<P> What all these suggestions were we cannot definitely determine, but they were of sufficient importance to involve an alteration and re-drawing of the design, which was then and there done by Colonel (General) George Washington, in pencil, in her back parlor . One of the alterations had reference to the shape of the stars . In the drawing they were made with six points . </P> <P> Mrs. Ross at once said that this was wrong; the stars should be five pointed; they were aware of that, but thought there would be some difficulty in making a five pointed star . "Nothing easier" was her prompt reply and folding a piece of paper in the proper manner, with one clip of her ready scissors she quickly displayed to their astonished vision the five - pointed star; which accordingly took its place in the national standard . Colonel (General) Washington was the active one in making the design, the others having little or nothing to do with it . When it was completed, it was given to William Barrett, painter, to paint...</P> <P> The gentleman drew out of a chest an old ship's color, which he loaned her to show her how the sewing was done, and also the drawing painted by Barrett . Other designs had been prepared by the committee and one or two of them were placed in the hands of other seamstresses to be made . Betsy Ross went diligently to work upon her flag, carefully examining the peculiar stitch in the old ship's color, which had been given her as a specimen, and recognizing, with the eye of a good mechanic, its important characteristics, strength and elasticity . </P> <P> The flag was soon finished, and Betsy returned it, the first' Star Spangled Banner' that ever floated upon the breeze, to her employer . It was run up to the peak of one of his ships lying at the wharf, and received the unanimous approval of the committee and of a little group of bystanders looking on, and the same day was carried into the State House and laid before Congress, with a report from the committee . </P>

Who came up with the idea of the american flag