United States Exclusionary Flags
Coined by the vexillologist Howard Madaus, Exclusionary Flag refers to United States flags from the mid 19th century machine sewn or manufactured with less than the full complement of stars because the stars representing Slave, Confederate, or Free states were either removed or simply not included.Back to Tours
More info »U.S. 16 Star Grand Luminary Exclusionary Flag.16 Star U.S. "Grand Luminary" Northern Abolitionist Exclusionary Flag. This is a 16 star Exclusionary Grand Luminary Stars and Stripes made during the period from 1850 to 1858. These abolitionist flags featured stars only for the free states, excluding the 15 slave states from the total represented.
More info »U.S. 17 Star Exclusionary Flag.17 Star U.S. Northern Abolitionist Exclusionary Flag, 1858 - 1859. Flags bearing 17 stars and 13 stripes were never an official flag of the United States; however numerous surviving examples confirm both their existence and use.
More info »U.S. 18 Star Exclusionary Flag.18 Star U.S. Abolitionist Exclusionary Flag. This flag flew on the ship United States when it departed Boston harbor in 1860 on the Hayes Arctic Expedition. Only 18 stars, arranged in two concentric rings around a central star, representing union, despite the fact that 33 stars should have been represented in the canton.
More info »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.
More info »U.S. Southern Exclusionary Flag, 1850s.15 Star U.S. Southern Exclusionary Flag, 1850's. This 15 star 13 stripe cotton flag is machine sewn and thus excludes it from belonging to the period of 1795 to 1818, when 15 star flags were current. Furthermore, flags from that period correctly bore 15 stripes.
