 Homemade
flags of the Civil War period are some of the most folky
and interesting American flags ever made. The war
period was extremely emotional for Americans, and their
patriotism and dedication on both sides of the cause led
to an unprecedented wide spread creation of both
American and Confederate flags. This beautiful
medallion of 36 stars was made, according to family
tradition, by the Baumgardner-Hufford family in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, at a time when Confederate troops were
occupying York, Pennsylvania. A wonderful note
accompanies the flag. It was written in 1960 by Jo
Weed, and reads:Aunt
Jo's mother--Clara Louise Baumgardener Hufford's flag.
"During the Civil War when Lancaster, Pa. was in
danger of the Southern army marching into Lancaster via
York, (before Gettysburg), Anna Louise Kurtz Baumgardner
(Mother's mother) got her young daughters (Mother + Aunt
Anna Cross) and their friends to make this flag out of
materials she had--to keep the girls busy and less
frightened." "The flagpole is in the laundry."
The design of the flag is endearing. Its large,
puffy central star is surrounded by two wreaths of stars
and groupings of two or, in the case of the bottom left
corner, three stars, in the corners of the canton.
The canton rests on the "blood stripe", which is often
thought to be a trait associated flags made during war
time. It extends just four stripes high, and is
sewn into the fifth red stripe. The white stripes
and stars of the flag are made of cotton fabric, and the
red stripes and blue canton are made of a very fine,
soft merino wool fabric, rather than a coarse wool
bunting typically seen on flags of the era. The
mix of fabrics matches the oral description of the flag
as being made from materials that they had at hand, an
aspect that makes such rare
homemade flags of the Civil War period so endearing. The
crude irregularly cut stars and imperfect stitching also
is wonderful evidence that the young girls were involved
in making the flag. The flag has
all of the endearing charm one would wish for in a
homemade flag of the Civil War, and is a wonderful
example of a Civil War period medallion flag and an
important flag in the Rare Flags collection.
Note: Another letter,
written by Caroline M. Hufford-Anderson in August, 2002,
provides additional information about the Jo Weed's
notes: "Written by Josephine Hufford Weed before her
death in about 1965 (possibly 1966 or 1967). The Hufford
family, Rev. Rufus Huffort + his wife Clara lived in
Reading PA at 122 N. Fifth St. in a big house with their
daughters Anna, Josephine, Arie, and two or possibly
three more whose names I cannot recall, and their son
Rufus, called "Rip". He survived the sinking of a
torpedoed ship--[was it the Lusitania? or another?] off
the coast of Ireland at the beginning of World War I,
and wrote an interesting account of his adventures which
is somewhere in the collected papers of Howard S.
Hufford." |
