Philadelphia Antiques & Art Show 2017

States Department of the Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Since this took place during the period when we had 16 states (1796-1803), there are some who suggest that the later use of the 16-stars by the Navy may have paid homage to the founding of these two important cornerstones of the American military. In addition to the materials used to make 16 star flags in the 1850s and 60s, one of the most obvious clues to their out-of-period date can be found in their number of stripes. In 1795, the star count was officially increased, by way of the Second Flag Act, which added stars for Vermont and Kentucky. These two states had entered in 1791 and 1792, respectively. At this time, the stripe count was also increased to 15. The logic of adding both stripes and stars may have begun between 1791 and 1795, with the making of flags before the official change. It is then presumed to have continued for another 23 years, until 1818, when the Third Flag Act was passed. This officially added 5 more stars for Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana and Mississippi, but returned the stripe count to the original 13. The act also provided that, going forward, a star would officially be added for each state on the 4th of July following its admission. In spite of this legislation, and that which preceded it, no one seems to have cared verymuch about what was official with regard to American flags during the 18th and 19th centuries. Stars were sometimes added even before a new state came into theUnion.Whilewe technicallywent from13 stars to 15 to 20, both actual flags and illustrations are known showing 16, 17, 18, and 19 star variants. 16 star flags, for example, are known to have been produced between 1796 and 1803, to reflect Tennessee statehood, as evidenced by surviving illustrations and one surviving flag at the Stonington Historical Society in Stonington, Connecticut. These have 16 stripes. In 1790, U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton created the Revenue Marine, better known in later years as the Revenue Cutter Service, and which eventually transformed into the U.S. Coast Guard. Its original purpose was to protect merchant ships to ensure safe passage, which aided in the treasury’s collection of tolls. In 1799 a flag design was approved by Congress for Revenue Marine vessels. This was an adaptation of the national flag, with an eagle in the canton, positioned beneath an arch of stars, and with a field of 16 vertical stripes that represented the current number of states (fig. 8). Though the flag design was later altered, with seal of the Coast Guard superimposed onto the field, the number of stripes remains the same until this day. W 119 W (Figure 8) American Revenue Cutter Service Ensign once belonging to Captian William Henry Bagley (b. 1838, Durham, Maine), a rare and fantastically visual example, made ca 1870-80​. ​ Photo courtesy Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques, Inc.