35 Star U.S. Flag discovered along the route of the infamous Pratt St. Riots, 1861.
This hand-sewn, 35-star woolen flag has a remarkable history. It was displayed from a Baltimore home along the route of the infamous 19 April 1861 event known as the Baltimore Riot. Also known as the Pratt St. riots, they were between Southern sympathizers and members of the 6th Massachusetts Infantry who were en route to Washington for Federal service. This riot is regarded by many historians as the first bloodshed of the Civil War; it is believed that this flag was displayed by attending Union supporters who resided in the houses along the rout. The Mass, troops who were harassed and attacked by the citizens of Baltimore many were not only Southern sympathizers they also were residents from the neighborhood and houses along Pratt Street. Urban combat in the Civil War was rare and such close quarter combat in an urban center is almost unequaled in the American Civil War.
The flag was given to the Star Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum (SSBFH) in 1968 by Mrs. Elmer Armiger, the granddaughter of Mrs. Llewellyn P. Blair, within whose home the flag was displayed. The flag was kept by the SSBFH although, curiously, not amongst the general flag collection but rather in a special cupboard, along with another flag (ZFC1453).
The flag bears too many stars to be current for the events of 1861, leading to further speculation that, as it is entirely handmade and homemade, it likely bore only 30 stars at the time of the Pratt St. riots and was subsequently updated by Mrs. Blair.
Provenance: Acquired by private purchase from Star Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum, 1998.
ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed
Provenance:
• Mrs. Llewellyn P. Blair, 1861.
• By descent to son, J. Fairlie Blair.
• By descent daughter Mrs. Elmer Armiger, until 1960.
• Donated to the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Museum of Baltimore, MD, 1960.
• Star Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum, Baltimore , MD until 1966.
• Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD., 1996.
Sources:
Baltimore riot of 1861, Wikipedia, 25 October 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Riot_of_1861
President Street Station, Wikipedia, 25 October 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_Street_Station
Camden Station, Wikipedia, 25 October 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden_Station
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
Boleslaw Mastai
