"Old Glory"

I spent the morning out shopping for a dress for my daughter's wedding in May, & if I was the type of person to suffer from depression (which I'm not) I would have been suffering from it today! Makes you realize how out of shape & overweight you get over the years! On the way home, I spotted this huge flag flying in the distance, so drove around until I got to it. I didn't like how my first shot looked, as the sky was grey (what a surprise!), & it just looked blah! So I slowed the shutter speed way down to try to get rid of the background & get a sense of movement, as it was really windy! I liked this much better! "Old Glory" is a common nickname for the US flag, & the name was first bestowed upon it by Wm. Driver, an early 19th century American Sea Captain. However, the term also specifically refers to the flag that was owned by Captain Driver, which has become a treasured historical artifact.
Captain Driver's flag was made for him by his mother & some ladies of his native Salem, Massachusetts, in the early 1820's. It's a huge flag & was designed to be flown from his ships' mast. He first referred to it as "Old Glory" when he left for a trip around the world in 1831-1832, as commander of the whaling vessel Charles Doggett. He retired from the sea in 1837 & moved to Nashville, Tennessee. He flew his beloved flag on all patriotic occasions, using a rope suspended accross the street, & Old Glory became well known throughout the city & beyond. When the Civil War broke out, Driver feared the rebel government would attempt to destroy the now famous "old Glory", so he had the flag sewn inside a comforter to conceal it. When Union forces eventually retook Nashville he brought out the flag & hoisted it from the spire of the state capitol, the last time it flew from a flagpole. It was eventually housed in the Smithsonian. In 2006 the Smithsonian agreed to a request from the Tennessee State Museum to display Old Glory in Nashville once again--it was on display there for 8 months. Due to its age & fragility, the Smithsonian stated that it will never be permitted to travel again. :)