VIRGINIA!-w/FOLKIEST AM.FLAG+STAR SPANGLED BANNER VERSE

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This rare and historic Southern schoolgirl sampler was passed down in the family of the JEFFERSON COUNTY,WEST VIRGINIA samplermaker;and I purchased it long ago directly from the descendants now living in North Carolina with much provenance! Though Southern samplers are considered quite scarce and are highly sought after,seldom are they accompanied by patriotic and historic American themes or imagery as this example; which features the funkiest American flag on flagpole I have ever seen.......accompanied by A MOST RARE VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL SECOND VERSE OF FRANCIS SCOTT KEY'S STAR SPANGLED BANNER,stitched above the folky flag: "OUR FLAG IS T O LET IT BE WITH ITS STRIPES AND STARS OH LET IT WAVE O'ER THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE"...... and then she adds a touch of Southern schoolgirl whimsy and naive misspelling.."I DO THIS WORK TO LET YOU SEE HOW KIND MY FRIENDS HAVE BIN TO ME". This historic and patriotic American verse was originally penned during the WAR of 1812 by Frances Scott Keys.The War of 1812 had been a particularly nasty conflict with the British who had burned down the Capital and the White House in Washington,and were set on taking the Port of Baltimore which was protected by Fort McHenry.On Sept. 7,1814 during during the build up of the attack on Baltimore,two Americans,Colonel John Skinner a lawyer, and Francis Scott Key had gone out to one of the British ships to negotiate the release of Dr. William Beanes,a friend of Key,who had been seized following the attack on Washington!The British finally agreed,but all 3 had learned too much about the forthcoming attack on Baltimore ;so they were detained by the British on board the frigate SURPRISE until it was over.The attack started on Sept 12,1814...and after an initial exchange of fire,the British fleet withdrew to form an arc just outside the range of Fort McHenry's fire.Skinner,Beanes,and Key watched the bombardment from the British ship's deck,The major part of the attack started in the heavy rain on the morning of Sept. 13.Three miles away the American patriots caught glimpses of the star shaped fort with it huge American Flag.....42 feet long with 8 red stripes,7 white stripes,and 15 white stars. In the dark of the night of the 13th the shelling suddenly stopped.Through the darkness the 3 Americans could not tell whether the Fort had fallen,or if the British forces had been defeated.As the rain cleared and the sun began to rise Key peered through the lifting darkness to see if the great flag was still flying....and in that moment of jubilantion, as he watched it waving in the breeze,he penned the first lines of the poem he titled "The Battle of Fort McHenry";later to become THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER! And that second original verse which expressed his joy,has been stitched on this West Virginia sampler!............... In addition,below the wonderfully funky American flag, our samplermaker worked her all important inscription which reads;"MARY ANN SNYDER HER WORK IN THE 15th YEAR OF HER AGE JUNE 28 1843". This important sampler was worked traditionally in silk on a homespun linen by Mary Ann;and because she did not have access to red,white,and blue silks at the time,her American flag and flagpole are stitched in earth tones including yellows, the same colored threads incorporated in the rest of her large and impressive sampler (21x27). In the upper portion of the sampler Mary Ann has worked classic lines of alphabets,but has provided a hint about her Jefferson County,W.V. instructress in her charming little couplet..."WHENEVER THIS SAMPLER YOU MAY SEE,THEN THINK OF YOUR TEACHER C.E.B." . She included yellow silk highlights in her lines of alphabets; and as part of the border,2 birds are incorporated to adorn the top.I have seen these exact birds and border years ago on a Charlestown,West Virginia example that sold at a Christies or Sothebys Americana sale in the 1990s. The family descendant that I purchased the historic Southern needlework from lived in Concord,N.C. and provided me with a great deal of family hist... read more

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