Philippines National Flag - Insurrection, 1899.

Battle Flag captured during the Philippine Insurrection in the City of Pasig, 1899.
This flag was captured in the City of Pasig, located near Manila the capital of the Philippines, by Colonel Victor Duboce, 1st California Volunteer Infantry. During the Spanish-American War & Philippine Insurrection Pasig was a region of intense Philippine nationalism.

This flag's red and blue horizontal stripes have faded to orange and gray and the white triangle at the hoist which should have a yellow star in each corner and an 8-rayed yellow sun in the center is now missing one star. Moreover, the reverse of the flag never had these symbols at all. This lack of symbols and the size of the flag strongly suggest that it was homemade and probably intended for vertical display.

It was once thought to be a city flag but Philippine cities did not have flags of their own flags in the 1890s; the original de Young documents accompanying this flag indicate that it was "the official flag of the city of Pasig."

Filipinos in 1898 were hoping that the American troops who had defeated Spain would leave their islands an independent country. However, the Philippines did not acquire its independence until 1946. Thus, for many years their national flag was banned by the American authorities. See also ZFC0200 and ZFC0337 in the De Young Museum collection.

Exhibition History:
De Young Museum Flag Room.

War & Dissent
The US in the Philippines 1898 1915
October 22, 2008 to February 22, 2009
At the Presidio of San Francisco, Officers Club Exhibition Hall

University of California - Santa Cruz
Board of Councilors Meeting, Rare Flags Exhibit
Santa Cruz, CA
7 June 2012

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Provenance:
• Filipino Forces, First Philippine Republic, Pasig, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 1898/99.
• Captured by Colonel Victor Duboce, 1st California Volunteer Infantry, Pasig, Luzon Philippines Islands, February, 1899.
• Retained by Col. Duboce as a memento of service until passing, August, 1900
• Gifted by Mrs. Victor Duboce to the deYoung Museum, San Francisco, CA, December 1900.
• Sold via Butterfield & Butterfield Auctions , SF, CA, to the Zaricor Flag Collection, 1997.


Sources:

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History of the de Young Museum, de Young, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 15 November 2011: http://deyoung.famsf.org/about/history-de-young-museum

War Trophy, Wikipedia, 15 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_trophy

Michael Henry de Young, Wikipedia, 15 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._H._de_Young

WATAWAT - FLAGS AND SYMBOLS OF THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT SEAS, 15 November, from: http://www.watawat.net/index.html

The Experiences of the First California Volunteer Infantry, Spanish American War Centennial website, 15 November 2011, from:
http://www.spanamwar.com/1stCAinf.htm

Pasig, Wikipedia, 15 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasig

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	47.25
Length of Fly	23.5

Stars
Size of Stars	2.25

Stripes
Size of Hoist	0.75

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	32.25
Frame Length	62.5
Comments on Frame	ZFC frame

Stars
Number of Stars	3
How are the stars embeded?	Sewn
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	no
Comments on Stars	Stars are put on with adhesive, two of the astars are complete, the outer fabric of one is missing, but the underlay is present and visible

Stripes
Number of Stripes	3
Color of Top Stripe	Blue
Color of Bottom Stripe	Red
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Crest/Emblem
Description of Crest/Emblem	Sun with facial features from early days of the Philippine Republic.

Nationality
Nation Represented	Philippines

Fabric
Fabric	Cotton
Comments on Fabric	Lacel on one end (2")

Stitching
Stitching	Hand

Thread
Thread Material	Cotton

Attachment
Comments on Method of Attachmen	Sleeve

Applica
Applique Sides	Single Sided = Design on one side only

Documentation
Drawings
Research Documents
Public Copy & Signs

Condition
Condition	Good
Damage	Flag is very faded, one (1) star appears to be missing, but it is actually there only the outer covering is gone. Applique detaching
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1899

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

War & Dissent The US in the Philippines 1898 - 1915 October 22 2008 to February 22, 2009 At the Presidio of San Francisco, Officer's Club Exhibition Hall 50 Moraga Ave, San Francisco, CA ZFC0206 framed 32.5" x 56.5" Early Philippines national flag, captured during Pasig Campaign in 1899 The flag that independence leader Emilio Aguinaldo brought with him from Hong Kong 1898 featured a white equilateral triangle at the hoist bearing a sun and three six-pointed stars, Masonic symbols. (NB. The flags of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, all Spanish colonies that struggled for independence in this era, all share similar designs.) This very early Philippine Republic flag still has human facial features on the sun like Aguinaldo's. It was captured by U.S. troops shortly after the commencement of the US - Philippine War in 1899. University of California - Santa Cruz Board of Councilors Meeting, Rare Flags Exhibit Santa Cruz, CA 7 June 2012 Santa Cruz, CA, June 7, 2012: The Zaricor Flag Collection exhibited 34 flags and artifacts at the University of California Santa Cruz Campus for the Board of Councilors Meeting. Philippine Battle Flag Philippine Insurrection, 1899 Date: 1899 Media: Hand sewn cotton, cotton lace, paper backed cotton stars. Comment: This homemade, blood-stained Philippine flag was captured in the City of Pasig, located near Manila in the Philippines. During the Philippine Insurrection, Pasig was a region of intense Philippine nationalism and saw heavy fighting between U.S. Army and Philippine forces, called Insurrectos. This flag was taken by Lieutenant Colonel Victor Duboce, a prominent San Francisco leader, who personally led the 1st California Infantry Volunteers in a successful foray against a strongly fortified church in the Battle of Pasig, 15 March 1899. The flag has emblems on one side only, and it was probably displayed flat on a wall in that church, which is thought to have been the Insurrectos headquarters. The flag central emblem, a sun with human facial features, was similar in design to the flag that Philippine independence leader Emilio Aguinaldo brought with him from Hong Kong in 1898. The lace along the bottom fly edge of the flag was an attempt to mimic the appearance of fringe, a common adornment on military flags. This flag's original red and blue horizontal stripes have now faded to orange and gray from long term display at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, CA after Colonel Duboce's widow donated the flag in 1900, after his death of tropical disease contracted during the campaigns of 1899. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0206) in 1997 from the de Young Museum Collection through Butterfield & Butterfield Auctions of San Francisco, CA. www.FlagCollection.com