THEN & NOW
BY LILLY MILMAN
O
CITY UPON PROSPECT HILL 20 Then & Now | scoutsomerville.com
n a wintry New Year’s day in 1776, Somerville became the site of the first flag raising in the country. Back then, it was called the Grand Union flag—featuring a British Union Jack in the upper left corner where the 50 stars now reside, and thirteen red stripes. One day later, the words “United States of America” appeared in print for the first time in a letter written by George Washington’s Secretary and Aide, an Irish-American named Stephen Moylan, in Cambridge during the Siege of Boston. “Boston is inundated with sacred grounds for the foundation of our country,” says historian Byron DeLear, author of “The First American Flag—Revisiting The Grand Union at Prospect Hill.” “Prospect Hill is definitely one of them.” DeLear has devoted years of his career to meticulously researching the 30-day period between Dec. 3, 1775—the date that the Grand Union flag first debuted over the continental navy—and Jan. 2, 1776. And he’s not alone. Lawrence Willwerth—a third-generation Somerville resident, docent, Somerville Museum trustee, and Vietnam War veteran—is also a selfmotivated U.S. history buff. Willwerth relays facts about the nation as naturally as he does those about his own life, often remembering exact dates and times of events few have even heard of. He now co-organizes the First Flag Raising reenactment on Jan. 1 at Prospect Hill each year, alongside Executive Director
Photo, left, courtesy of Wikipedia Creative Commons. Photo, right, by Lilly Milman.
