Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Mary Pickersgill and the Star-Spangled Banner
What do the War of 1812, the Star-Spangled Banner, and Mary Pickersgill have in common? Read a little further, and you will find out.
Mary Pickersgill lived in Baltimore, Maryland, for more than fifty years, but she wasn't born there. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 12, 1776.
Her mother, Rebecca Young, was a widow and supported her daughter by making and designing flags of all kinds. She not only made them for the military, but she also made them for civilian groups.
Rebecca worked through the Revolutionary War and taught her daughter her craft. Mary was still small when she moved with her mother to Baltimore, where they worked together making flags until Mary married John Pickersgill.
Rebecca moved back to Philadelphia with the newly married couple. Their absence from Baltimore lasted for twelve years. By that time, John had died, and Mary had a young daughter, Caroline. They returned to Baltimore to continue the business Rebecca had started there.
