U.S. 35 Star Recruiting Flag 32nd Indiana Infantry

U.S. 35 Star Recruiting Flag, 32nd Indiana Infantry with Battle Honors.
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.

A US National recruiting flag circa 1863/64 with battle honors of the 32nd Indiana, Vol. Infantry featuring 35 stars.

This flag has thirteen horizontal, alternating red and white wool bunting stripes, the top stripe and the bottom stripes are red. Inset into the upper, hoist corner, and extending through seven stripes is a dark blue wool bunting canton, 40.5 inches wide by 27 inches high. Hand-sewn into the canton (union) are thirty-five white cotton, 5 pointed stars, each 3.25 inches across, appliquéd identically on the obverse and reverse sides. The flag is finished on its hoist side with a white canvas heading, 2.75 inches wide having a brass grommet at each end, and bearing the maker's name: "J.E,. SEBRING Agt., MAKER" over " 27 Courtland St. N.Y." On the field, painted in black block letters 2" high, are eight battle honors, the first being "ROWLETT'S STATION" (the first engagement for the 32nd Indiana Infantry).

Exhibition History
First Presidio Exhibit, 2003

Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery III

Publication History:
Woodhead, Henry, Editor, Howard Michael Madaus, Civil War Flag Authority Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of The Union - Flags. Alexandria, Time-Life Books, 1998. P. 290

Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 74-75.


Provenance:
• National Regimental Color of the 32nd Indiana Infantry
• Acquired by trade with Chicago area arms dealer, Arbold Marcus Chernoff, 1974.
• Part of Madaus Collection
• Acquired by ZFC by Private Sale from the Madaus Flag Collection, 2000
Deaccessed Heritage Auctions - 13 November 2023 - Auction 6276


Sources:

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

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

War Department, Revised United States Army Regulations of 1861, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1863.

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

Cannon, Deveraux, The Flags Of The Union, Gretna, 1994.

32nd Regiment Indiana Infantry, Wikipedia, 13 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/32nd_Regiment_Indiana_Infantry

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

(Formerly in the Howard M. Madaus - Civil War & 19th Century Military Collection.)

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	51
Length of Fly	112

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	60
Frame Length	119

Stars
Number of Stars	35
How are the stars embeded?	Applique
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

Attachment
Method of Attachment	Grommets

Applica
Applique Sides	Double Sided = Two sides different

Documentation
Documents
Drawings
Research Documents
Public Copy & Signs

Condition
Condition	Good
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1863

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

Exhibition History First Presidio Exhibit (ZFC0403) 35-STAR UNITED STATES RECRUITING FLAG, 32ND INDIANA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY Date: 1864-1865 Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; all hand sewn Comment: Disaster after disaster on the battlefield befell Union armies in 1861 and 1862. These only stiffened the resolve of the Lincoln administration to raise even larger armies to defeat the Confederacy. As calls went out to the states for 300,000 more, the Quartermaster Department of the Union Army contracted for recruiting flags to stimulate patriotism and increase enlistments for the Union cause. James E. Sebing of New York City was one of the major recipients of Quartermaster Department flag contracts during the War. He made this 35-star recruiting flag under a contract with the New York Clothing Bureau. The flag was subsequently requisitioned by the recruiting party for the 32nd Indiana Volunteers, then serving in the western theater of the War. The recruiting party then decorated the stripes of this flag with the names of the engagements in which the 32nd had fought, starting with its earliest ROWETTS STATION and continuing on to NASHVILLE, where a contingent helped break the Confederate siege in December 1864. While applying names and slogans to the field or canton of the United States flag is now considered inappropriate, during the 19th century such was not at all the case. The center stripe of unit colors was typically decorated (as authorized by Army Regulations) with the unit name. After orders were issued by the War Department in February 1862, the stripes of many units national colors were decorated with battle honors for the engagements in which they had fought. These practices ceased only in the early 20th century. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0403) in 2000 from the Madaus Flag Collection of Cody, WY. Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery III (ZFC0403) 35-Star United States Recruiting Flag, 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Date: 18641865 35 Stars: July 4, 1863-July 4, 1865 (West Virginia statehood June 20, 1863) Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; all hand-sewn Comment: Disaster after disaster on the battlefield befell Union armies in 1861 and 1862. These only stiffened the resolve of the Lincoln administration to raise even larger armies to defeat the Confederacy. As calls went out to the states for 300,000 more, the Quartermaster Department of the Union Army contracted for recruiting flags to stimulate patriotism and increase enlistments for the Union cause. James E. Sebing of New York City was one of the major recipients of Quartermaster Department flag contracts during the War. He made this 35-star recruiting flag under a contract with the New York Clothing Bureau. The flag was subsequently requisitioned by the recruiting party for the 32nd Indiana Volunteers, then serving in the western theater of the War. The recruiting party decorated the stripes of this flag with the names of the engagements in which the 32nd had fought, starting with its earliestROWETTS STATIONand continuing on to NASHVILLE, where a contingent helped break the Confederate siege in December 1864. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0403) in 2000 from the Madaus Flag Collection of Cody, WY. U.S.Q.M. DEPARTMENT CONTRACT RECRUITING FLAG 32ND REGIMENT INDIANA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY (Madaus collection no. 1) (ZFC0403) DESCRIPTION The field consists of thirteen, horizontal, alternating red and white wool bunting stripes, commencing and ending in red, each stripe measuring between 3 1/4 to a maximum of 4 wide (the most common being 3 5/8) sewn together to form a field (with its heading) that measures 51 hoist by 112 on the fly. The fly end of the stripes is hemmed to the depth of 7/8. Inset into the upper, hoist corner, and measuring 27 1/2 on the hoist by 40 1/2 on the fly is a dark blue wool bunting canton, composed of two horizontal sections, the upper 18 1/2 wide, the lower 9 wide. Thirty-five, white, 5-pointed cotton stars, each measuring 3 1/4 across their points, appliqud to each side in five horizontal rows of seven stars each. The hoist end of the flag is encompassed with a white linen canvas heading 1 7/8 wide, having a brass grommet, 7/8 outer diameter and 3/8 inner diameter, pressed into each end of the heading. A trapezoidal bunting reinforcement, 5 long and tapering from 2 at the hoist to 1 at its fly end, respectively dark blue at the top and red at the bottom, reinforces the area next to the grommets. Inscribed at the top of the heading on the obverse side, 2 3/4 from the top of the heading is the two line stamp: J.E. SEBRING Agt. MAKER/ 27 Courtland St. N.Y. 6 1/2 long. 16 down from the top of the heading is the further stamp reading: L.A./MASS/US/INSP. DIV., signifying that the flag had passed the inspection of L.A. Mass, Quartermaster Department Inspector. Five of the white stripes of the flag are further lettered with the names of eight battle honors in 2 high black painted block letters, painted properly on the obverse side but in reverse on the obverse side. On the second stripe is the honor ROWLETTS STATION. On the fourth stripe are the honors SHILOH. and STONE RIVER. On the sixth stripe are the honors, LIBERTY GAP. and CHICKAMAUGA. On the eighth stripe is the general honor, ATLANTA CAMPAIGN. And, on the tenth stripe are two final battle honors: FRANKLIN. and NASHVILLE. These honors reflect the military service from December of 1861 through December of 1864 of the 32nd Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for whom this flag was decorated in early 1865 to draw recruits into the unit. The flag is in very good condition and has not been conserved. PROVENANCE This flag was acquired by trade in 1974 with Chicago area arms dealer, the late Arnold, Marcus Chernoff. With it came the 6 wide white silk stripe fragment bearing the embroidered honor Rowletts [Station] that once formed part of the National Regimental Color of the 32nd Indiana Infantry (Madaus collection no. 12). HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE Although there is firm documentation to indicate that the U.S. Army contracted for recruiting flags as early as the first decade of the nineteenth century, the United States Army flag regulations are silent about the existence of such flags until publication in 1857 of Regulations for the Army of the United States, 1857 (New York: Harper & Brothers). Paragraph 1464 of Article L, after describing garrison and storm flags merely notes that the recruiting flag, nine feet nine inches by four feet four inches (52 hoist by 117 fly) in size, otherwise agreeing to the general description of the garrison flag. As the initial recruiting for the Union Army was effected under the auspices of the loyal states, there was little call for recruiting flags during 1861. The states or patriotic groups and individual citizens improvised currently available commercial flags for recruiting purposes. Some states, such as New Jersey (who contracted for 36 in 1862 and another 50 in 1863 from William J. Yard) sought to provide flags somewhat conforming to these loose requirements, but for the most part flags used for recruiting purposes in the first year of the War seldom met the regulations. Beginning in the autumn of 1861, coinciding with the federal governments assumption of the recruiting efforts, the U.S. Quartermasters Department through its New York City depot began contracting for regulation recruiting flags. J.E. Sebring of New York City was the prime contractor until 1863, agreeing on 23 October 1861 to deliver 300 by 15 December, and following up this initial contract with contracts for 208 more on 18 January 1862, 500 on 14 August 1862, and 1,000 two weeks later on 28 August 1862. All of these flags should have been with thirty-four stars, as West Virginias statehood had yet to be recognized. Sebring continued to be the prime contractor for recruiting flags of the new thirty-five star variety in 1863, receiving a contract from the Cincinnati Q.M. depot on 24 September 1863 for 500 and from the New York City depot on 2 January 1864 for another 200. Another contract followed at the New York City depot on 23 February 1864 for another 100 recruiting flags and yet another for 400 on 13 August 1864. At the same time Sebring was awarded his contract in New York for 100 recruiting flags on 23 February 1864, a second contractor was able to secure an agreement to also make the recruiting flags; William F. Scheible of Philadelphia obtained a contract from the New York City depot for 100 on 23 February 1864. He was the only contractor besides Sebring to manufacture recruiting flags. Although no less than 3,608 recruiting flags were contracted for delivery by the U.S. Quartermasters Department during the Civil War (of which all but 100 were made by Sebring), official regulation recruiting flags are for reasons not fully understood quite rare. In thirty years of examining flags from the American Civil War, in addition to that of the 32nd Indiana Infantry, only one other U.S.Q.M. Department recruiting flag has been recorded in detail. That flag, also a 35 star Sebring contract flag is held by the G.A.R. room of the Chicago Public Library and is recorded as having been used as a headquarters flag of Major-General George H. Thomas. Other recruiting flags are equally rare; of the 86 recruiting flags contracted for by William Yard for New Jersey, only the one used by Captain Hopkins of the 7th New Jersey Infantry survives in the collections of Mr. Ben Zaricor of Santa Cruz, California. Supporting documents A. Scale drawing (1=1) of the Sebring contract recruiting flag of the 32nd Indiana Infantry. B. Scale drawing (1=1) of the Sebring contract recruiting flag used by Major-General George H. Thomas as his headquarters flag. C. Scale drawing (1=1) of the William J. Yard 1862 contract recruiting flag used by Captain Frank Hopkins, 7th New Jersey Infantry. D. Transcript list of contracts for Recruiting (and Storm and Garrison) Flags from National Archives records.

Publications
Publication Copy	Publication History: Woodhead, Henry, Editor, Howard Michael Madaus, Civil War Flag Authority Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of The Union - Flags. Alexandria, Time-Life Books, 1998. P. 290. (See images below). Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 74-75. 35-Star United States Recruiting Flag 32nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Disaster after disaster on the battlefield befell Union armies in 1861 and 1862. These only stiffened the resolve of the Lincoln administration to raise even larger armies to defeat the Confederacy led by Jefferson Davis. As calls went out to the states for 300,000 more, the Quartermaster Department of the Union Army contracted for recruiting flags to stimulate patriotism and increase enlistments for the Union cause. James E. Sebing of New York City was one of the major recipients of Quartermaster Department flag contracts during the War. He made this 35-star recruiting flag under a contract with the New York Clothing Bureau. The flag was subsequently requisitioned by the officers recruiting for the 32nd Indiana Volunteers, then serving in the western theater of the War. The stripes of this flag are decorated with the names of the engagements in which the 32nd had fought, starting with its earliestRowetts Stationand continuing on to Nashville, where a contingent helped break the Confederate siege in December 1864. Date: 1864 1865 Size: 48" hoist x 108" fly Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; all hand-sewn with painted battle honors Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 2000 from the Madaus Flag Collection of Cody, WY. ZFC0403
Publication Images	Cover Frontispiece datail Frontispiece P. 242 P. 243 P. 244 P. 261 P. 269 P. 289 P. 290 P. 291