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  CONFEDERATE FIRST NATIONAL PATTERN FLAG (a.k.a., STARS & BARS) WITH 11 STARS, IN A TINY SIZE AMONG THOSE WITH PIECED AND SEWN CONSTRUCTION, A HOMEMADE, CIVIL WAR-PERIOD FLAG, FOUND IN GREATER BALTIMORE, LIKELY DISPLAYED FROM A PODIUM, PARADE FLOAT, CARRIAGE, OR STOREFRONT, circa MAY – NOV., 1861

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 21.25" x 26.25"
Flag Size (H x L): 11.5" x 16.25"
Description....:
First national pattern Confederate flag with 11 stars, made sometime between May and November of 1861, the opening year of the Civil War, when 11 states had seceded and were accepted into the Confederate States of America, yet before the acceptance of Missouri and Kentucky by Jefferson Davis and the Confederate States of America (CSA) legislature. The latter of these were Border States that did not formally secede in a proper, legislative fashion.

Tiny in scale among its counterparts of the period, the flag is homemade and is constructed of a variety of fabrics. The manner of its construction is unusual, with a length of plain white cotton employed both as a supportive background, to which the red and blue fabrics were sewed, and to serve as the white bar. The red bars are made of wool bunting, a fabric common to almost all commercially made flags intended for long-term outdoor use, especially maritime flags, though not used for the manufacture of clothing, home goods, or used in any other industry. The blue canton was created with a length of lightweight, clothing grade wool with a twill weave, possibly merino wool. The stars are made of cotton and are arranged in a circular wreath of 10 with a larger, 11th star in the very center. All of the stitching was done by hand. This is a one-sided flag, with all of the above fabrics applied to the obverse only, probably made for the display of general patriotism for the Southern cause, perhaps tacked to a podium, a carriage, a parade float, or displayed in a storefront. Found in Maryland, in greater Baltimore, I suspect that the flag originated in the state.

At just 11.5 x 16 inches, this is certainly the smallest Confederate 1st national pattern flag I have seen made primarily of wool bunting, and smaller than just about anything I have ever seen by that measure. Entirely hand-sewn throughout and with dimensions that are near-to-square in appearance, the combination of the profile, the texture and patina of the richly colored fabrics, and the hand-sewing, result in a beautiful and unusual example that can fit just about anywhere a collector might wish to include it.

A Brief History of Confederate Flag Design:
The Confederate States of America (CSA) adopted three successive national flag designs between 1861-1865. The first of these looked much like the Stars & Stripes. Nicknamed the "Stars & Bars" by Confederate soldiers, as a play on the nickname of the American national flag, this was adopted by the CSA legislature on March 4th, 1861, when in session at the temporary capitol of Montgomery, Alabama. The flag initially consisted of 7 white stars arranged on a blue canton and three linear bars in red-white-red. The star count reflected the initial wave of secession, which occurred approximately one month prior, on February 7th, in conjunction with the adoption of the CSA’s provisional constitution. As more states seceded, more stars were added, with a total of 11 seceding in an official manner, ratified, when required, by popular or legislative vote. The count of 11 was retained from roughly May of 1861 until late November, when the States of Missouri and Kentucky were formally accepted by Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the CSA legislature, in spite of being Border States with more divided views and without formal achievement of secession.

Use of the Stars & Stripes and the Stars & Bars on the same battlefield led to great confusion, precipitating change to something far easier to distinguish. The Southern Cross battle flag began to be introduced in the late fall of 1861. Though the Confederate legislature refused to sanction the design, it was approved at the field level by Confederate General Joe Johnston, who refused to permit his men to continue to be killed by friendly fire, mistaking their own flags for Union Army banners.

Many people are surprised to learn that the most widely recognized Confederate design was never actually the national flag of the CSA. In rectangular format it did officially serve as the Confederate Navy Jack, displayed when a CSA ship was at port or anchor. It square format, it soon began to be called “Confederate battle flag,” however, of the “Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia,” because it was first carried by the much-loved General Robert E. Lee and his army of that name. Though many flag designs were used in the South, the Southern Cross battle flag was thereafter adopted in many variants, some square, some rectangular, in every state throughout the Confederacy.

The CSA adopted a second national flag design on May 26th, 1863. Known as the Stainless Banner, it was white in color, with the Southern Cross adopted to serve as its canton. Soldiers and officers disliked this design because it looked too much like a surrender flag, especially if a unit that was carrying it head-on with no cross wind. The myth became that, given the opportunity, soldiers would dip the fly end of the stainless banner in blood, the first chance it had to do so. The reality, however, was that there was practically no use of this flag by ground forces. It did, however, see some use at sea.

36 days before the war’s end a red vertical bar was added at the fly end and the result became the third national design. This was called the “blood stained banner”, but officially the red did not represent blood. Rather it paid homage to France, which lent aid to the South during the war, because if one were to replace the first third of the third Confederate national flag with a vertical blue bar, the result would be the French tri-color, the national flag of France.

Mounting: For 25 years we have maintained our own textile conservation department, led by a master’s degree level graduate from one of the nation’s top programs. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and related textiles and have preserved thousands of examples.

The 2-part frame consists of a gilded American molding of the 1820 – 1850 period, with exceptional early surface, to which a solid walnut molding of the latter 19th century, with a sculpted profile, was added as a liner. The flag was mounted and framed by us in-house. It has been hand-stitched to a background of 100% hemp fabric, ivory in color, with a twill weave. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic (Plexiglas).

Condition: There is minor mothing in the canton, accompanied by minor to moderate areas of the same in the red bars, the most significant of which is located near the canton in the first red bar, and along the bottom edge, below the canton, in the second. The white cotton fabric is significantly soiled, with modest to moderate fragility and breakdown. Many of my clients prefer early flags to show their age and history of use.
Collector Level: Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count: 11
Earliest Date of Origin: 1861
Latest Date of Origin: 1861
State/Affiliation: The Confederacy
War Association: 1861-1865 Civil War
Price: SOLD
 

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