It's Flag Day

And this is a great day to celebrate the work of Betsy Ross who, pursuant to a visit by George Washington, sewed the very first American flag.

All I needed was to research her and the flag a little bit and I would have my usual 5" blog. No problem.

The only difficulty was a slight difference of opinion: You bet she sewed it and there is definite proof. Uh, no; it's a legend and there is not one shred of proof. Depends on whether you visit the achingly pro-Betsy site, or one that seems more objective.

But when George Washington visited her about the matter... Well, maybe he did and maybe he didn't. Depends on what you're reading. It appears pretty definitely that he did. Or equally definitely did not.

Ok, so all we have to do is visit her house, which we know is real. Unless it’s not, and that depends on whom you believe. Let’s hope the two million American school children were not led astray; they donated a dime apiece to establish it.

We do know that there was a Betsy Ross. Well, Elizabeth Griscom, later Elizabeth Ross, later Elizabeth Ashburn, later Elizabeth Claypoole. Apparently, the flag business came about when she was Mrs. John Ross. Ashburn was captured by the Brits and died in prison; Claypool was disabled for years, finally passing away.