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  EXTREMELY RARE, LOUISIANA SECESSIONIST, CONFEDERATE PROTOTYPE FLAG, CIRCA 1861

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 27.25" x 32.25"
Flag Size (H x L): 19" x 22"
Description....:
EXTREMELY RARE, LOUISIANA SECESSIONIST, CONFEDERATE PROTOTYPE FLAG, WITH SIX STARS IN TWO CRESCENTS CIRCA 1861:

Before the adoption of the 1st national flag design (a.k.a. the Stars & Bars) on March 4, 1861, there was both creativity and confusion surrounding what form the new flag of the Confederacy should take. There was little clarity, but there was both state-associated patriotism and more generalized southern affection.

While unique among known examples, this particular flag bears some relationship to others of its kind. Most notable is a flag in the Mastai Collection, documented in their book "The Stars & The Stripes" (Knopf Press, 1973). Like the Mastai flag, this example also lacks a canton. Instead it employs the top left of the stripes as a place to affix the stars. On this flag, the stars are placed in the upper left corner in two backwards-facing crescents. Four of the stars fall within the top stripe, while the other two fall within the stripe below it. This is unusual and, as far as I am aware, is unique to this example.

Note how the flag is an adaptation of the French flag, turned on end so the blue, white and red (rouge) bars are horizontal. This and the fact that the flag uses 6 stars are the keys to its identification. The count of six represents Louisiana, the sixth state to secede from the Union.

Louisiana adopted its ordinance of secession at the state capital of Baton Rouge on January 26, 1861, followed just five days later by Texas on February 1st. Three days later, on February 4th, delegates from the seven states met in Montgomery, AL to write the Confederate constitution, which was ratified on March 11th. This is why Louisiana and balance total of seven states that had thus far joined the Confederacy are said to have technically left the Union together in what is called "the first wave of secession." The remaining four states that officially seceded did not leave the Union until the period between April and May of the same year, following the April 12th attack on Ft. Sumter that signified the formal outbreak of war.

At least two other flags are known to exist with six stars. Both of these are adaptations of the Stars & Stripes, however, which makes this example distinctly different. The flag is testament not only to the individuality in homemade Confederate designs, but also to the outstanding folk qualities sometimes present in early American flags.

Construction: The flag is constructed entirely of silk and is bound on three sides with a beautiful a silk fringe. The stripes are joined in a highly unusual fashion, having been almost woven together as opposed to sewn. The stars of the flag are pieced with a treadle machine and single-appliqued. This means that they are applied to one side of the flag, then a cutout is made on the reverse and the edges are bound, so that one star can be seen on both sides. Though the 1855, mass-marketed sewing machine was used liberally in the piecing of stripes during the Civil War period, seamstresses evidently found it very difficult to turn the flag, pump the treadle with their foot, and set out upon the advanced task of appliqueing stars.

Mounting: This is a sandwich mount between 100% cotton velvet and u.v. protective plexiglas. The black fabric was washed and treated to reduce and set the dye. The mount was then placed in a gilded from that dates to the 1820-1850 period.

Condition: There are splits in the silk fabric. Most silk flags of this period have experienced significant breakdown due to addition of weighting agents that were caustic to the fabric over time. These were added by silk merchants, increasing the amount of money that could be obtained for the fabric when it started to be sold by the pound instead of by length. The splits and associated loss are expected and the great rarity of the flag warrants almost any condition.
Collector Level: Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count: Other
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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