December 15, 2020 Edged Weapons, Armor & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/15/2020
A handsome blue silk flag or standard, 55 1/2 inches hoist by 58 inches fly (inclusive of 2-inch long, yellow silk fringe border on three sides), bearing the words "ALL VETERANS" in large, block letters at top and "1861 TO 1865" at bottom, between which are six rows of eight stars each, all in gilt paint, stencil-applied to the silk ground on both sides; the hoist side has silk ties for attaching it to a flagstaff. The reverse of the flag has been conservation-mounted to a piece of matching blue linen by a textile conservator for safe exhibition and handling and can be easily reversed without harm to the flag. The Kearsarge Association of Naval Veterans was formed in 1867 by US Navy veterans of the Civil War living in New England, primarily those who had served on saltwater vessels during the war. Its name was inspired by the USS Kearsage, a steam sloop built at the Portsmouth Naval Yard and commissioned in 1862 that became the most famous sail/steam warship of the Navy, having defeated and sunk the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama off Cherbourg in 1864. The Kearsage Association was headquartered in Boston and broadened its membership later to include a wider membership base of Civil War and later naval veterans. This flag was commissioned in circa 1912 by the Association for use at its annual reunions and otherwise was displayed at its headquarters in Boston; it was later deaccessioned and sold at auction. CONDITION: Some faded areas diagonally across the flag from its long display on a flagstaff for many decades, with a few small splits in silk (repaired by conservator) from the strain of such prior display. JLK
Item Dimensions: 17" x 15"