| FORKED SWALLOWTAIL PENNANT OF THE U.S. NAVY RESERVE FORCE MERCHANT MARINE, EXTREMELY RARE & BEAUTIFULLY GRAPHIC, MADE AT MARE ISLAND, CALIFORNIA, SIGNED & DATED |
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| Web ID: | ofj-1011 |
| Available: | In Stock |
| Frame Size (H x L): | 48.25" x 96.25" |
| Flag Size (H x L): | 35.5" x 84" |
| Description: | |
| The U.S. Naval Reserve Force Merchant Marine pennant was authorized by way of U.S. Navy General Order No. 285 on April 14th, 1917. The purpose of the signal is to be flown aboard ships in port, during wartime, that have been approved by the Secretary of the Navy as suitable for wartime service. Craft sanctioned for this line of duty were limited to those where both the commander, and at least half of his/her subordinate officers, were members of the U.S. Naval Reserve Force. The combination of the shape and color of the flag, and the device itself, are, together, stunningly beautiful. Something about the arch of the upward-stretched wings, the raised brow of the eagle’s shapely crown, and its dominance over the comparatively narrow profile of the shield and crossed anchors, in combination with the contrast of white and red against navy blue, on the sleek form of the large pennant, with its deep, forked swallowtail, makes for a artistically powerful piece of American flag-making and history. The blue ground is constructed of wool bunting that has been pieced and hemmed by machine. All of the elements of the device are made of wool bunting and are double-appliqued (applied to both sides) with a zigzag machine stitch. The eye of the eagle was machine-embroidered. There is a sailcloth canvas binding along the hoist, with 4 white metal grommets, along which, on the reverse, a black inked stencil reads: “NAVAL RESERVE NO 3 MI 47.” The distinction “No 3” corresponds to a size designation employed by the navy on all of its signals. Though the initials “MI,” though largely blocked by the hole and grommet that cover them, is a known and expected mark for a Navy flag of this era. Located on the western edge of the City of Vallejo, about 23 miles northeast of San Francisco, Mare Island (actually a peninsula) served as a principal seat of U.S. Navy defense, beginning in the mid-19th century. The Navy made its own flags at this location, which they generally signed and dated. “47” denotes manufacture in 1947, in the wake of WWII (U.S. involvement 1941-45). In theory, the proximate use of this flag was very large. Warranted during WWI, the design is still authorized today, more than 100 years hence. Thousands of ships are likely to have qualified to be flagged with the signal, though in spite of these facts, I had never before seen an example of it until I acquired this one. Origins of the U.S. Navy, the Merchant Marine Reserve, and the U.S. Navy Reserve: The roots of merchant marines in America can be traced to at least the early 18th century, in the citizen sailors who acted at times of need to protect merchant ships from piracy. When the Revolution began, in 1775, most of the men gathered to serve in the Continental Navy, to man the scattering of purchased, leased, and captured vessels, of which it was comprised, were paid merchantmen as opposed to enlisted and commissioned sailors. Without the financial resources to build ships, the total number of craft employed by the Continental Navy during the war was 66, and the maximum at one point during the war was 31 (1777). The importance of trade and the transport of supplies was keenly understood by our forefathers. One in four signers of the Declaration of Independence either currently or previously owned merchant ships, or had captained one. Unlike the circumstances present in the land-based, civilian militia companies, called forth to populate the Continental Army, there were no comparable maritime organizations to be tapped for service in the Continental Navy. Private merchant captains and their crew members were instead individually hired or volunteered. Two years after the war’s end, in 1785, the meager American Navy was disbanded and its ships, sold to pay debts to France. Though a standing navy was formed 9 years later, in 1894, merchant marines continued to play a major role in every war that followed. The extreme popularity of local and state militia companies—moreover fraternal / social in nature—that swept America during the mid-19th century, once again did not extend to maritime activity. It wasn’t until around 1890 that nautical militia groups developed. During the Spanish-American War (1898), when they were called upon to assist, the benefit of having access to groups of skilled and organized sailors was keenly understood. The names of the evolving organizations that constituted reserves of the American Navy contribute significantly to a clear understanding of their roles, development, and how they function. In 1913, as the nation prepared for a very different type of war, the Navy helped form what would become the Merchant Marine Reserve, though at the time was formally titled the “Naval Auxiliary Reserve.” Growth of the nation, with the government’s own consumption of goods, operation of waterways, transport of materials, officials and staff, required an ever-growing numbers of ships and civilians to man them. This incorporated everything from tugboats, transports, ferries, and dredges, to deep sea oil tankers. Supplying the armed forces, especially crucial during wartime, required both direct and indirect participation of civilian mariners. For this reason, the importance of having competent personnel, trained not only in merchant operations, but in military requirements, procedures, etc., was imperative for effective and efficient Navy support. As war approached, the need for a something beyond a volunteer civilian auxiliary of merchant sailors grew. On March 3rd, 1915, an Act of Congress appropriated funding for the United States Naval Reserve Force (USNRF), of which the Naval Auxiliary Reserve became a part (insofar as the organization and training provided by the Navy to merchant mariners was administered within). “Force” is the operable word that distinguished the new functions of the entity, that incorporated part time, Navy-trained personnel, with various military expertise, that could be called into active duty if needed. Between wars, the standing U.S. Navy was but a tiny fraction of what was required during wartime. In 1912, for example, the number of enlisted men was approx. 50,000. War commenced in Europe in 1914 and America entered the fray in 1917. By war’s end, in 1918, through a combination of drafts and enlistments, the number of Navy personnel swelled to somewhere between 450,000 and 500,000 (depending on the source), reaching approximately 600,000 by the time of the Armistice. During the war, members of the USNRF constituted approximately 54% of participating sailors. In 1920, a Merchant Marine act was passed, known as the Jones Act, aimed at regulating U.S. domestic shipping. This required vessels in U.S. ports to be U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-crewed, in the interest of both economic and national security. In 1925, the titles of the civilian versus military segments were clarified, when that of the Naval Auxiliary Reserve (est. 1913) became the Merchant Marine Naval Reserve. In 1936, Congress passed another Merchant Marine Act that established the United States Maritime Commission, which subsidized the building and modernization of American merchant ships, and the training of their crews, in anticipation of U.S. involvement in WWII. A part of this was the Merchant Marine Cadet Corps. Established in 1938 to improve the competency, structure, and appearance of the U.S. Merchant Marine, which led to the establishment its own academy for officer cadets in 1943 at King’s Point, NY. Unlike the other academies, graduates receive automatic officer commissions in the Navy or Coast Guard (most common), or any of the 4 other branches of the armed forces, or officer commissions in the two uniformed civilian services, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (Dept. of Commerce) and the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (Dept. of Health & Human Svcs). During WWII (U.S. involvement 1941-45), the Navy Reserve comprised 84% of all sailors in active service. Because military supply lines and transport were so crucial, merchant ships were major targets. The U.S. Merchant Marine actually suffered a greater number of casualties than any branch of the American armed services. More than 700 American merchant ships were sunk during WWII by direct enemy action, which led to the loss of about 9,500 Merchant Marines, a number that constituted about 1 in every 26 who served in such capacity. More About Mare Island: The site for Mare Island was selected following an expedition that set forth in 1850, when Commodore John Drake Sloat was ordered to lead a survey party in quest of a logical site for the nation's first Pacific naval installation. Sloat recommended the island across the Napa River from the settlement of Vallejo; it being "free from ocean gales and from floods and freshets." On November 6th of that year, two months after California was admitted to statehood, President Fillmore reserved Mare Island for government use. The U.S. Navy Department acted favorably on Commodore Sloat's recommendations and Mare Island was purchased in July, 1852, for the sum of $83,410 for the use as a naval shipyard. Two years later, on September 16th of 1854, Mare Island became the first permanent U.S. naval installation on the West Coast, with Commodore David G. Farragut serving as Mare Island's first base commander. The base became home to what was known as the Pacific Fleet, and remained so until the threat of Japanese expansionism caused the shift to a more advanced position at Pearl Harbor. It was very active in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, but would eventually close in 1993 after Congress approved the findings of the Base Realignment and Closure Report. 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 mount was placed in a deep, cove-shaped molding with a surface that is very dark brown in color, nearly black, with a rope-style inner lip, reddish undertones and highlights, to which a deep, gilded, shadowbox molding, with a step-down, beveled profile and a matching, dark brown exterior, was added as a cap. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic (Plexiglas). Feel free to inquire for more details. Condition: There is extremely minor mothing throughout, accompanied by a couple of minor instances of the same, one along the lower edge, a little ways out from the hoist, and a small cluster in the opposite, fly end corner, along the top edge. The overall condition is excellent for a wool flag of this period and of this scale. Many of my clients prefer early flags to show their age. |
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| Collector Level: | Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything |
| Flag Type: | Sewn flag |
| Star Count: | |
| Earliest Date of Origin: | 1947 |
| Latest Date of Origin: | 1947 |
| State/Affiliation: | California |
| War Association: | WW 2 |
| Price: | Please call (717) 676-0545 or (717) 502-1281 |
| E-mail: | info@jeffbridgman.com |
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