| 34 UPSIDE-DOWN, HAND-SEWN STARS IN A NOTCHED CONFIGURATION, ON AN ANTIQUE AMERICAN FLAG OF THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD, WITH A SQUARISH PROFILE AND IN AN EXTREMELY SMALL SCALE AMONG ITS COUNTERPARTS; FOUND IN PENNSYLVANIA & RELATED TO ANOTHER FLAG FOUND IN THE RAFTERS OF A BARN IN PERRY COUNTY; REFLECTS THE ADDITION OF KANSAS AS THE 34TH STATE, circa 1861-1863 |
|
| Web ID: | 34j-995 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | Approx. 48" x 60" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 36" x 48" |
| Description: | |
| 34 star American national flag of the Civil War period, with a number of interesting and desirable features. Chief among these is the scale of the flag among counterparts of the period. At just three by four feet, its size is extremely small among those with pieced-and-sewn construction. During the 19th century, sewn flags (as opposed to those that were printed on cloth) were typically eight - fourteen feet in length on the fly. Both the garrison flags and the largest flags flown on U.S. Navy ships, were 36 feet by Army & Navy regulations. Flags needed to be large in order to serve their function as signals, to be recognized at great distance. A six-footer was considered small, and production of flags smaller than this was extremely limited. Even infantry battle flags, carried on foot, were approximately six by six and-one-half feet, plus fringe, if present. It wasn't until the 1890’s that commercial flag-makers began to produce smaller sewn flags in great quantity. The stars of this particular 34 star example are arranged in rows, the first of which contains one fewer star. This results in what I call a “notched” design, leaving one space open for the addition of another star. The blank space leaves little doubt that the maker of the flag assumed that another Western Territory would soon acquire statehood, or perhaps that West Virginia might be annexed from Virginia, to become its own state. The latter of these two events took place on June 20th, 1863. Note how the stars are oriented so that they are upside-down on their vertical axis, with two points up instead of one. No one knows if this positioning bore any particular meaning. Both modern notions of the correct orientation of a star, and the present official design of the American flag, dictate that the stars are to be oriented with one point up. Because there was no official specification for this aspect of the American flag until 1912 (along with no official proportions, placement of the canton against the striped field, shades of red and blue, star configuration, shape of the stars, etc.), there was simply no official standard. It may be that the maker of the flag did not consider any particular position to be right-side-up or upside-down. In the mid-19th century, it was not uncommon to see stars pointing any which way, varied throughout the arrangement. Whatever the case may be, the feature present on this particular flag is unusual to the eye and notable in terms of its presentation. Made of cotton, the stars are entirely hand-sewn and double-appliquéd (applied to both sides). The canton and stripes of the flag are made of wool bunting. Because blue wool bunting generally came in a width of 18", the canton was pieced from two lengths of fabric, joined by hand-stitching. The top edge of the canton was hemmed by hand. The canton is joined to the striped field and hemmed by a combination of both hand and treadle stitching. The top section of the stripes, from the lower edge of the canton upward, were pieced and hemmed in the same fashion. Those below it were sewn by treadle stitching only, and the fly end was hemmed in the same fashion. There is a sailcloth canvas binding along the hoist, treadle sewn, though hemmed by hand at the top and bottom, with two metal grommets. The top grommet is made of brass. Heavier than normal and intentionally hammered flat, it is a peculiar match with those present on the other example of like kind—the only other occasion on which I have seen something similar. The lower grommet appears to have at some point been replaced with one of white metal. It seems likely that the need for doing so generated from the excessive hammering of the original, which almost certainly weakened the fabric at that juncture, the excessive weight of which probably exacerbated the issue. Curiously, the other flag that I owned in this design was constructed of the same fabrics, except for the binding, the majority of which was of heavy, polished, jacquard weave linen (exceptional from a textile connoisseur’s perspective, and highly unusual). The mix of hand and treadle stitching differed only slightly. Found hanging in the rafters of a barn near the town of Newport, Pennsylvania, north of Harrisburg, in rural, Perry County, I suspect that both it, and the flag that is the subject of this narrative—also found in Pennsylvania—were made in a small, cottage industry setting. Though the other flag bore initials and a surname of a former owner along the binding (the initials “J.D.” or “J.B.,” followed by the name “Hawkins” or “Hawkens”), it was not possible to positively identify the individual. The closest match was a James B. Harkins of Philadelphia, who enlisted as a volunteer at the rank of private, at the age of 22, on August 15th, 1862, and mustered into Company "K" of the 119th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was wounded on December 13th of that year at Fredericksburg, after which his left leg was amputated. He survived the war, having been discharged on March 19th, 1863, but passed on May 19th, 1867. Though his term of service was brief, he was the only volunteer with that surname, and a first name that began with the letter “J,” who listed a middle initial of either “B” or “D.” Whatever the case may be regarding the identity of the owner of the other flag, gut instinct, having owned so many Civil War period examples, is that these flags were both made for military use and war carried for some purpose. The squarish profile of the flag is suggestive of this. Smaller than a battle flag for an artillery or infantry unit, though larger than a Cavalry guidon, they still may have served as such. Perhaps their use was as the national colors for units of dragoons, possibly local militia units, that rode from point-to-point by horse, for the sake of mobility, though dismounted to engage the enemy. Though lacking the forked swallowtail format of a cavalry guidon, the somewhat comparable size is plausible for a volunteer unit outfitted by a wealthy benefactor or organization. Use as camp colors, or for an officer’s tent, or for a band (at the beginning of the war, nearly every Union regiment had a large one), are likewise reasonable guesses. Kansas was admitted into the Union as the 34th state on January 29th, 1861, about 2½ months before the Confederate assault on Fort Sumter that marked the beginning of the Civil War. The 34th star was officially added on July 4th of that year, but most flag makers would have added a 34th star with the addition of Kansas in January. The star count remained official until July 4th, 1863, and 34 star flags would have been produced until the addition of West Virginia in June of that year. Due to the combination of the flag’s size, squarish format, notched star pattern, and upside-down stars, his is an wonderful example of Civil War flag-making. Mounting: The flag was mounted and framed within our own conservation department, which is led by expert staff. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and have framed thousands of examples. The black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed molding is Italian. The background is 100% cotton twill, black in color, that has been washed and treated for colorfastness. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic (Plexiglas). Condition: Check back soon or inquire for a full report. |
|
| Video: | |
| Collector Level: | Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything |
| Flag Type: | Sewn flag |
| Star Count: | 34 |
| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1861 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1863 |
| State/Affiliation: | Pennsylvania |
| War Association: | 1861-1865 Civil War |
| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
 |
|
