Philadelphia Antiques & Art Show 2017

14 and 15 star counts do appear. The last Border State, West Virginia, almost never appears on Southern sympathy flags, but does get segregated out occasionally on various pro- Union examples (fig. 11). At the same time that star counts were beingmanipulated, messages were also displayed in other ways. Sometimes the Southern Cross design was included in the star configuration of a traditional Stars & Stripes. Two such examples of this actually survive in flags with a count of 13 stars, where all of the stars were used to form this pattern. In this case, it is not known whether the makers meant to represent the 13 Southern states that typically appear on Confederate battle flags, or if a an unusual parallel was being drawn between the American Revolution and the War of the Rebellion. A flag such as this might theoretically appear in a border state like Maryland or Delaware, which were among the 13 original colonies, but were not among Davis’s 13 Confederate States. It has been suggested by some flag historians, myself included, that Southern sympathy versions of the Stars & Stripes may also have been flown to mark locations in the North, where Southerners might find refuge of some sort. In the case of 13 stars, all arranged in the Southern Cross, that message was probably too bold to have been flown north of the Mason-Dixon. Other flags exist, however, produced both before and after the war, that somehow include the Southern Cross within a wider design that contained stars for all of the states (fig. 12). Here the message would be more likely to appear in a Northern setting. In addition to hidden messages, which are scarce among surviving flags, there was an explosion of star designs in general during the Civil War. This occurred, if for no other reason, than the shear increase in flag production. Star configurations had always been interesting, but with more stars and many more makers came a thrust in creativity. Add to this the surge of emotions brought on by war, and what resulted was one of the most interesting periods of flag making. This was the first time, for example, that flags appeared where the design actually spelled something. Made for the 1864 campaign of the incumbent Abraham Lincoln seeking reelection, both 35 and 36 star variants are known with their stars arranged to spell the word “free” (fig. 13). Shield-shaped patterns make their appearance during this era, appropriate for the occasion. Battle flags displayed a wide variety of patterns, among these standing oval wreaths and flags with the various state and federal arms included in their cantons. The names of regiments were sometimes painted or appliquéd on the stripes, along with battle honors that recorded the names of significant engagements with the enemy. Some of the rarest displayed eagles interspersed with the stars. The most interesting of these that I ever personally (Figure 12) 38 stars with some of the arrangement forming a Southern Cross. Photo courtesy Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques, Inc. (Figure 13.5) Extraordinary American parade flag with a large federal eagle surrounded by 34 stars, arranged in a single wreath of 30 with a large star in each corner; one-of-a-kind among known examples. Note the remarkably squashed profiles of the smaller stars. Photo courtesy Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques, Inc. (Figure 11) Flag with 38 stars presented in 3 different styles, including 16 in the center to represent the official Confederate States plus all Border States at the end of the Civil War, surrounded by 20 stars representing the Union, plus a star top and bottom for the 37th and 38th states that joined after the war. Also note the inclusion of only 12 stripes, purposely excluding South Carolina (the cata- lyst of secession). Photo courtesy Jeff R. Bridgman Antiques, Inc. ✷ 122 ✷