19 STARS IN AN SPECTACULAR STARBURST MEDALLION UNIQUE TO THIS FLAG, MADE SOMETIME BETWEEN THE CIVIL WAR (1861-65) AND THE OPENING OF THE 1890'S, EITHER TO REFLECT NORTHERN SYMPATHIES, BY REPRESENTING THE COMPLEMENT OF UNION-SUPPORTING STATES AT THE TIME, OR TO COMMEMORATE INDIANA AS THE 19TH STATE TO JOIN THE UNION; EXHIBITED AT THE MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION FROM JUNE – SEPTEMBER, 2021
|
| American national flag with 13 stripes and 19 stars, the latter of which are dynamically arranged in a medallion pattern that consists of a large center star, canted so that one point is directed toward 1:00, surrounded by a circular wreath of 10. Radiating toward each corner are diagonal pairs of stars—one small and one large—a very unusual feature. Together these constitute what I would categorize as a starburst medallion, one of the most striking and sophisticated designs that can be found in 19th-century American flags.
Made sometime in the period between the Civil War (1861-65) and the era of the 1876 centennial, the flag survives among just a tiny handful known to exist in the 19 star count. The most likely reason for the selection of this star count is to remove the Slave States. Kansas entered the Union as the 34th state in January of 1861. Though the 34th star would not be officially added until July 4th of that year, almost all makers of flags, from professional, commercial makers to private individuals, would add the respective star for a state as soon as it was accepted, or even beforehand, in hopeful anticipation. 34 total states less the entire complement of 15 Slave States, equals the count of 19 presented here. While Abraham Lincoln expressly requested that the stars representing the Southern States be preserved on the national flag, with the goal of keeping the nation together, flag-makers took great liberty with all aspects of flag design, and generally pursued as wished. Display of one’s personal or political views, some obvious, some subtle or even hidden, were incorporated in many ways. In both the North and the South, the removal of the respective, opposing states, within the count of stars or of stripes, resulted in what newspapers of the time called “disunion flags.” Remarkably, with regard to Free vs. Slave States, this appears to have begun as early as the 1820’s, in the unrest fueled by the Missouri Compromise.
[full description with additional details forthcoming] |
