This folky American
flag dates to the end of the Civil War. There are
several features of this flag that indicate that it may
be a replacement color for a Union Army unit, possibly a
company. The flag is similar in size and shape to
known Union Army company colors, which tended to be
rectangular rather than the nearly square shape of a
regiment. The canton of the flag is taller than it
is wide, which is a particular trait of known on other
military colors from the Civil War era. The
strongest indicator that this is a military flag is the
presence of a souvenired star from the blue field.
Souveniring is typically encountered on wartime flags,
and is a military tradition where members of the unit
will cut pieces of the flag to commemorate the war or
the loss of an officer or high ranking member of a unit.
Souvenired flag pieces surface occasionally in the
marketplace as relics from the Civil War. Replacement
colors were made to replace an issued unit flag if the
unit lost their primary flag either in battle or due to
wear and tear. The stars of this flag are hand
sewn and double-appliqué, and the stripes of the flag
are treadle sewn with a fine stitch. The entire
flag is made of cotton, with the canton being a
beautiful royal blue color. Although the specific
history of the flag is lost, the flag was acquired for
the Rare Flags collection from a Civil War dealer who
had purchased it, along with other military
collectables, from a long time Civil War collector.
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