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The name "Old Glory" was first applied to the U.S. flag by a young sea captain who lived in Salem, Mass. On his twenty-first birthday, March 17, 1824, Capt. William Driver was presented a beautiful flag by his mother and a group of Salem girls. Driver was delighted with the gift. He exclaimed, "I name her 'Old Glory." Then Old Glory accompanied the captain on his many voyages.

Captain Driver quit the sea in 1837. He settled in Nashville, Tenn. On patriotic days he displayed Old Glory proudly from a rope extending from his house to a tree across the street. After Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861, Captain Driver hid Old Glory. He sewed the flag inside a comforter. When Union soldiers entered Nashville on February 25, 1862, Driver removed Old Glory from its hiding place. He carried the flag to the state capitol building and raised it.

Shortly before his death, the old sea captain placed a small bundle into the arms of his daughter. He said to her, "Mary Jane, this is my ship flag, Old Glory. It has been my constant companion. I love it as a mother loves her child. Cherish it as I have cherished it."

The flag remained as a precious heirloom in the Driver family until 1922. Then it was sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, where it is carefully preserved under glass today.

This is such a great country that we have been fortunate to be a part of. Where else can you be born in proverty and through hard work rise to the top? Where else can you be guaranteed an education (even though mediocre in some places)? Where else can you obtain your dreams no matter who you are? Where else can you live your faith without persecution? Where else would your fellow man stand by your side and offer a helping hand when disaster hits? Where else would your fellow man be willing to give his life so that you may live free? Where else can you express your thoughts, ideas, and opinions without fear? Where else can you have alittle bit of land that you can call your own? and where else can you be able to spend time on a tremendous website such as Free Republic and communicate freely with your fellow man? I guess you could say I am damn proud to be an American and damn proud of our flag and what it and our country stands for.