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ZFC3540

Williamsburgh Yacht Club Pennant, Brooklyn, 1865.

Sub-collection: Decatur Collection of Military & Naval Service - Spanning 100 years

Williamsburgh Yacht Club Pennant, Brooklyn, NY, founded 1865, Commodore Stephern Decatur family.
Founded on April 12th, 1865, near the close of the American Civil War, the Williamsburg Yacht Club is one of the nation's oldest yacht clubs in continuous existence. Started by a number of seasoned yachtsmen who assembled at the Penny Bridge on Newtown Creek in Brooklyn, very near the New York Navy Yard, the club has always been very patriotic. Various members of the Decatur and Storer families are thought to have been among its earliest yachtsmen, yet because the club's early records were destroyed by fire, corroboration is impossible.

Because of the club's loyalty and pride in the United States many of the Williamsburgh Yacht Club members have served in the US Armed Forces or loaned their boats for national service during the Civil War, Spanish-American War, First World War, Second World War, Korean War and the Vietnam War. Accordingly, the American colors and five point star were incorporated into the pennant or burgee of the club, which has, since its founding, featured an American Star on Old Glory Blue with Old Glory red accent stripes along the top and bottom edges.

This burgee was formerly part of the Decatur-Armsden Collection, a family collection that included artifacts and flags from the Lear-Storer-Decatur family, a family which encompassed a number of important historical figures from the 19th, 18th and 17th Centuries.

This cache of historical goods descended from various generations and branches of the Lear-Storer-Decatur family and included items from Sir William Pepperrell Baronet and John Storer ( who were both part of the 1745 expedition to Nova Scotia to capture Ft. Louisburg), Colonel Tobias Lear (General Washington's Aide de Camp and personal friend), Benjamin Lincoln Lear (son of Tobias Lear), Commodore Stephen Decatur, Commodore Stephen A. Decatur (nephew of his famous namesake), Commodore George Washington Storer, Ichabod Goodwin ( Governor of New Hampshire), Captain George Washington Storer (nephew of Tobias Lear), and Admiral of the Navy George Dewey.

The accumulation of historic artifacts was a treasure trove which was rediscovered in the mid 20th Century when the family as a whole decided to sell a barn at Kittery Point, Maine, the spiritual center of the extended family. The barn had served as a repository for a vast amount of historical material that has been passed down through the generations. When inventoried, the barn was found to contain a significant archive of papers, memorabilia, photographs, books, artifacts and some twenty historic flags. The historic trove was divided up amongst the three branches of the family.


The portion which had gone to Alice Decatur Armsden contained the flags and was maintained in its entirety until her and her husband's estate was settled in 2009. In the estate were flags from some of America's most illustrious naval families of Decatur, Storer and Dewey. The flag grouping consisted of Boat Flags, Ensigns, Signal Flags, Burgees, Rank Flags, Distinguishing Flags, Service Flags and a Yacht Ensign. Among the US flags and ensigns were the following star counts: 13 stars (4), 16 stars, 26 stars, 34 stars (3), 35 stars, 45 stars (2) and 48 stars.

Dating from the early 18th century, the flags seem to have been acquired from the male naval officers of the family by the women of the families, who then carefully preserved and conserved them, an act for which posterity is forever indebted. This burgee in particular likely dates from the 1870s.

See ZFC3539 & ZFC 3541 for a similar if reversed version.

ZFC Significant Flag

Sources:



Williamsburgh Yacht Club, Oldest American Yacht Clubs, 14 November 2011, from;
14 November 2011, from; http://www.burgees.com/OldUSClubs.htm

Williamsburgh Yacht Club, 14 November 2011, from;
http://www.williamsburghyachtclub.org

2-Day Winter Antiques & Fine Art Auction, Artfact, 14 November 2011, from: http://www.artfact.com/auction-catalog/2-day-winter-antiques-fine-art-auction,-day-2-kbmiwmy646

Smith, David, A Million-Dollar Map At Julia's Americana, Antiques and the Arts Online, 14 November 2011, from:
http://antiquesandthearts.com/Antiques/AuctionWatch/2010-03-02__14-22-30.html

Parsons, William Decatur, The Decatur Genealogy, New York 1921, with additions by &Stephen Decatur, Marblehead, MA, 2003.

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection



Hoist & Fly

Width of Hoist 21.75
Length of Fly 34.5

Stars

Comments on Star Measurements One 5 point star, centered.

Stripes

Size of Hoist 1.25

Frame

Is it framed? no

Stars

Number of Stars 1
How are the stars embeded? Sewn
Are there stars on obverse? yes
Are there stars on reverse? yes

Stripes

Has a Blood Stripe? no
Comments on Stripes red border top & bottom

Nationality

Nation Represented United States

Fabric

Fabric Wool

Stitching

Stitching Machine

Weave

Type of Weave Plain

Attachment

Comments on Method of Attachmen Two brass grommets
Method of Attachment 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.

Condition

Condition Good
Damage Used, soiled, stained, mothed, worn.
Displayable yes

Date

Date 1870's