A History Lover Tours Philadelphia

Carla Gade here to share about my recent sojourn over the cobblestone streets of historic Philadelphia. I just returned last week and have been sorting through hundreds of pictures so its hard to know where to begin...or end... So here are a few highlights of my whirlwind trip of two days following a family wedding.

In honor of our recent celebration of our country's freedom, I'll keep with the theme of Independence and briefly share some of the meaningful sights I visited. They may may spark fuller blog poss from me in the future, you just know I soaked up every detail!

I must say, that since my trip to Colonial Williamsburg several years ago, I have not had such a fulfilling historical trip.The only thing lacking was all the wonderful historical re-enactors that I enjoy so much in the living history museums, however I did get to meet one particular lady.

Her name was Betsy Ross.

Mistress Ross, was an upholster by trade and a flag maker. When the Continental Congress needed "colors," Philadelphia upholsterers and needle-workers enjoyed the opportunity to fulfill the government contracts to stitch flags.

My mother/traveling companion, a seamstress, asked "Betsy" if a grommet was used for the holes to attach the flags to the poles. Betsy had no knowledge of grommets and explained that the hole was reinforced hundreds of times with small stitches.

Cutting of a five point star.

Tradition states that she was the first, famed for her five-pointed one-snip star. Betsy was certainly among the several women flag makers of Philadelphia and remained an industrious flag maker for over fifty years. I found it remarkable that during this time so many women were employed in useful occupations to support the banner of freedom!

Independence Hall, originally Pennsylvania State House

As I stood in the early evening shadow of Independence Hall, waiting for our tour, the bell tolled six times. There I was on the hallowed ground of our country's birthplace, under the same sky, hearing the bell keep time, I was awestruck and humbled. We entered the center hall (from the south entrance) with the Supreme Court Room to the left and the Assembly Hall to the right where the        Declaration of Independence was signed and the U.S. Constitution was written. While in these rooms my imagination took flight and I heard the murmurs of our founding fathers as they ironed out the important issues of our democracy.

Supreme Court Room

Assembly Hall

Photo courtesy USHistory.org

As George Washington presided over the Federal Convention's sessions for nearly three months, he sat in this chair with a half sunburst carved into the top arch. Benjamin Franklin was reported to have said, "I have often looked at that behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now I... know that it is a rising...sun."

Again, I heard the magnificent sound of the bell as it struck seven, as we strolled toward another sight. The Tomb of an Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier.

As I approached this huge monument a stillness came over me. My eyes were immediately drawn to the statue of the father of our country, and brave leader, George Washington. The inscription above him read, "Freedom is a light for which man men have died in darkness." What a sobering thought. This was not a monument that one merely comes to take a peek at and quickly walks away.

The inscription on one side of the monument is from George Washington's 1796 Farewell Address, "The independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint councils and joint efforts of common dangers, suffering and success."


On the other: "In unmarked graves within this square lie thousands of unknown soldiers of Washington's Army who died of wounds and sickness during the Revolutionary War."
And in the singular tomb in the forefront. Is there truly a unknown soldier buried inside? (Forgive me, this writer wonders things like this.) A tour guide comes by and affirms that indeed,  "Beneath this stone rests a soldier of Washington's army who died to give you liberty." Had they not, I would not have been there standing in front of the eternal flame of freedom.

On to the Liberty Bell! The Liberty Bell originally hung in the Pennsylvania State House, later called Independence Hall. The bell I had admired ringing earlier would have been this very bell, had it been in the times of our founding fathers. Bells were rung on July 8 to mark the reading of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776. Surely this very bell rang to mark our Independence!

As before entering Independence Hall, people and property were scanned before entry. A stark reminder never to take our liberty for granted. I did not know what to expect at the Liberty Bell. I grew up near Plymouth Rock. You simply walk up to the rock, look at it, and take a picture. Here there was a exhibition, as you walked along, explaining the history of the Liberty Bell and its significance to many Americans through the generations. The exhibition was very moving, more so than I imagined it might be. I really knew little about it. The Liberty Bell's inscription is from Leviticus 25:10. "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof." Abolitionists in the 1830's dubbed the State House bell, the "Liberty Bell" and used it as a symbol for freedom. There it was, another great symbol of our freedom...a bell that no longer rings. But let us never allow the sound of freedom to not be heard in our great nation!

New Englander Carla Gade writes from her Victorian home in central Maine. With ten books in print she enjoys bringing her tales to life with historically authentic settings and characters. An avid reader, amateur genealogist, photographer, and house plan hobbyist, Carla's great love (next to her family) is historical research. Though you might find her tromping around an abandoned homestead, an old fort, or interviewing a docent at an historical museum, it's easier to connect with her online.

https://www.facebook.com/CarlaOlsonGade

BETSY ROSS

Every June 14^th, the United States of America celebrates Flag Day, a day we associate with Betsy Ross. Yet, a controversy remains to this day as to the veracity of the story of Betsy Ross being commissioned by George Washington to sew the first American flag. Whether the account is true or merely legend, we know some very interesting things about this remarkable woman.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Griscom was born January 1, 1752 into a fourth generation American Quaker family in Philadelphia. She was the eighth in a family of seventeen children. Her father and grandfather were both well known carpenters. Betsy received an extensive education in a Quaker public school where she was also was taught the trade of sewing. She was apprenticed to work in a local upholstery shop where she met John Ross, another apprentice and the son of an Anglican assistant rector at Christ Church. Quakers did not take kindly to inter-denominational marriages, which may have been the reason why twenty-one year old Betsy and John eloped in 1773, causing a permanent separation from her family.

In 1775 John and Betsy Ross began their upholstery business. However, with no support from the Quaker community, with significant competition, and a war that was making access to needed fabrics difficult, their business faltered. John joined the Pennsylvania militia but died in January 1776 as a result of wounds he received in an ammunition explosion.

“The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag”

By Charles Weisgerber

Depicting the alleged meeting of the Committee of Three

It’s been suggested that Betsy did some tailoring for George Washington, and in May or June of 1776 she claimed to have met with the Committee of Three (George Washington, Robert Morris and John Ross) who brought her a design for the flag. The controversy started later, stemming from the story of the flag’s origin being relayed by one of her grandsons, William Canby, at a meeting of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1870, ninety-four years later. Many historians have researched his account through government records and the three men’s personal letters or diaries and found no verification of the meeting or of the commissioning of the creation of a national flag. Perhaps adding to the confusion, Betsy Ross was known to have made some ship’s colors for Pennsylvania state ships. In 1909, William Canby’s brother published a book to support the story of Betsy’s tie to the creation of the first American flag.

After John’s death, Betsy remarried in June of 1777 and had two daughters with sea captain Joseph Ashburn. During that winter she was forced to house British solders in her home. Betsy’s husband was captured by the British, sent to prison in England for treason, and died there in 1782. News of his death was brought to Betsy by another imprisoned sailor and friend, John Claypoole, whom she married in 1783. He passed in 1817.

Many people believe that the legend of Betsy Ross creating the first American flag was fabricated (no pun intended).  They argue that not much was known or promoted about the important role women played during the time of our nation’s founding and this narrative would add that dimension to our national story. Fortunately, in later years, much has come to light about our Founding Mothers, many women who valiantly served our country in various capacities during the Revolutionary period.

Betsy Ross House

 Philadelphia, PA

Whether the legend of Betsy Ross is true or not, we do know that this amazing woman was well educated, an entrepreneur who continued in business during and after the death three husbands until she was seventy-five years old.

She passed away in 1836 and is buried adjacent to the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia, where it held its first Flag Day celebration on June 14, 1891.