Program Fort Sumter Flag re-raising, April 1865.

Program for the Restitution of the Stars & Stripes Over Fort Sumter.
'Programme of the Order of Exercises' at the Re-raising of the United States Flag on Fort Sumter, Charleston, S.C., April 14th, 1865, Upon the Fourth Anniversary of the fall of the Fort.
On February 17, 1865, after repeated Union bombardments, the Confederates evacuated Fort Sumter, which was reduced to rubble. Recognizing the symbolic importance of recapturing the key fort in Charleston harbor, a ceremony was planned in which the Fort's former commander, Major General Robert Anderson, would raise the same tattered 33-star garrison flag he was forced to lower in 1861. The special event was open to dignitaries by invitation only; and on April 14, 1865, four years to the day after the surrender and as part of a celebration of the Union victory, Anderson re-raised the flag and a garland of roses in triumph over the battered remains of the fort.

The Rev. Henry Ward Beecher was the primary speaker at the 1865 ceremony, giving a prolonged speech, in keeping with contemporary etiquette. He said:
"On this solemn and joyful day, we again lift to the breeze our fathers' flag, now, again, the banner of the United States, with the fervent prayer that God would crown it with honor, protect it from treason, and send it down to our children.... Terrible in battle, may it be beneficent in peace [and] as long as the sun endures, or the stars, may it wave over a nation neither enslaved nor enslaving.... We lift up our banner, and dedicate it to peace, Union, and liberty, now and forevermore."

Later that same night, President Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre.

This Programme was for the Order of Exercises which included:
I. Opening Prayer by Rev. Matthias Harris, Chaplain US Army
II. Reading of Psalms 126; 47; 98 & excerpts of Psalm 20
III. Reading of Major Anderson's dispatch to government
IV. Raising of the flag on the ruins & a national salute of 100 guns
V. Singing of the Star Spangled Banner
VI. Address of Rev. Henry Ward Beecher
VII. Doxology to the tune of 'One Hundred'
VIII. Closing Prayer & Benediction by Rev. R.S. Storris, Jr., DD

These Programmes were printed at The New South Office, Port Royal, S.C.

Provenance: Acquired by purchase.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Sources:

---

Madaus, Howard M.- Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict, VZ Publications, Santa Cruz, 2006.

Henry Ward Beecher, Wikipedia 20 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ward_Beecher

Robert Anderson, Wikipedia 20 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anderson_%28Civil_War%29

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	12
Frame Length	14

Stars
Are there stars on obverse?	no
Are there stars on reverse?	no

Stripes
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Documentation
Documents
Drawings	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Condition
Displayable	no