U.S. Army Red Over White Swallowtail Pattern 1833.

U.S. Army Red Over White Swallowtail Pattern 1833 - Model 1861.
The Howard Michael Madaus sub-collection of Civil War Military Flags was assembled from a variety of sources over a thirty year period of collecting (1970-2000) before being acquired by the Zaricor Collection in 2000. The sub-collection attempts to present an example of each of the major types of depot contractor regulation flags and colors carried by Union forces at the basic unit level, i.e. regiment, battalion, company, and battery, as well as the types of general military flags.

This sub-collection which was added to the Zaricor Civil War collection constitutes the largest and (while not complete) most comprehensive collection of the military flags carried by the Union Army during the Civil War outside of state repositories designated by the War Department for the disposition of these flags after the War, or in public museum collections. In fact this private collection is larger and more comprehensive than many of the public museum collections in the United States.

The field is cut swallowtail and is composed of two silk bars, the top bar red and the bottom bar white. The upper bar bears white painted Roman letters "U.S." over the abbreviation "Comp." The lower (white) bar bears the red painted Roman letters "CAVALRY." The flag was intended to be attached to a staff by means of a sleeve, formed by doubling over and sewing the forward most 1.5 inches of the flag.

Guidons of this pattern were provided by the U.S. Quartermaster's Department in this form when issued at the beginning of the American Civil War. It was the responsibility of the receiving officer to add the company letter to the top bar and the regimental designation above "CAVALRY." on the lower bar. This Guidon never received the finishing designations. Most of the Guidons in stock in 1862 were modified to "Stars & Stripes" pattern Guidons in February of 1862; somehow this one survived.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Provenance:
• Made in Philadelphia, PA 1861.
• Acquired by Marcus Chernoff, until 1974.
• Purchased by Howard Michael Madaus , 1974.
• Madaus Flag Collection, until 2000.
• Acquired by Zaricor Flag Collection by Private Sale from the Madaus Flag Collection, 2000



Sources:

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

US Army Quartermaster General, Flags of the Army of the United States carried during the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, to designate the headquarters of the different armies, army corps, divisions and brigades, Washington, D.C., 1887.

Todd, Frederick P., American Military Equipage 1851-1872, Volume 2, Providence, The Company of Military Historians, 1977.

Woodhead, Henry, ed., Flags, Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of The Union, New York, Time Life Books, 1998,

Madaus, Howard M., correspondence to Ben Zaricor, 29 March 2000, Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	41
Length of Fly	27

Stripes
Size of Hoist	2

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	33
Frame Length	47

Stars
Are there stars on obverse?	no
Are there stars on reverse?	no

Stripes
Number of Stripes	2
Color of Top Stripe	Red
Color of Bottom Stripe	White
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Silk

Stitching
Stitching	Hand

Attachment
Method of Attachment	Sleeve

Applica
Applique Sides	Double Sided = Two sides different

Documentation
Documents
Drawings
Research Documents
Public Copy & Signs

Condition
Condition	Fair
Damage	Damage on fly particularly on white (fragmenting).
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1861

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

Exhibition History First Presidio Exhibit (ZFC0410) UNITED STATES ARMY RED OVER WHITE SWALLOWTAIL GUIDON, MODEL OF 1833 Date: 1861 Media: Silk; hand sewn, with painted inscriptions Comment: Although the War Department did not authorize the Stars & Stripes for regiments of the mounted services of the United States, each company (troops) was to carry a small swallowtail shaped flag to guide upon (hence the name guidon). When the mounted service was reauthorized in 1833, the pattern of these flags followed the pennants that were carried on Polish lances, i.e. they were divided horizontally, half red over half white. The upper red bar was to have the letters U.S. while the lower white bar was to have the company letter. While the regulations for this pattern did not change until 1862, minor modifications were permitted for practicality. The first permitted change from regulations allowed the name of the branch of service to be painted on the lower bar. Then, as more regiments of mounted forces were formed, the full regimental abbreviation was permitted on the lower bar and the company designation was moved to the upper bar. This guidon stood in 1861. This is one of the very few Model 1833 cavalry guidons as modified in 1861 to survive. While nearly 400 were in stock at the end of 1862, when the pattern of the guidon was changed to the Stars & Stripes pattern, all on hand in Philadelphia, the main flag depot at the time, were distributed to two local flag makers for alteration to the new pattern. This flag survived because it had been transferred to Indiana, and never was issued. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0410) in 2000 from the Madaus Flag Collection of Cody, WY. Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery III (ZFC0410) United States Army Red over White Swallowtailed Model 1833 Guidon Date: 1861 Media: Silk; hand-sewn with painted inscriptions Comment: Although the War Department did not authorize the Stars and Stripes for regiments of the mounted services of the United States, each company (troop) was to carry a small swallowtailed flag to guide upon (hence the name guidon). When Congress reauthorized the formation of a military unit for mounted service in 1833, the pattern of these guidons followed the pennants that were carried on Polish lances, i.e. they were divided horizontally, red over white. The upper red bar was to have the letters U.S. while the lower white bar was to have the company letter. While the regulations for this pattern did not change until 1862, minor modifications were permitted for practicality. The first permitted change from regulations allowed the name of the branch of service to be painted on the lower bar. Then, as more regiments of mounted forces were formed, the full regimental abbreviation was permitted on the lower bar and the company designation was moved to the upper bar. This is one of the very few Model 1833 cavalry guidons, as modified in 1861, to survive. Nearly 400 were in stock at the end of 1862, when the pattern of the guidon was changed to the Stars and Stripes pattern. All were on hand in Philadelphia, the main flag depot at the time, and were distributed to two local flag makers for alteration to the new pattern. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0410) in 2000 from the Madaus Flag Collection of Cody, WY.

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. 81. United States Army Red Over White Swallowtailed Model 1833 Guidon Although the War Department did not authorize the Stars & Stripes for regiments of the mounted services of the United States, each companytroopwas to carry a small swallowtailed flag to guide upon the folk etymology for guidon. When Congress reauthorized the formation of a military unit for mounted service in 1833, the pattern of these guidons followed the pennants that were carried on Polish lances, i.e. they were divided horizontally, red over white. The upper red bar was to have the letters U.S. while the lower white bar was to have the company letter. While the regulations for this pattern did not change until 1862, minor modifications were permitted for practicality. This is one of the very few Model 1833 cavalry guidons, as modified in 1861, to survive. Nearly 400 were in stock at the end of 1862, when the pattern of the guidon was changed to the Stars & Stripes motif. All were on hand in Philadelphia, the main flag depot at the time, and were distributed to two flag makers for alteration to the new 1862 pattern. This flag survives from that period. Date: 1861 Size: 27" hoist x 41" fly Media: Silk; hand-sewn with painted inscriptions Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 2000 from the Madaus Flag Collection of Cody, WY. ZFC0410