<P> In response, Roland wrote her own account of the flag, publishing Old Glory, The True Story in 1918 . In that memoir, Roland "disputed elements of Cooke's narrative and presented documentary evidence for her claim" that the flag she owned was the true Old Glory . In 1922, Roland gave her Old Glory to President Warren G. Harding as a gift; Harding had the flag sent to the Smithsonian Institution . The same year, the Peabody Essex Museum sent its own Old Glory to the Smithsonian as well on loan . </P> <P> The Smithsonian Institution historically has regarded the Roland flag, rather than the Peabody flag, as the more authentic, important Old Glory, since "documentary evidence in the Tennessee State Library and Archives strongly suggested it was the one hidden in the quilt and presented to Union troops who took Nashville" and since common sense indicated that as the larger flag, it would have been the one chosen by Driver to fly over the Capitol . The Roland flag is 17 by 10 feet, while the Peabody flag is smaller, 12 by 6 feet . </P> <P> In June 2006, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (NMAH) loaned the Roland flag to the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville for an eight - month exhibit entitled Old Glory: An American Treasure Comes Home . The flag was in fragile condition and had to be carefully shipped and displayed . The museum's senior textile conservator, Suzanne Thomassen - Krauss, stated that "This loan was an exception because of its local ties to Nashville . It's probably the last time it will be loaned out ." </P> <P> A conservation evaluation of both flags by NMAH curator Jennifer Locke Jones and Thomassen - Krauss began in 2012 . Preliminary findings indicate that the larger Roland flag "still has the much stronger claim," but the analysis also indicated that the Peabody flag "clearly dates to the same era as the larger Old Glory" and "is a legitimate Driver family heirloom and Civil War - era relic ." The Peabody flag does not appear to have been frequently flown; the fly edge is intact and unworn, which is inconsistent with the wear and tear that would be expected of a seagoing flag . The Peabody flag also has "baffling soil lines on the flag, and parts of it appear to be newer than others," which lead Smithsonian staff to believe that parts of the flag were remade at a later date . The larger Roland Old Glory is heavily worn on the fly edges, consistent with the wear of a seagoing flag . </P>

Where did the term old glory come from