The Stories Behind "Old Glory"

Two patriots, separated by decades, helped shape the legacy of the American flag—one on the battlefield, the other with a sailor’s heart.

General William “Scotch Willie” Maxwell was born around 1733 in County Tyrone, Ireland. A fierce leader during the American Revolution, he earned General George Washington’s respect as one of the finest battlefield commanders in the Continental Army. Maxwell is believed to be the first general to fly the “Stars and Stripes” in combat during the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777–1778. He died on November 4, 1796, and is buried in Greenwich Cemetery, Warren County, New Jersey—once part of Morris County.

The nickname “Old Glory” for the American flag came later, in 1831, thanks to Captain William Driver, born March 17, 1803, in Salem, Massachusetts. Before departing on a global voyage, friends gifted him a flag with twenty-four stars. As it caught the wind, Driver declared it “Old Glory”—a name that would forever be associated with the American flag.

A staunch Unionist living in Confederate-controlled Nashville during the Civil War, Driver hid the flag by sewing it into a quilt to protect it from Confederate capture. In 1862, he presented “Old Glory” to Union troops, who raised it above the Tennessee Capitol.

Captain Driver died on March 3, 1886, and is buried in the Nashville Cemetery. His original “Old Glory” now resides in the Smithsonian Museum of American History—a lasting emblem of unity and resilience.