Jeff Bridgman Antique Flags
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  WAR-PERIOD CONFEDERATE FLAG IN THE FIRST NATIONAL PATTERN (a.k.a., STARS & BARS), IN A TINY SIZE, WITH AN ELONGATED PROFILE, AND 11 STARS ARRANGED IN AN UNUSUAL, RECTANGULAR MEDALLION; ENTIRELY HAND-SEWN, MADE BETWEEN MAY - NOVEMBER, 1861

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): Approx. 28" x 47.5"
Flag Size (H x L): 16.75" x 40" unfurled
Description....:
Confederate flag in the First National design with an array of beautiful and unusual features. Chief among these are star configuration and its proportions, as well as its size.

Made sometime between May and November of 1861, the opening year of the Civil War, when 11 states had seceded and were accepted into the Confederate States of America, the flag’s 11 stars are arranged in an extremely unusual pattern. This consists of a rectangular fence of 10 stars, about the perimeter, with a single star in the center. In American national flags with 13 stars, this configuration is called the Trumbull pattern, nicknamed after the artist John Trumbull (1746-1853), Harvard graduate and son of the Governor of Connecticut, who for a time served as George Washington's aide-de-camp, then as Deputy Adjutant General on the staff of one of his most famous generals, Horatio Gates. Resigning his military commission in 1777, Trumbull went to England to study art under American expatriate Benjamin West, then returned to America to paint historic American images. Trumbull is known to have included flags with their stars arranged this way, in paintings of Washington that he completed post-war, between approximately 1789 and 1831. Although the flags may not have actually been present in any the Revolutionary War scenes that Trumbull was illustrating, the name was adopted by vexillologists as a means to identify this star arrangement, rare among surviving counterparts.

Entirely hand-sewn throughout, the stars are made of plain weave cotton and are double-appliquéd (applied to both sides). Oriented in various directions on their vertical axis, note how their crude and interesting shapes exhibit great folk qualities, with arched valleys and rather pointy arms, of various lengths, directed this way and that.

Both the blue canton and the red bars are made of wool bunting, a fabric used widely by commercial flag-makers and ship’s chandlers, in flags made for long-term outdoor use. The center bar is likewise of wool, but of a denser variety, more appropriate for heavy garments or upholstery and not at all common in the manufacture of flags. Note that two lengths of blue wool were used to construct the canton, in spite of its small size. This reflects an efficient use of scarce materials, presumably whatever was available.

The hoist end was turned over and hemmed in a traditional fashion. There is no formal binding, which is in no way unusual for a flag of this scale, if carried on foot, but would be extremely uncommon for a ship’s flag.

Note the exaggerated length of the flag, which contributes to its uncommon appearance. Proportions such as these were rather expected in early American naval flags, presumably so they would trail out behind a ship, as opposed to getting entangled in the sails below. Those carried by ground forces were traditionally square, so that the colors could be as large as possible, but not drag on the ground. Curiously, this historical distribution of proportions for maritime vs. land use was less consistent in Confederate colors than it was in flags of the Union Army. In the North, regulation battle flags were to be 6 x 6.5 feet, and while there were many deviations from this, very few carried flags that were unusually long and narrow. In the South, however, inconsistency was rampant. Among identified 1st National pattern flags of the Confederacy is a conspicuous group of grossly elongated banners carried by infantry, especially in the war’s Western Theater and most notably by Tennessee units. At approximately 8 feet on the fly, these would have been very cumbersome to handle on the battlefield, requiring a very tall staff, greater strength to carry, and with far greater risk of damage and/or entanglement.

At approximately 17” on the hoist by 40” on the fly, the elongated proportions of this particular flag are especially atypical for one of such a small size, as well as one apparently made for use on land. Presumably constructed for use as a flank-marker or guidon, or as camp colors, it is not only a visually striking example from a visual standpoint, but at the same time more versatile than almost any Confederate flag likely produced for military use, in terms of modern indoor display by a collector. When selecting a flag, the most limiting factor is often not its length, but its height. An unusually long and narrow format is thus preferred over a traditional one. Although it has no specific history, the strength of its presentation makes for a wonderful example, and the profile of this flag likewise made it possible to mount it with a rippled surface, adding yet another factor of visual impact to its display.

A Brief History of Confederate Flag Design:
The Confederate States of America (CSA) adopted three successive national flag designs between 1861-1865. The first of these looked much like the Stars & Stripes. Nicknamed the "Stars & Bars" by Confederate soldiers, as a play on the nickname of the American national flag, this was adopted by the CSA legislature on March 4th, 1861, when in session at the temporary capitol of Montgomery, Alabama. The flag initially consisted of 7 white stars arranged on a blue canton and three linear bars in red-white-red. The star count reflected the initial wave of secession, which occurred approximately one month prior, on February 7th, in conjunction with the adoption of the CSA’s provisional constitution. As more states seceded, more stars were added, with a total of 11 seceding in an official manner, ratified, when required, by popular or legislative vote. The count of 11 was retained from roughly May of 1861 until late November, when the States of Missouri and Kentucky were formally accepted by Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the CSA legislature, in spite of being Border States with more divided views and without formal achievement of secession.

Use of the Stars & Stripes and the Stars & Bars on the same battlefield led to great confusion, precipitating change to something far easier to distinguish. The Southern Cross battle flag began to be introduced in the late fall of 1861. Though the Confederate legislature refused to sanction the design, it was approved at the field level by Confederate General Joe Johnston, who refused to permit his men to continue to be killed by friendly fire, mistaking their own flags for Union Army banners.

Many people are surprised to learn that the most widely recognized Confederate design was never actually the national flag of the CSA. In rectangular format it did officially serve as the Confederate Navy Jack, displayed when a CSA ship was at port or anchor. It square format, it soon began to be called “Confederate battle flag,” however, of the “Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia,” because it was first carried by the much-loved General Robert E. Lee and his army of that name. Though many flag designs were used in the South, the Southern Cross battle flag was thereafter adopted in many variants, some square, some rectangular, in every state throughout the Confederacy.

The CSA adopted a second national flag design on May 26th, 1863. Known as the Stainless Banner, it was white in color, with the Southern Cross adopted to serve as its canton. Soldiers and officers disliked this design because it looked too much like a surrender flag, especially if a unit that was carrying it head-on with no cross wind. The myth became that, given the opportunity, soldiers would dip the fly end of the stainless banner in blood, the first chance it had to do so. The reality, however, was that there was practically no use of this flag by ground forces. It did, however, see some use at sea.

36 days before the war’s end a red vertical bar was added at the fly end and the result became the third national design. This was called the “blood stained banner”, but officially the red did not represent blood. Rather it paid homage to France, which lent aid to the South during the war, because if one were to replace the first third of the third Confederate national flag with a vertical blue bar, the result would be the French tri-color, the national flag of France.

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 flag was mounted and framed by us in-house. It has been hand-stitched to 100% silk organza throughout (flat-lined) for support. It was then hand-stitched to a background of 100% cotton twill, black in color, that was washed and treated for colorfastness. This was done in a rippled manner for visual effect, making sure to support the textile throughout the undulating surface with archival materials. The mount was placed in a black-painted and hand-gilded molding with its wide, shaped profile is Italian. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic (Plexiglas).

Condition: There is minor fabric breakdown in the upper, hoist and corner of the canton, where the flag was once tacked to a wooden staff. There is modest to moderate soiling in the stars and in the white bar, as well as in the red stripes. Many of my clients prefer early flags to show their age and history of use.
Collector Level: Flags for the truest Patriots. My best offerings
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count: 11
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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