Sharon Kennedy: Celebrating the Stars and Stripes

A quick Google search informed me what most of us already knew: Flag Day commemorates Old Glory. What I didn’t know was that in 1777, the Second Continental Congress (SCC) approved its design. However, it wasn’t until 1885 when Bernard Cigrand, a teacher from Wisconsin, had the idea for an annual “flag day” celebration. June 14 was the natural choice, it being the day the SCC passed a resolution stating, “The flag of the United States would be 13 stripes, alternate red and white and the union would be 13 stars, white on a blue field representing a new constellation.” Obviously, the number of stars increased as more states joined the union.

When I was in school, our history books credited Betsy Ross with designing and sewing our first flag. We’ve all seen pictures of Betsy sitting in her parlor and busily stitching the red, white and blue. She was an adept upholsterer and according to a legend started and perpetuated by her relatives, it was she who designed the flag. Nevertheless, historians give the credit to Francis Hopkinson. Frank, as he was probably called, was a delegate to the SCC and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In other words, he was a big shot.

But Betsy was no shrinking violet. Additional research revealed she was a clever businesswoman and at age 25 the PA State Navy Board paid her a “generous sum” to make flags. Should we continue to believe that a modest Quaker woman created the design or should the recognition go to Hopkinson, a man unheard of before today? I suppose it’s the age-old battle of the sexes. No fellow, especially one as distinguished as Frank, wants to be bested by a female. Not then. Not now. Perhaps a committee was responsible for the design and asked Betsy to stitch it, but we can’t be certain. I suppose it’s best to stick with the legend and give Miss Ross all the credit.

The image of her sewing the Stars and Stripes in her parlor is much more appealing than that of a Founding Father sitting at his desk trying to manipulate a needle and follow a pattern too complicated for his ability. That picture demands an imagination more powerful than mine. Anyway, it’s all in the past and nobody, perhaps with the exception of Betsy’s descendants, gives a hoot. What we know for sure is President Woodrow Wilson decided a nationwide observance of the flag would be June 14, the day the design was approved. However, it wasn’t called National Flag Day until 33 years later when President Truman made it official. Do what you will with this non-essential bit of information as you watch your flag flap in the breeze.

Reality and myth play major roles in history. Historians obtain information from letters, official government documents, books and other resources to create and shape history. A hundred years from now what we think of as truth might be considered as phony as fables. Even in real time, truth and distortions of it are questioned as to what is fact and what is fiction. Facts and truth are not synonymous. It’s a fact I own my car, but the truth is if I fail to make payments, the bank that holds the note will repossess it.

Well, regardless, have a great Flag Day. Whether designed by Betsy or Frank, it’s a grand old symbol of our freedom.

— To contact Sharon Kennedy, send her an email at authorsharonkennedy.com. Kennedy's latest book, “The SideRoad Kids: Tales from Chippewa County,” is available from her, Amazon, or Audible. 

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Sharon Kennedy: Celebrating the Stars and Stripes