RMW Ramblings

  Stations of the Flag Apollo 11 Our last stop on the Stations of the Flag is a quarter of a million miles away, on the surface of the Moon.  On July 20, 1969. Several hours after  the Eagle had landed, many of us watched on television as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted the American flag on the surface of the Moon.  This iconic photo, showing the flag with Buzz Aldrin, was taken by Neil Armstrong.   The surface was too hard for the flag assembly to get a firm purchase and there was concern that it would topple over on camera.  It did survive, but did fall from the blast of the lunar module's launch to rendezvous  with the command module. Five other US flags have been planted on the Moon, all now bleach white from solar radiation.  Conspiracy proponents have claimed that the landing was faked in a studio, citing perceived irregularities in the flag's display.  Unlike some other parts of the American Flag mythos, the planting of the Apol...

  Stations of the Flag Betsy Ross In March of 1870 William Canby   read a paper to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, "The History of the Flag of the United States," the first presentation of "the well sustained tradition in the family of Elizabeth Claypoole (the Elizabeth Ross) [Canby's grandmother] this lady is the one to whom belongs the honor of having made with her own hands the first flag."  By the the 1876 Centennial, that "tradition" became a permanent part of America's flag lore. Canby's story has not otherwise been confirmed, but it is documented that Betsy Ross did make some ships flags.  The flag with a circle of 13 stars is popularly called the Betsy Ross flag.  The original flag declaration did not specify the stars' pattern or the stars' shape.  Documented is the 3:2:3:2:3 pattern in 1777. Some early flags had six pointed stars and other variations.  Part of the Betsy Ross flag tradition is that she suggested the fiv...