"Flags are visual symbols, and few symbols are as universally recognized as the American flag. Despite the widespread familiarity of the flag, however, not many people are familiar with its history. While most Americans can effortlessly recite the Pledge of Allegiance, most know little about the origins of the flag itself. The tale of Betsy Ross, for most people, is the beginning and the end of their impression of how the Stars and Stripes came to be.

This is hardly surprising, as one of the facts about the flag is that there are, indeed, very few facts about its origin. Historians have combed through all of our literature, all of our archives, all of our attics, but have found little to illuminate the inspiration for the simple statement, known as the First Flag Resolution, that created the Stars and Stripes.

But from the time the Stars and Stripes was born in Philadelphia on June 14, 1777, its warp and weft have provided the fabric of our nation's story."
--excerpted from book

"Books About the South" is from the November 2007 issue of Southern Living.