A United States Color Troop's Flag Marker Found in a Small Local LIbrary!

Remarkable historical artifacts can be found in so many places, not always in museums or historical societies. Here is a story of a remarkable flag marker found at a small library in Western New York State. Spicer Art Conservation, LLC has previously treated another USCT flag (read about it here).

The library's director with the framed flag before treatment.   

The flag marker is a silk 35-Star National flag with a 6/6/6/5/6/6 star pattern located in the canton. Embroidered in yellow and light blue silk threads on the strips with "26 / U.S.C.T." The small flag measures 17 7/8" H x 24 1/2" W. All of the seams are flat-feld. The blue silk hoist is a folded over to create a sleeve with four holes that were used to attach the flag to its staff. A small fragment of the fly edge survived. 

Drawing of the flag's construction. In the drawing a small vertical section
of the stitched fly edge can be seen.

The 26th USCT is one of three troops from New York State. It turns out that it is also called 26th Regiment New York Infantry (Colored). The 26th Regiment was organized at Riker's Island, New York harbor, in February 27, 1864. The unit was commanded under Col. William Silliman. 

Below, is the surviving regimental flag for the unit, beautifully embroidered with silk bullion fringe. 

A beautifully embroidered regimental flag for this unit still exists and
is held in the collections of the Division of Military Naval Affairs.
Embroidered at the lower section is "GOD AND LIBERTY".

At one point in the flag's history, it had been glue to a laminated board. Excessive glue was used.

The flag glued to the board once removed from the frame.

 

The slow process of removing the laminated back board that the flag was glued.

The vast majority of the paper board layers were able to be removed. But still not all could be removed safely with out damaging the silk. The small areas were determined to stay.

Encapsulated flag, showing the reverse side.

 

Once the flag was encapsulated, it was then positioned onto a prepared aluminum honeycomb panel. Layers of needle-punch batting are incorporated to create the best pressure with the covering UV-filtered Plexiglas.

Attaching the show covered fabric to the mount.

The flag was positioned onto the prepared mount, covered with UV-filtered Plexiglas and secured with a powder-coated aluminum frame.  

 

Completed and mounted flag.

 

The 18th Star

About a year ago a flag rolled onto a large diameter tube came to my studio, brought by the Preventive Conservator, Tara Kennedy from the archival collection at the Divinity Library at Yale University. They had recently learned of a large, wool bunting, 18-star, thirteen stripe National flag in their collection. This was part of an investigative project for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) by Library Alliance intern Taylor Williams, who is a forensic science undergraduate from Southern University of New Orleans. The flag arrived at Yale in 2017 as part of a transfer of several hundred boxes of archival materials from Andover Newton Theological School, formerly located in Newton, Massachusetts. Every eighteen-star flag is very unusual and rare. What was the date of the flag? Could it be a real 18-star flag from 1812? These and other questions could only begin to be answered with a fuller understanding of the flag. This began with a full analysis and description of the flag. 

Overall of the 18-Star flag.

Schematic of the flag illustrating the locations of seams and selvages.

What is a flag analysis? This is a technical study that includes every aspect of the flag’s construction, including measurements and type of materials used. The study documents gross overall construction and progresses down to the spin and thread count of each fabric present (see the table below). The physical examination is done under both simple, 8x magnification and microscopy at 100x and 250x magnification. The known physical properties are compared to other known flag examples of similar type and ages. Some technical studies include analysis of the dyes as well, which was not performed in this case. 

Magnification of the three wool fabrics. The salvage edge is located on the left side of both the blue and red fabrics. Each are a plain-weave structure with threads spun in the Z-direction.

The Canton

The first indication of the unusual nature of this flag was in the construction of the canton. It was made with three horizontal seams, evenly spaced about 8” apart. Found at each seam were selvage edges, meaning that each strip of fabric was a full width, not pieced with fragments. This narrow-woven bunting is called “quarter cloth.” Its presence in this flag was unusual. 

Uniqueness of an 18-star flag The second official national flag was in 1795 with 15-stars to include the states of Vermont and Kentucky. The third official flag was in 1818 with 20-stars (Mastai and Mastai 1973; Madaus and Smith 2006). The third Flag Act stated that the number of stripes would remain at 13. Many flags used during the War of 1812 featured fifteen stripes as well as stars. The eighteenth star of the US national flag represents Louisiana, which achieved statehood on April 30th 1812, following Ohio (1803) and before Indiana (1816). There was no official 18-star flag. This is why so many 15-star flags, such as the Star Spangled Banner and the Fort Niagara flag, were used long after they no longer correctly represented the number of states in the Union. Grace Cooper in her book Thirteen-Star Flags: Keys to Identification notes, ‘It is doubtful that there were any eighteen-star or nineteen-star flags. . . With the War of 1812 raging, one would not expect the national flag to be changed while it was under fire” (Cooper 1973). However, in So Proudly We Hail, (Furlong and McCandless 1981) a silk, eighteen-star and eighteen stripe flag is shown. This is called the Baton Rouge Flag and is in an unknown collection (see below). It clearly does not fully follow the Flag Act specifications about the number of stars and stripes. The stars in this this Baton Rouge Flag are in a 5-4-5-4 pattern. Its existence indicates that the Yale's 18-Star flag is possibly historically real.

The silk Baton Rouge Flag with 18-stars and 18 stripes.

Are there other 18-star flags? In 1860 when southern states were beginning to secede, areas of the north were beginning to make flags with stars representing those states who were known to remain in the Union. Such flags have been called Exclusionary Flags. A surviving example is the 18-Star flag from Isaac Hayes Arctic Expedition of 1860 that left from Boston (Zaricor; ZFC0630; Mastai and Mastai 1973). This cotton flag was professionally made, with two-concentric rings around a center star. In contrast are Louisiana Secession flags. A surviving flag has eighteen stars, being the eighteen state, however with fewer stripes (Bridgeman). Both of these surviving flags are made of cotton.

Summary of Findings 

The fabric analysis of the 18-star flag bunting used fits within the range of threads per inch of the early nineteenth century. According to Cooper, use of single Z-spun threads persisted into the Civil War. The flag is made of high-quality wool, hand-woven fabric and is skillfully constructed with an unusual star count. All of the findings indicate that the flag is genuine to the time period of when Louisiana became a state in 1812.

A Tricolor in the canton of a Civil War National Color

It's Flag Day, June 14, and there is interesting history to go with an artifact being conserved this summer at Spicer Art Conservation. We going to be mounting an unusual Civil War National Color from the collection of the New York State Military Museum, soon to be going on loan for an exhibit in Germany.

On the obverse side of the flag are 34 embroidered stars in the grand luminary design in the canton. On the reverse side is a tricolor of black, red and gold, a German National flag (the black and red fields are comprised of solid pieces of fabric, while the bottom gold field is comprised of four ribbons stitched together horizontally.)

It is unusual to have another national flag in the canton of a US National flag. These were tumultuous times in Europe, with the widespread 'revolutions' of 1848, and the black-red-gold tricolor became the symbol of those advocating a German Republic. Following the disturbances, many Germans emigrated to the United States, and, having lost their bid to establish a republic at home, these immigrants became whole-hearted Americans, and some of them enlisted to preserve our Republic.

The reverse-side of the canton, a tricolor of
black, red and gold strips.

The four ribbon rows used to create the
yellow strip of the German flag.

"The large German-American population of the North was among the first to rally to the defense of the Union in 1861. In all, over 200,000 of these immigrant Americans would enlist in the Federal armies. Some of them were not only eager volunteers, but distinctly dressed as well. Two New York City German regiments, the 8th and the 20th Volunteer Infantry, wore uniforms reflecting the Germanic tradition of marksmanship and the use of rifles." (*Don Troiani's Regiments & Uniforms of the Civil War (Stackpole Books 2002).

(Learn more at  the New York State Military Museum's webpage about the 8th Infantry https://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/8thInf/8thInfMain.htm )

It may be a bit of a shock to some to recognize the tricolor in the US national flag canton to be the modern German flag--it looks like something from an editorial cartoonist's pen. This flag has a long history, and it has specific meaning. Wikipedia ("Flag_of_Germany") tells us that there have been two tricolors competing to be the German national flag: black-white-red (imperial colors) and the current black-red-gold (republican colors). The black-red-gold flag appeared first in 1778, and was prominent during and after the 1848 revolutions. It was proposed to be the flag of a constitutional monarchy for united Germany. Black-white-red was the imperial flag until the end of World War I. The black-red-gold flag again returned during the Weimar Republic, giving way to the imperial colors during the Nazi regime. Following World War II, the republican design was revived to represent Germany, what we referred to as 'West Germany' during the Cold War. During that time 'East Germany' included a field of 'socialist heraldry', the latter dropped upon reunification in 1990.

The grand luminary star pattern.

If you look carefully below the nylon net,
the star is embroidered as a circle with a
chain-stitch outline, with five-points.

The flag that SAC is treating was made for the 8th NY Volunteer infantry, a regiment composed of the German-Americans. The 8th was referred to as the 1st German Rifles, commanded by Ludwig Blenker. They were issued M1842 Muskets rather than rifles, but still chose to wear the green trim associated with rifle units. They were one of many Union regiments wearing gray in 1861.

After some brief searching and asking around, I have not yet been able to locate any other examples of a flag from a different nation being combined into the US flag for any of the other immigrant troops. There are examples of troops carrying a flag representative of their home nation along with a US flag, but nothing where the 2 flags are combined into 1 flag like this one is. We would be interested in learning more about such flags.

Conserving Patton's Third Army Flag

By Barbara Owens, SAC staff

Happy Flag Day 2017 and Happy 242nd Birthday to the US Army!  At Spicer Art Conservation we wanted to celebrate these two occasions by talking about the conservation of a historic American Army flag, General George Patton's Third Army Flag.

Patton's Third Army flag when it arrived at Spicer Art Conservation.
(Image courtesy of the Gen. Geo. Patton Museum of Leadership, Ft. Knox, KY).

This flag is quite unique in that it is a textile constructed as a flag, yet it was never meant to fly.  Instead, Patton's Third Army Flag is a commemorative piece containing insignia from each of the 56 Units and Divisions of Patton's Third Army, as well as several lengths of laurel embellishments, all overlaid onto an organizational flag of the third army.  The flag was created specifically as a commemorative piece and was presented to General Patton by Major General Robert Littlejohn (who was chief quartermaster of European Theater of Operations).  The flag was given to Patton just weeks before his death on December 21, 1945.  The image below is perhaps the only photo of Patton with the flag.

Littlejohn presents the flag to Patton.  (Photo from U.S. Militaria Forum). 

The flag features some insignia or embellishments that are not part of the 3rd Army or its regiments.  Several lengths of laurel radiate from the center and create a separation between the Unit patches.  These laurel leaves are "European" in character, but quite fitting for inclusion in Patton's flag as he commanded throughout Europe and perhaps more importantly, laurel symbolizes victory.  An appropriate symbol to include in a presentation to a celebrated General who had famously been involved in victories of the WWII, from North Africa to Germany.

Creating a pressure mount for Patton's Third Army Flag:
A pressure mount is a type of framed mount for the display of a textile or paper artifact to create overall pressure to support the artifact. For textiles in particular, a pressure mount enables the artifact to be placed on a mount but with few or no stitches placed in the artifact to secure it to the mount.  The mount begins with a support panel composed of a rigid archival material, such as a honeycomb aluminum panel. The support panel is then covered with soft base layers created from needle-punched polyester batting. The batting serves as a soft surface for the artifact to rest on. The artifact is then covered with UV filtering plexiglas and it is secured within an aluminum powder coated frame; the edges of the frame are sealed to prevent dust, debris and airborne pollutants from entering the frame.

Patton's Third Army flag had been previously framed and was stitched to a heavy piece of black polyester fabric. The previously used frame was not a sealed pressure mount and therefore dust and airborne particulate entered the back of the frame to settle on the mounting fabric (see image below).

The previously used frame had allowed dust and airborne particulate to enter the back of the frame. Above, the reverse side of the mounting fabric shows the layer of dust.  Above, you can also see the extensive stitching in yellow thread used to attach the flag and fringe to its display fabric.

This flag is not flat:
A flag like this is unique in that the embroidery, insignia, and fringe create a 3-dimensional surface.  Additionally, the stitching of the various elements onto silk creates puckering between the patches and laurel.

This planar view of the flag's surface, shows the raised quality of the laurel embellishments.

The center area, where the large army "A" is located in an embroidered circle, is quite thick, with a round embroidered "A" being featured on both the obverse and reverse of the flag.  In fact, the large circle with the Third Army emblem is the only embroidery featured on the reverse side of the flag.

Paying attention to the raised embroidered areas of the flag is important for a number of reasons.  First, cleaning a surface that has texture and depth requires more attention to detail.  Second, when mounting the flag for display, if the raised areas are not supported, the weight of those areas can sag or shift as gravity takes its toll.

Building the Mount
Creating a pressure mount for a textile like Patton's Third Army Flag requires that the raised elements be supported consistently and overall with a padded surface as the base for the mount. If it had instead been placed on a hard, flat, base surface and Plexiglas was simply played over the top, it would result in the raised areas being crushed.  For a textile like this, the padding that covers the surface of the mount cannot consist of just one solid piece, instead the padding must be muli-layered, having areas cut-out of the padding to allow for the embellishments to rest into.

While the pressure mount is being constructed, various layers of batting are
compiled to line up with the embellishments on the surface of the flag.  

The construction and building of the pressure mount is careful work.  The layers must align properly, and they must support, but create no additional bulk.

The batting layers with the visible "wells" to accommodate the thicker portions of the flag.

Patton's commemorative patch flag features some interesting construction techniques.  The fringe is affixed to the outside of the flag, this indicates that the flag was a standard issue Third Army Flag.  The unit sleeve patches were affixed with care and thought; the red patches were stitched in a blanket stitch with red thread, the blue patches with blue thread, etc. (close-up image below).

Close-up of some of the sleeve patches and the individualized
color stitching used to best match the patch.

Above, the close-up image reveals the close proximity placement of the sleeve patches, as well as the decorative laurel. The attachment shows the puckering or "undulation" of the silk as the heavy pieces are are stitched to silk - a slippery and unforgiving fabric!

As the pressure mount comes together, each component must work in synchronicity.  The layering of the batting must sit properly beneath the patches and embellishments. The Plexiglas must create the right amount of support and proper pressure, but not too much pressure as to be damaging.  The layers of the frame; the base support layer, the artifact, the Plexiglas, the frame itself, all must work together and house the textile in a way that will create the best possible mount for as long as the flag is framed within it.

Each year Spicer Art Conservation assists organizations and individual collectors with their flag conservation and mounting projects.  Our expertise in the preservation of these historic artifacts has given us the opportunity to work on some of the most unique and interesting pieces of history. We are pleased to be a recognized expert in flag preservation and wish all flag enthusiasts a very happy Flag Day!  We are additionally pleased to serve the US Army in the conservation of their collection of artifacts and wish the US Army a very happy birthday!
_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is an art conservator in private practice. Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, and is a recognized expert in the care and conservation of historic flags and banners. Spicer Art Conservation additionally specializes in object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  To contact Gwen, please visit her website or send an email.

Collection management in museums where recommendations are being followed

Imagine the success in collection care that could be achieved if the recommendations in a site visit report or collection care report could be followed and implemented?

But for many institutions, by the time a report is deemed necessary, an overwhelmed state has already been reached. The museum staff simply may not know where to begin because the task has been labeled as "daunting". Yet, in some situations the survival of the collection, and certainly the most vulnerable items in the collection, need to be addressed or be lost.

I know, you are reading this and saying, "we are understaffed!", "we have a shoestring budget!" or, "you've never dealt with my board!"

Those are stumbling blocks, no one will deny. But implementing recommendations does not have to be an "all at once" effort, nor does it have to be "everything or nothing at all". Hence is why most recommendations are prioritized and a time-line is projected.

Success Story: The Banner Collection of the Literary and Scientific Circle of the Chautauqua Institution.
The background story is this: the Chautauqua Institution is a small community known for their short intense summer season, and many residents are seasonal only, leaving just a handful of people on-site in the off-season. Many buildings belonging to the institution are unheated in winter.

Overall of the 1947 banner with its protective covering.

The 1947 banner features a painted surface.

The Chautauqua Institution dates back to 1847. The banner collection dates to 1875 where it is known as the collection from The Normal School, then the Scientific and Literary Circle from 1882. The collection grows by one banner each year as the literary circle creates a banner to symbolize that year. Every banner since the inaugural banner is in the collection. Traditional also calls for the banners to be removed from display/storage and be marched in an annual parade.

About 15 years ago, the Institute called to consult with Spicer Art Conservation about the condition of some of the older banners that had grown quite fragile, as well as to seek advice about the building in which the banners are housed. The building, Alumni Hall, which is original to the grounds, had no basement, no insulation, no covering over the lights or windows, no heat, no dehumidification system, and no air conditioning.

Alumni Hall. Some of the banners are reproduced to be hung outside.

The first step was a survey of the collection, included in the survey report were recommendations which were classified into categories. The most urgent needs were identified to be dealt with first, followed by those which were close behind, and finally the needs that could wait. After the survey, a hands-on session was conducted to train anyone in contact with the collection how to properly handle and care for the banners.

One of the shelving units in the collection.

The all-volunteer committee was eager to learn about best practices and while they were concerned about the monumental task ahead of them, they made the decision to move forward, one recommendation at a time, and create the best possible environment for their collection.

The committee worked on each step, they budgeted for things they did not expect (like getting dehumidifiers), and they worked for a solid decade. Ten years later, the collection was reassessed. The collection was being stored, displayed and handled properly. Guidelines were in place, and the environment was being monitored constantly.

Each banner is placed on its solid support in archival shelving with an image of the banner on an identification card.

The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle's (CLSC) collection of banners has become the hallmark for how to implement change and create the best storage and display environment possible for any textile collection. This past week I returned to Chautauqua for another visit to examine the collection and give a talk about the banners and this incredible story of success.

With hard work and perseverance, the entire collection has been conserved properly. If a tiny institution can do it with an all volunteer staff, anyone (who is willing) can do it too.

The banner collection of the CLSC has been featured in our blog once before. That entry is one of our most popular and most viewed. Simply titled "How to Store your Flag Part 1" it has been viewed by thousands and I invite you to view it by clicking the link. There are simple storage solutions there, and it is never to early or too late to implement proper storage.

And of course, if you need a professional conservator, reach out! No project is too big or too small for Spicer Art Conservation. We are here to help institutions, historic societies, private collectors and anyone who is interested in the care and preservation of historic textiles, banners and flags.

_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is an art conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of artifacts is unrivaled. To contact her, please visit her website.

Flags of the United States Colored Troops

While flag day probably conjures up images of our National Flag, perhaps it is also a day to shed some light on the rich history of flags created for military regiments, namely the United States Colored Troops (USCT).

A few years ago Spicer Art Conservation treated an unusual National Flag from the 4th United States Colored Troops (USCT) belonging to the Maryland Historical Society. The treatment was the topic of a presentation and paper given at the August 1-5, 2011 Washington Flag Congress. [The concurrence of the 45th annual meeting of North American Vexillological Association & the 24 International Congress of the Fédération Internationale des Associations Vexillologiques ]. The 4th USCT is a spectacular flag with a double sided canton. The flag, composed of silk and hand painted on both sides, had many areas of tearing and shattering. Following treatment the flag was to be mounted with a window on the reverse side to view the obverse of the canton.

The 4th USCT of Maryland before treatment

Treatment of the 4th USCT flag sparked interest in knowing the whereabouts of other surviving flags of colored troops. African American men fought in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Spanish American War; however, these men were not limited to segregated units. The USCT only refers to the troops serving in the Civil War conflict and the Regular Army’s segregated troops that were created in the wake of the success of the USCT. It is not until 1954 when the formal desegregation of the armed forces was completed with the abolishment of the last segregated unit in the wake of President Truman’s 1948 Executive Order 9981.

And while each Civil War unit had their own flags, it is the USCT flags are special because of the individual and unique sentiments often expressed on them, often stylized to represent the unit and what it was fighting for. Many of these flags were hand made and painted by the community from which the unit came. Many of the flags featured a different image on each side.

Their are few flags of the USCT that remain. The New York Military Museum has two from the 26th NY regiment, others are in historic societies or belong to the state from which the regiment originated. But mysteriously, there are several other flags that are mentioned as existing, yet these flags are lost to us in that their current whereabouts is unknown.

26th USCT – New York Military Museum -

Research shows us that the Civil War USCT regiments consisted of: 7 cavalry, 13 artillery (light and heavy), one battery, 144 infantry, and 2 brigade bands. While it is unclear if each of these units had a locally made flag, we know that per regulations, each unit should have received a Regimental and National color or standard and with guidons and flank markers where appropriate. What we do not know is how many of these flags have survived; where are they located and what was their design?

This is not a history, but rather an attempt to locate and create an inventory the surviving USCT flags. Any assistance with providing missing information, particularly of the flags that are thought to be lost or lack any information, would be of great help. It is apparent that these flags are of great interest in flag collections, but appear to be focused on separate groups, often isolated and difficult to locate. Here we hope to be able to have a place to gather images and locations of all the surviving flags. We welcome your help in this project.

The first documented flag created specifically for black troops was the “Bucks of America” company color, which was presented to a militia of free black men in honor of their valiant service in the Revolutionary War. This particular flag is not the flag these men carried in battle; instead it was a presentation color, given to the unit in recognition for their service. It appears in the book Standards and Colors of American Revolution by Edward Richardson (1982).

"Bucks of America" flag, from the Massachusetts Historical Society.  See the
link above to go to MHS site to read more about the flag and the Bucks.

During the War of 1812 there does not seem to be any record of an African American unit. Instead they served in the regular army, in mixed regiments, but primarily in the 26th Infantry which boasted 247 black enlistees. There were not any specifically segregated units. Conversely, there is abundant evidence that the fledgling U.S. Navy was desperate for sailors and many of the African Americans who served were simply incorporated onto the ships they were needed on, regardless of color. Visit PBS to read more on the story of the black sailors and soldiers of the War of 1812 and watch the video link there. Link: http://www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/essays/black-soldier-and-sailors-war/

It is during the Civil War when most of the exclusively black units were created. In 1863 The United States Department of War created the Bureau of Colored Troops. Most well known of these units is perhaps the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry whose story was the basis for the award winning 1989 movie “Glory”. But the 54th is just one of 175 regiments that were organized in 1863. So how many flags from these units still exist? Some sources say less than 25. 

Prior to the USCT there were State Volunteers and the Corp D’Afrique, many of which were federalized into USCT units. An example is the 12th Corps that became the 84th USCT; a flag survives from each period. All of this makes identifying flags more confusing.

12th Corps with reinactor. The flag is owned
by the US Army.

Image of the 84th from the collection of NMAH

A sad discovery is the apparent loss of the flags from regiments from Pennsylvania, which had 11 USCT Regiments. Their beauty is known by the surviving black and white photographs, copies of which are located at the Library of Congress. David B. Bowser, an African American artist, painted several of these.

3rd United States Colored Infantry regiment:

Front of 3rd USCT flag

Back of 3rd USCT flag

 http://www.usct.org/images/3rdusctpostcardweb.jpg

6th United States Colored Infantry Regiment  – both sides 

Front side of the 6th. Only these black and white
images exist and they are located at the LOC.

For more information about the 6th go here: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/ct.htm 

22nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment

Front and back of the 22nd, this is the black and white image that had
 been colorized.  Its accuracy of course is unknown because all that
exists are the photographs from the LOC.

24th U.S. Colored Troops – both sides

Front of 24th USCT flag, image from the LOC.  It reads,
"Let Soldiers in war be citizens in peace"

25th U.S. Colored Troops

Front of the 25th.  Image from the LOC.

45th U.S. Colored Troops. Only an image of the front exists.

Front of the 45th.  Image from the LOC.

127th United States Colored Infantry Regiment. Only an image of the front exists.

Color reproduction of the 127th.  It reads: "We will prove
ourselves men"

The lost Pennsylvania flags are the 8th, 32nd, 41st, and 43rd U.S. C.T.

Visit the State of Pennsylvania's page: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/spring/21356/destination/1460567

for more about Pennsylvania's commemoration of the Civil War.

Richard Sauers wrote in his book, Advance the Colors! Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flags that many of the USCT flags made their way from the State Mustering office in Philadelphia (where a flag was held for safe keeping) to the War Department for storage. In 1906 they were transferred to the Museum at West Point. Documented in this transfer are the flags of the  22nd, 25th, 32nd, 43rd and 127th USCT.  By the start of WWII storage had become an issue, and the condition of some flags had become so poor that they were discarded. Sauers mentions that only one flag identified as a Pennsylvania USCT remained in the museum in 1940, but he does not state which one.

Besides the USCT flags of the State of Pennsylvania, not many flags are as well known or documented. The following list is what is known to have survived (listed in order of Regt. Number) and its location. Where possible, a photo is included.

2nd USCT, Owned by the Pennsylvania State Museum

4th – Headquarter Bridgade Flag – Private collection

4th HQ Brigade Flag, image from Zaricor Flag Collection.
Visit the site for more information:
http://www.flagcollection.com/itemdetails.php?CollectionItem_ID=2941
Note: the 4th Regiment National flag is the first flag we discussed,
which belongs to the Maryland Historical Society.

5th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops – (3) Ohio Historical Society - 

Flank Marker of the 5th United States Colored Troops. (Flank Marker of
 the 127th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.), Ohio Department of the Adjutant General. 

27th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, owned by Ohio Historical Society

The above two images are guidons from the 27th USCT.  They
belong to the Ohio Historical Society.

Regimental Colors of the 27th USCT. This flag also belongs
to the Ohio Historical Society.

28th Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops, War Memorial Museum

National colors of the 28th Regiment, USCT. Two images of the same flag.

29th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer

Regimental with the Connecticut seal.

The Kansas Historical Society has six flags from the First and Second Kansas Colored infantries. This is one of the largest collections of surviving African American Civil War flags in the nation.

1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment (79th United Stated Colored Infantry Regiment) has three flags, a Regimental, National and a National from Company F

2nd Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment also have three flags.

Two Regimentals for the 2nd Kansas.

The Confederacy did have units that included or were composed of blacks, working in a range of capacities but none are known to have had distinctive flags, and the only 1865 period press description describes the Confederate national flag. We would be interested in knowing about these.

After the Civil War, specifically black infantry and cavalry units were raised. These units served with distinction during both the Indian Wars & the Spanish American War, and the Philippine Insurrection. They were often referred to as “Buffalo Soldiers”, an appellation originated by the Native American Indians as a tribute to their fighting prowess. One surviving flag is the 10th Cavalry, located at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Twentieth century flags are more standardized with less variation in design and construction than those of earlier centuries. Examples of the surviving colors include: 

157th Red Hand Division (American Regiments under French command)

http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigation/red-hand-flag/

366th US Infantry

http://www.wiz-worx.com/366th/366_flag.htm

369th US Infantry (15th regiment NY National Guard)

http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/btlflags/infantry/369thInfReg.htm

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/vetscor/853018/posts 

In WWII

761st Tank Battalion (guidon)  - photo 

http://chnm.gmu.edu/forloveofliberty/items/show/144 

92nd Division 

http://www.apathtolunch.com/2011/04/liberation-day-and-liberation-of.html 

WWII – Are there any flags from the Tuskegee Airmen?

Further research about individual USCT soldiers can be found here

http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2013/nr13-98.html - This is the National Archives press release and info about the 100% complete records of every USCT soldier. An impressive undertaking and an unparalleled resource for listing each individual from the units who served. If only it came with images of the flags for each unit. The link provided on this page is to the site: http://www.fold3.com/browse.php#268|. This is a fee based subscription site owned by ancestry.com if you wish to research the individual soldiers who were part of any USCT unit.

UPDATE September 2014:
This beautiful flag is currently on display (but sadly only until 9/7/14) at the National Museum of American History.

Image from the National Museum of American History

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Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled.   To contact her, please visit her website.