U.S. 13 Star Coast Guard Ensign, 1966

U.S. 13 Star Coast Guard Ensign - Tug Capstain 1966 to present.
This small, nyla-wool, United States Coast Guard (USCG) ensign is identified to the USCG Tug, Capstain, WYTL 65601, berthed at the USCG Station, Delaware Bay, Philadelphia, PA. From here the Capstain operates primarily from Lewes, Delaware in the south to as far north as Trenton, NJ. She also patrols the Chesapeake Bay. The WYTLs were built between 1962 and 1967. They are employed only on the east coast, from Maine to Virginia.

The flag's material, nyla-wool, is a blend of both nylon and wool, which allows us to date this flag to after the USCG motto removal in 1966 and before the 1970s when nylon replaced the use of nyla-wool. It is highly likely that this ensign was among those issued to the Capstain upon commissioning. It was manufactured under contract by the Paramount Flag Company, of San Francisco, CA.

The Act of March 2, 1799, known as the Customs Administration Act stipulated that the cutters and boats employed in the service of the revenue shall be distinguished from other vessels by "an ensign and pendant, with such marks thereon as shall be prescribed and directed by the President of the United States."

Oliver Wolcott, Alexander Hamilton's successor as Secretary of the Treasury in 1795 was responsible for the service's new flag design. On June 1, 1799, Wolcott presented his design to President John Adams for endorsement. Wolcott's concept showed an ensign of sixteen vertical stripes, alternating red and white. This embodied the number of states that had joined the Union by 1799. In doing this, Wolcott was adhering to a decision of Congress, which in 1794 had altered the national flag to fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, suggesting an alteration at the entry of each new state. Wolcott, therefore, raised the number of stripes to sixteen, and turned the new revenue cutter design arrangement perpendicular to that of the national flag.

This ensign was authorized on August 1, 1799, when Wolcott, issued an order announcing that in pursuance of authority from the President, the distinguishing ensign and pennant would consist of, "16 perpendicular stripes, alternate red and white, the union of the ensign to be the arms of the United States in a dark blue on a white field."

With a design in hand, each revenue collector contracted local flag makers to furnish the new revenue cutter ensigns. Though originally anticipated to be flown from revenue cutters and customs vessels, the collectors were soon gracing their customhouses with their new standard.
During the American Civil War, the US Treasury Department began to issue standardized ensigns to the Revenue Marine. By 1874, Treasury Secretary William A. Richardson had required that during business hours, the customs ensign was to be flown along side the Stars and Stripes over all customhouses. The same flag would be used on Customhouses and vessels of the Revenue Marine until 1910.

It was thus in 1919 when President Taft directed that the flag used by the Revenue Cutter Service should be distinguished from that flown ashore by the addition of the RCS badge on the fly. In 1915, the U.S. Coast Guard was established as a bureau separate from the Bureau of Customs, inheriting the RCS ensign. The design including the badge was retained by what is now the U.S. Customs Service.

The badge of the United States Coast Guard was executed in blue in the fly and consisted of two crossed anchors over which was placed a disc bearing the shield of the US, with the service motto, Semper Paratus, above and below the shield. This was in turn surrounded by the words: United States Coast Guard.

The ensign with the badge would be used until 1953 when it was decided to alter the 19th version of the US arms used on the canton of the ensign, and bring them up-to-date with the US Coat of arms as used since 1876. Accordingly, the canton of both the US Customhouse flag and the ensign of the US Coast Guard were changed.

In 1966, the motto was removed from the ensign, resulting in the current Coast Guard ensign.
This is an example of the current USCG ensign, which was made by the aforementioned Paramount Flag Company of San Francisco, CA.

Provenance: Purchased in 2007, from Kendrick A. Clafin & Son, Worcester, MA

Sources:

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Preble, George Henry, The History of the Flag of the United States of America, Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1894.

Saba, Anne, January 2000, Tradition, Service, Honor - The Customs Ensign, Customs Today, 1 December 2011, from:
http://www.cbp.gov/custoday/jan2000/tradtn.htm

Flag Day: CBP's Ensign Was America's First For Government Agency, 1 December 2011, http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/highlights/flag_day.xml

United States Customs Service. Wikipedia, 1 December 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Customs_Service

Flags, Logos, Pennants, Seals & Streamers Of the Coast Guard & Its Predecessor Services, United states Coast Guard, 1 December 2011, from:
http://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/Coast_Guard_Flags.asp

Flags of the U.S. Coast Guard, Sea Flags, 1 December 2011, from:
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeohzt4/Seaflags/uscg/uscg.html#rank

United States Coast Guard, Wikipedia, 1 December 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Coast_Guard

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	30
Length of Fly	50

Union/Canton
Width of Union/Canton	14.75
Length of Union/Canton	24.5

Stars
Size of Stars	0.25

Stripes
Size of Hoist	2

Frame
Is it framed?	no

Stars
Number of Stars	13
How are the stars embeded?	Printed
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	yes

Stripes
Number of Stripes	16
Color of Top Stripe	Red
Color of Bottom Stripe	White
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Crest/Emblem
Description of Crest/Emblem	Stylized Arms of the U.S. under an arch od stars

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Nyla-wool

Stitching
Stitching	Machine

Weave
Type of Weave	Plain

Attachment
Method of Attachment	Headings & Grommets

Applica
Applique Sides	Single Faced = Mirror Image Reverse

Documentation
Documents	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Drawings	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Research Documents
Public Copy & Signs	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Condition
Condition	Good
Damage	Flag is used, soiled and has some fading.
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1966