PRINCETON BOROUGH — Rich in history, and full of nostalgia, flags have served as guides into battle and symbols of patriotism.
Thanks to those who have preserved their brilliant history, they can now be viewed in two displays just before the country’s most patriotic holiday: Civil War battle flags at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, and historic U.S. flags at the Morven Museum & Garden in Princeton.
Every six months, from now until December, the N.J. State Museum will show five different battle flags as part of commemorating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. One hundred flags will be unveiled by 2015.
Those flags might not even exist if it weren’t for 19 brave individuals who rescued the flags from a fire at the Statehouse in 1885.
“In addition to being military history artifacts, I think they’re a little more interesting to people than guns because they can also be considered fine works of art,” said curator at the New Jersey State Museum, Nicholas Ciotola.
The evolution of the flag throughout history drove antique parade flag collector and a U.S. Army Reserve veteran J. Richard Pierce to share his collection with the public at the Morven Museum & Garden in Princeton.
“The flag is such a meaningful symbol for America,” said Pierce.
His antique flag collection will be on display at Morven from July 1 to Oct. 30 as part of the exhibit, “The Stars and Stripes: Fabric of the American Spirit.”
Each framed and mounted flag will represent a moment in United States history, from Civil War flags, to Lincoln mourning flags, to the 48-star Pearl Harbor flags.
Pierce said the exhibit “shows people that over the course of our history the evolution of the flag, the evolution of the country from 15 states to 50 states. The flag is the history of our growth. It also shows the different creativity of flag makers through the years with some for the different designs with how the stars are laid out on the flag.”
He began collecting flags in 1991, but most of the collection showcases the antique flags he’s managed to obtain over the past 10 years. Pierce said the 108-flag exhibit will also display a rare find: three examples of 26-star flags, which was the official flag from 1837 to 1845. Most of the flags on display date from the early 1820s to World War II.
“The majority of these are prior to 1912 because before 1912, the way the stars were arranged on the flag could be any which way the flag maker would want it to be,” Pierce said.
Pierce says his favorite flags are those that give a glimpse into the past. A 14-star flag is estimated to date from the 1850s. The flag was handcrafted as a gift to a 7- or 8-year-old boy in Maine.
“That’s kind of special,” Pierce said.
It’s those that came with letters or notes, or have been written on by the person who made the flag that are ones Pierce says often have a backstory.
“... A parade, political rally, special event, birthday, or maybe they were traveling on a ship with other people. There are lots of flags with different stories from specific moments in time,” Pierce said.
The opening ceremony for the antique parade flags on June 30 at the Morven Museum is free to the public. Pierce will be at the Morven Museum with copies of his book for sale, which illustrates the entire flag collection. The regular exhibit from July 1-Oct. 30 at the Morven Museum is $6 admission, or $5 for seniors and students.