Page Title: Historical Flags

4x6" Historic Desk Flags and Sets        Civil War Flags        Development of Old Glory:

48 star Whipple Flag #H134 $49.00 3x5' dyed nylon finished with heading and grommets Historical information by Dave Martucci Martucci's Flag Pages The 48-star version of the Whipple flag is the only one ever to go into production. A 46-star design is illustrated in Wayne Whipple's 1910 book but that same book has the 48-star version on the cover. Whipple's book makes reference to the design using the name "American History Flag". He did not call it the "peace flag". Whipple's book discussed the flag in terms of design and his idea was that the central 13 stars (in a form taken from the Great Seal of the USA [look at the back of a $1 bill]) represented the States that formed the Union, then a ring of 25 stars representing the 25 States that were admitted in the first 100 years of the country and then a ring of 10 stars for the 10 States that joined in the second hundred years (up to 1912), therefore he called it the History Flag. He went on to challenge all the boys and girls who read his book to come up with their ideas for a meaningful star arrangement.	The 48 star version version made it into commercial distribution because a major flag producer like John Dettra was behind it. This version is the only one to be found. Throughout the internet, one can find photos of 48 star versions in auctions and elsewhere. But I see no 46 star versions. It seems that the 46 star version was one of those flags that gets designed but never actually gets made and distributed in a meaningful way V. L. Campbell, an agent for the Dettra Flag Company, took out a 7-year patent on March 6, 1917 that was the Whipple design in a pennant form. At about the same time, although I haven't yet proven it completely, Wayne Whipple had a second edition of his 1910 book (still bearing the 1910 date) privately published with a new cover showing the 48-star version, identical to the patent design. My guess is the money to publish the book came from Dettra in trade for using the design on flags and pennants. Dettra produced both and I think the misnomer of "Whipple Peace Flag" may have come from Dettra who advertised the design in both forms as something to celebrate the end of the War in 1919. Whipple always called it the 'History Flag'. I think the Whipple flag was one of the best latter-day Great Star Flags, basically the last in real production.
	Colrain Flag #H135 $49.00 3x5' finished with heading and grommets The first US flag raised over a school house. I love the whimsical abstract star field. Doesn't it seem way ahead of its time? History provided by Dave Martucci: In 1812, a US Flag was raised over a  school house on Catamount Hill in Colrain, Massachusetts. As far as  we know, this was the first known instance of such a display in  connection with a school house. As you know, the flag is universally  flown over schools today. It became a popular thing to do during the  Civil War, but the citizens of Colrain anticipated the future in  1812. At any rate, for many years the exact design of the flag was  unknown (and was erroneously described in a number of publications as  a 17-star, 17-stripe flag) but it surfaced a few years ago and has  been authenticated (I've seen it). It's a 16-star, 13-stripe US Flag.
Fort Mercer Flag #H133 $49.00 flown at Ft. Mercer, New Jersey, in 1777. 3x5' dyed nylon with heading and grommets. This flag was suggested to us by Devereaux Cannon and the following information is his: My source for information on these flags is Standards and Colors of the American Revolution by Edward W. Richardson. The source for the flags of both Fort Mercer and Fort Mifflin is a sketch made in October 1777. There are no surviving flags, nor any better depiction from an original source. The sketch shows the Fort Mercer flag having dimensions more nearly 3 x 5. Richardson’s drawing based on that sketch has the canton oblong and resting on the sixth stripe (i.e., a white stripe below the red canton). Another source reproduces the canton as more nearly square and extending one stripe lower (i.e., resting on a blue stripe, being the seventh stripe).	My own interpretation of the sketch (with the help of a magnifying glass) is that the canton is more nearly square, and almost half the width of the flag, so resting on the 7th stripe does seems right. It is impossible to make out anything from the stars. They are just rendered as dots, and there are not even a discernable number, much less pattern. They could be in rows or a circle. They could have 5 or more points. Richardson and the other (unknown) interpreter both use the 3-2-3-2-3 star pattern. Richardson’s stars have 5 points, the other uses 8 points (perhaps because they more nearly resemble dots). My inclination would be to accept the 3-2-3-2-3 pattern, and to use 5-pointed stars as Richardson did, on the chance that these flags, being flown at forts near Philadelphia, were actually made by Mrs. Ross. Note that, the Fort Mercer flag, sketched in October 1777, four months after the June 14 flag resolution, is probably the first depiction of the Stars & Stripes pattern, even if the colours are reversed from what Congress desired. So, to recap, if I were making a replica of the Fort Mercer flag, it would be 3 x 5 feet with 7 blue and 6 white stripes, with a square red canton resting on the seventh stripe (a blue one) with 13 5-pointed stars in the 3-2-3-2-3 pattern. As far as I know, the Fort Mercer flag was one-of-a-kind, and maybe had the colours reversed because the Flag Resolution was so new and someone got confused.
	Ft Mifflin Flag #H120 $39.00 3x5' Heavy knit polyester finished with heading and grommets “Valiant Defender of the Delaware, The Fort That Saved America" Learn more
On March 4, 1918 A US Federal Appeals court declared unconstitutional the detainment of all White House suffrage pickets. No one was prosecuted or even in trouble for their unlawful arrests and imprisonment. And arrests would still go on elsewhere. In the end, they won. Wilson changed his position to support women's suffrage. By the time it was achieved with the 19th amendment in 1920, 168 NWP members had served time. This was their flag. Remember it the next time you don't vote. #H116 $29.00 National Woman's Party Flag 3x5' Rugged outdoor nylon, heading and grommets My information and the direct quotes are taken from The Library of Congress web site: Library of Congress summary of NWP tactics PDF File of the full essay	Suffragette Flag: Flag of the National Woman's Party. They were American women who wanted to vote. In silent non-violent protest they stood in front of The White House holding flags and banners which quoted President Wilson's own speeches about democracy. They remained there in shifts for months regardless of weather. But no one had ever picketed The White House. Their action was viewed as unpatriotic in some circles. Then US entry into WWI increased the mob violence they endured for "being against The President". Children spit on them. Men assaulted them. The police stood by and watched. The government arrested the women themselves, rather than their attackers, for "obstructing traffic." Demonstrations spread to other cities. The women were beaten by police in Boston. In New York, they were "attacked by police, soldiers and onlookers."  Hundreds of them were arrested for "obstructing traffic." In defense of their civil liberties, many who could have avoided prison by paying fines refused to so. Their position was that they had not broken any law and that their arrests were politically motivated. The Wilson administration refused to yield and its tolerance dwindled. All they wanted to do was vote. With the escalating political climate, earlier government leniency gave way to harsher sentences and treatment. Prison "became more closely synonymous with compromised health and bodily harm." Conditions included primitive sanitation, meager food full of insects and worms, isolation, psychological duress. Their protests continued in jail with hunger strikes and refusal do their work assignments. "The Night of Terror"  November 15, 1917 in Occoquan Work House seems to have been a calculated attempt to end the picketing. Women were beaten, knocked unconscious and handcuffed with their arms above the head. The government tried to get their leader, Alice Paul, declared insane. All they wanted to do was vote.
	Join or Die Flag #H118 $49.00 3x5' Nylon with heading and grommets A favorite and popular political cartoon before The Revolution it was widely distributed and understood. It first appeared in Ben Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper on May 9, 1754 and spread to other newspapers. The danger of disunited colonies was graphically illustrated in this cartoon along with his editorial making the case for colonial unity. This was never an actual flag back then but it is now. We've been asked it about it for years and are pleased to add it.
Songs included: In Good Old Colony Times, To The Ladies, The Liberty Song, The Destruction of the Tea, The Banks of the Dee, Robin Adair, Yankee Doodle, The Irishman's Epistle, Sir Peter Parker, Congress Minuet, The Battle of Trenton, Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier, The Riflemen of Bennington, Lovely Nancy, Katy Cruel, The Fate of John Burgoyne, Chester, Marion's Men, The Surrender of Cornwallis, The World Turned Upside Down	Do you like history and historic flags? Then I bet you'll love the Songs of the Patriots in the American Revolution. The work of Bobby Horton is just wonderful. 20 selections of songs that were played by Americans as they struggled for their independence.  These are songs written in the 1760's that chronicle battles, parodies of the British and period "pop" songs that were favored by the common folk. Each song is accompanied by historical liner notes. Bobby calls his work "Homespun" because he plays all the instruments, does all the singing and makes all the recording himself in his home production studio. These are the tunes  that meant so much to the incredible people who founded our country, our home #BHCDR $16.00; DEAL: Buy any flag on this page and we'll throw in this CD for just $12.75
Bucks of America Flag #H124 $49.00 Nylon with heading and grommets It's wonderful to have this grand old flag back in stock. Massachusetts Historical Society has a wonderful write up on the Bucks of America and a great photo of the original flag. Directly quoted from their web site: "An all-black military company called the Bucks of America was celebrated in Boston at the end of the American Revolution. Governor John Hancock presented a silk flag bearing its emblem, a leaping buck against a pine tree to the company "as a tribute to their courage and devotion in the cause of American Liberty" (Nell, 1852, p. 13) but no documentation definitively links them to a particular Revolutionary battle. The Bucks of America, an all-Black military company, seems to have operated in a military capacity in Boston. Very little is known about the service of this company except that toward the end of the American Revolution they were recognized in a ceremony in which Governor John Hancock presented this silk flag (originally white, now aged to a soft tan) to the Bucks of America. Although some interpret the initials on the flag, "J.G.W.H." as abbreviations of the names of John Hancock and George Washington in an incorrect order (for example in The Liberator, 12 March 1858, Theodore Parker wrote, "[t]hus John Hancock embraces George Washington") it is possible that the initials are the abbreviation of John George Washington Hancock (1778-1787), the son of Governor John Hancock. (In the book The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, the historian William C. Nell wrote that the governor and his son presented a banner to the Bucks of America.)
	John Fremont's flag #H109 $59.00 3x5' Nylon with heading and grommets At last a correct version with the white canton. Western explorer, and first Republican Party presidential candidate in 1856, Union Major General John Fremont refused to rescind his order freeing slaves confiscated from secessionists. He refused to send freed slaves back to their owners. Lincoln fired him for this unauthorized move. His wife created this flag for him to take on his early 1840's California expeditions. Made in Canada
	You asked for it. Here it is #H106 $59.00  General Ambrose Burnside's HQ Flag. 3x5' Dyed Nylon with heading and grommets. Before his command became part of the Army of the Potomac. The badge, anchor and cannon devices were then used on his swallowtail shaped HQ flag of the Ninth Corps, Army of the Potomac but the color scheme was changed to match that used on all other corps flags. Made in Canada
	Presenting: The Jonathan Fowle Flag" We've Done It Again". We learned many years ago about listening to your suggestions when Earl Williams first urged us to make The Francis Hopkinson flag. Since then we've had lots of fun making available wonderful old flags that deserve to fly again. When someone requests a flag with a compelling story I find it hard to resist. When flag scholar Dave Martucci asked us about this one I said "you're on."
#H103 $59  3x5' dyed nylon with heading and grommets Thought to be the first American flag to be saluted by a foreign warship. Mr. Fowle was a militia soldier stationed at "Castle William" in Boston. He is said to have presented this flag to the officers there in 1781. After The Revolution, the post was renamed Fort Independence. The first war ship to visit the new United States after hostilities ended was His Royal Brittanic Majesty's ship "Alligator" in 1791. She saluted the American flag with 13 guns and the fort returned the salute. Some accounts say the flag saluted was the very one donated 10 years earlier by Jonathan Fowle. Our reproduction captures the home made charm of the original flag now part of the Massachusetts State House collection. Some refer to this flag as the Fort Independence Flag or the Castle William Flag. We prefer naming it after the soldier rather than the fort. Click here to read a more detailed article about the flag's history. We also thank Peter Orenski, flag graphics guy extraordinaire. He also created the vector artwork needed to manufacture the flag. Check out his company TME Co., Inc. Peter has what I believe to be the world's largest selection of Native American Flags. Then, in case you miss it once you get there, you must check out his 4x6" page. If you are a collector of 4x6" desk top flags, I can not say enough about his thrilling product line. In my 25 years in this business, I have not seen a more graphically beautiful and utterly intriguing offering of impossible to find flags from across the world. I don't know how he does it. He has even explained it to me and I still don't know how he does it. You just will not believe the breadth and detail of this collection.

Largely based on your requests, we bring out historical flags that you don't see every day. And as a wise man once said, "flags are the shorthand of history." We found two more at the NAVA 39 conference in Nashville, October 2005. The following two flags are a direct result of what I learned there. Being at that conference was one of the most enjoyable flag experiences of my career. The story of these flags is a story of country and of family. They are symbols of the horrible divide confronting all Americans during The War Between The States. They are symbols of a time when fathers fought sons and brothers fought brothers. They tell the story of where we get the beloved term.....Old Glory. Read the full story of William Driver's Old Glory

#H95 $59 Old Glory, William Driver's Flag 3x5' Both flags are dyed nylon with heading and grommets. Get them both for $99. Tell us you want the "Father and Son Deal." One of a kind: 10x15' Old Glory $235 with appliquéd stars and sewn stripes finished with roped heading and brass grommets. Outdoor nylon	"Old Glory" Massachussetts sea captain William Driver named his personal flag Old Glory. This is his flag as it appeared around 1861 after his daughters updated his original 24 star version with which he sailed the seven seas. Note the anchor in the lower right corner of the canton. Retired in Nashville, during The War Between The States, his pro Union stance necessitated that he hide his flag. Some say attempts by Confederate citizens to take it required this action. Some say he had to hide it from his own secessionist family members! When Union troops occupied Nashville in 1862, Driver asked them to fly Old Glory over the Capitol building for all to see. They did. This transplanted Yankee's flag flying over the first large Southern city to be captured was popularized in Northern newspapers and led to the widespread and beloved nickname for the American flag. His original flag is in The Smithsonian Institution and measures about 9x15 feet.
#H96 $59 The Rock City Guards 27"x5'. This unusual commercial size evokes the long narrow scale of the original 3x7' Both flags are dyed nylon with heading and grommets. Get them both for $99. Tell us you want the "Father and Son Deal."	Meanwhile George Driver, the Captain's son, was serving as a Confederate private in The Rock City Guards, a Nashville militia battalion which would become part of the 1st Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers. Their flag appears at left. According to the 11/26/05 posting on Mr. Cannon's web site Vexillarium, "The flag was made in April 1861, after Virginia joined the Confederacy as its 8th state, but before Tennessee formally seceded. Tennessee is represented at the 9th star outside the circle, representing that we weren't in the fold yet, but were on the way. The original flag measures about 3 feet wide and almost 7 feet long, and is in the Tennessee State Museum." George died of wounds suffered at Perryville.
	This is the Nashville grave of William Driver 1803-1886 He sailed around the world twice and around Australia once. In 1831 he rescued the descendants of the survivors of the HMS Bounty from Tahiti. William Driver Grave Photos The grave is with family members the Nashville City Cemetery. Click here to see about 40 pictures of his grave
#H94 $59.50 The Centennial Flag 3x5' Screen dyed nylon with heading and grommets. She's a beauty.	It is 1876. Custer's entire command is wiped out at The Little Big Horn. Rutherford B Hayes wins a disputed election decided by a special commission. A War Between The States has been fought. Military occupation of The South ends.  The United States celebrates 100 years since The Revolution. This unique flag is used to commemorate the event. We've done it again! For years we've been asking for your requests of worthy historic flags that should be made available. Many of the interesting flags in our collection come from your requests. Well, here is another one. The US Postal Service had "The Centennial Flag" on a postage stamp in 2000. We recently had another request for it, so here it is.
The Gonzales Banner #H28 $39 3x5' Nylon With Heading & Grommets From Oct. 2,1835 in the history of The Great Lone Star State of Texas!	Santa Anna had abolished the Mexican constitution of 1824 and made himself Dictator there. In 1835 he sends forces to reclaim a cannon in Gonzales. Can't have a cannon out among the people you are trying to control! On October 2, Texan volunteers unfurl this flag and fire the first shot in their war for independence from Mexico. Good old American defiance! At the time, Texas was a Mexican province. That December, Texans take over the nearby Alamo and allow the defeated Mexicans there to leave. But in February 1836 5,000 Mexican troops arrive led by Santa Anna himself against whom 182 Texans and Tejanos, Texans of Mexican descent, hold out for 10 days before drawing their famous "line in the dust" and perishing to the man. A handful of women and children are spared. The Gonzales Banner is an emotional and spontaneous expression of a handful of Texans standing up for their freedom and democracy.
	De Zavala Flag (Republic of Texas Flag) First flag of the Republic of Texas, designed by General Lorenzo de Zavala, adopted May 11, 1836 #H115 $24.00 3x5' Polyester with heading and grommets. Screen dyed design

Francis Hopkinson Flag  General Lee's HQ Flag  Flag of the Palmetto Guard

The flags named above were not available to the public in an affordable version until we made them. Unless a flag is mass-produced, it is only available on a "custom" basis. A custom flag rarely costs less than a hundred bucks, usually costs a few hundred, and can easily cost over $600-1,000! See what we mean? The usual historical flags like the Betsy Ross, and the Gadsden are fine. But there is so much more to history than that. So if you know a story that deserves to be remembered, or a regiment that ought to be honored by anyone who would like an affordable flag to fly, please share it with us. Send us a picture and the story. Maybe we'll make it available to the public. Bookmark this site as we'll be adding more historical flags.  

We have a "warehouse find" of unusual historical flags which we show below in RED. These are not a regular or continuing part of our product line. They are normally not made in the sizes or materials shown. Or they are not normally made at all anymore. Quantities may be limited. For some flags, there are hundreds. For some there are literally just a few or even just one! All the flags shown in red are available subject to prior sale. We will try to keep this list up to date. We hope you enjoy this unusual selection of values. Please pass the link on to your friends. There is some really rare stuff here. A word about materials "Cotton" means heavy cotton bunting. Dyed cotton flags are not the best choice for flying in the rain. Colors, especially reds, can bleed. You should care for these flags with more attention that you need to with nylon flags. Some folks, especially collectors, enjoy these flags for their traditional look. Of particular interest in the collection below are those intricately dyed cotton flags such as the Bedford. Years ago when we started in this business, most historical flags were manufactured in nylon AND cotton. Today, cotton has almost entirely disappeared. Such cotton flags are therefore best enjoyed with light, protected use or just saved in a collection "Light Cotton" is cotton sheeting. Its colors do much better in the weather than the heavy cotton bunting. It is not as rugged as nylon or heavy cotton bunting. But the flags offered in it are not as rare or special. For the low cost, it is a worthwhile economy choice for outdoor flying. All flags are finished with heading and grommets unless specifically stated otherwise
Don't worry about an item not having an item number. We don't have an item number for every item. Just order it by name, description and price. We will know which flag you want.
Flag Name		Items listed in RED are closeout items subject to prior sale. When they are gone there are no more
Alamo Flag Historical Info		3'x5' Nylon $41 Item #ALAMON Alamo Flag 5X8' Nylon $59 Item #ALAMO58
Bedford		$39 Item 3'x3' Nylon#BEDFORDN Bedford  3'x3' Cotton $59 Item #H76
Bennington		$2.99 Item #H65 Bennington Flag: Vast selection of sizes and prices
Betsy Ross		Betsy Ross! A vast selection of sizes and prices
		Bicentennial Revolution Bicentennial
Brandywine Flag #H49 As seen on the US Postage Stamp 36x34" Silk Like Nylon Finished With Canvas Heading & Brass Grommets Brilliantly Dyed Design.The original flag in the Independence National Historical Park is 54x52" & is an early rendition of the stars & stripes dated about 3 months after congress made the first vaguely defined US flag law. Thought to have been at the Battle of Brandywine, Sept 11, 1777. Our Scale version is 36x34".		36x34" $39.00
British Blue Ensign 12x18" Nylon  British Ensigns
British Red Ensign Modern version  British Ensigns #H72 2x3' Nylon Silkscreened Design $12 #H64 3x5' Nylon Silkscreened Design $19 #H73 4x6' Nylon Silkscreened Design $22
British Red Ensign Historic Version 3x5'  $42.00 British Ensigns          Nylon Silkscreened Design
British White Ensign 12x18" Nylon British Ensigns
Bunker Hill		$47 3'x5' Nylon
		California Republic (Bear Flag) $39 3'x5' Nylon If you love California or have any interest in the history of this cool old flag, you must check out the web site devoted to it. It is a labor of love:The Bear Flag Museum
Coahuila y Tejas Flag		$99.00 3x5' Nylon with sewn appliqued stars. The Coahuila flag is custom made to order. Allow about 4-5 weeks
Columbus Personal Flag		$40 3'x5' Nylon
Commodore Perry		$39 3'x5' Nylon
Confederate Flags
Continental 2x3' Fully Appliqued Nylon. Item #H61 $39 This is part of that warehouse clearance lot we found. It is a rare chance to get an sewn design which normally would only be available as an a custom job.		Also available in these two versions, both are screen printed: $59 Item #H77 Continental 3x5' Cotton   $48 3'x5' Nylon
Cowpens		$39 3'x5' Nylon
Culpepper		$39 3'x5' Nylon
Easton Flag #H54  As seen on the US Postage Stamp in the year 2000 series		$59 3'x5' Polyester
First Navy Jack		$39 3'x5' Nylon   $23 #CF1N Polyester
Fort Moultrie		$39 3'x5' Nylon
Francis Hopkinson Flag		$47.50 #HOP35P 3x5' Nylon with silkscreened stars, sewn stripes
French Fleur-de-lis blue		$39 3'x5' Nylon
French Fleur-de-lis white		$39.50 3'x5' Nylon
French Fleur-de-lis 23		$39.75 3'x5' Nylon
Gadsden		$39 3'x5' Nylon   $23 3x5' #CFGAD Polyester
Grand Union		$39 3'x5' Nylon
Great Star Flag (20 star version) There were many versions of "Great Star" flags in which the star pattern itself formed a star.		$39 3x5' Nylon
Green Mountain Boys		$39 3'x5' Nylon
Guilford Courthouse		$39 3'x5' Nylon
Kings Colors		$10 Item #H66 3x5' Polyester
		$22 Item #662 2x3' Nylon
		$29 2x3' Nylon $39 3'x5' Nylon
Lewis And Clark Era Flag		$59.00 #H107 Heavy Polyester 17 stars, 15 stripes. There were many variations of flags throughout the 1800's. This is a typical design in use from 1803-1812. The Lewis and Clark expedition ran from 5/14/1804 - 9/261806 Made in Taiwan
Royal Standard of Spain		$39 3'x5' Nylon Also called Lions and Castles also available in polyester: #H119 $23
Lord Baltimore		$39 3x5' Nylon $49 5x8' Nylon
Philadelphia Light Horse		$49 3'x5' Nylon
Pine Tree		$39 3'x5' Nylon
Rhode Island Regiment		$39 3'x5' Nylon $59 3x5' Cotton Item #H99.  This cotton version is a closeout. When they are gone there are no more. A very cool find for any flag geek.
Russian American Company		$49.00 #H88 3x5' Nylon Lasting from 1799 to 1881, the company's flag had many slight variations over its history.
Serapis		$39 Item #102 3'x5' Nylon
Sons of Liberty		$39 3'x5' Nylon
St. George's Cross		$38 3'x5' Nylon
Spanish Cross		$39 3'x5' Nylon (Cross of Burgundy)
Star Spangled Banner 3x5' Nylon		$41
Taunton		$39 3'x5' Nylon
United East India Company Historical Info		United East India Company  $39.00 3x5' Nylon  Item #H110
USA 34 Star July 4, 1861- July 3 1863 3x5' Nylon,appliqued stars/sewn stripes		$99#ODDCN35
USA 48 Star July 4, 1912- July 3 1959 3x5' Nylon with dyed stars and stripes For Our WWII Generation: Thanks Folks 48 Star American Flag 3x5' Old Glory had 48 stars from 1912 to 1959. Think of all the events she went through in that time.  All historical versions of our flag remain legal and may be properly flown at any time. Our offering is  with heading & brass grommets fit for outdoor use.		$96 #H46S 3'x5' Nylon With Sewn Appliquéd Stars and Sewn Stripes; Nylon With Heading & Grommets  MADE IN USA     Also Available: $23.00 #CF48 polyester, fully printed, made in Taiwan
USA 49 Star July 4, 1959- July 3 1960 3x5' Cotton with embroidered stars/sewn stripes		$79 Item #H78
USA 4x6" Old Glory Parade DESK SET. 27 flags showing the evolution of our flag from 13-50 stars.		$39 Item #OGP1
Viking Raven History Info		$39 Item #H30 3x5' Nylon The Viking Flag
Washington's Cruisers		$39 3'x5' Nylon

The War Between The States Confederate Flags Confederate pins, stickers, books, music, clothes, gravemarkers, novelties West Point Foundry in Cold Spring, NY Production Site of Union's Parrot gun; I got to take a rare tour of the ruins. This was the Manhattan Project of its day and produced much of The Union's ordinance Union Flags:
John Fulton Reynolds was commander of the 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac. He was killed at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, the first day of the three day battle there.		Maj General Reynold's Flag 2.5 x 5' Screen Dyed, silk like nylon with heading and grommets #H104 $59.00
		20th Maine Flag 3x5' Polyester with heading and grommets, silkscreened dyed design #H114 $29.00
		Custer's Guidon Some might call it George Armstrong Custer's Flag 2x3' Polyester with heading and grommets. Silk-screened dyed design #H97 $22.50
	Click Here To See George Armstrong Custer's Grave At West Point In case you haven't noticed, I make it a kind of hobby to visit the graves of historic people. I am on the quest of visiting the birthplace, home and grave of every president and signer of The Declaration.
		69th Irish Brigade #H56 $26.50 3x5' Dyed Polyester with heading and grommets
		US Cavalry Guidon #H29 $39.75 3x5' "Silk-like"Nylon Finished With Canvas Heading & Brass Grommets. Add $30 for finishing with a sleeve & gold fringe Brilliantly Dyed Stars and Stripes
		# 34 Star Flag, Double Circle #H105 $29.00 3x5' polyester, Silkscreened stars and stripes with heading and grommets. Made in Taiwan
		34 Star US Flag #H48 $59.00 Dyed Nylon with heading and grommets
Click here to see the history of this flag as well as a very special lapel pin		Fort Sumter Flag #H27S  $69.00 Fully sewn stars and stripes Click here to see a closeup picture of the sewn stars 3x5' "Silk-like"Nylon Finished With Canvas Heading & Brass Grommets

Captain William Driver - The Rest of the Story

By Devereaux Cannon, Jr.

The copyright for this article belongs to the author and is published here with his kind permission

Most North American vexillologists are familiar with the story of Captain William Driver, and his flag, ‘Old Glory’. There are several conflicting versions of his story. He was born 17 March 1803 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and was apprenticed to a blacksmith for a time before he took to the sea. Most stories agree that he became a ship’s captain in 1824 at the young age of 21. Some say that his flag was presented to him by his mother in that year; other say that he received it in 1831 before setting sale as captain of the whaler Charles Doggett. In either case, the ensign he names ‘Old Glory’ would have been a flag of 24 stars.

His last voyage as a sea captain was in the year 1837. On his return to his home in Salem, he found Martha, his wife of ten years, stricken with throat cancer. She died in September of that year. After her death, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where his brother, Henry, was in business, taking with him his three young children and ‘Old Glory’. Shortly after moving to Nashville, 26 January 1838, he married Sarah Jane Parks, the 15 year old niece of his brother’s wife.

Captain Driver made his home at 158 South Summer Street, in what was then the separate municipality of South Nashville. The location is now known as 511 Fifth Avenue South, and the rather ugly residence currently on that site is not the original Driver home. He would often display ‘Old Glory’ on patriotic holidays, such as Independence Day and Washington’s Birthday, as well as his own birthday, by hoisting it on a cable which he ran across Summer Street from the upper level of his home to a pulley attached to a tree on the other side.

Sometime in 1860 or 1861, his wife and daughters took apart ‘Old Glory’, trimmed its rough edges, rebuilt it, and added stars to bring the total to 34. It is said that Captain Driver himself added the anchor in the lower fly corner of the canton. The 34th star would seem to argue in favour of an 1861 date, Kansas having been admitted to the Union in January of that year. However, Kansas statehood was eminent for some time, and the January 1861 admission was based on a state constitution that had been ratified by the people of the territory over a year before. So an 1860 date for a 34 star flag is not out of the question, even though that flag would not be official until 4 July 1861.

With Tennessee’s secession and admission to the Confederate States in 1861, Captain Driver, whose anti-secession sentiments were well known, found discretion to be the better part of valour, and hid ‘Old Glory’ inside a quilt or comforter according to most stories, in a chest according to others. Apparently two attempts were made to encourage him to surrender his flag, but each time he refused, and neither request was vigorously pursued. At least one other Nashvillian did continue to display the US flag, and she remained unmolested. However, she was the widow of a Mexican War veteran, and displayed her flag in memory of her husband rather than as a political expression.

With the fall of Fort Donelson in February 1862, Nashville became indefensible and was abandoned by the Confederate army. On Tuesday, 25 February 1862, as the last Confederate cavalry units withdrew from the city, the first Union infantry units took possession, and the national colour of the 6th Ohio Infantry Regiment was displayed from the cupola above the Tennessee capitol building. Soon afterwards, at Captain Driver’s request, ‘Old Glory’ was raised on the capitol flag pole, which at the time was located on top of the pediment above the east entrance to the building.

The propaganda value of this story was too good not to use. With the capture of the first large city in a Confederate state, the first Southern capitol to be occupied had raised over it the ensign of a loyal New England sea captain who had been a resident of the Southern city for 24 years. Driver may have named his flag ‘Old Glory’ in 1824 or 1831, but it did not become an alternate name for the Stars and Stripes until after northern newspapers immortalized it following its hoisting over the Tennessee capitol in 1862.

The 1862 newspaper stories often portrayed Driver as a ‘frail old man’. That was stretching the truth a bit. In February 1862 he was just shy of his 59th birthday, barely four years older than Robert E. Lee. After the Union occupation of Nashville, he was an active part of the occupation government, and served as Provost Marshal of the city.

Driver was part of a minority of Union loyalist in Nashville. It turns out that he may also have held a minority view as such in his own family. A niece, Harriet Ruth Cooke, wrote in later years that Captain Driver hid ‘Old Glory’ with the help of Unionist neighbours, because he would not trust his secessionist family with it. It is this intra-family split that brings us to another part of the Driver story.

Nashville is now famous as Music City. In the 19th century, Nashville’s nickname was Rock City, a named now born by an unrelated tourist attraction near Chattanooga. The Nashville related name was said to have come about because one cannot dig more than a few inches without finding a solid sheet of limestone rock. Although Rock City is no longer a common alias for Nashville, it was so well established at one time that some business concerns in the city still use Rock City in their names.

The Rock City Guards was a militia company organized in Nashville in 1860. The organizers included lawyer Robert C. Foster, bookkeeper Frank Sevier, hardware merchant James B. Craighead, and salesman Joseph Vaulx. The middleclass nature of the incorporators was reflected in the ranks of the Rock City Guards.

Two weeks after Fort Sumter was fired upon, the Rock City Guards had recruited so many additional men that it became a three company battalion, each company numbering 110 officers and men. Company B, under the command of Captain James B. Craighead, was the colour company of the battalion. Among the privates of Company B were George Wills Driver, the son of Captain William Driver, and William O. Driver, the son of Captain Driver’s brother, Henry.

On 23 April 1861, ‘amid great ceremony’, Fannie Claiborne presented a Confederate flag that she had made to Captain Claiborne and Company B of the Rock City Guards. On 8 May 1861 a second flag was presented to the company by Georgina Foster. Two days later Company B, with the two Driver cousins and these two flags, went into a camp of instruction at Allisonia, Tennessee, with the rest of the Rock City Guards as part of the First Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Infantry. In July the Rock City Guards were in Virginia, and in September they were engaged in the Cheat Mountain campaign under the command of Robert E. Lee. During that campaign, one of the flags of the Rock City Guards was captured by an Ohio soldier. More than a century later, the descendants of that soldier gave the Rock City Guards flag to the Tennessee State Museum, were it currently resides.

At the same time that Captain Driver was hoisting ‘Old Glory’ over the Tennessee capitol, his son and nephew, with the rest of their regiment, were on their way back to Tennessee. Half of the First Tennessee Volunteers arrived at Corinth, Mississippi, early enough to take part in the battle of Shiloh, but the Rock City Guards did not arrived until the day after that battle was fought. At that time or shortly later, the regiment received a new battle flag of the pattern designed by General Leonidas Polk—blue with a white fimbrated red St. George’s style cross, charged with eleven white stars. It was under that flag that the Driver cousins took part in General Bragg’s Kentucky campaign, which culminated at the battle of Perryville on 9 October 1862. At that battle the Rock City Guards suffered approximately 50% casualties. Counted among those casualties were both of the Driver cousins. George Driver died on his wounds in a US Army hospital near Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and is buried in the Confederate section of Spring Hill Cemetery in that city. Captain Driver’s nephew, William O. Driver, recovered from his wounds, and died at the home of his daughter in Louisville, Kentucky in 1912.

The State of Wisconsin has long owned a Polk style battle flag which was attributed as being the flag of the First Tennessee Volunteers captured at Perryville by the First Wisconsin Infantry. This attribution has been called into doubt by the veterans of the First Tennessee themselves. Wisconsin loaned the flag to Tennessee early in the 20th century for a Confederate Veterans reunion. At that reunion, the First Tennessee veterans denied that the flag was theirs, saying that their flag has been torn to ribbons by the rifle and artillery fire that they endured at Perryville. The flag from Wisconsin is not very badly damaged. So it is likely that the flag under which Captain Driver’s son fought and died at Perryville no longer exists. But the flag owned by Wisconsin, which is now on loan to the Tennessee State Museum, is the same style and construction as that used by the First Tennessee.

There is another part of the Driver story that often goes untold, but one of which he was exceedingly proud. That is the story of his connection with Pitcairn Island.

The Pitcairn story begins with the famous mutiny of the crew of the HMS Bounty in 1789. The final destination of the mutineers and their Polynesian wives was Pitcairn Island, which they reached on 15 January 1790. There they lived cutoff from the outside world for 25 years, until their settlement was discovered by HMS Briton and HMS Tagus on 17 September 1814. By that time, the British Admiralty was not every interested in prosecuting the surviving mutineers. The Pitcairners, however, eventually desired emigration, and the islanders all set sail for Tahiti in March 1831.

They were welcomed by the Tahitians but they felt homesick. Soon, they began to suffer from infectious diseases, to which they had little immunity.  Within a month of arrival in Tahiti, Fletcher Christian's son, Thursday October Christian, the first child born on Pitcairn and the oldest member of the community, died. His was the first of a heavy toll of deaths. Efforts were made to arrange for their return to Pitcairn.  Finally, Captain William Driver of the Salem whaler Charles Doggett arrived at Tahiti and offered to take the remaining sixty-five Pitcairners back to their island home for a total of $500.  A subscription was immediately organized by the community to which the Pitcairners contributed by selling blankets and other necessities.  Captain Driver sailed with them from Tahiti on 14 August 1831, and reached Pitcairn on 3 September. Some sources say that Driver lost money for his ship’s owner’s on this mission, and that he lost command because of it. The fact that he did not retire from the sea until six years later, however, seems to belie that tale.

Captain Driver was proud of his action regarding Pitcairn Island, so much so that he left two monuments to it. One was in the name of his last born son. Thomas Pitcairn Driver was born in Nashville on 10 September 1858. Sadly, he died nine months later, and is now buried in City Cemetery near his famous father. The other monument is Driver’s own tombstone. This stone was design by Driver himself several years before his death in 1886. It is in the form of a tree trunk with a ship's anchor carved on one side. The inscription reads:  ‘A master mariner; sailed twice around the world; once around Australia; removed the Pitcairn people from sickness and death in Taheita (sic) to their own home on September 3, 1831. Then sixty in number, now twelve hundred.’  Near the preceding inscriptions are the words: ‘Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily shalt thou be fed.’  Toward the bottom is carved: ‘I never wanted since and ‘His God, his country, his ship and his flag, "Old Glory."’. While Captain Driver died almost 100 years before Pitcairn Island had a flag of its own, the Pitcairn flag should be a prominent feature of any Vexillological discussion of Captain William Driver.

The Jonathan Fowle Flag

We thank flag scholar Dave Martucci for the suggestion and for teaching us the history of this flag. Dave has an extensive series of flag pages here: Dave Martucci. Included is an antique flag appraisal and assessment page.

By Dave Martucci

When Boston was founded in 1630, it was immediately recognized that the city was somewhat vulnerable to attack by sea. Within a few months of the first settlement, a decision was made to fortify one of the islands in the harbor, one that stood immediately next to the main shipping channel. This fortification, originally of logs, was named Castle William and it became the principal military outpost of the Bay colony.

 Old Fort Mifflin Historical Sociey

Fort Mifflin Home Page

About Fort Mifflin:Quoted verbatim from the Fort Mifflin web site: "Located on the scenic Delaware River, Fort Mifflin was originally built by the British in 1771. It is the site of the largest bombardment the North American continent has ever witnessed. In 1777, during the American Revolution, a valiant five-week battle took place when the British Navy attacked Fort Mifflin on Mud Island. The British had the garrison of approximately 400 Continental soldiers surrounded from three sides. Attempting to open the supply line for the British Army already in the Rebel capital of Philadelphia, the British shot over 10,000 cannonballs at the Fort, causing the garrison to eventually evacuate. Over 150 Continental soldiers died as a result of the battle and led Thomas Paine to write: “The garrison , with scarce anything to cover them but their bravery, survived in the midst of the mud, shot & shells, and were obliged to give up more to the powers of time & gunpowder than to military superiority.” This allowed General Washington and the Continental Army to repair to their winter quarters in a place called the Valley Forge. Too late in the season for British General Howe to chase them, the garrison at Fort Mifflin thus extended the war and allowed the American army time to regroup until the spring of 1778.

During the Revolutionary War the garrison at Fort Mifflin was ordered by General George Washington to hold off the British Navy so the Continental Army could make its way to their winter encampment at Valley Forge. Washington wrote that the defense of the Delaware River was “of the utmost importance to America.” be told

When reproducing historical flags, sometimes there is no 100% way to know their exact design. Absent an actual flag still surviving, their exact appearance is often a matter left up to interpretation. For our my research I turned to Dexereaux Cannon, author and flag scholar who writes his opinion below. As you can see, there is a case to be made for more than one stripe arrangement of the Mifflin flag. Our is of the version used at the fort today and known to have been used by American ships of the period.

<<My source for information on these flags is Standards and Colors of the American Revolution by Edward W. Richardson.

The source for the flags of both Fort Mercer and Fort Mifflin is a sketch made in October 1777. There are no surviving flags, nor any better depiction from an original source than that shown in these prints.

In the case of the Fort Mifflin flag, as best as can be made out from the sketch as reproduced in Richardson’s book, the flag’s overall dimensions are 1 x 2. In Richardson’s book, and other sources, including Fort Mifflin, show the stripes as RED/WHITE/BLUE/RED/WHITE/BLUE/RED/WHITE/BLUE/RED/WHITE/BLUE/RED, so that seems to be the accepted form, and it does correspond to a 1778 painting showing the same flag flown on four captured American merchant ships, and to the stripes on the Grand Union flag flown by the Lexington in 1777. But if I were making an independent judgment based purely on what I see in the 1777 sketch, I would shown it with stripes as WHITE/RED/WHITE/BLUE/ WHITE/RED/WHITE/BLUE/ WHITE/RED/WHITE/BLUE.

So, to recap, if I were making a replica of the Fort Mifflin flag it would be 3 x 6 feet, with WHITE/RED/WHITE/BLUE/ WHITE/RED/WHITE/BLUE/ WHITE/RED/WHITE/BLUE stripes, but I would struggle with making it the usually accepted RED/WHITE/BLUE/RED/WHITE/BLUE/RED/WHITE/BLUE/RED/WHITE/BLUE/RED stripes for purposes of commercial acceptability, and because that combination is documented as used by American ships of the period.<<

The Viking Flag , thanks to Michael Faul, editor of Flagmaster, The Journal of The Flag Institute

" >> Pretty soon you are going to be sick of hearing from me. That is especially so with regard to the present message. Have now had a chance to view your historic listings in detail. Sorry to say, but I must challenge three of them. The first is the Viking raven flag. Yes, I know that Erik the Red (or his son, Lief Eriksson) reached "Vinland" in the mediaeval period, long before Columbus. Neither of them brought this flag with them. Sorry, but that's a fact. It is a common misconception that the Viking raven flag was a kind of national flag in the modern sense. It was no such thing. The design, which probably varied considerably, is recorded only five times, and in each case in connection with a specific leader. In one case the flag was "magic" and the raven appeared only when the flag flew in battle. Yes, well, maybe ..... Certainly the only case of the flag being recorded outside the British Isles is a reference to Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, having such a flag, known as "Landwaster". Fat lot of good it did him, as he was defeated and killed at Stamford Bridge, just outside York, in 1066. That is the last record of any of these flags.""

My reply:  >>So, thank you for your patience. Remember, I am never bothered by challenges to any flag. Instead I welcome any chance to get it right. With your permission I will even post your comments and credit you by name and provide a link to The Flag Institute. To your comments: I make no claim for the so called Viking flag to be anything in particular. It is just a cool looking flag that is available here and its distribution is not of my doing. I will be glad to offer it as what you now point it out to be.  It has been available for years from many sources. I just try to offer every flag I can. By the way, I make no claim to be a vexillologist, a scholar or a historian. I am a huge history buff and flag fan. I do consider myself to be a professional flag merchant. As the latter, I do try to provide accurate information and products.

Many of the historic flags in my product have been brought out by me for the first time as far as I can tell. Unlike flags such as the Viking Raven, those flags I bring out are based on what I consider to be careful and convincing research done by others whom I credit. Most of those flags are brought to me by others who make me aware of a cool flag with a compelling story behind it. Wait until you see what is coming out in January.>>

United East India Company thanks to Michael Faul, editor of Flagmaster, The Journal of The Flag Institute

>>The flag you show, of the United East India Company was indeed used, in the East Indies and at the Cape of Good Hope. Its only appearance in American waters, was for the original survey of the coasts of modern Long Island, New York, New Jersey and the Delaware river in about 1620.

In 1623 (if I remember correctly) the Dutch founded their settlement of New Amsterdam (today New York) when Peter Minuit bought Manhattan Island for some beads - or so the story goes. Minuit was in the service of the GWC, the Chartered West India Company. It was this company which set up New Amsterdam and also founded Dutch settlements in the Caribbean, the modern Dutch East Indies (or whatever it is they are calling themselves now!).

So the EAST India Company flag never flew over NewYork, but it was seen in the earlier survey. The flag hoisted over the settlement of New Amsterdam was that of the WEST India Company, the same design as the former flag but with the initials GWC combined in the centre.

Just to clarify matters a bit more (or confuse you completely!) The United East India Company was so-called because it was an association of six Dutch chambers of commerce in different cities. Each Chamber in the company had its own flag, in the livery companies of the particular city, with the VOC monogram surmounted by the city's initial letter. This was never the case with the West India Company, which was chartered directly by the King of the Netherlands. (See Flagmaster No 092 for all the flags of the Chambers of the EIC).

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year. Yours in flags and friendship. Michael Faul

P.S. Just to make your life really miserable, I should add that the original G.W.C. flag, like the earlier one, was orange-white-blue. The red-white-blue colours became increasingly accepted in the mid 17th century, but it was only in about 1670 that they were fully endorsed as official.>>

Alamo Flag thanks to Michael Faul, editor of Flagmaster, The Journal of The Flag Institute

>>Finally - and most controversially - the flag of the Alamo. See Flagmaster 125 when published (soon, I promise!). Article on Mexico deals with this design. The "1824 Flag" was designated by the Texan Assembly in November 1835 for privateer vessels. There is no record of it having been used on land. Certainly, by the time the siege of the Alamo began, no-one in the fort would have accepted a Mexican-pattern flag. The "Coahuila y Tejas" flag is recorded as being raised in defiance as Santa Anna's Mexican force reached San Antonio; but it was hoisted for only about five minutes, before the hoisters took in the size of the Mexican army and decided that discretion was better than valour. Alamo commander Travis wrote that he brought "a flag" with him to San Antonio, but no description of it survives.

The only flag known for certain to have been raised over the Alamo was that of the New Orleans Greys, a volunteer unit from Louisiana. This flag was raised on the Long Barracks as the final assault began. It was captured by Lieutenants Torres and Martinez of the Zapadores Batallion, both of whom were killed in the attack. It is now undergoing restoration in Mexico City.<<

My Reply: >>And next , The Alamo. Ah, "The Alamo Flag". I already know about The New Orleans Greys flag. Apparently you never got a chance to see it on my web site. That is one of the earliest unique flags I brought to market. It was a great job and we took more than a year to get the artwork right. A customer had been urging me to do it for years, and he had a black and white glossy photo of the original badly deteriorated flag. A Canadian artist did a great job of recreating it. I had a fine write up on the web site about its history . It was on my web site and in my catalog for years. I only just recently removed it because I either now had to produce yet another batch or discontinue it. The batch I would have needed to make would have been a two year supply and I just did not want to commit that many to inventory again.
>
> I just recently sold my only remaining flag "used , as is" to a heritage organization in Texas who liked my design so much, they were willing to take my own personal display flag at a discount just to at least have one.
>
> I continue to offer the "Alamo Flag" only because that is the name everyone uses for that tri color design. But you are right, I should offer an explanation of it. The historical info offered with the Greys flag made it clear.>>

The url for this page is http://flagguys.com/hist.html