Confederate States 7 Star National Flag.

7 Star Confederate 1st National Camp Flag, March - April 1861, former Star Spangled Banner Flag House Collection.
This seven star Confederate flag was formerly part of the collection of The Flag House & Star-Spangled Banner Museum. Founded in 1927, it is one of Baltimore's oldest museums open to the public. The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Association, Inc. was formed in 1927 to operate a museum dedicated to the story of Mary Young Pickersgill who made the large 30' x 42' Star-Spangled Banner that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that later became the United States National Anthem. Mary Pickersgill's flag still survives and now hangs at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. As one of the earliest institutions dedicated to the study of flags, The Flag House & Star-Spangled Banner Museum also became a repository for flags from other eras, amassing one of the most impressive flag collections in the nation.

The 7 white, five point stars which are arranged in a single ring around a center star date this flag to the period of months between March 4 and May 7, 1861. This design is a variant of the first flag adopted by the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America.

This flag's history remains unknown. It was donated to the Star Spangled Banner Flag House by the Mrs. Mary Gertrude Deck King, the daughter of Theodore Deck, a long-time railroad mail car employee. How Mr. Deck came to acquire this flag is also unknown.

This flag bearing the first Confederate National pattern was authenticated by the Smithsonian Institution and examined by Howard Madaus who identified it, most likely, as a camp flag. In the British Army and some other army usage, a camp flag is a non-ceremonial flag used to indicate the presence of a unit of a corps, division or regiment in a camp or other location.

Text on Tag attached to Flag : "5.2.1984(or 9 ?)
Stars sewn on obverse with the blue fabric cut away on the reverse, edges not finished. Stars in circle. Given to donor by her father, Theodore Deck, who worked in the mail car of the railroad. His parents were born in Germany, but he was born in America.
Flag examined by Howard Madaus who expressed the opinion it was typical of camp flags in the Confederate Army. First pattern, 7 star variant for camp use. Circa 1861. Framed (outside dimensions 30 x 48).

Exhibition History:

First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC0180)
7-Star Confederate National Flag (The Stars And Bars)

Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 Gallery III
(ZFC0180)
7-Star Confederate National Flag (The Stars and Bars)

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library
LIFE AND TIMES OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
The Exhibit
Simi Valley, CA
1 June 2014 to 30 September 2014

Publication History:
Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 66.

Provenance:
• Confederate States of America, 1861.
• Acquired by Mr. Theodore Deck, and by descent to daughter.
• Mrs. Mary Gertrude Deck King, Baltimore, MD, until 1975.
• Gifted to Star Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum, Baltimore, MD until deaccession, 1996.
• Acquired by private treaty by the Zaricor Flag Collection, 1996.
Deaccessed Heritage Auctions - 13 November 2023 - Auction 6276



ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Sources:

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Madaus, Howard M.- Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict, VZ Publications, Santa Cruz, 2006.

THE "STARS AND BARS" - THE FIRST CONFEDERATE NATIONAL FLAG , Flags of the Confederacy, 15 November 2011, from:
http://www.confederate-flags.org/confederate%20national%20flags.html

Madaus, Howard M., Robert D. Needham, The Battle Flags of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Public Museum, 1976.

Flags of the Confederate States of America, Wikipedia, 15 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America
CAMP FLAG, Dictionary of Vexillology, Flags of the World, 15 November 2011: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/vxt-dv-c.html

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	40.5
Length of Fly	23.25

Union/Canton
Width of Union/Canton	14.75
Length of Union/Canton	15.5

Stars
Size of Stars	2.25

Stripes
Width of 1st Stripe	7.5
Width of Last Stripe	7.75
Size of Hoist	1.5

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	30
Frame Length	48

Stars
Number of Stars	7
How are the stars embeded?	Applique
Are there stars on obverse?	no
Are there stars on reverse?	yes

Stripes
Number of Stripes	3
Color of Top Stripe	Red
Color of Bottom Stripe	Red
Has a Blood Stripe?	no
Comments on Stripes	Middle Stripe: White: 7.5"

Nationality
Nation Represented	Confederate States

Fabric
Fabric	Cotton

Stitching
Stitching	Hand

Thread
Thread Material	Cotton

Attachment
Comments on Method of Attachmen	Sleeve

Documentation
Documents
Drawings
Research Documents
Public Copy & Signs

Condition
Condition	Bad
Damage	Holes Big Stains
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	19th-early 20th century

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

First Presidio Exhibit (ZFC0180) 7-Star Confederate National Flag (The Stars And Bars) Date: 1861 Medium: Cotton; hand-stitched Comment: Between December 1860 and February 1861, seven slave states South Carolina, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas took formal actions to withdraw from the Union. In February 1861 delegates from those states met in Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new nation the Confederate States of America. On March 5, 1861, the committee that the Provisional Congress had established to consider a new national flag delivered its report on the designs that they had reviewed. The committee decided in favor of one remarkably similar to the flag of the United States. It featured three horizontal bars of red-white-red instead of 13 red and white stripes and a blue canton incorporating a circle of stars, one for each state of the new confederation. That design, submitted by Nichola Marschall of Alabama, combined the background from the national flag of Austria with a union patterned after the one borne by the Stars and Stripes. The design of this new Stars and Bars was the ultimate exclusionary flag. Moreover, the committee report was intentionally back-dated to March 4th, Lincoln's inaugural day. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0180) in 1996 from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD. The exhibition text was written by Howard Michael Madaus, Exhibition Director of the ZFC's Flag Center, utilizing Zaricor Flag Collection archives. Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 Gallery III (ZFC0180) 7-Star Confederate National Flag (The Stars and Bars) Date: 1861 7 Stars: March 4, 1861-May 7, 1861 (Confederacy founded February 22, 1861, by South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) Medium: Cotton; hand-stitched Comment: Between December 1860 and February 1861, seven slave states of the South took formal actions to withdraw from the Union. In February 1861 delegates from those states met in Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new nation,the Confederate States of America. On March 4, 1861, the committee that the Provisional Congress had established to consider a new national flag delivered its report on the designs that they had reviewed. The committee decided in favor of one remarkably similar to the flag of the United States. It featured three horizontal bars of red-white-red instead of 13 red and white stripes and a blue canton incorporating a circle of stars, one for each state of the new confederation. That design, submitted by Nichola Marschall of Alabama, combined the background from the national flag of Austria with a union patterned after the one borne by the Stars and Stripes. The design of this new Stars and Bars was the ultimate exclusionary flag. Eventually 13 stars were added to the union of the Confederate Stars and Bars. In May 1863 the Confederate Congress adopted a new flag, the Stars and Bars having often been confused for the Stars and Stripes. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0180) in 1996 from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD. The exhibition text was written by Howard Michael Madaus, Exhibition Director of the ZFC's Flag Center, utilizing Zaricor Flag Collection archives.

Publications

Publication Copy

Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 66. 7-Star Confederate National Flag (The Stars & Bars) Between December 1860 and February 1861, seven slave states of the South took formal actions to withdraw from the Union. In February 1861 delegates from those states met in Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new nation, the Confederate States of America. On March 4, 1861, the committee that the Provisional Congress had established to consider a new national flag delivered its report on the designs that they had reviewed. The committee decided in favor of one remarkably similar to the flag of the United States. It featured three horizontal bars of red-white-red instead of 13 red and white stripes and a blue canton incorporating a circle of stars, one for each state of the new confederation. That design was submitted by Nicola Marschall of Alabama. This new Stars & Bars was the ultimate exclusionary flag. Eventually the stars grew to a total of 13 in the union of the Confederate Stars & Bars. In May 1863 the Confederate Congress adopted a new flag, the Stars & Bars having often been confused for the Stars & Stripes. Former U.S. Senator and Secretary of the War, Jefferson Davis, was the first and only president of the Confederate States of America. Date: 1861 Size: 23.5" hoist x 40.5" fly 7 Stars: March 4, 1861 May 7, 1861 (Confederacy founded February 22, 1861, by South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) Medium: Cotton; hand-stitched Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 1996 from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD. ZFC0180