Perhaps no other flag is as closely associated with early America, or the Revolutionary War as the Betsy Ross Flag. While it is true that the Betsy Ross Flag is one of the earliest recognized designs of the American flag, its true origins are still debated by scholars and historians.
Legend has it that in early 1776 George Washington, Robert Morris, and Colonel George Ross (the uncle of Betsy’s late husband) visited a Philadelphia upholsterer and flag maker by the name of Betsy Ross. At this meeting, Washington himself showed Betsy a sketch of a flag with 13 six pointed stars and 13 red and white stripes. Betsy suggested changing the stars to have 5 points instead of six and to arrange the stars in a circular pattern. The circular pattern of the stars was to represent the unity and equality between the states with no state more dominant than any other. The men agreed and Betsy began working on the flag. The flag was finished in May or June of 1776, just in time for the signing of the Declaration of Independence. One year later, on June 14, 1777 the Continental Congress voted to establish the nation’s first flag by passing the Flag Act:
"Resolved, that the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."
Later that year, on September 3, at the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge in Delaware, the new American Flag was flown in battle for the very first time. The Betsy Ross flag was seen again in October of 1777, at the Battle of Saratoga, when British General John Burgoyne surrendered his forces to the Continental Army under the command of American General Horatio Gates. An eyewitness account of the event said this in regard to the flag:
“The stars were disposed in a circle, symbolizing the perpetuity of the Union; the ring, like the circling serpent of the Egyptians, signifying eternity. The thirteen stripes showed with the stars the number of the United Colonies and denoted the subordination of the States to the Union, as well as equality among themselves."
Scholars and historians like to debate whether the Betsy Ross flag was truly the nation’s first flag and whether Betsy Ross is responsible for its design. Evidence has been presented to support both sides of the debate. Because Congress never specified the exact design of the flag, we may never know for sure. However, it is not important whether Betsy Ross designed and sewed the first American flag or not. Like Paul Revere, Samuel Whittemore, and Nathan Hale, Betsy Ross has become an icon of American history, as well as a patriotic role model. The Betsy Ross flag is, and will remain forever a proud symbol of liberty, and independence. It truly is an important part of our nation’s heritage.