Federal Regimental Flags

[Jerry Gouge]

Does anyone know the typical dimensions of a Federal regimental flag? Also were they mostly painted or embroidered? Lastly were they typically made of silk or cotton?

Sorry if this has been covered before. I did a search here and could not find a thread related to this.

Thanks,

Jerry Gouge

[1stMaine]

Re: Federal Regimental Flags

Jerry,


The sizes and specofocations are covered in the US Regulations, but are the same as the National flag: 6'X6'6".

The regulations call for silk.

There are a very few extant with SOME portions of embroidery work, but the majority are painted. The reason is that embroidery is heavy and, when wet, gets heavier. The paint was all oil-based, which, with it's lead content, is a major reason for the poor condition of these same flags today.

Prior to the 1850's, US flags used stars painted with silver pigment. It was found that, over time, these tended to tarnish and blend into the blue of the canton so the colour was changed to gilt paint which would not tarnish.

Now, SOME state issued flags were of variant designs, colours, etc. and these should be researched on a cas-by-case issue. However, those Federal regimental flags issued by the government were all of the same size and materials, with the same design, although some varied in minor details, such as the shape/spread of wings, dimension of scrolls, etc.

Your best bet, if you are interested in one, is to contact Steve Hill of DuPage Military Flag Company. He has an immense data base of these, as well as I believe him to be the best flag maker in business at this time.

Respects,

[Jerry Gouge]

Re: Federal Regimental Flags

Thanks for the information Tim. That was just what I needed.

Jerry Gouge