Press Release
September 19, 2012
Dan Keefe
518-486-1868
New Civil War Battle Flags Exhibit Opens at State Capitol
Preserved Flags Linked to Bloody Second Year of the War Between the States
An exhibit of newly conserved Civil War battle flags, "1862: Red, White and Battered," was unveiled at the State Capitol today featuring nine flags significant in the second year of the war - when the deadly consequences of the war began to hit home. The display includes battle flags carried by a Medal of Honor winner at the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day of the war, and another carried at Second Bull Run by the regiment with the highest number of soldiers killed in any Federal regiment in any single battle of the Civil War.
"I'm very pleased New Yorkers visiting the Capitol will be able to see these flags, and the stories behind them, which illustrate the heroism of New York's Civil War Soldiers," said Major General Patrick Murphy, theAdjutant General of New York. "This is a fantastic display and I'm pleased that Governor Cuomo has made room in the Capitol so that visitors there can learn about our military heritage."
"These historic flags truly bring home the sacrifice made by soldiers going into battle, and their display in the State Capitol is another example of how Governor Cuomo is bringing New York's incredible and important history directly to the people," said Rose Harvey, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. "I am tremendously grateful to the Coby Foundation and individuals and organizations who have partnered with New York State to make this exhibit possible."
The exhibition will run on the first floor of New York State Capitol through Spring of 2013. It is taking place thanks to a combination of a $22,000 grant from the Coby Foundation, a New York City organization that funds projects in the textile and needle arts, and approximately $8,100 in donations from private citizens and the NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
The exhibition includes a video component, "Conservation on Camera," that examines the regimental color carried by the 16th New York Volunteers from St. Lawrence, Clinton, and Franklin counties. When presented with the color in 1861, the regiment vowed to defend the flag at all costs, a patriotic promise made during the build-up to war. The North Country soldiers kept their word through two blood-filled years.
The video examines the flag's unusual construction as well as the treatment of its painted emblem. Other components of the exhibit include specially developed lesson plans (posted at http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/btlflags/exhibits/1862RedWhiteandBattered.htm) and free monthly guided tours of the exhibit, on the first Thursday of each month from 5:30 - 6:30 pm, from September 2012 - June 2013.
The display builds on the recent renovation of the New York State Capitol, which includes hundreds of newly installed displays relating to New York State's social, technological, and political history. The Hall of Governors now includes identifications of each past Chief Executive, together with the dates of their service. A timeline of state history has been etched on the walls of the Second Floor, where the Governor's office is located.
Since 2000, the New York State Battle Flag Preservation Project, a collaboration between the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Division of Military and Naval Affairs, has conserved and properly stored over 500 of the state's 2,000 flags carried into battle by New York State regiments.