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New Civil War Battle Flag Exhibit Opens February 18
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The service and bravery of Iowa’s soldiers during the Civil War and the sacrifice of their families on the home front are honored in an exciting new exhibit at the State Historical Museum.
Civil War Survivors: Battle Flags Tell Stories from the Front will open to the public Saturday, February 18 and unveil seven recently conserved Civil War Battle Flags. The flags on display are a labor of love for the State Historical Society of Iowa, the organization charged with their care. Each flag requires approximately 240 hours and $4,800 to stabilize.
Sheila Hanke, conservator and collections manager of the Iowa Battle Flag Project, said after years of display in the State Capitol rotunda, the flags suffered irreparable damage due to unstable environmental conditions.
“The flags hung in the rotunda cases for more than 100 years and were subjected to extreme environmental conditions including fluctuations in heat and humidity, dirt, grease, cigarette smoke, extreme heat and poor lighting conditions,” Hanke said. “We use a meticulous process when conserving these flags to ensure they are not damaged further, but stabilized to the point that future generations will be able to enjoy them.”
During the Civil War, flags were more than simple pieces of cloth or symbols – they were essential members of the regiments on the battle field. Amid noise, smoke, confusion and fear, the flags directed the movements of soldiers and identified the regiment to leaders in the distance. If the flag was lost, so were the regiment’s position, identity and honor. Accounts of battles and wounded men reiterate the importance of the flag and its bearer.
“My color-bearer, Mortimer W. Nelson, as brave a man as ever bore a flag, was shot in the shoulder and fell. Out of four, two color guards, Corporals Davis and Bare, fell severely wounded, and I regret to say Davis was left on the field....” — John A. Garrett, Colonel, 40th Iowa Infantry, Little Rock, Ark., May 6, 1864.
Special opening day event programming is planned for Saturday, February 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 40 Civil War re-enactors from across the state will be at the State Historical Museum bringing stories from the Civil War to life. Visitors will be able to try on Civil War uniforms, look inside an authentic Haversack, crawl into a wall tent or try a sample of Hardtack (the food used to feed the troops). Musicians and dancers will demonstrate and teach the Virginia Reel dance and the songs of battle, while drills will be presented by Color Guards. Did you have a relative in the Civil War? Visitors can learn more about researching their own Civil War roots by using the State Historical Library and Archives.
Civil War Survivors: Battle Flags Tell Stories from the Front will
be on display through April 16. For more information about the exhibits and related
events, visit
www.iowahistory.org/museum/exhibits/civil-war-survivors.
