U.S. 35 Star Flag - Jabez Loane.

35 Star U.S. Flag - West Virginia.
West Virginia, the thirty-fifth state of the Union, was carved from the mountainous counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia by the pro-Union forces inhabiting that north-western area of the state. After political machinations to permit the western counties to form a new state from a portion of Virginia with the constitutionally requisite consent of both parties, West Virginia was recognized on June 20, 1863, by the United States Congress. In accord with the 1818 Flag Act, the union of the United States flag was altered to bear 35 stars effective July 4th, 1863. Since nothing in that legislation specified how the stars were to be arranged, individuals and manufacturers chose patterns according to their own artistic inspirations. Today many of these designs are treasured as a form of American folk art expressed in cloth. While a multiplicity of star arrangements characterized the Civil War era, certain regional tendencies arose. In the Mid-Atlantic States, especially Pennsylvania and Maryland, the arrangement of the stars in circles and concentric rings tended to predominate. Based on similarities to later flags also emanating from the region, the manufacturer of this flag is thought to have been Jabez W. Loane of Baltimore.

The flag shown resembles a number of flags which can be identified from photographs as having flown on the locomotive that drew the funeral carriage for President Lincoln. In examing the flag there appeared the letter "P" marked on a star oriented on it's side in a vertical orientation but the "P" when it was applied to the star was in a horizontal orientation showing the "P" straight up and down position. It is believed this is a marking applied to keep to an order if was used on the Lincoln funeral locomotive, to indicate "Presidential Train." This style of star pattern was used only between Washington DC and Philadelphia before they were exchanged to a different star pattern. The name Jabez Loan indicates it was the maker since it was his star pattern that marked the US flags he made during the period and his factory was in Baltimore just miles up the road from Washington DC. Additional circumstancial proof suggest this flag was important because it came from the Star Spangled Banner Flag House the home of the Star Spangled Banner flag collection. The wear, size and image all conform to the photos of the flags on the locomotive that pulled the funeral train from city to city during it's journey to the burial site in Springfield, Illinois.

Hundreds of thousands saw these flags as the train proceeded from Washington to Springfield, Illinois, the president's burial site. There are existing photos of the train on page 389 of "The Civil War" by Geoffrey C. Ward with Ric Burns and Ken Burns.

The stars are placed on the flag in a double circle with one star in the middle and one star in each corner on the canton.

Exhibition History:
First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC0023)

Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery III
(ZFC0023)
35-Star United States Flag

Publication History:
Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 73.

Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0023) in 1996 from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Sources:

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

Crawford, Amanda J, "Today's tent king sewed sails in 1815", History: Loane Bros. Inc. has survived 184 years by making frequent adaptations, whether they be in making sails, Civil War military tents, or possibly the nation's first awnings, Loane Brothers Inc. , 11 November 2011, from: http://www.loanebros.com/about.htm

35 Star Flag - (1863-1865) (U.S.), Flags od the World, 11 November 2011, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-1863.html

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	40
Length of Fly	67.5

Union/Canton
Width of Union/Canton	27.5
Length of Union/Canton	19.5

Stars
Size of Stars	2.5

Stripes
Width of 1st Stripe	3.5
Width of 3rd Stripe	3.5
Width of 8th Stripe	3
Width of Last Stripe	3.5
Size of Hoist	1

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	46
Frame Length	75

Stars
Number of Stars	35
How are the stars embeded?	Sewn
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	yes

Stripes
Number of Stripes	13
Color of Top Stripe	Red
Color of Bottom Stripe	Red
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Nationality
Nation Represented	United States

Fabric
Fabric	Wool
Comments on Fabric	Bunting

Stitching
Stitching	Machine

Documentation
Documents
Drawings

Condition
Condition	Good
Damage	Somewhat tattered & soiled. Tired on the right end.
Displayable	yes

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

First Presidio Exhibit Exhibition History First Presidio Exhibit (ZFC0023) 35-Star United States Flag Date: 1863-1865 Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; all hand sewn Comment: West Virginia, the thirty-fifth state of the Union, was carved from the mountainous counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia by the pro-Union forces inhabiting that northwestern area of the state. After political machinations to permit the western counties to form a new state from a portion of Virginia with the constitutionally requisite consent of both parties, West Virginia was recognized on June 20, 1863, by the United States Congress. In accord with the 1818 Flag Act, the union of the United States flag was altered to bear 35 stars effective July 4th, 1863. Since nothing in that legislation specified how the stars were to be arranged, individuals and manufacturers chose patterns according to their own artistic inspirations. Today many of these designs are treasured as a form of American folk art expressed in cloth. While a multiplicity of star arrangements characterized the Civil War era, certain regional tendencies arose. In the Mid-Atlantic States, especially Pennsylvania and Maryland, the arranging of the stars in circles and concentric rings tended to predominate. Based on similarities to later flags also emanating from the region, the manufacturer of this flag is thought to have been Jabez W. Loane of Baltimore. A later example of his work appears in Gallery 5. Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery III (ZFC0023) 35-Star United States Flag Date: 18631865 35 Stars: July 4, 1863-July 3, 1865 (West Virginia statehood June 20, 1863) Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; all hand-sewn Comment: West Virginia, the thirty-fifth state of the Union, was carved from the mountainous counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia by the pro-Union forces inhabiting that northwestern area of the state. After political machinations to permit the western counties to form a new state from a portion of Virginia with the constitutionally requisite consent of both parties, West Virginia was recognized on June 20, 1863, by the United States Congress. In accord with the 1818 Flag Act, the union of the United States flag was altered to bear 35 stars effective July 4th, 1863. Since nothing in that legislation specified how the stars were to be arranged, individuals and manufacturers chose patterns according to their own artistic inspirations. Today many of these designs are treasured as a form of American folk art expressed in cloth. While a multiplicity of star arrangements characterized the Civil War era, certain regional tendencies arose. In the Mid-Atlantic states, especially Pennsylvania and Maryland, the arranging of the stars in circles and concentric rings tended to predominate. Based on similarities to later flags also emanating from the region, the manufacturer of this flag is thought to have been Jabez W. Loane of Baltimore. A later example of his work appears in Gallery 5.

Publications

Publication Copy

Publication History: Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 73. 35-Star United States Flag West Virginia, the thirty-fifth state of the Union, was carved from the mountainous counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia by the pro-Union forces inhabiting that northwestern area of the state. After political machinations to permit the western counties to form a new state from a portion of Virginia (with the constitutionally-requisite consent of both parties), West Virginia was recognized on June 20, 1863, by the United States Congress. In accord with the 1818 Flag Act, the union of the United States flag was altered to bear 35 stars effective July 4th, 1863. Since nothing in that legislation specified how the stars were to be arranged, individuals and manufacturers chose patterns according to their own artistic inspirations. Today many of these designs are treasured as a form of American folk art expressed in cloth. While a multiplicity of star arrangements characterized the Civil War era, certain regional tendencies arose. In the Mid-Atlantic States, especially Pennsylvania and Maryland, the arranging of the stars in circles and concentric rings tended to predominate. Based on similarities to later flags also emanating from the region, the manufacturer of this flag is thought to have been Jabez W. Loane of Baltimore. Date: 1863 1865 Size: 40" hoist x 67.5" fly 35 Stars: July 4, 1863 July 3, 1865 (West Virginia statehood June 20, 1863) Media: Wool bunting with cotton stars; all hand-sewn Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 1996 from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD. ZFC0023