Betsy Ross and the American Flag

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The American Revolution had many historical figures such as Betsy Ross, a popular seamstress, who created the first American flag. The American Revolution brought many hard times but also opened many doors for individuals like Betsy Ross. Betsy Ross is a well-known seamstress who made the first American flag and brought patriotism to the United States during the American Revolution. Being born in the United States gave her an understanding of how the American Revolution changed her life.

Elizabeth Griscom, also famously known as Betsy Ross, was born on January 1, 1752.

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She was the eighth out of seventeen children. Her father Samuel Griscom owned an old farmhouse and was a successful carpenter in New Jersey. Her parents Samuel and Rebecca Griscom moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when she was only three years old. She was a fourth-generation American. Like her sisters, she attended Quaker schools and learned sewing and other crafts that were popular during her time. Ross and her family were members of the Quaker religion and she attended a traditional Quaker school in Pennsylvania.

Upon finishing her schooling, Ross became an apprentice for the popular upholsterer, John Webster. Ross learned how to make and repair many items, such as curtains, tablecloths, bedcovers, and rugs. She became a very skilled seamstress. When she was only twenty-one, she crossed the Delaware River to Gloucester, New Jersey, and got married in a tavern. The Quakers did not approve of their members marrying people outside of their faith, so Betsy’s family did not approve of her relationship with John Ross.

John Ross was also a member of the Pennsylvania militia. After only being married for three years John passed away at twenty-four years old. She continued to run the upholstery business and worked on uniforms, tents, and flags for the Continental Army. Betsy had seven children, five of whom lived to adulthood. Having the talent of being able to sew gave her the opportunity for a great successful legacy.

Having a connection to the Continental Army allowed her to create and sketch items for the country, she loved so much. Washington brought a rough sketch of the American flag with thirteen red stripes, thirteen white stripes, and thirteen six-pointed stars. Betsy then suggested making an edit to the stars, she suggested the six-pointed stars be changed to five-pointed stars instead. Betsy showed them how to make the new pointed stars by folding a piece of paper into triangles and with a “single snip of the scissors” she made a perfect star. The members of the Continental Congress agreed to change the six-pointed star design to Ross's idea. Ross made the first American flag after that meeting. During the winter of 1777, Betsy had to share her home with the British soldiers whose army was in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Continental Army was suffering that most historic winter at Valley Forge. A year later, Betsy married Joseph Ashburn, a sailor. In 1781, the ship he was on was captured by the British and he died in a prison the next year. In 1783, Betsy married for a third and final time. John Claypoole had been in prison with her late husband Joseph Ashburn and had met Betsy when he delivered Joseph's farewells to her. Being very talented gave her many opportunities to leave a legacy for her children to follow in her footsteps.

Over the next decades, Betsy and her daughters sewed upholstery and made flags, banners, and standards for the new nation. In 1810 she made six 18-by-24-foot garrison flags to be sent to New Orleans; the next year she made twenty-seven flags for the Indian Department. She died in March 1782, several months after the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, the last major battle of the Revolutionary War. The story of her making the first American flag was shared with the public by her grandson nearly fifty years after her passing. She was eighty-four when she died in 1836 in Philadelphia. Betsy also taught her daughters to sew before she died. She left a positive impact on the world because she showed a huge amount of patriotism in her life while sewing the first American flag.

Betsy Ross was deeply involved in the American Revolution and was a very popular seamstress during her time. She was honored as a fourth generationfourthgeneration fourth-generation-generatiowhen American back then and still is honored in that way today by having a truss bridge, which crosses the Delaware River named after her, in her honor. It is known as being the first automotive bridge to be namewhengeneration fourth generation after a woman. Betsy Ross, was involved in the American Revolution and was a very popular seamstress. Betsy Ross is an inspirational woman for many young ladies like myself to look towards as an independent individual during a time where it was a man’s world.