Customer Reviews

The Man Who Loved the Flag

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This would be an excellent book to teach young school age children about the ideals of patriotism and loyalty.

William Jasper was an immigrant to American during the 1700s. He became a soldier in order to earn enough money to support a wife. He was responsible for the building of Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island. During the American Revolution, Jasper was in command of the fort. The patriots were winning, however, a shot from the British broke the flag pole and the battle flag fell outside of the fort. Without this flag, the patriots would loose the battle. Jasper went outside the fort to retrieve the flag so that it could be flown.

Many honors came to Jasper during and after his life.

This rag is HISTORICALLY INACCURATE, and should be discontinued by the publisher. This book teaches that Sergeant William Jasper was the German immigrant Johann Wilhelm Gasper; who arrived alone in Philadelphia in 1767; worked for several years as an indentured servant; then somehow wound up in South Carolina in time to be the hero of the Battle of Fort Sullivan in 1776. In fact, Sergeant William Jasper was the son of John Abraham Jasper, whose ancestors had settled in the Richmond, Virginia area in the 1630s. In fact, Sergeant Jasper fought alongside two of his brothers: Nicholas and John. A fourth brother, Abraham, fought with the British army. After the War (William was killed at the Battle of Savannah in 1779), Nicholas and John moved to Kentucky, where they later helped form Pulaski County and the county seat, Somerset. (Nicholas chose to name the county after Count Pulaski, who was killed in the same battle as his brother William, rather than after William. This humility has likely contributed to the question of William's heritage.) Jaspers now living in Rockcastle, Pulaski, and Casey counties of Kentucky are descendents of these Revolutionary War heroes.