local governing authorities, or whatever place your problem originated. 

Please let our flag fly with the great honor it has earned over the years.  Do not tread on the respect it deserves.  

Could too many flags bringing confusion at the very founding of our country have begun the same problem as too many people groups trying to be the “most special” people group in the midst of our national growing?

We all must work on unity instead of divisions however and whenever possible.

UNITY UNDER ONE FLAG

It was decided in those days to be wiser.  The decision was to unite under one flag.  This meant doing away with all the other flags catering to the special interests of only a few.  The flag was to stand for our  nation as a whole.

We must all learn how to come together in an appropriate way.  One unified flag shows respect to all involved. 

This is how the right question was finally asked:  “What if the people renewed their decision to unite under the name of one nation?”  

What if we ALL became Americans again?  Maybe we could stand together as a country, not white, black, Hispanic, Asian, or otherwise.  We could simply be one united country of many different people groups moving together in unison and love.  Our neighbors would just be Americans trying to melt into each other.  Is this not what it will take for us to bring back the true American culture?

A flag’s purpose is to  represent a people not divided. That we are not divided is very important to our stability as a nation. 

Today; each time I look at the flag being flown over our nation; I pray for God to unite all of us in love and compassion for one another.  May we return to being Americans and not splintered special interest groups who have no respect for one another.

At our beginning, our founders saw there needed to be one flag everyone could rally around.  This would be the flag which represented the hearts and souls of the people living in America. The final flag was proposed to bring everyone together; and never to tear them apart.   

By this time four generations of families had grown up in the new country. 

BETSY ROSS ENTERS THE PICTURE

Betsy Ross was born in Philadelphia in 1752.  Regardless of what modern historians may tell you, she was a real person. Her story is very real; despite what many history books of today’s schools may say. 

Unfortunately, there are those who want to rewrite history simply because they don’t like the facts.  The truth should never be changed because it does not conform to certain versions of utopia.  This would be very wrong.  We are aware there are political groups who do desire to rewrite history.  They give us lies.  Lies in any shape or for any reason are wrong.  True Americans do not want their children growing up believing lies.  Always check your historical sources for truth.  Please try to support those who are making a concerted effort to promote truth.  Betsy Ross is just one more example of how our history books have been changed to books full of lies.   

Please know and understand that Betsy Ross was NOT a legend. She was a real person.  Her maiden name was Elizabeth Griscom. She was the great-granddaughter of a carpenter who arrived in New Jersey from England in 1680. 

Betsy, as she later came to be called, was one of 17 children born to Quaker parents.  She attended Quaker school with her sisters.  During those years she became a very good seamstress.  When she turned 17, her father apprenticed her out to become an upholsterer. 

BETSY FALLS IN LOVE

While she was in school to learn the trade of upholstering she fell in love with another apprentice. He was named John Ross.  He was NOT a Quaker.  Her parents religious affiliations forbid Betsy to marry him.  Betsy defied her parents and their religious beliefs in 1772.  That was when she chose to give up her family and religious beliefs in favor of John’s beliefs and practices. 

It is comforting to know that the person famous for creating the American Flag also knew the bitter taste of discrimination.  This surely helped her to understand the importance of the task she was undertaking. She chose to be an American instead of catering to a group of fanatical-thinking people who did not believe other people were free to make their own choices.  Betsy Ross was one of the first of an army of American legends who chose to form their own religious standards.  

Betsy was not a hopeless sheep following the crowd.  She made her own decisions and took responsibility for her own actions.  To do so was quite the scandal in Philadelphia during those times. 

The Quakers as well as her immediate family completely cut all ties to Betsy.  She was on her own when she married John Ross.

JOHN AND BETSY ROSS

John and Betsy, working completely alone with no outside help from those who were shunning them, opened up an upholstery shop that became famous in the area.  The thing that set them apart was Betsy’s marvelous skills as a seamstress.  People soon learned and supported their earnest desire to move on from the hatred that had been given to them.  Betsy and John made every effort possible to live in peace and harmony with all. 

This is an outstanding example fit for all Americans to follow.  It was during this time that the State of Pennsylvania commissioned Betsy and John to make flags for their naval ships. During those days Betsy designed what is now famously known so as The American Flag.

BETSY AND JOSEPH ASHBURN

In 1776, at the start of the American Revolution, John Ross was killed in a gunpowder explosion. Betsy acquired his property.  She kept up the upholstery business.  Betsy worked alone, day and night, in order to fulfill the demands of the shop.  She barely managed on her own to keep up with the orders of flags for Pennsylvania.

After a year of being a widow, Betsy remarried. Her new husband was named Joseph Ashburn.  He was a sailor.   In 1781 the ship he was on was captured by the British.  He died in prison soon after. 

Once again Betsy was a widow.  Her husband had given his life to defend their freedom.

BETSY AND JOHN CLAYPOOLE

In 1783 Betsy was married again.  This time her marriage was to a man named John Claypoole. John had been a friend of Joseph Ashburn.  They served in prison together.  John Claypoole was present when Joseph Ashburn died. After Ashburn’s death, John Claypoole had escaped.

As promised, Mr. Claypoole delivered the news of Joseph’s death and his last endearing words to Betsy.  That is how Betsy and John became acquainted. Joseph had spoken with John when he was dying.  His last words were of his love for Betsy.  Joseph asked him to deliver those final words.  John took them to Betsy as a personal favor from a friend. 

Betsy had a long and happy marriage to John Claypoole.  Their marriage lasted for 34 years.  In 1817 after a long time of disability, John died, leaving Betsy a widow for the third time.

A LASTING LEGACY

Finally, at the age of 84 Betsy Ross died too.  She left behind more than the simple legacy of a seamstress.  It was 50 years after her death that her grandson shared the story of how she sewed the first American flag:

As the story goes, the commission happened while Betsy was married to John Ross.  They were visited by President George Washington.  His visit seemed to have inspired Betsy’s thinking and she began the sewing of the flag in June of 1776. 

Harper’s Monthly picked up on Betsy’s grandson’s speech about his grandmother’s life.  They published the story in 1873.  At that time in history everyone across the country of America loved and read Harper’s Monthly. The story graced many a household.  Everyone found it fascinating.

That is how Betsy Ross became famous for making the first American flag.  It happened many long years after her death. 

BETSY ROSS SYMBOLIZES DECENT AMERICAN WOMEN

Due to the fact that this story is a legend without proper documentation, many a nay-sayer has tried to discredit the life-work of this brave and courageous woman.  They always want to deny that the story of Betsy Ross is true. 

Even if she had not sewn the flag, Betsy Ross’s legacy would still stand out in history.  I say this because her story is a prime example of what American women have endured throughout our nation’s history. 

She was one of the first woman-owned businesses in our country.  Betsy Ross worked long and hard to make her business successful. Her husbands were individual thinkers like her.  Betsy Ross did not marry for support, but for love.  She experienced the joy of living an intellectual lifestyle with men who considered her important and a complementary equal to their worlds. 

Liberty and freedom were the anchors that held Betsy and her husband’s hearts until their deaths.  Betsy Ross’s life story stands for the decency of a faithful marriage between a man and a woman. Each time that a husband died; Betsy had to plow her own fields through life.  Much of who she became happened when she was all alone. 

A COURAGEOUS SURVIVOR

Betsy Ross was a brave and courageous survivor.  Though she found love and married again, it was not because she needed the support of a man.  She married because she loved.  This woman well represents the spirit of our country in its founding days.  May the honorable spirit of those days hasten to return to us again.  

Her life represents the many brave widows of America.  She represents those who have intelligently used their skills and talents to rise up and care for their children and themselves.  This is something they chose for themselves in extraordinary, unique and exemplary ways. 

Betsy Ross stands for all women with personal integrity.  She mirrors the ways of those who appreciate and employ self-education in every aspect of daily life. 

The legacy of Betsy Ross records hard work in the midst of constantly changing circumstances.  So many American women are in that place right now.  How good to have the shadow of Betsy Ross to stand in for inspiration.

BETSY ROSS MADE US PROUD

Let the nay-sayers be silent about Mrs. Ross.  Let’s give her the national identity she deserves.  As we honor our flag let us remember her for the symbol of her life’s work.

She has made us proud.

RECOGNITION BY A NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK

The National Historic Park in Philadelphia summed up the contribution of our flag being sewn by Betsy Ross in this way:   

“Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag. When we view the flag, we think of liberty, freedom, pride, and Betsy Ross. The American flag flies on the moon; sits atop Mount Everest, is hurling out in space. The flag is how America signs her name. It is no surprise that Betsy Ross has become one of the most cherished figures of American History.”

Let us remember these words into the future.  May we always be thoughtful and careful with how we sign our country’s name to the world.  I can think of no greater way to describe the life of Betsy Ross and the contribution she made to America by giving us that beautiful flag we now call “Old Glory.” 

DISPLAYING THE FLAG ON FLAG DAY

We who are truly Americans at heart still display this flag in our homes and across the land. 

Flag Day is a great time to fly the colors.  It is a wonderful time to remember the reasons that are worthy of our faithful support.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

God bless America. 

May she return to being faithful to The God who made her great.  May she return to the honor and glory that has long been represented by this flag which proclaims the liberty and freedom of one nation under God. 

Let us no longer be divided.

NOTE: The Author of this blog (Gail Landgraf) has produced two books on the biblical Book of Genesis: THE GOSPEL HIDDEN IN GENESIS – BOOK ONE OF TWO, and THE GOSPEL HIDDEN IN GENESIS – BOOK TWO OF TWO. You may purchase them from Amazon at Amazon.com. The books are listed under their titles in the Amazon book products. Here are direct links for placing orders: https://amzn.to/3TqdeXS, https://amzn.to/4jNeLlG. Happy reading!