With the Fourth of July upon us, Americans thankfully have something do with all of those leftover flags we bought for the World Cup and wept into last Saturday. Sure, it might not be the best of times for the ol' U.S. on and off the soccer field, but there's nothing like some grilled meat, fireworks and parades of American flags to whisk us away to a patriotic wonderland dappled with pools and picnic tables for a weekend.
But one person isn't taking a vacation from reality on my watch this holiday, and that's Betsy Ross. Every summer, that crackerjack seamstress gets all the credit for the stars and stripes emblazoned on holiday bandanas, T-shirts and string bikinis. Well, I've got sad news for Ms. Ross' supporters: The more likely flag mastermind was Francis Hopkinson, who also helped design the Great Seal and signed the Declaration of Independence.
According to national legend, George Washington and a couple of members of the Continental Congress called a secret meeting in Philadelphia in June 1776 at Betsy Ross' upholstery store. They allegedly commissioned Ross to fashion a flag with alternating red and white stripes and 13 six-pointed stars, known to vexillologists (that's flag experts to you) as heraldic estoiles. And when Ross protested that the stars looked too British and suggested the five-pointers we're familiar with, the American flag was born.
Today, most historians consider the story hogwash. Marla R. Miller's recently published "Betsy Ross and the Making of America" finds no record of Ross and Gen. Washington ever crossing paths. And her flag work during the Revolutionary War was largely limited to sewing circles among other Philadelphia women, as needlework was a common trade among colonial women.
There's also no indication that Betsy Ross ran around telling folks about a fictional house call from George Washington, either. Instead, her grandson William Canby cooked up the historical myth in 1870, more than 30 years after she died. As proof of his claims, Canby presented a 1777 receipt for flags Betsy Ross sewed for the Pennsylvania Navy. Once the story caught on, the popular 1893 painting "The Birth of Our Nation's Flag" depicting Ross dutifully sewing the flag imprinted the tale in our national storybook.
Now, I'm not dismissing Betsy Ross as a person. She lived in colonial Philadelphia, survived three husbands and supported her family through an upholstery business. In other words, Betsy Ross knew how to take care of business, even during a tumultuous time in American history. But quietly stitching Old Glory at the feet of George Washington? About as likely as our first President chopping down the fabled cherry tree.