What Came Before the “Stars and Stripes”?
Try the “Continental Colors.” It had 13 red and white stripes representing the 13 colonies and a British Union Jack in the corner. George Washington raised this flag as the banner of the Continental Army on January 1, 1776. Other early flags depicted a pine tree or a snake. There were several versions of the “Gadsden flag,” which was yellow with a rattlesnake coiled over the words “Don’t Tread on Me!” Betsy Ross–Did She or Didn’t She? Many Americans believe a Philadelphia seamstress named Betsy Ross designed and sewed the first Stars and Stripes. The legend began when her grandson, William Canby, spoke on the origin of the flag to the Pennsylvania Historical Society in 1870. Canby said his grandmother had told him that she fashioned the flag in June 1776 at the request of George Washington. Still, despite the fact that Betsy Ross was a good businesswoman who kept careful records, Canby admitted he could find no documents to back up the story. Canby said Washington approached Ross beca
