December 15, 2020 Edged Weapons, Armor & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/15/2020
This is a very nice example of the U.S. flag as flown during the first half of the Civil War, in use from January 1861 with the admission of Kansas as a state until the admission of West Virginia in 1863. Technically, a new flag would not be official until the July 4th following a state’s admission to the Union, but few flag makers would continue to make flags destined to be outdated in months, and few patriots would hesitate to fly one with a new star for a state whose admission seemed soon and certain. And, a parsimonious owner might continue to fly an older one for some time. So, there is some leeway in dating both production and use. West Virginia was on the road to admission in July 1862 with the Senate’s approval of its entry conditioned on its acceptance of a state constitutional amendment on emancipation. The House approved it in December. West Virginia ratified the amendment in March 1863, and Lincoln announced its admission in June. July 4, 1863, would then be the official date for its replacement by the 35-star flag.
The flag is bunting, 66 inches on the hoist by 103 inches on the fly. The stars are arranged 7,7,6,7,7 and are five-pointed cut-out style, sewn to one side of the blue canton with the fabric cut away under them to make them visible from both sides. The canvas hoist has three brass grommets, correct for the period, and bears the name “Kellogg” nicely written once in brown ink and the name “Buckmaster” written twice, and once “Buck,” obviously an incomplete attempt. No identification on either name is available. The flag does not conform to a particular military specification, but is absolutely of the period. CONDITION: Very good. One repair to the upper hoist by sewing on a piece of fabric as reinforcement. Slight fraying to top corner of fly edge. Minor dirt and stains. A few small holes or thinning to fabric. Color is excellent. This would make a wonderful backdrop for a Civil War collection or could be judiciously pleated to display the full canton and stripes at shorter length for an easier wall mount. SR
Item Dimensions: 17" x 14" x 3"