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American military flags made in 1777 and flags made in 1797 had the same manufacturing techniques, were made of the same kinds of materials, and often utilized similar or identical motifs. Some flags that are commonly identified with the Revolutionary period are likely not of that era. The mistaken attributions have been perpetuated in vexillological writings from the 19th century to the present. This piece examines three flags long thought to be from the Revolutionary War that are not.
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The “Liberty Flag” dates from before the Revolutionary War. Owned by the Schenectady County Historical Society in Schenectady, New York, the flag was conserved and mounted by Spicer Art Conservation, LLC. It is unique among known Revolutionary War-era flags, as extensive documentation for it exists, including when and where it was first flown along with information about the people associated with its use. Further, this flag was not connected with a military unit or anti-Crown protests; rather, it represented a civic statement. In 1771, Schenectady politicians were focused upon how to allocate and manage common lands rather than on the constitutional issues that were at the forefront for other communities in New York and New England. This focus on common lands arose from local disputes between the more recently-arrived English and earlier settlers of Dutch ancestry. This is also a story of the enduring hold of the Dutch culture through decades of English rule—in particular, how the Dutch concept and understanding of “liberty” was distinct from ideas of individual liberty then prevalent in the “English” colonies. In 1771, thus, the local “liberty” protest by English settlers was more about the use of common lands rather than taxation. Furthermore, consideration of the dyestuffs available for the silk fabric, and its current condition, indicate that the flag, now brown, was originally green (not blue, as widely believed).
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Peter Ansoff continues the debate about the flag raised on Prospect Hill during the American Revolution.
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DeLear revisits the debate about which flag was raised at Prospect Hill in Boston during the American Revolution.
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Ten states created their own navies, separate and distinct from the Continental Navy organized by Congress, to fight the British. Categorized into “blue water,” “brown water,” and “minor” navies, they played an important role in the Revolutionary War and the development of the nation’s early flags.
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What flag did General Washington actually fly outside of Boston on 1 January 1776? This incisive and well-researched analysis demonstrates that the flag over Prospect Hill was more likely the British Union Flag, with the English and Scottish crosses overall, rather than the 13-striped Continental Colors as believed by historians for 150 years.
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While the rattlesnake-and-stripes flag that currently flies on the bow of every U.S. warship has a long tradition in American flag use, its design was a 19th-century mistake based on an erroneous 1776 engraving. This paper, exploring the history of the flag that never existed, won the Driver Award in 2002.
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North American Vexillological Association (NAVA)
(9)
- NAVA News (2)
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Raven: A Journal of Vexillology
(6)
- vol. 11 (2004) (1)
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