New York State to Mark Civil War Sesquicentennial with Exhibit of Newly Restored Battle Flags

ALBANY, NY (06/13/2011)(readMedia)-- With the help of private grants and donations, New York State will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War with a new exhibit of banners from its extensive collection of battle flags. The first installment of five planned exhibits, "1861: Banners for Glory," will be unveiled in July at the State Capitol, featuring eight flags significant in the first year of the war.

"I am tremendously grateful to the private individuals and organizations who have partnered with New York State to make this exhibit possible," said Rose Harvey, Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. "The New York State Battle Flag Collection is an ideal way to recognize New York State's rich Civil War history as the state and nation looks back on the momentous conflict that began 150 years ago. The first exhibit will feature flags that will remind the public how the many ways the country was divided against itself in 1861."

"The collection of New York's historic battle flags held by the Division of Military and Naval Affairs on behalf of the citizens of New York is a reminder of the courage and sacrifice of the almost 500,000 New Yorkers who fought in the Civil War," said Major General Patrick Murphy, the Adjutant General of New York. "I'm pleased that this series of exhibits will allow more New Yorkers to share in that history."

With a combination of a $30,000 grant from the Coby Foundation, a New York City organization that funds projects in the textile and needle arts, and approximately $13,000 in donations from private citizens, eight battle flags will be treated for long-term preservation by a textile conservator from the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and displayed at the State Capitol through June 2012. Conserved flags are permanently held at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs and the State Historic Preservation Office at Peebles Island State Park in Waterford.

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. The 1861: Banners for Glory display, set to open July 12, will be the first exhibit entirely funded with private donations.

The exhibit is the first of five planned for the Civil War sesquicentennial, 2011–2015. Each installment in the "Emblems of Devotion: New York State's Civil War Battle Flags," exhibition series will chronicle a year in the Civil War, and highlight the dedication of New York's citizen soldiers and their home communities.

Many of the 850 Civil War flags in the state's battle flag collection incurred damage in battle. At the end of the war, the flags were furled on their staffs and placed in glass cases in the Capitol. Nearly a century and a half of poor storage subjected the flags to the harmful effects of humidity, light, gravity, and temperature variance, requiring that they be meticulously treated for preservation and relocated for proper storage.

Private contributions are necessary for the preservation project to continue. Information on how to donate is available at http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/btlflags/btlflagsindex.htm