| EXTRAORDINARY NAVAL JACK WITH 13 LARGE, EXTRAORDINARY STARS AND A BEAUTIFUL, FOULED ANCHOR, MADE FOR THE COMMANDER OF AN ORGANIZATION OF CIVIL WAR NAVY VETERANS IN OHIO, LIKELY FOR USE IN 1892, WHEN HE SERVED AS THE CHIEF COMMANDER OF ITS NATIONWIDE CONVENTION AT BALTIMORE |
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| Web ID: | 13j-1690 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | 67.25" x 105.25" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 54" x 92" |
| Description: | |
| In 1866, one year following the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, which brought an end to the Civil War, Union veterans representing all branches of military service began to organize into social and fraternal organizations. At a time before the welfare state, such groups facilitated many important needs of former soldiers, sailors, families, widows and orphans. The primary organization for all veterans was the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.). Similar to today’s American Legion or V.F.W., the G.A.R. was a benevolent and social organization, but more fraternal in nature. Founded in 1866, the G.A.R. was among the first and most powerful advocacy groups in American politics, where they appealed for patriotic education, veterans' pensions, voting rights for black veterans, and many other concerns. Membership peaked in 1890, at approximately 410,000 members. Since the beginning of America, the U.S. Navy had been its own entity, separate from the administration of the War Department (U.S. Army), though working in close partnership with it. Ever aware of the natural competitiveness of Army and Navy vets, difference in their training, skill, experiences, traditions, etc., it’s rather remarkable that G.A.R. served both branches of service, with members of each belonging to the same posts, except in rare instance. Though membership rolls illustrate how soldier and sailor co-populated the G.A.R., there were various veterans’ groups that operated simultaneously, either alongside or beyond the G.A.R. system. One of these was the National Association of Naval Veterans (N.A.N.V.). Four significant associations of Navy veterans existed before the N.A.N.V.. These consisted of the Farragut Veteran’s Association of Philadelphia, est’d. August 5th, 1867, the Farragut Veteran’s Association of New York, est’d. Nov. 15th, 1883, the Gideon Welles Asso. of Connecticut, est’d. June 18th, 1884 at Hartford, and the Farragut Veteran’s Association of the West, est. June 25th, 1884 in Chicago. On Dec. 12th, 1883, members of the Philadelphia organization formed their own chapter of the G.A.R., as Post 400. At the time this was the only G.A.R. Post in America whose membership was exclusively comprised of U.S. Navy veterans. Members of Post 400 wore a regular G.A.R. dress uniform, but their caps were similar to those worn by Navy officers. To put the peculiarity of this characteristic in perspective, at the height of its popularity, a few year hence, in 1890, there were more than 7,000 G.A.R. posts nationwide. In 1886, the Farragut Association of New York called a meeting of representatives of the 4 groups at the Morton House Hotel in Union Square on (later the Union Square Hotel), to combine and nationalize an organization of Navy veterans, also welcoming members of the Marine Corps and Revenue Marine. This took place on January 13th of that year, the official date of the N.A.N.V.’s founding. The four elders, in order by longevity, became Ports 1 – 4. Others quickly followed. By 1890 Ports were added in Salem (Essex), Milwaukee, New Orleans, St. Paul, Columbus, Dayton, and Providence. By the turn-of-the-century there were 41 in total. Annual conventions of the organization occurred in concert with those of the G.A.R., with many maintaining dual membership. Navy ships flew a flag called a "union jack" – often simply called the “jack,” when a ship was at port or anchor. The jack was the mirror image of the blue union with white stars that served as the canton of the American national flag (the Stars & Stripes). In order to distinguish itself from the G.A.R., N.A.N.V. ports adopted the Navy jack as their identifying flag. One-of-a-kind among known examples, this extraordinary N.A.N.V. jack is as beautiful as it is unusual. Instead of displaying the full complement of stars to represent the number of states at the time, the design instead incorporates 13 stars set about a huge, canted anchor. At 4.5 feet on the hoist by just over 7.5 feet on the fly, note the large size of the stars. Made of cotton and especially pointy, note also how these are inconsistently shaped, with arms bent this way and that. Though I tend to pick up on star configurations instantly, having viewed many thousands of early examples, and images thereof, the pattern here, though obvious in retrospect, was in no way readily apparent in first person. Although placed in a ring of 8, flanked by two stars to each side, the latter are withdrawn somewhat from their usual position, in each corner. Note how they actually fall below the top and bottom of the wreath, which isn’t precisely circular, its stars unevenly placed. All of the above, when combined with both the large size of the stars and the compelling anchor, which draw one’s attention, contribute to a visual impression that the stars were simply pitched onto the blue field at random. Though tremendous when hung horizontally or vertically, this trick-of-the-eye is especially true when the flag is vertical. Those familiar with early flags will note—in spite of what may seem otherwise logical to the casual observer—that anchors were not present on flags displayed aboard U.S. Navy ships. Instead they appeared on flags flown on pleasure boats. After 1848, when accompanied by the appropriate license, a ship flying a flag with a circular wreath of 13 stars, surrounding a “fouled” anchor, could bypass customs. In spite of the above, a large, fouled anchor was present on the original Seal of the U.S. Navy, adopted by Continental Congress in 1774. When the Navy was reformed, in 1798, and its seal re-designed, the anchor was again included. Though positioned horizontally today, as opposed to canted, it remains a prominent symbol on the present seal. Also common in Navy signals of the 19th century is the use of 13 stars. The 13 star count appears on many flags made for use at sea. 13 star flags were flown by ships both private and federal in early America, even after there were more states, increasing with frequency as time passed. From the mid-19th century onward, if not prior, the U.S. Navy employed 13 stars on its flags made for small craft. The reason for this was both a matter of practicality and tradition. As the number of stars grew with the addition of new states, it became more and more difficult to fit them on a small flag, in such way that they could be easy viewed at a distance as individual objects. Keeping the count at 13 on small “boat flags,” as they were called, allowed for greater visibility and consistency as the flag changed. For the Navy, which employed flags up to 36 feet in length, this meant those up to 10 feet length on the fly until 1882 (reduced to a max. of 6.5 feet thereafter). A penciled inscription along the binding of this particular flag reads: “Dahlgren Association Flag," followed by "C. H. Leaman, Paymaster." The Admiral Dahlgren N.A.N.V. of Dayton, Ohio was one of the first to follow the original group, founded as Port 10 on October 19th, 1889. If the midwest cities of Dayton and Columbus, not situated on the Great Lakes or even the Ohio River, seem unusual locations for two of the first 10 ports of an association of Navymen with just 41 chapters, know that it was likely a function of several things, including (1) Ohio’s centralized location from a nationwide perspective. The first Commodore of the NANV, elected at the first meeting in New York, was selected from the Chicago chapter, intentionally titled “Midwest.” The reason behind this was to increase appeal to the American populous beyond high society circles within New York and Philadelphia, with hopes of reaching out as far as California. The formation of two ports, so close together, in 1889, was likely a function of the NANV’s 3rd annual convention having taken place, in conjunction with that of the GAR, in Columbus, in the fall of 1888 (there were two that year, the other having taken place in Philadelphia in January). It can be surmised that there was probably a degree of friction between naval veterans in Columbus and nearby Dayton. Like their predecessors, as well as the G.A.R. posts to which much of their membership jointly belonged, ports of the N.A.N.V. were named for significant local or national figures. Admiral John A. B. Dahlgren (1809-1870), served in the United States Navy for 44 years, from 1826 to his death. Credited with establishing the U.S. Navy Department Bureau of Ordnance, he served as its chief for 16 years, inventing and improving numerous aspects of weaponry, the most well-known of which was the Dahlgren Gun, a cast iron, muzzle-loading, Civil War cannon with superior range and accuracy. Curing the Civil War, he worked closely with Lincoln, who appointed him Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard. Dr. Charles H. Leaman (1845-1914) served as a Surgeons Steward on Civil War gunboats, including the U.S.S. Pittsburgh and the U.S.S. Clyde. A practicing dentist in Dayton, Ohio, Leaman was active in a number of veterans organizations. In 1892 he was selected to serve as Commander of the National Naval Veterans Association at its 7th Annual Convention, at Baltimore. The flag was either made for the Dayton port, for display at the convention, presented to Leaman there by the N.A.N.V., as a gift of thanks for his leadership at the event. Certain aspects of the flag’s construction point precisely to the narrow window between approximately 1890 and 1895, and thus precisely to this date. The field is constructed of two lengths of blue wool bunting, joined by treadle machine and hemmed along the fly by the same method. The stars, made of plain weave cotton, are double-appliqued (applied to both sides) with lineal, treadle stitching. There is a sailcloth canvas binding along the hoist, treadle-sewn, with two brass grommets. Mounting: For 25 years we have maintained a specialized department for this purpose. Our lead conservator holds a master's degree in textile conservation from one of the nation’s top university programs. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and related textiles and have preserved thousands of examples. The background fabric is 100% hemp with a twill weave, ivory in color. The black-painted molding, with its wide, shaped profile, is Italian, as-is the black-painted, hand-gilded, and distressed molding, with a convex profile, that was added as a liner. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic (Plexiglas). Feel free to contact us for more details. Condition: There is a very small, hand sewn patch in the extreme, upper, hoist end corner. There is a repaired, vertical tear, near the same corner, extending from the top edge of the flag to the first star. There is scattering of extremely tiny holes throughout from mothing. There is a scattering of very small, darned repairs in and around the lower, hoist end corner. There is a series of tack holes along the hoist binding. There is modest to moderate soiling throughout the white fabrics, accompanied by a few, tiny, dark stains near the top of the binding, and a modest to moderate streak of black soot, or the like, near the bottom. The overall condition is excellent for a wool flag of the period. |
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| Video: | |
| Collector Level: | Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings |
| Flag Type: | Sewn flag |
| Star Count: | 13 |
| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1889 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1892 |
| State/Affiliation: | Ohio |
| War Association: | 1861-1865 Civil War |
| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
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