Date: Fri 10-Jul-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

editorial-correction-Frietchie

Full Text:

A Red (White And Blue) -Faced Correction

A few of our readers spotted a glaring error in last week's editorial "Showing

The Colors." The editorial incorrectly quoted a John Greenleaf Whittier poem

and attributed the words to the wrong character in American history.

"Shoot, if you must, this old gray head, But spare your country's flag," are

words attributed to Barbara Frietchie in Whittier's poem of the same name. The

famous line probably was never spoken by the legendary American heroine who

defied Confederate troops as they marched through her hometown of Frederick,

Maryland, but it is a line that she will always be remembered for, thanks to

Whittier's sentimental ballad of her confrontation with Stonewall Jackson's

troops.

We do know for certain, however, that Betsy Ross never spoke those words, as

we asserted in last week's editorial. We offer our thanks to the history and

poetry buffs who knew better and told us so, and our apologies to everyone

else for confusing history so badly for Independence Day.