- "I daresay, if all goes well today, this may very well be how I'm remembered. After all the missions, this flag may be my greatest accomplishment."
- —Betsy Ross to Ichabod Crane[src]
Elizabeth Phoebe "Betsy" Ross was a main character of the third season and a woman who knew Ichabod Crane in the 18th century, and they had somewhat of a romantic relationship. She was the seamstress who made the first American flag, and was also a spy for General George Washington. Betsy was also Washington`s most trusted messenger, and skilled in moving intelligence so she was able to hide a message on the inside of her satchel and encoded it to prevent it from being read easily. Ms. Ross is known to possess skills in espionage as well as keen combat skills, wielding a blade with practiced ease, and hitting a man square in the forehead with a shot from a pistol.
History[]
Early Life[]
Betsy was born in West Jersey, Pennsylvania on January 1, 1752. She was Ichabod`s partner in battling the supernatural during the Revolutionary War.
Spy[]
During the battle of Bunker Hill in 1775[1], the British soldiers found a way to turn the early tide of the battle, by using a demon known as the Yao-Quai. Upon discovering this, George Washington had his most trusted operative, Betsy Ross, deliver a letter describing the demon to Colonel Prescott. She trusted her partner, Ichabod Crane to deliver her through the battle, undetected. Once reaching a point where they couldn't go any further without being detected, Betsy vacated the cart and prepared herself to go alone. Just before leaving, she gave Ichabod a kiss, which she claimed that it was for luck. Once leaving, she singlehandedly penetrated the British front line, and successfully delivered the letter to Colonel Prescott, contributing to their victory.[2]
The Catacombs[]
While making the finishing touches on the American Flag, Ichabod approaches her, wondering if she knew about Washington's mission to take the very best of his men across the Delaware to take the Hessians by surprise. The mission was a cover-up for what Washington really wanted. To go the the catacombs and retrieve the Eye of Providence. Crane is clearly upset that he wasn't invited. Betsy claims that it was as he was to valuable to the war. She also discloses a lie by saying that she wasn't invited either. She was just asked to finish the flag to which she is positive that the flag is how she will be remembered. Ichabod complements her on how beautiful it looks (she had added golden thread to outline the stars).[3]
While secretly traveling to the catacombs on the Delaware River to retrieve the Eye of Providence with George Washington and their crew, Betsy holds up her flag that she made and sings the nations national anthem to which they are magically transported to the river Styx, the Gateway to the Underworld. Not long after, they were suddenly attacked by an insurgent on board. The insurgent set off an explosive that slaughtered the entire regiment. They shipwrecked onshore. Luckily, both Betsy and Washington survived. Betsy wrote a letter describing their shipwreck. They and made it to the gateway of the catacombs. They took the Eye and wrapped it in the flag. But Betsy became curious and lingered inside too long. The door shut with her on the wrong side. Whatever sequence Washington used to open the chamber didn't work, and he had to leave her, promising to come back. She tried everything she could to escape but eventually accepted her fate.[4]
Months later, Ichabod and Abbie found their way into the chamber and discovered Betsy's lifeless body, presuming that she was dead. Abbie noticed that she was breathing and woke her up. They question her to how she is still in there to which she tells them her story and that she has been there for months.[4] Ichabod Crane has a lot on his mind. He's just discovered Betsy Ross alive and well, and he still has to get Pandora's Box reassembled and save the world. They are keeping the fact that they are from the future under wraps or risk throwing the time stream into utter chaos. But Betsy is curious, especially about Crane and Abbie's relationship, so Crane is having a hard time keeping his old friend from getting suspicious. He simply tells her that they are not only at the Catacombs on a rescue mission, but need to restore a powerful supernatural artifact that is the only hope against a foe that holds the fate of the world in his hands. Crane performs the incantation as instructed, but the box doesn't have its silver hue. It seems Pandora left out some information about the Eternal Soul of a Witness. The box opens, and a cloud of black smoke starts to envelope Abbie. Betsy and Crane fight to shut the lid, but the box turns silver and Abbie collapses. Abbie awakens, but she's weak and senses something is wrong. Crane says the box took something very precious, Abbie's soul. He's also got to tell Betsy that they will not be returning together. Apparently, if Betsy enters the well, she'll return to her proper place in history none the wiser. She senses the strong bond between Crane and Abbie and acknowledges his heart belongs to her. She then leaves the catacombs via the well and returns to her time period of 1777.[5]
Upon returning back to her time, she informed Washington of her time in the catacombs and of her suspicions that the Crane that she was with was a Crane from the future. They know that hundreds of years in the future, Crane will be carrying on what they have built. It would be Crane's duty to head a secret organization founded by Washington to battle the supernatural. In addition to her discovering that Crane was destined for something greater, she sent a letter to him explaining that she was terminating their relationship. She kept her distance from him for the rest of her life.[5]
Personality[]
Described as being attractive with an unsuspected physical prowess, Betsy Ross is the famous seamstress known and loved for sewing our nation’s first flag by day but by night she’s a dynamic, secret operative within George Washington’s mysterious ring of spies.
Abilities[]
Betsy was a well regarded spy for the Revolutionary Army, noted as Washington's most trusted messenger. Not only skilled in espionage, using her job as a seamstress as cover, but also at moving intelligence. She was able to hide a message on the inside of her satchel and encoded it to prevent it from being read easily.
Betsy also possessed keen combat skills, wielding a blade with practiced ease and hitting a man square in the forehead with a shot from a pistol, which were notoriously inaccurate at the time.
Relationships[]
Ichabod Crane[]
Betsy and Ichabod shared a relationship back in the 18th century.
Paul Revere[]
Betsy and Paul Revere are assumed to be allies, for Paul once saved Betsy's niece from a dark creature preying on her life-force.
Trivia[]
Character Notes[]
- It is revealed that Betsy was in the Catacombs, preserved by its magical powers when Ichabod and Abbie entered in the 21st century. She was trapped after Washington recovered The Eye of Providence. He promised to come back for Betsy and used her cutlass to escape through the well.
- She created the original flag to represent the victory of the Patriots in the Revolutionary War.
- Just like Katrina and Zoe, many fans disliked her relationship with Ichabod and instead wanted Ichabod to have a romanic relationship with Abbie.
Appearances[]
| Season Three | |||||||||||||||||||
| "I, Witness" | "Whispers in the Dark" | "Blood and Fear" | "The Sisters Mills" | "Dead Men Tell No Tales" | |||||||||||||||
| "This Red Lady from Caribee" | "The Art of War" | "Novus Ordo Seclorum" | "One Life" | "Incident At Stone Manor" | |||||||||||||||
| "Kindred Spirits" | "Sins of the Father" | "Dark Mirror" | "Into the Wild" | "Incommunicado" | |||||||||||||||
| "Dawn's Early Light" | "Delaware" | "Ragnarok" | |||||||||||||||||