Rebecca Winborne
Rebecca Winborne | |
|---|---|
| Born | Catherine Rebecca Murphy November 22, 1831 |
| Died | June 23, 1918 (aged 86) |
| Resting place | Maplewood Cemetery |
| Other names | Betsy Ross of the Confederacy |
| Known for | First to sew the Stars and Bars for the Confederates. |
Catherine Rebecca Murphy Winborne (November 22, 1831 - July 23, 1918), also known as the 'Betsy Ross of the Confederacy', was the first person to sew the Confederate flag, known as the Stars and Bars.
Biography
[edit]Winborne was born on November 22, 1831 in Louisburg, North Carolina to the Murphy family.[1][2]
Although not the designer, which was Orren Randolph Smith, Winborne stitched the pieces and sewed together a small version of the flag that would become known as the Stars and Bars in February of 1861.[3] Upon completion of the original model it was sent to Montgomery where it was ratified as the flag of the Confederate States of America. During the ratification period she made a second, larger flag of the same design that was flown on the court house square of Louisburg, North Carolina on March 18, 1861.[4][5] This act would gain her acclaim and lead to many descendants of the Confederacy to refer to her as their 'Betsy Ross'.[6]
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After the Civil War, she would be called up to testify in Congress regarding her part in making the original model for the flag.[7]
In 1887, Winborne went to live with her daughter, Josephine T. Webb in Wilson, North Carolina. She lived there for thirty one years before she suffered a stroke which led to her paralysis and eventual death. Winborne died on July 23, 1918 and was buried in Wilson.[2][6]
Legacy
[edit]A memorial was made and dedicated to Winborne by the United Daughters of the Confederacy on April 29, 1921.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Rebecca Winborne Grave, Maplewood Cemetery, Wilson". Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina. University of North Carolina. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ a b Ware, Charles Crossfield (1963). The Church Bell: A History of the First Christian Church, Wilson, N.C. First Christian Church.
- ^ Smith, Orren Randolph (January 1911). Confederate Veteran. S.A. Cunningham.
- ^ Anderson, Lucy Worth London (1926). North Carolina Women of the Confederacy. Cumberland printing Company.
- ^ Torrent, Diane Taylor (2014-10-13). Franklin County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-4772-1.
- ^ a b Wehlitz, Lou Rogers (1949). Tar Heel Women. Warren Publishing Company.
- ^ Committee, United Confederate Veterans Stars and Bars (1915). Report of the Stars and Bars Committee, United Confederate Veterans, Richmond Reunion, June 1 to 3, 1915.