UCSC Board of Councilors, Rare Flags, Exhibit, 2012

13 Star U.S. Flag - Revolutionary & Early Federal Period. This flag is one of one of a few known Revolutionary era flags with the stars arranged in a single ring around a larger center star. Contemporary illustrations from the 1780s indicate that the 13 stars were often arranged as a circle of 12 around a single central star.

33 Star U.S. Storm Ensign - 1st U.S. Flag captured in Civil War at Pensacola, & USN officer recapture, January 1861 THE FIRST AMERICAN FLAG CAPTURED DURING THE CIVIL WAR. This iconic ghost of an American flag is the earliest documented captured flag from the American Civil War.

U.S. 24 Star Pennsylvania Militia color 1822 - 1836 - 6 Point Silver Stars. One of the half dozen oldest flags of Pennsylvania surviving depicting the national flag. Later in the conflict, on April 2, 1865, the 54th Pennsylvania Unit. Volunteers broke through the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia recaptured this flag.

Gen. Philip Sheridan's Personal Silk Battle Guidon 1864 This flag indicated Gen. Sheridan's personal presence on the field. This flag accompanied Sheridan through all phases of the Shenandoah Valley and Appomattox Campaigns in which he led and rallied his troops through some of the thickest fighting of the war.

Gen. Philip Sheridan's Personal U.S. 35 Star Cavalry Headquarters Flag - 1864 This 35 star silk United States national flag (1863-1865) was used during the American Civil War by Major General Philip Sheridan as both the Cavalry Corps Commander of the Army of the Potomac and the Commanding General of the Army of the Shenandoah (1864 -1865).

"Sheridan's Ride" Print, by Thulstrup de Thures, published by Louis Prang, 1887. A striking print of an artists depiction of General Sheridan running the lines of Union troops in 1864. This print is labelled as Sheridan's Ride from Winchester to Cedar Creek.

General George A. Custer's Third Personal Civil War Cavalry Guidon. This flag was only flown when Custer was on the field. This was one of Custer's more famous flags, as it served with him in the Civil War while commanding the US 3rd Cavalry Division from 1864-1865.

General George A. Custer's Headquarters Command designating Guidon, 3rd Div. Cavalry Dic., 1864 General Custer commanded the 3rd Cavalry Division in 1864 thru the end of the Civil War 1865. This flag served with Custer during this period along side his Personal guidon (see ZFC0489)

Photo of General Custer, his wife and staff taken by William H. Bowlsby. Photo taken at the M.Y. Mason mansion, Winchester, Virginia, on the 25th of December, 1864. Custer had made this house his headquarters in Winchester. His two guidons are clearly visible in this photo.

U.S. Presidential Office Flag of President Roosevelt early 1930s - 1945 with 1916 Design. This flag was used during FDR's 1st term. This exquisite hand-loom embroidered flag was made at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot with fringe that is hand-twisted out of gold and silver bullion wire. Roosevelt would have used this in the White House

U.S. Army General of the Army Personal Flag, 5 Stars, 1944-1945, WWII This extremely rare, wool, five-star rank flag designates the personal presence of General of the Army, the highest possible wartime grade in the United States Army.

50 Star U.S. Flag, The South Tower Flag, World Trade Center, NY. While searching through the rubble a volunteer with the FDNY discovered what he thought were fragments of clothing from one of the victims of the Sept. 11th terrorist attack. As he dug further, Bliss realized he had found the smoldering remains of a U.S. flag.

48 Star U.S. Liberation Flag made in Occupied Belgium, presented during battle to great grandson of Francis Scott Key. This 48 star U.S. flag is a Liberation Flag, a reference to any flag made in the hope of liberation from an oppressor; most commonly flags of the various allied nations during WWII.

36 Star U.S. "Grand Luminary" - President Abraham Lincoln Mourning Flag. This 36 star grand luminary flags history is rich; it was used as a mourning flag after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It was formerly part of the acclaimed collection of noted antique dealer Mr. Boleslaw Mastai and his wife Marie-Louise d'Otrange Mastai.

37 Star U.S. Flag laid upon President Lincoln's casket in Philadelphia, PA 1865. On April of 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by Southern sympathizer in revenge for the Northern triumph over the South. A shocked and stunned country embraced their martyred President as never before.

People's Republic of China - Cultural Revolution. A rare silk unit numbered commemorative military flag dating from China's Cultural Revolution.

Red Guard Armband -Red Guard Command Center, Copper Electrolysis Plant, Tianjin A companion piece to ZFC0753, a Red Guards Flag, this is an armband dating to the Cultural Revolution in China .

U.S. 31 Star Flag, Pratt St. Riots, Baltimore, MD - Massachusetts Militia vs. Confederate Sympathizers. This flag is a companion piece to ZFC0022. Both flags came from the Star Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum in Baltimore; and it is likely that this was the flag displayed when the Massachusetts troops traveled through Baltimore.

Battle Flag captured during the Philippine Insurrection in the City of Pasig, 1899. This flag was captured in the city of Pasig, near Manila in the Philippines. During the Spanish-American War it would have been an area of Philippine nationalism and an American serviceman might have acquired such a flag as war booty.

A Woman Suffrage Party Pennant, 1909. Pennants like this were distributed at the WSP inaugural convention on 29 October 1909, at Carnegie Hall, New York City, and it was waved by members and supporters alike. This pennant is framed with ZFC3124; a WSP celluloid pin from the same era.

A Woman Suffrage Party Pin, 1909. The Woman Suffrage Party of Greater New York (WSP) was founded by Mrs. Carrie Chapman in 1907. The WSP was modeled on the Democrat and Republican parties in the hope that by organizing, as they did in New York assembly and election districts, the WSP could better influence voters to pass woman suffrage.

US // Woman's Suffrage Pennant / Wash. DC - 1913 cotton gauze pennant with a decorative imprint was created for the Woman Suffrage Parade held on 3 March 1913, one day prior to the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson

U.S. 13 Star Bible Flag Plus Tintype. This flag of the unknown Union sergeant depicted on the accompanying full plate tintype, presumably belonged to his wife and family.

Union Soldier Tintype 1ST Sgt.

Confederate States of America - Bible Flag, 1861-1863. Flags like this small 11 star Confederate Flag are often referred to as bible flags. They were common to both Union and Confederate sides during the American Civil War.

Taliban Artillery Regimental H.Q. Color, taken Nov. 2001, Jalalabad, Afghanistan. This Taliban flag was recovered from the rubble of what is believed to be the regimental commander's office of the headquarters of the Taliban Army in Jalabad, Afghanistan. It was recovered in November 2001 by independent film maker Jim Burroughs.

Iraq National Flag, 1991-2004. This Iraqi flag, along with a cache of valuable intelligence paperwork, and Iraqi Army equipment was captured in the summer of 2003 from a Ba'ath Party Headquarters building in the Al Amel district of Baghdad, by Company B, 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division.