33 Star U.S. Garrison Flag - Handmade.
Oregon's entry into the Union on February 14th, 1859 prompted a rapid obsolescence of the 32-star flag adopted the year before to honor Minnesota's statehood. On July 4th, 1859, the 33-star flag became official. Although the imaginative star arrangement of this flag is similar to the diamond pattern that the U.S. Army began to experiment with in 1845, the flag's size in no way conforms to the size requirements for either the Army garrison flag (20 by 36) or the newly adopted Army storm flag (10 by 20). It is likely, therefore, that this flag belonged to one of the many merchant ships flying under the U.S. colors.

The American Civil War Begins (1859-1861)
In the atmosphere of political turmoil and bloody conflict that followed the Compromise of 1850, the candidate debate was introduced in the 1858 Illinois U.S. Senate campaign. Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln squared off in the now famous debates over the issue of popular sovereignty in the territories seeking admission to the Union as new states. This 33-star diamond pattern flag was in use when Abraham Lincoln, capturing an electoral majority but not the popular vote, won the presidential election of 1860. It is similar to the flag that flew at Fort Sumter at the outbreak of the Civil War. The 33-star flag was the first of four star counts (33-36) that flew throughout the Civil War.

American Maritime Flags of the 19th Century
Ships and coastal installations (both governmental and private) require flags that can be identified from great distances. Recognition was achieved during the nineteenth century by providing these vessels and facilities with flags that were especially large. Exhibited here are several American flags related to such vessels or facilities from the period 1818 to 1893. They are all large bunting flags.

Generally speaking, a large flag is one that is too unwieldy to be carried by one person if the flag is attached to a staff meant to be carried by single individual. Until 1854 in the British Army, and until 1895 in the American Army, military colors carried by units on foot were made of silk and measured no more than 6 feet on the staff by 6 feet 6 inches on the fly. Essentially, a flag with an area encompassing slightly more than four square yards of cloth was deemed the maximum size for transport by an individual on a staff. Most of the flags in this exhibit exceed those parameters.

Due to their size, large flags such as these are difficult to display and are seldom sought by collectors. Museums often relegate them to perpetual storage.

Exhibition History:

Baltimore Star Spangled Banner Flag House 3/2004
(ZFC1403)
33-Star United States Flag

Washington University at St. Louis
October, 2004
(ZFC1403)
33-Star United States Flag

Provenance:
• Sold via Cowan's Auction, Cincinnati, Ohio, to the Zaricor Flag Collection, 1998.


ZFC Important Flag

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