Our Flag Was Still There

The True Story 
of Mary Pickersgill
and the Star-Spangled
Banner

A Paula Wiseman Book
(Simon and Schuster)
(pub. 5.21.2019) 
48 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top   

A uthor and illustrator:  Jessie Hartland

 
C haracter:Mary Pickersgill

O verview from the jacket flap: 
     "If you go to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History  in Washington, D.C., you can see a massive American flag: it's thirty feet tall and forty-two feet long. That's huge! But how did it get there? And where did it come from? Well...
     The story of that giant flag begins in 1812 and stars a major on the eve of battle, a seamstress and her mighty helpers, and a poet named Francis Scott Key. This isn't just the story of a flag. It's the story of the poem that became our national anthem, 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'
     Dynamically told and stunningly illustrated, this fascinating and true story is brought to life by Jessie Hartland."

T antalizing taste: 
     "The year was 1813. Only thirty years had passed since America's thirteen colonies fought long and hard for independence form Great Britain ... and we wanted to be free.
     But in 1813 we were once again at war with England ... And the British were on their way to capture Baltimore...There stood Major George Armistead, ready to lead American troops to defend Fort McHenry... George wanted to send a big message to the British:This land  belongs to America!
     'It is my desire to have a flag so large that the British will have no difficulty seeing it from a distance.'
     Lucky for George, not far away ... lived Mary Pickersgill.
     Mary had learned the flag-making trade from her widowed mother, who had also made blankets and uniforms during the Revolutionary War."

And something more: Jessie Hartland's Author's Note explains that "the flag discussed in this book was the second official version of [the American flag]. It had fifteen stripes and fifteen stars, acknowledging the two newest states at that time: Kentucky and Vermont. In 1818, the United States Congress passed an act to revert to the flag's original design, with thirteen stripes to honor the original thirteen colonies, and to continue adding a star from each new state.
     Major Armistead's heirs gave the flag to the Smithsonian Institution on the condition that it never be loaned out. They wanted the flag always on view ... The museum has kept its word with one notable exception: Fearing enemy attack during World War II, the flag was moved temporarily out of the city for safekeeping."