26th Michigan Volunteer Infantry
SC-86-90: Silk national ▪ Dimensions: 62” x ?” ▪ Fringe
Description:
Almost nothing remains of this silk national flag except a reinforcement sleeve, a couple shreds of silk, and a small piece of gold-colored fringe. Little remains of the flag, but imbedded blue and red silk fragments in the reinforced sleeve bear witness to it being a national flag.
The staff, which measures 88.5” by 1.25” is topped by a spade-shaped finial. The staffs of flags returned to the state at the 1866 Detroit ceremony marking the end of the war all bear identical brass plaques. The brass plaque reads in Spencerian script “26th Mich. Infantry”.
The flag has a blue and white twisted silk cord with one blue and white tassel. The cord and tassel have started unraveling.
Adoption:
April 16, 1994 - Linda Rosenthal Dean
26th Michigan Volunteer Infantry
SC-87-90: Silk national ▪ Dimensions: 72” x 77” ▪ Silk Fringe: 2”
Description:
This 35-star silk national flag has gold painted stars arranged in five rows of seven stars. There are several splits in the fabric of the canton, but overall, very little loss. Battle honors and the regimental designation are painted on the stripes. There is more loss in the stripes, particularly the white stripes along the fly edge, but most of the honors are still legible. Starting at the first red stripe, they read, “SPOTTSYLVANIA,” “PO RIVER, NORTH AN[NA,]” “WILDERNESS,” “MINE RUN, BLACK-” “TOLOPOTOMOY, FIVE FOR[KS,]” “DEEP BOT-M, CORB-” “26th. MICH. VOL. INF’Y.” “STRAWBERRY PLAINS, AMELIA SPR-” “PETERSBURG 1864,” “SAILORS CREEK, REAMS STATI[ON,] —” “APPOMATTOX C.H,” “FARMVILLE, PETERSBURG, 186-” “COAL HARBOR”. A 2in gold-colored silk fringe is attached to the top, bottom, and fly edge. The hoist edge was fashioned into a pole sleeve for attachment to the staff.
The staff, which measures 88” by 1.5”, is topped by a spade-shaped finial. The staffs of flags returned to the state at the 1866 Detroit ceremony marking the end of the war all bear identical brass plaques. The brass plaque reads in Spencerian script “26th Mich. Infantry”.
The flag has a blue and white twisted silk cord with two blue and white tassels. The tassels were formed over a wooden core.
In 2018, the flag was conserved by Textile Preservation Associates. The flag was carefully cleaned, humidified and realigned. Splits in the painted areas were stabilized and the flag was encapsulated using Stabylon on the reverse and Stabiltex on the obverse.
Adoption:
August 15, 1998 - Charles F. Stewart Family
November 17, 2017 - Korroch Family
January 31, 2018 - Family of Donald James Wyland
26th Michigan Volunteer Infantry
SC-88-90: Silk flank marker ▪ Dimensions: 28” x 25.5+”
Description:
This swallowtail silk flank marker is painted with gold-colored stars arranged in two concentric circles and a star in each corner of the canton. Some of the stars have become detached. The canton is a much lighter color blue than most of the other flags in the collection and there is noticeable fading. There is also a lot of loss in the silk along the fly edge and some of the dye from the red stripes has bled into the white stripes. The hoist edge was fashioned into a sleeve for attachment to a staff.
The staff, which measures 90” by 1.25”, is topped by a spade-shaped finial. The staffs of flags returned to the state at the 1866 Detroit ceremony marking the end of the war all bear identical brass plaques. The brass plaque reads in Spencerian script “26th Mich. Infantry”.
No tassels or cords remain.
Adoption:
26th Michigan Volunteer Infantry
SC-90-90: Silk flank marker ▪ Dimensions: 26.25” x 33.5”
Description:
This swallowtail silk flank marker has gold-colored painted stars arranged in two concentric circles with a star in each corner. The flag is very fragmentary with many splits in the silk, particularly in the white stripes and along the fly edge. The hoist edge was fashioned into a sleeve for attachment to the staff.
The staff, which measures 90” by 1.25”, is topped by a spade-shaped finial. The staffs of flags returned to the state at the 1866 Detroit ceremony marking the end of the war all bear identical brass plaques. The brass plaque reads in Spencerian script “26th Mich. Infantry”.
To tassels or cords remain.
Adoption:
26th Michigan Volunteer Infantry
SC-91-90: Silk regimental ▪ Dimensions: 79” x ?” ▪ Fringe
Description:
This silk regimental is painted with the federal eagle in the center. Above the eagle are two arcing rows of gold painted stars. The top arc contains twenty-one stars and the bottom arc thirteen stars. A red ribbon was painted below the eagle for the regimental designation, but no designation was ever added. The flag is mostly intact, but there are a few splits in the silk, particularly in the middle of the painted eagle and along the fly edge. A gold-colored fringe is attached to the top, bottom, and fly edge. The hoist edge was fashioned into a pole sleeve for attachment to the staff.
The staff, which measures 89” by 1.25”, is topped by a spade-shaped finial. The staffs of flags returned to the state at the 1866 Detroit ceremony marking the end of the war all bear identical brass plaques. The brass plaque reads in Spencerian script “26th Mich. Infantry”.
The flag has a 134” blue and white twisted silk cord with two blue and white tassels which are 2” in diameter. The tassels were formed over a wooden core.
Adoption:
26th Michigan Volunteer Infantry
2006.28.1: Silk national ▪ Dimensions: 1.5” x 2.5” ▪ Fringe
Description:
This is a small piece of silk national flag souvenired from a flag of the 26th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. The piece is from the top portion of the flag where the canton and the first red stripe comes together. All of the flags of the 26th Michigan infantry in the Michigan State Capitol Battle Flag Collection are intact in this area. It is unknown what happened to the rest of the flag; however, it is possible that the entire flag was souvenired and divided among the men in the regiment. This piece was in the possession of Benjamin F. Batcheler, the flag-bearer for the regiment. It was among his papers, and he wrote a label for it. In 2006, a collection of Batcheler’s affects went up to auction and Save the Flags raised money to purchase the piece.
[Thank you to Dave Downing for his assistance in acquiring the piece and several groups that donated money specifically for this purpose.]
Adoption: