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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. 33.5" x 43"
Flag Size (H x L): 22.25" x 31.5"
Description....:
United States Navy jack with 48 stars, made during WWII (U.S. involvement 1941-45) at Mare Island, California, former Headquarters of the Pacific Fleet. A black stamp or stencil along the binding, on the reverse, reads as follows: "Union Jack No. 9 MI 44." Heavily flown, with all of the hallmarks of legitimate, wartime use, the extensive yet endearing wear includes not only loss of the hem along the fly, with associated fraying, but the loss of the entire column of stars that followed, as well as remnants of grey paint from the hull or deck of the craft.

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.

While the technical name for this type of flag is 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 national design commonly referred to by that name is actually the "Union Flag," though practically no one uses that title or is even familiar with the term. The only time that it can be properly called the "Union Jack" is when the flag is, in fact, flown as the jack on a British Navy ship, from whence name derived. British ships 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 solid field of the corresponding color, with the ‘Union Flag’ design in the upper, hoist end corner to serve as a canton. The use of the Union Flag as the jack on Royal Navy ships thus employs the same logic as using the blue field with stars (without the red and white striped field) as the American jack.

While U.S. involvement in the Second World War (1941-45) necessitated the acquisition of flags from many sources, the Navy had long made their own flags at several locations, of which Mare Island was one. 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.

The body of the flag is made of wool bunting. The top and bottom edges are hemmed with machine stitching. There is a heavy, sailcloth canvas binding along the hoist, with 2 brass grommets. The general manner in which the flag is made, with heavy, high grade fabrics and uncommonly stout construction, is indicative of U.S. Navy flags of the WWI-WWII era. The triangular patches of wool at the top and bottom of the hoist are called gussets. These are original to the flag's construction and were added for reinforcement at the points where it was subject to the most wear. The stars are block-printed or stenciled in white paint, thickly applied. 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.

Although the specific history of this flag has sadly been lost to time, the fact that it displays proper evidence of having been flown for an extended period is unusual among surviving examples. Most flags of this nature, brought home by sailors, were ships stores and never saw wartime service. Endearing wear from legitimate use, especially during wartime, is a characteristic appreciated by many in the world of flag collecting.

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.

Provenance: Exhibited in the office of United States Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in the Hubert Humphrey Building, Washington, DC, from April 12th, 2025 – March, 2026, as part of an ongoing free loan exhibition to the U.S. Dept. of Health from Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques, Inc.

Mounting: For 25 years we have maintained a specialized department for this purpose. Our lead conservator holds a master's degree in textile conservation from one of the nation’s top university programs. We take great care in the mounting and preservation of flags and related textiles and have preserved thousands of examples.

The background is 100% hemp fabric, ivory in color. The mount was placed in a dark brown, cove-shaped molding with a wood grain surface and reddish highlights, to which a black-painted, hand-gilded and distressed Italian molding was added as a cap. A shadowbox was created to accommodate the ties, which have a three-dimensional fold. The glazing is U.V. protective acrylic (Plexiglas). Feel free to contact us for more details.

Condition: There is significant loss at the fly end, including an entire column of 6 stars, as described above. There are losses that reach into one star in what is presently the last column, and there is cracking of the paint with associated paint loss elsewhere in the stars. There is modest to moderate soiling along the binding, accompanied by paint transfer from the ship. Many of my clients prefer early flags to show their age and history of use, especially when the presentation translates this well and is pleasing to the eye.
Collector Level: Intermediate-Level Collectors and Special Gifts
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count: 43
Earliest Date of Origin: 1944
Latest Date of Origin: 1944
State/Affiliation: California
War Association: WW 2
Price: SOLD
 

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