Correcting a flagrant error

Even in a valley that bleeds red-white-and-blue, longtime Clarkston resident Robert Loeffelbein stands out as unusually patriotic.

Not because he wears a stars-and-stripes necktie, but because he wrote the book on why that tie should never be worn. Flag-themed apparel, earrings and bedspreads violate flag etiquette, and by extension the memory of those who died defending Old Glory (see Page 76 of "The United States Flagbook").

Published in 1996, Loeffelbein's book never hit the New York Times' best-sellers list. But it does carry some serious intellectual creds. It's part of the Smithonian's library collection, where it can be checked out by museum staff - a fact verified by Trina Brown, a branch librarian at the National Museum of American History Library.

"I can confirm that we have a copy of Mr. Loeffelbein's book (library catalog record) in the National Museum of American History Library," Brown wrote in an email. "It is currently checked out to a museum staff member, so it is being used by someone here at the Smithsonian."

Not to be outdone by the Smith, Asotin County Library also carries Loffelbein's flag tribute, which can be borrowed by patrons in good standing with a swipe of their VALNet library card. It also may be purchased on Amazon by those who want the book in their private collection.

Loeffelbein was inspired to write the book after reading reports that Betsy Ross was falsely credited with designing the modern U.S. flag. He was a quartermaster in the Navy at the time and greatly surprised by the statement, having heard Ross lauded since grade school.

Eventually, he decided to track down the flag's true origins. Along the way, he collected myriad facts about flag code and the colorful history of the U.S. flag. The quest morphed into his book. Dedicated "To those who have served our flag, even unto death," it comprises 231 pages of meticulously documented facts about the most widely recognized national symbol.

The first three chapters explore flag code and proper display and respect of the flag. Next up is the national anthem and pledge of allegiance. Loeffelbein gets to the heart of the matter in chapter five: "The Origin of the Stars and Stripes."

"There is no one specifically listed as the designer of our stars and stripes," he said in an interview, but he could find no credible evidence pointing to Ross.

"She designed some pennants," Loeffelbein said, and she and her descendants have gladly taken credit for the flag - but there's no record she had any hand in the modern U.S. flag layout.

"Elizabeth 'Betsy' (Griscom) Ross and her descendants - she lived to age 84 and was three times married - were upholsterers turned flag-makers until 1858," Loeffelbein wrote, "but she did not originate the design or color scheme for the Star-Spangled Banner."

Instead, his research led him to conclude it "was a group government effort."

It was 1816, and the flag was getting unwieldy as the country grew and a star and stripe was added for each new state. Naval captain Samuel Chester Reid had just returned from the War of 1812 as a newly minted military hero and was tasked by Congress with finding a solution.

Reid was, Loeffelbein wrote, "an incongruous choice for the job of flag designer for a country. He was very young, a 'down east' sea captain, and had absolutely no artistic talent or training."

But it became "one of the greatest matchups of all time" Loeffelbein wrote, as Reid and his wife tackled the job. The model they came up with featured 13 stripes for the original states and a blue field with room to accommodate a star for each state into the foreseeable future.

"Congress approved the design, and President James Monroe signed the act making this flag official as of April 4, 1818. Days later, with full ceremony, Mrs. Reid, accompanied by her husband, handed the flag she had made to the president and he had it hoisted over the Capitol for the first time. The date: April 13, 1818.

"It is a sad commentary that within a relatively few years both Captain Reid and his part in our flag history had been forgotten." (Page 142)

There are lesser-known flag origin stories, including a romantic but "wholly imaginary" tale of a group of New Hampshire girls creating the flag from pieces of ballroom dresses "which were no longer needed because there was a war on." Also a doubtful claim by Francis Hopkinson, a New Jersey judge and signer of the Declaration of Independence, who submitted a bill of £9 for " 'designing sundry seals and devices, also the Flag of the United States,' " Loeffelbein wrote. Congress denied his request. "Members seem not to have been convinced he had been the sole designer of all the things he claimed, including some issues of paper money." (Pages 138-140)

Meanwhile, the Ross story lives on, perpetuated by the family, a 1952 United States Post Office stamp in her honor and the "Betsy Ross Award" presented occasionally by flag-making firm the Annin Company "to individuals who have furthered the cause of patriotism by some deed or contribution," Loeffelbein wrote.

He's doing his part to set the record straight.

"I hate that people don't realize that Betsy Ross didn't design our flag," he said. "I call that my biggest scoop of my journalism career."