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ONE OF THE TWO EARLIEST KNOWN EXAMPLES OF THE FLAG OF THE REVENUE MARINE (a.k.a., REVENUE CUTTER SERVICE), WITH A HAND-PAINTED EAGLE, AN ARCH OF 13 BLUE-PAINTED STARS, HAVING GREAT FOLK QUALITIES, AND 13 VERTICAL STRIPES, LATE 1830’s-1860 |
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| Available: |
Sold |
| Frame Size (H x L): |
53.75" x 81.25" |
| Flag Size (H x L): |
41.75" x 68" |
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| Description....: |
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The Revenue Marine was founded by U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, through an act of the United States Congress passed August 4th, 1790. Tasked with the protection of merchant ships in and around major ports, its duty was to ensure the safe transport of goods, to deter looting and piracy, and to oversee that proper tariffs and customs fees were collected. Because there was as of yet no income tax, this was our nation’s most significant revenue stream and extremely important to the U.S. Treasury.
Protection on the open waters was not only financially critical, but fundamental to the safety of the new nation. Most Americans don’t realize that for a period of time following the Revolutionary War, the navy was disbanded and there were no ships. Vast debt, incurred to fund the Revolution, was partly repaid through the sale of all remaining warships to France.
In the formation of the Revenue Marine, Hamilton ordered 10 ships, that were distributed across various ports. Washington suggested to Hamilton that each captain selected for service oversee the building of his own ship. While the U.S. Treasury held the overall umbrella for this military-like force, each ship was directly responsible to the customs collector in whichever port it sailed from. Captains had wide-ranging authority to do what they saw fit to keep order, and could board and search any vessel whether docked or at sea.
From 1790 until the U.S. Navy reformed in 1798, Revenue Cutters were the only armed American ships in government service. The Revenue Marine thereafter fought alongside the U.S. Navy and have since participated in every major U.S. seafaring conflict. Reorganized a couple of times during the 19th century, the scope of its mission began to grow. First by default, then by a change in general orders, one of its functions became the rescue of ships in distress. In 1894, the name was formally changed to the Revenue Cutter Service (RCS). This would become the most widely coined title by historians and collectors of related artifacts.
The basic format of the flag is question here, which was officially supposed to have 16 stripes, and probably as many stars, was adopted by an act of Congress in 1799 for use by the Customs office on ships of the Revenue Marine. The flag was designed by Oliver Wolcott, who replaced Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury in 1795. Wolcott selected the count of 16, in accordance with the logic employed in the Flag Act of 1795. The latter had added two stripes and two stars to the national flag’s 13-stars and 13-stripes, to reflect the 1791 addition of Vermont and the 1792 addition of Kentucky as the 14th and 15th states. Since Tennessee had entered the Union on June 1st, 1796, the 1799 customs flag legislation was passed at a time when there were 16 states. Because the original papers were destroyed when the British burned Washington in 1814, specifics regarding the star count are unknown. One early illustration depicts a flag with 15 stars and 16 stripes, curiously excluding Tennessee in the star count, but including it in the stripes.
Surprisingly, Congress did not officially add more stars or stripes to the national flag until 1818, when a total of 5 new states had, by this time, been admitted. The Flag Act of 1818 added 5 stars, brining the count to 20, but returned the stripe count to 13. In between the two flag acts (1795 - 1818), evidence, in the form of both illustrations and a handful of actual, surviving flags, strongly supports that adding both stars and stripes was common practice. All unofficial star counts were produced, from 16 stars onward to the present 50, in spite of any legislation to approve them. If a state came in, a star was added, sometimes even beforehand, in hopeful anticipation. Throughout the 19th century, the manufacture of American flags, both commercially and at home, demonstrates that there was little to no regard for what few formalities there actually were. This very much includes those flags produced specifically for military and governmental purpose. Need and logic generally ruled the day, rulebooks-be-damned.
This particular U.S. Revenue Marine ensign, made sometime between approximately the latter 1830’s and 1860, bears a plain weave, white cotton canton, adorned with a hand-painted device. Per the basic design, this features an interpretation of the Arms of the United States, with a spread-winged eagle, a federal shield superimposed on its breast, gripping 5 arrows in its proper right talon and an olive branch in its left, all of the above set beneath an arch of 13 blue stars. Note how the head of the eagle is turned to face the olive branch, suggestive of a time of peace. Also note that if the 3 stars on the shield are added to those in the arch, there would be 16 in total. Because federal shields very often depict 3 stars, likely for no reason but as patriotic decoration, and the number of vertical stripes in the shield is probably decorative in this instance, the count of 3 would be merely coincidental. Since a total of 16 would be notable, however, as the original 13 colonies plus the 3 additional states present when the RCS was formed, it seems ignorant to leave this particular aspect completely without mention, no matter how unlikely.
Entirely hand-sewn throughout, the stripes of the flag are made of wool bunting. There is a homespun cotton or linen binding along the hoist, in the form of an open sleeve, through which a length of braided hemp rope was threaded and stitched firmly in place.
Early flags of the Revenue Marine are extremely rare. This is one the two earliest examples that I am aware of, and one of just two that pre-dates the Civil War era. Both have 13 stripes. It seems likely that either flags-makers, or Revenue Marine representatives that ordered flags, were either unaware that there was to be a count of 16 stripes, or perhaps they abandoned the concept after 1818, reverting to 13 stripes, to mirror the count on the American flag after that year. Whatever the case may be, examples made during the Civil War and after consistently display 16 stripes, save one 17-stripe example, likely with an additional red stripe at the end added in error.
In 1915, the RCS merged with the U.S. Lifesaving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard. As of this date, it was no longer responsible to the U.S. Treasury and the Department of the Interior, but instead became a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces under the War Department, responsible to the president as its Commander-in-Chief. In 2003 it was again moved to the Department of Homeland Security, where it remains in times of peace. At times of war its direction can be transferred by the president to the U.S. Navy.
In summary, this is one of the earliest two known flags of the coveted Revenue Marine, all of which are rare in the 19th century and prior, and with strikingly beautiful imagery in their vertical stripes, patriotically American, but graphically different to the eye, and in this case also in the hand-painted eagle an arch of hand-painted stars, with beautiful, untouched patina. The endearing state of preservation, from long-term use and other factors, adds its own level of visual interest, accurately conveying both the flag’s function and age. All-in-all-a magnificent addition to any advanced collection.
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 flag has been hand-stitched to 100% silk organza for support throughout. It was then hand-stitched to a background of 100% cotton twill, black in color, that was washed and treated for colorfastness. The mount was placed in a black-painted and gilded Italian molding, with a wide, shaped profile. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic (Plexiglas).
Condition: Moderate to significant soiling and losses throughout. Full report to follow. |
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| Collector Level: |
Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings |
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| Flag Type: |
Sewn flag |
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| Star Count: |
13 |
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| Earliest Date of Origin: |
1835 |
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| Latest Date of Origin: |
1860 |
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| State/Affiliation: |
13 Original Colonies |
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| War Association: |
1777-1860 Pre-Civil War |
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| Price: |
SOLD |
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Views: 399 |
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