|
 Although the specific
history of this flag is not known, beyond that it was
found at the Alden House, located at 63 Church Street,
Belfast, Maine, the flag itself has
some intriguing characteristics indicating that the flag
is more than meets the eye. During the time of the
Civil War, thirteen star flags in this pattern were
manufactured and used aboard small boats of the American
Navy. The hand sewn cotton stars, with their
haphazard rotating on their axis, along with the
whip-stitched grommets of the hoist, are good indicators
that this is an early flag of the type, likely from the
Civil War era. At first, I thought that the flag
simply had sustained damage, causing its fly end and
lower stripe to disintegrate, thus explaining the
losses. But the complete loss of an entire stripe
is something I have not seen before, and on those wool
flags that I've seen and have in the collection that
sustain wind damage for a prolonged period, the wool is
typically frayed and hair-like. On this flag, the
fly end losses seem to be cut, rather than simply the
result of natural wear in the wind. Also, flags,
as always, are treasured by those who keep them, and a
flag such as this, that may have sustained such
significant damage, would have more likely been
repaired, than simply left in this state. For this
reason, I am very confident that this flag was
intentionally souvenired, where the fragments of the
flag were intentionally removed and given to one or more
sailors as mementos of their time in service during the
Civil War. Flag fragments that were souvenired
during the Civil War turn up occasionally in the market.
Although we will likely never know the specific details
about this flag's service, its losses due to souveniring
are ample evidence that the flag saw action in that
terrible war. |
