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  48 STAR U.S. NAVY JACK, MADE AT MARE ISLAND, CALIFORNIA, FORMER HEADQUARTERS OF THE PACIFIC FLEET, DURING WWII; SIGNED & DATED 1944

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): Approx. 33" x 45"
Flag Size (H x L): 22.25" x 34.25
Description....:
United States Navy jack with 48 stars, made during WWII (U.S. involvement 1941-45) at Mare Island, California, Headquarters of the Pacific Fleet. A black stencil along the hoist on the reverse side reads as follows: "Union Jack No. 9 MI [Mare Island] 44." Brief History of Mare Island:
Located about 23 miles northeast of San Francisco, Mare Island (actually a peninsula) became a seat of U.S. Navy defense in 1852, in the wake of California’s admission as the 31st state (1850). The site was proposed by Commodore John Drake Sloat, a prominent U.S. Navy officer who, in 1848, had embarked at Monterey and claimed the former Mexican ‘Alta California’ Territory for the United States, with the support of explorer and former U.S. Army Engineer, John Fremont, who arrived on the same day, in the employment of one America’s most powerful senators, Railroad Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. Two years later, Sloat received orders to lead a survey party in search of a logical site for the nation's first Pacific naval installation. The result was his recommendation that it be situated on the ‘island’ that lay beyond the Napa River, on the western edge of the settlement of Vallejo, which at that time served as the state’s principle seat of government. Sloat selected the location, being "free from ocean gales and from floods and freshets." On November 6th 1852, two years after California gained statehood, President Fillmore reserved Mare Island for government use by Executive Order. Acting favorably on Sloat’s report, U.S. Navy purchased Mare Island, in July of 1853, for the sum of $83,410, for use as a naval shipyard.* Two years later, on September 16th of 1854, it became the first permanent U.S. naval installation on the West Coast, with Commodore David G. Farragut serving as its first 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. Very active in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, it closed in 1993, following congressional approval of recommendations contained in the Base Realignment and Closure Report.

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 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 American 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 Stars & Stripes ensign with which it was flown.

This particular example is made of wool bunting that has been bound with machine stitching. The stars are block-printed or stenciled in white paint. This is a known technique in use in the manufacture of U.S. naval ensigns at the time and can be seen on other Mare Island flags. There is a heavy canvas binding along the hoist with two white metal grommets.

While the technical name for this type of flag was a "union jack," the confusing verbiage, being the same as the nickname of the most recognizable British flag, has resulted in a common shortening of the term to simply "the jack". Interestingly enough, the British Union Jack is not the proper name for that signal either. The design commonly called the "Union Jack" is actually the "Union Flag," though practically no one uses or is even familiar with the term. The only time that it can be properly called the "Union Jack" is when it is, in fact, flown as the jack on a British Navy ship. Because the British fly various national flags: the white ensign (Royal Navy), blue ensign (non-navy ships in public service), and red ensign (merchant ships), each of which is composed of a wide field the corresponding color, with the Union Flag design as its canton, the use of the Union Flag as the jack on Royal Navy ships employs the same logic as using the blue field with stars, without the red and white striped field, as the American jack.

The 48 star flag became official in 1912 following the addition of New Mexico and Arizona. 48 remained the official star count throughout WWI (U.S. involvement 1917-18), WWII, and the Korean War (1950-53), until Alaska gained statehood in 1959 and the 49th star was added.

* When the Navy bought Mare Island, it belonged to one of its own, Lieutenant Commander William Pope McArthur, a U.S. Navy hydrographer, who had previously surveyed the island, and, in 1850, bought it from its Mexican owner, with a consortium of private investors. Per the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, that ended the Mexican War, legal owners of private land, in areas seized by or otherwise transferred to the United States, retained their original ownership.

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 presentation of flags and have preserved thousands of examples.

The background is 100% hemp fabric or a hemp and cotton blend (we use both interchangeably). The mount was placed in a black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed Italian molding. The glazing is U.V. protective plexiglass. Feel free to contact us for more details.

Condition: There is very minor mothing and there is minor staining along the hoist binding, but there are no serious condition issues. Fabric of similar coloration was placed behind the flag during the mounting process for masking purposes.
Collector Level: Beginners and Holiday Gift Giving
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count: 48
Earliest Date of Origin: 1944
Latest Date of Origin: 1944
State/Affiliation: California
War Association: WW 2
Price: SOLD
 

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