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.
This flag sling and carrying cup bear all the hallmarks of local manufacture; most likely for an early war militia or volunteer unit. The black iron buckles and snaps are all similar to those found on a horse harness and it is likely that this was made by a harness-maker or saddler, as the unique design, while practical, is decidedly not an issue item from either a state or US Quartermaster's Department. This represents the type of field expedients created in the early years of the American Civil War.
These are accessories for a "Stand of Colors". The Madaus collection of American Civil War Flags also includes flag staffs, cords & tassels, and flag slings. The collection includes six Civil War-identified flag staffs, six sets of cords & tassels (four of Civil War vintage and two from a later period) and twenty variations of flag slings and belts; dating from before the war, through the Civil War and on into the first two decades of the twentieth century.
ZFC Significant Flag
