Why is the American flag called “Old Glory”?
Captain Stephen Driver of Salem, Massachusetts, first used the words “Old Glory” about the American flag. In 1831, as he was leaving on his ship, friends gave him a beautiful new American flag. When it was unfurled in the ocean breeze, Captain Driver exclaimed, “Old Glory!” and that flag itself became known as Old Glory. In 1837, Captain Driver retired to Tennessee, and when that state seceded from the Union in the Civil War, rebels tried to find and destroy the Old Glory flag. Luckily, the Captain hid Old Glory inside the seams of his bed quilt, so the rebels never found it! In 1862, Captain Driver raised Old Glory over the state capitol to celebrate the Union’s triumph, and ever since, people have called the American flag “Old Glory.
