William Driver

At the start of the Civil War, the people in the state of Tennessee struggled with the decision of whether to stay with the Union or to join the Confederacy. Eventually, the state would be the last to secede. However, there were people living in the state who would remain loyal to the Union. One such person was Captain William Driver. Driver is best known for a special flag he owned and hid during the Civil War, affectionately called “Old Glory.”

William Driver was born in 1803 and was apprenticed to a blacksmith. Hating his situation, Driver ran away and became a cabin boy on a ship. His father told him not to come home until he had his own ship and was captain. Eventually, Driver did become a captain of his own ship. The people of his hometown in Salem, Massachusetts, were all very proud of Driver and made him a huge flag that was twelve feet by twenty-four feet, which he nicknamed “Old Glory.” Driver eventually sailed around the world and even rescued the descendants of the crew that had mutinied against their captain on the British ship the HMS Bounty.

Later, Driver would retire to Nashville, Tennessee, leaving the sea behind and becoming a clerk at his brother’s store. During the Civil War, he hid “Old Glory” by sewing the flag into a quilt. When Tennessee was taken over by Union soldiers, the soldiers asked Driver to raise his flag over the state’s capitol. As people heard about Driver and his flag, others began calling the American flag “Old Glory,” a nickname that is still used today for the flag of the United States of America.