Ever wondered why the American flag is called “Old Glory”' In 1831, when Captain Stephen Driver of Salem, Massachusetts, first saw the magnificent flag unfurl in the ocean breeze, he had exclaimed “Old Glory!” and the flag became popular by that name. In 1837, during the Civil War, when the rebels tried to destroy the flag, the retired Captain had retrieved it by hiding it in the seams of his bed quilt! Since 1862, with the Union’s victory, people have been calling this flag “Old Glory”.