06.14.07
Flag Day
Today, in the United States, we celebrate “Flag Day.” There is a very interesting story that goes along with how the flag was named “Old Glory.” Captain William Driver, from Salem, MA, was given a flag with 24 stars, in 1831. Seeing it wave over the ocean vessel for the first time, he said, “Old Glory!”
There are quite a few recorded details about ensuing events. The Southern rebels were intent on destroying Driver’s flag. He told them that he no longer had it. When Union troops arrived in Nashville in 1862, Driver’s place of retirement, he took apart a quilt to reveal that “Old Glory” had been sewn into the quilt in order to hide it.
The flag was given to the Smithsonian by a family member, and is no longer photographed or displayed, presumably due to its fragile condition.
Happy Flag Day!
