“Old Glory”

Nearly two centuries ago – on March 17, 1824 – in Salem, Massachusetts, upon the occasion of  the celebration of his twenty-first birthday, William Driver was presented by his mother and a group of Salem girls with a beautiful American flag. “I name her Old Glory,” said he, in response to the greetings of the givers, and thus it was that the name “Old Glory” made its advent into the history of our Flag.  William Driver’s heart and soul  were in his occupation of sailing the seas, and from that day on, “Old Glory” accompanied him whenever he went to sea. When, in 1837, after many notable voyages, Captain Driver quit the sea and settled in Nashville, Tennessee, “Old Glory” as usual accompanied him.  On historic occasions it could be seen gracefully waving from a rope extending from the Captain’s house to a tree across the street. One day, not long before his death, the old Captain placed in the arms of his daughter a bundle, saying: “Mary Jane, this is my old ship flag, ‘Old Glory.’  It has been my constant companion on many voyages. I love it as a mother loves her child; take it and cherish it as I have cherished it, for it has been my steadfast friend and protector in  all parts of the world, among savages, heathen, and civilized. Keep it always.” “Old Glory” was kept and guarded as a prcious heirloom in the Driver family until 1922, when it was sent to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington where it is today, carefully preserved under glass. Every year it is seen by thousands of loyal Americans who visit the capital of their country.

Story taken from The American Patriot’s Handbook, copyright 1997 Rand McNally, pg 101.