Community Update

I last wrote about the American
Revolution Solution, when Thirteen Colonies (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut,
Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York,
North Carolina, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations)  declared independence from King George, III –
Great Britain -- on July 2, 1776, the date the Declaration of Independence
was approved in a closed session of Congress.

July 4 commemorates a day of
victory and the genesis of the United States of America. 

Prior to the
historic event, the 21-year-old, talented and beautiful, Elizabeth Griscom
(1752-1836) was a newlywed. Raised as a Quaker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the
young woman developed handiwork trade skills under the tutelage of William
Webster, who owned an upholstery shop. 
John Ross, a handsome, Episcopal apprentice and coworker, fell in love
with Elizabeth – Betsy. The two, young lovebirds absconded to New Jersey,
marrying without the blessing of either the Quaker church or family members
(1773). Thus Betsy was expelled from the church, whether or not she was Breaking
Amish. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

The entrepreneurial couple started
their own upholstery business, though Betsy was left to devise personal and
business survival tactics because her husband joined the American Revolution.
The couple had been married for two years when John Ross died as a result of a
gunpowder explosion.

Generating a brand new country
couldn’t have been easy, neither on paper, on the battleground, behind closed,
political doors nor in Betsy Ross’s sewing room.

George Washington (1732-1799) and the Second Continental Congress had
developed a prototype for the American Flag. Keep in mind that Mr. Washington,
an English subject, was raised in Colonial Virginia. He had become a notable
warrior and statesman.  Betsy Ross was
also notable master seamstress in her day. 
I imagine discourse – based on my reading her grandson’s (William J.
Canby) account about the flag’s genesis -- went something like this:

               “Mrs. Ross, if you’ll excuse our
barging into your home and place of work, Colonel Ross has mentioned your
talent as a seamstress on several occasions,” said the confident military
officer donned in military regalia.  The
golden epaulets emphasized the span of his huge shoulders.

               “You’re too kind, Colonel Washington,” said
the modest, young woman.  The uncle of
her deceased husband, Colonel Ross, had led the small committee of congress to
Ross’s upholstery shop.

               “We have a pattern we’ve
scribbled on paper. We’ve agreed on the details.  Now we need skilled hands to bring the symbol
of our nation to fruition,” said Washington, unfolding a piece of tattered
paper like a schoolboy.  Betsy quizzically
looked at the paper, eyeing the drawing this way and that.

               “What’s the meaning of the six
points on each of the thirteen stars?” she asked.  The group of men shuffled and shrugged,
looking to one another for a technical answer.

"That’s what I thought,” Betsy
said, giggling. “Stars generally have five points, though six points can be
appealing.  Allow me to see what I can do
to help you,” she said, retreating to her sewing parlor.

Historical documents cite that
Mrs. Ross directly conferred with Colonel Washington – not yet president – and
other statesmen on the design of the American flag.  The evolution of the American flag depicts
the evolution of the United States after transitional events, like the addition
of each, new state: http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagfact.html.

DDD-F-416F proffers Federal standards and technical guidance for the U.S.
National flag’s design and construction, including proportion, fabric and
thread. Standards also specify three particular colors: old glory red,
white and old glory blue described in The Standard Color Reference of
America: http://www.usflag.org/flag.specs.html

            The proper display of the flag
is also delineated: http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/flagdisplay.pdf

Of course, some
contention remains that Mrs. Ross had nothing to do with the manufacture of the
first American Flag – her participation reigns as myth.  Either way, I salute Mrs. Ross, for she
possessed a sewing talent to which I can only aspire AND I salute Old Glory
because I’m proud to be an American. 
Happy Independence Day!