The Save the Flags Conservation Specialists take on the tricky task of humidifying and piecing together a painted silk flag fragment.

In the summer of 2024, Save The Flags Conservation Specialists got the opportunity to spend a week training with Textile Preservation Associates in West Virginia.

While the Capitol Battle Flags are very well-documented, sometimes new flags – or pieces of flags are rediscovered. We recently received a very exciting addition to the collection when Kevin Christensen donated a fragment of an original Civil War flag!

We recently completed the conservation of thirteen streamers that display the battle honors of the First Michigan Sharpshooters Regiment!

For the past few months, visitors looking through the conservation lab window have been surprised to see a number of silk ribbons painted with the names of Civil War battles. These battle honors are from the flag of the First Michigan Sharpshooters who gained fame as the first Union regiment to enter the city of Petersburg after a nine-month siege.

Every flag in the collection is a unique artifact with its own important story to tell, and its own specific needs. Cambray and I are excited to share the details of conservation work with you in our future posts here, and in person in Heritage Hall.