Jason Melius
LIS640
Dr. Bird and Dr. Shiflett
Fall 2013
Flag Cataloging White Paper
The Collection
This paper will define a collection of 18th century military flags. For the purpose of this
collection, a flag is defined as a piece of fabric featuring a distinctive design which is used as a
symbol for a nation or a military unit. All of the flags in the collection saw service in colonial
America during the second half of the 18th century (1750 – 1799). While this collection is
limited to flags of European armies, the parameters used for their cataloging could easily be
applied to a much larger collection, encompassing any time period as well as national origin.
Due to the nature of the natural fibers utilized in the construction of flags, a certain amount of
deterioration is expected to be seen in preserved examples. Pieces believed to be flags, but are
too small or fragmented to be positively identified as flags are excluded from the collection.
Finding a Scheme
There are a number of flag collections to be found online throughout the world. In the
United States, the majority of these flag collections are dedicated to the many flags used by the
armies of the American Civil War. The regiments of the armies of the Civil War employed flags
in ways which mimicked those of the armies of the 18th century.
Regiments of the Union Army typically utilized a national flag and a regimental flag.
The national flag was the American Flag with unit-specific iconography painted on it. The
regimental flag was the same size as the national flag, but was typically sold colored with unitspecific icons painted on the body. The Confederate states employed similar methodology.
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The flags served to identify units to both friend and foe alike. The weapons of the 18th
and 19th centuries produced massive amounts of smoke which obscured the soldier’s views.
Commanders, positioned in ideal vantage points, could still see the flags. This allowed for
superior command and control.
The armies of the American Civil War were using an old European model for unit
designation which originated hundreds of years prior, during the Middle Ages. Due to the
similarities in flag use and construction, it is felt that the method employed by Civil War flag
collections in cataloging and description would be the ideal pattern to use for an 18th century flag
collection. There is a lack of a distinctive collection of 18th century and earlier flags which would
serve as a basis for descriptive cataloging. Flags from earlier periods often reside in private
collections, or in ones and twos in larger museums. Therefore, the flags do not receive a unique
treatment.
One large flag collection was initially consulted in the development of the 18th century
flag collection cataloging scheme. The Alabama Civil War Period Flag Collection provides only
a name and catalog number for each flag, along with a paragraph about the flag’s known history.
Something much more substantial was needed (Alabama Department of Archives and History,
n.d.).
Fight for the Colors: Ohio Battle Flag Collection contains examples of flags dating from
the Mexican War through World War II (Ohio Historical Society, 2000). This collection utilizes
a much more thorough (or visible) cataloging scheme than the Alabama collection. Fight for the
Colors includes the flag name, alternate name, catalog number, flag type, flag text, as well as
unit name and history.
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The above elements are necessary for a much more complete cataloging description, yet
still more is needed. The Capitol Museum Collection utilizes and even more thorough
cataloging scheme: Name, design, material, associated military conflict, current locations, height,
length, conservation date, additional information, donator, and object ID (Georgia Archives,
2008). This is by far the most complete treatment yet found for cataloging flags.
Catalog Scheme
For the purpose of our 18th century flag collection, the methodologies of the Ohio
Historical Society and the Georgia Archives have been combined and refined to fit our needs.
The following is a breakdown of each element which will be employed for our collection of late
18th century military flags. In the rare instance when a flag has two different designs on each
side, the elements will be repeated with “Front” and “Back” in italic immediately after. If an
element is not known, the title will be removed rather than left blank.
Name: The name of the flag as it was known historically. This name is typically the name of the
military unit the flag was associated with combined with its historical role. The word “color”
was often used in place of “flag” until well after the 18th century. The national flag of the
British 17th Light Dragoons would be named “17th Light Dragroons King’s Color.”
Type: There were many types of flags used in the 18th century. A national flag would be the
flag representing the nation the military unit served. An ensign was a type of national flag used
by naval vessels and sometimes forts. A regimental flag designates the specific regiment. Grand
division flags were similar to regimental flags, but represented a smaller unit within a regiment.
Company flags were frequently used by German troops; each company carrying its own flag. A
guidon was a smaller flag typically used by cavalry to denote a company or platoon. Camp
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colors are flags which were used to designate a given regiment’s tent rows within a large
encampment.
Conflict: The military conflict the flag is associated with. During the period under
consideration, there were two large conflicts; The French and Indian War (Seven Years War in
Europe) and the American Revolutionary War. There are a number of smaller conflicts
associated with the two larger conflicts. For the purpose of this collection, flags will be assigned
to the larger conflict it is most closely associated with. This is due to the fact that there are no
flags in this collection which existed as a result of any of the smaller conflicts.
Material: The type of material the flag was made from. This will include the textile used for
the body, fringe, as well as any paint or embroidered emblem contained within the flag. The
specific type of paint will not be listed as that is subject to chemical analysis.
Ground: The ground is the dominant background color. If the flag is striped, the ground will
give the colors of the stripes and their orientation. Many flags of the period utilized the Union
Flag or Union Jack of Great Britain. While Union Flag is the official name, the common name
Union Jack will be used for cataloging purposes. It should be noted that the Union Jack of the
18th century consisted only of the St Andrew’s and St George’s crosses. St Patrick’s cross was
not added until 1801.
Hoist: The vertical dimension of the flag, nearest the flag pole. This dimension is given in
inches. If a flag has fringe, the measurement with fringe will be listed first. The measure of the
flag not including the fringe will be listed under a subheading “Hoist without Fringe”.
Fly: The distance from the flag pole to the outer edge of the flag. This dimension is given in
inches. As with the hoist, if a flag has fringe, that measurement will be listed first. The
dimension without the fringe will be listed under the subheading “Fly without Fringe”.
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Flag Text: If any text is present on the flag, it will be entered here. Often, Latin phrases were
used. These would be listed, with a translation following.
Icon: Military flags in the 18th century very often included an image either embroidered or
painted on the flag. This entry will give a short description of any objects such as: an owl, the
Hanoverian white horse, a rose in a garter, a palmetto tree, a pine tree, or a soldier wearing a
uniform and holding a gun. The description does not need to give immense detail, but just
enough for clarity.
Catalog Number: This designation will be composed of five elements: The first will be the
chronological sequence in which the flag entered the collection, beginning with “1”.
The next element will be a two letter representation of the nation the flag represented.
Continental Congress (American Colonies in rebellion) = CC
Great Britain = GB
France = FR
Spain = SP
German States:
Anspach – Bayreuth = AB
Brunswick = BR
Hesse Hanau = HH
Hesse Cassel = HC
Waldeck = WA
The third element will be a single lower case letter denoting the type of flag.
n = National
e = Ensign
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r = Regimental
d = Divisional
c = Company
g = Guidon
a = Camp
The fourth element will be a two digit number corresponding to the primary material used in the
construction of the flag.
Linen = 10
Wool = 11
Silk = 12
Cotton = 13
Mixed = 14
The final element will be the year the flag was known to be constructed. If the exact year is not
known, the decade it is believed to have been constructed will be used. If the flag was believed
to have been built in the 1760’s, then the number should be “1760”.
A sample number: 36GBr121779 = 36th flag in the collection, Great Britain, regimental flag,
made of silk in 1779.
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Sample Flag Collection Worksheet
Image
Name:
Type:
Conflict:
Material:
Ground:
Hoist:
Hoist without Fringe:
Fly:
Fly without Fringe:
Flag Text: Front:
Translation:
Flag Text: Back:
Translation:
Icon: Front:
Icon: Back:
Catalog Number:
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Flag Collection Worksheet
Name: 2nd Continental Light Dragoons Regimental Color
Type: Regimental
Conflict: American Revolution
Material: Silk, paint, gold bullion fringe
Ground: Red and white horizontal stripes
Hoist: 35 1/8 inches
Hoist without Fringe: 30 inches
Fly: 38 ¾ inches
Fly without Fringe: 36 inches
Flag Text: PAT:A CONCITA FULM:NT NATI.
Translation: (roughly) “When their country calls, her sons answer in tones of thunder.”
Icon: Black thundercloud with 10 gold and orange thunderbolts, held up by a pair of silver wings
over a gold scroll bearing the text.
Catalog Number: 1CCr121776
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Flag Collection Worksheet
Name: 3rd Virginia Regiment Regimenal Color
Type: Regimental
Conflict: American Revolution
Material: Silk and paint
Ground: Yellow-Gold
Hoist: 50 ¼ inches
Fly: 45 3/8 inches (damaged)
Flag Text: PERSEVERANDO
Translation: Persevering
Icon: Blue canton with 13 white stars, beaver gnawing on a palmetto tree on the bank of a
stream over a scroll bearing the text.
Catalog Number: 2CCr121778
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Flag Collection Worksheet
Name: 3rd Virginia Regiment Grand Division Color
Type: Divisional
Conflict: American Revolution
Material: Silk, paint
Ground: Blue
Hoist: 40 ¾ inches
Fly: 43 ¾ inches
Fly without Fringe: 42 ½ inches
Flag Text: REGIMENT
Icon: Scroll bearing the text
Catalog Number: 3CCd121778
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Flag Collection Worksheet
Name: 3rd Virginia Regiment Grand Divisional Color
Type: Divisional
Conflict: American Revolution
Material: Silk and paint
Ground: Yellow
Hoist: 44 ½ inches
Fly: 44 inches
Fly without Fringe: 42 inches
Flag Text: REGIMENT
Icon: Scroll bearing text
Catalog Number: 4CCd121778
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Flag Collection Worksheet
Name: 7th Regiment of Foot King’s Color
Type: National
Conflict: American Revolution
Ground: Red, white and blue Union Jack
Material: Silk and embroidered silk
Hoist: 72 inches
Fly: 78 inches
Flag Text: HONI.SOIT.QUI.MAL.Y.PENSE
Translation: Shamed be he who thinks evil of it
Icon: Tudor rose surrounded by a garter containing text, under a crown. “VII” in upper left
canton
Catalog Number: 5GBn121771
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Flag Collection Worksheet
Name: Ansbach-Bayreuth Company Color
Type: Company
Conflict: American Revolution
Material: Silk, embroidered silk
Ground: While
Hoist: 48 inches
Fly: 50 inches
Flag Text: Front: Script SETCA over M.Z.B. 1775
Translation: SETC = “Sinceriter et Constanter” – Sincerely and Constantly, initial A for
Christian Fredrich Karl Alexander; M.Z/B. = Markgraf zu Brandenburg – Marquis of
Brandenburg
Flag Text: Back: PRO PRINCIPE ET PATRIA
Translation: For Leader and Country
Icon: Front: Crown over script SETCA, over M.Z.B., over a bow holding a laurel and palm,
over 1775.
Icon: Back: Banner reading “PRO PRINCIPE ET PATRIA” over a Brandenburg eagle holding
a rod and a laurel.
Catalog Number: 6ABc121775
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Flag Collection Worksheet
Name: 8th Virginia Regiment Regimental Color
Type: Regimental
Conflict: American Revolution
Material: Silk
Ground: Gold
Hoist: 41 inches
Fly: 45 inches
Fly without Fringe: 43 inches
Flag Text: VII Virg Regt
Icon: Scroll bearing text
Catalog Number: 7CCr121776
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Flag Collection Worksheet
Name: U.S. 13 Star Flag
Type: National
Conflict: American Revolution
Material: Cotton, wool and linen
Ground: Red and white horizontal stripes
Hoist: 60 inches
Fly: 103 inches
Flag Text: Front: Hancock & English (added in 1880)
Icon: Blue stars on white ground
Catalog Number: 8CCn141780
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Flag Collection Worksheet
Name: Fort Bedford Flag
Type: Ensign
Conflict: French and Indian War
Material: Silk Damask
Ground: Red
Hoist: 70 ½ inches
Fly: 80 5/8 inches
Icon: Union Jack in upper left canton
Catalog Number: 9GBe121758
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Flag Collection Worksheet
Name: Royal Highland Emigrants Camp Color
Type: Camp
Conflict: American Revolution
Material: Wool and paint
Ground: Navy Blue
Hoist: 14 inches
Fly: 18 inches
Flag Text: Royl. Emigrants
Translation: Royal Highland Emigrants
Icon: Crown over a stylized and intertwined GR3
Catalog Number: 10GBa111778
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Image Citations
2nd Continental Light Dragoon Flag:
Sothby's An American Revolutionary War Battle Flag 1776-1779. 14 June 2006. 10 October
2013. <http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2006/four-battleflags-of-therevolution-captured-by-lt-col-banastre-tarleton-in-1779-and-1780-the-property-of-captchristopher-tarleton-fagan-n08228/lot.1.html>.
3rd Virginia Regiment Regimental and Divisional Flags
Sothby's. Sothby's - 3 American Revolution Battle Flags 1778-1780. 14 June 2006. 8 October
2013. <http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2006/four-battleflags-of-therevolution-captured-by-lt-col-banastre-tarleton-in-1779-and-1780-the-property-of-captchristopher-tarleton-fagan-n08228/lot.2.html>.
7th Regiment of Foot
Melius, Jason. "7th Regiment of Foot King's Color." West Point, NY, 2006.
8th Virginia Regiment Flag
Antique Trader Blog. 19 July 2012. 12 October 2013.
<http://www.antiquetrader.com/articles/philly-auctioneer-selling-rare-revolutionary-warflag>.
Anspach-Bayreuth Flag:
Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Price of Freedom: Americans at War. n.d.
10 October 2013. <http://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/collection/object.asp?ID=234>.
Fort Bedford Flag
Fort Bedford Museum. 2009. 13 October 2013.
<http://www.fortbedfordmuseum.org/flag.html#>.
Royal Highland Emigrants Camp Color
Troiani, Don and James L Kochan. Don Troiani's Soldiers of the American Revolution.
Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2007. Book.
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U.S. 13 Star Flag
ZFC Zaricor Flag Collection: A National Treasure. 1998. 13 October 2013.
<http://www.flagcollection.com/index.php>.
Collections Referenced
Alabama Department of Archives and History. Alabama Civil War Period Flag Collection. n.d.
4 October 2013. <http://www.archives.alabama.gov/referenc/FLAGS/Index.html>.
Georgia Archives. Capitol Museum Collection. April 2008. 7 October 2013.
<http://cdm.georgiaarchives.org:2011/cdm/landingpage/collection/flag>.
Ohio Historical Society. Fight for the Colors: Ohio Battle Flag Collection. 2000. 5 October
2013. <http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/exhibits/fftc/index.aspx>.
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