In Conjunction With The Sewing Of The Stars And Stripes

Another fact about the life of Betsy is that she was in conjunction with the sewing of the Stars and Stripes. A document written by her grandson, William Canby, and sent by him to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in March 1870, is the first mention of Betsy in relation to the stitching of the Stars and Stripes. The now-famous story of how George Washington and other founding fathers visited Betsy in her store and gave her the order to sew the first authentic American flag is recounted in the paper using family recollections from Betsy's kids and a cousin.

According to Canby, Washington had intended to have six-pointed stars on the flag because they were simpler to cut, but Betsy showed him how to quickly and easily cut a five-pointed star with one pair of scissors. The American government offers a slide show illustrating the method; it is utterly incomprehensible. The private version is considerably more understandable and simple to replicate.