On July 3rd, 1959, after forty-seven years of unchanged service, the last of the forty-eight star United States flags was raised over the capitol building in Washington, D.C. On the next day, the new forty-nine star flag became the new official flag of the land. Senator John M. Butler, who brought it back from Congress to Maryland, presented this last of the old forty-eighters to the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House of Baltimore, Maryland. Butler Flag was flown over the Capitol before 49-Star flag. Last flag flown over U.S. capitol before rising of 49-Star flag. Washington's office of Senator John M. Butler. Flag is "Defiance" brand cotton bunting.
Provenance: Gifted to Ben Zaricor (ZFC0179) in 1996 from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD, for recovering 3 fragments of the original Star-Spangled Banner Flag of 1814 that had been lost for 30 years.
View of the flag flying at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. Photo courtesy of Jared Young, Oklahoma.
Exhibition History:
First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC0179)
Last 48-Star United States Flag To Fly Over Congress
Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - GALLERY VI
(ZFC0179)
Last 48-Star United States Flag to Fly Over Congress
Publication History:
Crump, Anne, David Studarus, photographer, "A Grand Old Obsession." American Spirit: Daughters of the American revolution Magazine: July/August 2003: P.20.
Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 130-131.
ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed
Provenance:
• Made by the Dettra Flag Company, Oaks, PA, 1959.
• Acquired by Purchase by Office of the Architect of the Capitol, 1959.
• Used on U.S. Capitol until 4 July 1959.
• Acquired by Senator John M. Butler, (R) MD, 1959.
• Presented to Star-Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum, Baltimore, MD, 1959.
• Gifted to Ben Zaricor from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD, for recovering 3 fragments of the original Star-Spangled Banner Flag of 1814 that had been lost for 30 years, 1996.
Sources: