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:


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.)