Portfolio de Couturier: The First American Flag…
I have always enjoyed the story of Betsy Ross and the honor bestowed upon her to sew the first American Flag. She was a loyal Patriot to her country and I can imagine her surprise when General George Washington, along with Governor Morris asked her to make the first of our beautiful flags.
... Sewing the American Flag…
What kinds of fabrics would Betsy have used?
It is said that Betsy Ross was an upholsterer. 
Now an upholsterer specialized in covering chairs and other furniture of the times with heavy and durable fabrics. Therefore the fabrics Betsy could have most likely used would have been linens and heavy silks. Everything would have been hand sewn and assembled with the utmost care to get the design correct.
Now an upholsterer specialized in covering chairs and other furniture of the times with heavy and durable fabrics. Therefore the fabrics Betsy could have most likely used would have been linens and heavy silks. Everything would have been hand sewn and assembled with the utmost care to get the design correct.Imagine if you will her excitement in making the flag, and perhaps her nervousness when she had to present it to the founders of our country.
Upon seeing the flag that Betsy created; she was asked to make the rest of the flags for the American naval fleet. After this, The Congress then commissioned her to make all of our government’s flags.
Did you know that Betsy was able to cut a five pointed start with one snip of the scissors?
As the story goes, at first General Washington originally drew the stars on our flag with 6 points; instead of five because he assumed they would be easier to cut. However, Betsy soon demonstrated that a five pointed start could be cut easily with a single snip, thus the 5 pointed stars still remain on our beloved flag.
Upon seeing the flag that Betsy created; she was asked to make the rest of the flags for the American naval fleet. After this, The Congress then commissioned her to make all of our government’s flags.
Did you know that Betsy was able to cut a five pointed start with one snip of the scissors?
As the story goes, at first General Washington originally drew the stars on our flag with 6 points; instead of five because he assumed they would be easier to cut. However, Betsy soon demonstrated that a five pointed start could be cut easily with a single snip, thus the 5 pointed stars still remain on our beloved flag.
by Minna Irving
*****
From dusk till dawn the livelong night
From dusk till dawn the livelong night
She kept the tallow dips alight,
And fast her nimble fingers flew
To sew the stars upon the blue.
With weary eyes and aching head
To sew the stars upon the blue.
With weary eyes and aching head
And when the day came up the stair
Complete across a carven chair
Hung Betsy's battle-flag.
The Continentals filed away,
With broken boots and ragged coats,
But hoarse defiance in their throats;
They bore the marks of want and cold,
And some were lame and some were old,
And some with wounds untended bled,
But floating bravely overhead
When fell the battle's leaden rain,
The soldier hushed his moans of pain
And raised his dying head to see
King George's troopers turn and flee.
Their charging column reeled and broke,
And vanished in the rolling smoke,
Before the glory of the stars,
the snowy stripes, and scarlet bars
Of Betsy's battle-flag.
The simple stone of Betsy Ross
Is covered now with mould and moss,
But still her deathless banner flies,
And keeps the color of the skies.
A nation thrills, a nation bleeds,
A nation follows where it leads,
And every man is proud to yield
His life upon a crimson field
For Betsy's battle-flag!
Did you know that July 25th is Threading the Needle Day?
On July 4th, 1776 the founders of our country signed the Deceleration of Independence that declared our country a free nation under God. Many man and women have given their lives and dedication to keep our country free.Remember to pray for our soldiers who are serving in Iraq and all over the world.
Sincerely,
Miss Brielle
Miss Brielle
Betsy Ross is one of the most-well known ladies in history, but not too much is known about her except that she was the first to sew an American flag with the stars and stripes.
On January 1st, 1752 Elizabeth (Betsy) Griscom was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the 8th child out of 17, and was brought up in a household with strict discipline rules of Society. Being in such a large family plain, sensible dresses were a given, and Betsy was good at making her clothes having learned how to sew from her great-aunt Sarah.
Betsy attended a Quaker school, and after she finish her father apprenticed her to an upholsterer named William Webster. While working for the upholsterer, Betsy fell in love with a young man and fellow worker John Ross, who was the son of an assistant rector at a Episcopal Church of Christ.
Because Betsy and John were of different denominations, Betsy was voted out of Quaker meetings and the couple had to elope. They did so in 1773 when Betsy was only 21, marrying at Hugg's Tavern in New Jersey.
Because of the marriage Betsy was forced to split from her family and the Quaker congregation. The young couple decided to join the Christ Church and start their own upholstery business to make a way in life.
When the American Revolutionary War broke out it affected the Rosses and they were financially weakened because the fabrics they depended on became scare and there was no business. John decided to join the Pennsylvania Militia and was then seriously injured by an ammo explosion just before the war was about to end in mid-January of 1776. He soon died afterward and was buried in Christ Church cemetery. Betsy continued on with the upholstery business by herself.
Only supported by 18th century affidavits and family oral history shows accounts of the widowed Betsy Ross meeting with George Washington, George Ross, and Robert Morris at her small upholstery business where it's said to have been the birth of the first American flag, complete with stars and stripes. It's been said that these
men met there in silence because the men protested that these new [five-pointed] stars would be unfamiliar and difficult for seamstresses to make, she folded a piece of paper, made a single scissor snip, and revealed a perfect five-pointed star.On January 1st, 1752 Elizabeth (Betsy) Griscom was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the 8th child out of 17, and was brought up in a household with strict discipline rules of Society. Being in such a large family plain, sensible dresses were a given, and Betsy was good at making her clothes having learned how to sew from her great-aunt Sarah.
Betsy attended a Quaker school, and after she finish her father apprenticed her to an upholsterer named William Webster. While working for the upholsterer, Betsy fell in love with a young man and fellow worker John Ross, who was the son of an assistant rector at a Episcopal Church of Christ.
Because Betsy and John were of different denominations, Betsy was voted out of Quaker meetings and the couple had to elope. They did so in 1773 when Betsy was only 21, marrying at Hugg's Tavern in New Jersey.
Because of the marriage Betsy was forced to split from her family and the Quaker congregation. The young couple decided to join the Christ Church and start their own upholstery business to make a way in life.
When the American Revolutionary War broke out it affected the Rosses and they were financially weakened because the fabrics they depended on became scare and there was no business. John decided to join the Pennsylvania Militia and was then seriously injured by an ammo explosion just before the war was about to end in mid-January of 1776. He soon died afterward and was buried in Christ Church cemetery. Betsy continued on with the upholstery business by herself.
Only supported by 18th century affidavits and family oral history shows accounts of the widowed Betsy Ross meeting with George Washington, George Ross, and Robert Morris at her small upholstery business where it's said to have been the birth of the first American flag, complete with stars and stripes. It's been said that these
After John's death, Betsy joined a group called the "Fighting Quakers", who were quite nontraditional and support the war effort. In 1777, June, Betsy remarried to a sea-captain named Joesph Ashburn in Philadelphia.
During the war the Ashburn's house was occupied and used by British soldiers, of course, forcibly when they controlled the city in 1777. Betsy nursed both American and British soliders after the Battles of Germantown.
Several years later Betsy was notified by her husband's old friend, John Claypoole, that her husband was dead. Betsy then married Claypoole and the couple had five daughters together. However, an unfortunate event kept being repeated in Betsy's life as Claypoole died after 20 years of ill health. Widowing her once again. She kept working at her upholstery business, which included the making of United States until 1827. Betsy then retired and moved in with her married daughter, Susannah Satterwaite, who continued with her mother's business. Betsy died at the age of 84 in 1836, and her body is buried at the Free Quaker burial ground on South 5th Street. However, 20years later her remains were reburied in the Mount Moriah Cemetery in Cobbs Creek Park, a section of Philadelphia. In 1975 in preparation for the United States Bicentennial celebration the city ordered that Ross' remains be moved to the Betsy Ross House courtyard. The workers found no remains under her tombstone though, but bones were found in the family plot and were deemed to be her's. Her remains are now at the Betsy Ross House for tourists to see.
1 comment:
Very Interesting
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