[newblue44]

I have a 38 star flag, which has been in our family for many years. It is 7'8'' x 11'8'' & looks to be very old. It has a cotton hoist with grommets sticking out at the top & bottom. The grommets have a hemp rope that wraps around them that runs indside the length of the hoist. Along the top edge of the flag there is a cotton hem with buttonholes spaced along it. There is a mixture of machine sewing & hand sewing. The stars are sewn on by hand & they appear to be made out of cotton. I have been looking for a similar flag to compare this to, but so far have found nothing in the same size or having the same design features. I have not been able to find any markings or writing on the flag that would suggest the manufacturer either. I am intersted in finding out the use of original use the flag. My grandfather, great grandfather and several other family members were in the military as far back as the civil war. Possibly it was used at a military installation or on some kind of vessel. I would like to find out as much as I can, it is a part of our family history. Thank you very much for your assistance.

[american_flag_uk]

Hi there

We will do our best to help you

Could you provide us with a few pictures of the flag?

[newblue44]

Hello again,
I am not able to send any pictures of the 38 star flag at this time. As soon as I can I will. I have looked it over more carefully, hopefully I can describe it a little better. The flag is 7'8'' x 11'8''. The star pattern is 8,7,8,7,8. The flag is made of wool and the stars are made of cotton. The stars are hand cut and hand sewn. They range in size from 3&3/4" to 4''. The stars are double appliqued. Their arrangement is pretty uniform with the top points leaning to the right slightly. The star pattern is as follows:

XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX

The rows of eight are closest to the hoist. The hoist is made of canvas.
It is a hollow sleeve with a hemp rope running through the length of it. The rope extends out the top & bottom of the hoist, where it wraps around plain steel grommets. The hoist sleeve is sewn closed at the top & bottom by hand. Basically the grommets stick out of the closed sleeve at the top & bottom.The flag is gusseted where it meets the hoist at the top & bottom. Twelve of the stripes are are 7'' wide, one is just over 6''.
The stripes are treadle sewn. There is no writing or markings anywhere on the flag to suggest it's use or manufacturer. There is also a hoist sewn across the entire top of the flag. It has sewn eyelets spaced along the length of the top hoist. I think it may be a modification to the original flag. It is sewn on by hand & the canvas appears to be newer than the original hoist. Also the thread used to sew the hoist along the top is different.
The use of the hoist across the top is a mystery!

I am trying to figure out the age & original use of the flag. Does the hollow hoist with the rope in it signify naval use. Does the star patttern provide a clue to the use of the flag. Eg. Army, Navy, etc. Does the size of the flag itself have a specific meaning as to it's use. Eg. Flags used on naval vessels.
I have done alot of searching on the web, so far I not been able to find a flag with similar design. I found one 38 star, but the (2) grommets were placed into the hoist.

I've tried to include everything about the flag, that might help identify it.
If there is any other details needed, please let me know.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again!!!!!!!

[american_flag_uk]

Hi again -
Seems your replies got caught in the site spam filter. It was amtter of me going throught the spam and deleting what really was spam, and approvig anything that wasn't... and usually the spam filter does a good job! There is rarely useful posts that get trapped there. You were just unlucky!

[newblue44]

Oops,
For some reason when I type in the star pattern with the X's, it comes out the opposite on the reply. I will try to explain. The rows of 7 are exactly the opposite of they way they appear on my reply. They step one star to the right of the 1st star in the rows of 8. I include this detail because somewhere I read that this type of star pattern was used on Navy flags not Army. I've tried to confirm this fact, but have been unable to.

Thanks again for your help.....