Sunday, May 30, 2010

Celebrate Memorial Day with a Salute to the Stars and Stripes



In June 1813, Mary Young Pickersgill, a Baltimore flagmaker, was commissioned to create two flags. One was to fly over the garrison at Fort McHenry. She charged $405.90 for the larger of the projects.




Mary was, in temperment, a fitting creator for this emblem. She had devoted her life to improving the lot of her fellow Baltimore residents. As every handcrafter knows, a work like this is endowed with the hopes and dreams of its maker. So we can only suppose that as Mary sewed, she thought about this young nation, and the country we might one day become.

According to an article in The New York Times (July 3, 2003), one of Mary's flags was so large that "the sewing had to be completed on a brewery floor." This was no small banner, no tiny marker of a newborn nation. No, Mary's flag was 30-by-42-feet in size, whereas modern garrison flags are only 20-by-38-feet. A flag large enough that Francis Scott Key could see it "by the dawn's early light" when the British retreated from Fort McHenry in September 1814.

Today, Mary's work is a fragile artifact, but the conservation efforts of the Smithsonian have preserved this enduring symbol of our nation. It is impossible to walk by the flag in its large display area without feeling an intense wave of patriotism, which is spurred by the realization of how this icon represents the countless brave men and women who have given their lives for our country.

9 comments:

Camille Minichino said...

Thanks for continuing the weekend tribute to those who serve, now and in the past, Joanna.

I love the flag in the American History Museum -- is that it?

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Yes, it's in the Aermican History Museum, which is part of the Smithsonian. Good call, Camille! It brings tears to my eyes each time I see it.

Linda O. Johnston said...

How wonderful and amazing, Joanna, that the Star Spangled Banner that was the inspiration for our national anthem has been preserved for us all to see! Thanks for such an appropriate Memorial Day post.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Linda, it took some doing! One of the owners gave away parts of the flag to souvenir-hunters. The entire flag was covered with a backing to keep it from disintegrating. There were several patches sewn on ti strengthen it. A tiny vacuum was used to drawn dirt out of the fabric. It was truly a labor of love and respect to restore it.

signlady217 said...

That's a museum piece I'd love to see!

There's a really neat German flag (that flew during the Revolutionary War) in the Yorktown, VA, museum. There are two pieces of fabric (I think silk), both hand embroidered and then bound together on the 4 edges. You can see the worn places in the fabric, but it has been very well preserved over these two-hundred-something years! Really cool!

Betty Hechtman said...

I went to the American History Museum when I was at Malice. I didn't know the flag was there and am sorry I missed it. I only had a short time and saw FIrst Ladies dresses and this house they moved there and then traced its history.

Joanna, your flag story was perfect for Memorial Day. Good job!

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Thanks, Betty. I've kept The New York Times article for seven years now. That shows 1.) that I'm a packrat and 2.) it made such an impression on me. I'll try to find and post the link.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Here's the link to the story I found seven years ago. That said, it was the visit to the flag that really stirred my soul. There's something majestic about it!

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/arts/stars-and-stripes-forever-smithsonian-works-to-preserve-that-special-flag.html