33. Betsy Ross

Betsy Ross

Jean Leon Gerome Ferris’ painting, Betsy Ross 1777, captures the story of Betsy Ross as creator of the first “Stars and Stripes” American flag. It portrays General George Washington, Congressman Robert Morris and Congressman George Ross (holding the flag), conferring with Betsy Ross as she works with scissors. Also pictured is one of her seven daughters.

According to her grandson, Betsy Ross frequently told her family that this committee of three visited her at her upholstery shop in the spring of 1776. The men asked if she could make a flag to look like a rough drawing they provided. She offered some suggestions, including that the stars should be five-pointed rather than six-pointed. The men accepted the changes, and Betsy Ross accepted the job.

Credit for the creation of the first Stars and Stripes has long been the subject of debate. Several members of Betsy Ross’s family signed sworn affidavits as to her story, but there exists no written record that she was ever hired or even consulted on the matter. While Betsy Ross spent much of her working life sewing flags, historians generally doubt that she created the flag from a drawing presented to her by none other than George Washington.

Other people of the era have been credited with designing the first flag of the nation, most notably Francis Hopkinson, a signer the Declaration of Independence. Famous designs attributed to Francis Hopkinson include the thirteen stars and stripes featured on the Great Seal of the United States.

While the story of the creation of the first American flag is unproved and controversial, the legend of Betsy Ross is so established in patriotic lore that the distinct circular arrangement of thirteen five-pointed stars is known as the “Betsy Ross” flag. Its earliest reported use was at the surrender of British General Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York in October 1777.

Many different versions of the American flag have been flown since the days of Betsy Ross. The current official flag of fifty stars was sanctioned on July 4, 1960, after Alaska and Hawaii were added as states in 1959.

This print is featured in a conference room outside of Courtroom #1, on the third floor of the courthouse.