The Ray County Museum
Tate gives Flag | |
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U.V.C. Reunion flag This 3rd National flag of the Confederacy was donated to the Ray County museum on our Veterans Appreciation Day picnic Saturday afternoon. The flag has belonged to Carl’s family since Obediah Tate brought it back with him after his service in 1866.** “Uncle Obe” fought with a Missouri Brigade and was in Georgia during most of his service. The family originated from Georgia and traveled up to Missouri in the Ray County area in the late 1800’s. Obediah also served as a U.S. Marshall in Indian Territory in Oklahoma and received an arrow to the back. He survived this attack, but died three years later, in Macon, from the wound because of infection, etc. Mr. Tate doesn’t know when or where his ancestor got this flag. He was in the Kennesaw area and was at the battle of Kennesaw mountain, but that would have been a year before this flag was issued. So, we’re going to help him do some genealogy on his family and hopefully can come up with some answers! In the meantime, we are lucky to have this donation to our museum for the public to come and see. Now, to get it framed and mounted in archival glass and up on that wall in our Civil War room!
**Uncle ‘Obe’ might have had it in his possession to pass down through the generations of his family, but, this is probably a reunion flag. Not knowing that much about the time period of his ancestor, we’re trying to research Obe’s time line and genealogy as to What reunion he could have been presented with this flag. It measures 36 x 23. The muslin (the 23″) has the selvedge still on the fabric, top and bottom, which would have been loomed in the mid to late 1800’s into the turn of the century. It’s a ‘medium’ quality of cotton. the stars are appliqued on the field and heavily machine stitched through the entire flag. Sewing machines Were used at that time. Most of the seams are double stitched, which led me to believe that it wasn’t made ‘in a rush’ and I asked 3 different experts to come and check this flag out and that told me it was most probably post Civil War. No, it was never in battle and that was evident from the start. It’s in pristine-to-excellent condition. The only deterioation is on the bottom right selvedge which could have been from the storage of the flag all this time. I’m hoping we can find out more about “Obe” and just how and when he got a hold of it.
(3rd National Confederate Flag The third and final flag of the Confederate States of America, was created by an Act of the Congress of the Confederate States (Second Congress, Session II), and approved by the President on the 4th day of March, 1865, four years to the day after the first raising of the STARS AND BARS in Montgomery. The Flag Act of 1865 describes the flag in the following language: “The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the flag of the Confederate States shall be as follows: The width two-thirds of its length, with the union (now used as the battle flag) to be in width three-fifths of the width of the flag, and so proportioned as to leave the length of the field on the side of the union twice the width of the field below it; to have the ground red and a broad blue saltier thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with mullets or five pointed stars, corresponding in number to that of the Confederate States; the field to be white, except the outer half from the union to be a red bar extending the width of the flag.”) |
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