46 Star U.S. Flag, Quartermaster Department Contract Flag, JC Copeland.
This machine-sewn, wool, 56" x 90", 46 star flag is an excellent example of a military contract flag. Military sub-contract flags were made by flag makers to fill contracts for the United States Army and Navy. In the early days of the republic the U.S. Navy made most of its own flags in individual Navy Yards while the U.S. Army made its flags at the Schuylkill Arsenal in Philadelphia. Here, the Army began contracts with civilian flag makers almost immediately after establishing the Schuylkill Arsenal as the principal suppliers of textile goods to the Army in 1818. Mrs. Elisabeth Claypool (Betsy Ross) and Rebecca Young (mother of Mary Pickersgill, maker of the star Spangled Banner) were two such sub-contractors.
The upper hoist corner of the flag is marked by the heading," "M.C. Copeland & CO., Washington, D.C. Contract March 12, 1901" and the flag is finished with distinctive, cast metal staples riveted to the hoist. This type of finish is characteristic of the style of military flags made from the 1880s to the 1940s.
Exhibition - Presentation History:
This flag's image was displayed on April 9, 2005 in a presentation given by Howard Madaus at the 6th Annual Flag Symposium, sponsored by the Star Spangled Banner Flag House and Museum in Baltimore, MD. Madaus' presentation was titled 'The Other 48s: a look at the evolution of the 48 star U.S. Flag and the various star patterns it engendered'.
Provenance:Purchased in 1995 from the Star spangled banner Flag House and Museum who acquired it by anonymous donation in 1963.
ZFC Significant Flag
Sources:
Flag Sizes, Naval History & Heritage Command, 4 October 2011
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq129-1.htm
Haggard, John V. , Flag Making Tradition at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot, 4 October 2011, from:
http://www.qmfound.com Flag_Making_Philadelphia_Depot.htm
Madaus, Howard M.- Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict, VZ Publications, Santa Cruz, 2006. p 16.
Quartermaster General US Army, U.S. Army Uniforms and Equipment, 1889, reprint, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1986, pp. 26-29.
