48-star flag a reminder of Old Glory’s history

To the untrained eye, the 1940s American flag Bettye Finch Anderson has had since childhood looks like any other flag that will be flown this July Fourth weekend.

But, upon a closer look one might notice the stars only add up to 48 – two fewer than today’s design. It’s the history the flag represents that led Anderson to remove it from storage in her mother’s cedar chest and put it on display in her Gallatin home on Davis Drive last month.

“I wanted it to be seen,” she said. “I wanted my great-grandchildren to realize that there was once a flag that didn’t have 50 stars. Most young people don’t realize even when the other two stars came on the flag.”

To mark the additions of New Mexico and Arizona as states, the American flag grew to 48 stars on July 4, 1912. The design, which includes six horizontal rows of eight stars, was replaced on July 4, 1959, with the addition of Alaska’s star, and it is the second-longest used version of the flag in the nation’s history.

The current 50-star flag has been in use the longest with Saturday, July 4, marking 55 years since a star was added, for Hawaii, which became a state Aug. 21, 1959, with its star added in 1960.

“Certainly the American flag is one of three or four of the most important symbols for our county,” said Volunteer State Community College professor of history Carole Bucy. “The Statue of Liberty and the American eagle are certainly symbols, but none compare quite with the flag in terms of the sacredness of the icon.”

History examined

Nearly one year after adopting the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress passed a resolution creating an official design for the flag on June 14, 1777. The flag included 13 stars and 13 stripes representing the original colonies.

While Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross is largely credited as the flag’s designer and creator, historians have not been able to verify the story, said Bucy.

“Yes, there was a seamstress,” Bucy said. “Yes, she did make flags. Did she make the first American flag? Did she really make a flag commissioned by Gen. George Washington? We simply do not know the answer to those questions. There is no documentation to back that up.”

In 1795, the flag underwent its first change to include 15 stars and 15 stripes representing each state in the country. However, in 1818, with the addition of five more states to the flag, including Tennessee, Congress decided to limit the design to 13 stripes and one star for each state.

“That year they also passed a law saying they would add new stars to the flag only on the Fourth of July, so no matter how many states had become a state, you’d add them only once a year,” said Bucy.

But that is not the only Tennessee connection to the American flag’s history.

When federal troops arrived to take possession of Nashville on Feb. 25, 1862, a United States flag belonging to William Driver was raised at the Capitol, said Bucy. Driver, who was a Unionist, named an American flag made by his mother “Old Glory.” The nickname has remained with the flag even since.

Driver, who died in 1886, is buried in the Nashville city cemetery.

A constant reminder

While there have been 26 revisions to the flag since its original design was adopted in 1777, it still serves as a symbol of the country’s promise and a reminder of the journey still underway, said Bucy.

“The flag represents our country, the ideals that our county was founded on and the idea of human dignity meaning freedom,” Bucy said. “Have we fallen short of that ideal? Certainly we have, but in 200-plus years every generation has moved a little bit closer to the ideal that all humans are created equal and they are equal in the eyes of the government.”

And as families across the country gather Saturday to celebrate Independence Day with cookouts and fireworks, Anderson, whose son Bryan served in the Air Force for 21 years, said she hopes people of all ages will recognize and appreciate those who have fought for America and its flag throughout the country’s 239-year history.

“(The flag) means to me that we need to let people know that blood was shed for them to have the life that they have today,” Anderson said. “They have the jobs, the homes and everything else today because somebody else died for them to have it… and they are still dying every day.”

Reach Josh Cross at 615-575-7115.