U.S. 19 Star Exclusionary Flag.

19 Star U.S. Northern Abolitionist Exclusionary Flag, 1861.
There never was an official 19-star flag; the 15-star 15-stripe flag served throughout 1795-1818 even though five new states (Tennessee 1796, Ohio 1803, Louisiana 1812, Indiana 1816 and Mississippi 1817) joined the Union during that period. Because this flag is constructed in part by a sewing machine (not invented until the 1840's and not in mass production until the decade 1850-1860) it is estimated to date from the 1860s. Its 14-star pattern encircling a central star, with an added star in each corner of the canton was a popular design for the Stars & Stripes from the Mexican War through the Civil War. It is suspected, therefore, that this is an exclusionary flag, made in the North sometime between January 1861, when Kansas was admitted to the Union as the thirty-fourth state, and February 1861 with the establishment of the Confederate States of America.

The field of this flag is composed of thirteen alternating red and white horizontal wool-bunting stripes, machine sewn, with the top and the bottom stripes both red. Inset into the upper hoist corner is a dark blue wool/bunting union/canton 16.25 inches w. X 14.5 inches bearing 19 white cotton, 5-pointed stars, each 1.75 inches across, sewn by hand on the obverse and reverse sides. Fourteen of the stars form a circle around a c star, and one other star is also sewn in each corner of the canton to total nineteen. The flag is finished with a .75 inch white polished cotton heading bearing three hand-formed button-hole eyelets for ties used to secure the flag to a staff. Framed (outside dimensions 34 x 50).

Exhibition History:

First Presidio Exhibit
(ZFC0126)
19-Star United States Exclusionary Flag.

Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 Gallery III
(ZFC0126)
19-Star United States Exclusionary Flag.

Publication History:
Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 63.

Schrambling, Regina, "A Lifelong Pledge." Collection, Published by Robb Report, June 2014, p. 48A.

Provenance:
• Acquired by Mr. Lloyd Kirkley Baltimore, MD., 1970.
• Gifted to the Star Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum, until 1996.
• Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD. in 1996.


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.

Mastai, Boleslaw and Marie-Louise D'Otrange, The Stars and The Stripes: The American Flag as Art and as History from the Birth of the republic to the Present, Knopf, New York, 1973.

Preble, George Henry, The History of the Flag of the United States of America, Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1894.

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	42.75
Length of Fly	26

Union/Canton
Width of Union/Canton	16.5
Length of Union/Canton	14.25

Stars
Size of Stars	1.75

Stripes
Width of 1st Stripe	2.5
Width of 3rd Stripe	2.5
Width of 8th Stripe	2
Width of Last Stripe	1.75
Size of Hoist	0.75

Frame
Is it framed?	yes
Frame Height	34
Frame Length	50

Stars
Number of Stars	19
How are the stars embeded?	Hand Stitched
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	yes
Comments on Stars	Machine-stitched with hand-stitched stars

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. Cotton stars

Stitching
Stitching	Machine

Thread
Thread Material	Cotton

Attachment
Comments on Method of Attachmen	not metal
Method of Attachment	Grommets

Documentation
Documents
Public Copy & Signs

Condition
Condition	Good
Damage	Discolored to yellow
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	Circa 1850's

Exhibits

Exhibition Copy

Exhibition History First Presidio Exhibit (ZFC0126) 19-STAR UNITED STATES EXCLUSIONARY FLAG Date: 1861 Medium: Wool bunting and cotton stars; machine- stitched with hand-stitched stars Comment: Because this flag is machine-sewn it can date to no earlier than 1850, although the 19 stars in its union would lead one to think it was made in honor of the admission of Indiana to the Union in 1816. Its star pattern 14 stars encircling a central one, with an added star in each corner of the canton was a popular design for the Stars and Stripes from the Mexican War through the Civil War. It is suspected, therefore, that this is an exclusionary flag, made in the North sometime between January 1861 (when Kansas was admitted to the Union as the thirty-fourth state) and the February 1861 establishment of the Confederate States of America. Although the states that formed the Confederacy considered themselves entirely free of the Union upon secession, Abraham Lincolns administration refused throughout the Civil War to recognize the legitimacy of their putative withdrawal from the United States. While that was the official position of the government, contemporary evidence indicates that a few Northerners did make flags that excluded the seceded slave states. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0126) in 1996 from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD. Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 GALLERY III (ZFC0126) 19-Star United States Exclusionary Flag Date: 1861 Medium: Wool bunting and cotton stars; machine-stitched with hand-stitched stars Comment: Because this flag is machine-sewn it can date to no earlier than 1850, although the 19 stars in its union would lead one to think it was made in honor of the admission of Indiana to the Union in 1816. Its star pattern14 stars encircling a central one, with an added star in each corner of the canton was a popular design for the Stars and Stripes from the Mexican War through the Civil War. It is suspected, therefore, that this is an exclusionary flag, made in the North sometime between January 1861 (when Kansas was admitted to the Union as the thirty-fourth state) and the February 1861 establishment of the Confederate States of America. Although the states that formed the Confederacy considered themselves entirely free of the Union upon secession, Abraham Lincolns administration refused throughout the Civil War to recognize the legitimacy of their putative withdrawal from the United States. While that was the official position of the government, contemporary evidence indicates that a few Northerners did make flags that excluded the seceded slave states. Provenance: Acquired by the Zaricor Flag Collection (ZFC0126) in 1996 from the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Collection of Baltimore, MD.

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. 63. 19-Star United States Exclusionary Flag Because this flag is machine-sewn it can date to no earlier than 1850, although the 19 stars in its union would lead one to think it was made in honor of the admission of Indiana to the Union in 1816. Its star pattern 14 stars encircling a central one, with an added star in each corner of the cantonwas a popular design for the Stars & Stripes from the Mexican War through the Civil War. It is suspected, therefore, that this is an exclusionary flag, made in the North sometime between January 1861when Kansas was admitted to the Union as the thirty-fourth stateand the February 1861 establishment of the Confederate States of America. Although the states that formed the Confederacy considered themselves entirely free of the Union upon secession, Abraham Lincolns administration refused throughout the Civil War to recognize the legitimacy of their putative withdrawal from the United States. While that was the official position of the government, contemporary evidence indicates that a few Northerners did make flags that excluded the seceded slave states.
Publication Images