Betsy Ross Flag History

Flag expert Jeff Bridgeman and other scholars dispute the Betsy Ross story:

"What we do know about colonial 13-star flags is that none have a circle of stars like the Betsy Ross design. There is a 1779-1780 painting of George Washington, by Charles Wilson Peale, that depicts, in the background, a flag with a perfect circle pattern of stars. This flag has a blue field and stars, but no stripes. It may be the only evidence in a painting that truly suggests that a circle-pattern flag may have existed in the Revolutionary period; yet it wasn’t a Stars and Stripes, and Peale may have taken some artistic liberty in its inclusion. Peale was known to be very detailed and keen on accuracy; but he made at least four copies of the painting prior to 1782, one of which shows the Battle of Trenton in the background instead of the Battle of Princeton, like the original. So he obviously wasn’t opposed to alterations. There are paintings of Revolutionary scenes by other artists that depict Stars and Stripes flags with perfect circle patterns, but these were painted in the 19th century and so cannot be trusted for their authenticity with respect to the star configurations. The American flag does not have a circle of stars on any of the early naval flag charts, where numerous designs are pictured.

There are colonial currencies that show a Stars and Stripes in the Betsy Ross pattern, but there are no actual flags. In fact, most people are shocked to learn that I have never seen or heard of an American flag with the Betsy Ross pattern of stars that was, with any degree of certainty, made before the 1890’s. And if the original was in this form, with so many 13-star flags existing from the 19th century, it stands to reason that the pattern would have been reproduced. The design is now believed by most scholars to be a creation of Betsy Ross’s grandchildren in the 1870-90 period. Ross’s nephew is first known to have statements about the design in Philadelphia in 1876, revealing the story of the making of the first flag and Betsy’s involvement. But most flag scholars today feel the story was a grand hoax, fabricated by Ross’s nephew, for his own interests. In the late 1890’s through the first decade of the 20th century, Betsy’s granddaughter and great granddaughter made flags in the East Wing of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, selling them to tourists and proliferating the same story. The Betsy Ross house was opened to the public and carried on the belief concerning her use of the circular design. In short, the story stuck and has subsequently appeared in more books than one can count.

Though Betsy did make early flags and there are receipts to prove it, most flag historians believe that Betsy did not even design or make the first flag. The credit is rather placed on one of our founding fathers, Francis Hopkinson, native Philadelphian, Delegate to the Continental Congress, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hopkinson was a member of the Continental Navy Board in 1776, designed many pieces of artwork for Congress, and logic would suggest that he might have been given the task of designing the flag."

An Article For “Focus”, The Semi-Annual Journal Of The Antiques Council, Winter 2006

by Jeff Bridgman, 2006    1 15 23