Essential Books on Betsy Ross

There are numerous books on Betsy Ross, and it comes with good reason, she was an American upholsterer credited by her relatives in 1870 with making the first official United States flag.

In order to get to the bottom of what inspired one of history’s most beloved figures to the height of her craft, we’ve compiled a list of the 5 best books on Betsy Ross.

Betsy Ross and the Making of America by Marla R. Miller

Betsy Ross and the Making of America is the first comprehensively researched and elegantly written biography of one of America’s most captivating figures of the Revolutionary War. Drawing on new sources and bringing a fresh, keen eye to the fabled creation of “the first flag,” Marla R. Miller thoroughly reconstructs the life behind the legend. This authoritative work provides a close look at the famous seamstress while shedding new light on the lives of the artisan families who peopled the young nation and crafted its tools, ships, and homes.

Betsy Ross by Peter and Connie Roop

This unique biography of Betsy Ross tells the exciting story of her life using real letters, speeches, and accounts from her family.

“The flag was soon finished, and Betsy returned it, the first ‘Star Spangled Banner’ that ever floated up on the breeze…”

With these words, William Canby told how his grandmother Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag. While no one has proven his words to be true, Betsy’s fame as America’s first flag-maker has spread all over the world. Betsy Ross – businesswoman, wife, mother, and American patriot – led a fascinating life in Philadelphia during our nation’s birth.

Betsy Ross: Designer of Our Flag by Ann Weil

Betsy Ross is remembered as the maker of the first American flag, which was secretly presented to General George Washington in Philadelphia in 1776. But what was she like as a kid?

In this narrative biography, you’ll learn all about the childhood of Betsy Ross – from her birth on January 1, 1752, as the eighth of seventeen children, to her Quaker upbringing, to her growing love for sewing and apprenticeship to an upholsterer. Discover how and why Betsy began making flags – and some surprising info about her legendary contribution to America.

Betsy Ross: Patriot of Philadelphia by Judith St. George

In the spring of 1776, George Washington stopped at Betsy Ross’s little upholstery shop and asked her to sew a flag – a flag that would unite the thirteen colonies in their fight for independence from Great Britain.

In Judith St. George’s detailed account, Betsy Ross emerges as a strong and spirited woman. Her independent streak led her to marry outside her Quaker faith and served her well throughout her life: widowed three times and the mother of seven daughters, she maintained her own business for more than fifty years.

Here is the inspiring story of one of the courageous and self-reliant women who shaped American history: the “patriot of Philadelphia” who created the banner that helped unite the nation.

Who Was Betsy Rossy? by James Buckley Jr.

Born the eighth of seventeen children in Philadelphia, Betsy Ross lived in a time when the American colonies were yearning for independence from British rule. Ross worked as a seamstress and was eager to contribute to the cause, making tents and repairing uniforms when the colonies declared war. By 1779 she was filling cartridges for the Continental Army. Did she sew the first flag? That’s up for debate, but Who Was Betsy Ross? tells the story of a fierce patriot who certainly helped create the flag of a new nation.

If you enjoyed this guide to essential books on Betsy Ross, check out our list of The 10 Best Books on Amelia Earhart!