U.S. 34 Star National Color St. Louis Home Guard.

U.S. 34 Star National Color St. Louis Home Guard, 1861.
This United States 34-star flag was formerly part of the collection of the M.H. de Young Museum. Founded in 1895 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the de Young Museum was San Francisco's first museum. It was a great success from its opening and has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city and a cherished destination for millions of residents and visitors to the region for over 100 years.

Michael Henry de Young, 1849 -1925, was an American journalist and businessman who owned and published the San Francisco Chronicle. He used his wealth to further his eclectic tastes and accumulated a collection of immense variety, and such diverse objects such as sculptures, paintings, flags, polished tree slabs, paintings, objet d'art, jewelry, a door reputedly from Newgate Prison, birds' eggs, handcuffs and thumbscrews, and a collection of knives and forks.

As San Francisco's premier repository, the de Young Museum came to house a number of flags associated with the American acquisition of the Philippines after the Spanish American War.

According to the De Young Museum records, this flag came from the St. Louis, Missouri area as a gift from Laura S. Edwards in 1924. The heading is marked 'Home Guard' or 'Honor Guard', but the size and type of flag suggest that it was used as a militia regitmental flag. Research revealed that it was carried by the "St. Louis Home Guard" which played a significant role in 1861 ensuring that St. Louis and the state remained in the Union. During the transition period of border states deciding whether to stay in the Union or join the new Confederate States of America Northern sympathizers learned that a military move was going to be initiated by citizens in favor of establishing St. Louis a supporter of the Southern Cause using force if necessary. At that time the German community was a major influential ethnic group in favour of the city remaining loyal to the United States. Using this flag, the Regitmental Color of the St. Louis Home Guards, the militia surrounded the armed camp of the citizen army formed to take over the city for the South, and put down the rebellion.

The flag is said to have been half-staffed on the death of Brigadier-General Nathaniel Lyon, who was the first Union general killed during the Civil War. He commanded volunteers in Missouri and died at the Battle of Wilson's Creek on 10 August 1861. Subsequently, the flag is said to have been half-staffed for every US president from Lincoln to Harding.

The arrangement of the stars in this flag is irregular. There are "rows" of four stars each on the top, the bottom and the two sides of the canton. In the center, it is difficult to make out any regularity in the arrangement; many of the stars even point in different directions. The canton is also unusual in that its horizontal measurement is shorter than the vertical, a design characteristic usually limited to regimental national colors; which this might well be. An interesting star pattern and history.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Provenance:
• Made in St. Louis, MO, 1861.
• Brought to San Francisco in 1871.
• By descent to Mrs. Laura S. Edwards, until 1924.
• Gifted to de Young Museum, 1924.
• Sold via Butterfield & Butterfield Auctions, SF, CA, to the Zaricor Flag Collection, 1997
Deaccessed at auction via Bonham's 21 November 2023, Auction #BOK23110NY, - 28447 -
Lot #101


Sources:

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

Home Guard (Union), Wikipedia, 13 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Guard_%28Union%29

Missouri State Guard, Wikipedia, 13 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_State_Guard

Nathaniel Lyon, Wikipedia, 13 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Lyon

Germans coming to Missouri, A Summary History of German Freethought in Missouri, 13 November 2011, from:
http://freethought.mbdojo.com/germanhistorymissouri.html

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

CSG
MLC
MLF

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	79.5
Length of Fly	50

Union/Canton
Width of Union/Canton	27.5
Length of Union/Canton	25

Stars
Size of Stars	2.75

Stripes
Width of 1st Stripe	4.75
Width of 3rd Stripe	3.75
Width of 8th Stripe	3.75
Width of Last Stripe	4
Size of Hoist	1.25

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	59
Frame Length	88

Stars
Number of Stars	34
How are the stars embeded?	Sewn
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	yes

Stripes
Number of Stripes	13
Color of Top Stripe	Red
Color of Bottom Stripe	Red
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Wool
Comments on Fabric	Bunting

Stitching
Stitching	Hand

Thread
Thread Material	Cotton

Attachment
Comments on Method of Attachmen	Sleeve with Rope

Documentation
Documents
Drawings
Research Documents
Public Copy & Signs

Condition
Condition	Bad
Damage	Flag contains some stripes discolored due to light, canton is in poor condition and it has multiple rips and tears at bottom.
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1861-1863

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

Exhibition History First Presidio Exhibit (ZFC0211) 34-STAR UNITED STATES NATIONAL COLOR, St. Louis home guard Date: 1861 Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; all hand sewn Comment: In 1861 St. Louis, Missouri, was a city divided over the issue of secession from the Union. Many of its earlier inhabitants had migrated from the Lower South and the southern half of the state, as well as the Missouri River Valley, were dominated by pro-slavery planters. However, after the failed German revolution of 1848 many liberal-thinking Germans emigrated to St. Louis and the northeastern part of Missouri. Many of those immigrants were staunchly anti-slavery and pro-Union. When the issue of whether Missouri ought to secede from the Union arose in 1861, the German ethnics of St. Louis organized military units for the citys Home Guard. That force opposed attempts by pro-slavery elements and the governor to organize a State Guard sympathetic to the secession movement. Led by Captain (later General) Nathaniel Lyon, on 10 May 1861 the St. Louis Home Guard surrounded the camp of the pro-secessionist State Guard, forcing them to surrender. While the prisoners were being marched back to St. Louis, a riot broke out. The Hessians (as the Home Guard was dubbed by pro-slavery elements) fired into the crowd, killing several. This flag, marked Home Guard on its heading, may have served as a regimental or company color for one of the German units involved in the effort to keep Missouri in the Union in 1861. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0211) in 1997 from the De Young Museum Collection through Butterfield & Butterfield Auctions of San Francisco, CA. Acquired by the De Young Museum as a gift from Laura S. Edwards of St. Louis, MO in 1924. Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery III (ZFC0211) 34-Star United States National Color St. Louis Home Guard Date: 1861 34 Stars: July 4, 1861-July 3, 1863 (Kansas statehood January 29, 1861) Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; all hand-sewn Comment: In 1861 St. Louis, Missouri, was a city divided over the issue of secession from the Union. The southern half of the state, as well as the Missouri River Valley, were dominated by pro-slavery planters. However, after the failed German revolution of 1848 many liberal-thinking Germans emigrated to St. Louis and the northeastern part of Missouri. Many of those immigrants were staunchly anti-slavery and pro-Union. When the issue of whether Missouri ought to secede from the Union arose in 1861, the German ethnics of St. Louis organized military units for the citys Home Guard, to serve as regiments of the states Reserve Corps. That force opposed attempts by pro-slavery elements and the governor to organize a State Guard sympathetic to the secession movement. Led by Captain (later General) Nathaniel Lyon, on May 10, 1861, the St. Louis Home Guard surrounded the camp of the pro-secessionist State Guard, forcing them to surrender. While the prisoners were being marched back to St. Louis, a riot broke out. The Hessians (as the Home Guard was dubbed by pro-slavery elements) fired into the crowd, killing several. This flag may have served as a regimental or company color for one of the German units involved in the effort to keep Missouri in the Union in 1861. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0211) in 1997 from the De Young Museum through Butterfield & Butterfield Auctions of SF, CA.

Publications

Publication Copy

Publication History: Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 73. 34-Star United States National Color St. Louis Home Guard In 1861 St. Louis, Missouri, was a city divided over the issue of secession from the Union. The southern half of the state, as well as the Missouri River Valley, was dominated by pro-slavery planters. In contrast, after the failed German revolution of 1848 many liberal-thinking Germans had emigrated to St. Louis and the northeastern part of Missouri. Many of those immigrants were staunchly anti-slavery and pro-Union. When the issue of whether Missouri ought to secede from the Union arose in 1861, the German ethnics of St. Louis organized military units for the citys Home Guard. That force opposed attempts by pro-slavery elements and the governor to organize a State Guard. Led by Captainlater General Nathaniel Lyon, on May 10, 1861, the St. Louis Home Guard surrounded and captured the camp of the State Guard. While the prisoners were being marched back to St. Louis, a riot broke out. The Hessiansas the Home Guard was dubbed by pro-slavery elementsfired into the crowd, killing several. This flag may have served as a regimental or company color for one of the German units involved in the effort to keep Missouri in the Union in 1861 Date: 1861 Size: 50" hoist x 79.5" fly Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; all hand-sewn Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 1997 from the De Young Museum San Francisco CA through Butterfield & Butterfield Auctions of S.F., CA. ZFC0211