I was induced to make this research by the late William H. Egle,
Librarian of the State Library at Harrisburg, whose knowledge of the
early history of Pennsylvania was of valuable assistance to me in
preparing the data for a history of the country along the Delaware river
prior to 1682 (yet unfinished). Mr. Egle agreed with me that the claim
of Mr. Canby that BETSY ROSS designed and made the first flag was
legendary and without that foundation which is so necessary to uphold
claims of this character. Statements of such a character, when allowed
to go unrefuted, do harm to the history of any people, inasmuch as they
encourage others to build "air castles" and purchase old portraits to be
palmed off on others as _our_ "grandfather" who "fit" in the Revolution,
or _our_ "grandmother" who carried supplies to the troops at Valley
Forge.
History is the best incentive to make men love their country; it
encourages that patriotism which never falters, even at the cannon's
mouth. The sight of a flag or the music of a band merely enthuses as
long as one is in sight or the other can be heard; but history and its
knowledge are lasting and a source of pride. So, therefore, let it be
true in all its details, no matter who may fall from the high pedestals
upon which they have been placed by vain-glorious descendants.