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  ONE OF THE EARLIEST FLAGS IN AMERICA: AN AUTHENTIC 15-STAR U.S. NAVY JACK, HANDED DOWN THROUGH THE FAMILY OF U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN THOMAS BROWN

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 48.5" x 74.5"
Flag Size (H x L): 35.5" x 61"
Description....:
ONE OF THE EARLIEST FLAGS IN AMERICA:
AN AUTHENTIC 15-STAR U.S. NAVY JACK, HANDED DOWN THROUGH THE FAMILY OF U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN THOMAS BROWN:

Extremely rare 15-star American Navy jack, handed down through the family of U.S. Navy Captain Thomas R. Brown (1785-1828). The flag is accompanied by a period note initialed by Brown's wife, an oval portrait of Brown, and his commission to the rank of Captain, which was signed by President James Monroe on his final day in office.

Like the British Royal Navy, American vessels flew three flags. When at anchor or moored, the jack is flown at the bow (front), the national flag or "ensign" is flown at the stern (back), and the commission pennant is flown from the at the main mast. When under way, the Jack is furled and the ensign may be kept in place or shifted to a gaff if the ship is so equipped.

The U.S. Navy Jack is a blue flag with a field of white stars. The design is the mirror image of the canton of an American national flag. In scale, the jack was meant to be the same size as the canton of the corresponding ensign with which it was flown.

Three 15-star jacks are known to survive in private hands that date to the period between 1795 and 1818, when the 15 star count was official on American national flags. This is an extraordinarily period in the study of antique American flags, because so few legitimate examples survive. Despite the approximate 41 years of potential production, beginning with the Flag Act of June 14th, 1777, Stars & Stripes of this period are all but non-existent. No one is perfectly clear on the number of 13 and 14 star flags that are known that legitimately date to the period between 1777 and 1795, when the Second Flag Act went into effect, but the number is probably fewer than 10. Perhaps there are fewer than 5 legitimate examples.

One may note that 14 is an unofficial star count, but all counts between 13 and the current star count of 50 were manufactured, either commercially or privately. Flag-makers paid little heed to official star counts unless required by the person(s) requesting that flags be produced to some particular design. The Flag Act of January 13th, 1794 (effective May 1st, 1795), increased the star count to 15 stars, complimented by 15 stripes. Unofficial star counts were possible (given the growing number of states) between 1795 and 1818. These include 16, 17, 18, and 19 stars. At the time the logic was to add stripes as well as stars for each state.

The number of surviving, period examples of American flags with between 15 and 19 original stars shares a direct relationship with the scarce number of legitimate 13 and 14 star flags. Following is the inventory, as I know it, of other known flags with more than 13 stripes and a matching number of between 15 and 19 original stars, that I believe may likely date between 1795 and 1818. The first six are 15-star, 15-stripe examples.

(1) The Star Spangled Banner, made by Mary Pickersgill in 1813 and held at the Smithsonian
(2) The "Fort Hill" flag, supposedly from Biddeford, Maine, where it was said to have been flown at a house in 1814 that was manned by American militia. This flag also held at the Smithsonian.
(3) A large garrison flag at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts.
(4) A flag at Fort Niagara, New York.
(5) A reported flag in the Masonic Hall in Port Jefferson, Long Island, New York.
(6) A flag reportedly captured by the H.M.S. Borer off the Long Island Sound between 1812 and 1814, now held at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England.

(7) A 16-star, 16-stripe flag that long resided at the Hartford National Bank in Stonington Connecticut. The "Stonington Flag" was reportedly made by the women of the First Congregational Church of Stonington in 1796 and carried by local militia in the defense of the bombardment of Stonington by the British in 1814. It's doubtful that the flag was actually "carried" in the literal sense, by mobile ground forces, as its approximate 20-foot length would have precluded such use, but it may have been raised over defenses in some fashion. In their book "So Proudly We Hail", Furlong & McCandless, with Langley, (1981, Smithsonian Press, p. 173) state that the flag has only 13 stripes. But their reproduced 1876 photo of the flag clearly shows 15 stripes and a gap along the sleeve where the 16th stripe most certainly existed at one time.

(8) A 17-star, 17-stripe flag in a private collection, with supporting family provenance and documents that state that it was captured during the war of 1812 by Captain James Clephan of the British Royal Navy ship H.M.S. Charybdis from the American privateer schooner, Blockade.

(9) An 18-star, 18-stripe flag in the Louisiana State Museum, which was reportedly made by Mrs. Ann Mather Hickey and other women of Baton Rouge at the Hope Plantation, for use by Colonel Philip Hicky at the Baton Rouge arsenal in 1812, following Louisiana's admittance to the Union.

It seems important to note that some collectors believe to own flags that date to this period, and others have been sold by auction houses, but this author believes that almost none were made in the period that the corresponding observers and owners suggest.

The flag could have been made anytime between 1792, when the 15th state, Kentucky, was added to the Union, and 1818, when the star count on the American national flag was officially updated to 20. The most likely date of manufacture is during the War of 1812 (1812-1814), when greater production was necessary.

Construction: The flag is entirely hand-sewn. The blue field is constructed of four lengths of wool bunting. The bunting has a very coarse, homespun weave with great irregularity throughout in the width of the strands. The wool is a very early variety, with the appropriate homespun characteristics that I believe to be indicative of our nation's earliest era of Star & Stripes production, which is those made circa 1835 and prior.

The stars are made of cotton or linen and are single-appliqued. This means that they were applied to one side of the flag, then the blue fabric was cut from behind each star, folded over and under-hemmed, so that one appliqued star could be viewed on both sides. While some flag experts have suggested that this method was a means of conserving fabric, since the maker didn't have to sew a star to both sides, others suggest that the real purpose was to make the flag lighter in weight. I believe it may have been a function of both of these goals. I always find single-appliqued stars more interesting, both because they are evidence of a more difficult level of seam-work and stitchery and because with two rows of stitching instead of one, they naturally appear earlier and more hand-made. This method of construction appeals to connoisseurs of early American textiles, who appreciate the texture and homemade qualities of single-applique work. Although on rare occasion the technique can be seen on flags made into the very beginning of the 20th century, it tends to be most prevalent in flags of the Civil War (1861-65) and prior, and is the method of choice on the very earliest American flags with appliqued stars. Note the careful use of two colors of thread, chosen accordingly with the colors of the adjacent fabric.

The stars are arranged in 5 staggered rows of 3 stars each. Note how the rows are bit irregular, which adds strong graphic qualities to the design, as does the orientation of the stars themselves, which point in various directions on their vertical axis. The combination of these factors and the single-applique work make for a dramatic display of folk quality and visual interest.

The hoist binding is made of linen with 3 hand-sewn, whip-stitched grommets. The joining of the binding to the hoist end is executed in a thick, loosely twisted yarn.

History of Thomas Brown & Accompanying Objects of Interest:

Captain Thomas Brown (1785-1828) was born in Philadelphia served in the United States Navy, seeing action in both the First Barbary War (1801-5) and the War of 1812 (1812-14). In 1803 he served as a midshipman aboard the ship Philadelphia with Lt. Stephen Decatur, under Commodore Edward Preble (on the Constitution), and distinguished himself with Decatur when they burnt their ship rather than lose it to enemy action. When Decatur was killed in 1804, Brown acted Second in Command of the squadron. He was promoted to Lieutenant on March 27th, 1807.

The flag is accompanied by an oval oil painting of Brown, executed on coarse canvas (laid down on board). The image shows him in the uniform of Lieutenant and it is logical to assume that the portrait may have been painted to commemorate the promotion.

Brown went on to serve in the War of 1812 under Commodore Isaac Chauncey at Sacket's Harbor, battling for control of Lake Ontario. At the start of the war, the British had command of the lake due to the existence of the Provincial Marine Squadron, headed by the 20-gun corvette Royal George. While the squadron was not intended for aggressive action, it soon became clear that this would be its fate. On July 19th, 1812, Commander Hugh Earl led the Provincial Squadron into sight of Sacket's Harbor and opened fire. Lieutenant Woolsey, in command of the harbor, returned fire damaging the Royal George. Ill-prepared for combat, Earl and his squadron hastily retreated. Realizing the need for naval presence on Lake Ontario, Chauncey was placed in charge at Sacket's Harbor that August and went about building a squadron. He bought many ships, including the Governor Tompkins, which carried a single 32 lb. long gun, plus 24 and 32 lb. carronades, of which Lieutenant Brown was in placed in command.

That autumn, Chauncey's squadron, including Oneida and Governor Tompkins, set out to destroy the Royal George. After an inconclusive engagement on November 9th, the British schooner Two Brothers was destroyed on the 12th, along with the merchant ships Mary Hatt and Elizabeth. Within two months Chauncey had run the Provincial Squadron off of Lake Ontario.

After a heavy winter, in which both sides endeavored to build new warships, the largest joint operation between the U.S. Army and Navy took place since their inception, via the Battle of York. It was here that Chauncey's squadron, along with 1,700 ground troops, was successful in its attack on the Canadian port. The British were forced to withdraw and an aging schooner, the Duke of Gloucester, was captured and put to use as a floating magazine. Following his success, Chauncey led his squadron to capture Fort George, which caused the British to relinquish control of the lake for the rest of the war.

Brown was promoted to Commander on March 1st, 1815. In 1825 he was promoted to Captain. Printed on heavy velum, his captain commission accompanies the flag. It is great interest to note that this was signed by President James Monroe on March 3rd of that year, his very last day in office.

At his death on 28 November 1828, Brown left a widow, Emma Brown, and two children, Eliza and Isaac. A note penned and initialed by Emma accompanies the flag. Inscribed with a dip pen on blue ruled paper, the note was probably written shortly following her husband's death. The first patent for lined paper stems back to 1770 and the first use of blue lined paper began around 1820. By the 1830's and 40's it was extremely common.

Provenance: Brown family to US book trade; sold to a European collector 1998.

Mounting: The flag has been hand-stitched to 100% silk organza for support. It was then hand-sewn to a background of 100% hemp fabric. The mount was then placed in a black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed Italian molding. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic. A partial sandwich-mount was undertaken for additional support.

Condition: There are losses throughout, accompanied by minor foxing and staining.
Collector Level: Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count: 15
Earliest Date of Origin: 1792
Latest Date of Origin: 1814
State/Affiliation: Kentucky
War Association: 1777-1860 Pre-Civil War
Price: SOLD
 

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